Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld
Second Life, virtual worlds and virtual realities
It’s the start of April, and for ONE DAY only, the Firestorm team have a very special offer for SL users.
Firestorm Mobile brings the power for Firestorm to any mobile device – even if it doesn’t have graphics! So don’t delay find out more about this first-of-the-month offer for April in this official Firestorm video!
With thanks to Jessica 🙂
It’s no secret that late last year I quit my last private land holdings in SL and retreated to my Linden Home. While some regard the latter as “lag-laden slums” (and to be honest, some of the Linen Home regions aren’t exactly picturesque), I’m actually happy with my Tahoe home and the region in which it is located, which is neither crowded and benefits from having both a river running through it and from a large expanse of open parkland close to hand.
However, in my wanderings through Second Life, visiting and blogging about regions and activities, I have on occasion, come across a style of house build which has both intrigued and attracted me. These are mesh builds by Winter DiPrima, and sold under the LAQ Decor brand name (LAQ as in the avatar skin brand).
I first came across these buildings – in the form of the Picturesque Cottage – while exploring Second Norway, and have since seen it in a number of places, including an appearance in Ginger Lorakeet’s Inside Art installation at LEA23. I’ve also found the Quaint Cottage featured at a number of places I’ve visited.
Both cottages are 100% mesh and demonstrate just what can be achieved with mesh and without it having to be hugely expensive in terms of land impact; both total less than 80 prims / LI, and the Picturesque cottage includes a window sofa and a modest kitchen in the count!
Of the two cottages, I confess the Picturesque Cottage is swaying me dangerously back towards taking-up a modest parcel of land, simply so I have an excuse to go purchase the cottage and put it on display. It has a delightfully attractive design which I find endearing – be it the curve of the roof or the slightly careworn interior walls or the fact that it looks so perfectly natural no matter where in pops-up in-world.
It certainly offers enough in the way of living space, with a large open-plan area downstairs with two rooms, and a galleried bedroom reached by ladder, and which has a lovely little balcony opening off of it, sitting above one of them.
For those with modest tastes, the Quaint Cottage offers a single-storey, two-room home which is again charmingly designed and which can offer more than comfortable accommodation – although while it will fit on a 512 sq metre parcel, the prim count / LI of 76 may make it more suitable for at least a 1024 sq m parcel when considering the question of furnishings, etc.
Both cottages include some additional features – window blinds which can be set to CLOSED for visual privacy and a house controller which includes a security system, a radio and options to “light” / “extinguish” the fire.
For those with more expansive tastes, Winter – again via the LAQ Decor brand – also produces mixed mesh / prim houses as well. As the time of writing, these comprise a mansion and a Spanish “castle” villa.
The mansion is the larger of the two, requiring a minimum parcel size of 2240 sq metres. With a prim count / LI of 497, it is also the “heaviest” of the house builds examined here – and also potentially the most unusual, featuring as it does a large swimming pool occupying what might otherwise be considered the grand entrance hall.
The Spanish-style villa offers three floors of accommodation, including a ready-to-be-equipped bathroom off of the main upstairs bedroom and two balconies as well as an outdoor water feature.
I have to admit the latter two are a little too big for my tastes – but then I’ve been known to live in a tin can :). However, for those seeking a large property, either may well be worth consideration.
Along with the houses, Winter produces a range of furnishings and outdoor items, some of which (walls / fences) can be seen in the photos here. All of them are, when one considers they are COPY, very reasonably priced.
The LAQ Decor furnishings are certainly worth a look at, and again a solid demonstration as to what can be achieved in mesh with a little care. The bedroom, lounge and dining sets all represent very good value considering the low prim count / LI of each, the colour options, animations, etc. I particularly like the fact that the furniture is all built more to a decent avatar scale than perhaps some other brands tend to be.
Whether you’re looking for a house or interior furnishings, LAQ Decor is more than worth a visit, be it via the Marketplace or a trip to the in-world store (and I very much recommend the latter).
For my part, I’m so enamoured of the Picturesque Cottage, I’m going to be hard-pressed not to go out and find a suitable parcel on which to locate it. And then, of course, I’ll need the bed, the lounge suite and the bookcases, and the … 🙂
In November 2012, Salome Strangelove opened The Garden, an absorbing, immersive puzzle which is open to all to try their hand.
I reviewed The Garden as it opened last year, and for a time was a regular player, and also found myself attracted to it purely as a place in which to take pictures. In December 2012, I started working on putting together a video for The Garden, but stopped in early January with the project incomplete. Part of the reason for this is because I can’t actually do decent machinima on my current PC; I lack the skill (and hardware) for decent mouse control of the camera, and the PC / GPU has problems trying to run both FRAPS and SL side-by-side without a horrible loss of frames, even with Draw Distance down low and most bells and whistles turned off.
Anyway, for what it is worth and because I hate leaving things unfinished (they eventually all nag at me for attention), I decided to push the video through and upload it to You Tube.
As to The Garden itself, if you’ve not spent time there, I really do recommend you pay it a visit; it’s a fabulously immersive place in which to spend time – and the puzzle is quite addictive!
We’re still over two months away from the opening day of the tenth anniversary celebration for Second Life – but that doesn’t mean people are sitting around a-waiting. Oh no. We’re already looking for volunteers.
Applications for volunteers, performers and exhibitors open on April 15th, and will remain open until May 20th. As I’ve already looked at this year’s theme and what it could mean to exhibitors, it’s time to hand over to Mistletoe Ethaniel, who has put together a video for all those DJs wishing to spin a spot at the celebration…
As the Prim Reaper has decided to take a break from things this year, The Boys In The Back Room have sought long and hard to find a spokesperson for the event.
… Looks like they’ve succeeded …
As Triangle Head notes, there have been some changes to various URLs for the celebration, so if you’re blogging about the Community Celebration, please make sure you update your links accordingly:
With thanks to Saffia Widdershins
I first came across Ginger Lorakeet’s work at SL9B in 2011, where she had an exhibit on the region of Nove. I find the concept of 3D art in an immersive 3D environment fascinating – so was intrigue to discover Ginger had been selected as one of Artists in Residence for the 4th round of the Linden Endowment for the Arts season of that name – and have been awaiting the opening of her installation.
Inside Art opened recently, and is more than worth a visit – not only does the installation feature some of Ginger’s Inside Art pieces for you to enjoy – and be a part of -, it also invites you to follow in Alice’s footsteps, and visit interpretations of scenes from Lewis Caroll’s famous works featuring her adventures. By combining the two, Ginger presents an engaging view of art in Second Life while also allowing visitors to visit some unique takes on Alice’s adventures.
You start standing outside a piece of art which demonstrates a clever use of 3D forced perspective. Nearby is a large magnifying glass – step through it and start your journey!
Rather than presenting “traditional” views of Alice’s tales, however, Ginger has largely opted to go for more unusual interpretations – some of which put you firmly in the role of Alice, particularly after you take a drink from a bottle found along the way, or lick a waiting mushrooms.
Here there is no waiting Queen of Hearts or sleepy attendants at any tea-party (which is not to say the tea party is absent the piece!). However, many of the characters from the stories do appear, if in an unusual guise.
Scenes are presented to you as you follow a trail through the region, starting with a maze where each turn is worth looking around before you find the exit and move on. Along the way, signs, presented with Carroll-like arrowed hints (“that way”, “wrong way”), ensure you keep to the path (not that it is hard!). As mentioned above, there are also familiar things to pick-up along the way, and which “help” you into the next scene or two. Drink from the bottle before entering one part of the installation, for example, and you’ll appear to share Alice’s experience of shrinking…
This really is a wonderful and whimsical installation which offers those visiting a lot to enjoy as they follow the path to Ginger’s gallery and at the gallery itself, where she presents a number of her works – including some for petites to share – which very firmly put you in the frame of things…
Absolutely worth a visit or two.
OK. I admit it. I’ll come clean. I’m Honour McMillan’s sekrit stalker. It’s her fault, actually – I know she’ll deny it, but it is. Honest. She keeps pointing to these marvellous places in SL to visit and blogging about them, and I keep reading about them and, well, drooling at her pictures.
Just the other day, she blogged a piece which featured Julala Demina’s The Haven on the Sea of Beckoning. Intrigued by honour’s pictures, I set out to take a look myself.
A photographer in both rl and SL, Julala has put together a region where nature and spirituality combine to present the visitor with both a delightful landscape to explore and photograph, and places to simply sit and rest and renew.
This is a place to come to when you want to get away from in-world pressures, be it on your own or with a close friend or loved one. The woodlands, rivers, walks and various points of interest have all been composed with care while retaining a completely natural – dare I say “harmonious” feel.
For those looking for a tranquil place to live, Julala offers four modest places to rent – all of which perfectly fit the theme of the region. During my wanderings, I noticed that three are occupied at present, so please be aware of and respect people’s privacy should you visit. Even if you’re not looking for a home, perhaps a rest at the campfire alongside the Romany caravan might be to your liking …
There are lots of little details here which make visiting a pleasure; lanterns hanging from branches and arches help light the paths at night, the paths themselves blend unobtrusively with their surroundings so as to feel a natural part of the landscape.
Up on one of the hills you can meditate under an awning, candles flickering around you, the ground lit by lanterns held by carven figures. Down in the valley, a short distance away, you can dance with a partner within stone walls. for the more energetic, there’s always the boathouse where you can rez a rowing boat – although getting around the island takes a little care.
For my part, I loved simply wandering around the island, walking under tree and over bridge and simply playing with my windlight settings and seeing what came forth. There is something very relaxing about simply being on ones own in such a region as this; it’s calming and renewing.
People sometimes come here looking for answers…..sometimes they find them….sometimes they don’t.
Sometimes people come here for comfort, reflection or have someone to listen in a safe and peaceful place. This is more easily found.
So reads the description for The Haven – and it is entirely apt; you may not find the answers you’re seeking when visiting – but you will find somewhere where reflection comes easy and peace presents you with a reason to stay. And that alone makes a visit more than worthwhile.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 