Year: 2016

VWBPE 2016: of submissions, nominations and deadlines

Posted on by Inara Pey
via VWBPE.org
via VWBPE.org

The 9th annual  Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education (VWBPE) conference is scheduled to take place from Wednesday, March 9th, 2016 through Saturday, March 12th, 2016 inclusive – but deadlines are fast approaching for those still wishing to to submit a proposal for a presentation.

VWBPE is a global grass-roots community event focusing on education in immersive virtual environments which attracts 2200-3500 educational professionals from around the world each year. Events take place in both Second Life and OpenSimulator.

The call for proposals invites educators and those involved in the education sector or offering support to that sector are asked to reflect on work and their accomplishments within the context of the conference, and consider submitting a proposal and sharing their work with the wider education community:

Educators and communities of practice who use virtual worlds are trend setters–pioneers in a virtual landscape of possibilities. To you, the next horizon is the next opportunity for change, for innovation, and for exploration. It is the next opportunity to offer a paradigm shift, and to chart unexplored lands for the newcomers, the intrepid following in your footsteps, and the curious seeking to find new opportunities and new ways of thinking.

This year there will only be one call, and only one call, for proposals, so get them in by no later than January 17, 2016. This is a hard, no-extensions, deadline. Don’t get left out! 

The full Call for Proposals guidelines can be found  on the VWBPE website. However note that the deadlines are extremely close:

  • The call for proposals in the academic and communities of practice categories ends Sunday, January 17th, 2016.
  • The call for creative categories – exhibits and machinima ends Sunday, January 31st, 2016. Take advantage of the extended machinima deadline to submit your artistic vision and inspire participants!

Thinkerer Award Nominations

Thinkerer-1
via VWBPE.org

The Thinkerer is presented on the basis of lifetime achievement,  rather than for a single contribution, to an individual whose deeds and actions have shown consistent selfless service towards the promotion of learning, community, and educational practices, and who exemplifies the spirit of cooperative development within immersive environments.

Those wishing to nominate someone they believe deserves to be recognised for their contribution to the field of education and immersive environments should review and complete the  nomination criteria and submission form.

All nominations should be received by Sunday, February 7th, 2016. The final selection of the award recipient will be conducted by the VWBPE Organizational Committee by Sunday February 21st, 2016 and will be announced publicly during the conference closing ceremonies on Saturday, March 12th, 2016.

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A dreamer’s forest in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Telrunya - Forest of Dreams; Inara Pey, January 2016, on Flickr Telrunya – Forest of Dreams (Flickr) – click and image for full size

TELRUNYA – Forest of Dreams is a relatively newly opened region in Second Life. Designed by Nessa Zamora (Noralie78) to help demonstrate her landscaping abilities, the region is also an envisioning of her “happy place”,  a place of ethereal beauty in which it is easy to lose oneself.

Entering the Forest of Dreams, it is easy to feel as if you have stepped into a corner of Middle Earth; that you are perhaps on the edges of Lothlórien or another forested elven enclave, sheltered from the rest of the world by the tall, grass-covered hills surrounding the region.

Telrunya - Forest of Dreams; Inara Pey, January 2016, on Flickr Telrunya – Forest of Dreams (Flickr)

This is a place where exploration is very much the key to discovery. The dense forest means that casual camming around isn’t easy and risks you missing a lot; only on foot can you really appreciate all there is to be found here, be it beneath the forest’s canopy, along the banks of the winding waters, at the top of ancient-looking steps cut into the tall hills, or underground.

To help you find points of particular interest, there are teleport points to be found scattered across the region. These are certainly handy for keeping track of places you may have missed, but again, I do urge travelling on foot as much as possible to really appreciated the forest.

Telrunya - Forest of Dreams; Inara Pey, January 2016, on Flickr Telrunya – Forest of Dreams (Flickr)

As might be expected from an elven realm, the Forest of Dreams is in a state of perpetual twilight. However, the region works with many windlight options, although I’d venture to suggest those offering a dusk or twilight offer perhaps the best options for appreciating the region as you explore.

Throughout the forest there are numerous places to sit and ponder, or spend time with a friend or loved one, including a walled garden, a small camp in the midst of standing stones, alongside the river, facing the ruined tower (my personal favourite)  – and elsewhere.

Telrunya - Forest of Dreams; Inara Pey, January 2016, on Flickr Telrunya – Forest of Dreams (Flickr)

The description of Forest of Dreams tells us  it is, “a world straight out of a fairytale where you can find magical creatures around every corner. A haven for  those who look for a tranquil environment, a home for fairies, fauns, elves and those who love to be lost in a dreamworld.” Having spent time exploring on foot, and via row-boat, Caitlyn and I can confirm this is absolutely so!

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Project Bento User Group update 2 with audio

Posted on by Inara Pey
Project Bento extends the avatar skeleton, adding a significant set of bones (e.g. 30 for the face, 30 for the hands (both of which can be seen inaction in the image above of an avatar by Matrice Laville), plus bones for wings, tails, additional limbs and ears / antennae
Project Bento extends the avatar skeleton, adding a significant set of bones (e.g. 30 for the face, 30 for the hands (both of which can be seen inaction in the image above of an avatar by Matrice Laville), plus bones for wings, tails, additional limbs and ears / antennae

The second public user group meeting for Project Bento took place on Thursday, January 14th 2016, continuing discussions on the new avatar skeleton extensions for Second Life. The following is intended to provide a summary of the discussion, together with audio excerpts from the meeting. It is not, however, intended to present a full transcript.

Additional / Alternative Bones and Experimental Region

The experimental region for those wishing to try additional / alternative bones (see my report from the first Bento public UG meeting), is now available on Aditi at BentoExperimental1. It had been misbehaving when first set-up, but is now thought to be running smoothly. 

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Aki Shichiroji demonstrates her (untextured and in-development) centaur avatar, which uses the new wing bones to animate the rear legs

One concern among content creators who are already working on Bento is the potential for additional / alternative bones to be disruptive, that has they are added, it will break content being used for ongoing testing of Bento, particularly for those working on complex, multi-limbed avatars.

Vir pointed out that while the Lab don’t want to necessarily add to the workload in testing new bones, it’s better to look at possible additions / alternatives sooner rather than later, and accept test content may break if charges are to be made in the near future as a part of developing the project.

He also pointed out that so far, the focus on additional / alternative bones has been on the face, which shouldn’t have any impact on those working with the new wing bones, etc. Although that said, there is no limitation on proposing additional bones for wings, legs, etc., even if they do prove a little disruptive at this point in time.

End dates and Selecting New Bones

Currently, the Lab hasn’t determined any date by which proposals for additional / alternative bones must be made, or the process by which any of the proposals might be adopted. However, creators are encouraged to use the experimental region to develop models as demonstrations sooner rather than later.

While it is not 100% certain, given there is currently no clear consensus as to what additional / alternative bones might be seen as a priority among those proposing them, the Lab is considering making any potential selection the matter of a poll at some point in the future, and make any determination based on that.

Vir also indicated that ideally, the Lab would like to make as few further changes to the skeleton as possible, and so may opt to add additional bones as a single pass in the viewer, rather than gradually adding them (which might also cause problems when testing, due to the repeated risk of breaking test models as noted above).  Either way, the code will be stabilised well before any attempt is made to move Bento to the main grid, in order to ensure that people have adequate time to test things and to allow TPVs sufficient lead-time to integrate the Bento code into their offerings so that they can support it when it is deployed.

mtg-2-3_001
Oz flew into the Bento meeting directly from the Lab’s monthly “all hands” review

IK Bone Issues

A problem has been noted within the skeleton between the new toe bones and the IK (inverse kinematics) bones which connect the avatar physically to the world. The latter are focused on the foot bone in the avatar skeleton, with the result that when the new toes bones are used to animate the avatar (as might be the case with digitgrade legs), a conflict with the IK bones can occur, causing the animation to go awry. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, it is very noticeable.

Exactly what can be done to deal with this is open to question; Vir’s initial thoughts were to consider changing the logic so that IK bones are focused on the toe, rather than the foot. Alternatively, Oz suggested adding a new flag which would allow a mesh to indicate it does not want a joint manipulated by IK, and idea which was seen by some creators as offering greater potential for use.

To help the Lab better understand issues and gain a thorough insight what might be required in order to address issues where they can, a request was once again put forward for very concise in-world examples and models.

Both Oz and Vir concurred that any large-scale alternations to the IK chain, such as extending it to include the new bones is unlikely, due to the risk of breakage with existing content on  the main grid and due to the additional overheads it will place on Bento in terms of testing, lead times, etc.

Continue reading “Project Bento User Group update 2 with audio” →

The pastel world of Silas Merlin in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Portraits of Silas Merlin - Gallery 24
The Portraits of Silas Merlin – Gallery 24

Now open at Gallery 24, curated by Kayly Ilali, is a beautiful exhibition entitled The Portraits of Silas Merlin. And it is, in a word, magnificent.

Silas is better known in the physical world as Jean-François Le Saint, a Maître Pastelliste of the Société des Pastellistes de France. In Portraits he presents a number of his pastel studies from the physical world, all beautifully reproduced for in-world exhibition in a manner which loses none of their context or the power of his chosen medium.

The Portraits of Silas Merlin - Gallery 24
The Portraits of Silas Merlin – Gallery 24

Spread through the two floors of the gallery is a virtual treasure trove of his work, offering a unique and involving insight into Silas’ world as an artist who uses modern and traditional means to produce a portrait, mixing photography – while he does enjoy live sittings, he much prefers capturing his subjects on camera, often taking hundreds of photographs whilst visiting  traditional or medieval festivals in Brittany –  with the great tradition of pastel art.

Through the images, with their layered, textured richness, it is possible to appreciate just why pastels have been a favoured form of portrait art since the Renaissance period. The pale colour tones which are available or can be mixed result in incredibly life-like images which can often transcend the use of paints, capturing the very essence of the subjects in a study.

The Portraits of Silas Merlin - Gallery 24
The Portraits of Silas Merlin – Gallery 24

You might wonder why an artist established in real life might want to bring their work into Second Life, where the ToS is seen as being hostile. In talking to Kayly Iali about his work, Silas offers a more relaxed view on the benefits of exhibiting in-world:

Second Life is warm and cozy, I want to be here. Importing my real life work into Second Life and rezzing it on a virtual wall gives me a new perspective on it. By contrast sticking it on a website or posting on social networks does not add anything or give me new insight to my paintings.

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Natalya Gousseva: The Portraits of Silas Merlin – Gallery 24

Artwork comes into being in the virtual world, (especially when you don’t use the full bright lighting feature in Second Life), it is affected by the day cycle, local lights that can be coloured, projectors [that] cast shadows…

On a more practical level, Second Life offers him the opportunity to learn about using new mediums. He’s particularly interested in  sculpture, and adapting some of his work into 3D pieces.

The platform also present Silas with the ability to socialise more easily with visitors to his in-world studio, something he notes isn’t easily achieved in the physical world, where he is often lost in the flow of his work.

There are many facets to this exhibition which are both fascinating and enticing – the presentation of physical world art; the insight into Silas’ work and talent, the glimpse we get into the lives of his subjects. Speaking entirely personally, all of these aspects for me come together in one particular piece Silas has chosen to display: his portrait of Russian actress Natalya Gousseva, as she appeared as a 12-year-old in the mid-eighties Soviet television mini-series, Guest from the Future.

There is something fabulously intimate and compelling about the portrait, while beneath it, a bright panel offers us a glimpse into its creation: a link to a time-lapse video of the piece being drawn. Taken together, portrait and film offer a wonderful insight into Silas’ world, and I again offer him my thanks for allowing me to embed the video here, hopefully as a further enticement for people to visit the exhibition.

As well as the pastel studies, Portraits includes a number of photographs featuring young subjects Silas sketched during live sittings, presenting a further means of witnessing his work. And for those who might wonder how their avatar might look rendered in pastel art, a trip to the rooftop terrace will reveal a number of avatar portraits, work he still does today on a commissioned basis.

All told, The Portraits of Silas Merlin is a compelling exhibition, one all lovers of art should make time to see. For those who, like me, become enamoured of his work, Silas has a gallery in New Babbage and a second on Escapades Island – do visit them as well.

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Lab: share a Valentine’s vision and help promote SL

Posted on by Inara Pey

With Valentine’s Day roughly a month away, the Lab is inviting residents to share what that special day means to them by means of a photograph – and gain the opportunity to be a part of the Lab’s advertising campaigns for Second Life.

The post reads in part:

Valentine’s Day is just on the horizon and will be here before you can get through a handful of heart candies! We’re looking for some great Second Life pictures from the community to feature in upcoming email and banner campaigns – with credit to the photographer – of course!

In a snapshot, let us know what Valentine’s Day means to you in Second Life.

Share your story in a picture and on our Official Flickr Page with the tag “SLVday2016” so that we can see all of your amazing works. You may submit as many as you like between now and January 29, 2016.

We’ll showcase the chosen image(s) in an email to Residents, as well as in some banner campaigns. We’ll let the chosen image creators know via Flickr and ask for an avatar name for the credits.

The submission guidelines are fairly straightforward:

  • Images must be at least 2048×1207 in size
  • Avatars must be shown in-world,and suitably lit so they can be seen
  • All images must be free of additional text or logos, and must be appropriate for all audiences.
  • Images that tell a story are going to make an impression.

As noted in the Lab’s blog post text, the closing date for submissions is Friday, January 29th, 2016.

 

Discovering The Keys in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

The Keys; Inara Pey, January 2016, on Flickr The Keys (Flickr)

With Christmas and the New Year behind us, the thoughts of many caught in the grip of winter inevitably turn to warmer locations, sunshine and, perhaps beaches. But with summer still several months away, we might need something else to sate our desire for warmer climes.

The Keys might well be a way for those of us in Second Life to do so, offering as it does an expansive landscape offering cliffs, gorges, sandy beaches, rolling meadows, secluded glades, all mixed with tree-lined walks, woodlands, coastal paths, and scattered houses beneath a summer blue sky. Such is the genius of the design, it’s at times hard to reconcile it with being confined to a single region.

The Keys; Inara Pey, January 2016, on Flickr The Keys (Flickr)

Featured in the Destination Guide Highlights for Friday, January 8th, 2016, The Keys, while Adult rated, has been created with one thing in mind: photography. But whether you’re into SL photography, or simply enjoy exploring stunning regions, this is a place which should not be missed off any itinerary.

The landmark provided in the Destination guide appears a little off, dropping you neatly into the pool of a Romanesque structure on the west side of the region, so I’m offering a slightly different one here which will hopefully drop you onto the terrace alongside the pool. Just to the north of this structure, beyond a ribbon of tall trees, sits the beach, looking out over a bay which separates The Keys from the more coastal suburban area of neighbouring Anarchist Bay to the west, which can be visited by crossing the bridge linking the two over the water. If you wander the beach, do take care no to disturb the mice as they enjoy their vacation!

The Keys; Inara Pey, January 2016, on Flickr The Keys (Flickr)

To the south of the landing point, the ground slopes gently up to an expense of trees seemingly caught in autumn’s golden crown, a place where mist drifts between the tree trunks, deer graze peacefully and the wanderer might come across sculptures and a secluded gipsy cabin nestled close to high cliffs overlooking the ocean, together with some of the off-region islands which further add to the visual appeal of The Keys – just don’t try walking out to the terrace on the lone finger of rock!

Eastward from the trees, the gently rolling ground is open to the sky and the grass grows tall, mixing with wild flowers. Horses graze here, while those seeking places to sit  while or simply to rest can find them among the merry-go-round, pavilion and shaded seating areas scattered along the edge of a broad gorge which cuts into the south-east corner of the land, the canopy of golden trees continuing on the far side, reached via a broad wooden rope bridge, or by following the edge of the gorge inland and then back out again.  Even then, the region is not finished with you – beyond the tongue of the gorge, a further bridge spans the void between the land and a small, rugged island on top of which sits a stylish house.

The Keys; Inara Pey, January 2016, on Flickr The Keys (Flickr)

And this is the beauty and power of  the region; just when you think you much have reached the end, there’s more to be discovered, making exploration here a genuine pleasure. There are fishing cabins, the coastal areas, secret ways beneath the ground, and one or two little surprises along the way. It’s also a place of whimsy, as can easily be seen in things like the island floating over the north-east corner of the island, stoutly anchored to the hill below, or the steps curling up from the sea to reach a door to… where…?

The Keys is a place which measures up to its description perfectly, making it an eye-catching visit, with plenty of opportunities for both photography and for simply sitting down and enjoying the visual and aural ambience of the place, and letting the world just take care of itself for a change. Don’t miss the Flickr group, either.

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