With the parties for SL’s 20th birthday now over and the celebration regions sitting a little quieter, those who have perhaps been put off by the idea of fighting the crowds and all they can bring with them (aka “lag”), might feel that now is the time to explore some of the exhibits presented by the residents and communities of Second Life. This being the case, I thought I’d offer a list of some of the exhibits I’ve particularly enjoyed dropping in to see.
Notes: this is not an exhaustive list of the exhibits I’ve visited or the only ones I enjoyed, and should not be taken as such – there is a lot to see and appreciated at SL20B, and time allowing I might produce a further list of those I’ve enjoyed. Also, the order in which they are given should not be seen as indicative of any kind of preference on my part; it simply reflects the alphabetical ordering of the regions in which the exhibits are located.
Erik Mondrian: Second Life Terrain Models
Occupying a 1024 sq m parcel, Erik’s exhibit is perhaps a little easy to overlook, it is so understated. However to do so would be a shame, as it features the results of a fascinating – and ongoing – experiment / project in presenting Second Life as a series of three-dimensional terrain maps which offer an entirely new perspective (no pun intended) on the regions and continents, presenting scaled models of groups of regions, giving a powerful visual representation of how the terrain has been terraformed, some of which have been overlaid with textures representing the structures and infrastructure found within the regions represented.
Producing these models is a process as fascinating as the models themselves, as Erik explains:
I gather each region’s elevation data, at half-metre XY intervals using an LSL script, feeding that data to my computer via a series of HTTP responses. [I] then (re)constructed and textured the terrain model(s) in Blender using its incredibly powerful Python API. The World Map textures [are] downloaded individually from Second Life’s official map servers [and] the terrain layer textures are available thanks to Tyche Shepherd and her indispensable Grid Survey database.
– Erik Mondrian
Depending on the complexity of the maps being produced in terms of elevation, and the the overall size of the map being produced, Erik’s script might take time to run; in the case of his more recent map of the entire Heterocera continent (433 regions), the scripts took some 32 hours to run.
Within his exhibit at SL20B, Erik presents pairs of models representing five areas of Second Life: Sakurasseria (the Japanese / oriental themed regions of Bellisseria), the “First 16” – the original regions of Second Life; Bay City; The Wastelands role-play estate, and the regions of the Vehicle Sandbox. Each pair presents a model of the terrain, as produced by Erik’s process, and a second overlaid with the World Map textures. For uploading to Second Life, some compromises have to be made – as Erik notes with the model of Heterocera (which is not a part of the set at SL20B, but which you can see in Erick’s video below), the original blender model initially amounted to 227 million triangles, and thus had to reduced to 2.3 million for the purposes of the video. As it is, the models at SL20B range from 31K through more than 220K triangles whilst varying between 12,ooo and almost 99,000 vertices, offering a reasonable compromise between complexity(/detail) and Land Impact.
Models like this help to further bring SL to life, literally adding a further dimension to how we can look on our digital world; and while they may provide a view of regions are they are today, they nevertheless of historical import as well. Take the models of the “First 16” for example; they give a view of those regions which perfectly complements the familiar historical 2D maps of those regions. As such, it could sit well within exhibitions such as the Maps of Second Life at New Kadath Lighthouse Art Gallery (see: The maps (and more!) of Second Life). Not that I’m suggesting anything, mark you 😀 .
Get the Freight Out!
Get the Freight Out (GTFO) is a popular in-world game among many vehicle users. HUD-based, it allows players to “haul” cargo from by land, sea or air, point-to-point across the mainland continents of Second life, and over their connected waterways and seas (e.g. Blake Sea), earning in-game (and non-redeemable) “Goal dollars” – G$ and game experience points which allow them to “level up”. Since its inception, GTFO has grown into one of the most popular activities among vehicle users in SL, and many types of land, sea, air and space craft are capable of supporting the game, or come with support built-in (when I wrote about GTFO five years ago in July 2018 – see An inside look at Get the Freight Out in Second Life – over 280 individual vehicle types were supported, and the game featured over 300 “hubs” to / from which freight is delivered / collected across the grid.
At SL20B GTFO combine with the Drivers of SL (on the neighbouring SL20B region) to allow people to learn not about both, visit the GTFO headquarters, race a go kart around a track, visit the local GTFO space station and – if you’re new to SL or the world of physical transportation in-world – see a range of the drivable vehicles available within the platform.
The Water Slide
Second Life has a rich history and culture of art art – 2D, 3D, performance, interactive, and so on. It’s one of the aspects of the platform I find the most fascinating (hence devoting a good portion of this blog to the subject!). SLB has traditionally drawn artists to it over the years – to the extent that for some events, I’ve included an article devoted to the art exhibits awaiting discovery.
The diversity of art on offer at SL20B is as rich as previous years; however, I wanted to highlight The Water Slide here, given the way it combines art and interactive fun.
The work of the SL Random Art Crew (founded by Roxksie Logan) and the Tigerpaw Sanctuary, this is multi-faceted installation. Built around a central tower containing the water slide of the title, the installation offers a series of rides and activities – and an underwater art exhibition. How you get to the top of the tower is up to you – will you take the easy route and use the teleport elevator, or will you trey the harder way – up the animated wooden steps (you might want to try running!). Similarly, how you get down is a matter of choice – by rope, by slide, take the ladder or … the fast way. Similarly, getting down to the underwater gallery offers a choice of routes.
The Nature Collective
Founded by Emm Evergarden (herself the creator of a number of immersive, natural environments in SL, as witnessed within my Exploring Second Life articles), the Nature Collective is a group intended to cultivate a community around regions, spaces and projects which share a common focus on nature. To assist in this, the group provides both an Explorer HUD, featuring all in-world locations linked to the Collective (and available in-world here), and a list of locations available through the Nature Collective website.
In addition, the Collective runs the Shutterbug Club, a monthly event (advertised through the in-world group and the Collective’s Discord Server), in which members visit a Nature Collective location in-world and spend and hour or so exploring it and taken photos which can be submitted – without post-processing, and created only using the tools available in the viewer – to the group’s Shutterbug Flickr photo stream.
I’ve always enjoyed and appreciated the work the Collective does – and they have led me to a number of engaging locations in SL, large and small. for SL20B they present a walk through a woodland glade coupled with an Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass theme while is entirely appropriate for a celebration of Second Life, given the platform is a wonderland of experiences and adventures. When visiting, people can also collect a copy of the group’s Explorer HUD and pick up a gift.
Unscripted Future – AI NPCs in Roleplay
Generative AI systems are one of the current focuses of technology discussion and hype (notably around matters around copyright when it comes to AI tools like Midjourney), with considerable interest also being directed towards systems and their potential within games and similar environments. With this installation, Nadir Taov presents a practical demonstration on the used of Chat GPT3-powered NPCs to add depth and flow to interactions with NPCs within role-play (and other – such NPCs could have a range of uses – environments).
Presented in cyberpunk-esque urban setting, the installation allows visitors to interact with “Alexa”, a club-carrying, bemasked female, by means of emotive exchanges. Depending on induvial skills with emoting (and mixing descriptive actions with spoken words within those emotes), so interesting exchanges can be had – although those who find para-roleplay annoying are liable to find themselves getting irritated at the length of Alexa’s responses. But that said, this is an impressive demonstration of the potential in combining NPCs and AI.
Second Life: The Past, The Present, The FUTURE
Sniper Siemens is perhaps Second Life’s most dogged historian, over the years presenting us with a unique look into the platform’s long history using immersive installations. First seen in 2014, with the assistance of the former Linden Endowment for the Arts, they have been outstanding in their curation of information, facts, figures, images and trivia about Second Life. Over the years, these installations have grown ever more engaging, presenting a wealth of information about SL’s long history in easy-to-follow (and digest) summaries visits can walk through and appreciate at their leisure.
I’ve always enjoyed Sniper’s visual approach to presenting key and perhaps not so well-known points in the platform’s history, and have covered these installations on numerous occasions in these pages; they are the gold standard for such installations. As such, I make no apologies for including Sniper’s build at SL20B in this list.
Three To Close
Society for Preservation and Archeology of the Metaverse (SPAM) Region SLurl (SLB Electrify) – Penny Patton presents a slightly tongue-in-cheek look at defining moments of Second Life’s history. complete with an undertow of serious commentary in places.
Piano Roll Region Region SLurl (SLB Fantasy) – Bryn Oh’s reflective installation on the AI and its impact on presence and human interaction.
The Moon Teahouse Region SLurl (SLB Outgoing) – London Junkers’ little corner in which to relax.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
Thank you so much for visiting The Nature Collective’s exhibit at SL20B. It is always appreciated when you shine a spotlight on TNC and what we are all about. 😊
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An amendment to my previous comment – special thank you to Teagan Lefevre for her help with the TNC SL20B build.
And also a big shout out to our Admin team (Teagan and Cayleigh Tyler) and all of our amazing volunteers for all of the hard work that they put into helping make The Nature Collective what it is.
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