Benny Voxtex, whom I last wrote about in covering his (now closed) club, [Refuge] – see: A [Refuge], a Deep Box, and a splash of absinthe in Second Life – recently invited me to preview his latest creation, The Great Mother. And all I can say is, “Wow!”
Fans of the Avatar franchise may recognise the term, given it is one of two “common names” (so to speak) by which Ewya, the globally distributed consciousness of Pandora is known; the other being the All-Mother. As such, it should come as no surprise that this is something of a personal homage to the Avatar movies whilst also being entirely unique as a setting in its own right; a place of infinite beauty; one that is utterly immersive.
Dive into the deep primordial forest, an ongoing passion project for Benny Vortex. Discover a lush, bioluminescent dreamscape of sights and sounds nestled below breath-taking floating islands under the silent gaze of a gas giant. May the spirits guide you.
– The Great Mother’s Destination Guide description
Occupying a Full region called – appropriately enough – Eywa, the setting captivates from the start. But before getting into specifics, there are some recommendations for enjoying a visit:
- Preferably, visit using a PBR-enabled viewer.
- Make sure you enable the local music stream to enjoy a soundtrack fully in keeping with the setting.
- Use the shared region environment settings.
Also, make sure you have local sounds enabled – this is an absolute must, as Benny has created an immersive soundscape, covering everything from the deep, echoing sounds of Pandora’s forests and creatures through to the sound of your own footsteps rustling the moss and grass. That said, don’t expect to encounter any of Pandora’s beasts – or ioang – whilst you may hear them in the distance, this is a place of sanctuary and spiritual awakening. However, if you opt to visit in a Na’vi avatar, that would be both appropriate and welcome.
Finally, do be aware that The Great Mother is very much a work in progress: whilst now open at the ground level, Benny has plans for vertical expansion and more. In fact, the Landing Point itself is in the air and presents the first of the setting’s unique elements.
Forming a small island, the landing Point is marked by a number of rope slides. Each of these bares a symbol scratched into its wooden frame, indicating the area of the biome below in which you will arrive. Pick the one you fancy and ride it down to a smaller floating island, where a dive mat awaits.
Sit on the dive mat, select your preferred dive (and style, if offered), and take the leap! Whichever area of the biome you selected, you will land in water. As you do so, a dialogue box will be displayed with a couple of options – one being a return to the diving mat and going again, if you wish.
However, to explore, ignore the dialogue – but do not stand up. You are still running an animation tied to the dive mat, and you can use it to swim through the water and / or to shore, where upon the animation will release you and allow you to walk.
Whichever rope slide you take, it likely won’t be the last, within the forest and waterways below are ropes to climb and rope traverses pass through the higher boughs, and trails over land and across water to be explored, together with discoveries to be made. Keep an eye out for seeds marking potential points of interest as you explore. Overhead, further off-region islands hang in the night sky whilst a massive Jupiter-like gas giant watches over the comings and goings of this living world.
Extensive use is made of Elicio Ember’s fabulous plants, their bioluminescent fronds and petals well suited to representing Pandora’s own rich mixture of plant life, and this further brings the setting to life. As with the ideals of Eywa as well, there is a balance of lands and water throughout the region, with water channels as much as dry land trails offering routes of exploration – indeed, as Benny noted to me, the entire region is navigable by canoe.
As to what drew him to create such an environment, ad his future plans for expansion, Benny had this to say:
I really love the concept of the film and as a biologist/mycologist RL I can’t get enough of bioluminescent organisms. The next mission will be above 1000m with floating islands and waterfalls, and as I’ve also put a deep channel running through the region, I will eventually make it mer-friendly, and such.
– Benny Vortex on developing The Great Mother
Merfolk per se might not be a formal part of the Pandora ecosystem – although the Na’vi clearly have a relationship with the seas of their world – providing such a merfolk environment within The Great Mother does, to me, fit, and further extends the inclusiveness of the setting as a whole.
While I could write far more on the region, the truth is, it doesn’t need explanation – it deserves exploration and time spent with in it. As such, I’m going to wrap this up with a thank you to Benny for the invitation and the chance to explore for myself, and to strongly urge all Second Life explorers to visit Eywa and The Great Mother.
Slurl Details
- The Great Mother (Eywa, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 