Category: Exploring Second Life

Early in December, Caitlyn and I visited Silent Night, a Homestead region design by Nessa  Nova of Lost Unicorn fame. As you might expect given the region’s name, it is a winter / Christmas setting – one that is eye-catching in the simplicity of its setting, carrying a natural beauty together with little touches of detail and humour than encourage visitors to explore.

Ringed by mountains, the region sits under a starlit sky across which the ribbon of the Milky Way has been thrown, a bridge of light and colour that spans the gap between two peaks, a gibbous Moon peeping at it from over the shoulder of another high mountain.

Heavy in snow, the mountains shield the land from the rest of the world, a spur line of a railway cutting through the roots of the high peaks to bring a steam train hissing into the local station, the tunnel through which it has travelled seeming the one link between this place and the world at large. However, the train coming into the station is no ordinary service; it appears to be powered by the magic of the season: its coal tender empty of everything other than toys, presents and a Christmas tree glowing with lights.

The station is the region’s landing point, and from here, across the end of the line, a path winds past Babba’s Café where a hot drink can be enjoyed should the snow prove a little too much – and snow there is aplenty across the region. It  lies deep on the ground, has frosted the trees, and sits upon roofs and on benches as it falls softly from the sky.

Beyond the end of the path, rutted tracks cut through the snow, marking routes that might be explored, whilst the heart of the region is given over to frozen lake where skating might be enjoyed around a tall, decorated tree at its centre, holding aloft a shining star.

The frozen lake is not the only place for skating, however. A Short walk across the snow from the café is a more formal rink, festooned with lights of its own, a snowman waiting to greet visitors and offer them skates.

Elsewhere, a winding track runs back from one of the two piers that stretch out into the frozen waters of the Lake. It curls  through woodlands, passing under the high arch of rock curving out from the arms of a mountain, to lead the way to a cosy cottage to the north-east of the land.

To the south of the lake, a tongue of snow-covered land extends out into the frozen water. It shelters a heart-shaped tree guarded by a peacock and rabbits, where a fairy is waiting to offer couples the opportunity to dance. The path to it passes around the west side of the lake, offering the chance to visit a carousel and a little camp fire (one of three waiting to be found), whilst another little café offers food and drink.

Simple in presentation, rich in contents – not everything is described here – and ideal for photography and winter romance, Silent Night is an engaging and attractive visit.

SLurl Details

• Silent Night (New Jersey Beach, rated Moderate)

Justice Vought, co-owner of the excellent :Oxygen: (see: Getting some :oxygen: in Second Life), and who earlier in 2020 lightened hearts with his homage to Second Life’s famous Greenies (see: Once upon a (Greenie) time in Second Life) sent an invitation to Caitlyn and I to visit his latest creation, an it is once again a setting that is likely to bring a smile to many faces with its sense of fun and interaction.

To put it in a nutshell (which will undoubtedly be assessed by squirrels…) Chocolate Factory pays homage to 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder, and 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore and, most broadly, to Roald Dahl’s timeless story.

It does so by presenting visitors with a tour of the legendary chocolate factory (golden tickets available, but actually entirely optional), which takes you from the gates to the factory through its various rooms and assorted places, and back to the the landing point. Along the way, there are rides, things to do and try, and vignettes that pay homage to both films, with perhaps a lean more towards the Gene Wilder version, all of which should be visited with local sounds enabled (the starting point also recommends the audio stream be on, but this isn’t strictly necessary).

The starting point is a little town square where sits a shop in which you can try your hand in obtaining a golden ticket via a L$1-a-go gacha machine. For once the gods of SL fortune were with me, as I got one first go, although Caitlyn received a Wonka chocolate bar she could nibble on while we explored. From here, visitors (with or without a golden ticket) can pass through the warning sign and follow the road towards the factory – reached via a short tunnel – which also offers a chance to pop into Charlie’s house along the way. Once at the factory, visitors should proceed through the gates and into the factory to Wonka’s office, where an Anywhere Door will start them on their adventure.

The Anywhere door is the first of the teleports that carry visitors through a series of rooms / locations representative of elements from the story, including a blueberry / bubble room, the squirrel room (where the aforementioned nut assessments take place), the TV room, and so on. These are visited in a certain order (but at the end of the tour there is the opportunity to teleport back to any one of the locations visited, and the teleports between scenes work both ways). note that teleports might be doors, portals of other objects – the latter indacted by 3D arrows.

The Anywhere door delivers you to s Candyland, evocative of the production values fro Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Here one can follow the chocolate path over the lush grass and across the bridge spanning the  river of chocolate that flows from high falls to split the landscape before vanishing into a dark tunnel. Candy sticks and multi-hued mushrooms mark the land and giant butterflies flap their wings. Those with quick eyes may spot the Wonka boat rezzer sitting in the flow of chocolate – but don’t be too hasty to rez one and sit: there are numerous things to discover in this seemingly simple garden – from taking the twizzler rope across the river as an alternative to the bridge, to body surfing in the chocolate or simply sitting on a chocolate biscuit love seat – and more besides – be sure to mouseover things carefully, and not always at ground level!

When you’re ready to proceed, rez a boat (if you have problems spotting the rezzer, look along the flow of chocolate near to where a group of coloured balloons are sitting, close to the bridge) and jump in – you may have to be quick, as the boat doesn’t hang about. This will take you on through the tunnel ride to the fizzy pop store where you can have a light refreshment (emphasis on the “light” – for which I should perhaps use the American “lite” – you’ll see why whn you ignore the warning and take a bottle!), then follow the teleport arrows through the window and onwards.

I’m not going to spoil things here by describing every place you’ll visit, suffice it to say you’ll encounter the odd Oompa Loompa or three along the way (actually starting in Candyland) and experience (as noted) aspects of the films, each with its own interactive elements, including a further ride atop a Wonka Chocolate Bar to reach the final location and experience teleport.

A light-hearted homage, Chocolate Factory makes for a fun visit, and if you’re feeling like you’ve had enough of the year or are feeling the onset of Christmas Blues, a visit could be just the ticket to cheer you up (did you see what I did there? 😀 ).

SLurl Details

• Chocolate Factory (River, rated Moderate)

I tend to be very cautious in reviewing regions that have rentals on them, mainly because I don’t like the idea of encouraging visits that may result in invasion of people’s home and privacy. It’s a difficult balancing act, as very often regions do pop-up that are given over to rental properties whilst also enticingly landscaped, but offer very limited public spaces – perhaps a landing point and paths around the region and between the various properties therein. These make it difficult to blog, because of the aforementioned concern over accidental trespass / unintended annoyance.

Some are easier  to blog, however, as they offer the minimum of rentals properties and enough open / public space to offer people the chance to explore without running the risk of encroaching on people’s privacy.

Aqua Breeze is one of the latter. Spread across the three islands that the region has been split into a total of seven rentals, offering plenty of space for roaming and photography. An eighth house is also to be found on the largest of the three islands, tucked into the south-east corner. We weren’t too sure if this was also private, as unlike the the actual rental houses, there was no sign at the top of the steps leading down to it – but we opted to treat it as private, in case it forms the home of the region’s owners.

These are Sunny (MinaNava), Christopher (Diafoirus) and Sunshiine (SummerSunshiine), who between them have also landscaped the region to present a rolling autumn setting  – although the About Land description warns of possible snow, so it is possible this may change in the near future.

The landing point is a stone bridge linking two of the islands. At the eastern end of this bridge is a little map of the islands, denoting the rental houses and the routes around them. However, the easiest way to discover the island’s secret is to follow the wooden board walks that wind their way over the grass of each island. Some branches of these do lead to the rental houses, but as noted above, a sign alongside the board walk will warn if you are about to trespass – aided by little picket fences on at least one side of each property, so it is hard to stray onto private land.

Scattered across the public spaces of the region are numerous places to appreciate the setting and enjoy yourself. Bicycles can be taken from the rezzer on the stone bridge for those who fancy a ride, and there are a number of places where a dance can be enjoyed. At the western end of the stone bridge is a little playground, together with a bubble rezzer for those who prefer an alternative to riding / walking.

Elsewhere, and awaiting discovery are little summer houses – one a possible venue for music events -, a greenhouse that has been converted into a café, picnic spots, and floating above one of the hills, a cuddle bubble, countered by a cuddle boat on the water, with decks extending out into the waters.

Enormous care has been taken to present the region as a natural setting, one tenants and visitors alike can appreciate and enjoy. Keep an eye out for the little details – such as the fox debated whether he should try one of the apples that have fallen in the orchard and the little wooden reindeer in the café, getting ready to celebrate the coming of winter.

Opportunities for photographs abound throughout the region – although do (again) keep in mind there are private houses scattered around the islands -, and Aqua Breeze makes for a charming, gentle visit.

SLurl Details

• Aqua Breeze Lake and Garden (Donests Basin, rated Moderate)

Those who fancy a little touch of winter / seasonal cheer and snow but who don’t fancy exploring a full region, might want to drop in Little Winter, Terrygold’s look at the season for 2020.

Terry has been offering these little winter scenes at the end of the year in Second Life for the last few years, and I’ve always enjoyed visiting them – although I will confess to missing her 2019 design.

Located on a sky platform over Solo Arte, where Terrygold often displayed her art and immersive installations, Little Winter presents a simple, easy to appreciate outdoor setting that starts at a little chapel decorated with little stars, with an outhouse that might be the modern-day equivalent of a stable, housing as it does a tricycle and a motor scooter.

A path winds away from the chapel between shoulders and tables of rock and marked by silver birch trees, eventually arriving at a little cabin facing another barn. The cabin is cosy and warm, the barn a little grotto of waiting presents, guarded by large toy soldiers.

Around these are lots of little details to be appreciated, from puppies playing with the reins of a sled to happy snowmen and strutting snow kiwis. As well as these, there are places to sit and cuddle, dances to be enjoyed and various opportunities for photography – or even to make a snow angel.

Watched over by deer, Little Winter is an easy to enjoy setting that doesn’t overly impact system performance or require a huge amount of time to explore and appreciate, making it a relaxing and engaging visit.

SLurl Details

• Little Winter (Enoki, rated Moderate)

With winter on our doorstep, Milly Sharple has once again opened her annual Let It Snow! winter / Christmas themed region for Second Life residents to enjoy, and Caitlyn and I once again received an invitation – although I’m still playing a lot of catch-up on general blogging  due to the physical world occupying a lot of my time at the moment, so it has taken me a fair few days to get to the point of writing about it.

I’ve actually been covering Let It  Snow! on an annual basis since 2014, only stopping during the years Milly took a break from presenting the region, and have always enjoyed our little pilgrimages to see what seasonal delights Milly has served up – as an artist, she has an eye for framing photogenic series of vignettes across her chosen region, often with touches of whimsy design to bring smiles to the faces of those visiting.

A  visit to the region starts on the north side, where a little village square awaits arrivals, a pavilion offering the warmth of an open fire, a gazebo a place for dancing and, for those seeking something a little warmer, a cosy cottage. Overlooked on one side by a large and warmly-furnished house atop a rocky table,the village is a short walk to a frozen pond ready for ice skaters.

Cut by channels of frozen water spanned by bridges, this year’s Let It Snow! follows Milly’s previous iterations of the region by presenting within its snow-covered landscape a series of interlinked vignettes and scenes, each of which stands on its own whilst also being linked to the rest of the region.

To describe all of these settings here would be to spoil the opportunity for exploration and discovery, but there are various points within the region I found particularly attractive. Chief among these is the the manner in which Milly has combined The Chapel Ruins from The Looking Glass with pieces by Paco Pooley and Krystali Rabeni to create the site of a ruined chapel, complete with a stained glass window by Milly as a romantic setting with an ethereal edge to it.

Whimsy is added here and there, as with previous designs – such as the snowball-throwing snowman lurking under a tree, while seasonal touches come in the form of the decorations adorning the rooms of the large house, the lights hanging on the trees around the skating rink and so on.

As well as ice skating, the region offers signs where sleds can be rezzed,  plenty of opportunities for dancing, and even the opportunity to play chess with a companion.

The best way to explore the region is to go where your feet will take you – there are no formal paths (just steps to get up to and down from he raised portions of the landscape). However, when visiting I do recommend you use the region’s environment settings to appreciate i to the fullest – and the sky dome Milly has placed over it – to the fullest.

With plenty to see and do, and with lots of opportunities for photography, 2020’s let It Snow is as captivating to the eye as past iterations, and more than worth the time taken in a visit.

SLurl Details

• Let It Snow! (Peace Angel, rated Moderate)