Category: Reviews

I’ve missed out on a couple of recent builds by Hera (Zee9) – her builds have a habit of coming and going with some rapidity -, so when she dropped me the landmark to her October / Halloween 2022 build, I tried to hop over as soon as time permitted in the hope a write-up would reach the pages of my blog in time for others to enjoy this latest outing.

Giger Dead Venice brings together one of Hera’s poplar builds wrapped into a science-fiction / horror theme that is perfect for the season. The build in question is Venesha, Hera’s take on Venice, and which has often been a setting suggestive of dark arts, vampires, and the undead. The S-F / horror theme is that of H.R. Giger, as witnessed through the original Alien film and some of his broader work.

Reached by taking a gondola teleport from the region’s landing point, this is a again a build that is unique Hera – with the majority of the mesh elements used within it created by her and utilising over 200 new textures she also created for the build. This version of Venesha also brings with it an enlarged port area, reflecting a recent version of Venesha reworked as the port of Kar from the Gor novels – one of the builds that did not see much light of day before being removed.

In terms of the Giger re-dress, this is exceptionally well done, with a richness of references to his and his work on the Alien movie to be found throughout. In this, Giger Dead Venice – to me – surpasses Drune Giger City, her H.R.G. inspired re-working of her Drune city (see: Hera’s Drune Giger City in Second Life).

I say this because of the rich layering of motifs and in drawing out some of the more sexual aspects found in some of Giger’s work and combining them with suggestions of fetish and BDSM – at this point, I should note that aspects of this iteration of Venesha (or Venice if you prefer) might be considered somewhat NSFW.

The sexual elements are perhaps most obvious in some of the genitalia-like entrances to buildings and the phallic, umm, extensions around the base of the remodelled cathedral. However, these are not simply gratuitous, they are fully in keeping with much of Giger’s art, which often included a combinations of sexual / horror elements (just take his original drawings for the head and tail of his Xenomorph, as a basic example).

Within the cathedral are more direct references to the Alien films – face hugger eggs, sculptures of baby Xenomorphs bursting from the chests of imprisoned humans, and etchings depicting the alien and a humanoid similar to the one known as the Pilot / Space Jockey.

The cathedral is not the only interior to the buildings here. For example, to the north, the church-like building has now been replaced by a temple with a mystical star map at its heart, whilst to the south and east, within what had at one time been home to a library, sits a lounge bar that more directly combines the Giger influences with elements seen within some of Hera’s previous lounge and bar designs and BDSM and sci-fi motifs. As for the others, such as the café and bistro-style settings, I’ll leave them to you to find.

Other touches suitable for the Halloween season might also be found by the keen-eyed, offering a clever mix of the classical with that of H.P. Lovecraft, and what might be seen as a subtle commentary on the modern-day horror of right-wing “Christian” politics which puts love of the gun above love of human life.

Caught under a lurid sky that paints the setting with an otherworldly green tinge – the build really should be seen under the default EEP setting – Giger Dead Venice has much with which to commend itself to visitors and photographers. With its waterside walks, alleys, sculptures, mists and symbolism, it is one of the more imaginative “Halloween”-type settings I’ve seen this year – and definitely the most imaginative builds Hera has offered.

Hera notes that there is no strict dress code for the setting, “But latex, rubber, leather, and metal just about covers it, or not depending on your preference 🙂 .”

SLurl Details

• Giger Dead Venice (Cloud Lake, rated Adult)

Occupying a Full private region, Power Up for Charge is the Full region home of the official Second Life presence for the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation, a US 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organisation, established with the goals of promoting global awareness of, and research into the causes of, CHARGE Syndrome (see below for more); directly supporting and helping those afflicted by the syndrome and their families, including developing outreach and support to assist them and building both social and medical networks and partnerships to benefit those affected by the syndrome.

Designed by Tzeitel Enchantment, founder of power Up For Charge in SL, the the Foundation’s representative in-world, together with Tintin (AbOrigin) and artist Suzen Juel, this is a region established to help spread awareness of CHARGE Syndrome in-world and to offer Second Life residents the opportunity to support the work of the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation through donations (either L$ via the in-world tip jars or by following links to the Foundation’s donations web page).

The design of the region apparently changes every three months, and at the time of my visit it lay dressed at Outpost Camp Charge, described as an eclectic planet from which visitors might explore the outer reaches of the SL universe. In this the setting – which has little in the way of what might be regarded as “traditional” terraforming or landscaping, but which nonetheless retains an engaging look and feel – carries something of a strong Star Wars vibe, although other sci-fi franchises and films also enter into the mix.

The Stars Wars elements come in several forms, from the general architecture, with many of the buildings looking like they may have been transplanted here from places such as Mos Eisley, through the droids and ground transports waiting to the found, to the TIE Fighter roller coaster located at one end of the region as one of its several rides. Many of the buildings are places you can enter, offering bars, music venues, droid repair shops, hangers, and so on, all ready for exploration.

Mixed in with this are two redressed Starfleet Runabouts, ED-209 from Robocop, a forlorn Iron Giant, alien cafés (one of which, minus its automaton server, would look right at home if it were to pop-up in Blade Runner) and a floating lounge, and lots of art in the form of sculptures, all overseen by a giant floating brain and a whale swimming serenely through the sky.

Within all this are a couple of places that look as if they might host music events within the region – although if so, I couldn’t find any info on upcoming events; a labyrinth, a portion of the Liberty Bridge in Budapest (and which looks like it would be well at home as a part of the Batman set); experience-driven teleport disks to help people get around and – for those who find their way to it, a skyborne amusement park.

Such is the eclectic nature of the setting, offering a blow-by-blow description here is wasted: this is a setting that should be fully explored on foot and via the automatic skiffs that circulate through the region. What I will say is tat the fund-raising element to the setting is very subtle and unpressured (no kiosks leaping out at you at every turn). Equally subtle are the info boards found through the setting and which provide information on CHARGE in nice, bite-sized chunks that avoid giving any sense of information indigestion.

Needless to say, all of this is high photogenic as well as educational, making for an engaging – and worthwhile – visit.  When visiting, do note that a chat extender is in operation.

About CHARGE Syndrome

CHARGE syndrome was first described in 1979 in relation to newborn children suffering a non-random pattern of the congenital anomalies that occurs together more frequently than one would expect on the basis of chance, with the acronym being used to define the conditions: Coloboma (a hole in one of the structures of the eye), A congenital Heart defect (CHD), Choanal Atresia (a blockage of the back of the nasal passage), Retardation of growth and/or development, Genital and/or urinary abnormalities, and Ear abnormalities and deafness.

As very few newborn children exhibit 100% of these features, CHRAGE is no longer used in the diagnosis of babies suffering from the syndrome, by the name has remained in use. The syndrome occurs only in 0.1–1.2 per 10,000 live births. About two thirds of cases are due to a CHD7 mutation. It is one of the leading causes of congenital deaf-blindness in the United States.

Read more here.

About the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation

The CHARGE Syndrome Foundation was founded in 1982 in the United States, where it grew out of the Deaf-Blind Project in the Division of Genetics, University of Missouri. Since then, it has grown into one of the leading centres of expertise for research into and treatment of the syndrome and in ensuring children suffering from it receive all of the correct medical care they may require, and is active in 25 countries world-wide, with over 90% of the funds raised being channelled into directly benefiting individuals and families.

Read ore here.

SLurl and Links

• Power Up For Charge (Charge Syndrome, rated Moderate)
• CHARGE Syndrome Foundation
  • Foundation donation page
• CHARGE information at the Genetic and Rare Diseases Centre

Note: For the month of October, Elephant Island is in places dressed for the Halloween season. As such, parts of the setting may appear slightly differently to some of the images in this article, having a mix of fog, mist, pirates, ghosts, fire and other mysterious elements and items.

It was off on a tropical safari for me recently, when I decided to take a trip to Elephant Island, the latest region build by Syx Toshi and his SL partner Bryn Toshi (Bryn Bulloch).

This is an extensive setting, covering three regions –  a Full region and two Homesteads – all set to present the sense of a coastal setting on a mysterious island marked by a tall mountain range. The latter are formed by off-region surrounds which sit to the north of the three regions, giving them a north-south orientation along their combined length, the southern sides of the regions forming a sweeping arc of sand backed by tropical grassland, tress and high rocky bluffs.

At first glance this appears to suggest that with the broad expanse of water on their south sides, the three regions may be a short, easy exploration – but this is far from the case, as visitors quickly find out once they leave the welcome of the main landing point.

The latter sits on the eastern headland of Elephant Island’s curving bay, a small wharf extending over the waters of the beach from a makeshift fishing shack / welcome area where visitors can find maps of the local area showing trails that can offer a good starting point for explorations – although which route you take is entirely up to you.

What is clear from the outset is that the terrain here is clearly divided into two major parts. To the east the land rises sharply into rocky highlands cut through with a deep gorge. A giant elephant, carved from the living rock stands at the feet of these high bluffs, all four legs plants firmly on a table of rock as it looks out over the river mouth that opens from the gorge to flow past the landing point and its shack, emptying into the bay.

The majority of the paths shown on the maps wind up through these highlands, and one of these routes put me somewhat in mind of the giddying climb up Sigiriya, the magnificent  ancient rock fortress located within the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka, and a place I have had the good fortune to visit half-a-dozen times when visiting that country.

In this there is little in the way of direct similarity; but the manner in which the path climbs upwards, albeit it wooden in nature rather than hewn into the rock, clinging to the sides of the rock face and winding around it and passing by natural waterfalls just put me in mind of King Kashyapa’s winter and summer palaces at the bottom and top of the rock respectively.

Unlike Sigiriya, these heights are not topped by the grounds of a former great palace, but instead are given over to more tropical woodland and grasses, home to a number of local destinations, from statues to look-out point s to zip line and bridges spanning the gorge and – for those who find it – the way into secret caverns.

Across the gorge are more climbs and walkways to be found, the hilltops crowned her by a temple devoted to the Hindu god Gnash – one of a number of shrines in his honour, and fully fitting the setting’s elephant theme.

Westward from the landing point, the bay curves through and around the two homestead regions. These are in places backed by high cliffs as the bay curls westwards, before highlands once again take over. These uplands are in part home to a private residence, the path onwards either passing to the north behind the house and its garden, or along the beach before it.

Those wishing to explore further should use the north side path in other to reach the western heights – unless a wade through water isn’t minded – to reach the western heights.  These have further attractions: places to sit, another temple and so on – and its own secrets -look for the magic door. However, I’ll leave you to explore these and instead point to the Dreamd gallery.  Occupying a sky platform, this offers a selection of engaging hybrid art by Byrn – a place I’ll be covering in more depth in an upcoming Art in Second Life piece.

All I’ll say for now is that with its expansive reach, wildlife, locations and general daytime ambience (you may need to set your own EEP whilst the Halloween dressing remains in place); Elephant Island is a richly engaging setting.

SLurl Details

All three of the Elephant Island regions are rated Moderate.

• Elephant Island (Monkey Cove)