The University of Western Australia is running two art competitions at the moment, and is requesting all Second Life Residents participate in both – with the chance to win some great prizes for doing so.
3D OPEN ART CHALLENGE
The UWA’s 3D Open Art Challenge draws to a close following the monthly rounds, with a Grand Finale which features a People’s Choice vote for both the Overall Prize category and the Non-scripted Prize category of art pieces.
There’s an impressive line-up of finalists in both categories, and the prizes are equally impressive:
Overall Prizes: L$100,000 (1st), L$75,000 (2nd), L$50,000 (3rd), L$20,000 (4th), L$10,000 (5th) and L$5,000 each for 6th – 10th.
Non-Scripted Prizes: L$15,000 (1st), L$10,000 (2nd), L$5,000 (3rd), L$3,000 (4th), L$2,000 (5th) and L$1,000 each for 6th – 10th.
Those voting in the People’s Choice categories could themselves win a prize. Three lucky voters will receive an award of L$5,000, L$3,000 and L$2,000 respectively, together with RL UWA packages.
How to Vote
To participate in the People’s Choice voting and a chance to win one of the three voters’ prizes:
List your top 10 preferences for each category in order of rating (so 1st = 1st prize, etc.) on a Notecard
Rename the card PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD UWA (YOUR NAME)
Send your entry to both Jayjay Zifanwe and FreeWee Ling by Midnight SLT 30th November 2011.
Voting is open to all SL residents, however, note that if you, your alts or your partners work is part of the Grand Finale, you may still vote, but you cannot list your own work or that of your alt / partner in your top 10.
MACHINIMUWA IV: ART OF THE ARTISTS
With a total of 81 entrants from around the world, Machinmuwa IV represents a stunning range of machinima, with more than L$350,000 on offer in prizes.
The Audience Participant Prize
L$20,000 has been set aside for an “audience participation event”, to be split between three prize winners (L$10,000, L$6,000 and L$4,000 respectively), together with special RL UWA packages which include a copy of 100 Treasure from UWA. Additionally, the first prize winner will be invited to join the judging panel for MachinimUWA V.
How to Enter
Visit the UWA blog for MachinimUWA IV, where you’ll find a complete list of entrants with links to the videos
Watch all the entries and list your top ten in order of preference, listing them either in an e-mail or a notecard (rename the notecard MACHINIMUWA IV (YOUR NAME)
Entries must be sent no later than Midnight SLT 30th November 2011
Prizes will be awarded to the three participants whose order comes closest to the final order decided by the judging panel for the MachinimUWA IV competition.
Further information is available on the UWA SL blog.
GALA EVENT
UWA, their partners and sponsors will be hosting a Gala Event on Sunday December 11th, 2011 for both the 3D Open Art Challenge and MachinimUWA IV, during which the prize winners for each and for the competitions will be announced.
The Gala will be held at the UWA – BOSL Grand Amphitheatre (Entrance 1, Entrance 2), and will kick off with The Phoenix Embers Showcats with “Gothica”. Further details on the event will be made available through the UWA SL blog.
Note: as of December 2011, Linden Realms is avialable to all SL users, not just Premium accounts.
A benefit of being Premium right now is getting to take a look at the new Project LR game (LR apparently standing for “Linden Realms”) that is set to introduce new concepts and tools to Second Life. As I had a spare 15, 20, 30 minutes – hour last night, I decided to see what it was like.
Game Portal
The first issue (as everyone is now probably no doubt aware) is getting to the game regions – you cannot teleport directly. Instead, one must go to one of the Premium gift kiosks locations and then locate the game portal. Not actually that taxing in effect, but an interesting way of managing numbers in the game regions: when the limit has been reached, the portal(s) cease teleporting until someone in the game leaves.
There is nothing to touch or sit on at the portal, no need to manually trigger a teleport – just walk through…
…And find yourself in a strange, mist-laden landscape. You’ll also find a HUD has attached itself to your screen, of which more anon.
The game has its own Windlight presets, and I strongly recommend you keep them to add to the sense of fun (and to make it harder to spot lurking rock monsters through the gloom).
Game world and HUD
The HUD is a simple-looking affair and auto-ADDS itself to the top left of your screen (it won’t knock-off any HUD item(s) already there). It comprises a register of crystals collected, a help button that will take you to the game’s FAQ page and a very tidy little prompt display that appears in the lower centre of your screen.
There are some nice touches to it: nothing is placed in your inventory; the HUD is simply delivered and attached. If you remove it or log out with it attached, it is deleted (in the case of removing it in the game regions, you are also automatically teleported home). Your progress in the game isn’t lost – records of your crystals collected and quests completed are stored on the server side, and you can resume where you left off on leaving the game.
Rocky Chaser Cutie Show
Playing the game is relatively straighforward: follow the HUD prompts and complete each quest in turn. Along the way you can also earn small rewards in the form of L$.
Well, obviously, it is not all that straightforward, otherwise where’s the fun? There are obstacles to avoid – such as the aforementioned rock monsters that will, if given a chance, hunt you down and (presumably) squish you. However, they are by no means the only obstacles that can “kill” you.
The rocks themselves aren’t really all that monstrous – they actually look quite cute, but they’ll turn an angry pattern when chasing you down and they can be sneaky – popping up unexpectedly. Given FLY is denied in the game areas, you need to be fleet of foot when avoiding them. Having sound on helps, as you can hear the rumble should one get behind you and out of camera view, and so can take avoiding action.
I’m not saying anything about other hazards – if you’re able to play, you can find out about them for yourself :). However, this being SL, no-one stays dead for long; on being “killed” you are teleported to the nearest “resurrection circle”, from which you can resume your quest.
Resurrection Circle
Crystals come in a number of colours, and the HUD informs you of how many of each you need to collect, as well as the number of each colour collected. When you’re reached the required number for all the colours you have to collect, you’ll receive instructions on what to do next.
There’s actually nothing stopping you from grabbing as many crystals that you come across regardless of colour – and that makes something of a game in itself: simply grabbing crystals and avoiding rocks and other obstacles. You don’t physically pick the crystals up (no need to touch or right-click) – just run through them to add them to your tally.
Where’s a good hobbit when you need one?
Crystals appear to be somewhat randomly “seeded” on the game regions, with the result some are next to impossible to reach – take the one above for example: the tree it is under isn’t phantom, so walking through the crystal isn’t really possible.
When you opt to end the game just teleport home and detach the game HUD (or detach the HUD in the game regions to be auto-releported out). As noted above, the HUD will be deleted and you’ll receive a fresh HUD on your return, complete with your progress to date.
Lurid landscape
Currently, quests are limited – although LL are apparently considering adding more. I’ll be curious if this is the case: at the moment it would appear that once you have completed the available quests and removed the HUD, a new one doesn’t attach to your screen on returning to the game. I’ve visited the game twice since completing it, and on both occasions, no HUD materialised on my arrival at the Summoning Circle. Whether this is by design or a bug, I have no idea and am curious as to whether anyone else has experienced this.
Some have reported issues with lag in the regions, but my own experience last night was anything but – even with people arriving and leaving at regular intervals, I had not lag, excellent frame rates and a lot of fun. My only real issue was that some of the region boundaries were exceptionally bouncy without apparent cause (the neighbouring sim didn’t appear overloaded), but this didn’t dampen the fun.
Opinion
Tiggs Linden
Overall, this is a clever little game that is well put together and which offers very simple, but highly effective fun. Tiggs Linden and the rest of those who worked on it are to be congratulated.
As to the future of this particular Linden Realm game, if the current plans within LL come to pass, it will flow from “Premium-only” beta to being available for all SL users and thence to being an activity-based follow-on for new users to try their hands at after Welcome Island.
However, for many, it’s the tools within the game that hold promise – tools that are to be made available to the content creation community. HUD-wise, one can see a whole raft of potential uses for these in a wide variety of sims: combat environments, immersive art features, tour guide systems – the list goes on. Secure server-side auto teleports also have a number of potential uses as well, properly implemented, and I know from discussions that Tiggs Linden has worked hard to ensure this feature cannot be abused. Then there is the nascent AI aspect of the game – the rock monsters reacting to your presence and chasing you (which will happen regardless of having a HUD on).
I had fun last night; if you’ve not had a go already, why not give it a try? Nysray is a good place to start.
Quick Hints
Turn off your Viewer’s Fly Override, if enabled – flying is cheating 🙂
Turn on ALWAYS RUN if you really want to avoid the rocks, otherwise be daring and walk until you encounter them!
If you are using Penny Patton’s camera position settings (or a camera HUD similar in nature), you might want to revert back to default camera placement – I found that with a rock chasing me, there were times when the rock totally blocked my immediate screen view and I had no idea what lay ahead as I ran!
Keep to the local Windlight settings if you can.
And no, I’m not going to give hints on gameplay or what to do – the first is easy enough, and the second is more fun if you discover for yourself :).
Until the LEA Full Sim Art series, I confess (and to my lasting shame) I’d never heard of Tyrehl Byk. Now I can’t get his work out of my head.
Catharsis is one of two pieces that have taken over at LEA6 from Rebeca Bashly’s stunning and evocative Inferno (the other being Quadrapop Lane’s Retrospective Highlights of 4 Years in SL).
In many respects, trying to review this piece is counter-productive because no amount of words is ever going to achieve the wonder of actually going along and experiencing a performance. Indeed, saying too much may actually serve to spoil things – so I make no apology if the rest of this review is light on details – although the images should hopefully speak volumes and serve to whet appetites.
Catharsis commences in a wonderfully scripted theatre that is very mindful of a planetarium. It’s best to go as lightly scripted as possible in order to reduce the server-side load: there is an awful lot going on throughout the show. Once seated – and in case you don’t get the notecard – set your draw distance to 250 metres, set particle count to maximum, sun to midnight, close all on-screen floaters and then tap ESC a couple of times to free-up your camera controls.
This last item is important, as it allows Tyrehl to take control of your camera and move you through various settings in order to witness the piece. I’d also add that if you can, watch the presentation in a darkened room; the effects are magnificent.
“Catharsis” itself is a term used in dramatic art to describe an emotional cleansing. In essence, it refers to an extreme change in emotion brought about through the experience of strong feelings and / or responses – fear, pity and sorrow being the most common forms, although it can equally come through laughter as a result of comedy.
As an immersive experience, Catharsis uses an eclectic mix of music and images to create an amazing visual and aural ride carefully and cleverly balanced – not that you are aware of it at the time – designed to guide you to a certain emotional point. Through the first half we are treated to images that inspire awe and which, with their irreverent pokes, also incite the audience to have a little laugh or two.
However it is in the latter half of the show that one is completely blown away. It is here that the clever deception – if I can use that term – comes to light. There is no warning of the coming change in emotional focus and context; as a result, the impact and the response it generates are both that much deeper. Here is the reason for the title of the piece, and I will only say that it is a perfect mix of images coupled with an inspired choice of Hans Zimmer’s most evocative soundtrack. They are brought together in a manner that left me – and others in the audience – in tears.
As the performance finished, so it also left many of us feeling intensely aware, alive, renewed.
Catharsis – emotional, cleansing and utterly superb. See it.
I don’t really do product reviews in this blog, mainly because others do them so much better than I. But that said, there is a product range I’ve recently become aware of that is worth a mention, as it is pretty neat – especially for those living on a prim budget. It’s the PrimPossible range by Ample Clarity, and it means you can pretty much furnish the major rooms of your house without taking up more than 10 prims.
Yes, that’s right, 10 prims.
Ample uses sculpties to create his furniture – and uses them to great effect. Take his lounge suites. The “full” packs include a 2-seat sofa, an armchair, rug, and generally a coffee table & side table, furniture shadows, together with various extras depending on the set (such as a set of books or a plant on the coffee table, a lamp on the side table, etc.) – and all in a single prim! They even come in a number of styles, either with or without exterior frames.
Lounge suite
Fully menu-driven, the suites include a comprehensive range of male, female and unisex sitting and other animations (massages, dances). All of the animations are fully adjustable, and as Ample uses AVSitter, there are no poseballs and the scripting takes care of where to sit additional people – little risk of you finding a friend ending up on your lap by mistake! The range of sitting options is impressive, and all of the animations are of an excellent standard, and fully adjustable.
A further button on the menu – EXTRAS – provides access to colour-changing options, an allows you to remove unwanted elements – don’t like the potted plant? remove it! want to use your own rug? remove the supplied one! The DEFAULT button will return removed items – although it’s a shame they cannot be toggled on/off individually.
One prim, but still a choice of colours and rug styles
There are also other packs comprising an armchair and sofa (1 prim each) for those that would like the option of adjusting the relative position of their furnishings.
The beds are similar to the suites, but with far more colour combinations. Available in two styles – one somewhat Japanese Gaijan style, the other what I’ll describe as “European modern” – and both nicely styled. They again include a comprehensive range of animations, options to remove unwanted elements (bedside lamps, etc.), and colour changing – and once again, they are a single prim. Like the lounge suites, removed items can be replaced once more by selecting the DEFAULT option from the menu.
Modern bed style
Obviously, it all being one-prim, the lounge suites and beds don’t include scripts for the table lamps (not unless you want a glow-in-the dark sofa or bed!), but it’s a simple matter to add scripted illumination if you wish via phantom invisiprims, suitably scripted and placed over the lamps themselves.
The prim perfect range also includes:
A selection of dining table options with 4 chairs & seating animations
Hot tubs (currently only available via the SL Marketplace due to the adult rating of some of the animations)
A range of three pianos
And – coming soon – one prim kitchen ranges.
Pianos
I came across PrimPossible as a direct result of the pianos. As friends know, I’ve had an ongoing love affair with my Musical Alchemy concert grand by Persephone Milk; I regard it as the finest prim piano in SL and the options it includes are stunning. However, even in its basic display mode, it does eat-up 85 prims; that’s a lot when you’re on a budget. At one prim, the PrimPossible pianos offer those with limited prim space a worthwhile alternative.
At the time of writing, Ample has three models in the range, priced between L$450 and L$1200. All have the same selection of 15 pieces of music, the same seating animation and the same clarity of playback with a good volume range. However, there are other differences.
PrimPossible concert grand installed at home
I initially tried the L$450 model; it is nice enough in terms of styling and is apparently very popular. I’m sadly a detail nut, and I was personally disappointed with the out-of-scale texture used for the piano’s interior workings. Those who are as obsessive as me in this regard may find the L$950 model a better option. This not only fixes the internal texture issue, it also adds colour-changing and the ability to have the lid open or closed.
However, for me the Rolls-Royce of the range is the L$1200 model. It is simply stunning. The look is very refined and the traditional black lacquer finish (there are other colour versions available, but I’m a traditionalist) is excellent. This model lacks the lid open / closed options, but includes a very nicely-done shadow effect. It is also slightly larger than the L$460/L$950 models, so I think of it as a concert grand. All told, it’s a beautiful item, and I’m now proud to have one at home.
Opinion
PrimPossible is an impressive range. At L$950 for a suite / bed, they are around the mid-price level, and given the range of animations include and the fact that they are only one prim, represent a fair price. The sofa with armchair options come in at L$800 (at the time of writing) and offer flexibility of placement for those who need it, for only 2 prims. All items are NO MOD, NO TRANSFER / NO COPY (which seems to be the way with a lot of furniture nowadays), although copyable versions are available at a higher price depending on the item in question.
Do remember in the case of the lounge suites, that they are only one prim, and so individual items in the suite – tables, chairs – cannot be freely repositioned independently of one another.
If I’m totally honest, the overall texture finish on the sofa and armchair in the suites is a little bland: the cushions appear to be almost plain in terms of texture, which leaves them looking a tad odd with some colour options, but when presents an acceptable “smooth leather” look with colours such as the deep red and blue. That said, I would also pass comment that I’ve come across multi-prim furniture at far higher prices in SL that have the same weakness. I’m actually still seriously considering a lounge suite to replace my current set of furniture. I don’t need to save prims in this instance – I just like the items!
Overall, the range cannot be faulted, especially if you are on a prim budget. And even if you’re not, the furniture will still more than grace a home. For those that like to put their prim allowance (or should I say Land Impact!) to work in other ways but still enjoy having a comfortable SL home, then PrimPossible offers an excellent option for doing so.
Sales Aftercare
Ample provides outstanding after-sales care. A rare server-side bug meant I encountered issues with my lounge. While the issue was not Ample’s fault, he immediately offered one of four alterntives to correct the problem. When that failed, he immediately offered a second option which resolved the issue. No fuss, no bother no question.
The Looking Glass is the joint creation of Marcus Inkpen and partner Sharni Azalee, and is located on their sim of Horizon Dream. It’s a fascinating mix of elements brought together in an inspirational and highly photogenic feast for the eyes.
The Looking Glass
The arrival point sits on a small quay in one corner of the sim. From here you are free to wander and explore the region – or if you wish you can click on the Mystery Gift box and receive a clue designed to help you on your way to fining the gift itself. The clue is given as a verse from a poem:
The fields are all dried up, the corn’s all gone dead, So he pulled up his post and to the shore he did head. There are no crows there now, to bug him all day, So he tries his best to scare the seagulls away. An old crumbling tower lends his new home some shade, And a little bird sings to him until the daylight does fade.
A sign swings from a post beside a rickety set of wooden steps leading up from the quay to a small town of indeterminate age. Here are discrete stores where you can purchase various creations by both Sharni and Marcus – some of which are in evidence around the sim itself. Careful where you walk however, as an exposed manhole cover hints there may be things going on below ground as well as above.
Wander through town and you’ll eventually come to the Looking Glass Amphitheatre, an open field where stands an ornate glass stage and a grand piano – a place for dances and other events. From here you can return to the town and climb the stairs to the huge Clock Tower that dominates the hill behind the town – or you can take a more direct route up the rocky side of the hill to reach it.
The Clock Tower and hall
The Tower’s hall is a gallery used to display work by other SL artists. During my most recent visit it featured a display by Skusting Dagger.
Several options for exploration offer themselves to you from the Tower, which you take is up to you. For my part, I walked out along the “bridge to nowhere”, as I call it, to appreciate Marcus’ imaginative sculpture La Mer. On my return, I headed up to the Temple Ruins – a place better reached by teleport, or by flying, admittedly.
La Mer by Marcus Inkpen
The Temple ruins is referred to as a particle stage, and is used to hosts various events on the sim; the most recent being by InterfaceD Dreamscape who presented a particle show, with music by Novulino.
One of the delights of The Looking Glass is the juxtaposition of themes and ideas: the town area seems to be old, but has hints of it having somewhat modern setting: the pool table in the bar, the television aerials poking up from chimney and rooftops, the no parking signs, and so on. As one walks through it, one cannot help but feel that while it may once have known better days, it is now running to seediness and no-one really cares about it any more.
That no-one cares is evidenced by the Forrest theatre, which appears to be still in use, despite having threadbare carpets, smashed glass in the front doors and the domed windows above, while the stage itself is exposed to the sky thanks to a partially collapsed roof, while the walls at the back of the building are broken and ruined. Whether the damage is the result of age and disrepair, or the result of a possible fire, is yours to decide..
Elsewhere, the buildings suggest something more medieval in tone, or at least leaning towards fantasy – something that is heightened by the wonderful Floating Islands that form a peaceful retreat within a peaceful sim. There’s even a touch of The Waltons, with a small farm-style layout from The Looking Glass Victorian Cottage range.
Wizard’s Retreat with Sky Gardens beyond
The mix means that The Looking Glass is very photogenic and makes an excellent subject for machinima; in fact it has already been the backdrop for a film by the ever-talented rockerfaerie on YouTube (aka ColeMarie Soleil in SL). If you are going to be taking photos of the sim, I’d recommend that you set the Sun to sunrise to generate the most dramatic results. At least it worked for me, I think – although I’m admittedly far from an expert in such maaters, and useless with Photoshop when it comes to post-processing.
The Sky Gardens
The sim may not be as complex as somewhere like Alpha and Omega Points, and when not hosting a live event, may appear somewhat quiescent – but to me, both of these facts actually enhance its appeal.
But this doesn’t mean there is not to discover. Even when you’ve finished above ground and taken a trip up to the Floating Islands or the Floating Victorian house, there is more to seek out – if you can find it. Just what is the history of the hidden throne room? And romantics won’t want to miss the crystal garden. I would offer a word of warning, tho, should you find your way underground; the teleport at the town’s manhole can be a little brusque in helping you back to the surface!
As well as exploring, this is a place one can come to when one simply wants to be in-world, but without the pressure of needing to “do” something; the sim invites you to wander, to sit and simply enjoy. It’s a place I come to when feeling reflective. It’s also an attractive visit because it is not only a work that expresses the talents of two well-known SL artists, it is a work that actively promotes the work of other artists as well.
Floating Victorian House
I have to admit I very much like the way in which products from The Looking Glass are presented as a part of the overall build – it is subtle but highy effective and demonstrates very clearly both the build quality involved and how the products can be used. It’s also a clever strategy in that it doesn’t leave items like vendor boards sticking out like sore thumbs. If you do see anything you particularly like, be it a house, a bridge, a street lamp or item of interior decor, it can be found in one of The Looking Glass stores in town. I have to admit, I’ve been sorely tempted by the Floating Island range, given the latest iteration of my own home is built into a floating rock. Truth be told, the waterfall from the Floating Island range still does call to me whenever I visit!
Lighthouse with the landing point to the right, and the Floating House beyond, left
Whether you are looking for a place to visit, somewhere to film or an inspirational location for your photography, The Looking Glass is a fabulous place to visit. Exploration here is easy, with an edge of mystery, and there is much to see and enjoy without it impinging on all your time.
On Sunday October 30th, the Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) will be holding a land rush.
This is for two sims that will form a part of the LEA Land Grant, which will see a total of 20 sims made available through the LEA for art projects for a period of 12 months.
Those wishing to participate in either part of the rush must join the LEA Special Events Group in order to receive the announcement of when each part of the rush commences
Both sims will remain closed until the commencement of each part of land rush
At the start of each part, an announcement will be made stating the region is open. Participants should then:
Make sure they are wearing the Special Events Group tag
Teleport to the region open for the rush
Locate one of the big red buttons and press it
Successful participants will receive a notifcation that there claim is successful and once the rush is over, they’ll be invited to join the LEA group and will be able to start building.
The land rush will be repeted every two months throughout the year the programme runs, so anyone failing to make a successful claim will be able to try their luck again at the next land rush.
The UWA’s 3D Open Art Challenge draws to a close following the monthly rounds, with a Grand Finale which features a People’s Choice vote for both the Overall Prize category and the Non-scripted Prize category of art pieces.
