Category: Reviews

When it comes to the history of Second Life, there are many who may claim to hold some of the facts and figures and legends and tales. However, were the truth to be told, there is really only one person who has spent years carefully building what is perhaps the most complete history of Second Life’s long and growing history, and then synthesising it down in a manner that can be easily digested and appreciated: Sniper Siemens.

For the last decade (or more!) Sniper has been gathering, compiling and curating information representing as much of Second Life’s history as possible. Since 2014, this information has been displayed by Sniper in a series of installation at events and venues across the grid. I personally first encountered it that year, when it was hosted by the Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA), and have also covered several iterations of the History since then over the years. So when Sniper IM’d me to tell me the History has a new (and hopefully permanent!) home, I knew I’d have to make sure it went to the top of my list of places to visit!

This new home is on land graciously provided to Sniper by Xerses Goff , creator and curator of the Primitive Museum, of which the History now forms a part, sitting as it does within the campus alongside the Learning Lighthouse (itself part of SL’s history although currently being refurbished by Xerses) and just across the water from the original Primitive Museum (with the two connected by shuttle pod). In fact, the campus is an ideal location for the History, being located in Sansara’s historic Old World regions, and the hub of a developing educational project Xerses is bringing together.

For those unfamiliar with the Old World, it is the name given to what are many of SL’s earliest / original regions, including Da Boom. Also to be found within it are Rosedale, Kapor (for Mitch Kapor, the founding investor in Linden Lab), Omidyar with its eye-in-hand craved onto the seabed, and more besides. Similarly, a number of historic and important centres are also awaiting discovery / visit here – such as the Ivory Tower of Primitives, where many first learned (and continue to learn) the magical pleasure of shaping and trimming prims and then gluing them together.

The History actually starts outside its main building, where a small garden acts as the landing point. Here can be found a number of artefacts, together with introductory boards easing visitors through the doors of the main building. It is flanked on one side by the dock where shuttles across the water can be obtained, and on the other by a large plaza presenting images, information and landmark givers for some of the historic locations around SL which remain available to this day for visits by the interested / curious.

Within the garden, Sniper offers a dip into a little of SL lore, providing the story behind the platform’s association with hippos. More lore (some of it perhaps known by many, perhaps new to others) can be found just inside the main building’s entrance, where boards provide short histories behind terms such as Land Baron, Prim Hogging and more, whilst revealing the history of Linden Bears and why those who have been in Second Life a very long time might still be awaiting receipt of their mule (does a pony really compensate?), the origins on Linden Bears and more.

From the entrance, the history unfolds year-by-year as visitors travel around the building’s halls, with information imparted via written boards supported by images and interactive elements (be sure to mouse-over the different displays to see which might be clickable!). And in case you’re a veteran of past iterations of the History and so are tempted to hurry through the “early years” because you’ve seen it before – don’t! There are elements and information which are new to the History, and again the result of Sniper’s tireless investigations and research.

In all, the ground level of the History takes you from 1999 and The Rig, through LindenWorld to Second Life as it was in mid-2009. A teleport at the end of the level’s walk carry visitors up to the next floor, where 2009 continues before passing on to 2010 and the years through to 2021. Above this, 2022 and 2023 await, with the rest of the floor ready to be populated as 2024 unfolds.

Throughout all of it, Sniper presents a rich and engaging mix of SL’s history, covering technical developments and innovations (server updates, viewer changes, capabilities from mesh to PBR, etc.,), through to many more of the legends and general history of the platform, together with looks at the (sometimes confrontational) relationship between residents and Lab; recalls some of those most notable for their impact on Second Life – Linden Lab personnel and residents alike; and remembers various notable communities and events. Each display area is carefully separated from its neighbours, allowing each to be focused upon without distraction, while the use of visual media is exceptionally well-considered and balanced throughout.

As well as the history of Second Life, the History building also presents a celebration of the Burning Life / Burn 2 celebrations held in-world in reflection of the annual Burning Man event held in the western United States – just take the teleport from the upper level of the History to the rooftop terrace to tour it. Plus, for those seeking more Second Life history, there is the Primitive Museum Teleport Trail, a trip through 25+ historical places across Second Life. Just look for the historic landmark sign to the front right of the History building, between it and the Learning Lighthouse.

For history enthusiasts and / or those curious about the platform in which we spend so much of our time and how it got to be what it is, Second Life History is an invaluable visit / resource. Kudos to Sniper for the many years spent gathering and curating the information it contains, and thanks to Xerses for providing the land on which it can be hosted.

Slurl Details

• The History of Second Life, Primitive Museum (Immaculate, rated General)

January 2024 once more brings with it a further return of the ever-popular work of Bo Zano (BoZanoNL) and his SL/RL partner, Una Zano (UnaMayLi), with the latest iteration of their series of builds produced under their Elvion title. Once more ensconced within a Homestead region, the setting for early 2024 harkens back to some of the earliest designs Bo and Una put together for the enjoyment of SL explorers and photographers, presenting as it does a low-lying setting rich in Nature’s presence.

Designed around a large central body of water, this new iteration of the setting forms something of a circular route around the water, paths and trails meandering gently away from the landing point to the north and south, at times passing under the shade of trees and other over open grassland, turning gently with the flow of the land to pass over the waters either via broad bridges or narrow boardwalks. For the most part the land is flat, the only real “highlands” being a table of rock where water descends from a another large pool of water and into a wide inlet at the northern end of the setting and separated from the waters around which the land forms a broken ring.

Stone steps make their way up the west side of this plateau, allowing visitors to climb to the top and admire the view – or wade across the shallow water to where a bench might be used to observe the local heron and egrets as they await the passing of an unwary fish or two. However, I’d suggest that viewing this area is best done from close to the edge of the waterfalls; that way, when looking back over the water flowing towards you, it is possible to see how it appears to flow outwards from the off-region slopes and mountain that form a backdrop to the north side of the setting, giving the impression Elvion is part of a much larger landscape.

Nor is this upper pool the only place where waterfowl might be found; both the inlet and the lake within the lowlands are being watched over by heron, pelicans and egrets, as ducks and swans and geese swim on them. Given the presence of the former three, it would appear that the waters here are rich in fishy meals waiting to be caught. A houseboat floating gently among the reeds to one side of the lake might further suggest this; whilst it is now be a cosy little retreat for romantics, its not hard to imagine it once having been a places from which rods may have been cast.

The houseboat isn’t the only structure waiting to be found; away to the north and east, a refurbished shack sits upon a deck extending over the waters of the inlet; a place where kayaks sit on racks awaiting their owners’ return to take them back out on the peaceful waters. For now, however, it offers a set of places visits can use to sit and pass the time, the walls of the shack neatly separating them around three sides of the deck.

Across the water to the west, is the largest of the setting’s buildings. Its outward face suggests it may once have been a barn; but if that were the case, the large front door openings have long since been altered to form picture windows standing either side of a front door, whilst the inside of the building has been refurbished as little games room, complete with a billiards table, Greedy Greedy game and a corner couch and armchair for quiet chats.

This barn-come-cabin guards the way to the steps leading up to the top of the waterfalls, but it is not the only guardian here; just offshore a lighthouse sits as a sentinel atop a thumb-tip of rock rising from the sea, the carcass of a wreck boat in the waters between it and the shore indicating the purpose it serve is warning vessels away from the shallows.

The last of the structures within the landscape is to be found a stone’s throw from the boardwalk linked the old houseboat with the eastern shore of the lake.

Nestled with its back to one of the two large, mixed copses of trees occupying the land, and faced on three sides by an aging wood fence with old stone cobbles Nature is slowly reclaiming lying between them and its front entrance, it is another building which has been refurbished. Once a wrought-iron and glass greenhouse, it now forms a bath-house complete with a cast iron tub over which a shower rises, its piping solid enough to support a ring from which curtains might be drawn around the tub to prevent the water from the showerhead spreading too far across the floor.

Whichever way you opt to wander from the west side landing point, it is clear that this iteration of Elvion is intended to calm and relax. There is an easy-going, unhurried look and feel to it, aided by the gentle flow of water and the wheeling of geese on the wing overhead which simply encourages gentle meandering, whichever path one opts to follow. This is further enhanced by the many places tucked away on either side of the trails to encourage folk to just sit and let the time pass unhindered, while the local horses do their part in offering further opportunities for photographers to frame their shots – or for the more artistically inclined, an easel and tricycle-cart laden with paints await.

Rounded-out with touches here and there which might remind those who have previously visited Elvion of those past designs, this is genuinely a natural and evocative setting, clearly designed with love for nature and open spaces. As always with Una and Bo’s builds, it offers a warm welcome and offers multiple opportunities for photography under both the default environment and many others – I use a number within the pictures offered here as evidence.

As always, Elvion is a highly recommended place to visit.

SLurl Details

• Elvion (rated Moderate)

Back in April 2022, I came across The Forgotten, an engaging, highly-photogenic Full region designed by Elfie (then Elfing Shenanigans, now WeeWangle Wumpkins – such is the magic of Second Life Name Changes!). I thoroughly enjoyed my explorations at the time, as I noted  in Finding The Forgotten in Second Life, and in sitting and contemplating the newly-installed bookcases in my cosily-refurbished home office, a stray thought wandered into my head about the region, leading me to consider hopping over and seeing what has changed – and so I did.

Obviously, 15 months is a very long time in Second Life, and it is likely that The Forgotten has gone through more than one iteration since my last visit. However, I was (genuinely) pleased to see that while the region is very different in looks to when I wandered through it in April 2022, there are still little touches here and there that if not carried over from the earlier design at least offer a sense of familiarity within the current situation, as if one had returned to a familiar country – if not a familiar place within that country.

In writing about my first visit to The forgotten, I noted:

Sitting under a dome of stars  – or perhaps star stuff, given the fact the a massive full Moon hangs in the sky beyond – there is a sense of timeless age to the setting, together with a sense that it is a place where the tales of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien mix without being overly swayed by one or the other. Or perhaps mix is the wrong term – it is perhaps a place that combines the imaginations of both men to present a place they would both feel comfortable in walking through.

It’s a statement that holds true with the current setting – although I’d add that George R.R. Martin might also enjoy wandering through it with Lewis and Tolkien, as there is much within the region that offers (to my eyes at least) suggestions of the worlds he created as well (and I’m not simply saying that because of the presence of dragons within the region!).

The domed sky with its massive moon is one of the elements which helped with that sense of connection to the previous iteration of the region I visited, whilst the landscape offered something entirely new to explore, from the swamps mentioned within the About Land description, through the grassy trails and rocky climbs to the islands serenely floating in the sky in defiance of gravity (and they are not alone in demonstrating this skill!).

This is a place that offers itself as a book; the landscape seamlessly flowing from shore to shore, from landing point to tabled plateau, though wetlands and grasslands, leading the visitor through vignettes and elements which stand as chapters to a story, each one unique unto itself but also joined to those which came before and which follow after, their tales combining to draw the explorer onwards as the words flowing across written pages draw the reader deeper into their narrative.

And what might that story be? Well, that is not for me to say; such is the nature of the region’s design, the attention to detail – the considered use of trails to lead one onwards and the placement of rocks, hills and screens of tree to naturally details from the eye so as to increase our surprise on finding them – narratives and tales are bound to weave their way into the explorer’s imagination.

There is a richness of contrasting tones through the setting which further enhances its attractiveness.  These take many forms; on the one hand, for example, the grassland is home to otherworldly creatures which might easily inhabit nightmares, yet up on one of the uplands bordering the grasslands a cheeky-looking little round babushka waits to offer you treats and savoury snacks and a place to sit and enjoy them. There are quiet places where romance might be had and others where butterflies weave their dance through the air, yet it is also a place where the tooth fairies are quite literal in form, and where paths marked by translucent tear-drop lamps or beautiful blooms of exotic plants end in places of potential dark or light magic.

It is also a place not without humour and simple delight; the former certainly helps to lead one on and up at the floating islands, whilst the latter can be found in a variety of ways and places, both large and small; who cannot smile on finding the mouse trying its paws at a little parachuting – while its friend looks on from the back of the bird which may well have carried them both to this branch for some daring-do.

Despite containing so much to see, be it out in the open or contained within the various ancient structures also to be found in the region or the caverns awaiting discovery, The Forgotten never feels crowded or overloaded. Indeed, such is the genius of its design that it feels anything but; the landscape allows all the various vignettes room to breathe on their own and be appreciated both apart from those close by and as a part of the region’s unfolding mystery.

Mystical, magical and in some places menacing, the Forgotten has no set path of exploration to follow; from the landing point people are free to wander where they please. Hence why any story that might suggest itself to the imagination it likely to be so personally unique. However, what I would advise is that when visiting you use the local environment settings (World → Environment → Use Shared Environment, if not already checked), and make sure you have local sounds enabled.

But above all, let your imagination take flight, and keep your eyes open for all there is to see and find!

SLurl Details

• The Forgotten (Peaceful Shore, rated Moderate)