Surviving Fantasy Faire

Macmoragh & Muse At Sanctum

Fantasy Faire, like any busy event in Second Life, can be a troublesome affair, the lag, the bumping into things, the sims being reset. However if you take a little care, you can have a far more enjoyable experience. The first thing to remember is that we all contribute to lag, some more than others it has to be said, but we all contribute and we all add load. Now we can’t all be invisible, but we can pack lightly.

Mounringvale Thicket

Yes I know, it’s Fantasy Faire and we all want to look awesome, wear our wings, hit people with wands, strike others with a curse of doom, but there are plenty of days for you to do this and you don’t have to do it all in one sitting.

Scripts, there’s always controversy about scripts at busy events, there are tools that inaccurately reflect resource usage, but scripts, like everything else, use resources, so if you are going scripted, try to be lightly scripted to avoid disappointment.

Blackwater Glenn

Taking photos, now this is tricky. There are other people there for a start and when you’ve played with your windlight settings, tried to ramp up your graphics and finally got the perfect angle, don’t shout abuse at people who wander into the shot. Unlike real life, in Second Life people don’t realise you’ve been piddling around for twenty minutes trying to get the best shot.

Also, don’t shake your fist, curse and roar with anger when you try to save a snapshot to disk and the viewer crashes .. maybe that’s just me.

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All The Fun Of The Fantasy Faire

Draxtor Despres had posted a teaser video:

The Fantasy Faire blog had been previewing like crazy but now the wait is over, the hype will be delivered, Fantasy Faire 2014 is open!


Fantasy Faire 2014

Celebrating its sixth year, the Fantasy Faire is the largest gathering of fantasy designers, enthusiasts, roleplayers and performers in the virtual world. From May 1st through the 11th, treat yourself to eleven days of shopping, live music concerts, auctions, hunts and roleplaying. Come join thousands of Second Life residents and creators as they bring their visions together in support of the American Cancer Society.

Visit in Second Life

Linden Lab have even joined in the fun by blogging about it. This is a far cry from the days when my post on the official forums about Fantasy Faire was deleted by a moderator and I received a warning … I really should let bygones be bygones on this …. but it still irks me!

However back to the Faire, it will be running from May 1st, (which is a rather special day in my calendar and one on which I’m a year older than I was yesterday) to May 11th. The event will be very busy, at some times maybe a little too busy but that’s the beauty and beast of such events.

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Fantasy Faire 2014 – Call For Second Life Film Makers To Tell A Fantasy Faire Tale

Banner For Fantasy Faire 2014

 

 

This year’s Fantasy Faire is taking a bold extra step in terms of movie making for the event. Five Machinima makers will have the opportunity to create a Fantasy Faire tale before the Faire opens. Now, let’s clear something up first, this does not mean other people are forbidden from making films during the event, it’s just an opportunity for five film makers to create a tale before the Faire opens and therefore whilst the streets are free of visitors.

If you are a machinima maker and fancy telling a tale then head over to this Fantasy Faire blog post and read the details. However there is quite a short deadline on applying for this, you will need to apply before midnight on Saturday April 26th, I assume this is midnight SLT, but you’ll have to clarfiy that with Saffia Widdershins. So what sort of creation are they looking for? Well, from the blog post :

Explain what you would like to film (whether you you want create a story with actors, an abstract pieces of a travelogue), and supply a link to a previous film or machinima you have shot.

So the next obvious question is going to be why only five people, well again it’s best to quote from the blog :

Well, people are still building, and each film-maker will need to work with us to ensure that they are filming what is finished (or certainly ready to film!). And as this is the first year we have done this, we want to ensure that we are able to help you to the best of our abilities.

So basically you will be given the opportunity to film but it needs to be coordinated to fit in with the work going on behind the scenes.

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Fantasy Faire 2014 – Hope On The Horizon

hopeshorizon

Jaimy Hancroft’s teaser poster for the Tolkien inspired Hope’s Horizon sim at Fantasy Faire 2014 captures the spirit of the Faire extremely well. However the reasons behind the design capture the spirit even better.

In a blog post entitled There’s Hope In The Horizon Jaimy explains the inspiration behind the build :

Hope’s Horizon was born in Tolkien’s mind. The sim is inspired by the great city of Minas Tirith and I am dedicating this build to my dad, who passed away a couple years ago of cancer. He was a major Lord of the Rings fan and this was my chance to do something great to make him proud. The building stands high above everything and it is as if you are flying when you reach the top, you can see the surrounding Faire sims when you are standing there. I have put a blossoming tree at the top to represent life, and everything good in life. The tree is blossoming there in all its glory on top of this city in remembrance of our loved ones letting you all know that the spirit never dies…

This captures the reasons for Fantasy Faire being part of the Relay For Life effort within Second Life as well as capturing the fantasy element of the Faire. Now Jaimy is someone whom I’ve ran into before in Second Life, because she works on The Dwarfins! Jaimy doesn’t work exclusively on Dwarfins, she has her own brand of Death Row Designs, but I know her from Dwarfins!

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Fantasy Faire 2014 – Competitions, Ballet And Roleplaying

Banner For Fantasy Faire 2014

 

 

Details are slowly being released regarding some of the fun, games and competitions that will be available to visitors. In a blog post entitled Once Upon A Time, information about some of the areas of interest are revealed.

Stories can be told in a variety ways of course and the route this year’s event is going down includes (but is not limited to) :

MACHINIMA

Not much detail here yet but there will be the chance for five machinima artists to get early access and create their stories. More details on this are promised soon.

PHOTOGRAPHY

This year’s photo competition comes with a difference. There will be twelve winning photos, one for each sim and then one for the event overall. The winning entries will then be included in a calendar created via Cafe Press which will be sold to raise money for Relay For Life. Yes this means a real physical calendar will be available with Second Life photography on it. The winners will be fully credited for their work.

SHORT STORIES AND POETRY

There will also be competitions for short stories and poetry, however these won’t become real physical editions but winning entries will appear in Prim Perfect magazine.

BALLET

Erm… Orcs don’t do ballet, do they? Anyway, a special ballet will be staged and recorded prior to the Faire opening. This ballet will be freely available for viewing on all good Second Life blogs and some bad ones! Ok ok I made that part up but it will be available for viewing … Orcs in ballet? I don’t know, I suspect it may be more Elvish.

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