Whereas the performance schedule at SL12B is over, the exhibits are still open and one exhibit that is really worth a look at is Loki Eliot’s Childhood Dreams. The reason it’s worth a look is because this exhibit makes really good use of experience tools to tell a story and move you in the right direction.
Traditionally in Second Life, when you want to interact with an object, you click it. Whereas Loki’s build does still include some clicking, it’s largely related to the HUD that automatically attaches itself to you when you accept the experience tools.
To put this simply, you click the hand to progress. This makes for a pretty seamless experience.
There’s no searching in your inventory to try and find the object you just received, it’s a simple process and Loki’s exhibit really does exemplify some of the advantages of experience tools really well.
Loki explains some of the design concepts behind the build in a blog post, Return to Childhood Dreams at #SL12B :
For SL12B i decided to bring back the Childhood Dreams Dome in part because many new friends never got a chance to see it, and also because i was interested to see how i would tackle the project now that i can use Mesh, better scripting and Experience Tools.
Before you simply read and clicked signs to get the story. This time story pops up as you walk around, so there is no clicking needed.
The story does indeed pop up as you walk along and this is a far better way of delivering a story driven narrative or game type instructions than previous methods employed in Second Life.
The story is not a long story, so if you have some spare time and you’re interested in seeing experience tools in action, then pop along to Loki’s build.
Childhood Dreams HD
“Some people wonder why child avatars exist. The Childhood Dreams Dome was built in 2008 SL5B with the view to show the creative and fun world the child avatar seeks to surround themselves with. Now rebuilt with the latest Creation and Experience Tools, rediscover your inner child and see how Second Life can make the impossible possible and return to childhood dreams.”
Visit in Second Life
SLURL To Childhood Dreams : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL12B%20Stunning/227/141/21/
Just make sure you are using a viewer that has the experience tools code (not firestorm, nor singularity).
Loki’s build worked fine with Firestorm for me. Are there some quirks?
All viewers work. Don’t believe the hype! The main difference between FS / Singularity, and the project viewer (I believe it is in official now since yesterday’s announcement) is that on the client side you get the ability to manage your experiences (add/remove/block.) All of this stuff works in all viewers, you just have to accept the initial experience keys popup (however if you are not on project/official you won’t be able to remove it from your experiences.)
Yes, I was using Firestorm when I went to Loki’s exhibit and I had no trouble engaging with the experience.