Second Life – Page 42

September 14, 2015

The Allhallow’s Showcase Festival In Second Life Runs Until October 31st

The Highlights from The Destination Guide this weekend once again provided many wonderful locations for people to visit and one of those has a definite fantastical fairy tale feel to it.

The Allhallow’s Showcase Festival certainly has a Brothers Grimm feeling to it and is described as :

This showcase festival shines on the creativity, imagination and beauty of 12 of Second Life’s most excellent fantasy creators. Each creator was asked to pick their favorite items to feature at the showcase. In addition, they will offer a free hunt item. Event runs Sept. 12-Oct. 31.

The area for the festival backs on to an area promoting a Pumpkin hunt.

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September 11, 2015

Duran Duran’s Paper Gods Album Release Will Be Celebrated In Second Life With A Party On September 12th

Duran Duran, today released their 14th studio album; Paper Gods. To celebrate the release of the album there will be an album release party in Second Life tomorrow, Saturday 12th September at 1pm Pacific time. I have no idea why Pacific time is being listed for this event instead of SLT, by my reckoning they equate to the same time. Please note that there is apparently a dress code for this party :

Join the fun at the “Paper Gods” album release party at the giant record player on Khanada at Duran Duran Universe in Second Life. Event held Saturday, September 12th at 1 p.m. (Pacific). Dress code strictly light pink and light blue.

The party itself has been organised by those who officially represent Duran Duran in Second Life.

Duran Duran, it should be noted, have a whole section of the Second Life Destination Guide dedicated to them, which includes a number of locations on neighbouring sims.

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September 7, 2015September 7, 2015

Washington Post Wedding Reporter Suggests Getting Married In Second Life Is A Reason To Call A Wedding Off

Ellen McCarthy is a wedding reporter for the Washington Post and she has published a book; The Real Thing: Lessons for Love and Life from a Wedding Reporter’s Notebook. This post is not going to be a review of the book, however there’s something in the book that stands out for virtual world enthusiasts.

Number 10 in the top ten reasons to call a wedding off is :

Your avatars got married in Second Life and that worked out, so you figure this will, too. It happened. I swear.

In isolation, this does not sound like a good reason to call a marriage off, indeed it’s not implausible for people to meet in Second Life and live happily ever after, it has happened, I swear. However if two people meet in Second Life and then decide to get married without spending any real physical world time together, that’s one hell of a gamble.

However to just dismiss a marriage because people meet in Second Life would be somewhat churlish. Ellen McCarthy hasn’t just made this up, she has interviewed people who got married and therefore at some point, a Second Life inspired marriage must have appeared on her radar.

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September 4, 2015

Bare Rose Celebrates Its 10th Birthday With Story Based Hunt

Bare Rose, the prolific and popular Second Life brand is celebrating its tenth birthday in Second Life. This is quite an achievement for any brand in Second Life due to the changes in creation techniques and tastes over the years, but one of the things that June Dion, creator and owner of Bare Rose has tapped into is that Second Life residents like a vast array of choice in their garments.

Bare Rose most definitely does offer a wide array of attire for males and females with a massive range of styles. I’ve purchased wizard outfits from here before but this isn’t just a fantastical store for fans of fantasy, there’s pretty much something for everyone, include many freebie items.

As part of the tenth birthday celebrations, a story based hunt is currently taking place, which is entitled “The Lonely King and Dragon“. The prologue reads :

Summer is about to end for this year. Today, you are visiting the green wood to relax. While you’re staying under the shade of a large Pipal tree, someone calls your name. You feel drawn to it and turn to the direction of the voice, seeing a small girl looking at you. She says “Hello, nice to meet you, again”. However, you don’t remember meeting her. After a while, she says “Don’t worry, it is understandable. Uhm… though I might be remembering wrong. Please don’t worry about it”. But, she looks a bit lonely. She picks up an old picture book titled “The Lonely King and Dragon” and tells you “If you are interested, wanna read this book?” You feel a bit lost, but take the book and open it.

After that, you feel very dizzy and faint… You have no idea how much time passed, but when you wake up; you are standing in an old castle, and a man who wears a crown is sitting in a big chair. He seems to not notice you. Well, this is a problem… you are inside the world of the old book… and strange voice tells you in your head: “Are you ready? Yes, the story has begun!”

The hunt involves, as you would expect, finding items and following landmarks to a series of skyboxes to find and read the next chapter in the story. There are five chapters in all, but there’s more to it than that.

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September 3, 2015

A Chat With Marsha Warwillow On Bats, The Future Of Books & Magazines, Virtual Reality And More

I’m stood on a ledge at the HQ of SL Goth magazine in Second Life. Next to me on the ledge is Marsha Warwillow, editor in chief of the magazine. Marsha is sporting a dress made by her friend Moeko, for the Lovecraft Festival. The tentacles and the fact that the ledge is rather high up make me somewhat uneasy, but Marsha assures me that she’s not a pusher.

I have talked with Marsha before, all the way back in January. Then Marsha had explained to me the history and concepts of SL Goth Magazine. The magazine is available inworld, via Issuu and they even have their own website. Marsha is a fan of magazines and writing and yet she’s fully aware of the changes in how media is being consumed.

“Would you ever read a book in virtual reality? For instance… let’s say, you could open a book of the Hobbit, and then a virtual reading room that looks like a hobbit hole materializes around you?“, Marsha asks me.

This takes me by surprise, but yes, I probably would do that, although I confess to Marsha that I really do prefer books to book reader devices. I love the tactile nature of a book and dusty old book shops make me happy. Marsha informs me, somewhat mischievously, that a book scent spray is on the market to create the real book ambience.

Marsha continues with the book and virtual reality theme; “My focus is to.. have you heard Neil Gaiman’s talk, about how he quotes Douglas Adams on ‘Books are like sharks..they will survive because a shark is good at being a shark.’ I’m focusing on how to get magazines and books into virtual reality, outside of SL, in different environments, because I want them to survive, it can’t all be roller coasters and space games.”

This bring me to a theme I’m fond of in Virtual Worlds, storytelling by voice. I ask Marsha if she is aware of the work Seanchai do.

“Yes, I’ve been there a few times, I’m a fan!“, Marsha replies enthusiastically, “Recently I also went to the Chelsea Hotel, it was an open mic event.”

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