POSTCARDS FROM THE SANDBOX

Someone I'll call "Dark Sunglasses" sent me a short IM, pointing me to the Newcomb sandbox, then slipped back into the shadows.  And that's where I found them-- small, green, and wreaking havoc. 

"Seem to be taking over," my source observed wryly.

The aliens were attributed to some dude I did not know, and that only deepened the mystery, because judging by the creator's birth date, this was a newcomer who somehow had first-rank building skills.

"It's not me," Dark Sunglasses added coyly.  "Mystery it seems..."  And so there it is.

"You don't see this kind of build all the time," Sunglasses added.  But there I'd somewhat disagree, because you're liable to see something about as wild and inventive as it somewhere in the free-build sandbox regions any given day. 

Which is why I'm launching a new image and video series in addition to World from My Window.

"Postcards From the Sandbox" will highlight the daily marvels of SL's sandbox culture-- for my money, still Second Life at its best-- builds and scripted extravaganza created by you, or people you meet there.  Details for submitting your creations and discoveries after the break.

Submitting to New World Notes' "Postcards from the Sandbox"

- E-mail me a .jpeg or .gif screenshot of cool/extraordinary/strange/hilarious sandbox builds.
- Higher resolution preferred, but must not be larger than 1 megabyte! 
- Be sure to put "Postcards from the Sandbox" and your Resident name in the subject line/body, for credit.
- If the build was created by someone else, be sure to credit them and get their permission to submit to NWN.
- If you like, write a short description of the build, and what sandbox it was located in.
- Yes, Teen Grid submissions are encouraged-- just make sure to designate them as such.
- You can also submit machinima that fits the criterion here via a video link to established sites like YouTube, BlipTV, etc.

Style Guidelines/Advice

- Higher quality the screenshot, the better.  Turn up your graphics features, and select 1600x1200 as a resolution size.  Play with forcing Sunset or Sunrise, for dramatic lighting.  No Photoshopping or other post-production alteration, please.
- Be sure to remove the interface from the screenshot.
- Consider placing one or more avatars in the foreground, to add interest and proportional reference.
- Emphasis is on diversity of builds.
- Style points for humor, irony, and just general dreamlike weirdness-- the true spirit of the sandbox!

Comments

[Caliandris]

I went, saw the objects attributed to Unreal McCoy who was born in 2004, so I don't understand what you mean, Hamlet.

They demonstrate wonderful building skills, but as you would expect from someone who has been in SL a couple of years....

[WarKirby]

I was there! I somehow stumbled across this sandbox and took a picture of that laptop/ipod combo.

What an incredible construction ^_^

WarKirby

[Hamlet Au]

Good catch, Caliandris, I misread Unreal's birthdate.

[Torley]

Smart!

Doing "Postcards From the Sandbox" gives me rootsy feelings of my first days here. I really haven't been in sandboxes much lately, but used to hang out in them all extensively. They were like a second home!

Also, another parallel: their transient nature, especially for fab builders who don't have land to put massive, very primmy works on, and are perhaps hoping a generous patron of the arts will pick up on them. :)

[MarkyMark Till]

Hi, I just happened across this while searching for info on one of my sims with google. The "Greenies" as they're called are actually the creation of a SL user named Light Waves. Its been awhile since your original post, but the estate I work for now has a sim named "Greenies" where you can see more of their exploits. Find them with the SL search function.