Second Life Tut Moves to OpenSim

After launching last April in Second Life, where it was acclaimed by educators, NWN partner Rezzable is moving their King Tut virtual exhibit to OpenSimulator, where it's being re-launched with new features. To access it, you need to create an account on Heritage Key, Rezzable's new Web 2.0-powered ancient history portal. (The specific OpenSim viewer they're using is Imprudence.) "I guess this will be one of the first major projects to target the general public using OpenSim," Rezzable CEO RightAsRain Rimbaud muses. I believe that's the case, too. Will be interesting to watch how it develops as an immersive metaverse experience wholly separate from Second Life. See for yourself by going here.

Comments

[Wordfromthe Wise]

Nice idea and a much appreciated move to bring people to other Grids besides the SL Grid.. but why is rezzable using

1) a closed grid to show those things
2) do not make use of the HyperGrid Functions of Opensimulator
3) Using a different viewer or at least does not give people hints on how to connect there with e.g the Standard SL Viewer ..

As much as i love Rezzable product(ions) why are they moving into a closed/fenced grid ?

[Tristin Mikazuki]

I think alot more people are gona be leaving SL.. its become way past stupid with all the rules and really bad CS.

[Maria Korolov]

I have to second Wordfromthe Wise's comment.

I'm not about to download yet another browser, or create yet another avatar. I'm going to wait to visit until I can hypergrid teleport in with my own avatar.

- Maria

[Skate Foss]

I'm very excited about the potentials of jumping to other Virtual World platforms, but until the creators of these new worlds recognize that not everyone is using Windows based computers I will hold off on praising Rezzable.

[rightasrain]

@ skate -- there is a Mac version and you could also use any SL-compatible viewer some of which are in Linux.

@ word -- it is closed now (like SL is) but we are planning to make it open in many ways actually over the next while (which SL is not).

@ Maria -- hypergrid has some way to go before it will be usable, secure. right now it takes 5 minutes to register and make an accont, so not sure that is a major obstacle. Actually moving inventory between grids has a lot of issues, considerations and I think realistically that is a way off. More important that OpenSim grids are working and deliver high quality user experience--which as you could see on Tut it is doing.

[Troy McConaghy]

I have to applaud Rezzable for being willing to take risks and try new virtual world business models. OpenSim certainly makes sense from a cost perspective - it's much cheaper to run an OpenSim server than it is to rent an SL server from Linden Lab. While I hope Rezzable's King Tut project in OpenSim works out, I have my doubts.

Second Life has the advantage of a substantial existing user base - people who can go see educational places in SL with relatively little effort - with their SL friends. For me to visit this OpenSim King Tut exhibition, it sounds like I'd have to sign up for a special account, download a special viewer, install the viewer... and once I get to the exhibition, my SL friends won't be around to explore with me (unless we arrange that explicitly ahead of time). It all seems like a big ask.

[rightasrain]

@ Troy, thanks we are working hard on this and so far it looks good. Btw, SL is maybe about 500,000 active users, so in web terms very small. You do need to sign up on our grid (takes 3 minutes), you are welcome to use the HK viewer, but also any other SL viewer should work. You can invite other people to join you of course--even the people that for whatever reason would never come to SL. In future I am sure we will have a better solution for avatar/identity like openId plus some access to inventory.