Second Life Dance System With Adjustable Moods, Tempos

Music and avatar-driven dancing are central to the Second Life experience, but because the process of initializing a dance is so cumbersome, especially when you're doing it with a partner, they don't always sync up. Bettina Tizzy has word (and hands-on demonstration) of a possible solution: Ashen Coalcliff's SyncDancer, which comes with a HUD that lets you choose between dances of different mood and tempo, and syncs your dance partner to same. Take it away, Ms. Tizzy and Kriss Lehmann:

Depending on how many dances are loaded into the system, the entry level starts at L$9,900 (about USD$40) so quite a cost commitment. Then again, since dancing is such an important in-world social lubricant, maybe a worthwhile investment. In-world store at Ode: Direct teleport at this link.

Comments

[Dale Innis]

A more accurate headline, I think, might be "Second Life Dance System Preloaded With Good Dances Organized by Mood, Tempo". Although that would probably be too long. :) As far as I can tell the actual mechanics of this dance device are just like any other existing one that allows either partner to change the dance; the big win here is that they've selected really good dances and renamed them to reflect tempo and mood.

[Bettina Tizzy]

Thanks, Hamlet! Dale, you make it sound so dull and vanilla :). This clicked with me because it operates the way my mind and moods work, AND either of the dancers can switch the mood and tempo at any time. Love it.

[Elizabeth Tinsley]

Thank you for the write up. It is very much appreciated. Dale is right, there is nothing unique in the mechanics of the SyncDancer. Neither Ashen nor myself are scripters or animators. We are using the Intan dance ball created by Intan Eksotics as a method of delivery for a dance configuration that has been years in the making.

We also do not make unique dances. We have selected what, in our opinion, are the best dances currently available from vendors in Second Life. Every couple's dance in SL that we know of has been danced and measured for quality of the animation and the ability to enjoy it with a wide range of musical selections. What we have come up with is a system whereby we categorize each dance by its speed or tempo and the mood it is attempting to communicate through its choreography.

What is unique about the SyncDancer configuration is its category system. It names dances based on tempo and mood allowing for a much more intuitive dance experience then trying to select from buttons that say Slow 6, Lemon, or Couple_20. Dancing is all about kinesthetic communication. The SyncDancer is our attempt to create a common and understandable language of expression.

I invite everyone who enjoys dancing to come to The Light Fantastic at Ode (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ode/18/125/21) to demo the system and make a decision about its ability to enhance your SL dance experience for yourself. :)

And please, if you have any questions feel free to contact me (Elizabeth Tinsley) in world and I will be happy to give you a demonstration.