New World Notes

Top Five New World Notes Posts from Last Week

• Yes, You Can Log Into Second Life from Mainland China
• Making Sense of Proenza Schouler & Seapunk in Second Life
• Pose Appreciation Week: Behind Every Good Second Life Blogger is a Good Second Life Pose
• Hamlet 3.0: Help Me Give Hamlet Au an Avatar Makeover!
• Here's Your Last Chance to Say Hello to Glitch (Before It Says Goodbye)

Pose Appreciation Week: Behind Every Good Second Life Blogger is a Good Second Life Pose

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

One of the most important aspects of a good snapshot in Second Life, fashion or otherwise, is the pose. Picking the perfect pose often takes me as long as putting together the perfect outfit. It has to look natural, not wooden, and flattering for the avatar, the outfit, and the environment. But I admit that I very rarely credit them. I always take a bunch of pictures in a bunch of different poses, so by the time I've picked my favourite out of the lot I have no idea which pose it may be featuring, or from where. Mea culpa! So today I plan to make amends.

Recently there was an excellent post on the SL Blogger Support blog about the importance and underappreciation of poses. They called for this week to be Pose Appreciation Week for Second Life fashion bloggers, and it's the perfect excuse for me to feature three of my favorite pose-makers. Keep reading for the details!

Nalates Urriah Writes a Blog That's Indispensable for the Latest SL Viewer News (NWN Readers Choice)

Nalates' Things & Stuff is a Second Life blog mainly devoted to the things and stuff that go into SL-based viewers, both by Linden Lab and third party developers -- the things and stuff that are cool about them, and also the things and stuff that aren't. Run by Nalates Urriah, the blog is one of the top two SL blogs as selected by NWN readers. I myself count on Nalates' blog to give me the latest details on a new SL viewer, and admire all the in-depth technical analysis she brings to each post. As is often the case with bloggers who are technical experts, Nalates' posts can sometimes get too deep in the weeds for most SL viewer users, and I personally wish they came with titles and nutgrafs that highlighted the essential takeaways. But that aside, if you have even a passing interest in SL viewers (that means pretty much everyone reading NWN) her posts are always worth a look -- go here to start doing so if you haven't started already.

Open Forum: What in the World(s) Are You Thankful For?

Happy Thanksgiving, NWN readers! I just enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner in Beijing with several American expatriates at a vegan restaurant with a poster of Bill Clinton at the entrance that serves tofurky with actual cranberries along with a traditional Chinese hot pot, accompanied by a restaurant-wide singalong over a karaoke mic. (Yes.) I'm thankful for everyone who reads this blog and all my other writing about games and virtual worlds, especially since it's helped lead to my getting to enjoy Beijing sunrises like this. What -- and who -- are you thankful for, in Second Life and beyond?

Here's Your Last Chance to Say Hello to Glitch (Before It Says Goodbye)

 

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

Last week Tiny Speck announced that they would be pulling the plug on their adorably surreal browser-based MMO, Glitch, on December 9th. The day the announcement was made my entire Plurk friends list seemed to cry out in anguish one after the other over the looming loss of this charming game. Tiny Speck has said that there were just not as many users as they had hoped for, leading the game to be unsustainable. Full stop. No new management, no relaunch, no iOS port, no Kickstarter-- just the plain end of one of the most enchanting and original free-to-play games to come out in a long time.

Glitch had drawn in a lot of Second Life users during its beta period, including myself, but by the game's official launch I had already lost interest and never logged in again. At least until last night. I decided to look back in on Glitch to see what I'd been missing, and to enjoy its final days... And I want to help you do the same. Keep reading for your last chance to experience this stunning world.

Hamlet 3.0: Help Me Give Hamlet Au an Avatar Makeover!

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

I've known Hamlet for six years now, and in that whole time I think he's only changed his (virtual) clothes once. Even though fab and fanged male fashionista Winter Jefferson gave Hamlet's look a major update back in 2010, he's once again looking way behind the times. I'm not just getting hung up on the trends either-- we can all agree that I look much better in LOGO's mesh head than he would, but Hamlet's avatar isn't exactly a billboard for all the technological advances SL has seen in the past couple years. And as one of SL's premier virtual journalists, shouldn't it be exactly that?

So here's the deal: While the cat's away in China, the mouse will be giving him a head-to-toe makeover... and I want your help. Hamlet, you might want to avert your eyes, because it might get a little "Mean Girls" in here:

Making Sense of Proenza Schouler & Seapunk in Second Life

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

Recently RL fashion label Proenza Schouler released a short machinima called "Desert Tide", featuring some of their designs implemented in Second Life alongside pink dolphins, particle waterfalls, and textures stretched beyond recognition. RL brands and designers have dabbled in SL before, and it rarely if ever is on par with what designers native to SL are producing at the time. Unsurprisingly, "Desert Tide" is no exception to that, nor does it want to be. Take a look, and I'll explain what I mean:

Top Second Life Blog Daniel Voyager

Daniel Voyager has one of the most popular Second Life blogs among NWN readers -- in fact, it ranks at number 3 in the top 10. And for good reason, too -- Mr. Voyager (who often explores the virtual world as an owl avatar) is a true voyager, and an avid, unrelentingly enthusiastic one, of SL and beyond. Such an enthusiast is he, I often wonder what his actual opinion is, of all the places he's visited and events he's attended, other than enthusiasm. Still and all, I count on Daniel Voyager as a key resource for grid-based goings-on, and you should do: Click here to voyage to the Voyager experience.

Yes, You Can Log Into Second Life from Mainland China

Since landing in China late last week, I've been wondering if I'd be able to access Second Life through the Great Firewall, especially since concerns have been raised that it might even be impossible, but now I know you can: Above, is my laptop logged into SL from my hotel in Shanghai. (That's the Bund in the background, by the way.) Lag was pretty bad, to be sure, but not drastically more than what I often experience in San Francisco. It's possible that a VPN account is needed to access SL, but I'm not quite sure; will experiment with various log-in methods. And yes, I'm posing next to a woman in a bridal outfit, because she's the first avatar I saw after logging in.

Find Inspiration for your SL Interiors from Pitsch Parx's (Aptly Named) Inspiration Book

 

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

If you're a fan of interior design in SL, hopefully you've already heard of Inspiration Book, a blog and virtual magazine dedicated to designing beautiful spaces in Second Life. Whether you have  a mansion on the coast or a simple little apartment in the sky, there's no excuse for a virtual home that doesn't reflect your style as much as your avatar. All it takes is the right inspiration, and that's exactly what Inspiration Book provides.

Earlier this month Pitsch Parx released the second volume of Inspiration Book's magazine, which offers even more of what the blog is so well known for: jaw-dropping photography of stylish and comfortable virtual spaces, descriptions and prose worthy of the most high-end catalogues, and trend forecasts for popular styles and color palettes for this coming winter and spring season-- something that would be valuable even to those of us looking to redesign our real spaces.

Interested? Here's how to get a hold of your own copy: