New World Notes

Janine's Top Five Favorite Games of 2014

Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

2014 was a difficult year to love games. If you didn't already know as much, you've probably gathered it from the fact that just about every Game of the Year list is mentioning it. 2014 was a rough year all around in fact, but for those of us who use our hobby as a coping mechanism, a place to retreat to when things are getting a bit too dire elsewhere -- well, we were reminded again and again that our sanctuary is just as fragile as everything else around us.

2014 gave us a lot of baggage to deal with, and we won't be able to just drop it all at 2015's doorstep. But in spite of it all, 2014 also gave us some valuable gaming experiences, and some absolutely priceless escapes.

SL Go Places: Iris Shows You Where to Spend a (Quiet) New Year's Eve in Second Life

 

It's nearly New Year's Even, and in addition to the perfect outfit you might be looking for the perfect location to ring in the new year. There are loads of parties and events out there to choose from, but if you'd prefer a slightly more casual gathering with a few friends instead I've got a few destinations in mind that you may want to consider.

In the video above, I'll walk you through a few of my picks using the Firestorm viewer for SL Go, from NWN sponsoring partner OnLive. On the other hand if you want to cut right to the chase and see each location for yourself, just copy and paste the following links into your viewer of choice: 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rainbow%20Illuzion/70/173/19

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SwayLand/69/196/21

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Celebration/71/169/21

Top Ten Most Popular New World Notes Posts of 2014

Now that Iris has shared her favorite NWN posts for this year, here are the ten most popular New World Notes posts based on traffic, social sharing, and reader conversation (arranged in rough chronological order:

• 7 Questions on the Future of Second Life & Linden Lab for Ebbe Altberg, Linden's New CEO (February)
• Versu's Epilogue: How an Interactive Fiction Pioneer's 15 Year Project Ended Up in Limbo at Linden Lab (March)
• Second Life Isn't Dead (Yet) -- But SL's Strongest Supporters Need to Know Its Survival Is Now at Stake (May)
• BREAKING: Linden Lab Confirms It's Building New Virtual World "Far Beyond What is Possible with Second Life" (June)

That last post, as regular readers can probably guess, was by far the most popular this year (and just as obviously, the most important). Here's the rest of the top ten:

DX Exchange Has a New Years' Party This Friday

Save the date: This Friday (January 2) starting at 11:30am SLT, NWN partner DX Exchange is launching a New Year's-themed party at their in-world headquarters, which will feature a live guitar performance by Bono Fouroux, followed by live singing (between 1-2pm SLT) from Moon Spark. Click here to teleport directly to the party.

Speaking of in-world events, last week's "Hands off our Girls" in-world fundraiser collected over $7000 worth of Linden Dollar donations, DX Exchange's Steven Kuik tells me, all of which will go toward a Red Cross drive to help abused women.

Janine's Top Ten Favorite Articles of 2014

Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

As 2014 draws to a close, bloggers and writers everywhere are looking back at their year and trying to remember anything that happened before June that might be worth including in a wrap-up post. 'Tis the season for recaps, and we're certainly not immune from that here at NWN. 

While my upcoming Game of the Year post didn't require much digging at all (it's been a very good year for my Steam Library if nothing else) I did have to roll up my sleeves and dive into the archives to find my favorite articles from 2014. I'm entirely too quick to dismiss my own work, which makes these kinds of lists quite hard for me to write... But also makes this an easy choice for a low-traffic Monday.

Master the Favorite Techniques of Second Life's Top Avatar Snapshot Artists With This Sped-Up Vid

 
Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

If you have a little time this weekend, you may want to spend it watching the speed editing video above from SLer Dina Dinix. She's recordered her process editing a raw snapshot to hyper-polished perfection, and while it's not exactly a detailed tutorial there's a lot that you can learn if you want to master the processing techniques popular among many SL artists and avatar photographers.

There may be a lot to learn here, but given the speed at which it's all happening there are a few steps that might be easy to miss. With that in mind, I've got a few important timestamps you'll want to pay attention to:

NWN Wishes You an Otterly Happy Holiday

 

Hey everybody, it's Janine (a.k.a. Iris) here to let you know that we'll be taking the 25th off from posting on NWN. That doesn't mean we're leaving you empty-handed, though.

When Hamlet let me know that he was planning to post some adorable Christmas otters as a holiday sign-off, I decided to one-up him with a Christmas otter machinima conveniently uploaded by SLer Bay Sweetwater a few days ago. I came across this video while skimming the impressive array of holiday-themed Second Life machinima uploaded to YouTube recently and, amid all the Ken Burnsified slow-dances and sleepy panning across snowy vistas, this weird and lighthearted video certainly stands out. You'll probably want to stick around for the cameos from Mario, the Green Goblin, and a tiger that I can only assume is, based on their costume, the king or queen of something.

We'll be back to our regular posting schedule on the 26th, but until then we hope you have a happy, safe, and frosted-cookies-with-those-little-silver-ball-sprinkle-things filled holiday!

On the 1st Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me: A Free Shape from Ample Avi (NWN Partner News)

NWN sponsoring partner Ample Avi has a pretty sweet gift for their update group members this week. Just in time for Christmas, plus-sized shapemaker Xme Xue is giving out preview of Ample Avi's latest shape, Plushy.

In Ample Avi terms, "Plushy" stands for petite, lush, and curvy. Designed to stand at about 5'10" this shape may not exactly qualify as petite in real-life terms, but compared to the giraffe-like glamazons prowling about in the virtual world she definitely qualifies in SL. To be honest, there's something else about the standard glamazon look that contributes heavily to why I like Ample Avi shapes. There are so many shape stores with so many pouts and scowls and sourpuss faces available, but Xme's shapes generally have a good balance between cuteness and... You know, looking the way humans actually look. Her faces are appealing but believable, and they don't even register on the sourpuss scale.

You can pick up Plushy from Ample Avi's in-world store (teleport link) or the SL Marketplace, and she comes modify and copy enabled so that you can tweak and customize the shape however you like. However, if you're a member of Ample Avi's update group be sure to check your notices this week for a free copy of this new addition to Ample Avi's ample lineup.

My Top Five Favorite Second Life Machinimas from 2014

Here's some excellent SL machinima to watch during the long holiday break while you're wrapping presents/getting ready for parties/going to church/ordering Chinese food/whatever. There's no doubt that Second Life machinima is currently at a low ebb, but the occasional gem continues to appear. Let's start with the hilarious appearance of a tiny alligator:

Read my interview with the creator of Argyle Alligator here.

Four more to watch after the break, including my very favorite from this year.

Sneak in Style With Full-Perm Shoes from Besieged (NWN Partner News)

We've talked a lot about NWN sponsoring partner Shuggles over the past few months, but we haven't said much about their sister store Besieged. Both stores provide pretty useful tools for creators, but while Shuggles is in the business of scripting, Besieged specializes in full-perm shoes -- particularly sneakers -- that can be retextured and resold in Second Life.

Designer Pip Shinji recently sent me the BSG17's as an example of his work. The example textures make them look like the kind of sneakers you could expect to see included in some high-quality street fashion ensembles. At the same time, the fact that they're full-perm and retexturable means that I could also imagine someone converting them into some pretty convincing fantasy footwear. A leather texture here, some burnished steel there... You'd be surprised what a creative designer can do with a full-perm item.

Even if you're not in the virtual fashion business yourself, full-perm clothing and accessories can be a good way to get a unique look, or to ensure that every piece in your wardrobe matches your tastes exactly.

Be sure to visit Besieged on the SL Marketplace or in-world for all your full-perm footwear needs.