Not film still - a screenshot from Second Life (via Zam)
Force Awakens may be a totally disappointing movie in relation to three-plus decades of anticipation (just admit in your heart you know it's true), but it has given a second life to the once thriving Star Wars-roleplay community in Second Life. This from Ashley Barry, a former active member of that community, who visited after a long absence:
The Force Awakens, the most recent Star Wars installment, has led to a new surge of activity in the RP community. When I traveled to the latest Coruscant sim a few days after the film came out -- there have been multiple versions of the planet in Second Life throughout the years -- it was populated with so many diverse looking avatars: Mandalorians, Bothan soldiers, Twi’lek’s, and more. I was home again and it felt damn good.
More from Ashley here, who describes an incredibly detailed sub-community that has been thriving in SL for roughly a decade. I last wrote about it in 2008, when it was in full flower:
"All the settings are referenced from Lucas: the timeline, the planets, our equipment, etc. However, the individual characters and story lines are created by the players." So the filmmaker's universe is more like a backdrop. "Where the stories go and what kind of characters are involved are up to all of us playing in Second Life." As the video suggests, however, it's darker and more frankly sexual, and violent. (No "Greedo shoots first" moral quandaries here.) "It is in more depth than your average good versus evil," Ms. Luna explains. "There are a lot of twists for neutrality classes and we try to incorporate all of the classes as best as possible into each scenario. As for each specific timeline and story, it really depends on what simulator you are playing on." Combat is primarily resolved with RCS and DCS, Resident-made game engines for SL-based MMOs. "Basically with RCS it is straight combat and damage, whereas DCS has leveling up based on play time along with damage and special powers you can use on a heads-up display."
And now there's a new campaign, and frankly it sounds more interesting than, well, Force Awakens.
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