Polygon's "Monster Factory" Hosts Hilariously Insane Party That Captures Second Life At Its Freeform, Anarchic Best

Well this is a pretty excellent treat to come back to after a long weekend: Polygon vidcasters Justin and Griffin McElroy's "Monster Factory" with their best and funniest visit to Second Life -- and for my money, the best "Let's Play SL" video so far. Don't believe me? Watch:

It starts with a party in a giant pizza crashed by a cavalcade of avatars of every possible shape and form, and continues to get increasingly insane, anarchic, and hilarious, to the point where one of the hosts finally enthuses:

"The image I've got right now is two dragons fighting to save a marshmallow man. Second Life is the best game ever made."

I was kinda blah on their previous outings in SL, but with this video, the McElroys finally capture Second Life at its best: 

Minutes before Shit Gets Real

Endless freeform creativity, with players riffing off each other into a crescendo of dizzy invention that no other MMO can even dream of imitating. Or like I once called it, Bebop Reality: 

A reality where the fundamental laws of physics and identity are open to constant improvisation by its inhabitants, who riff off the framework of the existing world, to create a new harmony of the strange and fantastic.

I.E., viz, There's a fricking break-dancing unicorn on the pizza floor next to a giant Kool-Aid man beside a battle angel on a Harley Davidson and OMGWTFBBQ.

Unlike the many trolls who plague SL to produce unfunny asshat griefing videos, this shows how much funnier and awesome Second Life is when you're not trolling players, but playing with them. And unlike many hardcore SLers -- or for that matter, Linden Lab itself --this video shows that Second Life shows its best face when it's not taking itself so, so, so seriously.      

Update, 1:10pm: This party takes me back to the classic SL battle royale dance party between King Kong and the Battleship Yamato, an X-Wing, a corvette convertible, an ornithopter, a miniature solar system, a purple elephant with karate skills, a dragon, and a battle ostrich:

More about that here.

 

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Comments

[Roman Mortis]

I'm so glad the screenshot you posted was of me and my family (minus the green M&M, they're not involved with us.)

Honestly as someone who uses SL to roleplay and make things most of the time, this was some of the most fun I've had in years, and I've never seen so many nice people in one place. Even if the whole thing was a mess, it never got uncomfortable.

[Tesla Miles]

Reminds me of the old days of Second Life when people actually had fun with each other.