New World Notes

Bonfire 2: A Society-Building Game That's Also a Meditative, Flow-State Relaxation Simulator for Our Stressful Era

The Bonfire 2: Uncharted Shores, a new-ish game that I love for iOS and PC/Mac on Steam, is technically a resource-management civilization-building sim. But the gameplay itself is quite different from most any other game in that genre I've ever played. With vibey music and sound effects (the wind, the ocean waves, the ambient/folk loops), a leisurely pace, and visuals that remind me of medieval paintings, the game plays more like a meditative, flow-state, relaxation simulator.

In recent months, as the world outside became increasingly stressful, I've taken to playing Bonfire 2 just before going to sleep, because I find the game's rhythms and daily microtasks (build a hut here, harvest some trees there, and so on) help drown out the incessant, doomscrolling din of my social media-addled brain. (The first game in the series -- The Bonfire: Forsaken Lands -- is even more relaxing, and is basically a simpler version of its sequel.) After helping my little society flourish for awhile, I find it much easier to drift off to sleep. We still seem far away from creating a stable society in the real world, but it's somewhat comforting to know that the one in my hands is just a bit better for my having touched it.

Himanshu, co-creator and  lead artist of Bonfire 2 from Xigma Games (a tiny indie studio based in Bangalore), shared with me some insights on the games creation -- and offered some tips for players just starting out. (Minor spoilers ahead.)

Buy at FaMESHed Starting This Sunday: Vintage Rocking Chair By Dutchie With 20 Bento Animations, 9 Wood/Paint Options, Low Land Impact

This gorgeously detailed rocking chair from famed SL brand Dutchie Design (who we're honored to call a sponsoring partner of New World Notes) is available to purchase this Sunday at the legendary FaMESHed shopping extravaganza that launches this Sunday (November 1st). It's integrated with the latest in Bento animations, including -- I love this, because it's particularly challenging to animate every finger -- knitting and doing needlepoint, and comes with many wood/color options. Available in Classic and Mid-century modern styles, they sell for L$398 each or you can buy both together for L$598. Here's all the official details:

SL Fashion Shopping Tips from a Style Blog With a Great Name

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Antisocial Darwinism is the best name for a blog ever! “Confession 316: Can You Make Things Alright?” has a lovely photo. Imogen Atheria is very open about how tough November is for her as her father’s birthday approaches and how his death makes it an emotional time. Many people find these milestones hard to navigate. I also love her outfit. 

• Top || Irina Blouse | Salt & Pepper | Uber | new!
• Overalls || Irina Overall & Shorts | Salt & Pepper | Uber | new!

A great shirt is featured in the next post:

Moody & Creepy Machinima Makes SL's Wastelands Look Like Borderlands

On first glance you might think this decidedly creepy machinima was shot in the hit Borderlands videogame franchise, but it was actually shot in The Wastelands, the massive and long-running post-apocalyptic (and incredibly quirky) community in Second Life. (Which has a gritty look inspired in part by Borderlands.) That's because creator Jackson Redstar ran it through a post-processing program which gave SL the cel-shaded aesthetic that Borderlands is famous for:

Selected Scary Virtual World Images From Lawrence D. Pryce's Annual Macabre Halloween Challenge!

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

The third Lawrence D. Pryce Macabre Halloween Challenge began at the end of September and is still open until the end of October -- here’s details for submitting your entry. The challenge begins with a selection of inspirations from real life photos shown here or in a larger size here on Pinterest. 

The gallery of submissions so far is appropriately grotesque, macabre, and horrific. To scare yourself silly, just go to the official Flickr page. This entry from Jasmine Albright is striking and has a humanity to it that I like. 

Okay, some more selected scary stuff ahead...

Should You Jailbreak the Oculus Quest from Facebook Control? EFF’s Cory Doctorow Has Advice -- And A Warning

While the Oculus Quest now comes with a mandatory Facebook log-in requirement, researchers have reportedly been able to jailbreak the VR product line -- read the announcement here from project lead Kavya Pearlman, an award-winning cybersecurity expert.

While this project almost certainly violates Oculus Quest’s terms of service, Cory Doctorow, author and longtime Special Advisor to the Electronic Frontier Frontier, has a blunt assessment of its goal: 

“If you believe in property rights, it's a no-brainer. You bought it, you own it. Whether or not Facebook is within its rights to brick your device, there's no question as to whether you're within YOUR rights to unbrick it. It's yours. What you do with it is none of Facebook's business.”

That said, Doctorow's advice on whether people should do so is much more nuanced -- and very important for VR users considering their own involvement in Oculus jailbreaking:

This Halo Lights Up If a Second Life Region You Visit Has Migrated To The Amazon Cloud -- Or Makes a Womp-Womp Sad Trombone Sound If It's Not

Second Life is finally, gradually being migrated to the Amazon cloud, region by region -- but is your region part of that "Uplift"? Now available in the SL Marketplace, the free Fourmilab Cloud Halo cleverly comes to the rescue:

To use the Cloud Halo, simply add it to your outfit. It is an attachment, worn on the head, which has the form of a halo floating above it. The halo is not normally visible. When you arrive in a cloud region, a glowing gold halo will appear above your head, sparkling for a moment, and an ethereal harp will play a few notes. When you arrive back in a non-cloud region, a dull grey halo will appear and a “Sad Trombone” will play. 

This is a seriously fun way of checking for cloud deployment across the virtual world grid, even turning it into a game. For server geeks, here's how the back-end works:

Artist Uses Leading Lines to Draw Our Eyes into Virtual World Screenshots

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

“1” illustrates how effectively Alexo Aries uses lines in his photos. The road leads our eyes forward to the mountains. The grass, the road, the vehicle, all in a line drawing us in, but not out. Notice how the road fades in the distance before it reaches the frame? Leading lines are a common tool to direct our eyes and Aries photostream is full of great examples. 

Lines ahead....

How to Turn Second Life Screenshots Into Amazing Works of Art: Tips & Tricks from Isis Boa Desmoulins

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Isis Boa Desmoulins does amazing landscapes that draw me in completely. I was curious about her process and asked if she was willing to share. 

“I love dramatic skies,” she told me. “I almost hate to say how I do them. In RL photography you will sometimes take more than one picture for a picture. So sometimes I do this for highlights and shadow elements. But, often I do it for my skies. So I want this cloud and this horizon, but these shadows, and those highlights and just layer it all. 

“Also, I use water settings as a whole other layer of atmosphere. So most of the sets I build I build under the SL waterline. You can just shut the water off if it's not working right. It gives a really nice haze and you still get shadows and sun settings colors. What already seemed like infinite settings for skies is then doubled in a way, it's great. 

“I spent quite a while shooting and trying to shoot SL raw, but not have it look raw. That really forced me to learn a lot of tricks and tools in SL that have been super helpful. Skies can add a lot of tension or calm. I have always loved skies in moments before, during, and after storms. You get so much more emotional spectrum than just a blah blue sky.”

More great pictures and photo advice after the link.

If Games Are Art, And Second Life is a Game, Then Second Life is a Work of Collective Art (Comment of the Week)

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Great comment from reader madeline blackbart bringing much needed nuance to the eternal "Is Second Life a game" conversation:

The whole "SL is not a game" or getting mad at that comparison always bothered me. It's rooted in the outdated concept that video games are toys and not the legitimate form of art that it is.

I mean I know how the concept arose. Namely that after the video game market crash (in the US specifically I believe it wasn't as bad in europe?) Nintendo more or less revived it by marketing video games as a high end toy for kids. I think for many people (not just in SL) who are not gamers the association with games as toys still exists which is a genuine shame.

In my opinion video games are definitely on par with movies in artistic merit. Look at games like Gris and exploration of the stages of grief through color and gameplay. Or Spec Ops The Line which explores PTSD in a way that puts you the player in the place of the sufferer, or Cuphead that utilizes hand drawn animation (a dying art sadly). These are things that require very talented artists and programmers to create who deserve far more credit then they get.

I'd add multi-player games as some examples here, such as the acclaimed game Journey, where the interaction of two or more players creates something profound.

Here's the problem with denying Second Life is a game, Ms. Blackheart goes on: