New World Notes

Philip Rosedale, Linden Lab's Newly-Appointed CTO, on the Future of Second Life Mobile, AI Applications, and Much More

Along with announcing his return to Linden Lab leadership on Wednesday, Philip Rosedale and I also had a wide-ranging conversation on multiple topics around the future of Second Life, AI, and beyond.  The company is hosting an Ask Me Anything appearance with him in the virtual world tomorrow morning (details here), but I got a chance to chat with him about:

• Deploying AI applications in Second Life -- and why the virtual world is a better or a more promising test bed for AI than the real world.
• Spatial audio upgrades to SL.
• The future of FairShare, his digital currency project launched last year.
• Linden Lab's plans for the Second Life mobile app -- including gamification features.

Read all that and more below! But first, to help support my writing feature articles like this (and to get special benefits) please consider joining/subscribing to my Patreon.

Cajsa's Choices: Spooky & Silly Screenshots from Halloween in Second Life

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

It’s Halloween and I am turning my column over to the kooky, mysterious, spook, altogether ooky celebrants of Second Life. Daikota Wind gives us the frightful “It Was Already Halloween when You Rang the Doorbell.”  I love how the bright white of her gown draws your eye so that you see the murder victim second. It’s clever misdirection and it works.

Java Bug created “Dia de los Muertos” and it’s beautiful. I love how it’s all black and white except for her sugar skull mask of La Calavera Catrina. Her choices highlight the mask, drawing us in. 

For more virtual Halloweenery, click here:

Play Ghost Hunters: Spooky Fun New VRChat Game By "Jar", Full-Time Community Creator Featured in My Book

Ghost Hunters is a new social party game in VRChat that's got a great asymmetrical twist: One player gets to be the ghost, everyone else (1-11 other players) get to be ghost hunters trying to tag the ghost before they're spooked into unconsciousness. World link here.

It's the latest game by longtime community creator Jar, a star subject in my Making a Metaverse That Matters book, as someone who's managed to turn their virtual world creativity into a full-time job supported by a community of supporters.  Her Patreon is backed by nearly 3000 subscribers, earning her an income that would easily put her in a top earning bracket. (And is far less susceptible to job cuts now plaguing the game industry.)

Which is no surprise -- her VRChat games are more popular than most "professional" VR games. As I wrote:

Spectacular Spooky Seasons Second Life Images Evoke Hieronymus Bosch

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

Alex Amore is in the Halloween Spirit and I am loving the variety of his concepts. I love the scarlet to black color story. He named the picture “Red Star Dance” I love the dramatic pose and the drama of the red lights leaning to the left and the avatar leaning to the right. 

For more of Alex’s Halloween celebration, click here:

BREAKING: Philip Rosedale Returns Full-Time to Second Life as Linden Lab CTO, Focusing on Mobile & AI Applications to Grow the Virtual World

Update, October 31: Read part 2 of this interview here.

“I'm back,” Philip Rosedale tells me, swiveling his Zoom camera around to reveal Linden Lab’s San Francisco HQ office looming in the background. “And I'm here every day; I'm in the office right now. Brad’s upstairs in the corner.” He nods at the open office’s upper level, where Linden Lab head Bradford Oberwager is situated. 

Yes: As of this month, Philip Rosedale has returned full-time to a leadership role at Linden Lab, developing Second Life -- now, as its Chief Technology Officer. 

“I'm not splitting my time,” he adds. “This is not the Elon [approach], ‘I run Tesla and SpaceX and Neuralink, and whatever else.’ I’m only CTO of one company and that company is Linden Lab.”

Rosedale’s return to developing Second Life full-time comes at a crucial inflection point, both for the virtual world and -- as the imminent US Presidential election suggests -- the offline world at large: 

“We're at a point right now where I think with AI and mobile, there's a chance of getting to broader reach with virtual worlds,” as he puts it.

 “And I think the other thing is, just as you know, with FairShare and all the stuff I've been doing, I'm super concerned about the state of the world. And I think that there is also a chance that our sort of dystopian future will drive more and more people into virtual worlds. 

“If it happens -- or for the amount of time that we have to spend doing it -- I'd like [virtual worlds] to be a positive experience, without evil advertising or surveillance or whatever. Without needing to read a Cory Doctorow book, we know that could get pretty bad with virtual worlds. So that's another reason why I'm pretty motivated.” (As for the offline world, Philip endorsed Kamala Harris / Tim Walz during the recent Gamers for Harris livestream.) 

This news comes on the heels of a recent re-organization of Linden Lab that’s spurred concerns among the SL community that the company is facing tough times. The exact opposite is the case, says Rosedale:

Cajsa's Choices: Riya's Stunning Avatar Portraits Are Studies in Light & Skin

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

Riya is fascinated by light and skin and the interplay of the two. Her pictures are nearly all black and white to emphasize the way light hits the skin, brightening the skin and in itself being transformed. The light in this picture “Deep” is subtle, just tracing a few spots on her face and arm, but it enhances her portrait, drawing attention to the shape of her face. 

For more of her stunning portraits, click here:

Second Life Mobile App Freely Available to Everyone in "Weeks" -- And Other Key Takeaways from My Interview With Linden Lab Head Bradford Oberwager

In case you missed my extended interview with Linden Lab head Bradford Oberwager on my Patreon -- read Part 1 here, Part 2 here -- I've included key excerpts below. My top takeaways are these:

• An updated version of the Second Life mobile app will be free to download for everyone in "weeks".
• Second Life's monthly active user numbers have declined to around 500,000 MAU.
• The recent Linden staff cuts were about re-organizing the company around expanded trust and safety roles based in its Atlanta office, and putting more resources into the mobile app.
• The Linden Lab re-org has nothing to do with any potential acquisition of the company, which is not on the table -- and also has nothing to do with the recent changes to gacha content. 
• "[It]s a moral imperative that Second Life continues on. It is good for the world, and I'm committed to that." 

Excerpts below -- along with the story of his wolf avatar:

Author of Upcoming Coffee Table Book Seeking True Personal Testimonials from People Whose Real Life Improved Through Second Life

My Metaverse media partner Haridsam Resident aka Hari Sutherland is in the final stages of completing SECOND LIFE - The True Virtual World in Words and Pictures, his upcoming coffee table book devoted to SL, and is looking for a few more personal testimonials from SLers. Here's what he's seeking, and how to get in touch with him:

What I need is two-three paragraphs (up to 250 words total), true personal accounts from people whose RL quality of life and mental/emotional state has been significantly improved by their participation in SL, especially in the areas of parenting or adoption, social acclimation, physical/emotional healing (e.g., from trauma), or meeting a life partner who transformed their RL for the better.

People can reach me by notecard in SL (haridsam.resident). Cutoff date is Tuesday November 5. Anyone whose story I feature will receive a L$2,500 thank you honorarium.

Read more about the book here. Questions for Hari? Ask in Comments or get in touch with him via his Discord account, haridsam_resident.

Top 5 Posts Including VRChat's Amazing Japanese Growth, a Return to Obra Dinn, and an Extended Q&A With Linden Lab Head Brad Oberwager

Cajsa's Choices: Stunningly Vivid SL Screenshots by Iesada Resident

VRChat Web Usage from Japan Grows to Over 25% the Total! Do Virtual Worlds Decline in Usage Because People Generally Become Less Social as They Age?

New on My Patreon: Brad Oberwager's Mobile-Forward Second Life Future -- Part 1, Part 2

Aardvark Amazes: From a Bouncing Balloon Unicorn in Second Life to Building a Better Real One

Return to the Obra Dinn: Six Years After Launch, the Moby Dick of Immersive Indie Games Retains All Its Staggering Power

Aardvark Amazes: From a Bouncing Balloon Unicorn in Second Life to Building a Better Real One

Aardvark from Dash Phantom was the very most popular new Second Life brand in my reader survey, and that's no surprise: It's the purveyor of hilariously charming items including (as above), the explosively adorable Mini Pig-Unicorn. Which as it happens, you can now get today at the Uber event: Click here to teleport.

"The name for Aardvark came from my goal to not take things too seriously—especially in our Second Life," Dash tells me, explaining his choice of brand name. "I knew I wanted an animal name, and aardvark, meaning 'earth pig,' was something I found really funny. I didn't really know what items I was going to make at the time but I knew it was going to be a variety. I wanted a brand name that immediately put a smile on people’s faces. Plus, aardvarks are such funny-looking creatures, it felt like the perfect fit."

As it happens, Aardvark's very best-selling item is also ridiculously unicorn-related: