New World Notes

SL Flickr of the Day: Virtual Interior as Lush as a Painting

I'm a fan of the virtual interior pics of Ms. Lemon Panda (yes), and this latest image from her Flickr stream is as richly textured as a painting of the Fall. Yes, she used some post-processing to give it extra luster, but, she tells me, the real magic is WindLight:

Project Sansar Now Accepting Applications & Project Pitches for "Creator Preview" This Summer

Click here to apply, and describe what kind of project you'd like to create in Sansar for early access in the next few months:

The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown: First Impressions of the Newest Take on a Classic Dungeon Crawler

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

Remember last month when I said I wouldn't buying Arrowhead Game Studios' Gauntlet on day one? After the game's release date was pushed back I was more convinced than ever that I'd be taking the wait-and-see approach, but evidently eagerness and nostalgia (and some really fun looking video coverage) got the better of me. Well, I suppose since I ended up preordering over the weekend (on day negative-three, but who's counting?) that day one thing wasn't technically a lie.

Having only completed the first section of the game I'm in no place to write a proper review, but I do want to share my early impressions for those out there in the position I would have been in (if I had slightly more self control and Gauntlet hadn't been priced so very reasonably.) Keep reading for my thoughts so far.

Draxtor Despres' Mixed Reality Documentary Series Returns With the Man Behind Some of SL's Best Designed Spaces

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

There's a new episode of Draxtor Despres' mixed reality machinima documentary series The Drax Files: World Makers (which is now sponsored by Linden Lab,) and it's packed with absolutely breathtaking virtual spaces. That's because episode 21 focuses on Editorial Clarity, the aptly named avatar behind SL interior design blog Love to Decorate and its complimentary magazine. As always the opportunity to learn what's inspired, motivated, and changed some of Second Life's most talented and interesting individuals is invaluable.

Clean lines, cracked plaster, and a wealth of inspiration await. Watch the full episode for yourself after the cut:

Get the Inside Story On Some of Second Life's Most Beautiful Spaces With Draxtor Despres' Latest Mixed Reality Videos

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

One of Second Life's most acclaimed journalists and machinima artists has a new project, and it'll give you some amazing insight into the kinds of people that not only use Second Life, but shape the virtual world around them. The Drax Files: World Builders by Draxtor Despres recently came out with its second episode, featuring the face of SL's 1920's Berlin (and NWN reader) Jo Yardley. Take a look for yourself after the jump.

Is Unity the Best Platform for Realtime 3D Architecture Visualization?

Architect Jon Brouchoud, who's used Second Life for several innovative applications in his practice (such as this one), has a collection of interesting videos showing off realtime architecture visualization in Unity3D, among them this:

Many more on his blog here. Pretty impressive. I've seen better-looking architectural visualizations in Second Life and in OpenSim (such as this one), but Unity is the more open, more popular platform, and can run on the web, so it has the advantages there. I'd say SL maintains the advantage if you as the architect are already extremely familiar with the platform, and are planning to demo the SL visualization to the client yourself, as LA architect David Denton did for a major Egyptian project.

Barnesworth Anubis' Prefab Store Will Put a Very Chic Roof Over Your Head (NWN Readers' Choice, Top SL Brand)

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

• Brand name: [ba] barnesworth anubis
• [SL Marketplace]
• [SLURL]
• Blog
• Estimated average item price: L$500
• Brand owner: Barnesworth Anubis

Barnesworth Anubis is yet another institution of the content creation community in Second Life, and one more brand I'm entirely unsurprised to have on this list. Barnesworth has been designing shops and homes in Second Life with international flavour and modern flair since the stone ages of Second Life, and although he'd been quiet for awhile his participation in the monthly event Collabor88 has brought him back to the forefront of the prefab-making community.

Barnesworth doesn't favour any particular kind of architecture too much, offering everything from enchanting haciendas to window-covered modernist homes, as well as a selection of apartment-style skyboxes like the one shown above. On top of all that he also designs furniture for these unique and eye-catching builds. Barnesworth's texturing style may be an acquired taste for some. He sticks to fairly soft and smooth textures with simple shading, a technique with looks ideal in Second Life but which may ruffle the feathers of home buyers seeking gritty photorealism in their builds. All in all, Barnesworth Anubis has always been a wonderful brand and a wonderful designer to have in the SL community.

Find Inspiration for your SL Interiors from Pitsch Parx's (Aptly Named) Inspiration Book

 

Iris Ophelia's ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

If you're a fan of interior design in SL, hopefully you've already heard of Inspiration Book, a blog and virtual magazine dedicated to designing beautiful spaces in Second Life. Whether you have  a mansion on the coast or a simple little apartment in the sky, there's no excuse for a virtual home that doesn't reflect your style as much as your avatar. All it takes is the right inspiration, and that's exactly what Inspiration Book provides.

Earlier this month Pitsch Parx released the second volume of Inspiration Book's magazine, which offers even more of what the blog is so well known for: jaw-dropping photography of stylish and comfortable virtual spaces, descriptions and prose worthy of the most high-end catalogues, and trend forecasts for popular styles and color palettes for this coming winter and spring season-- something that would be valuable even to those of us looking to redesign our real spaces.

Interested? Here's how to get a hold of your own copy:

Main Street MMO: Virtual World Kickstarter by Jon "Keystone" Brouchoud to Dynamically Simulate Cities in 3D

Main Street MMO is a new Kickstarter project seeking $20,000 from Jon "Keystone" Brouchoud, an architect whose innovations using Second Life and OpenSim as a design and protyotyping tool have won industry recognition and virtual world awards. The main idea with Main Street MMO is to create 3D, annotaed and interactive simulations of real cities that are dynamic and customizable and displayed on the web and tablets in Unity 3D. Watch the pitch:

Read more about it here, and donate if you're so inclined. When Jon told me about this idea a few weeks ago, I wondered if it wasn't too similar to other "3D virtual city" projects that have come and gone. What can the Main Street MMO do that they didn't?

Second Life Used to Design Wisconsin Retirement Home With Input from Senior Citizens - Excellent RL Application of SL

This is one of the best real life applications of Second Life that I've ever seen: in Madison, Wisconsin, a team of architects used SL to give a focus group of senior citizens a 3D preview of a retirement home design, then incorporated their feedback into the final plans. Watch:

The SL portion of the project was led by Jon Brouchoud, a Wisconsin architect who has used SL as a design tool for years. He imported the basic design into Second Life and added other elements dynamically, based on the reaction of the senior citizens watching  the SL simulation. This feedback also led the architects to change the overall plans.

"We had an idea that the outdoor spaces, garden and screened porch could be part of the entry experience, but they didn't like that idea at all," Jon tells me. "We also assumed the new building would have a more formal entry desk, but they definitely preferred something more subtle, that blended into the environment instead."

It's easy to see how other architects could use Second Life for similar focus group sessions, and in many ways, it's a superior platform than other alternatives. (Better, for example, than a scale model, or static 3D modeling without avatars or dynamic alterations.) So here's Jon's advice on using SL as a focus group prototyping tool: