The Wastelands is among the best and most creative communities of SL, and while the virtual world might seem overwhelmed by fashion and the latest mesh skin, the fact that this realm inspired by Mad Max, Fallout, and freshly deranged dystopia still thrives is a testament to its members. Here's some of my favorite Wasteland-based projects over the years:
Fran was a beloved and remarkable Second Life user and the tribute will sure to be packed, so get there early. And read New World Notes' coverage of her pioneering efforts:
The VWBPE Conference is a completely virtual conference that is conducted using simulated environments. Participants experience the conference through a virtual reality type setting including conference rooms, theatres, exposition halls, meeting spaces, and other types of venues similar to a brick and mortar type conference.
Launching this Thursday, keynote speakers include UC Irvine's Tom Boellstorff, who'll be talking about (among many other topics) his government-funded work on the use of virtual worlds for physical therapy, which he pioneered with the help of the late Fran Serenade. The conference talks are also being streamed on YouTube (a best practice for virtual worlds in itself), so I'll be embedding the stream later this week.
Showtime is 1:30pm Pacific, but arrive early to get a good view of the wet (and tuneful!) apocalypse: Click here to teleport.
Yes, you read right: A live virtual world musical featuring dancing avatars, with a story and water-borne stage inspired by the Kevin Costner movie*, from SL users based in Italy. I am constantly surprised by the variety of creativity in Second Life, but a musical adaption of a disastrous, widely-mocked 90s Hollywood movie produced by a troupe of Italian avatars is still pretty stunning. (To be fair, Waterworld's received some respective reconsideration lately).
Bryn Oh is an acclaimed artist who's used Second Life as her canvas for many years, even earning a grant to do that from the Canadian government and patronage from master filmmaker Peter Greenaway. "Eloise and Jane", her next Second Life-based installation -- expected to launch this Saturday -- is featured in this sneak preview above.
"Jane and Eloise was inspired by the medium really," Bryn tells me. "I wanted to tell a story in a very SL way. In real life, you stand in a gallery and look at things on a wall while rarely interacting with them. In fact, if you do, a security guard will give you stink eye if not worse. So you are a passive observer to the art. Separate.
"In Second Life we can be active participants to art and so I wanted to make something that stretched the idea of what art can be. So this is a hybrid between an environment, narrative and a game. The story itself is quite dark, but should you find the exit then you get an alternate ending which is happy."
As that suggests, the installation is a maze which, she explains, "symbolizes the mental anguish and survivor's guilt of the sister named Eloise, who must preserve herself at the expense of her sister Jane, after a storm sinks their canoe. The maze and its monsters represent the terrible thoughts that plague a person in bed at 3am, eyes open in the dark staring at the ceiling. The work is meant to be conceptual yet also something that can be fun to do with friends."
Dark and fun! The maze itself is also quite cool in concept, generated randomly each time through complex scripting:
Starting tomorrow, NWN partner Ample Avi is participating in the Peace on Earth Hunt (POE 11 for short, since it's now in its eleventh year running), billed as the longest-running grid-wide hunt in Second Life. (Ample Avi has participated in the POE Hunt every year since its beginning.)
"This is a L$0 hunt, and hunters will be looking for a small globe of the Earth," Ample's Xme Xme tells me. "There are no decoy globes, and designers are required to hide their globes within a reasonable distance of the landing point. A hint for hunters is provided at the landing point."
For the Hunt, Ample is also offering a Winter-themed gift in partnership with Junior Avi, for creating family scenes like this one:"Bringing the Tree Home". The avatars depicted here are available for free via these SLurls:
Here's a speak peek video of this weekend's Romp event in SL, from NWN correspondent Cassie Middles. (Warning: Somewhat NSFW, just like Romp itself.) Key item is what she's showing off here -- the Mirage Abbacci, with user-adjustable clothing items. Watch to see what I mean, because "adjustable" doesn't quite convey how cool this is.
"Romp is an event that I hold near and dear to my heart," she tells me. "It was actually my first ever adult shopping experience I've ever had where kink and BDSM were seen as quite normal. Beautiful furniture, accessories, decor, and amazing things like this outfit by Mirage.N.A here. Vanilla Bae was the first store I ever found that had interactive clothing like this, but the boots were what sold me -- the fact that you can wear them or carry them over the arm, I think is amazing and perfect for roleplay. If you check out their Fickr feed, you'll see so much more interactive outfits there as well for both genders, though Mirage mostly works with Belleza bodies so make sure to read or demo before trying."
The acclaimed titles Warren has helped lead development on have been incredibly influential on the art of games, helping pioneer a new genre of immersive simulation which rewards player creativity and choice. Its heirs include the Thief, Dishonored, and BioShock franchises, among many, many others. His new game, Underworld Ascendant, is very much part of that tradition, and is a spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss.
Created way back in 1992, Ultima Underworld game is not only a landmark in 3D simulation games -- it helped inspire the development of virtual worlds. As I wrote in The Making of Second Life, it was a key reference for Philip Rosedale, as he started formulating the framework that would eventually become Second Life:
The In.flux Reality Mixeris an all-day AR and VR-focused event in Los Angeles that's designed especially for executives in media, games, advertising, and related industries, and it just added a cool (and likely wild) panel on virtual love, sex, and relationships: It's being hosted by Second Life/High Fidelity founder Philip Rosedale, and he'll be talking with anthropologist Tom Boellstorff, who researches how virtual worlds help disabled users, and Ela Darling, co-founder of GonzoVR, and sometimes described as "the world’s first VR camgirl, and a leading voice in the intersection of VR and the adult entertainment industry." So quite an amazing trio with many stories to tell and insights to make. This happens along with many more talks, an art gallery, and audio lab this coming December 1st in downtown LA. And since I'm an advisor and speaker, here's a special discount code:
Go here to register and use NEWWORLD as your discount code for a $20 discount to a ticket, which runs from $30 to $120 (for VIP access). Ask your company to cover the cost as a research and networking expense, and see you there!
If you're a fan* of Netflix's Stranger Things (and since you're reading New World Notes, good chance you are), you probably want to check out this breathtakingly detailed recreation**of the "Upside Down" from Syn Beresford for her group Elysion. It's on a sim called Last Rites, but you need to join Elysion to gain entry.
Veteran SLer Eve Kazan says it's worth the L$1000 group membership initiation fee: "I love the series, so I wanted to visit. It is a faithful representation... Very dark and cool."
It even comes with the series' famed cross-dimensional Christmas light communication system (above), and the ruins of the high school (below):
