New World Notes

Cassie's Clips: Sneak Peek of SL's Romp Fashion Event This Weekend Ft. Sexy Clothes You Can Adjust While Wearing & Boots You Can Hold

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."

Romp starts tomorrow. Links after the break!

Meet Warren Spector in the Virtual World: Sinespace and Escapist Host an Hour With the Influential Game Designer, Nov 17 at 3pm (PST) - RSVP Now!

Click here to RSVP for a very unique Sinespace event I'm proud to co-host November 17 at 3pm (PST): An hour with renowned game designer Warren Spector (Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey) who'll discuss his latest game, Underworld Ascendant, the future of game design, getting started in games, developing in Unity 3D, and whatever else our virtual audience of avatars cares to ask him. The event (and live video stream) is being co-hosted by The Escapist magazine, with editor-in-chief Russ Pitts interviewing Warren alongside me.

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:

Philip Rosedale, Tom Boellstorff & Ela Darling Speak on Virtual Love & Sex at LA's In.flux Conference This December 1st-- Get the NWN Discount!

The In.flux Reality Mixer is 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!

The Upside Down of Stranger Things Recreated in Second Life for Halloween

Photo by Eve Kazan

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):

Starting Tomorrow: Second Life's Annual Fair Selling Virtual Hair to Benefit Kids With Real World Hair Loss

Click here to teleport to the Second Life entry point of Hair Fair, which launches tomorrow.  Now in its 12th year, this is the SL community's annual fundraising extravaganza connecting virtual fashion with real world benefit: Dozens of fashion designers donate virtual hairstyles, and all sales go to benefit Wigs for Kids, for children suffering from hair loss due to chemotherapy and other challenges. While the event starts tomorrow, you can go in-world now to join the event's subscription service and in-game group. More info on the official site run by the devoted Sasy Scarborough.

As a taste of what you the Fair offers -- and a compare and contrast with the latest trends and technology --here's some of Iris Ophelia's NWN coverage of Fairs in 2011 and 2012:

Join Me at the In.flux Reality Mixer in LA on December 1st - Register Now, Get the Early Adopter Discount

The In.flux Reality Mixer is an all-day AR and VR-focused event especially for executives in media, games, advertising, and related industries, and I'm honored to be an advisor. It's the brainchild of my good friend Tameka Kee, longtime marketing exec and VR enthusiast (I actually first met her in Second Life), and she's put together an impressive line-up that brings together diverse experts on creating virtual experiences. For instance, the keynote speaker:

VR Pioneer Jaron Lanier Appears in VR to Talk With Me About his Latest Book on VR -- Reserve Seats Now for the May 25th, 2PM Event in Sinespace

Click here to reserve a seat at a special virtual world event I'm very proud to co-host: Friday, May 25th at 2PM (PST), I'll be interviewing VR pioneer Jaron Lanier, widely credited with popularizing the term "virtual reality" itself, within the social VR world of Sinespace. Yes, this is a rescheduled event originally planned for April; Jaron very generously made himself available for this month instead. 

We're appearing in Sinespace as avatars before a live studio audience of fellow avatars in the Delphi region, talking about Lanier's latest book, Dawn of the New Everything: A Journey Through Virtual Reality. Suitably, by his request, Jaron's avatar will be a octopus, a recurring symbol and reference point throughout his work. Being Jaron, of course, this particular octopus has long dreadlocks.

"VR 4 Everyone": Free May 12 Event at Stanford With Jeremy Bailenson & Other VR Luminaries

If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area next week, check out this free event on Stanford's campus:

The goal of “VR for Everyone” is to increase exposure, awareness, and involvement in VR/AR for Stanford students and enthusiasts in the Bay Area, while promoting accessibility and diversity in industry. We are proud to announce a star lineup of speakers, including Stanford VHIL's Jeremy Bailenson, Digi-Capital's Managing Director Tim Merel, HTC CEO's Chief of Staff Pearly Chen, Boost VC's Director of Operations Maddie Callander, Mayan Shay of Meta, and Lucas Rizzotto of Where Thoughts Go We will have a keynote, panel discussions, and demos.

Bailenson has done much groundbreaking work on the influence of avatars and other virtual world experiences on our real life, and is (among many other projects) on the board of advisors of Philip Rosedale's High Fidelity. 

Hat tip: Michele Gray of NWN media partner Sinespace, who's giving a demo of Sinespace's VR client at the event! (She's "Dolome Demonia" in Sinespace.)

Today in OpenSim: Tribute to Late SL Teaching Legend Lumiere Noir

Starting at 1:30PM/SLT there's a virtual world tribute to much-loved SL building teacher Lumier Noir, who passed away in 2015. Somewhat ironically (but I suspect Lumiere wouldn't mind), it's happening in OpenSim, the open source spinoff of Second Life, which contains a recreation of his famed Ivory Tower of Prims tutorial building.

Click here to join https://sanctuary.homelinux.org:8012 :ivory city 4

More info on Facebook and Twitter (below).

Linden Lab CEO to Make Rare Second Life Appearance on April 20

Put a big red check mark on April 20, SLers, because it's a Very Special SL Day:

As part of our year-long 15th anniversary celebration, we’re making numerous appearances inworld to talk about Second Life and the Second Life roadmap directly with our communities! These ongoing meetups and events will provide opportunities for you to interact with and ask questions to Linden Lab executives and staffers. To kick things off, Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg will be holding two “Town Hall” chat sessions on April 20th at 9:30 a.m. (SLT/Pacific) and 1 p.m. (SLT/Pacific). Ebbe will be sharing his vision for Second Life in 2018 and beyond, as well as taking questions from the community. Got a question for Ebbe? Post it in the Community Forum thread “A Conversation with Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg” in advance of next week’s meeting. Questions will be selected from submissions for as many as can be answered in the time frame. To join either meetup, head over to one of these Town Hall Regions in Second Life on April 20.

Ebbe's avatar-based appearances in Second Life have been relatively rare in the last couple years, likely owing to the company's increasing focus on Sansar. (To a point where some SLers have openly wondered if Linden Lab considered Second Life "the red-headed step-child internally") 

Pictured: Altberg's SL avatar in 2015, when Second Life appearances were more frequent.