New World Notes

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.

A Coffee Table Book Devoted to Second Life is Coming Soon for Holiday Shopping -- Here's a Preview from the Author!

Welcome Haridsam Resident aka Hari Sutherland as the first Metaverse-level partner on my Patreon! He recently signed to launch the perfect project for holiday shopping: SECOND LIFE - The True Virtual World in Words and Pictures, a coffee table book set for release next month.

To be first to know when it's available on Amazon, follow Haridsam on his Primfeed.

"I see this volume as a celebration of all that's best about Second Life," he tell me. "My primary hope is that current residents will be reminded of, and in some cases discover for the first time, the beauty and wonder of our virtual world... Beyond that, I'd love it if people curious about virtual worlds and all the metaverse buzz and hype discover my book and find it intriguing enough to bring them into SL to check out all the possibilities it offers. The text portion of the volume is largely directed to that goal.

"Second Life is, in my experience, the best and by far the most realistic metaverse we have. It's my hope that, together, we'll continue to help it flourish and grow."

Hari shared these sneak preview pages from his book -- along with some background on what brought him to Second Life, what inspired him to write it, and his own personal recommendations across the virtual world:

Watch: PBR-Powered Pool Promoted in Whole Hilarious Parody Commericial

Remember that public swimming pool, which demonstrated the power of PBR? Little did I know back then that it'd be featured in this whole hilarious parody commercial by Beetle Wilder. Watch above! I'd love to see more spots like this advertising SL content.

Speaking of which, the pool itself is from Bhad Craven's brad Bad Unicorn (disclosure: a past and future NWN sponsor) available in the mainstore.

Last month Bhad shared some tips on creating in PBR:

Added a $2/Month "Prim Level" Tier to My Patreon for Early/Exclusive Articles!

Speaking of "primitives", that's the name for a new $2/month tier on my Patreon -- perfect for people who just want to support New World Notes and get early/exclusive feature length articles, along with other special benefits. (The Creator and Partner levels are designed for readers interested in actively promoting their virtual brand/content.) Go here to check out all the tiers and benefits.

The Prim level just gets you  the juicy juicy content, including my latest article featuring popular brands Cold Ash and Bad Unicorn: Second Life Pro Tips: Expert Advice & Insights from Full-Time Creators

Second Life Creator Feedback Wanted: Could You Use This Web-Based, Multi-User 3D Creation Platform in Your Creative Process?

Equimake (a proud NWN partner!) is a web-based, multi-user 3D creation platform that was partly inspired by Making a Metaverse That Matters and designed to be a tool for creators in worlds like Second Life. I've recently been discussing ways Equimake might best work for Second Life creators with founder/lead developer Alex, and we landed on these potential applications:

• Prototype SL sim design / layout on a free multi-user platform -- up to five spaces (5KM in size) for free starter users
• For SL brands: Showcase your 3D mesh content on the web in an interactive setting (see below)
• For SL game creators: Export web-based versions of your SL games to Equimake (Javascript support coming Aug/Sep)

Click here to visit this space

But we should put the question to SL creators: Would Equimake help with your creative pipeline? Or what changes/updates would you first want to see?

Check it out for free here, and if you have questions/feedback, please post in Comments below!

Here's a List of 30+ Live Virtual Worlds We're Tracking. What Others Should We Add to the Virtual Worlds Museum?

I'm helping advise the Virtual Worlds Museum update this list of live virtual worlds to include in its programs, track in its database, and add to a timeline of virtual world history featuring nearly 100 virtual worlds over the decades.

We're tracking well over 30 live virtual worlds now, all of which fit these three basic criterion:

• Immersive virtual worlds with avatars that are not primarily games/MMOs.
• Enables users to build their own world/space and invite friends into it.
• Currently online, out of closed beta, with over 100 active users.

Here's what we're tracking now, with links to smaller/newer/lesser known platforms, arranged in alphabetical order:

Watch: Equimake Adds 3D Annotation Feature for Presentations, Demos, and Other Interactive Scenes

Here's a cool update from NWN partner Equimake, the free indie platform for live, multi-user collaborative 3D building on the web: 3D Annotations, which enable creators to add clickable text descriptions throughout their scene, which when clicked, centers the user's camera angle on the annotation.

To see what I mean, watch the tutorial video above from Alex, Equimake's founder and lead developer. (Also check out 1:55 for a look at how Equimake scenes work on mobile and tablets.)

For educators and other creators, 3D annotations will make it easier to turn an Equimake scene into an interactive demo/presentation, or even tell a story with individual scenes annotated within the same scene:  

Seraphim & NWN Partner Bad Unicorn Beta Launch HUD for Shopping & Events -- Here's How to Get It!

Cool project from Seraphim SL and proud NWN partner Bad Unicorn: A shopping HUD for in-world events and direct item purchases from many brands. Mr. Unicorn himself explains the basics in the video above, including his upcoming shopping event The Cloud, which kicks off July 23. 

Click to teleport to get the HUD here.

Equimake Adds Prim-Like Shapes to Its Web-Based, Real-Time, Multi-User World Creation Platform -- Try It Now In My Sandbox!

Here's a pretty cool update to Equimake, the free indie platform for live, multi-user collaborative 3D building on the web (and a proud sponsoring NWN partner):

You can now create with primitive-like shapes! They're available in the Objects menu on the left (see screenshot above). Once you click a shape, it's instantly "rezzed" into the world, with options to move, scale, and rotate it in the top middle menu.

Try it out yourself! Lead developer Alex even opened a special sandbox for New World Notes readers:

Go here to create wildly and freely with friends.

I'm in the sandbox now and for much of today, so if you stop by, say "Hi" in world chat (top left menu). We're curious to see if any amazing creations will pop up over the weekend!

Here's a tutorial on getting started, and if you have questions for Alex, post in Comments or on the Equimake Discord.

Equimake Update: Free, Real-Time 3D Group Creation On Web Platform Adds User Presence "Avatars" & 900 Free-to-Use Unreal Assets

There's a pretty big new update to Equimake, the free-to-use platform for collaborative real-time 3D creation on the web (and a proud partner to New World Notes): It now comes with 900 free Unreal-based 3D assets to use in your scene-building, and there's a User Presence "avatar" indicator, to make collaborative interaction easier within the 3D world.

The assets are from the Unreal Engine Marketplace, part of the "Permanent Free Collection" which includes a license for use outside of Unreal (I.E., in Equimake), and run the gamut from basic everyday objects to full immersive 3D scenes like a hipster cafe and outdoor park. (At right.) And new assets will be added to the platform library roughly every 1-2 weeks.

The User Presence indicator looks a bit like Google Docs when multiple people are working on the same document, except in 3D. Look: