Farewell Steelhead

At tonight's Steelhead town meeting, Lunar announced that due to RL circumstances he will be closing all of Steelhead's sims by the end of this month...

I had seen this coming. Knew it. But it still didn't make hearing it any easier. I walked back to Harborside as I have done after meetings for years...

I have spoken so many times of the ephemerality of SL. This was my virtual home. This was where I came back to when I returned. So many years. So many memories. I took down everything and afterwards, just sat on a box at Laval Point with a pic of my original home on it. I just wanted to sit there for a while...

I know it was a very hard decision for Lunar to close down and by default, close a community. I stood and watched one of my most favorite things in Steelhead: the sun rising from off of the bridge.

Farewell Steelhead.

Musings on a Life Inworld

Yes, here I am chilling at home with Phin after the Steelhead meeting. I am always glad to see him. We've been talking about doing some kind of podcast with our musings about life in a digital world. Who knows?

Earlier, I had watched a Dr. Phil episode. I don't normally watch, but today's was about a young guy who had a gaming addiction (looked like Call of Duty despite the blurring). It started out with Dr Phil in Second Life, custom avatar and all. I braced myself for the usual negativity, but Dr. Phil seemed to be enjoying himself, exploring, flying, trying new things. SL was featured only in the beginning and an end segment, where Linden Labs CEO Ebbe Altberg was talking about its positive benefits. Dr. Phil himself never condemned SL or video games, only the addictive behaviors that sometimes result.

Many of us have been there. When I first came to SL in 2007, I was reeling from my mom having cancer. It was a place of quiet for me in a way. I wanted to explore and build and be left alone. Then I found the Steamlands communities. I lost a job and then really got kind of sucked in. In hindsight, I was depressed and probably spent way more time inworld then than I would remotely be comfortable with now. It was an escape. Between the birth of my son in 2011 and a glitchy computer, I was away for years and came in very infrequently for special events and to talk to friends. Last year, I returned, promising myself the following: No obligations. NONE. No building. No designing. No nothing to keep me inworld. Just enjoy and slip in and out at will.

I have found a balance now in my real life and my digital one. I didn't feel the need for the type of validation that being inworld can be so seductive in providing. I have seen it so many times: how one's avatar seems more authoritative, more popular, more beautiful, more accomplished. How for some, they crave the attention. For me, I know that SL had inspired me to go to grad school. I even put it on my admissions essay. SL inspired my creativity. That it could be a place of healing and discovery. That I have made great, interesting, intelligent friends that I count among my RL ones. That if it all went away tomorrow, I have had an incredible, unforgettable experience within it.

There's a very important thing to remember as our digital lives become more evolved: It is a complement to your real life. How will you make it work for yours?

Atlas Obscura Positive Article About Second Life

The folks over at Atlas Obscura wrote a really great piece on Second Life called "Forgotten Wonders of the Digital World: Second Life."

Their reporter was teamed with a resident who took him on a tour of some of the most creative and wondrous sims in SL, including AM Radio's "The Far Away" (above). I remember when he first created it and it was so sensational because it was an example of how SL was more than the negative hype attributed to it.

I know SL as a place filled with creatives (me included) whose visions they share with the rest of us. I think about the "old" SL back in the day with the clubs and gambling and escorts and such, but that was just a piece of it. Just like in RL, there are other aspects. Even back then (and I'm talking 2007-8) there were folks building and creating artistic things. I know building was the very first thing I did in SL once I escaped the welcome area. I went straight to a sandbox and started playing with prims.

I really do thank them for writing such a positive piece about our world.

Elle in Kitely

I ran into an old Caledon acquaintance who convinced me to take a look at Kitely. A builder's paradise in that you can get a lot of sim and prims for a whole lot less. Of course, I convinced Phin to noob it up with me and explore it...

 It had a very SL circa 2007-08 feel to me. Having been around in SL back then, it was like being in a fun throwback, except as a noob it was very hard to figure out how to get anything for yourself or what to do next. As in SL, one of the very first places I visited was their inworld version of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater...

 

This one was really nicely done and to me, actually better than the SL version of it. I have been to the real life one and found the layout very familiar. I knew exactly where to go...

 There's Phin!

Phin and I always explore other virtual worlds. We joke it is in case we need to immigrate to a new one someday.

Drow/Dark Elf Roleplay Sim Considerations...

I love being a dark elf/drow. A little wicked. A lot sexy and beautiful. An absolutely fun form for me to be.

I have been considering doing fantasy RP for some time--something I've never truly done--so I thought I'd check out the Realm of Estara...

I went to their Drow 101 workshop and put some thought into my character, but I still haven't dived in quite yet. I also checked out Mystara...

I came across a huge bear and quickly steered clear. I really liked their Underdark area and overall look. I think that with both, as I am so new to this that the "paragraph style" of RP'ing is frankly, intimidating as hell and I don't want to make an ass out of myself. I did a little RP back in City of Lost Angels/CoLA years ago, but it wasn't longer form para RP. It's unclear how to start as a newcomer to me. Do I need a mentor? How does that work? So many questions...

Elle in InWorldz: First Day!

I thought I would finally check out InWorldz. Not only was I pleasantly surprised, but found myself wondering "Why aren't more people using this grid?" It felt stable, looked good, and felt like SL to me. The starter avatars were not bad at all. The one I chose wasn't too far off from my normal one anyway. Normally I take a welcome center pic, but forgot. When I arrived, I felt lucky that I was already grid-familiar, so I didn't need help with the UI or what to do. If I was brand-new, I think I would've been very confused. A mentor was there, but I wasn't sure if there was a person behind the avatar or not. They didn't interact with me beyond a greeting. So I hopped off the island ASAP and tried to get my looks more together. A lot of familiar creators are already there, so it wasn't too hard... 

It was actually in InWorldz that I recognized a wanderer persona fit me best. They actually have an active community in there that goes from sim to sim. InWorldz has a lot of potential for those who want to move/have an alternative to SL. Some aspects of it are rough in places and reminds me of SL back in the day in a good way, but trust me...it's not bad at all. 

Elle in Farmville: Chickens and Peppers and Squash...Oh My!

Screw it. I'll admit it...I play Farmville. You've already read about why I think people really get into games like YoVille (which I've found that I'm disinterested in), and I like this one even more. Essentially, you are a farmer (obviously) and plant crops with a certain harvest time, like 2-day squash or 4-hour blueberries. When planting or harvesting you get currency coins and XP. You can also harvest trees and collect from your livestock. Like other Facebook-based Flash games, your friends can send you gifts for your farm and vice versa. You can help out on their farms for XP. It's simple as hell and really easy to use and fun...I've found that I don't care very much about levelling up quickly. I just like having the plants grow? I had created this little heart out of hay bales even before I knew there was a whole forum devoted to FarmVille art out there!Recently, its parent company Zynga has been called out on lead-gen scams. What's that? In FarmVille, you can buy coins or FV bucks outright. For those of us used to MMOs like SL, no big deal. It's like buying Lindens. Seems FB cracked down on it and Zynga removed the option, but there used to be things like "Get 15 coins if you sign up for a subscription with so-and-so", which I thought was a ripoff since you could just go ahead and buy the currency.

Despite those issues, I still think Flash-based games like this are worth a watch...especially if they become more interactive. And you have better believe I'm keeping my eye on City of Eternals, which is still in its testing phase.