Roma (Second Life)

Today, I visited the world of Ancient Roma, a historical replica including the Hippodrome, Roman Forum, a gladiator arena that allows combat in free costumes, and many other ornately detailed places.

Aerial View

Upon arrival to the custom's house, one is greeted by a friendly guard, a non-player character with travel tips and the offer of a free toga.

My arrival at the Custom's House

If you play the "Missing Egyptian" game, you'll pick up several scrolls and a lengthy, illustrated guide book with information about Rome. You'll also get a lot of free loot, such as clothing and sandals, which makes exploring the city feel more authentic.

The Missing Egyptian is  sub-plot about treachery and the threat of Barbarian hordes.

The intended audience is people over the age of 18 who are interested in learning more about history through exploration or by reading reading a lot of note cards.  There was so much information offered, when clicking on objects, that I felt a little overwhelmed trying to read and remember everything. But, the details and scenery were wonderful.

Reclining in a Pompeian tavern

I made chain mail and hammered an anvil in the smith's shop.

The second level of the Hippodrome has beautiful mosaic art.

The sim is large and there are lots of nooks and crannies to explore. After an hour of exploring, I felt like I still hadn't found everything.  In that time, I managed to visit the top of the Harbor Colossus, dress up like a gladiator, drive a chariot, charter a ferry, go for a swim, and hammer steel at the Vulcan forge. On another occasion, I attended an automated theater performance about Dionysus, visited a steaming Roman bath, and explored the Capitoline Museum.

Find weapons, a lion, and a moving ramp on the first floor of the Flavian Gladiator Arena.

You can race a chariot at the Hippodrome or use one to tour the sim.

I was greeted by several characters, including a couple of centurion guards and someone who worked for a senator.

The space has two websites connected, Romancitizens.com and the Romancitizens.blogspot.com.

This appears to be an active place advertising monthly activities (although some I found were from May).

As far as freebies go, I found quite a few, including several outfits, weapons, and pieces of furniture. There were so many freebies (some needing to be rezzed in a sandbox), that I will need to spend some time exploring my inventory if I'm to know what I got.

This location scores a five out of five rating for content, interactivity, authenticity, and generosity!

Historical Role Play: Whitehall, England 1666 (Second Life)

Searching for in-world historical simulations related to the French Revolution, I discovered Historical Communities and Royal Courts of Second Life and Other Virtual Worlds.   In addition to reading about an in-world replica of Marie Antoinette's personal retreat, the Petit Trianon, I found a role play of interest on the "Events" page titled "Living Statues:  A Performance by the King's Company 1666" that was slated to happen that day!  This led me to the Royal Court of Whitehall, a simulation of Restoration era London, 1666, that you can read about on their blog.

The intended audience for this sim appears to be history buffs, as the location is a digital museum with note cards, broadsides, realistic artifacts, and role plays that convey information about the time.

Upon arrival, I received notification of the rules, stipulating that visitors were welcome to explore and observe.  I noticed an application to join a future role play as well as some free "bows and courtesies" for my avatar.

I teleported to the Queen's Stairs first, discovering beautiful artwork, including a famous portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.  Courtly furnishings begged to be lounged upon, and the walls and ceilings made me grateful I'd mastered my camera controls.

While in the area, I visited a dining room, a theater, and several other ornately detailed palace spaces, including a historic courtyard with references to Oliver Cromwell and the beheading of King Charles I (1649).

 

Not too soon after I'd plummeted to the bottom of the English Channel, in an effort to get a better view of a 17th century ship, a woman named Margaritte sent me a chat, formally inviting me to attend the upcoming performance.  She sent me a teleport to the theater where the role play would be taking place.  I later watched her perform on stage.

I met Margarite, who told me about her group's mission.

Realistic details abounded.

The performance, a tableaux of ancient statues of the classical world to honor King Charles II, was interesting to observe, even if a bit on the slow side.   It was an interesting way to interact with history, though, more entertaining than reading note cards.

What was remarkable about this performance was that these avatars moved (nearly imperceptibly), throughout the show.  The chat window also offered a script of the action as it took place.

A pivotal scene in the tableau where a character lost his fig leaf.

I would give Whitehall 1666 a four and a half-star rating.  The sim is incredibly detailed and the role play clever, but I found myself wishing there were more active things my avatar could do.

First Journey to Second Life

I joined Second Life yesterday.  My default avatar looked like the image below when I arrived.

I quickly changed into another outfit (one of the freebies in my inventory), completed a few tutorials on Social Island (to earn some more freebies), and then ventured off to find an art studio near the Virtual Chelsea Hotel that I'd heard about.

A little fruitful sleuthing led me to the artwork of Fran Benoir.  Mission accomplished; it was time to return to the real world.

GIMP Photo Editor (Jokaydia Grid)

Upon the recommendation of Paul Skowhegan, I downloaded Gimp, an open-source photo editor, to start learning how to make avatar clothes from a template.

Following directions from a video tutorial that I found, I started experimenting and was able to create my first customized t-shirts and later a couple of skirts (with mixed results).

This t-shirt, featuring an open-source Bavarian crest, was my first creation.  My family thinks it looks terrifying, especially when paired with a matching skirt;but, I love it!

I had better luck with this funky sequin and lace skirt.

Robin Wood Template

Shading Layer

Lace Layer

Sequins Layer

I also made this leopard skirt, which prompted my friend, Laurie, to bust out her "paleo diva" look. Some of her students designed "paleo diva" clothes for a fashion show!

"Paleo Divas"

Update:  

This is the first REAL skirt that I've ever made.  All of this inworld designing made me want to make something real.  I just put the finishing touches on it today, Thursday 23 June, 2016!

Fun with Prim Properties (Jokaydia Grid)

Today, I experimented with prim properties and figured out how to add script to a build.  The video below depicts a brief demonstration.

After receiving a script from a class assignment that allowed me to set a cube in motion, I decided to see what else I might be able to do with scripts.

To get started, I created a pyramidal prim and played around with its settings.   Under the "Object" tab, I select "Phantom."

The "Features" tab is where I made the most changes.  I'm not quite sure what all of these settings do, but playing around helped me to create a rubbery, wobbly shape that jiggles when moved.  It's not as sensitive as I want it to be yet, but it's a step in the right direction.

Next, I opened up a box of "Miscellaneous Handy Scripts" that I picked up at the Builder's Emporium.

After opening the box and copying the contents to my inventory, I dragged the "Touch Up-Down" script to the "Contents" folder of my prim. Clicking on the script, I was able to go in and edit the coordinates using the X, Y, and Z axes of my prim.

I dragged copies of my wobbly prim in a line  and adjusted the coordinates for each one, resulting in an interactive display that I find quite mesmerizing.  I haven't yet come up with an educational use for this particular creation, but I'm pondering it.

If you want to check it out, paste this link into your JG browser  |   hop://74.63.215.2:8002/Marlboro%20College/206/27/75

Skowhegan With a Friend (Jokaydia Grid)

Of all the places I've visited in JG, the most enticing place by far remains Skowhegan, of MASD 54, because it is constantly changing.  Evidence of human creativity and self-expression abounds, ranging from photography and collages in cylindrical huts, to interactive games and customized dwellings.

Touring JG with a friend, in this case Dave B., is infinitely more satisfying than wandering alone, because it brings a new set of eyes and conversation to the experience.

For example, my travel partner recognized references to other games in some of the artwork.

Different interests lead to new paths and discoveries.  On this trip, I noticed that some of the prims were animated or had unique properties.  The one below, a permeable pyramid, jiggled like Jello. Others changed size when touched.

A Couple of Strange New Lands (Jokaydia Grid)

Using the bulletin board of landmarks near Scooter's Emporium, I teleported to Xhesid Veemit, a sandy, seemingly uninhabited place filled with maps of the Holy Land, references to scripture, and plenty of slide shows that failed to captivate me for long.  While there, I encountered a camel, some interesting pillows with different scripts attached to them, and a couple of caches of avatar supplies. Perhaps the most unexpected finds were a box containing a Darth Vador avatar costume and a fourth Tardis.

Xhesid Veemit 

Notice Tardis four and some funky pillows.

Of note, the Darth Vador outfit didn't look nearly as cool as I'd hoped.

Fail

Also featured on the board near Scooter's was Montclair University, which had an existentialism walk filled with informative notecards and some stunning scenery.

I got excited when I thought that I could take a copy of this metaphorical pot of gold, but alas, I was only able to copy one piece.

I made my first skirt (Jokaydia Grid)

I get it.  Making a skirt in the virtual world is not the same as making one in real life.

It was, however, challenging to make my first inworld clothing, because I had to learn how to use the Loop Rez tool (given to me by Laurie Skowhegan) and then link all of the pieces correctly.

After creating the skirt, I figured out why the T-pose is useful.

The T-pose has a useful function; it's for adjusting clothing to your avatar.

When I tried to fit the skirt to my avatar without the T-pose, it didn't work so well.

This is what it looks like if you forget to attach your skirt to your pelvis.

This capture reminds me of a Vogue shoot; nowhere would this happen in real life.