In Extra Extra, our Gemma Cleanslate describes an encounter with one of the merfolk she and DJ Quark had. Did she put it behind her, or give in to the siren song of fashionable aquatic avatars?To read the story, go to Extra Extra.
Showing posts with label avatar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label avatar. Show all posts
Monday, May 31, 2010
Gemma and the Mermaid
In Extra Extra, our Gemma Cleanslate describes an encounter with one of the merfolk she and DJ Quark had. Did she put it behind her, or give in to the siren song of fashionable aquatic avatars?To read the story, go to Extra Extra.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
US Army to Use Second Life to Aid Amputee Veterans
The US Army is making plans to purchase space in Second Life for the purpose of helping veteran amputees back into society. Named the Amputee Virtual Environment Support Space project, the virtual space is to be used by the wounded soldiers after they leave treatment centers.
“The avatar will be able to interact with other registered avatar beings – fellow amputees, caregivers, even friends and loved ones – in a virtual world that's unencumbered by the restrictions of time, distance or disability.” One program manager noted amputee soldiers once out of treatment faculties found themselves alone. The virtual world would help provide them with a group of peers for support.
“As AVESS develops, users also may be able to check in with their professional caregivers, asking questions, getting information updates, and even seeing online demonstrations of the best way to do a physical therapy exercise or adjust a prosthetic device.”
The contract was awarded in fall 2009 to ADL Co, "We tasked them with coming up with a roadmap, letting us know what was possible in developing a virtual world for amputee veterans, and letting us know what issues there are in terms of privacy, access, authenticating who was coming into the environment, all those types of issues," program manager Ashley Fisher explained.
The first phase involved a normal Second Life region, to see what they could do there. Their experiences also led to the conclusion they needed a secure area from unauthorized avatars, especially griefers whom would harass the wounded veterans.
"We wanted to avoid that, because we really did want the veterans to be able to go in and express the issues they are having with the people they know are going through the same thing," Fisher detailed, "And also, we needed it to be secure, because we want to try to bring families, and possibly even children, into the world, and we can't really do that on the regular Second Life platform." The area is being set up in a private, and secure, space in Second Life Enterprise , a region for private spaces marketed to corporations.
Fisher made comparisons to the movie “Avatar,” in which a former marine who lost his legs is able to go about in a new body through the use of a machine. She explained she saw “tremendous therapeutic value” in the amputees’ ability to “define their avatars as they choose, and to immerse themselves in those characteristics as they interact with other avatars.”
Fisher expected some to depict their amputations on their avatars with prosthetic limbs, though a number would do so only as they became more at ease with the virtual environment and the others in it. The “transformation” where they would come to “accept themselves and their new appearance” was hard enough when surrounded by their peers in a hospital, but harder when trying to fit back into society.
"For individuals with disabilities, virtual worlds are a powerful way to connect with others, to access peer support and to participate in activities that might not otherwise be possible," Fisher explained. "This project will establish the best way to adopt this technology for the unique needs of the military amputee community."
Source: The Official Website of the National Guard
Bixyl Shuftan
“The avatar will be able to interact with other registered avatar beings – fellow amputees, caregivers, even friends and loved ones – in a virtual world that's unencumbered by the restrictions of time, distance or disability.” One program manager noted amputee soldiers once out of treatment faculties found themselves alone. The virtual world would help provide them with a group of peers for support.
“As AVESS develops, users also may be able to check in with their professional caregivers, asking questions, getting information updates, and even seeing online demonstrations of the best way to do a physical therapy exercise or adjust a prosthetic device.”
The contract was awarded in fall 2009 to ADL Co, "We tasked them with coming up with a roadmap, letting us know what was possible in developing a virtual world for amputee veterans, and letting us know what issues there are in terms of privacy, access, authenticating who was coming into the environment, all those types of issues," program manager Ashley Fisher explained.
The first phase involved a normal Second Life region, to see what they could do there. Their experiences also led to the conclusion they needed a secure area from unauthorized avatars, especially griefers whom would harass the wounded veterans.
"We wanted to avoid that, because we really did want the veterans to be able to go in and express the issues they are having with the people they know are going through the same thing," Fisher detailed, "And also, we needed it to be secure, because we want to try to bring families, and possibly even children, into the world, and we can't really do that on the regular Second Life platform." The area is being set up in a private, and secure, space in Second Life Enterprise , a region for private spaces marketed to corporations.
Fisher made comparisons to the movie “Avatar,” in which a former marine who lost his legs is able to go about in a new body through the use of a machine. She explained she saw “tremendous therapeutic value” in the amputees’ ability to “define their avatars as they choose, and to immerse themselves in those characteristics as they interact with other avatars.”
Fisher expected some to depict their amputations on their avatars with prosthetic limbs, though a number would do so only as they became more at ease with the virtual environment and the others in it. The “transformation” where they would come to “accept themselves and their new appearance” was hard enough when surrounded by their peers in a hospital, but harder when trying to fit back into society.
"For individuals with disabilities, virtual worlds are a powerful way to connect with others, to access peer support and to participate in activities that might not otherwise be possible," Fisher explained. "This project will establish the best way to adopt this technology for the unique needs of the military amputee community."
Source: The Official Website of the National Guard
Bixyl Shuftan
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tellaq Avatar Creations
One complaint about Second Life that occasionally comes up is the lack of ethnic avatars. Quality ones seem especially hard to find. One man here started up a skin store to do something about it: Tellaq Avatar Creations.The store is two buildings, one for male skins, one for female. The mens’ area had the larger selection (for now), and had mostly black skins. But there were several white ones as well, in addition to an Asian look. Both buildings had a lucky chair, giving people a chance to win one of the skins.
Tellaq Avatar Creations is owned by Tellaq Guardian. “I am a graphics designer in my First Life,” he explained, “Seven months after I got into Second Life I tried (making) my first skin. First reason for making the Afro skin, I couldn’t find any good black skins for myself. As you can see in the store, there are many Afro skins.”
Tellaq remarked that his choice of his name in Second Life was a joke, “ ‘Tellaq’ means a cleaner guy in a Turkish bath. He cleans the customers inside (grin), helping them to clean their shoulders and (places on) their back where they can’t reach.”Tellaq has a total od 48 avatars in his store, but only for the moment, “I am working on forty Afro women now.” He plans for a total of ninety avatars in the near future, “It will be done in two months.”
Among the avatars, his favorite is “Derrick,” which he created first and still wears most of the time. He also feels especially proud of his work on “Kid,” “Francis,” and “Vincent.” Comments by others about his skins encouraged him to make more, “Their comments made me do better things. They said I was number one (smile), and (had) the most beautiful Afro skins when they saw this. ... They gave me the fire to do (more).”
Tellaq had not been planning on making a store when he started, intending to make just a few skins, but the complements by others spurred him to make more, “I wasn’t planning to do it. I was just having fun in Second Life.”Tellaq had no plans to sell anything but skins, “Except skins and shapes, I don’t really plan to do anything else.”
Tellaq Avatar Creations is at the Tropical Breeze sim at (49, 62, 23)
Bixyl Shuftan
Thursday, January 21, 2010
“Avatar” in Second Life
James Cameron’s science-fiction movie “Avatar” has taken cinema by storm, setting box office records in the United States and elsewhere across the world. Inevitably, people began making avatars of the alien “Na’vi.” Whenever there’s something big in science-fiction, people are drawn to begin with to recreate it here. With “Avatar,” there was a certain irony to it. There’s the movie’s name, making the “Na’vi” in Second Life “Avatar” avatars. And just like the humans in the movie create “avatars” to go about in an alien world in an imersive and personal manner, people have been doing so with “Na’vi” avatars here in the Metaverse. And of course Second Life avatars tend to be much taller than normal human anyway.Many of us have already seen the familiar blue, thin humanoids showing up at clubs or other places. As it turns out, there have been efforts at more, trying to recreate the world of Pandora in Second Life.
Probably the most detailed of these Pandora areas is the Pandora Magic sim in Second Life. The entry area has a few freebies nearby, notably the rp combat system. Portals can take you to shops, or straight down to the planet. And given a little time to load, it is a most beautiful sight. Trees standing tall in the air, luminous plants and creatures providing colorful light - notably when seen at nighttime, flowers that make “crunch” noises and temporarily vanish when you walk near.And of course there were a few Na’vi avatars about, walking here and there. There was also a couple embracing in a leaf boat moving slowly along a river. There were other cuddle poses throughout the sim, for any couples going here for a stroll in the woods. Supposedly some people after seeing the movie are depressed about not being able to visit Pandora for real (Click Here for CNN article). Logging into Second Life and going to Pandora Magic would certainly be one way to ease these down feelings.
Pandora Magic and its sister sim Pandora Hellsgate are the location for a German Na’vi roleplay group, though they don’t seem to have a problem with visitors going about the forest. The language at the starting area was German, though some notecards had English translations. Most of the chat heard was not in English, but there was one who did, commenting, “I think the reason Second Life has gone AVATAR crazy is because the movie related to us in a big way. A lot of us log in to a new body and a new world with unimaginable possibilities. SL is the outdated version. (laughter).”Going into Search and typing Na’vi or Pandora, one will find other sims. Checking some of them, none led to a forest as lush as Pandora Magic’s, but there were some other roleplay groups. Angels Sanctuary had a Na’vi forest, which while not as detailed as Pandora Magic was better than most other "Avatar" places I saw. Two places had the same design space station, with a free human Hardsuit and 1L hovercraft, though except for demos the Na'vi avatars were a little costly. And some areas, while a nice place to stroll, seemed to have nothing to do with the “Avatar” movie, or were just a place to sell expensive avatars and props.
So if you’re someone who’s seen the movie and wants to relive it, or just want to see a little of what all the hype is about, Second Life offers places and things for you.
“kîyevåme, eana-txim.”
“(See you soon, blue-butt).”
Bixyl Shuftan
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Second Life “Avatar” Advertising Campaign?
It seems that not only has Linden Lab started doing some advertising for Second Life, but they’ve decided to take advantage of the hype over the highly popular movie “Avatar.”
Seen here and here on Flickr (special thanks to inacentaurdump and gogolita), the advertisement banners show a thinly-dressed blue lady with blue skin in front of a wilderness area with a moon rising in the sky behind her. The caption reads “Free AVATAR.”
The woman is not technically a Na’vi avatar. She isn’t wearing tribal clothes, and has no pointed ears or catlike features. But the connection to the movie is obvious.
Peter Linden has been asked about the ad, and had the following response:
"While we’re certainly fans of the Avatar film and of blue avatars (not to mention pink, green, yellow, and robot avatars), we do not want to cause any confusion between Second Life and the movie with this advertisement, and we plan to change it to avoid any misunderstanding."
The advertising campaign does seem to have made the desired results. After slowly declining for much of 2009, their “user concurrency” numbers suddenly rose. Tateru Nino of the “Dwell on it” blog had her own comment about Linden Lab’s ad campaign in comic form. The Lindens will probably want to take their time before removing the ad.
Linden Lab isn't alone in taking advantage of the "Avatar" bandwagon. Social network IMVU has also come out with their own banner, featuring a blue woman with the caption "Get Your AVATAR."
It is notable that a number of people have created various Na’vi avs up for sale in Second Life. While there are a few cheap and demo ones, most cost hundreds, even thousands of Lindens. Some Pandora roleplay areas have sprung up in some sims as well.
Bixyl Shuftan
Sources: New World Notes , Massively
Seen here and here on Flickr (special thanks to inacentaurdump and gogolita), the advertisement banners show a thinly-dressed blue lady with blue skin in front of a wilderness area with a moon rising in the sky behind her. The caption reads “Free AVATAR.”
The woman is not technically a Na’vi avatar. She isn’t wearing tribal clothes, and has no pointed ears or catlike features. But the connection to the movie is obvious.Peter Linden has been asked about the ad, and had the following response:
"While we’re certainly fans of the Avatar film and of blue avatars (not to mention pink, green, yellow, and robot avatars), we do not want to cause any confusion between Second Life and the movie with this advertisement, and we plan to change it to avoid any misunderstanding."
The advertising campaign does seem to have made the desired results. After slowly declining for much of 2009, their “user concurrency” numbers suddenly rose. Tateru Nino of the “Dwell on it” blog had her own comment about Linden Lab’s ad campaign in comic form. The Lindens will probably want to take their time before removing the ad.
Linden Lab isn't alone in taking advantage of the "Avatar" bandwagon. Social network IMVU has also come out with their own banner, featuring a blue woman with the caption "Get Your AVATAR."
It is notable that a number of people have created various Na’vi avs up for sale in Second Life. While there are a few cheap and demo ones, most cost hundreds, even thousands of Lindens. Some Pandora roleplay areas have sprung up in some sims as well.
Bixyl Shuftan
Sources: New World Notes , Massively
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The “Wingless” Free Avatars
When I first came to Second Life, alongside the newbie human avatars as choices for one’s first look was one nonhuman, the old ringtail avatar Luskwood donated to Linden Labs. I did find a few free furred avatars in my newcomer period, but aside from the purple kitty avie, nothing seemed an improvement until I had the cash to buy a better avatar.
Later, I heard the newbie ringtail had been done away with as an option. So where could a newcomer go to get a furred av, particularly one with a quality look?
It was about that time I found out an answer: the Wingless Avatar package, a collection of quality avatars once sold, now free for the asking.
The Wingless Avatar package is a gift to the residents of SL from the avatar designer Wingless Emoto. He once sold his avatars through a retailer, but a dispute occurred and the business partnership dissolved. Unfortunately for Wingless, the contract signed stated he could not sell the avatars in the deals with him through anyone else. So Wingless decided to make them freely available, people able to grab a package at locations, or transferable from person to person. Some carry them not to wear, but to pass to newcomers to SL or those around for a while curious about furry avatars or wanting a different look. Some locations have individual Wingless avatars up for sale for 10L. But this is against the wishes of Wingless Emoto.
And the package has an impressive variety of avatars. There are many colors, red, white, blue, pink, rainbow, etc., of both wolf and fox-type avatars, both being popular furred av varieties in SL. There are also a few hyena and horse avs in the package. Rezzing the box on a sandbox and unpacking it, one gets a folder filled with each avatar, boxed. One has to rezz and unpack each avatar.
Each of the avatars come in both male and female skins. Modifiable, the avies offer a choice of either plantigrade (walk on the heel like a normal human foot) or digitgrade (walk on the ball on the foot) lower legs. The latter looks more exotic, though sometimes one can see the shadow of the invisiprims, and long pants worn end up looking cut off with a ring of fabric around the ankles. There is an option for small or large hands/paws. For the wolf avs, A Customization HUD gives you the option of showing canine teeth or not, and choosing the color of eyes, paws, claws, and the inside of ears. Another HUD, “Control,” allows for options for twitching ears, wagging tails, blinking eyes, and blushing.
It should be noted one doesn’t *have* to wear the whole avatar. I have seen some kitsune-style nekos who told me their ears and tails came from Wingless avatar parts. As there are several styles of hair that come with the av, this means a few free hairpieces. A good place to look if you need one in a hurry upon getting a av with no hair.
The Wingless Avatar Package can be found in a number of locations, from freebie shops to avatar stores, though in any place in SL with some furs among the residents, it shouldn’t take long to find someone who has it and get a copy.
A truly great package of free avatars.
{edit} A package of Wingless avatars can be found near the front door of Dana Vanmoer's store in Caprona (93, 92, 31). {/edit}
Bixyl Shuftan
Later, I heard the newbie ringtail had been done away with as an option. So where could a newcomer go to get a furred av, particularly one with a quality look?It was about that time I found out an answer: the Wingless Avatar package, a collection of quality avatars once sold, now free for the asking.
The Wingless Avatar package is a gift to the residents of SL from the avatar designer Wingless Emoto. He once sold his avatars through a retailer, but a dispute occurred and the business partnership dissolved. Unfortunately for Wingless, the contract signed stated he could not sell the avatars in the deals with him through anyone else. So Wingless decided to make them freely available, people able to grab a package at locations, or transferable from person to person. Some carry them not to wear, but to pass to newcomers to SL or those around for a while curious about furry avatars or wanting a different look. Some locations have individual Wingless avatars up for sale for 10L. But this is against the wishes of Wingless Emoto.
And the package has an impressive variety of avatars. There are many colors, red, white, blue, pink, rainbow, etc., of both wolf and fox-type avatars, both being popular furred av varieties in SL. There are also a few hyena and horse avs in the package. Rezzing the box on a sandbox and unpacking it, one gets a folder filled with each avatar, boxed. One has to rezz and unpack each avatar.Each of the avatars come in both male and female skins. Modifiable, the avies offer a choice of either plantigrade (walk on the heel like a normal human foot) or digitgrade (walk on the ball on the foot) lower legs. The latter looks more exotic, though sometimes one can see the shadow of the invisiprims, and long pants worn end up looking cut off with a ring of fabric around the ankles. There is an option for small or large hands/paws. For the wolf avs, A Customization HUD gives you the option of showing canine teeth or not, and choosing the color of eyes, paws, claws, and the inside of ears. Another HUD, “Control,” allows for options for twitching ears, wagging tails, blinking eyes, and blushing.
It should be noted one doesn’t *have* to wear the whole avatar. I have seen some kitsune-style nekos who told me their ears and tails came from Wingless avatar parts. As there are several styles of hair that come with the av, this means a few free hairpieces. A good place to look if you need one in a hurry upon getting a av with no hair.The Wingless Avatar Package can be found in a number of locations, from freebie shops to avatar stores, though in any place in SL with some furs among the residents, it shouldn’t take long to find someone who has it and get a copy.
A truly great package of free avatars.
{edit} A package of Wingless avatars can be found near the front door of Dana Vanmoer's store in Caprona (93, 92, 31). {/edit}
Bixyl Shuftan
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Changing Shape for RFL
People have done all sorts of things for Relay for Life fundraising. But how about wearing an avatar you’re not quite accustomed to for a while?To see two examples of funnery about talking a walk in the feet of the "other side" and raising cash from it, Click Here.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Relay for Life Avatars
Planning on giving some Lindens to Relay for Life, but you’ve been thinking of getting a new avie? Well, why not do both? Some builders have put items up for sale for charity, with all proceeds going to Relay for Life. Among these are some avatars made by various creators.Click HERE to continue.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
SLOOP - “IN THE NAME OF HELL/ WHO ARE YOU /WHO ARE YOU?”
Avatars and Archetypes.
Part II
The first part of this column was posted a few days ago and I took the liberty of speculating with the idea of being able to cast an objective look on our avatar –and /or our alts- from a Jungian point of view. The fact that Second Life is so obviously projective made me think we could easily “make” archetypal versions of our personality.
And the first archetype I mentioned was the Shadow. And please, if you think this is worth reading, check the column I just mentioned. Lets just remember the Shadow is the personification of that part of human, psychic possibility, that we deny in ourselves and project onto others. The goal of personality integration is to integrate the rejected, the darker side of our life into our total experience. That side is not “bad” by default, it can also be our most creative and free side of our potential.
The second most prevalent archetype is that of the SOUL. “Anima” is the male name of the soul, “Animus” is the female name. This is our inner opposite. Guys meet their Anima, gals meet their Animus. The Anima may appear in so many different ways, as an exotic dancing girl or as an old hag. The Animus may appear as an exotic and sensual young man or as an old grouch. A good example
taken from the modern myth department is Lois Lane. Clark Kent is the inferior shadow side of Superman, but Lois Lane is not interested in Clark. She is infatuated with Superman, her Animus, the masculine completion of her personality. (We are not talking about gender issues here: if you are a gay man you will be looking for your Animus and if you are a gay woman, you will be looking for your Anima).
Just asking: anyone has made an alt of the opposite sex just for the fun of it? Well, you are welcome to watch it closely. It’s such a big chunk of yourself.
Jung’s main archetypes are not “types” in the way each person may be classified as one or the other. We each have all basic archetypes within us. And we have seen three of the four main forms or archetypes.
The fourth one is the SELF.
For Jung, the Self is the spirit that connects everything and is part of the Universe. It is the coherent whole that unifies both consciousness and unconsciousness. It may be found elsewhere in concepts as Nirvana, or other philosophical or religious theories that speak of harmony. Jung described the creation of the Self as a process of individuation, the work of a lifetime, the “becoming the person you were meant to be”, where after being able to identify all the archetypes you can, then be able to become you own original self, bringing together all the aspects of your personality as one, and being in charge of them, making you whole again, yet a lot more genuine and free.
So, bottom line: I found the idea of our avatar and alts being parts of our split selves, very interesting –to say the least-. And as those avatars have probably been “constructed” in a very unconscious and playful way… seems like a good idea to take a good look at them and see what we can learn from the virtual version of “who the hell we are”. Second Life may help us to –literally- pull ourselves together.
Covadonga Writer.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Interview with Lomgrem Smalls
If you’ve ever been at Luskwood (or the Cutlass Club), you may have noticed a resident so small, it’s hard to find him without looking for his nametag. This would be Lomgren Smalls. Having long been known for his six-inch high avie, and to a lesser extend occasional custom work on micro (and mega) avatars, he has made a little real-life news recently. I recently had a chance to talk with him.
Bixyl Shuftan: Where did you first hear about Second Life?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, I had heard about it several years ago, back when I hadn't even thought of joining. Probably a good three, four years, maybe more than that. I think it was probably during 2006, because that was my first year being at the El Goonish Shive forums at Keenspot (El Goonish Shive is an online comic).
Bixyl Shuftan: So what got you to take a look?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, I joined the Trillian Astra alpha back in early Jan 2007, or maybe Dec 2006. Trillian Astra is ... an IM client aggregator of sorts. It allows you to connect to multiple IM Networks. AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, etc. One of the first people to add me as a friend on the Astra network was a furry on here already, and finally convinced me to go ahead and try Second Life.
Thus, my born date is late January 2007 ... but when I tried it ... it was so laggy that my avatar never loaded. So I gave up on it again. I finally decided to try again on March 3rd, 2007. Made it in, things loaded, and from there, met new friends, etc, and haven't left.
Bixyl Shuftan: Sounds like things went well once you started.
Lomgren Smalls: *chuckles* As well as can be expected with SL.
Bixyl Shuftan: When did you first start building, and how did it lead to your work on avatars?
Lomgren Smalls: Heh. I started building and learning right from the start. My very first stop was Luskwood, on the recommendation of my friend from Trillian Astra. After a couple of days, I visited the Ivory Tower of Prims to learn about building. I remember thinking at the time that it'd be cool if I could build, but I never expected to be able to do this well at the time. I was building silly, simple little things at first for practice, like tables, chairs, the usual. And then I got it into my head to build something steampunk. So, me being the crazy kitty I am, I started on it as a major project, building in Perry. This actually took only a week for me to do, even back then ... and my first actual month in SL hadn't quite finished yet. Here's a pic, just check the date
Bixyl Shuftan: Thanks.
Lomgren Smalls: The picture was after it had been refined a bit and I was trying to package it for possible sale. But the last part of the original that I have was built and finished on Apr 1, 2007. I have tweaked it since then.
Bixyl Shuftan: Looks good
Lomgren Smalls: So, I was building from the very beginning. It took me about 6 months in SL to learn enough to make the original base of this av. But the main thing about me and building ... I love a challenge, and seeing just what I can do.
Bixyl Shuftan: Yes, looking at you, it's obvious someone did quite a bit of work on how small one could make an avatar. How did this begin?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, back to the El Goonish Shive forums, it was there that my online persona became a 6 inch tall male anthrofeline, if you want to describe it formally. So, naturally, one of the things I wanted to try and do in SL was make myself, well, myself. One of the first things I got was the original NorthStar micro, with help, as a kit. It was actually twice my current height, about a foot tall. But I customized it and eventually learned enough to make it move. I then took what I learned with that and made my own. Including my own animation and such to get it to work.
Bixyl Shuftan: How long did it take before it was fully ready?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, probably 20 hours at least, but I keep tweaking it and such. That was figuring out the scripting and figuring out how to shrink the head and tail down properly. The rest was me using the NorthStar micro as a pattern and trying to figure out how to improve upon it.
Bixyl Shuftan: I take it your micro was a hit with everyone on first sight?
Lomgren Smalls whispers: Hehe. A lot of people liked it, and I still get questions on "where did you get that?" and "how did you get so small?"
Bixyl Shuftan: *chuckles* What have been some of the more unusual reactions to your micro?
Lomgren Smalls: *chuckles* Well, they've ranged from the innocent to the adult... so... I've seen a lot
Bixyl Shuftan: Those who've read the paper for a while will recall you've also done work on macro avatars, super-large ones.
Lomgren Smalls: Yes, I've done some work on megas before, mainly to see just what was possible. Most people were saying even a 30 meter av was impossible. But, me being a builder, I knew what link limits and root prims were, and how they affected things. So, I was able to design and piece together a statue-style mega avatar that was ... a lot larger than anyone expected was possible.
Bixyl Shuftan: If I recall corectly, you built a mega-vixen about 224 feet tall
Lomgren Smalls: It was actually for Halloween, because I was becoming known as a micro ... and I built the vixen for a friend, and I made a mega version of my own regular av, around 65.5 and 68 meters tall, respectively.
Bixyl Shuftan: Did the work take about as long as your micro?
Lomgren Smalls: The vixen was built over the weekend before Halloween 2007, quite literally. My avatar was finished the Monday before. I recall Halloween being on that Tuesday
Bixyl Shuftan: Yes, I remember seeing her a few days later at Luskwood. Needless to say, she left quite an impression. ;-)
Lomgren Smalls: *grins*
Bixyl Shuftan: How easy is it to move in the megas?
Lomgren Smalls: Not easy. You literally have to fly them around. And hover, making them appear to stand on the ground.
Bixyl Shuftan: Do they lag a lot?
Lomgren Smalls: Not really. They are made of normal prims.
Bixyl Shuftan: So what other work have you done since then?
Lomgren Smalls: I do all sorts of work. I build stuff other than avatars. Everything here on my property, for instance. I've also built stuff for friends, castles ... let's see. I've done commissions, for micros, other avs... one of them was for The Phantom Creeps robot used by Rob Zombie in a few of his videos. So, just in general, a little of everything. Most recently, I've been finishing up some work on a couple of micros that I can actually sell, Relay for Life.
Bixyl Shuftan: What can you tell the readers about those?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, they're going to be based a lot on my current outfit ... because this is my "Relay for Life" outfit. The main difference is that the head actually is built by me, instead of being a shrunken version of the Luskwood Cat. I also have a female version of the av in progress, just needs a little more work.
Bixyl Shuftan: I've seen another micro done by you. About how many macros and micros have you made for others?
Lomgren Smalls: Macros ... let's see ... maybe 2-3, if that. Micros ... closer to 8-10.
Bixyl Shuftan: Changing the subject, you recenly got a real life job through SL. How did you hear about it?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, I had been looking for a better job for a while. And my friends here in SL knew about it. So, through a couple of the online Second Life papers, they learned of an on-SL job fair being held by the state of Missouri. And they told me about it
Bixyl Shuftan: Yes, and your getting the job made a little real-life news as well. The articles stated your micro made quite an impression.
Lomgren Smalls: Yes. I know people probably think I'm crazy for going to a job fair as a micro, but to me, it makes sense. 1: it's who I am. 2: It shows what I am capable of doing. Of course, I was dressed for the occasion, wearing a dark gray tux.
Bixyl Shuftan: Have your new fellow employees spoken much about Second Life, considering how you got the job?
Lomgren Smalls: A bit, yes, as I've talked to them about it. They're happy with me working there, I'm happy working there, my boss/etc are happy with me.
Bixyl Shuftan: Great ... As I recall, you were also on local TV news.
Lomgren Smalls: Yes, a couple of times. Never expected to be on TV at all. *chuckles*
Bixyl Shuftan: Besides the RFL avatars, any future plans that you'd like to share?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, I plan on making non-RFL versions (of the avatar), and hopefully making a version 2.0 of the av someday in the future.
To those who haven’t come across them, articles about Lomgren getting his state government IT job can be found HERE , HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE (short story with video), and HERE (a longer video with Lom in the second half). Lomgren mentioned there were others, but they were mostly taken from the articles above.
Bixyl Shuftan
Bixyl Shuftan: Where did you first hear about Second Life?Lomgren Smalls: Well, I had heard about it several years ago, back when I hadn't even thought of joining. Probably a good three, four years, maybe more than that. I think it was probably during 2006, because that was my first year being at the El Goonish Shive forums at Keenspot (El Goonish Shive is an online comic).
Bixyl Shuftan: So what got you to take a look?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, I joined the Trillian Astra alpha back in early Jan 2007, or maybe Dec 2006. Trillian Astra is ... an IM client aggregator of sorts. It allows you to connect to multiple IM Networks. AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, etc. One of the first people to add me as a friend on the Astra network was a furry on here already, and finally convinced me to go ahead and try Second Life.
Thus, my born date is late January 2007 ... but when I tried it ... it was so laggy that my avatar never loaded. So I gave up on it again. I finally decided to try again on March 3rd, 2007. Made it in, things loaded, and from there, met new friends, etc, and haven't left.
Bixyl Shuftan: Sounds like things went well once you started.
Lomgren Smalls: *chuckles* As well as can be expected with SL.
Bixyl Shuftan: When did you first start building, and how did it lead to your work on avatars?
Lomgren Smalls: Heh. I started building and learning right from the start. My very first stop was Luskwood, on the recommendation of my friend from Trillian Astra. After a couple of days, I visited the Ivory Tower of Prims to learn about building. I remember thinking at the time that it'd be cool if I could build, but I never expected to be able to do this well at the time. I was building silly, simple little things at first for practice, like tables, chairs, the usual. And then I got it into my head to build something steampunk. So, me being the crazy kitty I am, I started on it as a major project, building in Perry. This actually took only a week for me to do, even back then ... and my first actual month in SL hadn't quite finished yet. Here's a pic, just check the date
Bixyl Shuftan: Thanks.
Lomgren Smalls: The picture was after it had been refined a bit and I was trying to package it for possible sale. But the last part of the original that I have was built and finished on Apr 1, 2007. I have tweaked it since then.
Bixyl Shuftan: Looks good
Lomgren Smalls: So, I was building from the very beginning. It took me about 6 months in SL to learn enough to make the original base of this av. But the main thing about me and building ... I love a challenge, and seeing just what I can do.
Bixyl Shuftan: Yes, looking at you, it's obvious someone did quite a bit of work on how small one could make an avatar. How did this begin?Lomgren Smalls: Well, back to the El Goonish Shive forums, it was there that my online persona became a 6 inch tall male anthrofeline, if you want to describe it formally. So, naturally, one of the things I wanted to try and do in SL was make myself, well, myself. One of the first things I got was the original NorthStar micro, with help, as a kit. It was actually twice my current height, about a foot tall. But I customized it and eventually learned enough to make it move. I then took what I learned with that and made my own. Including my own animation and such to get it to work.
Bixyl Shuftan: How long did it take before it was fully ready?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, probably 20 hours at least, but I keep tweaking it and such. That was figuring out the scripting and figuring out how to shrink the head and tail down properly. The rest was me using the NorthStar micro as a pattern and trying to figure out how to improve upon it.
Bixyl Shuftan: I take it your micro was a hit with everyone on first sight?
Lomgren Smalls whispers: Hehe. A lot of people liked it, and I still get questions on "where did you get that?" and "how did you get so small?"
Bixyl Shuftan: *chuckles* What have been some of the more unusual reactions to your micro?
Lomgren Smalls: *chuckles* Well, they've ranged from the innocent to the adult... so... I've seen a lot
Bixyl Shuftan: Those who've read the paper for a while will recall you've also done work on macro avatars, super-large ones.
Lomgren Smalls: Yes, I've done some work on megas before, mainly to see just what was possible. Most people were saying even a 30 meter av was impossible. But, me being a builder, I knew what link limits and root prims were, and how they affected things. So, I was able to design and piece together a statue-style mega avatar that was ... a lot larger than anyone expected was possible.
Bixyl Shuftan: If I recall corectly, you built a mega-vixen about 224 feet tall
Lomgren Smalls: It was actually for Halloween, because I was becoming known as a micro ... and I built the vixen for a friend, and I made a mega version of my own regular av, around 65.5 and 68 meters tall, respectively.
Bixyl Shuftan: Did the work take about as long as your micro?
Lomgren Smalls: The vixen was built over the weekend before Halloween 2007, quite literally. My avatar was finished the Monday before. I recall Halloween being on that Tuesday
Bixyl Shuftan: Yes, I remember seeing her a few days later at Luskwood. Needless to say, she left quite an impression. ;-)
Lomgren Smalls: *grins*
Bixyl Shuftan: How easy is it to move in the megas?
Lomgren Smalls: Not easy. You literally have to fly them around. And hover, making them appear to stand on the ground.
Bixyl Shuftan: Do they lag a lot?
Lomgren Smalls: Not really. They are made of normal prims.
Bixyl Shuftan: So what other work have you done since then?
Lomgren Smalls: I do all sorts of work. I build stuff other than avatars. Everything here on my property, for instance. I've also built stuff for friends, castles ... let's see. I've done commissions, for micros, other avs... one of them was for The Phantom Creeps robot used by Rob Zombie in a few of his videos. So, just in general, a little of everything. Most recently, I've been finishing up some work on a couple of micros that I can actually sell, Relay for Life.
Bixyl Shuftan: What can you tell the readers about those?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, they're going to be based a lot on my current outfit ... because this is my "Relay for Life" outfit. The main difference is that the head actually is built by me, instead of being a shrunken version of the Luskwood Cat. I also have a female version of the av in progress, just needs a little more work.
Bixyl Shuftan: I've seen another micro done by you. About how many macros and micros have you made for others?
Lomgren Smalls: Macros ... let's see ... maybe 2-3, if that. Micros ... closer to 8-10.
Bixyl Shuftan: Changing the subject, you recenly got a real life job through SL. How did you hear about it?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, I had been looking for a better job for a while. And my friends here in SL knew about it. So, through a couple of the online Second Life papers, they learned of an on-SL job fair being held by the state of Missouri. And they told me about it
Bixyl Shuftan: Yes, and your getting the job made a little real-life news as well. The articles stated your micro made quite an impression.
Lomgren Smalls: Yes. I know people probably think I'm crazy for going to a job fair as a micro, but to me, it makes sense. 1: it's who I am. 2: It shows what I am capable of doing. Of course, I was dressed for the occasion, wearing a dark gray tux.
Bixyl Shuftan: Have your new fellow employees spoken much about Second Life, considering how you got the job?
Lomgren Smalls: A bit, yes, as I've talked to them about it. They're happy with me working there, I'm happy working there, my boss/etc are happy with me.
Bixyl Shuftan: Great ... As I recall, you were also on local TV news.
Lomgren Smalls: Yes, a couple of times. Never expected to be on TV at all. *chuckles*
Bixyl Shuftan: Besides the RFL avatars, any future plans that you'd like to share?
Lomgren Smalls: Well, I plan on making non-RFL versions (of the avatar), and hopefully making a version 2.0 of the av someday in the future.
To those who haven’t come across them, articles about Lomgren getting his state government IT job can be found HERE , HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE (short story with video), and HERE (a longer video with Lom in the second half). Lomgren mentioned there were others, but they were mostly taken from the articles above.
Bixyl Shuftan
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Tiny Outpost
I heard about a place that had quite a big variety in tiny wares, the “Tiny Outpost.” So I went over to take a look at the place for myself. And the Outpost indeed has quite a variety for sale. Not just avatars, but clothes, animations, and other accessories as well.
When I first arrived at the Outpost, I was greeted by a tiny bunny named Qyhat Harbour, and welcomed me there, saying she was the assistant to Enktan Gully, the owner there, “We did our best to bring as many of the Tiny merchants together,” she told me, “Many in Second Life are not aware of tinies or tiny avatars, but they make up a good number in the Second Life population mass.” She told me the Tiny Outpost was to introduce tinies to new and old players in Second Life, and to “provide an international venue for all the different Tiny creators to showcase their wares in one location. ... we have the largest grouping, from Japan, Germany, Italy, USA, and Canada, to name a few. It’s a dream come true.” Enktan Gully himself was from Belgium, and as it was past his hours he was not available that day.
The place had stores of the main two tiny avatar makers, “Wynx Whiplash who has been around for some time, and newcomer, Damien Fate, who is making waves with his innovative style and new designs. We have them both at the Tiny Outpost, along with some of the most haute couture designers of the Tiny world.” Besides the big two, the place had other Tiny avatar makers, such as some Japanese ones. And most of the buildings were the same style, giving the place the feel of a fantasy village.
While looking around, a friend wanted to shop around where I was after she IMed me and I told her. After I ported her over, Qyhat came over, and answered all the questions she had about tinies. Looking around, there were more than just avatars, but an impressive variety of clothes, including some miniature versions of high fashion, animations for both Whiplash and Loco avies, furniture, homes, and other accessories. The place greatly exceeded all other tiny shopping areas I had seen in both size and variety.
I made an appointment with Qyhat to see Enktan Gully, and met up with him the next day, appearing as busy as ever with hammer in hand. He agreed to sit down for an interview.
Bixyl Shuftan: So how did you get your start in Second Life?
Enktan Gully: During my first months in SL, I was mostly exploring the world, learning how things worked, what the possibilities were ... I didn't have much experience with computers or the Internet, I had never chatted with someone online before, so it was quiet a learning progress for me. After some time, I got interested in creating things, went to the Ivory Tower to learn about building and started out making some simple furniture. I bought my first land and made a little shop to sell this furniture.
Bixyl Shuftan: When did you first get the idea of making items for Tiny avatars?
Enktan Gully: Well, I don't make items for tinies in fact, I've been making some fantasy items like mushrooms and wishing wells but not specific for tinies. But I liked to be a tiny, although I wasn't part of the community, I was kind of a lonely tiny. About 6 months ago, I was looking for a manager for my shoe business. That's how I met Qyhat, she became my manager and found out she was a tiny too.
And I had land here, wanted to do something with it, but something special. I wanted some kind of mall, but a themed one. Qyhat suggested why not rent it out to tiny creators. That was a great idea, however it was not easy to get done as it's more difficult to sell tiny stuff than regular clothing and such. I spoke with Wynx Whiplash, I adore her avatars and asked her if she was interested in the idea. She was very enthusiastic, and came immediately aboard. As she is one of the major tiny avatar creators, I got confidence the idea might actually work. So I started contacting all the others, and to my big surprise many of them wanted to come here. In fact, the Outpost got completely filled even before we opened.
Bixyl Shuftan: That does sound like a very enthusiastic reaction. How did opening day go?
Enktan Gully: That was a lot of fun, we had an official opening, I made a speech, and then we had a DJ and we danced for a couple hours. It was a very nice experience for me as I've never been together with that many tinies. It was like a homecoming (laughter). I found the tinies are really nice people and they have something special going on, hard to describe, but they have a strong community.
Bixyl Shuftan: So how have things gone since opening day?
Enktan Gully: Well of course I realized that if the merchants had no sales the Outpost would never survive. So we started a few projects to help them with this. We made a group where all the merchants could announce their new releases. I also made a section for tinies in the Dollar Store. Soon we will release the first issue of the 'Outpost Herald,' a newspaper with issues about the tiny world, and of course free ads for our merchants. And we keep on working at the outpost itself, making it really looking nice and cosy.
Bixyl Shuftan: Yes, I thought it looked quite creative.
Enktan Gully: I tried to have something different yes. There was all kinds of trash floating around on my neighbors land, so I decided to build walls around the Outpost. I made a nice background picture to put on them, depicting a forest/mountain landscape. And even with any building in it, the feel was right from the start.
As I didn't want to interfere with Raglan and the existing tiny community, the name “Outpost” was very suitable. And so I started to create buildings that could be in such an Outpost, I tried to be original in this, that it would be somehow outstanding as a place. Tenants could rent one of the buildings I made or place their own building. It still needs work though, but all this takes time, as many things in Second Life do. And I have my shoe business to take care off too. The shoes are the major part of what I do in Second Life.
Then there's also the magical garden, right next to the Outpost. In the garden, I have my mushrooms and a few other items. I want to expand this garden in the future, but again time is needed for this (chuckles).
Bixyl Shuftan: Sounds like you have some plans for the future.
Enktan Gully: Always many plans, yes. Too many I suppose (laughs).
Bixyl Shuftan: Anything else that you'd like to say to the readers?
Enktan Gully: Special thanks to all the tinies that have been supporting the Outpost, their enthusiastic joining and positive input have been an overwhelming experience.
And of course many thanks to Qyhat, without her there wouldn't be an Outpost.
And so, the interview ended, and the owner of this unique shopping area went back to business.
“One thing that I think is important here, Second Life is not a game, but it's very healthy to consider it a game when you are in business here. It's not always easy to sell goods, or have your project work. Taking it too seriously might take the fun out of it. And after all, one should feel good with what one does in life, Second Life or real life, no big difference.”
Bixyl Shuftan
When I first arrived at the Outpost, I was greeted by a tiny bunny named Qyhat Harbour, and welcomed me there, saying she was the assistant to Enktan Gully, the owner there, “We did our best to bring as many of the Tiny merchants together,” she told me, “Many in Second Life are not aware of tinies or tiny avatars, but they make up a good number in the Second Life population mass.” She told me the Tiny Outpost was to introduce tinies to new and old players in Second Life, and to “provide an international venue for all the different Tiny creators to showcase their wares in one location. ... we have the largest grouping, from Japan, Germany, Italy, USA, and Canada, to name a few. It’s a dream come true.” Enktan Gully himself was from Belgium, and as it was past his hours he was not available that day.
The place had stores of the main two tiny avatar makers, “Wynx Whiplash who has been around for some time, and newcomer, Damien Fate, who is making waves with his innovative style and new designs. We have them both at the Tiny Outpost, along with some of the most haute couture designers of the Tiny world.” Besides the big two, the place had other Tiny avatar makers, such as some Japanese ones. And most of the buildings were the same style, giving the place the feel of a fantasy village.While looking around, a friend wanted to shop around where I was after she IMed me and I told her. After I ported her over, Qyhat came over, and answered all the questions she had about tinies. Looking around, there were more than just avatars, but an impressive variety of clothes, including some miniature versions of high fashion, animations for both Whiplash and Loco avies, furniture, homes, and other accessories. The place greatly exceeded all other tiny shopping areas I had seen in both size and variety.
I made an appointment with Qyhat to see Enktan Gully, and met up with him the next day, appearing as busy as ever with hammer in hand. He agreed to sit down for an interview.
Bixyl Shuftan: So how did you get your start in Second Life?Enktan Gully: During my first months in SL, I was mostly exploring the world, learning how things worked, what the possibilities were ... I didn't have much experience with computers or the Internet, I had never chatted with someone online before, so it was quiet a learning progress for me. After some time, I got interested in creating things, went to the Ivory Tower to learn about building and started out making some simple furniture. I bought my first land and made a little shop to sell this furniture.
Bixyl Shuftan: When did you first get the idea of making items for Tiny avatars?
Enktan Gully: Well, I don't make items for tinies in fact, I've been making some fantasy items like mushrooms and wishing wells but not specific for tinies. But I liked to be a tiny, although I wasn't part of the community, I was kind of a lonely tiny. About 6 months ago, I was looking for a manager for my shoe business. That's how I met Qyhat, she became my manager and found out she was a tiny too.
And I had land here, wanted to do something with it, but something special. I wanted some kind of mall, but a themed one. Qyhat suggested why not rent it out to tiny creators. That was a great idea, however it was not easy to get done as it's more difficult to sell tiny stuff than regular clothing and such. I spoke with Wynx Whiplash, I adore her avatars and asked her if she was interested in the idea. She was very enthusiastic, and came immediately aboard. As she is one of the major tiny avatar creators, I got confidence the idea might actually work. So I started contacting all the others, and to my big surprise many of them wanted to come here. In fact, the Outpost got completely filled even before we opened.
Bixyl Shuftan: That does sound like a very enthusiastic reaction. How did opening day go?
Enktan Gully: That was a lot of fun, we had an official opening, I made a speech, and then we had a DJ and we danced for a couple hours. It was a very nice experience for me as I've never been together with that many tinies. It was like a homecoming (laughter). I found the tinies are really nice people and they have something special going on, hard to describe, but they have a strong community.
Bixyl Shuftan: So how have things gone since opening day?
Enktan Gully: Well of course I realized that if the merchants had no sales the Outpost would never survive. So we started a few projects to help them with this. We made a group where all the merchants could announce their new releases. I also made a section for tinies in the Dollar Store. Soon we will release the first issue of the 'Outpost Herald,' a newspaper with issues about the tiny world, and of course free ads for our merchants. And we keep on working at the outpost itself, making it really looking nice and cosy.
Bixyl Shuftan: Yes, I thought it looked quite creative.
Enktan Gully: I tried to have something different yes. There was all kinds of trash floating around on my neighbors land, so I decided to build walls around the Outpost. I made a nice background picture to put on them, depicting a forest/mountain landscape. And even with any building in it, the feel was right from the start.
As I didn't want to interfere with Raglan and the existing tiny community, the name “Outpost” was very suitable. And so I started to create buildings that could be in such an Outpost, I tried to be original in this, that it would be somehow outstanding as a place. Tenants could rent one of the buildings I made or place their own building. It still needs work though, but all this takes time, as many things in Second Life do. And I have my shoe business to take care off too. The shoes are the major part of what I do in Second Life.
Then there's also the magical garden, right next to the Outpost. In the garden, I have my mushrooms and a few other items. I want to expand this garden in the future, but again time is needed for this (chuckles).
Bixyl Shuftan: Sounds like you have some plans for the future.
Enktan Gully: Always many plans, yes. Too many I suppose (laughs).
Bixyl Shuftan: Anything else that you'd like to say to the readers?
Enktan Gully: Special thanks to all the tinies that have been supporting the Outpost, their enthusiastic joining and positive input have been an overwhelming experience.
And of course many thanks to Qyhat, without her there wouldn't be an Outpost.
And so, the interview ended, and the owner of this unique shopping area went back to business.
“One thing that I think is important here, Second Life is not a game, but it's very healthy to consider it a game when you are in business here. It's not always easy to sell goods, or have your project work. Taking it too seriously might take the fun out of it. And after all, one should feel good with what one does in life, Second Life or real life, no big difference.”
Bixyl Shuftan
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
SLOOP
I have been in SL for quite a while now, and ever since I got over the initial confusion of being a newbie and learning how to struggle – enough to survive, at least- with the technical issues… I mean, as soon as I could start paying attention to what was really going on here… it hit me clearly that SL was a major projecting test. A fun one, if the experience was pleasant, but undoubtedly a virtual place to massively splash ourselves against. The feedback comes mostly from our fellow SL residents, but in due time I came to realize the most important feed back can be obtained from our own selves. 
I wrote a column long ago, about how we all shared the fantasy of being somewhat different, or a bit different, or totally different from who we really are in RL. (That, assuming we really know who we are in RL, which I doubt). And I said I thought no matter what shape or character did we choose to become in SL, deep down we were always going to remain ourselves, because the way we engage in relationships and activities will always respond to the basic pattern of who we are.
And then there was the issue of ALTS. At first I hated them, because I realized so many residents were two timing other people, used them to spy on their friends or partners, or to cheat, or to play malicious pranks. Then I realized they could have other uses, more simple and fun, with no hidden agendas. Like making your alt deal with the business you run here and letting you free to spend time with your friends without having to answer demanding IMs all the time.
But leaving aside those considerations – what you do and how you handle your alts is a matter of ethics and not the subject of this column-, the thing is I realized our alts, being yet another and another projection of ourselves… must have some rich info about who we are. And that could be valuable to ourselves, if we can look at those characters we made, because they are obviously parts of our personality.
My mind had to jump to Carl Jung, there was no way to avoid that.
Jung discovered that people have a preconscious psychic disposition that enables a person to react in a human manner. And this pre-existent disposition feeds itself on the totally unconscious “archetypal image”. These archetypes are potentials for significance and are not under conscious control. We, thus, tend to fear them. Modern man seems to need to believe that his life is totally rational and under control.
Jung linked the archetypes to mankind heredity and they are needed to structure our imagination and shape matter as well as psyche in the human world.
The archetypes belong to the Universal Unconscious, which we all share, as well as it’s potential. This cosmic, universal, unconscious knowledge is filled with myths of the human species.
This theory is way too important, too complicated and too rich to discuss here, but I hope this peeking into it was interesting enough to go a little bit further.
The most basic potential is the Shadow archetype. As we move deeper into the dark side of our personality, personal identity begins to dissolve into latent dispositions common to all humankind. The Shadow is the easiest of the archetypes for most persons to experience. We tend to see it in others, outside of us. We project our dark side into others and make them our enemies… or make them exotic characters that fascinate us. The dark side is not just the “bad”, evil side -in this case the Devil would be the great Shadow image -. The Shadow is also the mystery, the possibility of being creative, of having no limits, of being heroic, of being bold and adventurous.
Now : look around. Take a look at your alts.
Who is that Goth looking chick with piercings all over her body, sexy tattoos, black nails, showing her boobs and working the pole, while you… the one on the keyboard… is wearing an apron, keeping an eye on the timer so the pot-roast wont burn and shouting “Billy stop fighting with your sister!!!!!” ?
Who is that guy with the muscles and the shades, looking like a commando, blowing away anyone who trespasses with a weapon that would be too much for the Terminator, while you… the one typing… just came back from helping your neighbor rescue his cat from the highest tree in his garden… and now types “brb”, because the wife needs help with the dishes???
And who is that whimsical, moody, spoiled –yet harmless- young vampiress that keeps snarling and showing her fangs for no reason, being a nuisance to all her friends?? Oh.. er.. that’s me. J)
Well… you know what I mean. If those aren’t our shadows… who are they? The other question is: If the alter ego you first made when joining SL looks like it might be your Shadow… (or as much of your Shadow you can bear to project), the good news is you are quite in touch with it, and that helps exorcise the bad and bring out the creative –if there is some of that in us-.
If the predominant avi you made for yourself is a version (probably enhanced, but very much a version of the original You, then you might have to give yourself the chance to dig in and discover more about yourself, because you are probably too over adapted. (Which it’s OK, but you might be missing a lot).
And then… there’s other archetypes.
Covadonga Writer
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
"We Don't Allow YOUR Kind Here!"
You're looking around, having just found a place to explore or maybe somewhere to shop when all of a sudden you're rudely told to leave. Not because of how you're acting, your clothes, nor is this a roleplaying sim, they just don't like your shape.More in PEOPLE.
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