Still Around: Boardgame Beach, Giant House, Animal Crossing Sim

 

 

 Remember when we wrote about Boardgame Beach a couple years ago? Deciding to check it out, it's still around. And so are all of those games. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dragon%20Nest/123/134/23

So is the giant house at Once Upon A Time at the Oxygen and River sims. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/River/224/103/1534

And so is the Animal Crossing sim at Retroville. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Retroville/110/190/32

Not every place we reported on over the years has stuck around, but these three have. Which others did you want us to check on? Leave your comments below.

Bixyl Shuftan

Reader Submitted Artwork

 

 

 From Cherriebelle of Furry Fashion, a little artwork of your friendly neighborhood news fox as an "Animal Crossing" style character.

 

SL Film: "Virtual Cultures in Pandemic Times"

 

On Saturday April 2 at 1PM SL time, Draxtor Despres' full-length movie "Virtual Cultures in Pandemic Times" premiered at the "Film Threat" theater. The result of months of work, Draxtor had gone through both Second Life and the game of Animal Crossing, "following UC Irvine Department of Anthropology researchers Tom Boellstorff, Evan Conaway, Chandra Middleton and Sandy Wenger around Animal Crossing and Second Life to find out how the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping online interaction,"interviewing many people. 

The premiere was shown in front of a live audience, of which I was part of, as well as a number if Lindens and Moles. And Draxtor talked to a few people in the film for a few minutes after the showing, Boellstorff among them. 

While Drax wasn't putting down Animal Crossing, he felt Second Life was so much more versatile, that the comparison between the two wasn't just apples and oranges, but more like "apples and a lamborgini."

Others would also sit through the showing, such as Zada Bury. 

Bixyl Shufan
 

SL Video: "Virtual Cultures in Pandemic Times - Official Trailer"

 *

From Draxtor Despres on March 26. "Since March 2020, Draxtor has been following UC Irvine Department of Anthropology researchers Tom Boellstorff, Evan Conaway, Chandra Middleton and Sandy Wenger around Animal Crossing and Second Life to find out how the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping online interaction. 

In the film, protagonists from all over the world open up about their anxieties and everyday challenges during the last two years, and share what virtual worlds and social games mean to them in the context of a global health crisis. 

Many hours of mixed reality interviews, group discussions in Second Life and a comprehensive survey filled out by over 4000 players/residents provide the basis for a sprawling narrative. What emerges through participant observation is a mosaic of impressions, voices and worlds belonging to people from all walks of life, who are actively engaging in community building in the digital realm as they are trying to make sense of a new age dominated by uncertainty and physical isolation. 

The film premieres April 2nd right here on YouTube and in Second Life at Film Threat. More information = https://www.draxtor.com/virtualcultures 

(This film has been made possible with support of the National Science Foundation, award number 2028560, “RAPID: The Role of Emerging Virtual Cultures in the Prevention of COVID-19 Transmission”)"
 

Animal Crossing Sim of Retroville

 

Many readers are likely familiar with "Animal Crossing," an open-ended game by Nintendo that's gotten several sequels over the years. Recently the Newser found out about a place in Second Life that's modeled off it: Retroville. So how did Retroville come about and what can one do there?

Read more in Places.
 

Announcement: "Research Surveys About Our Second Lives"

 

"Tom Boellstorff and his students have designed a survey to ask about how we are using SL during the COVID pandemic. (There is a second survey to take if you are in Animal Crossing.) There is more info in the notecard. Thanks for helping with this research.

"Hello! I have exciting news to share. As part of my research project on 'virtual cultures in pandemic times,' my graduate students and I have created a survey. I’d love you to take it and to share it with anyone and everyone! We worked to make the survey as fun and brief as possible. For each there is a place at the end where if you wish, you can let us know that you’d be interested in participating in an interview. We also have a survey for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. If you’re in both places, do both surveys, and feel free to pass along the Animal Crossing survey as well."

Second Life survey link: https://ucisocsci.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b1QNAZ5rxiA9LA9

Animal Crossing survey link: https://ucisocsci.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_26sKrRubahncwPH