"The Guild Is Closing," Gacha Guild Events Coming to An End

 

 

 Fans of the Gacha Guild, officially known as The Guild, got some sad news. Yesterday, Thursday December 15, it was announced by administrator Nama Gearz that there would be no more Guild events. 

With the heaviest heart, I'm announcing the retirement of The Guild. I've taken much time over the past year or so considering the changes in my life and the lives of the rest of the Admin team, and I feel like this past Halloween round of The Guild should be the last.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to all Guild Staff for being absolutely wonderful support and assurance over the years. The events would not have been nearly as magical, nor would it have functioned at all without you wonderful few, so thank you all for sticking with me through each round.

I'd also like to express my thanks and admiration to all the designers and bloggers that have graced the event with their wonderful creations. You all made the event truly special and unique! When (the) Guild started up, the purpose was to create an event to elevate those that had trouble getting exposure and to encourage creators to improve in their craft. I have seen so many of you grow and it makes me so proud to see so many of you absolutely flourishing.

Lastly, I'd like to thank each and every person that came to (the) Guild each year. Your constant support and love for the events are what kept me going and wanting to continue to create. Hearing your stories of exploring the events and seeing it first-hand has always warmed my heart and was my main drive to keep creating them for everyone to enjoy!

That being said, I personally have not lost my drive to create on Second Life. Far from it! But I do wish to pursue different avenues which will only be possible if I do not have the responsibility of hosting/building an event like this, as they each take an immense amount of time, patience, and planning to set up. I truly love building these events and will miss creating these spaces. But everything comes to an end and it's time now for me to change gears and focus on other things in SL and real life as well.

Thank you  for going on this journey with me, and I'll see you around in Second Life.

The Gacha Guild has been going on since at least 2017 when it started having events each October, and in 2019 began having them each spring as well. There would be numerous small stores and/or kiosks around. Occasionally there was a "must have" avatar that sold very well, such as the Chibi Noodle Dragon from the Spring 2019 event. Besides the items, the scenery in itself could be an attraction. At the middle of the month, the "Halftime Hunt" would start, opening new areas and allow players to play a game in which one could get prizes.

About a year and a half ago, Linden Lab announced they would be banning gacha-type machines from Second Life. Despite this great change, it was decided that the event would go on and the event renamed to "The Guild." It is unknown how the change affected sales. 

And so, a yearly event that some looked forward to, in the past to get bargains for items, is now passing into Second Life history.

 

To check The Guild's blog, click here.  To check out it's Flickr page, where the closing announcement is, click here.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

"The Guild" Shopping Event "Atlantis" Is Open

 

The twice a year shopping event "The Guild" is once again taking place. Until Thursday March 31st at Midnight, the area and it's stalls will be open. This spring, the theme is "Atlantis." 

The doors are now OPEN to the city of Atlantis! Tons of exciting aquatics and undersea products for your enjoyment! It lasts all month and don't forget our Halftime special on the 13th where NEW products as well as the hunt will begin! So who's ready to go deep-sea diving? Get your snorkels ready because Atlantis awaits~

There are many avatars and accessories up for sale. Most are aquatic in theme to go along with the event, such as merfolk and sharklike furry avatars.

 With all the talk about supporting Ukrainian residents, one of the shopping areas, Web Dew with it's jellyfish umbrellas and matching outfits, is owned by an Ukrainian, "I really appreciate your support from around the world. 

The event used to be called "The Gacha Guild." But in August of last year, Linden Lab banned the use of gacha machines. 

For more information, check the website at: https://theguildsl.com/

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Abnormality/132/122/1756

Addition: As mentioned, on Sunday March 13, the event's Halftime Hunt begins, allowing the chance to pick up some prizes.  

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Gacha Guild Taking Place

 
The Gacha Guild, a twice a year shopping event, is back in Second Life. This is the first season since Linden Lab banned the sale of items through gacha machines and vendors last month. While the organizers decided they would continue, renaming themselves "The Guild," they're having to sell items though regular methods. So the gachas are gone, and there are no random chances when buying an item. Some items are sold individually. Others through fatpacks. A casual look around showed prices are higher than last season. 

The theme this year is "Dia de Muertos," the area looking like a Latin American town.  One thing that will be the same is the "Halftime Hunt." It will start Friday October 15, and players will have a chance to get some prizes. It's unknown how much of an effect the gacha ban will have on attendance numbers.
 
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Abnormality/140/130/1751 

Bixyl Shutfan
 

Arcade Gacha, Gacha Guild, To Continue Despite Gacha Ban

 
Linden Lab's announcement on Monday that they would be banning gacha machines from Second Life at the start of next month had people asking what would happen to the various merchants and events that depend on these sales for their business. Of the events, two of the largest are the Arcade Gacha and the Gacha Guild. So no doubt a number were wondering what would happen to them. Would they fold, or try to change and stay?

According to announcements from them, both plan to continue.

On Facebook, Arcade Gacha would post that while their next event would be called off due to lack of time to prepare, their plans were "to re-imagine the event and return strong."

Just like you, we've been rocked by Linden Lab's recent decision to ban gacha. For the past 9 years, gacha's been the backbone of Arcade's events, and we're truly sad to see it go. Due to LL's change and short notice to comply, we've decided to cancel September's upcoming round. This pause provides our team the much-needed time to re-imagine the event and return strong. We'll be in touch soon and look forward to seeing you when The (ALL NEW) Arcade re-opens!

The Gacha Guild had both announcements that they would be continuing, by their director Nams (Nama Gearz) with an announcement in the inworld group.

Gachas may be going away but we are not! Though a lot of changes will have to be made in the coming days and we are prepared to do what it takes to keep the event rolling. .Gacha Guild. will now be called simply .The Guild. going forward as well.

That's our tldr, but the full letter to everyone goes more in depth with how we're going to proceed. Please have a look and we'll see you in October!  

"The letter" was an open letter on the Gacha Guild website. It stated for October, it would just sell items the ordinary way "it’ll just be straightforward, regular sales" rather than include any new systems designed to get around the gacha ban. "It’s likely such systems are already being developed by many SL residents as we speak. Time will tell if those systems will be 100% approved by Linden Labs, and until then, they will not be allowed for use in the event."

"The amazing work designers make will not be diminished because they’re not in gacha form and will be every bit as spectacular as they always have been."

So for the two largest gacha events in Second Life, the ban does not mean the end, but change.

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager, Matoazma Kazyanenko

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Gacha Guild Event Almost Over

 

 The Spring Gacha Guild event is almost over. So if you want to take part in the event's Halftime Event, hop on over. Click just below the NPC Kitteh to get the hunt HUD, and click on him for instructions. 

  To get started with the event, you'll want to click the sign below me to get your HUD. It helps you keep track of your points! After putting that on you're ready to get hunting.
 You'll be looking for these scrap gears. The rustier ones are practically everywhere, but you can't expect the shiny new ones to be found so easily! You must be nearrr them to click them, and somehow magically they'll only give you points once a day.
  But no worries!
 They rrreset at midnight to give more points the next day. There's 15 super rusty cogs (10 points), 10 worn cogs (15 points) and 6 shiny new cogs (25 points) to find.
  Once you have enough points for the things you want, simply click the prrrize boards inside the airship, spend your points, and you'll be sent a wonderful gift for your grueling efforts. After this I would definitely recommend a nice nap. Maybe on a big pile of gold. Yeah, that sounds nice...

So how many points can you get in a day? A couple friends told me over they found over 400 points of gears. And they can be found in all kinds of places to more or less in plain sight to slightly out of the way. They're not just in the area opened for the halftime, but also in the vendor area and the area to explore around it.

The points you get can be exchanged for prizes on a board you'll find in a place opened by the halftime event. 

For some, the hunt is the real fun in the halftime event, and of course there's the exploring around in this steampunk-themed event with a few sky pirate ships. As for napping on a pile of gold, first you'll have to find it.

For hints, Click Here. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dew%20Drop/176/163/1212 

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Gacha Guild Back in Second Life

 

The Gacha Guild is once again taking place in Second Life. This twice a year event offers numerous gacha items for sale. This event's theme is "Sailpunk: Steampunk and Sky Pirates." The setting was on a sky platform with a huge steel dragon curled around it. There were also some islands in the sky one could explore by flying over or walking over via a gangplank.

To those not familiar with what a gacha is, several items are up for sale in a vendor. When someone makes a purchase, they get one of the items at random. Some of the items may be uncommon or rare. The items can be given to others, though some such as avatars can only be before they're unpacked, and there are groups in which people offer to trade the items, including the Gacha Guild's own. 

The side area is fairly detailed, and offers some places to explore and see. One area is off-limits though, at least for now. Presumably it will open on Saturday March 13 when the Halftime Hunt begins. 

The event takes place on an Adult-rated sim, so child avatars are asked not to come. Despite the sim rating, no frisky behavior is permitted.

To learn more, check out the Gacha Guild website at https://gachaguild.com/ .

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dew%20Drop/176/163/1212

Bixyl Shuftan

A Busy Weekend

 

This weekend saw plenty going on. Saturday saw the start of the RFL Home and Garden Festival (above). Caledon would hold it's anniversary parade. And the CDS held it's Chinese Lantern Festival. On Sunday, Veterans Isle held it's monthly Homes For Our Troops benefit concert, there was a 24 hour event for Rare Disease Day, and at the stroke of Midnight, the biyearly Gacha Guild event started.

More on these events later.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Gacha Guild Halftime Hunt And The Furry Fashion Halloween Area

 It's Halloween, and the last day to enjoy some Halloween events. Two offer spooky thrills as well as prizes. At the Gacha Guild, it's the last day to take part in their Halftime Hunt. Head to the grounds, find the huge spooky head, check the board on how to play and get the HUD and flashlight, then go through the head's mouth, and enter the dark carnival.

 

The game promises prizes for those who look long enough, click on the ravens, as well as a story about what happened. A short look revealed nothing of either. Just be careful of where you step, of you'll be sent back to a respawn point.

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dew%20Drop/162/168/1128

 

 One of the Gacha Guild participants, Furry Fashion, also has it's own Halloween Area, complete with a maze with treasures to find.

 The maze itself has a few rooms, divided by a maze of caverns. Click on the globes to get the prizes. But of course there's plenty of sights. There's also a photo contest going on, so if you see a great scene, take some pictures.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Furry/112/18/4001

Check out more haunts in the Destination Guide.

 Happy Halloween

Bixyl Shuftan

 

The Gacha Guild Is On

  The Gacha Guild, a bi-annual event, is once again taking place.  Twice a year, this shopping event takes place high above the Dew Drop sim. Numerous merchants have goods for sale as gachas. For those who don't know what a gacha is, the vendors have a number of versions of the item. Most are "common," but there are also a few "uncommon" and "rare." Often, they're packaged as vouchers, which can be traded between residents, or put up for sale on Marketplace where rares can fetch high prices.

There are avatars, avatar mods, and accessories up for sale. Among them is the Feral Crux by Caboodle, a four-footed version of the odd avatar with a following among some Second Life furs. Just add the voucher, click where it says "buy now," and unpack. The avatar can sit and dance, has a few different facial expressions, and the tail has a couple positions. 

The theme for this Gacha Guild is that of a haunted Carnival. About in the middle of the month, on October 16, the "Halftime Hunt" will begin with more items available. For more information, check out the blog: https://gachaguild.com/ .

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dew%20Drop/162/168/1128

 Bixyl Shuftan

News In Brief

A lot has been going on, and only a little time to write about it. So it's time to write a little about what's going on, and do something more in depth later.

The Second Life Renaissance Festival concluded on Sunday October 4. Just before it ended were two Linden events. On Thursday October 1 was the Linden and Mole jousting event, in which Abnor Mole won, followed by some sparing between the Lindens and Moles and some residents. On Friday October 2 was the Lindens in the Pillory, which was a "jail and bail" with a twist.

In the Sunweaver/Angel community, the Happy Vixen opened it's new Halloween Haunt area: Purrfection Estates (236, 219, 24)   

World Space Week is this week, and the National Space Society has something at their sim for it: National Space Society (104/165/3004)

Nydia Tungsten announced the publishing of her second novel on Amazon: "Switched Destinies - Kevin's Return," holding a party inworld to celebrate.

The Gacha Guild event is going on. To check it out, head over to Dew Drop (162/168/1128).

Furry Fashion has a Halloween area, "filled with merchants spooky wares, a maze and a hunt!" Read more about it here: (link).

Stay tuned for more information on these, and other happenings, later.

Interview with Nams of Static and the Gacha Guild

The Gacha Guild event is over. But the people behind it are back to work with other things they've been doing, and there's the next one this fall. Before it started, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) had a chance to interview one of the people behind it: Nams (Nama Gearz). While the interview wasn't finished until after the event, there's still plenty of new information.

Read Cyfir's interview in Design.

Three Shopping Events

There are a number of events this weekend. Two have been going on all week, and are ending soon. The third will go on to the end of the month. One is the "Art Walk 2020 At Gulls Wing Sailing Club." This is a Relay for Life event in which the money goes to the Gull's Wing Sailing Club team.

Art Walk 2020 At Gulls Wing Sailing Club starts on the 15th of March and runs through the 22nd of March. 100% of sales go to Relay for Life in Second Life!

36 (added 2 more!) RFL Limited Quantity kiosks featuring some of SL's best Artists have donated their art to find a cure for cancer. Come by and see Art in The Park gallery while you are deciding which artwork you have to have.

Dropping by, the artwork was not framed and on easels or on a wall, but in kiosks. One has to pay the amount of Lindens in to get the artwork. Clicking on the poster near the crosswalk one gets a booklet that tells you a little about the event. Among the artists whose works are for sale are Anibrm Jung, Slatan, and Silvermoon.  The event ends Sunday March 22.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gulls%20Wing%20Marina/154/106/23

Another event going on, one featured in the official blog and Destinations Guide, is the Cyber Fair.

Transport yourself to the future with CYBER Fair by ACCESS, open March 5th to 25th. You will find sci-fi, tech, robotic designs, and cyberpunk items by amazing content creators in Second Life. The future is now at CYBER fair! For more information, visit: www.access-sl.com/cyber-fair-by-access.

There are numerous futuristic/cyberpunk-themed items up for sale. This includes a few gachas. With real life news full of stories about an epidemic and viruses, no surprise that among the items are a number of respirators and masks. The event ends Wednesday March 25.

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Galactico/128/133/1001/

And for lovers of gacha sales, the Gacha Guild spring event is taking place. The theme is "Spirited Japanese Festival."

Gacha Guild is back again this Spring, themed to honor one of the greatest Studio Ghibli movies of all time, Spirited Away! Get whisked away to a whimsical world in mythical Japan. Grab some gachas and even some gold when the bathhouse opens. Surely someone in there will trade you something good for it. Event is open from March 1st to March 31st. The hunt begins on March 14th!

The place has numerous avatars and accessories up for sale. As before, people can sell vouchers, rare ones sometimes selling for quite a bit, or giving them to friends. There is also a Halftime Hunt event that opened a few days ago. Getting the HUD for it, one looks for piles of gold which are worth points which can be exchanged for prizes. You can do this while exploring the area outside the market stall place, which has some trails and caves (which will tp you to other spots on the sim). Going about, I also found a mahjong table which looked playable. Although the sim is rated adult, the organizers have asked people to hide any exposed genitals. The event is open until the end of the month.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dew%20Drop/74/171/68

Bixyl Shuftan 

News in Brief

There's a lot going on, both in Second Life and online gaming. So while we're trying to find some time to write an in-depth article, here's a few topics in brief.

Burn2, the largest annual art and music festival is taking place on Second Life. There are numerous music events and art exhibits over the six sims. To get there, head to Burning Man- Deep Hole (174/32/25). The festival lasts to Sunday October 20, with the high points being the Burning of the Man on Saturday and the Temple Burn on Sunday.

Also going on is the Gacha Guild event. Taking place twice a year, people can purchase avatars and accessories. The hot item for this event is the Spirit Fennec avatar, of which people are selling for as low as ten Lindens on Marketplace. Starting up a few days ago was the event's "Hallows 2019 Silent Hill Hunt," which promises big scares and big prizes. The event ends on November 1, and is located at Dew Drop (189/180/1002).

The controversy over the game company Blizzard banning of a game tournament winner and stripping him of his prize money continues. A few days ago, they announced he would still get the prize money, but was still banned for six months. But this hasn't stopped the criticism from it's customers, human rights organizations, or US politicians. The company's largest annual event, Blizzcon, is just in a couple weeks and fans are planning a protest there.
Image from Vice

Stay tuned for more information.

Bixyl Shuftan

News In Brief

Quite a lot has been happening. Too much to go into detail about it all, so we're going to give the short version.

The HFOT Benefit in Veterans Isle was a success with 258,870 Linden dollars raised.

Montecito Bay has decided to postpone their Nuyu Modtacular Gacha Event until December.

In a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" thread, a Linden claimed adult content was "less than 5% of our revenues."

There are no plans to introduce adult content to Sansar, in part because Linden Lab is searching for corporate sponsors for the virtual world.

An agreement was reached with Linden Lab to save the Chouchou sim, which was in danger of closing in May.

The Gacha Guild event is taking place, with avatars such as the Spirit Fennec.

Firestorm has a new release out, with Bakes On Mesh compatibility. After earlier deciding to offer separate Second Life and Opensim viewers, Firestorm decided to combine them again. Jessica Lyon admitted they were struggling with Opensim "we do not have, and cannot find, a dedicated Opensim viewer developer with lots of time on their hands."

More on these stories when time permits.

Sources: New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

A Look At The Chibi Noodle Dragon Avatar

If you've been seeing some small and cute Asian-style dragons going about the Grid, you're far from alone. There's a new avatar that's been all the rage in some places: the Chibi Noodle Dragon. Available in the Gacha Guild Spring in Dew Drop, this avie has proven just too irresistible to many. Bixyl Shuftan went to see what the fuss was about.

Read more in Design.

More News In Brief

There's a lot going on, but only so much time to write about it. Here's a few things that have been going on.

A Second Life fraternity, Mu Sigma Nu, has been working with an inworld sorority Zeta Nu Chi on a "Facebook Photo Drive" to raise awareness for kidney disease (their page here).

Skywind Kitsune (Gravity Wright) of United Furry Outpost showed me an inworld racing game called AGRA (Anti-Gravity Racing Association) that's been around, and updated for some years. Until the article, you can check it out at Topaz Oasis (104/218/2005).

The Gacha Guild Spring is going on. Among the items there is a small and cute feral avatar known as the Chibi Dragon Noodle which has been quite popular. Dew Drop (112/116/1738). Another recommended to me were the "Curious Critters" avatars by XuXu (Xulael Resident).

With anti-vaxxer misinformation being enough of a problem to help cause a resurgence in measles, Youtube has recently started to remove ad placements on videos that discourage people to get vaccinated or vaccinate their children, saying they fall under it's policy of not making videos with "dangerous and harmful" material monetized, or having ads placed with money going to the producer (link). One computer game, Plague Inc., is getting an anti-vaxxer scenarito thanks to an online petition (link).

Youtube has also been in the news for disabling comments on most videos that feature children due to increasing concerns about pedophiles (link).

Last month, in the video game Fortnite, a virtual DJ named :Marshmello played to a virtual audience of about ten million. While some such as Rolling Stone Magazine (link) and BBC (link) mentioned Second Life when reporting on it, some called it "the first ever live performance in a video game." 

Montecito Bay Versus The Slime And Maw Monsters

Today, Montecito Bay celebrates it's first anniversary. But last week the community was facing down some weirdness, even weirder than what regularly happens here already. For some days before, there had been some sightings of puddles of slime. This day, that and more was confirmed by multiple eyewitnesses, notably slimy creatures that looked like the lounge chair from Hell.

Read the story in Extra.