The International Space Museum

 

It's a place most longtime residents know about, and all newcomers should, especially if they're space fans: The International Space Museum. While some exhibits have been around for over a decade, others are more recent. And people come by whenever there's a spacecraft being launched of landing that's being televised. With the 20th anniversary coming up, Bixyl Shuftan went over for a look around.

 

 Read Bixyl's story in Places. 

 

The Fairelands Quest Is Up

 

 Good news for Fantasy Faire fans, anyone who likes an interactive story, likes games with big prizes, and especially all three. The Fairelands Quest is finally up and running. This year, the name of the Quest is "The Dreamcaster's Cauldron."

The Bard Queen is perplexed.

All across the Fairelands, there’s been a rash of bad dreams. Not just bad — really bad. Teeth-gritting, terrifying, haunt-you-all-day-long nightmares.

Sleepers are waking in a panic. In some, annoyance turns to fury. Assertiveness turns to aggression. Sadness turns to deep despair. Throughout the lands, violence and misery are spreading in ever-widening circles.

What could possibly be happening?

To get the Quest HUD, it's located in Fairelands Junction and most other central areas of the other Fairelands sims (at FJ, it's at 44,139,87 ). You will see a pair of kiosks labeled "The Dreamcasters Cauldron." For just the HUD, quest companion, and lantern, pay 250L in the smaller kiosk. The larger has those and a number of outfits, one for male and female for normal sized avatars, plus a few for dinkies.

 

To play, you'll need to attatch both the hud and your companion Pax. The outfit is optional. So is the lantern, though it will help you see in dark places. The first step is to find the Bard Queen, who explains the situation. Then you have to find the dreamers, presumably followed by your companion Paz. After that, well, we'll see.

More on the Quest, and the Fairelands, later.

 

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fairelands%20Junction/44/139/87

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

*Addition* I thought the first thing after talking to the Bard Queen was meeting with your companion. But that wasn't the case this time. 

 

The Fairelands Quest: "The Magic of Dragons"

 

 

One of the attractions of the Fantasy is the Fairelands Quest. In these interactive stories, you get to be the protagonist of a fantasy tale, performing a quest in behalf of the Bard Queen. One gets prizes along the way, and completing the quest gets you a heap. This year offers the quest "The Magic of Dragons." A year ago, a dragon had four offspring. Now, the young dragons seek to bring new life to a land damaged by the Unweaver years ago. But they need help to do so. 

To play the game, you'll need the required HUDs. They can be found at kiosks at Fairelands Junction at (183/178/124) and Nova Nadiya. The kiosks are being placed at the landing points of the other Fairlands sims, but not may be at all of them yet. The smaller one contains the basic game for 250L, the gaming HUD. The larger one has the deluxe version, which includes the game HUD and a themed outfit for 350L. After purchasing, just add the item, which appears on your hand, and click to unpack.

There are separate male and female outfits.

 

 Once the HUD is set up (and the outfit if you got it worn), the first part of the quest is to find the Bard Queen, who is somewhere in Fairlands Junction. When you get to her, she will explain what's going on, and what she wants you to do, the first part being to find and pick up your companion. 

 

Eventually, you'll find the four young dragons, each of whom asks for a few items, which will have you going across the Fairlands to search for them. Pressing on "hint" will get you a few clues on where to look. You're searching for small chests around the sim.

 

The Quest is in two parts, so if you got the first part fairly early, you'll have to go back to the kiosks to get the second

More information can be found on the Fantasy Faire blog Here.

Bixyl Shuftan

Game Review: Ripples

 

In her game review for today, Nydia Tungsten looks at the interactive adult story "Ripples." Calling it just a "porn game" would be simplistic as while there are sex scenes if you play things right, there's also a science-fiction element as your character stumbles across a portal into the past. So what did Nydia think?
 
Read Nydia's review in Other Grids, MMOs, and Games.
 

The Fairelands Quest Is Open

 

After a couple days of delays due to one of the team falling ill, this year's Fairelands Quest, "The Dreaming Cat," is on and open for people to play out. The announcement came just after 9PM SL time.

Thanks so much for your patience, everyone! Quest HUDs are currently at landing points of regions from Junction through the western tier of the Fairelands to Sunken Honey. I'm continuing to move clockwise to complete the circle. We're grateful for your kindness during the delay - now go have fun ♥

To take part in this interactive story, head over to one of the Fairelands sims where the Quest HUDs are available, the ones in Fairelands Junction located at (124/102/69). There are two HUDs available for purchase. The basic package with just the HUD costs 250 Lindens. For the Deluxe, which has both the HUD and a Fantasy-themed outfit: Elven robes fit for someone in royal circles. 

After attaching the HUD and the piece representing your helper (which will be invisible at first), the first part of a quest is usually to find the Bard Queen. This year, it's to find your companion: a raccoon named Cheeky. To do so, head to the border of The Clouded Mountains. It won't be long before you come across the raccoon, and she will automatically appear on your shoulder (provided you added her marker that came with the HUD). You then go to Fairelands Junction to find the Bard Queen, and find out there are other intelligent critters across the Fairelands and you're to try and find them all. One out of three will need your assistance, and you get a reward for finding them.

The date of release of Part Two, originally scheduled to be sometime today or tonight, is unknown. The Quest will go on to the Faire's closing, at May 8.

The Fantasy Faire is a fundraiser event for the Relay for Life in Second Life.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fairelands%20Junction/124/102/69

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "Down the Rabbit Hole: CSINY enters Second Life (2007)

 

(Click here if the video does not play) 

From Draxtor Despres, a 2007 video of the CSI Promotion of Second Life, "The new mainstream media tie-in, a 'who dunnit' virtual game coming to Second Life is an interesting marriage of old and new. The Electric Sheep Company releases a special SL browser for the occasion and merges the Metaverse with a successful TV show: is this a new era of growth for SL or the death of all (sub) culture? Are corporate brands taking over? CSI NY detectives say that if you die in the METAVERSE you die in REAL LIFE as well .... oh boy, and I thought Second Life was just a game?"
 

Announcement: Macy's Parade in Steamy Shores

 

“MACY'S AWESOME 18TH ANNUAL THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY PARADE SET IN FABULOUS NEW YORK CITY NOW RUNNING 24/7 UNTIL NOV. 25TH
  COME BE THE STAR OF THE SHOW AS YOU RIDE DOWN 5TH AVE. ON  80 INCREDIBLE  FLOATS AND BALLOONS + YOU WI LL BE PROVIDED WITH ATTACHED COSTUMES AND PROPS TO FIT THE FLOAT THEME  
      THIS IS THE ONLY INTERACTIVE PARADE IN SL  AND  IS A MUST MUST ATTEND EVENT SO DON'T MISS IT!! BRING YOUR FRIENDS FOR EVEN MORE FUN AND HOLIDAY CHEER”

Franny DJ put out her notice and I was happy to see it. As usual the region is filled with fun!
Jumping on a float or just watching as it goes by.

. If you walk around the corner and head for Rockefeller Center the skating pond is open already. Enjoy the time.

Don't forget to stop in at Macy’s. Santa and Mrs Claus are already for the kiddies and grown up kids too.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Steamy%20Shores/72/206/700
 

The 2021 SciFi Expo Quest

The 2021 Sci-Fi Expo is taking place. There are a number of things to see and do. Among the activities is a quest. Called "The Quest For Crystals" on one page in the Sci-Fi Expo blog, one can pick up the HUD at several places around the Expo sims. This includes New Eden (129/125/18) and Aperture (107/191/25).

There are two options when getting the Quest HUD. With the Basic version, you just get the HUD for 250L. But there's also a Deluxe version for 500L in which you get both the HUD and an outfit for the quest. When you buy the item, you add it to your avatar, and then click the bar that appears on the bottom of your viewer. You then get the Quest HUD, a "Holo Haley" wrist-mounted holographic assistant, and three sets of outfits: men, women, and dinkie. When you unpack an outfit box, you get several choices of mesh clothing. The outfit itself is pink, and comes with a small floating robot.

I should note that when I had on an avatar that was judged to be too high of a complexity by the local sim scanners, I wasn't able to get the HUD working. But with an older avatar, it worked. The HUD has a few buttons. Clicking the Objectives button for instance will remind you of what your immediate objective for the next part of the quest is. The Hint Button will provide you with a clue on what or where the next part of the quest is. There's also a bar that shows you how close you are to the next objective. If your target is far away, there's only a small red signal. If the bar is completely filled, your objective is within ten meters. 

The plot of the quest involves Earth trying to broker a peace between the various factions of the colony world of New Eden. But the global communication network is down, and one of the research assistants from Earth has gone missing with a data crystal with information the delegation needs to get things going. You're sent to look for her. But of course she isn't where you first go, just a clue to where she is. So what happens? Play the quest and find out. 

The quest lasts until the end of the Expo, which closes after Sunday October 17.
 
Bixyl Shuftan
 

FrannyDJ's Mardi Gras Parade

Valentines Day is over, but there's another holiday coming soon: Mardi Gras. For those who can't make it to New Orleans in real life, there's a Fat Tuesday parade here in Second Life. For the sixth year in a row, FrannyDJ is running her floats down the street high above the Angels of Desire sim. Gemma Cleanslate dropped by and was able to more than just watch, but become part of the event.

Read the story in Events.

The Crown of Leaves: An Interview With Lins And Grimm

Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich Resident) recently interviewed the two people behind "The Crown of Leaves," an interactive adventure story. In the tale, a writer of "scientific magic articles" has to leave behind the place he's lived for ten years and returns to his homeland to start life anew. He ends up getting a job that promises good money, but then things take a turn for the unexpected.

Read Cyfir's interview in Other Grids, MMOs, and Games.

Thanksgiving Parade

It's just a few days before Thanksgiving in the United States. While the holiday is best known for big turkey dinners among family or friends, it's also known for parades, especially the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City which is televised across the country. Recently Gemma Cleanslate found out about a tribute to the Macy's parade here in Second Life set up by Franny DJ Dean. So she paused her explorations of Christmas areas to take a look.

Read Gemma's story in Events.

Burn2 "Man Burn" Today, A Look at "Lost in Space"

Today marks the high point of the Burn2 festival: the "Man Burn." It takes place at 10AM SL time and once more 4PM SL time. Tomorrow marks the last events, including the Temple Burn, which is also 10AM and 4PM. Besides these two, be sure to look for dances, DRUM, and other events. And of course, all of those exhibits.

The Man: Burning Man-Time Machine (151/109/24)

The Temple: Burning Man-Dont Panic (161/39/24)

One of the most fun exhibits that I came across was the "Lost in
Space" one. Made by Lillithslair (Lillith LoneRaven) and located at Electric Sheep (186/72/24), stepping inside, clicking in "Mission Control," one can take a trip to Earth orbit, or perhaps to the outer solar system, or maybe to a crystal world where you can take home a few samples for a souvenir.

Of course just going in space in regular clothes is not always a good idea. Click on "Space Suits" on the panel to get a suit that gives you some protection from hostile environments (protection against hard vacuum is limited with hands and other body parts unprotected). Clicking on "Space Ships" will give you a small ship that can get you about short distances, or perhaps a longer journey with some assistance. For the automated tour, turn off any AOs, walk inside the large metal tube, and sit on the poseball (after wearing a suit or getting in a mini-spaceship).

Bixyl Shuftan

Journeys Across the SL14B: Resident Exhibits at Electrify

The Second Life Fourteenth Birthday celebrations have been going on all week. For us reporters, the biggest problem about the exhibits, many showing high skill and creativity, is that there's not enough time to write about them all. So one has to start somewhere. So here's a look at several exhibits of SL14B Electrify, which besides the Second Life Newser has the National Space Society, the Giant Snail Races, the Second Life Coast Guard, and more. Some were just displays, but others were interactive.

See the pictures in Places.

Xymbers Slade's "From The Primordial Soup" Interactive Story/Game

Xymbers Slade, whom in the Newser's earlier days was a contributor of both stories, horoscopes based on his inworld tarot card deck, and some occasional cartoons, has been making himself busy lately. In the "Reddit forums under the pseudonym "TheDiscordedSnarl," he's set up a kind of interactive story/game that fans of "Spore" and from years ago "Sim Earth" might be interested in: "From The Primordial Soup." Here, people can guide the evolutionary development of an organism by discussion and voting.

So far, about 1.3 billion years in story time have progressed. The single-cell organism that the readers started out with has evolved into a multicellular organism. It shares the ocean with several other organisms, some it feeds upon, some that try to feed upon it.

As of now, the interactive story has 186 participants, a few of whom have contributed some artwork. It should be interesting to see how Xymbers/Discorded's game progresses as the reader-guided creature continues to evolve.

Bixyl Shuftan

Xymber Slade's "Civilization of the Internet" Interactive Story/Game

Longtime readers may remember Xymbers Slade, known in the past for his game and avatar reviews, as well as occasional screenshot cartoons. Under the pseudonym "Dr. Hervis Jasper," he's doing an interactive story/game about the evolution of a single cell lifeform to a multicellular organism, and on to more complex organisms to presumably something intelligent, which then developed a civilization.

 

It's a game where a bacteria arises from the depths to become first an animal, then a somewhat-intelligent animal, then an intelligent creature, onward and upward from a prehistoric group to a tribal (or not so tribal?) creature, and so on and so forth until you reach space... to infinity and beyond! Or something, at any rate.

Every day at the game's webpage, there will be an update, "For the first week and few days, you will be prompted to tweet suggestions for evolutions to the bacterium. Things such as color, how it moves, how it eats, what it eats, ANYTHING that you can think of that would make it beneficial. Feel free to suggest prey species, predators, anything to enrich this bacterium's environment." At first, the turns will represent 100 million years. Once one billion years have passed, options will open as to the organism's evolution, with "you will all vote and the one with the highest votes goes through."

So how will it end? In Xymber's words, "That's for the Internet to decide... and for me to find out!" So if you're curious to see what evolves from his interactive story/game, keep an eye on it, and tweet some suggestions how it goes.


The page can be found at: http://riseoftheinternet.wix.com/oneszeroesandtwos

Bixyl Shuftan

The Brooklyn Bridge at LEA25

Gemma Cleanslate recently checked out a new exhibit at the Linden Endowment of the Arts areas, the Brooklyn Bridge. Located at LEA25, the exhibit is not just the work of one artist but many, much of it interactive. So what did Gemma think?

Read Gemma's review in Design.

Fuschia at Crimson

Gemma Cleanslate was recently invited to the opening of a new art exhibit, one involving the videos of Fuschia Nightfire. Known as Nina Camplin in real life, the featured media is a mixture of Second Life and real life footage.

Read Gemma's article in Design.

LEA13 – The Work of Xineohp Guisse

DrFran's latest article was something of a happy accident. Exploring the LEA region, she came across a build that caught her attention. Finding it was made by a Xineohp Guisse and seeing him nearby, she contacted him, and he had a few things to say about his artistic build.

Read DrFran's article in Design.

Linden Lab Releases Versu, But Are They Going Too Fast?

By Bixyl Shuftan

Last week, Linden Labs introduced it's latest product, "Versu." Subtitled "Living Stories," Versu is an interactive fiction application. The press release described it as "an interactive storytelling platform that builds experiences around characters and social interaction." Versu differs a bit from other "choose your own adventure" platforms in that the applications artificial intelligence allows for characters to react differently based on the reader's choices. Characters react with emotions as well as actions.



The artificial intelligence was designed by Richard Evans and Emily Short. The two designers, Evans was noted for his work on "Black and White" and "Sims3," had founded "Little Text People," which was purchased by Linden Lab last year. There are plans for the platform to allow users to write their own interactive stories in the future, of which the writers can either make them available as free or for sale. In the latter, Linden Lab takes a percentage of the sale. Versu is available at Apple's iTunes App Store, and has four interactive stories available, including a short tale intended as a tutorial. 

In Gamasutra, Rod Humble had in mind what he saw as lacking in games, "when you go into a bookstore or look at an ebook reading list, the top sellers are almost invariably romance and drama. And then you look at what games make, and there's no romance, no drama. … Romance is going to be a mainstay in the games business. Someone is going to do it, and I'd sure love it to be us."

New World Notes' Iris Ophelia took a look at Versu. Describing herself as a fan of interactive fiction, the ability to act and react when she wanted to appealed to her, calling it "the choice to choose … it contributes to a much stronger sense of agency, which is the whole point of interactive fiction …" She thought it had the potential to be a great tool to use with children and teenagers, "as a teacher or parent. It's the sort of tool I would personally look for any excuse to work into a lesson or activity because it has a lot of potential to engage users with the content."

The problem, Iris felt, was considering that Linden Lab had released Versu so soon after Dio, which did many of the same things. She wrote, "it feels like one more clever and creative little thing that just isn't going to go anywhere, even though it absolutely could and should." While there was a market for interactive fiction, interest "probably higher now than its been a decade and a  half at least," there were already numerous devices and applications out there with devoted followings. And with Linden Lab seemingly "throwing things out to see what sticks," she felt Versu and Dio would not be able to attract sizable followings.

At the end, Iris wondered if Linden Lab might have been better off concentrating their efforts with Second Life, "If they're going to keep launching these indie-esque projects and just leaving them to rot without fostering any of the functionality or community endearment that makes all the other projects like these that came before actually work, they are probably wasting their time." 

Hamlet Au took a look at how much Versu, and Linden Lab's first of it's apps Creatorverse, had been downloaded. Versu's had a good start so far, but not many are buying the pay books yet. If the trends of Creatorverse are an indication, it may be in trouble. It began as among the top 5 downloaded apps, but "has since dwindled to ranks in the mid-hundreds."

Among those commenting on Iris's article was Shockwave Yareach, "The Lab wants to operate like Ford and give their dealers the job of interacting with the customers. Trouble is, the dealers don't have the powers they need to be able to do that. And quite frankly, Linden Lab sells Yugos instead of Fords." Also commenting was Ciaran Laval, whom thought it was too early to say where Versu was headed, "it's not unusual for a new player to enter an existing market and prosper."

Sources: Linden Lab, Gamasutra, New World Notes 

Bixyl Shuftan

Of Sound Mind at the Linden Endowment for the Arts

Second Life Newser has a new writer, DrFran Babcock, whom many of you know through her blog "Dr Fran Does SL." Today, we present her article on the "Of Sound Mind" art exhibition that opened at the Linden Endowment of the Arts sims this weekend. This exhibit has an emphasis on sounds, and is the result of a team of artists working together. So did everything work in harmony? DrFran offers her observations.

Read DrFran's article in Design.