Month: October 2019

Editorial: Do What Makes You Happy (And Why Second Life Makes Me Happy)

I do find it bemusing, looking back at the various twists and turns of this blogging journey which I started in July of 2017.

This is a blog that I originally created in order to cover Sansar, only to eventually branch out to write about many other social VR platforms and virtual worlds. I’ve even gained a following, and a bit of a reputation as an expert on the rapidly evolving world of social VR.

But it’s ironic that I once swore I would never become a Second Life blogger, when 80% of my most recent blogpost have been about SL! What can I say? I have been particularly inspired by the new creative possibilities offered by Bakes on Mesh, as well as the various Halloween hunts and events (probably the busiest time of year in Second Life).

Somebody posted a picture to the official Second Life community forums that I wanted to share with you:

And, quite simply, spending time in Second Life makes me happy. I have tried to analyze exactly why it makes me so happy. I do have a few possible reasons.

First, I’ll admit it; I’m a packrat. Although I tend to rein in my packrat tendencies in real life, I still tend to hold on to stuff longer that I should. My main Second Life avatar, Vanity Fair, has an inventory of over 240,000 items, and I like to think that SL lets me indulge in a bit of sheer reckless abandonment when it comes to shopping and buying (mostly freebies and bargains) without any real-life negative side effects, like having to find extra closet storage.

Second: I still get, after 13 years in SL, a great deal of personal satisfaction from creating and styling a complete avatar look, from head to toe. Second Life gives me an unparalleled creative outlet. Some people paint; some design websites. I like to create avatars! And right now, no other social VR platform or virtual world can match SL’s virtually limitless avatar customization options: hundreds of thousands of items of clothing, hair and accessories, tens of thousands of skins and eyes, endless customized avatar products to turn you into whoever or whatever you want to be, etc.

Third, I just love to go exploring! And, being a mature, fully-evolved virtual world, Second Life has no shortage of places to explore—24,457 sims at last count! No other virtual world or social VR platform can compare, except perhaps VRChat, which boasts 50,000 user-created worlds.

My favourite way to explore is to type in random search terms under Places in Search, and just seeing what pops up in the search results. For example, this past week I found a wonderful sci-fi themed, simwide artspace called Vegetal Planet, quite by accident! I also have a set of transferable random teleporter backpacks, and I have fun just randomly jumping from spot to spot on the grid. I almost always find somewhere interesting to wander around in and investigate, admiring the amazingly creative landscaping and building work of other avatars.

So, what about you? What brings you happiness in Second Life? Feel free to leave a comment below, or, as always, you are welcome to join the freewheeling conversations, arguments, and debates about social VR and virtual worlds taking place on the RyanSchultz.com Discord server, the first cross-worlds discussion forum! We’d love to see you there.

Second Life Spotlight: New Horizon Winter Land

Sometimes, when real life has me feeling bone-weary, I venture into Second Life to find peace. So tonight, in my guise as the Snow Queen, I went in search of some winter scenery to soothe my soul. (I find it interesting that in many of the newer social VR platforms, it is difficult to find winter worlds, unlike SL which has dozens, especially as we get nearer to Christmas.)

And I found what I was looking for in spades in the New Horizon Winter Land, with gently falling snow in a hushed forest, and the aurora borealis dancing overhead:

Beautifully landscaped, and set to a soundtrack of soothing new age music, I immediately felt as if I were in a real winter wonderland. I guess I am looking forward to winter after all!

The description of this place under its Search profile reads as follows:

New Horizon Winter land is a great place for photos or just walk around and get the feeling of the area, the calm cozy environment will give your soul some peace.

If you want to explore this wintry world, and experience a little peace as well, here is the SLURL. I highly recommend it.

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: The EarthStones Halloween Trick or Treat Mystery Hunt

Every year for Halloween, the EarthStones jewelry store (SLURL) hosts an annual Trick or Treat Mystery Hunt, where you can pick up some great deals on jewelry for both men and women. I must warn you that this is a challenging but rewarding hunt, with some beautifully-made jewelry as prizes. You are looking for Trick or Treat bags: orange bags contain prizes for the ladies, and purple ones contain both male and female items. Prizes are not transferable, so be careful!

There are 24 hunt prizes in all, hidden in various places anywhere on the EarthBound sim where the EarthStones store is located, both inside the store and outside in the surrounding landscape! (Please note that this is not a free hunt; only four of the hunt prizes are free, and the rest cost L$50, L$75, or L$99, which is still a significant savings over EarthStones’ regular prices.)

I am going to tell you the bag numbers for each of the items I am showing you, so that if you are only interested in that particular set, you can focus your hunt for just those items. I am not going to tell you where they are; I am just giving you the bag numbers to make it a little easier for you!. I rationalize this decision by thinking that this blogpost might drive more traffic—and profit—to the EarthStones store owner Abraxxa Anatine, who richly deserves it for her beautiful work.

I know that this takes a bit of the mystery out of a Mystery Hunt, but I absolutely hate spending Linden dollars on items without knowing what I am getting! I’m sure you do too, which is also why I am doing this. But I do make an exception for the annual Halloween hunt at EarthStones, because I know from previous years’ hunts that all the prizes are very high quality items. And all the other bags will still remain a mystery! A few of the items (ones not shown here) are Halloween-themed.

First up is the simplest—a pair of black diamond stud earrings and a matching black diamond solitaire necklace (two separate prizes, bags 20 and 21):

Next is the beautiful Lakshmi jewelry set in lapis (the earrings, necklace, and bracelets for both left and right arms, are all separate hunt prizes, bags 2, 8, and 14; there is a HUD to change the metals to bronze or silver):

Here are the Kanza earrings and necklace in red jasper (two separate hunt prizes, bags 9 and 16):

These are the Simply Put earrings and necklace in moldavite (two prizes, bags 10 and 22):

And finally, we have the gorgeous Glass Drop necklace and matching earrings in sapphire (again, two separate prizes, bags 4 and 11):

Vanity Fair is also wearing:

Happy Halloween hunting!

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: A Free Halloween Outfit for Men!

I realize that, in my extensive coverage of Second Life Halloween outfits, I have been focusing on costumes for female avatars. So here is a completely free Halloween outfit I put together using gifts from three different stores, just for men!

This avatar is wearing:

  • Mesh Head (Not Shown): Catwa Daniel
  • Mesh Body: Belleza Jake
  • Skeleton Sweater and Pants: Dark Bones by Punk JUSTUS (free prize in their Pumpkin Hunt; all the other pumpkins have prizes for women only)
  • Sneakers: Jumpov sneakers by VERSOV (free group gift; group is free to join; the sneakers comes in a wide variety of sizes to fit most male and female mesh bodies, and a HUD to change the colour of every part of the shoe separately)
  • Halloween Bag Mask: Free group gift from amias (free group gift; group is free to join; the mask comes in rigged sizes to fit Maitreya Lara, Belleza jake, and Signature Gianni mesh bodies, and an unrigged, resizable version)

TOTAL COST OF THIS HALLOWEEN COSTUME: Free!

Pictures taken at Punk JUSTUS.