Ambergris in Second Life?
Jeff VanderMeer • June 12th, 2008 @ 9:38 pm • Uncategorized
I’m thinking about bringing an outpost of Ambergris to Second Life. It’s time Ambergris colonized a virtual reality. The gray caps are restless. Only problem is, I know nothing about Second Life. Other problem, I would need others to help me colonize, plant the flag, kick out the locals, fungicide the rest, and basically build a vast mushroom kingdom where we could all kick back and try to avoid getting knifed…
(from here)
June 12, 2008 at 9:53 pm
[...] Posted by Matt Staggs on June 12, 2008 In Which Jeff VanderMeer announces plans to colonize “Second Life,” and seeks recruits. [...]
June 13, 2008 at 12:16 am
Second Life scares me. That being said, I would SO get an account if it meant I could visit Ambergris without really having to visit Ambergris. Wait, Is Second Life compatible with Macs?
Maybe Caitlin R. Kiernan could give you some advice. I read her blog semi-often and I know she has several….um…Characters?/Avatars?/Accounts? on Second Life.
June 13, 2008 at 12:34 am
I’ve got a Second Life account, but apart from that first visit I’ve never used it. If I could get to Ambergris though, I’d be more interested in using Second Life.
June 13, 2008 at 1:29 am
Ha! I always thought some areas of World of Warcraft looked like Ambergris! Glad to see you agree. There’s these mushrooms (in Zangarmarsh), but there’s also a smaller species found across the caves… too bad I never thought to do a screenshot.
June 13, 2008 at 3:38 am
I’ve spent a fair bit of time roaming around in Second Life hobo style, and for a time even did some sculpting/design in a studio of my own there. It’s interesting if you can avoid the heavily commercialized districts that are just strip mall after strip mall of user made objects that nobody has any real interest in… and avoid the gaming parlors/casinos at all costs. They’re just like real ones only less imposing/grand.
I would certainly be interested in helping.. But it’s sort of an involved undertaking. You would need to decide first on how big you would want the outpost (you pay by Sq meter lots, yearly and monthly). The largest it gets are private islands where you get god-like editing power in return for an arm, a leg and a few months on a waiting list… but enough dedicated computing power to build an intricate area.
Personally if I were going to undertake something like this… I would join second life, get a premium account (which includes a 512×512m parcel tax free if I recall) and just poke around as a newbie to see if you could tolerate it before contemplating anything bigger. If you like it enough, buy out a few of the parcels around your space and begin spreading your mushrooms like a plague. My mind just spun out 2-3 really interesting viral marketing angles for that, actually… which I think I’ll let stew.
If you give it some serious thought and want someone to just drag you around and show you the place, I’d be more than happy to. Despite its more painful flaws at times, exploring Second Life can be a entertaining and educational experience. I would say if you look hard enough, you can find in SL every beauty and every horror of the human imagination.
June 13, 2008 at 4:07 am
I’d advise having a word with Jason Stoddard; his business is based around bringing immersive fictional environments to Second Life, and he’s an sf writer too, so he’ll be understanding of your questions and desires as regards how to get from idea to end result. Drop him a line; I bet he’d be stoked.
June 13, 2008 at 5:03 am
I got an account for this when Imagination were looking into doing some work in it last year. In the end, the client had missed the boat, but my old housemates got really into it and have been setting up a virtual worlds design agency at http://www.wearehere.com
The main guy is a really successful designer in Brighton and London and they’ve done a few big events (like Sports Relief, a UK charity event) so you might want to talk to them. If you get an SL account, certainly let me know and I’ll log in for a virtual chat! Did you see George R. R. Martin’s reading in world? That was interesting.
June 13, 2008 at 5:08 am
Whoops. I mean http://www.wahere.com/
Oh, and I forgot to mention, they just built Narnia. Although I haven’t looked at it yet.
June 13, 2008 at 7:45 am
Would love to help, but I don’t have a laptop with sufficient graphics punch to use Second Life.
June 13, 2008 at 8:04 am
Yeah, I’m still not sure. I am afraid of the time-drain aspects…
June 13, 2008 at 8:18 am
I’ve never found it a time drain, but I was never too into it. I’ve maybe played a few hours over the last year? At least half of them a bit tipsy after the pub… don’t get into it without a plan, but Ambergris could be awesome in world.
June 13, 2008 at 10:19 am
I expect it would be a real time drain to maintain a world that’s good enough to keep current fans interested and entice newcomers. Maybe set it up with someone’s help and then hand it to them to do the day-to-day kinda things?
I am, of course, speaking from a position of total ignorance. I have no idea how much effort is involved in building a Second Life world, but I can make an intelligent guess that about the time drain factor.
June 13, 2008 at 10:59 am
This is part of my day job (which involves working with the aforementioned Jason Stoddard). Drop me a line and let’s get cracking.