Second Life

Things about SL

Hogwarts Comes to Second Life

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This article has been rewritten. I screwed up and mixed two different RPG’s and regions together. Coach McGuirk of Hogwarts:Your Story (H:YS) contacted me and pointed out the error. As to those accusing me of not researching… well, I did. But, obviously not well enough. So, while I found the misleading information and have asked it be corrected, the previous article was my mistake.

I mixed Hogwarts:Your Story and World of Hogwarts together. Sorry.

Now to the corrected article. – Corrected 8/23 8:00-10:00 PM SLT

Hogwarts Second Life
Main Hogwarts Entrance

In Second Life all the rage in the blogosphere (sounds like a Chicago thing) right now is the new Hogwarts build in Second Life, a Harry Potter fan thing RPG. The name Hogwarts:Your Story conjures up some interesting speculation for my Myst-Uru friends. I think my SL friends enjoying RPG in SL will find the ‘Your Story’ part interesting. Many RPG’s claim they are able to tell your story. But, in the end it turns out to be quite tedious and lots of work on your part to tell your story. In fact if it is not your full time hobby, the story becomes tedious to maintain and is eventually lost as people come and go.

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Second Life Users and Micro Bloggers

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Did you know there are lists of residents that use Plurk and Twitter? I didn’t. But I found a link to the lists poking around in the wiki. So, how does one add their name to the lists?

It is easy for anyone that writes in wiki syntax. For those of us that wonder why they made it so hard to write in wikiese I’ll provide ‘how to’ instructions.

SL Wiki User Profile

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Second Life Game Scripts

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Every so often some interesting things appear in the Second Life Wiki. This weekend Second Life resident Allen Kerensky created new pages in the Wiki for an RPG gaming system. They are about the Myriad RPG System, which was designed, written and illustrated by Ashok Desai Myriad. The system is published under the Creative Commons License (Attribution 2.0 UK: England & Wales).

The pages include the scripts and explain how to use the scripts provided. The FAQ reveal the game system is incomplete. They also say the scripts have been tested in Second Life and OpenSim. There is a book authored by Myriad that explains even more.

This looks like a good example of how to start writing a gaming system. The list of the individual scripts includes ranged weapons and melee weapons. If you are interested in creating weapons, armor, other parts of gaming systems, or a full system this could be a good starting place.

See: User:Allen Kerensky/Myriad Lite Preview 3

You can contact Allen Kerensky in both SL and OSGrid. Read the FAQ’s first.

Second Life Adult Content Week 32-33

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It is hard to know what to say about the Adult Content group. I think since sex sells and sells other things as well the adult content in Second Life has the biggest possibility for increasing player retention. Understand it is not the escort services or hookers that I think will keep players coming back… I suppose it will draw some. But, it is the excitement and anticipation in meeting new people in an environment with a sexually charged edge that entices people. The adult content I’m thinking of is not the hookers on a street corner. It is adult things like eHarmony, nice night clubs, church-based social functions and all the other fun, safe, meeting places.

Adult Content - Image by: Seth Mazow on Flickr

It seems some level of the Lindens have recognized adult content has possibilities and are attempting to shift perceptions to take advantage of it. But, I’ve never been able to figure out from the Lindens’ discussion and comments what they are trying for. I’ve had to make the above mentioned assumptions and work some ideas out for myself to put a frame around their goals. I have no clue if I’ve gotten it right. But, maybe.

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Another Scandal in Second Life?

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It is actually hard to say if we actually have a new scandal brewing or not. We have known factions in Second Life that have decided to take IP Protection and Griefing matters into their own hands. Some of us think of such actions as vigilantism. In response to vigilantes other groups have sprung up to rain in the vigilantes. They are sort of anti-vigilante vigilantes. And so it goes. Whether it is a new scandal or maybe just the smoke from artillery shots in an ongoing war is hard to say. So, this article is mostly a reminder of risks in SL.

Image by: US Army Africa - Flickr

Rob Humble at SLCC 2011 in his keynote mentioned doing something with griefers. I don’t have an exact time mark, but it was around 30 minutes in. The Lab is not going to tell us what the Lab is planning. In many ways it is a war between the Lab and griefers. I’ve been in office hour/user group meetings where the Lindens were griefed. When they can’t stop an attack the meeting moves to a new location. So, it is a complex issue even for the Lab. They are NOT going to tip off the enemy.

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Phoenix Viewer Most Stable

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Oz Linden updates the Thrid Party Viewer (TPV) List every so often. A recent update shows the current Phoenix Viewer at the top of the list. That means it had the fewest crashes during the reporting period. \o/

Phoenix is still a Series 1 viewer and lacks mesh and other Viewer 2 features. But, Phoenix remains a popular viewer. It has many features not found in the SL Viewer 1.23, which while not a TPV is the most stable viewer currently in use.

Congratulations Firestorm-Phoenix Team!