If some animals are good at hunting
and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.
Aristotle
Recently, after my attempt at humor inworld, one
of my oldest friends in Second Life (SL), Perryn Peterson (That’s in terms of how long I’ve known him
and not how old he is!) reminded me that the semi-annual STEAM: The Hunt was
coming up. This would be STEAM 7. (STEAM is an acronym which stands for “Steampunk Travelers’
Event, Adventure & Megahunt”)
I had to admit time has escaped me
since I’d last written about a Hunt. That had been in last September. Real Life (RL) technical and health issues
had kept me away from STEAM 6 in March and I didn’t want to miss this chance to
catch up with events.
I meet Perryn at the recently
renovated Laughing Gryphon House in Mieville
Doyle Victorian Steampunk sim which is also
the starting point for the Hunts. We
settle in the comfortable armchairs in an atmosphere comparable to a nineteenth
century London gentlemen’s club (I’ll explain some other time how I happen to know
what one of those looks like.) and begin our interview about STEAM 7.
Perryn has been running Hunts for over
three years now and reminisces about how fast time has flown.
STEAM 7 will run from September 1st
to 30th as the autumn one typically does. As usual the Hunt has a subtheme to main
steampunk one. This time it’s “Time &
Space” honoring H. G. Wells. Participating merchants will try to
incorporate this concept into their gifts to the hunters.
Speaking of the merchants, Perryn
estimates that there will be about one hundred and forty for STEAM 7 including
some hunters like Glorf Bulmer who are now
merchants themselves. Several dozen
merchants are new to the Hunt which Perryn believes is a real plus to the
increasing popularity of the Hunts. Unlike
when he first started the Hunts and had to “scour the bushes” looking for
merchants to participate, he now has to “beat them off with a stick”! Sounds like things are looking good in
world.
From the Laughing Gryphon the hunters
will first visit the shops of two other Hunt organizers, JoseDiego Silverspar and Wyvern Dryke.
Other participating merchants include Mayah Parx of Epic Toy, Janeel Kharg of Ankh Morpork,
Noddigton Schmooz, Moggio Morigi, Albus Weka, Villain Baroque and
Lexx Bondar.
Lexx Bondar will be
participating in her third Hunt. (STEAM
5 and STEAM 6 were her earlier forays.)
In the past she has contributed gifts such as a steampunk jetpack and a
single seat airship. While Lexx hasn’t made up her mind as to her gift for
STEAM 7, she’s leaning towards either a steampunk submersible or a steam
powered rocket ship. Sounds like fun
either way! Lexx enjoys making gifts that
hunters will continue to reuse and enjoy.
She sees her sales and traffic go up with each Hunt and feels Hunts are
a win-win for everyone.
Villain Baroque has been
participating in the Hunts since STEAM 2 and it is his favorite hunt
inworld. H. G. Wells happens to be one
of his favorite writers and will be preparing a special gift based on the “Time
& Space” theme. It’ll be a "Wells
Musical Timemachine". A Steampunk Musicplayer that walks the
listener through the decades from 1860
to 2012 by playing a song of this time, a song somehow related to
"Time" like "Beatles - Yesterday" for the 60’s or
"Bill Haley - Rock Around the Clock" for the 50’s. Sounds like another winner!
Perryn also talks about the sense of
community that is built among the hunters who comment on how wonderful the
group is, how they’ve made friends, and how friendly and helpful everyone
is.
Then there’s the business aspect of
the Hunts. Perryn says the merchants are
seeing increased traffic and purchases.
Group membership also sees increases after the Hunts.
Perryn highlights the poster
for STEAM 7 which was done by a new artist, Tattoo Lane.
At the risk of editorializing (Why
not? It’s my blog after all!), I must say the STEAM: The Hunts are fun events
well worth the time. I’ve met hunters
who have do the entire stretch and others who do parts. All have enjoyed themselves and plan to come
back in the future. I’ll be in and out
over the course of the month. (Perryn,
sorry if that keeps some away!)
See you there!
I thank Perryn for his time and
assistance and take my leave looking forward to visiting with the hunters and
merchants in the Hunt next month. I
would also like to thank Lexx Bondar and Villain Baroque for taking the time to
reply to my queries.
As always, I’m grateful to all for their
kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through
their lives.
Below are a few pictures of some of the
communities I’ve visited inworld, which at the time seemed a little
humorous. I hope you find them that way
too!
I welcome feedback from readers, please
either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com .
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
Photo
No. 2 Perryn
Peterson
Photo
No. 3 Laughing
Gryphon House
Photo
No. 4 Refurbished
Main Room
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