Sunday, September 16, 2012

STEAM 7 – Halfway Home!


If some animals are good at hunting and others are suitable for hunting, then the Gods must clearly smile on hunting.
Aristotle          

STEAM 7 is now past the halfway mark.  After the blast of a kick-off party for the event, I thought I’d check in on Perry Peterson’s, the organizer’s, Steampunk Hunt and see how things were going.  Not to my surprise, things are going better than expected. 
          Just a quick recap, STEAM 7, a steampunk themed Second Life (SL) hunt runs from September 1st to 30th inworld.  As usual the Hunt has a subtheme to main steampunk one.  This time it’s “Time & Space” honoring H. G. Wells.  Participating merchants are incorporating this concept into their gifts to the hunters.   

          Checking in with Perryn and a few participants, a few themes are becoming clear.  First, everyone feels that this is the best Hunt ever.  This has been a recurring theme over the last several years and reflects on Perryn and his team’s organizational skills and commitment.  Gifts are better than ever and only two shops dropped out at the last minute, a new record for low losses. 
          Knowledge Tomorrow, Curator of the Joy of Steampunk Museum, is participating for the first time as both a hunter and a merchant.  She believes the community is stronger now and the hunters are more social. 

          Noddington Schmooz of Land of Nodd says that the STEAM Hunts always seem to be a cut above and apart from the rest.   The gifts are consistently of good quality, and there is such a spirit of camaraderie among the hunters and the merchants. 
          One of the principle differences from past Hunts is hunters who are starting the Hunt at the end and working backwards.  This may also contribute to Perryn’s observation that the number of hunters is exceeding expectations especially for shops towards the end of the Hunt.  Sounds like hunters are developing strategies to beat the crowds.  Could STEAM: The Hunt for Dummies be in the offing?
          Traffic from STEAM 7 is up from previous Hunts.  Knowledge reports that traffic is “way, way up” for the Museum.  Noddington says that, happily for him, both sales and revenues are up.  Marcel ghostraven (no relation) has run off to a different sim and left his shop on auto pilot for the duration of the Hunt to pursue other building projects.  (One of the many wonderful things about SL!)  He believes his sales and traffic may be up.  Interestingly, Marcel is the only respondent who thought traffic might be off on this Hunt.  Kyris Upshaw says he has slight increases in sales and traffic.  Janeel Kharg of Ankh Morpork reports traffic up but not sales.  She’s not worried because she’s in the Hunt to raise the awareness of her sim.  
          As for the gifts in STEAM 7, a whole new level seems to have been achieved (and will be difficult to surpass in future Hunts but somehow I think Perryn and the merchants will figure out how).  What follows is a partial list which hopefully will encourage those of my readers who haven’t visited STEAM 7 yet will. 
          Knowledge was kind enough to send me a list of the mini-Hunt’s gifts and their creators.  Included are a personal hot air balloon (Noddington Schmooz), steampunk wall clock (Shigeko Tachikawa), NS6 Dusk Banshee (Nightshade Sixpence), Copper Sea Mine House (Albus Weka), Red Sea Mine House (Albus Weka), steampunk rocket (Lexx Bondar), steampunk bathysphere (Albus Weka), Visionary Quotes – Mechanical Eyes that Speak (Ceejay Writer), Black Sea Mine House (Albus Weka), gas discharge tube (Shigeko Tachikawa), steampunk submarine (Rebecca Bashly), steampunk chopper (Rebecca Bashly), and escargot-a-vapeur (Sextan Shepherd). 
          Marcel has created Inside the Machine, a representation of our Solar System; When the Land Masses Appealed, a volcano in the box; Is This Roswell?, a do-it-yourself alien sighting kit; a steampunk rocket station; a lunar styles steampunk space station; ST3000, a futuristic space shuttle with working weapons; and TM1, a time machine.  Kyris has built a “steampunky” fan that blows physical objects about.  Noddington, in addition to the above, has also fabricated a mesh version of H.G. Well’s time machine and a sculpted grandfather clock.  Janeel also based her gifts on Well’s time machine, as well as male and female Eloi avatars, jewelry based on 30 Million AD, and a versatile circular building. 
          Overall, I’d say that everyone has been very busy! 
          Finally, I’ve heard that hunters are getting better dressed every year and the Hunt may need its own photographer soon!  I met one hunter who was dressed rather appropriately to my mind as Sherlock Holmes.  Maybe STEAM: The Hunt could become an event like Mardi Gras or the Halloween parade held in NYC’s Greenwich Village.  Something else for Perryn to think about! 
          Merchants tell me that hunters have been overwhelmingly friendly and courteous.  Merchants and hunters appear to be forming a tighter community.  I wonder what this might portend for the future?  Some of the hunters seem to try rushing through to be the “first” to complete the Hunt.  Some worry if they really enjoy the Hunt when they do that and if they can really visit all the merchants. Maybe going slow and enjoying the Hunt might be good advice to hunters.  There is no prize for being first! 
          Also, some merchants have not taken the time as requested by Perryn to wrap and mark their gifts appropriately.  The gifts are still marvelous but a little packaging can go a long way!
I want to thank Perryn for his time and assistance. I look forward to visiting with the hunters and merchants during the remainder of the Hunt.  I would also like to thank Knowledge Tomorrow, Marcel ghostraven, Kyris Upshaw, Noddington Schmooz, and Janeel Kharg for taking the time to reply to my queries.  I would also like to thank Knowledge for her permission to use the pictures indicated below.
So, remember!  There’s only two weeks left in STEAM 7.  Please go and see the beautiful work prepared for it by the creators, meet the merchants and other hunters, and see all the work and effort that Perryn and his team have put into this spectacular and one of a kind event!
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.

Photo No. 2 Perryn Peterson 
Photo No. 5 Personal Hot Air Balloon (with the permission of the Joy of Steampunk Museum)

Photo No. 7 Steampunk Wall Clock (with the permission of the Joy of Steampunk Museum)

Photo No. 9 Escargot-a-Vapeur (with the permission of the Joy of Steampunk Museum)


 

 

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love what you are doing with the blog man!