Are the Big Builds Over in Second Life?

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

Alan Watts

           In my wanderings near and far over the last five plus years in Second Life (SL), I’ve been noticing something in my peripatetic existence inworld.  (Significant Other’s eyes roll and I hear “Not again!” whispered just loudly enough for me to hear.)

          I’ve noticed that many older and large builds are slowly going away and are being

replaced by newer ones.

          So far so good, as someone once told me, the new always replaces the old and is a healthy sign. 

          But, there is a subtle change occurring here and that’s what this story is about.  

          When I first arrived inworld, I encountered many large, complicated builds which were amazing reproductions of sites either from Real Life (RL) or from fiction.  The attention to detail was fantastic and one could lose one’s self in them for hours.  (Significant Other can be heard saying, “And, some of us did!”)  

          The catch with these builds was not very residents were about.  In some cases, I never met anyone whenever I’d visit.  

          Two examples of elaborate builds that are now lost to us are The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and Phaze Demesnes.  

          Without a doubt, new builds are springing up to replace the ones lost. 

          However, they tend to be less elaborate and more focused on the social aspects of life inworld than their predecessors were.  Evidenced by the numbers of visitors running around whenever I happen to rezz in.  

          Why is this occurring inworld?

          There may be several reasons at work here.

          First, tier fees, a perennial favorite, may be too high. 

          The move to mesh might be another reason. 

          As these sims became bigger and bigger, it just may have been too much effort to maintain them. 

          Changing tastes in what people want to experience inworld, or, perhaps more simply, the owners, builders, and whoever else may once have been involved simply lost interest.         

          Who really knows why?

          The fact is there’s a shift taking place inworld. 

          What does this portend for the future?

          Will SL be more about the social and less about the technical?

          Could this be a drawback in anticipation of Project Sansar from Linden Lab?  

          Could this be a hint of the aging of the SL community and lead to a SLEXIT?  (Sorry couldn’t resist!  Significant Other just ran screaming from the room.)

          Something’s definitely afoot.  And, yes, large established build like 1920s Berlin are still with us.  (In fact, Berlin just celebrated their seventh anniversary!)  

          I’m unsure whether this change is good or bad for the SL community.  This could go either way!

          What are your thoughts?  

          Please share them with my three loyal readers and me and possibly we’ll return to this topic again in the not too distant future!  

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.  

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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. 

          Open roads and kind fires! 

My 300th Story about Second Life

           A small confession.

          This isn’t actually my 300^th story about Second Life (SL).

          (Significant Other’s head shakes.)

          I wrote it a few weeks back but with stories on deadline and the fun ‘n frolic of Real Life (RL), I let the moment slide.

          But, on the other hand, I got to write this reflection on SL in a calm and contemplative

manner.

          (Significant Other wanders away mumbling something about excuses.)

          Three hundred stories after dropping into SL and never leaving, SL is still there.

          Although the implications of SL 2.0 from Linden Lab have yet to be felt!

          Activity inworld still goes on.

          We lose some residents, ones who have been away for a while return, and many new residents join each month.

          Not all that different from RL, eh?

          Communities like Mieville continue to thrive. 

          Sims are lost.

          Phaze Demesnes, many of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and some great

castles are now lost to us inworld. 

          SL appears to have been losing some of the more elaborate, older sims.  (Tier fees are expensive!)

          But, new ones are built to replace them. 

          I have noticed that the builds are less elaborate but there does seem to be more of a community feel for many of these new sims. 

          That being said, there are still some great builders around like Lora Chadbourne and

I’ve lost track of all the rebuilds in 1920s Berlin with Frau Jo Yardley. 

          There also seems to be more charitable activity going on inworld than before.

          Relay for Life seems to get bigger and better every year.   

          First UCC assists residents find help in RL and raises money for RL children’s education. 

          A good friend of mine, Marie, has a drive underway inworld to obtain funds for a service animal in RL. 

          Residents also have more options on the spiritual side as well now. 

          Looking ahead, I’ll still continue to blog!

          (Hey, did I mention that I now have three loyal readers inworld?  A 50% growth!  I’m gonna be a contender!)

          There will be new series in my blog.

          I’ll be doing a dungeon crawl through the various castles of SL and I’ll be looking at

the religious side of things more closely.

          (Yes, I know.  It’s a bit incongruous but I take them as I find them!)

          Old favorites will continue.

          Sex and the single avatar will explore a swingers’ club and I’ll continue wandering through the great castles of SL. 

          I’m determined to start and finish my voyage across the worlds of Mieville.

          (As soon as I get a crew that doesn’t jump ship on me!)

          And, who knows what else I may find as I go along?

          Thanks to all of you who read about my wanderings across the Grid!

          Many thanks to Significant Other for allowing the time and freedom to explore inworld. 

          (Not to mention some of the suggestions to try new things!)

          See you around the Grid! 

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

          Open roads and kind fires!

 

Castles in Second Life IV – Lost Castles

Art is never finished, only abandoned.

Leonardo da Vinci 

 

          The concept of this blog series you’re now reading began not long after I rezzed into Second Life (SL) for the first time.

          Having always been a fan of castles in Real Life (RL), it was only natural that I’d be drawn to them inworld.  (Significant Other mumbles something about “creature of habit.”)

          It didn’t take me long to find them and I planned to one day blog about them. 

          So, I kept notes on the ones I visited as I wandered across the Grid.

          Sadly, as I learned the hard way in SL, things don’t remain the same.

          They change or they go away.

          That’s what happened to some of my castles, they went away. 

          So, this story will be about the ones that got away.

          Castles that I once visited and was impressed with and are now gone and lost to us.

          To make matters worse, I didn’t take enough pictures when I did visit.  (Significant Other comments about nothing new there.) 

          But, I do want to share the memories of these great builds with you and of the communities behind them. 

          My first big SL castle hearkens back to when I published my SL stories on CNN iReports before I got the impression they didn’t really care about SL anymore.  (Another story for another time.) 

          The castle was Nulli Secundus and was inhabited by a vampire clan back in the day

when vampires were all the rage inworld.  (Another fine, old tradition that seems to have been lost inworld, trying to avoid being bitten by vanpires.)

          Nulli Secundus was big, dark, and foreboding, not to mention drafty.  (How’d I know that?  By looking at the torches flickering.)

          It was always nighttime whenever I arrived.  (They were vampires after all.)

          Old Drac would have been at home here. 

          Nulli Secundus was a fun castle to visit and to wander about in.

          The vampires had great parties and I went to my first SL wedding there. 

          Then one day after wandering off as I tend to do inworld, I returned only to find that it was gone.

          Sometime after, I ran into some of the vampires to find that they had moved onto the world of SL fashion modeling.

          I guess things change.

          The next great castle was at the fairy tale castle at the recently closed Phaze Demesnes. 

          Phaze Demesnes was a magical place created by Ferd Frederix, a onetime SL resident, who now resides at http://www.outworldz.com/

         

His castle alone was a work of beauty and creativity let alone all the other work that he put into his sim. 

          I can still remember when I took the flying crane tour and was overwhelmed by the castle and its environs. 

          Now, only pictures remain of what once was.

          My final addition to this list lost castles is Domus Dominari Pietas which was a BDSM club located in a large, Gothic castle with all the requisite dungeons and playthings that one would expect from such a place.

          The main hall was especially impressive and hints at the grandeur of the rest of the

castle.

          I really dropped the ball here because I have no pictures of the castle from the outside. 

          I recently dropped by the sim to find green pastures and a few small buildings.

          I asked a nearby resident if she knew anything about the great castle that once stood there and she simply replied, “No.”

          Like all the others, it’s now gone and belongs to the ages. 

          This concludes my list of great castles of SL that are now lost to us?

          Why did they close?

          Good question.

          I suspect that the communities behind them which supported them financially and with building and maintaining the sims wandered off to do other things or just left SL altogether. 

          Tier payments aren’t cheap so I’m sure this was always a significant factor.

          As in RL, these castles may have simply outlived their usefulness and became too expensive and difficult to maintain.

          Unlike RL, these structures couldn’t just be left to turn to dust but have to be turned off because of the expense.

          But, these castles will always live on in the memories of folks like myself who grew up on stories of Ivanhoe and dragons living and fighting in castles! 

          To all the unnamed builders who built and maintained these castles for our pleasure, many thanks!

          I wish you well in all your future endeavors and hope to someday visit them!  

          The lesson learned here is that when we encounter a beautiful build inworld to explore and enjoy it because we never know how long it may remain with us.  (And to remember to take plenty of pictures!)

          As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

          Open roads and kind fires!