Raul Crimson’s experiences in Second Life®
Archive for March, 2009
The Kaaos Effect, an inworld game
Mar 22nd
Some days ago i was invited by Orange Island to the preview of a new inworld game, The Kaaos Effect.
I’m not a roleplayer and i though all that kind of games were role… but not this one, this is some like a “graphic adventure”, something about exploration, and some surprises. 
I enjoyed it a lot, the spaces are nicely built and have cool effects, the game is developed by Mad Pea, you can find more info about them and this and other games in their web page. The game is in Orange Island, they published a post with all the info about the game developers and the team.
I posted in Koinup a “slideshow” with images of the game you may like to see.
Hope you visit and enjoy it as i did it. 
The situation of Adult content in the future Second Life®
Mar 15th
Some days ago Cyn Linden published in a post in the new Second Life Blogs some information about the projects of Linden Lab® regarding “adult content” in Second Life.
Is better you take a look at it, but is a bit confusing… anyway it seems is more a declaration than a project. For what i understood Lindens want to restrict the “adult content” in Mainland to an specific continent. Also they want to improve the tool for Estate owners to limit the access or provide a good information to the visitors about what kind of content they can find there.
For me there are now two big questions: First, what is “Adult Content” exactly?
I think this is a hard one. The residents we all come from different countries, with different concepts of what is “Adult content”. Of course a “common core” exist, but there are some grey areas, specially about nudity, or partial nudity, or even about violence. As an example, for me a gun is much more “adult content” than a nipple, but i’m sure some people have not the same point of view. Also nudity is used in some skin vendors, how this will affect them? Linden Lab is now trying to open a discussion about what is adult content in the Forums. I think this will be possibly the most conflicting point.
The other big question is: Age Verification?
Cyn mentioned in the post something about being “Age verified” to access the “Adult” continent of Mainland, the same to access the Private Islands with “Adult content”. Possibly this will be another big issue. I am “Age verified” and have a form of payment registered with Linden Lab®, but some people have doubts about that, and about the privacy of this information. I think it would be a great idea to find a way to be “age verified” out of this; some people don’t have Credit Cards (because they can’t or because they don’t want) and some other people doesn’t like the idea of giving personal information to a “third party” company, like the one Linden Lab® is using right now.
Although all this considerations, all the doubts, the rage in some blogs or in the Forums, will this work? About this i think is very interesting a blogpost by dandelion Kimban. I understand, in a 3D space like Second Life®, some kind of access level based in content may be good for everybody, even for the ones looking for this kind of “restricted content”, but how someone can control the content? The content will be actually controlled by the residents, so it exists a possibility that finally everything remains the same. Well, not the same exactly, some residents will speculate with the value of land in the new “adult” continent, as happened in some themed areas in Mainland, like Nautilus or Bay City.
There is still a way to walk regarding this issue, and is not starting good, in the Forums some people is using big words, comparing the creation of an adult area in Mainland with the creation of a Nazi concentration camp. I think that comparison is excessive, unfair and insulting, constructive comments should work better than starting calling things to people and opening a question like this one to public discussion is really positive. Anyway, let’s see how all this ends… as dandelion says maybe it will be only one of those projects that even they are meant to change everything they don’t change actually nothing… or at least nothing too important.
Orange Island Photo Sessions: Poses and expression class by Raul Crimson
Mar 11th
Orange Island and Koinup have invited me to share some experience about poses and expression in SLphotography. It will be something like a class, tomorrow Mar. 12nd at 12:00 PM SLT at Orange Island.
The class will be split into two parts: First one to explain how important poses and emotes can be as an expression tool in SLphotography, and the second part about some ways to make poses using inworld or external tools, where to find this tools and how to use them.
Find more info about is in the Orange Island blog. If you find the theme intersting i will be more than happy to see you there.
Image by Torley under a Creative Commons license.
Fantastic 4 in SL… well, at least 3 are fantastic
Mar 11th
Fantastic 4 in SL… or almost fantastic from Raul Crimson on Vimeo.
This is just a small video (or machinima) i filmed in Second Life© with some really good friends.
I bought a new computer one month ago and still haven’t tried it for filming, the old one had low RAM and VRAM memory and the old videos are a bit… jumpy. But this looks quite better for what i see.
Also was a way to tell this good friends how important are for me, they are one of the best reasons for anything, they are smiles, love, joy and great moments. Thanks to them.
The “standardization” of Second Life©?
Mar 1st
I know using a question as title for a post may be not “right”, but about this issue i want to talk about i have more doubts than trues, specially because it’s more a question of opinion than a question of reality.
Possibly i can say i’m kinda old in Second Life©, more than two years, not sure if is old, but is enough to perceive some kind of evolution, or change around.
I have the feeling something is changing gradually in the community, something i can call “standardization”. I have the feeling like some of the so called “sub-cultures” are disappearing, or being less visible. Furries, tinies, robots, etc. I see more and more “humans” and less “different” avatars. Even inside the “human” group i perceive this normalization i was talking about, in tones of skin, styles of shapes, clothing, hair, …
Someway i think something the old diversity is lost in a big group of Mediterranean look guys and stylish girls wearing them all fantastic outfits created by the SLfashion gurus. Of course i still see some really imaginative avatars around, some furries and some tinies, but i have the feeling they are not so much as before. Ok, maybe is just a feeling and maybe this is caused by the environment i’m exploring or the people i have social contact inworld. I’m not sure, so this post is a way to express this ideas and also know what others think.
It may be all that i just said, and it also may be a reality caused by the discrimination existing to the different avatars. I saw some places where the visit of furry avatars was forbidden (not only some clubs, also some other places), i saw “human” avatars insulting a furry and calling him very bad things, including comments about the sexuality or the preferences (including animalism) of him/her.
I don’t have the moral superiority to preach, and i don’t pretend to do it, i just think there was more avatar diversity before and i miss it. I don’t pretend someone to change, i am what i like to be and i’m sure everybody is the rest, but i’m not talking about individual behaviours, is about group behaviour.
All this post is rambling, is a feeling, is just something i have in mind sometimes. I wanted to share it and i’d like you to share your opinion about it.
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