As every Second Life resident will know, the 19th birthday celebrations have begun, and this year I've been granted exhibition space. After over 15 years in Second Life, I've finally got round to participating. Although the theme for SL19B is steampunk, because I work slowly (and procrastinate a lot), I went with my already mostly built project called Rooms.
What Is Rooms?
The basic idea behind the project I've named Rooms, was to look at space in a 3D environment, see how different it is from space in the real world, and see how it can be manipulated. Add to this the ability within Second Life to create 360 degree panoramas and that is the template for Rooms. Click on the images in Rooms to see how these two facets work together.
Like many people in Second Life who like to explore its potential for art I've previously uploaded images I've created, added them to prims and exhibited them at parcels that call themselves galleries. This is fine in itself, but I became increasingly uneasy with the suspension of disbelief this involves.
Part of the solution I've began to explore is to create an environment where images are not the sole focus, but are an integral part of the whole. No gallery, no person effectively roleplaying as a gallery owner and no person roleplaying as a curator.The upshot of this instead is to utilise the nature of the virtual world of Second Life as the medium.
This short video gives an idea of what to expect when visiting Rooms.
Interactivity
When arriving at Rooms, you'll see there is plenty to engage with. Click on each image and follow the link to enlarge them. Also, each window has two buttons. The red button changes the scene through the window, and the blue seamlessly scrolls the view. (Some observant visitors may recognise the sims used to create the scenes).
There is another button by the sleeping cat. Click this to rez a transparent platform over the gap. Standing on the platform allows visitors to create their own 360 degree panorama images if they want, or to use it as a place to take standard pics. (Just a quick heads up - stitching the images to create the 360 degree panorama from this build can be a little tricky. Hugin is the best software to use. Start with a HFOV setting of 85 or so and go from there. See this tutorial for more info). The platform is also a good vantage point to grab your avatar with the cursor and drag it around for a cool 360 degree view. Keep in mind however, that the platform deletes itself after 10 minutes.
One more set of buttons, under the cat clock will rez a female or male ball that contains wall walkers. Once the ball is rezzed, hop on it and walk anywhere within all three rooms. Using mouseview with the wall walker is highly recommended.
Be Part Of The SL19B Celebrations
The SL19B celebrations has a huge amount to offer visitors, so if you have some time on your hands do go along and be part of whats happening. The official Flickr group has lots of images to give you a flavour of events and more, and this Second Life blog post will tell you all you need to know. To visit Rooms at SL19B hit this SLurl and enjoy. Once you arrive, hit the Teleporter to visit Rooms.
In the meantime, have fun below with the 360 degree view of Rooms. Click the square within a circle icon to view fullscreen, and click the hotspots to open images, videos, and information.
Happy birthday Second Life!
