HIgh-End Graphics

A little trend in gaming you may have noticed (I say tongue-in-cheek) is high-end graphics. Game consoles are always pushing the envelope as today's Engadget post about the Unreal Engine 4 rendering standard attests. And look at all those people who now spend less time in Second Life because of Skyrim. You can't tell me that the the gorgeous graphics are not a big part of the reason that game is popular (2011s most popular game, says Raptr). Is there a contingent that "play" Second Life that see the need for console-like or Skyrim-like graphics?

I'd say so. Yesterday's New World Notes post by Iris Ophelia is an example. Or look at the various SL groups on Flickr (such as the SL9B group). Quite a few people are genuinely interested in having the best possible quality images in Our  World. Could increasing the quality of graphics in Second Life be the solution to declining populations? Looking at the rest of the gaming world, it just might.

SL9B: Random Stuff

Much slower day today at Second Life's 9th Birthday sims. Most folks have claimed their exhibit space and have started building. Many are actually done. The admins are catching up on some sleep, but are still tired. At least The Grid isn't throwing curveballs like they did on Build Day One. I made a 4th avatar to wear, the tiny mole me. All of them will change when the Greeters get their hats, of course, but they are saved for now. I can't think of any tweaks for my build, really, so making avatars in between helping others seems to be the order of the day. And I'm grabbing landmarks of some wonderful places. Look in my Profile Feed Snapshots to see some of them. I should be posting them to the SL9B Filckr feed, but I'm too lazy. Maybe later. Right now I'm going stand around a lot and chat with people. So many very nice ones here this year. Be sure to talk to anyone you meet when you visit.

SL9B: Lesbos Represents

More later, but I was able to take a few minutes and drop in the Lesbos@SL9B exhibit (SLurl). Tweaked the banner textures and setup all the About Land bits. I'll look again in a few days to see what else needs tweaking. If you are an exhibitor, get your exhibit name and description ready and find a spot where you want folks to land. Also, make room in your Profile Picks to feature your build.

SL9B: Training Hard

Yep. Spending the last day before SL9B Exhibitor access goes live by getting lots of training as an Exhibitor Assistant. I'm one of the people that Exhibitors will talk to when claiming their parcels starting at 10am SLT on June 4th.

Those aren't my alcoholic beverages. Blame Rails Bailey.

SL9B: Exhibitor Status

I got this in my email this morning:

Congratulations! Your application has been accepted for the Second Life Birthday Celebration this year! 

I'll be near the all mesh main stage in a really decent spot (SLurl). Finally near the main action! Past birthdays my parcel has been out in the boondocks.

Hard at work finishing up my build. Visitors can grab a gift pack and take copies of all the candles.

To dispel some rumors: I did not get preferential treatment with a nice spot because I'm a Greeter, Exhibitor Assistant, and a Moderator for the event. If I had then my parcel would have an unobstructed view of the western ocean as requested. Over 400 applications were recieved for about 350 parcels so I'm darned lucky to have gotten one at all. In fact, I asked if I could drop in a day early to put up my build in since I'll be sooooo busy helping other exhibitors when the sims officially open for building but I was denied. Fair is fair.

I hope to see you all there. Until then, take a look at the SL9B Website for more information and to volunteer.