As I zip about the
Second Life 9th Birthday (SL9B) regions adjusting parcel settings, checking for rules compliance, or just exploring, I can't help but make comparisons to Mainland Second Life. Islands in SL tend to be homogenous. Sure, there are those set up with rental lots and so become chaos reborn, but on the whole, Islands tend to be one theme and one harmonious form. Mainland regions, on the other hand, is a mishmash of discordant designs.
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| This next gen Apple OS desktop wallpaper reminds me of Mainland: The Discordant Collective |
Near my home in Nangrim, for example, are empty lots, a full-bright castle, gardens, a corporate headquarters, homes, shops, and more. The parcel sizes are all different and the area shapes are sometimes amazingly convoluted. Yet everything eventually forms a collective.
The SL9B regions started out as regulated, squared parcels but then the builders were let in and things became all Mainland-y. A full-bright temple sits next to a gorgeously manicured park build. Wild mushrooms dwarf a huge, flaming phoenix. Small castles sit next to a New England waterfront so real you smell the salt air. If you can think it, you can probably find (g-rated) places in SL9B to match. But something is wrong.
Mainland really blends. Maybe it is the way roads and rivers wind through the landscape. Maybe it is the varied shapes of various parcels. Sadly, the SL9B regions aren't allowed to blend. For example, trees and shadows may not overhang the roadways, even if they are set to phantom and don't interfere with traffic. When I see a nice palm tree over hanging or various trees from side-by-side lots making a nice canopy, I really don't want to report them as an issue. These things make little squares into neighborhoods.
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| The SL9B regions snapped a few moments ago |
Others have noticed the "variety" among builds and have thought about applying the harmonic island idea. There has been talk about too many builds being strictly corporate advertisements without any bearing on the event theme and maybe setting up a business district next time. I even pointed out that a previous Birthday celebration had themed regions such as Lifestyle, Art, etc. But that would take away from this little slice of Mainland. By mixing exhibits with different points-of-view a diverse view of Second Life is crammed into 20 regions and gives many who claim to "hate" Mainland a chance to experience what they are missing.
2 comments:
I posted my thoughts about the ad-builds on the SL9B site... but there's also a problem with GIGANTIC DEMONSTRATION OF GENITAL LENGTH INADEQUACY-sized towers scattered throughout the builds.
Yeah, I had my tower phase. Then, someone made a pointless empty shell of a tower near it, and I realized... this needs to have a purpose. And I grew the f- up.
The scenery boxes scattered around, blocking off everything outside, are a symptom of that issue, where an exhibitor is so disgusted with their surrounding builds at SL9B that they have to block it out for someone to appreciate and experience their own build.
Another issue is FULL BRIGHT OH MY GOD MY EYES THEY BURN THEY BURN!
The problem is, if there's any attempt at regulating or even advising exhibitors on this level of content, accusations of censorship will fly.
Oh well. I'll have a lot of fun going build to build doing my usual Mister Blackwell impression. ;)
-ls/cm
@Crap Full Bright is my pet peeve. There is no need for it on a large scale.
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