My Non-SL Day

Real Life keeps me busy. I'm sure it keeps everyone busy, but lately I've been extra busy. Well, if you count sitting in my Mom's room with an iPad, keeping her company for most of the day "busy." The iPad is important because I use it to talk to Mom, most in writing via the Penultimate app but sometimes via Proloqu2Go.

But I also get to have some fun with games, keep up with people via Message, Facetime with my brother, read books or the news, surf the Web, watch videos, and look up things for Mom when she's not well enough to grab her own iPad. My iPod Touch is always in my pocket with the "dumb" phone I have for texting non-iOS people (I can text for 911, for example).

I like USAToday, though not for in-depth news. I love Circa on my iPod Touch for very high quality news summaries. Flipboard is mostly annoying. For weather I primarily use WeatherBug.

Our house has Netflix and Amazon Prime subscriptions so it is not hard to find a good video. Via Comcast apps I can change channels on any TV in the house or watch other on-demand content. Of course there is YouTube and our iCloud video, too.

Amazon's Kindle is our family's book reader of choice because it is cross-platform and we bought a lot of books before Apple's iBooks came out. No one in our family is big on audio books, but my brother and I regularly listen to at least a dozen podcasts between us.

The game I play most often these days is Fairway Golf by Big Fish Studios. It is available for desktops and mobiles, sometimes free if you catch a promotion. Even at full price, though, this wickedly funny and challenging game is worth it.

Android does this, I think, but on iOS I can see all the open browser windows on any device we have or on my desktop computer. Above is one that my brother opened on his iPod Touch. He recently won an iPad Mini so everyone in the family can have a "big" screen to look at ... Even using AirPlay to toss content to one of our TVs via an Apple TV.

Right now, though, I have my brother's Mini and I'm pounding out this blog post in the Blogger app while waiting for the signal to make lunch. Mom has a visitor over so I'm in the living room in a comfy chair, trying to stay awake. Later I might edit this post to add links to the apps and center the pictures since I can't do it here. For now I'm off to other links and some more golf.

Third Life

Recently I mentioned (Web) that changes from Linden Lab have encouraged me to spend more time with my Apple iPad, part of my Third Life of living virtual. It's an extension of what I've been doing with my beloved iPod Touch (Web). Of course I read books and listen to music on my iPad, as well as watch videos, play board games, and more, but I have several apps that enhance my Third Life.

Koi Pond, from Blimp Pilots (Web; iTunes on the Web) is back, but bigger and better. Now I can build my own ponds by placing each element just where I want, adjust all aspects of the light and water, plus control sound and wildlife. It's like making a pond in Second Life (SL) without worrying about prims and scripts. This picture is my creation. I could have used one of the pre-made ponds or edited one. The app needs to have an option so that I can watch it without having to occasionally tap the screen to keep the device awake. It's like having a nature sounds generator and a pretty picture all in one.

Pocket Pond (iTunes on the Web) does have a no-timeout option and is more photorealistic but doesn't feel as warm. It is nearly as customizable as Koi Pond out of the box, but with an upgrade more customization is possible and you can catch the fish. I like the thunderstorm feature. Both ponds let you feed the fishies and both are pretty darned relaxing. I can't pick a favorite, but I tend to use Pocket Pond more while by iPad sits on a stand beside my computer. Don't look for the publisher's Web site to be of any help, though. It doesn't acknowledge the app's existence so I didn't even put a link here.

Distant Shores, also from Blimp Pilots (Web; iTunes on the Web) is actually the same app that I have on my iPod Touch, not an upgrade for use on the iPad. By doubling the size the graphics suffer, but "walking the beach" is a bit nicer in that my hand doesn't get in the way as much. The objective is still to find messages in bottles and to gather shells to earn empty bottles for your own messages. With the iPad, creating messages is much easier because the keyboard is bigger. In a way, Distant Shores is a very basic social media app for communicating with random strangers but without the pitfalls of using Chatroulette. I keep hoping that I could actually go inside my hut (pictured here) or run across people, but since I don't have an avatar myself, just disembodied footprints, there wouldn't be much point to that. Hopefully when the app is updated for the iPad's larger screen, the Bimpies will add synchronization between devices. I have messages on my iPod Touch that don't show on the iPad.

Gylder2 (Web; iTunes on the Web) does have an avatar, and as you can see, she's adorable! The orginal Glyder on my iPod Touch was a lot of fun, but soaring on a bigger screen with even more challenges and scenery is a lot more fun. I can spend hours with this app just flying around. I do that in SL, but with my Mac's wireless keyboard and the world's inherent lag, it is something of an effort. With Glyder2 its all fun. There are missions to collect gems and perform specific flying patterns, each letting you earn special clothes or wings, but the sheer joy of the experience is often enough.

Citadel (Web; iTunes on the Web), is all about experience, too, as it is not really a game, but a demonstration of the technology behind an upcoming game. I mentioned it sort of in passing on this blog a few days ago (Web) but didn't say much. If you have an iPad, stop now and get the free download. If you don't, look at the picture and drool. As you wander through a castle's keep and through its outer ward you are treated to a visual feast. It is like being a tourist in a deserted place. Look at anything you want, as long as you want. Sadly, you can't go inside the buildings save for one very spectacular build nor wander outside too far, but like Second Life, there is no set goal to this not-game. The idea is to simply enjoy the environment. Eventually, Epic Games will release some twitch-n-slash title that uses this environment and while I am terrible at "physical" games other than Wii Bowling, I'll probably buy it just to see more of this gorgeous world.

Photopedia Heritage (Web; iTunes on the Web) also has fabulous architecture, but in the form of spectacular photographs from UNESCO World Heritage sites, like Notre Dame de Paris, shown here. If you don't read the in-depth descriptions, delve into the Wikipedia articles, or scan the maps, you will still find leafing through the images a thrill. This is not a virtual life, but real life lived virtually. You'll wonder why your Geography and History classes sucked so much (mine didn't, but I'm that kinda geek) compared to this app. I haven't found any multimedia yet, but I'm still poking around randomly. If you are heavily OCD and want organization then you can have it, but it may not be as much fun as exploring.

Which is why I love Second Life, to get back to our shared world, for a moment. I seldom keep landmarks, but I have a folder of full of them for just "Cool Builds." These are places that are visually exciting, cleverly constructed, or engaging based on the activities. SL is full of places like this. Sadly, like Real Life, it is also filled with "un-Cool Builds" and I find my way back to my iPad.

Cro-Mag Rally (Web; iTunes on the Web) was a free app at one time and I got it to remind myself at how badly I am at this sort of game. I don't drive well when there is a computer involved, wether it be on my iPad or in Second Life or on any console system. But this game is a collection of cute little virtual worlds and despite crashing into everything, never winning a race (I often come in 7th or 8th in a 6 person race), and generally mucking up everything, it is still fun to hold my iPad (or iPod Touch) as a steering wheel and wander about. By luck, I guess, it has become part of Apple's Game Center (Web) so now I can humiliate myself publicly. Or humiliate my brother as our iTunes account is in his name. Social networking and virtual worlds. Who would have thought of it?

I won't bring up Angry Birds (Web; iTunes on the Web) because it isn't really a virtual experience, despite a storyline. Though I suppose I did just bring it up. So I won't mention the Volkswagen-sponsored racing game that works like Cro-Mag, nor the great pinball games, ball bearing-in-a-labyrinth games, or other such things that I play. Goodness knows that unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've heard about the games and other things you can do with iPads and such so you can assume that I do those, too. But they are not part of what I call my Third Life, living virtually outside Second Life. They are just ... life, something we all have to do every now and then.

Apple iPad: Serious Want

Mohammed F. Haque (AKA "Hawk"), the artist behind AppleGeeks (Web) has an iPad today! No, not really. This pic is a fake for April Fools Day. But another celebrity, actor/comedian/author/nice-guy Stephen Fry has one and he wrote about it for Time Magazine (Web). Well worth a read even if you are not interested in the device at all. If you are interested, then also check Andy Ihnatko's posts for the Chicago Sun-Times ("Is it a real computer?" Web; "iBooks is worth the price ..." Web).

Am I getting one? Eventually. I love my iPod Touch and the iPad is a very big version of that wonder. But from what I've read the differences (easier content consumption, actual content creation, and huge screen) will make it worth the cost and while to get one. Unlike the Touch, it likely won't leave the house at all. But I'll have similar uses: Looking up information about what I'm watching on TV or DVD, Web surfing, staying connected away from my desk, etc. With the faster processor and bigger screen, these tasks will be a lot more fun. Now bring on the Second Life app!!

My other virtual lives

Having spent more time in Real Life (RL) today than normally wish to, I was glad that I had a couple virtual worlds to immerse myself but neither was Second Life. I spent my time with my Koi Pond and on Distant Shores. Both fit on my iPod Touch and provide a peaceful, relaxing way to ignore RL.

Like nearly everyone that has a net-connected Apple handheld, I bought Koi Pond from The Blimp Pilots (Web; iTunes) and became hooked (no pun intended). It is less a game than just something to do because one can simply watch the fishies frolic. As much fun as that is, though, interacting with the critters is more fun. A quick shake of the device drops some food with a satisfying plunk and soon a fish gobbles it up. Touch the screen to create ripples that "scare" the fish or run your finger around to the same effect. If you hold your finger steady in one place the fishies eventually come up and nibble on you. The pond stones, water color, number of fish or plants, and more can be customized. Put on some headphones and the experience is much richer.

Like Second Life, there is no stress in having to reach a goal, death only comes when the power is dead, and you don't have to worry about drowning.

Pond Life is just plain fun and well-worth the 99¢ I spent, but the holiday extra edition I thought I bought didn't show up so I don't have a Christmas lights option.

Recently I added Distant Shores to my iPod Touch (Web; iTunes) and have become intermittently obsessed with it. Like Koi Pond, you can simply watch but it's not much for passive fun. Interaction is the point here (for which you need a WiFi connection for your iPod Touch or you need an iPhone) ... tap somewhere on the screen and an invisible you walks there, leaving prints of your bare feet in the sand. Waves gently lap at the shore, seagulls with inactive colons flit overhead, and things like beach chairs, umbrellas, and other signs of life dot the beach. Tap near the edge of the screen and the view scrolls (I found that if you keep up a rhythmic tapping the scrolling just keeps going as if you are continually walking). If you did nothing other than this it would still be worth 99¢. If you see a bottle, though, walk up to it and tap it for an anonymous (or not) message from someone else with the game on their device. Reply to the message and the invisible you tosses the bottle back to the sea for the original author to read. Clever bottles. If you pick up five seashells, an empty message bottle appears and you can write your own message from scratch to be tossed out to a random recipient. If you receive a reply, a little turtle outside your personal hut wags her head with an envelope in her mouth. Walk up to her and tap for your message.

This is not rocket surgery. You are limited to storing eight messages and eight empty bottles. The shoreline is infinite in length (as far as I know) with objects laid out randomly. Despite obvious signs of habitation you are eerily alone, no other invisible people to be found (at least I see no other footie prints ... they could be having virtual nookie in a cabana). Depending on how bored you are you might spend very little time or a lot of time on the beach before finding something else to do. But you'll head back to the beach several times a day.

Maybe after you feed your koi.