Serenity - Week 3 Photoblog

I haven't had much time to use Second Life this week, so this photoblog won't be very long when compared to my others. Sorry!

The first place I'd like to show photos of is a Japanese sim based on Sanjo, an area in Kyoto.

Kyoto is one of my favourite cities in Japan, so this was a very nostalgic moment.

As with a lot of the Japanese sims, however, it appears to be totally unused these days. Given that out of a list of recommended Japanese sims this was the only one still in existence, I wouldn't be surprised if it disappeared as well before long.

I really liked the trees! They are the nicest that I've seen in SL so far.

Kyoto Sanjo
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kyoto%20Sanjo/87/191/22

Even though it is empty, I really think everyone should go and visit it. I never thought a virtual world could be so peaceful!

Afterwards, I tried to visit Pulse (the dance club) again, but they were still empty. So, I decided to wander the nearby streets, to see if I could find anything interesting. It actually turned out that the area around Pulse is an urban roleplay sim, though no one was there actually using it. There was a creepy playground with swings moving all by themselves, and with the complete opposite mood of that, a cotton candy machine that gave free cotton candy.

Further down from the Pulse owned sim was a department store with a very imposing entrance way. Even though I had a sneaking suspicion I knew what I'd find inside, I decided to venture in regardless.

After learning how to build, I can appreciate the amount of time this took.

Once I got into the store I saw that I was correct - it was a furry department store. Even though I am not part of that community myself, I have a couple of friends who are, so I decided to take a look around and see what sort of items they sold. Mostly it seemed to be avatars made to look like the fursuits which are used in real life, and the clothes that went with them, since clothes sold in human avatar shops wouldn't be able to fit.

It was a very well organised shop, and seemed to be updated frequently, unlike many of the human avatar stores.

I've read that the furry community is one of the few areas of Second Life that still stays strong, so it makes sense that stores dedicated to them are still kept in good shape. It actually makes me wonder if, like in the beginning, Second Life will return to being used only by niche groups who have made it a sort of 'safe haven', if you will.

Next I visited a sim called Offworld, which is a Blade Runner inspired city. As you might imagine, this meant it was a very grungy sci-fi.

The katakana on the sign says "Welcome to Blade Runner city."

Once you enter, there are a few buildings up the top that are cool to look at, including that mech you can see in the screenshot, but the best part is actually heading down one of the long stairways to the inside part of the sim. There is a whole other city under there, and while some of it appears to be unfinished, what is done is very atmospheric and accurate to the theme.

I actually met a guy in the underground section who was so perfectly dressed for the area that I was convinced he was a bot at first, until I clicked on him and saw he was a player! He was someone who pretty much spent all his time in this sim or others like it, as it was a way of living in a world that he wished the real world was like.

This was part of the 'underground' section.

A very pretty effect to fly through. Can we have it on AUT island, haha?

It was also possible to leave the main city, as there appeared to be a massive television screen outside as well as another small city section on the ground. But, the most impressive part to me was the amount of effort that had obviously been put into even just the outside structure of the sim. 

The outside wall of the main city.

This sim can be a little laggy, and it seems to be popular at the moment, so I would avoid going there at peak times. That said, make sure you do take the time to have a look!

Offworld
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/BLADERUNNER%20CITY/127/130/430