Sim Sweet Sim
By: Meg
10 Aug 2007
Funny timing. Last night I made an enquiry about renting property in Second Life--something I've been thinking about for a short time now--and I just discovered that the NY Times ran a long and interesting article today called A House That’s Just Unreal all about Second Life real estate. It ran in the Home & Garden section, rather than technology, and included a few questions that puzzle me whenever I go furniture shopping in SL:
Virtual stairs, meanwhile, are my biggest virtual design pet peeve. They're so unnecessary, and my frustration in dealing with them is always accompanied by memories of the King's Quest series of games I played in the late 80s, in which there were always tricky staircases one had to navigate as part of the gameplay. One wrong step and your character was dead.
It has also given rise to a number of philosophical questions: since you don’t eat in Second Life, do you need a kitchen? Is a bathroom really necessary? Since you can teleport, do you need stairs?It's mainly the toilets that puzzle me. I can sort-of understand wanting a really luxe virtual bathtub, but provided one has access to one in good working order, who fantasizes about a great toilet?
Virtual stairs, meanwhile, are my biggest virtual design pet peeve. They're so unnecessary, and my frustration in dealing with them is always accompanied by memories of the King's Quest series of games I played in the late 80s, in which there were always tricky staircases one had to navigate as part of the gameplay. One wrong step and your character was dead.
- 2 comments
- design, second life
2 Responses to Sim Sweet Sim
Cherie (not verified)
Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 18:34 reply
That is interesting, knew you could buy and sell property on Second Life, but I didn't know you could rent it.
Connie Crosby (not verified)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007 - 15:38 reply
I wonder if perhaps stairs imply an invitation to walk up (or fly up) to another level? If the stairs are not there, how do you know there is another level, and how do you know you are welcome there? Also, flying up means that the design has to allow for that as well--you basically need a hole in the ceiling on the floor below, or have to fly in through a window which means going outside the building.I've often wondered about the purpose of food and drink in Second Life. Although I do have the coolest cup of green tea in my inventory. It includes a script that makes me look more casual as my avatar sips tea, and the cup has steam coming out of it (very realistic looking) so it always impresses others. I will often be inspired to make a cup of tea and have it in real life at the same time. :-) For those interested, I think I got it at the cafe in Mill Pond. But I could be wrong.... kudos to whoever created it!
Post new comment