Particle spores! Tell me about your
biology teacher, Mr. Polke .

Being away from Second Life™ was unexpected. It has happened before. First Life usually trumps SL. But, this time I was not sure when I would return. Now, each day rezzed feels like I’m in the bonus round.

Fortunately, I landed in mushROOM (SLurl) after that long hiatus. Scottius Polke’s “Interactive Illustration” is fresh. I was inspired in moments. Day-glo mirth poking me in the smile, whispering “no boundaries”, “no restrictions.”

Plenty of clever surprises here, don’t let that
idle avatar fool you.

There I was, playing again. Smiling wide when I found an easter egg; smiling wider as I watched someone find an egg I had missed…dancing on the electrical plug. Jump on the bed, Tary? Sure, but you gotta swim with the amoebas, I say!

Something elusive to be learned here; there is craft, and fun…but there is also engagement by design.

Soon after mushROOM, I was wandering around The Companion (SLurl, Flickr group). I will not describe this folktale/storytelling build, as it certainly is of gotta-see-it-for-yourself caliber. But, I mention it here because I was itching to build something minutes after arriving.

Early scene in The Companion

Force Planet

And today, SL Showcase led me to Force Planet (SLurl), with a custom Windlight setting. Design flowing around the build, here; out of the virtual space and into my viewer.

Excellent.

I’ll probably go back to Planet Force, tomorrow. And a return to The Companion is coming, for I have not gotten far on my first two visits there. I rarely do in such spaces. I end up staring in wonder, puzzling over the smallest design details (”I haven’t seen anything like that before.”)

When I go, I will probably still be trying to think of an educational build in SL with the same level of artistry, a space with a comparable sense of engagement. Surely I have seen them, I just cannot recall…

How ’bout you?