Show and Tell - New Host Taralyn Gravois

'Show and Tell' is always huge fun and much to laugh for builders and the audience. Here are some examples of the last presentation:

The line up last show was especially brilliant. It startet with Eolene Uralia, who showed the fascinated audience her first invention ever: The Box. Eolene said: “I am a legend in my own mind” She blames Linden to have theft her wonderful box. But she is proud, what all the builders on SL are doing with her boxes. With much laughter Eolene got enthusiastic applause. Eolene reacted very humble: "thank you. I am famous" Madpea can be proud to have Eolene as builder ;) 

The next built was a town in a box: "Nope-olize" A scaring Godzilla destroyed the houses with lot of dust. In the Godzilla costume was the builder Poi (Marshalpoi Jinx). He said: "When you done just do the rebuilt and it is as good as new." The audience loved the presentation and asked for repetitions.

Artist and builder Harter Fall was the next in the line. Harter ist known for builds with optical illussions and was several times awarded in SL. Here he presentend a box with a skull inside with seems to stare at everyone and to follow all movements. Poi shouted frightened: "IT WANTS MY SOUL!" Harter explained: "The surface the skull ist projected on is concave. So that it appears to rotate the opposite direction you look at it." Slightly scared but very impressed the audience gave Harter long applause. Alone Eolene insisted that it looks as one of her boxes.

Doesn't this avatar look cute, nice and innocent? If you think DJ Zelda (PowerVR) really is, you might be wrong. Zelda built and scripted a "Super Turkey Puncher". Poor turkeys explode in the screen. The audience loved it besides some, who felt with the animals. Jules Garobie said: "Stop hurting the birdy :(" But Elvira Fenwitch was more interested in the feathers to build new arrows. Arduenn Schwartzman asked for a Meeroo version.

Stupid Dump Display Name (Arduenn Schwartzman) presented a very nice mesh toaster with offers different sorts of sandwich. But the toaster has an extra feature and he needed a volunteer. Paramparamm Papp came and was asked to have seat on the toaster and to be toasted. Soto Hax shouted: "Wow! He turned a hedgehog into a guinea pig." And Param: "IT HURTS!" Arduenn took a seat too and showed that the bum is done, as soon as it starts to smoke.

 This was just a a part of the presented works. Sadly the last work, a huge airship build by Angelica Nansen, was that large that it bursted on the flight test the walls of the MadPea Arena. We only hope that the reburbishment works will be finished by today evening, when next 'Show and  Tell' is scheduled.

 Winner of the evening was the Turkey Puncher, place two has been shared by the skull and the toaster. All agreed that 'Show and Tell' was lot of fun and much to laugh. Everyone wanted to come back for the next 'Show and Tell' on Sunday. Piedra Lubitsch said: "I will definetely be back next time." You should not miss it too!

New host is Taralyn Gravois. Meet her today! The builder and gallerist enjoys seeing what comes out of your imaginations and sharing it with others.

Builders, make sure to appear early to join the contest board. First come, first serve!

Show and Tell each Sunday at 2 PM SLT!

 Taxi:   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MadPea%20Base/143/203/26%20

by Quan Lavender

Impression Creation

Impressions Matter

In life we all have our own agenda's, our own understandings of how things work in our world. Our laws are different, our systems are different, are visual awareness is different. If you live in the country and its snowing you have a different impression of how your life is, compared with someone on a tropical island who has never seen snow. Briefly your environment, your upbringing and yes in some cases your childhood, provides you with your "norms and values" whats right for you is not always right for someone else. So lets look at that in how we form an impression of some of the second life characters that we know personally. This is not Alex, it is Elliott but what does it tell you?

Elliott my second life partner

To prevent any misinterpretation of Alexander occuring we don't want to talk about him, we want to talk about overall character and impression formation. Take this picture of Elliot and ask yourself what was your first impression of our second life friend. 

You probably noticed he is wearing a Jack Daniel tee shirt, does that mean he likes Jack Daniels, or does it mean that he is just wearing it because he didn't have anything else to wear.  Depending on your own life, your own "norms and values" even your job you will inform a different impression of Elliot.

The best thing about Second Life is we don't need to tell you about him, we don't need to describe him, you can see him for yourself. You can see that he is medium build, dark haired, and dressed casually but he is sitting in a leather chair and surrounded by books, but the stairs are modern and so are his clothes.

Do you see how pictures can create impressions?

Yin and Yang

Merri Van horne

Where there is light there is dark. Merri is a sultry, pretty lady, the sailors top and sweet brown hair is supposed to portray her innocence, but she has bright red lips is she so innocent? You're forming an impression of a character, created for role play. If we changed the scene behind her, you would have a different impression than the one you previously formed.  So will the next person who reads this. If you see her in second life, even for the briefest moment you will quickly pick up cues from her.

Orion Van Horne

Darkness needs light to exist, or you wouldn't know it was dark. Orion is Merri's opposite, she is darkness although there is a glimmer of light in this character. Your first impressions of Orion might lead you to think that she is wiccan, gothic, or vampire?  But not all wiccan's and vampires look dark, a vampire can be portrayed by their pale skin, goths prefer black or dark colours and wiccan's wear what they will.  Once again you have made up your own mind about Orion and what her beliefs are just by what she wears. For a writer is pain staking process to get your characters image right when you bring them from the written form into the light of a sketch or an avatar in second life. It may not always look the way you want him or her to look, you have an image of the perfect character in your head, or mind bringing them to "life" on screen, in a sketch, a 3D program or in second life is an effort, that even the writer may never be satisfied.

Lindy

Trying to create a teen in second life is difficult, they have different needs, image shape and you never want the girl too buxom. Lindy is a cheeky and young woman, trying out new styles, new make up. The problem with teens is that fashion in real life practically demands they dress like young adults, rather than the teens of yesterday. Most parents are appaled by what teens wear, through out generations of teens, no one has been happy to see their daughter, son looking older than he really is.

Fashion demands that they are mini adults, its difficult to get what a teen should wear correct, because of these demands. So although Lindy is portraying a sixteen to seventeen year old young lady, the reader of this blog might think she is more like 21 or older. Why because we form impressions of what teens look like today, based on our culture and our norms and values, or belief systems and it sticks.

Frances

We have all seen them wandering around second life. So much so, some shops insist that child avatars do not come to certain shops. If your going to "play" a child, you shouldn't really be on an adult sim, even though its an adult playing a child. Why do these exist, because there is a demand for cuteness, sweet little girls and nice little boys, baby talk its a growing trend in second life. They have this annoying speech impediment. So when you see them you either converse with them as you would talk to a child or you teleport away from them! I do shudder when I see them, I don't know who is actually behind the cute persona they portray.

Frances is always accompanied by an adult or made to stay at home, just as we would never let our real life children go wandering in the mall alone, we should be more responsible with child avatars. Its a sobering thought because in second life, you never know "who" YOU are talking to when you interact with a handsome man, a cute teenager, a sweet little girl. The worrying thing is you just never know.

 What does this have to do with Sanity Falls, well its a game and your going to playing it more than likely as Alexander Blackwell dressed as him, wearing his skin, his hair, yes right down to his shoes. What? all playing one man.

 Well thats the fun part of the game and yes in the first few days no doubt there will be lots of people who look like that and may you will choose not to dress up, and be your self. But who is that standing next to you, you don't know its a game.

The scariest thing about Second Life and when you play those state of the art games you immerse yourself into the game, relax, let your hair down. "I am Lara Croft!" you call, or "I am 007 and I have a licence to kill" or more excitingly "I am Alexander Blackwell and I have a..." game to play! Thats who you will be in Sanity Falls, thats who I will be, thats who reader number 22 will be. Wait "I am not a number I am free man/woman" I hear an insane laugh from some where beyond the sim walls.

Next time, how Alexander Blackwell was created.

Blog written By Rowanessque Whitewood.

Great Future Neighbors: Inspiring Orientation

You might have seen that recently the MadPea sims has been rearranged and Madpea Islandnow is called Harpers. And you may wonder what is happen there, as there is just construction so far. Madpea ist very happy to have “The Inspriring Orientation” soon in their neighbourhood, with a new, interesting concept. We interviewed the creative head of the project, Arrehn Oberlander. He is  developer of SL viewers and founder and head of the artist and builder group MetaHarper.

Arrehn Oberlander

MadPea: You started to build “The Inspriting Orientation Project”. What is that?

Arrehn: Thank you for asking! The idea for an "Inspiring Orientation" has been evolving for many years in my head and within a circle of creative friends. We believe the new user experience in SL doesn't do enough to show what makes SL unique among virtual worlds -- rich, free-form, resident-generated content of all kinds. SL's Welcome Island experience can be re-imagined to demonstrate SL's virtues as an accessible, creative medium. Resident creative works can be used to make the educational part of orientation more engaging, more interactive, and more immersive. We plan to invite artists to submit designs for interactive exhibits which demonstrate viewer skills. This allows us to make both a functioning orientation, and a long-term gallery of creative art at the same time. The Inspiring Orientation aims to be a more fun way for new users to learn SL skills, while at the same time demonstrating the kinds of content that makes SL unique.

Madpea: Is that location only meant for newbies or also for advanced users?

Arrehn:  We're planning to build Inspiring Orientation in stages. The first stage is aimed at complete new users and encompasses basic viewer skills only. Later stages will focus on intermediate and advanced viewer skills, particularly information that is under-documented, or where current viewer technologies outstrip information from the usual web sites.

MadPea: Tell us about the design.

Arrehn: There's a few different designs concepts that we could talk about-- to start I can give an overview of how people will experience the basic training part of the orientation: For the first basic training stage, you'll appear in an open welcome area, and from there follow an enclosed path that will take you on a linear path through a handful of interactive learning stations. Each station will be dedicated to demonstrating a particular viewer skill such as flying, or using the camera. The idea is that each of these stations will be under the singular control of a particular creative artist or art group, so in a sense the basic training course is like a gallery of exhibits, as well as a training course.

MadPea: You are developer of SL viewers. Will the use of viewer be a main topic of the tutorials?

Arrehn: Viewer use and familiarity is the main focus of the Inspiring Orientation, but looking forward into the future we'd like to include some starter tutorials and resources for various types of content creation.

MadPea: Who is the financial force behind the project? 

Arrehn: I've raised enough funds to keep Inspiring Orientation available for at least two years. It is envisioned to be a lasting orientation and exhibit for creative art in SL. The art appreciation group I started a few years ago, "Metaharpers", has been continually funding a small number of public art resource areas in SL, and Inspiring Orientation will join that list. Other groups have also been very helpful-- Kiana Writer at MadPea Productions has greatly helped us with land acquisition, and we're looking at possible partnership with LEA and various third party viewer projects down the road.

MadPea: When will be the opening?

Arrehn: We're aiming to open the basic training area of the Inspiring Orientation as an art concept exhibit in the late spring timeframe. Shortly afterwards we'll convert the area for practical use as a fully functioning orientation area. 

Madpea: What are the future plans?

Arrehn: We're going to have our hands full filling out the basic training stations for opening. Once that's done, we'll build out intermediate-level training stations and more tightly integrate tutorials into the viewer.  Beyond that, there's a number of advanced level tutorials we can create. Right now we're taking the project one step at a time, but there's a great deal of potential.

MadPea: Thank you, Arrehn!


by Quan Lavender

Time Travel: The Kaaos Effect

Did you liked as well so much the movie „The Time Tunnel?“ Once visiting the past or the future! What a dream! But SL is there to fulfill your dreams. Come to MadPea and become staff of a  a time travel agency from the future which has landed on the Hoshi Island. What caused this to happen?

Using the washroom in the future

We are in the year 2050. Temporal Sightseeing Destinations, TSD, is a time travel agency in the future that offers their customers pleasant journeys in different time eras, past or future. They are very cautious when hiring new people, due to previous 'accidents'. Sid Mallock seemed like a perfect guy for the job, but as soon as he found a girlfriend, Annie, his priorities got a bit messed up...

German U-Boot 2nd World War

 He ignored the TSD protocol and pressed the wrong button causing a breach in time, sending part of the lab to an unknown location. He needs the job to move out from his mother's house and has to fix the accident asap before anyone finds out. He needs you to bring the armband back to him asap. 

Tang Dynasty, China

How to start: Once you reached the ground station you click the turning centre part and wear the HUD and the armband. The devices you find here are damaged. You have to find the missing two pieces, one blue and one green, for the armband before the armband functions correctly.

1933 telephone center

Jungle, Stone Age

Until you find the pieces, you have to use the communicational devices you will discover on your journeys to contact Sid. Once you have succeeded, Sid will help you through time by sending your new coordinates. Your armband can not transmit information directly without being complete, but it can receive data from Sid. Your armband has AI, she's witty, cheeky and always right. She will help you find your way. 

Dark Room

By clicking on the TSD sign in the HUD you get transported though time. The travel leads you trough all times from Stone Age to the far future. At every station you need to find items and combine them to get further. Once finished, the HUD transports you to the next quest. You can always leave the game and come back. The HUD always brings you back and all finished locations are recorded. There are also hidden bonuses and extras in the game...  You will know eventually what those are needed for. 

Big Sun

This exciting time travel was created in cooperation with our partner Orange: France Telecom-Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with 172,000 employees worldwide, including 105,000 employees in France, and sales of 45.3 billion euros in 2011. Present in 35 countries, the Group had a customer base of 226 million customers at 31 December 2011, including 147 million customers under the Orange brand, the Group's single brand for internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates. At 31 December 2011, the Group had 167 million mobile customers and 14 million broadband internet (ADSL, fibre) customers worldwide. Orange is one of the main European operators for mobile and broadband internet services and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

The Kaaos Effect is a brilliant, entertaining game and fun for all levels of game experience. 
Enjoy!

Taxi:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MadPea%20Base/103/203/34

By Quan Lavender

Sanity Falls Character Creation

Meeting Alexander Blackwell

From his creation with pen and paper to his inception or dare we say conception. It helps to know how a character is created. I have drawn on my own experience as a writer and what I have been taught by reading books on character creation. 

How to create a character.

Its a little like creating a cake, in so far as we need certain ingredients make the character workable, likeable, or in some cases disliked.

For a cake you need certain ingredients in typical amounts or it doesn't work.

Characters are a little like that.

You need an idea, a notion a concept,

right from the start you probably know its gender and age, and what it does in its life.

Then you start to conjour up others things.

So lets take our leading character in Sanity Falls.

His name is

Alexander Blackwell

The very name chosen will start to mould his/her character. Norman Peaches or Desiree Cream does not conjure up the same image as Alexander Blackwell.

Forget about political correctness for now, you need to be firm with the character you are creating, Define it just as you blend the ingredients for the cake there are certain vital ingredient in the sponge mix and certain rules you must apply.

From a basic sponge you get a variety of cakes, mixes, colour it, flavour it, add other ingredients such as fruit.

Same for a character.
It needs a name, a defining line of what it is and who its going to be. Once you have the basic outlay it can be anything you wish.

So our character is 
Alexander Blackwell
what does he do?
Alex is a psychologist
why?
he just is, it doesn't matter why for now, if I am making orange sponge cake I add orange essence.

I want a specific designated character here, a doctor, a nurse, a police officer. So Alex is a psychologist.
He is wealthy, he is married but he has no children, his wife is beautiful. She doesn't have to be but thats what we want her to be its our story.

How was he born?
Authors and writers, just get notions, concepts, ideas, bubble up inside them and suddenly a character is born. It might be the yellow blob like Homer Simpson, a square sponge, a disney character. Well ok most Disney stories are based around a fairy tale. Still the concept is the same, the idea the same.

Who is he emulated on?
Good question, he could be someone you met briefly on the train, a taxi driver, a doctor, a teacher. Authors are good at storing information about people they meet and pulling them out when they need them to help create a character. They are careful that they are not precisely like the person they have chosen to use, but have characteristics of that character and...
Many authors stick to the same concept and flavour over and over again, so the villain is always emulated on the hard nosed cruel mouthed teacher from your primary school, its wicked vileness escapes into your character time and time again, each character different but it contains the same ingredients.
Like our sponge cake.

What else is required to create the character.
Well he needs generalised characteristics to be human,  just like a bicycle needs gears. Your character requires, two eyes a nose, a mouth, if you make him a One eyed one footed monster who is green then you  have created a character but not the human being we where trying to create.

Nearly every character created by Walt Disneys art department has one thing in common, baby faces, faces that make the audience adore the character. Even if that eye is out of place or half closed, provided its a wide eye that big and the mouth is correct and the nose. People will respond even to Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Notice the villains are always weedy tall small eyed, thin faced, thin lipped villains.

Does he need a background
Yes but you can be brief about this. The briefer the better, easier for a change.
A woman standing on a bridge in the pouring rain in very little clothing gives you enough information that she is in trouble.
A man unshaven, smoking and drink his fifth glass of whisky, his leather jacket looking worse for wear, his head bowed slightly and his eyes red rimmed with tears, is not a happy person.
Fewer words are always best.

Alex is from a wealthy family and both his parents are psychologists. For now thats all you really need to know about Alexander Blackwell.

Image concept and specifics

Your mind has already conjured up an image of him, without any illustrations, you have an idea of him fixed in your brain. Will you be disappointed? We don't know because the description is vague so far the author has a lot to play with.

If we had said
Tom Rooster is four foot nothing, has green eyes, red hair and wears a green suit. We have now given you a very specific description of him.

But authors don't always give specifics, they give the bare minimum information to the reader, allowing the reader to conjure up who the character is to them.

When we get down to specifics thats where a persons image can become blurred with their reality. Bringing a character to life on the screen is very different from the one breathed onto a page in a book and etched on someones memory.

Thanks to costumes, make up and art departments we can almost have it all, the character in the book can be on the screen. This works in second life too, if the writer of Alexander Blackwell a game character wrote his story first, published a paper back novel. Everyone would know who he was, what he looked like.

With Second Life and computer graphics the game characters hit the screen first, they are not intended for a paper back novel. They have a purpose in life so to speak. Game Character one and two and three are created and put into the game.

Take Lara Croft, first she was a game, then she was a screen play written for a film and now she has a game system and two very good films.

We hope this helps to explain a little bit about game character creation rather than paperback novel creation. Not to say Alexander Blackwell could not be written into a book, but his sole purpose, his birth or inception were for a game.

We will be back with more about impression formation of characters next time.

By Rowanessque Whitewood.

To All Builders And Artists! - Come To Show And Tell

Creativity does not always follow straight paths. Therefore you most likely might have something you built once in your inventory which never fitted to a collection or an exhibition. Here you have the chance to present and explain it.

‘Show and Tell’ has a long tradition in Second Life. 'Show and Tell' has been a popular event for almost 7 years. The original was hosted by florenze Kerensky and Barney Boomslang for about 6 years, and was a very popular weekly event. Many fine builders attended showing a wide array of fun stuff. Many people were devastated that it came to an end, so Lorin Tone convinced the MadPea team to bring a new one back.

So, how is it going? In one hour 6 builders have the chance to present a work in 10 minutes. The participanst have an area of 25x25m in the MadPea Arena available for the builds, so they should not be larger. 

Although it is far away from any contest, a traditional part of  ‘Show and Tell’ is the contest board. MadPea generously host the event now and donates 1000 Linden for the contest board. The pot can be increased by visitor donations. Each participant will receive guaranteed 100 Linden, the rest will be distributed to the winners. The event will be held every Sunday.

Builders are requestet to show up early and to register as only 6 builders can participate each event. So wipe out the dust off your inventory and show us a work that the world not should miss!

‘Show and Tell’ today, Sunday at 2 PM SLT. Don't miss it!

Taxi:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MadPea%20Base/143/203/26 

Day 41 and 42

Meet the locals down at the local.

Open doorways lead to adventure.