It looks like Linden Labs latest PR video is causing a little bit of a buzz.
And most of that seems to be because at the very end they mention the Oculus Rift.
A lot of people appear to be interested in the Rift and the combination with Second Life is interesting to many of them, even the skeptical ones and those who don’t seem to like SL much.
For instance, ‘The Verge’ did an article about SL on the 24th and now on the 27th they did another one because of the video.
That is good publicity, well done LL.
But they are not the only one.
It is (becoming) a hot topic of discussion, sadly this also reminds us of the bad reputation SL has.
Everywhere you hear the old comments of “Does that still exist?!” to “Oh where the pervy furries do the naughty things” and “Oh where they have graphics from 2007?”.
However, I think the video LL just made gets is a step in the right direction to change peoples opinions of SL and I hope that their next PR step will be showing how pretty SL can be.
I am a gamer and have played some very recent games and although of course, SL’s graphics can’t quite reach the level of many of those games, I’ve also been in some sims where at least visually things get pretty close.
I think that it would be a great idea if LL started some sort of photo contest, picked the most stunning pictures made in SL and shared those with the world.
Or perhaps invite some of the best Machinima makers and ask them to shoot some stunning footage for a PR video purely made to let people know SL moved on.
I can see it now… Second Life… has such bad graphics… and then a amazing montage of some of SL’s most amazing places with superb windlight settings, shadows, the works…
Fade to black; This is how Second Life can look, we moved on, come along with us.
Come to think of it, one video per cliche might be fun.
One video about how Second Life is all virtual hanky panky (by showing all the other things also happening in SL), one about that it is only for people who like to dress up and pretend to be barbie (by showing the enormous diversity in avatars), one about that it is only for losers (by showing smart, educated, funny SL users as they are in RL), that it is laggy (by showing what SL looks like on a up to date computer), one about that it is only a virtual chatroom (by showing roleplaying, education, art), etc.
Sure, SL can be bad, but do you think that Rockstar games shows the lowest quality GTA 5 footage in its advertisements?
We need to let people know that Second Life is still here, is not what many people seem to think it is, that it has improved and that it will improve even more.
So more videos, more up to date pictures (contact those journalists that keep using 2007 screenshots!!) and keep the buzz going.
Anyway, I am getting distracted, back to the subject.
If you search the internet for Second Life and Oculus Rift, you’re getting quite a few hits, many of them quite recent.
And no, I promise, I’m not responsible for all of them… although you probably will bump into me at some of those sites 😉
Anyway, all of this makes it clear that no matter how it ends up, a lot of people are now watching this and are keeping an eye on how Second Life and the Oculus Rift will work together… or not.
Just as I predicted and expected.
So I am glad that LL seems to take this very serious as well.
I may be a bit too optimistic, but I still think that the Virtual reality renaissance that is about to happen could also mean a renaissance for Second Life.
Jo Yardley's Second Life 
you’re right on all counts Jo, about the need for these videos.
and you seem to have a plan, a vision, for what’s needed.
and I can tell you this as an absolute certainty… the high end graphics potential which is achievable in Second Life, at resolutions up to 2560×1600 – i’m not prepared to vouch for it being the same beyond that scale because I haven’t tested it – is on par with anything else you see out there right now.
It all comes down to the base texturing, and the client side cpu and gpu power, and connection speed.
if you want to start video blogging Jo, I will try and have Oculus send you what you need. At my expense if they don’t want to cover the cost, but hopefully, and I’m betting it will get the nod from them, they’ll see the PR value in this and help us out.
If we do this though, there will have to be results. At least one properly edited promo a month, with cut and polish, no lazy ass chop chop chop stuff… proper fades and dissolves and nicely put together video that you can take pride in, and people can use in the public domain to show others what the system can do.
But in order to do that, if we want this to make the rounds to say a gamers show on cable TV, proper chain of title will need to be established, and Errors and Omissions Insurance purchased (don’t worry we’ll sort that out when needed) so that they can put it on TV and not have to worry about getting sued by a rights holder who claims foul play.
The Insurance and E&O check of the video and script are mandatory for broadcast, which is why they’re required by distributors.
And if the E&O people don’t like something – believe me the list of what they don’t like is whacky – we have to be prepared to have our arguments for why the thing they don’t like will be OK. And if they still don’t like it, you must be prepared to make changes.
If there’s even one texture on one prim of one object or attachment which they say could be a point of contention with someone else’s copyrights or trademark, we have a problem.
And if the attachment is no mod, because the builder is an asshole?
The whole attachment has to get tossed out, and a replacement found, and the scene re-shot in order to comply with E&O’s requirements for signing off on the video as being safe and in compliance with all chain of title copyright licensing.
Email me if you want to work something out. You have my email I think, right?
Peace
PS-> I hope you will take the plunge and try this Jo. And if you do, we can have a discussion about the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), and tortious interference, and how and why the effect of these two things requires us to try and reverse some of the damage which was done under the Clinton Administration by these two things, which give retail sales agents – parasites basically – way too much power, while taking power away from artists and broadcasters and virtual world owners. Linden Research is doing the right thing here, and IMHO, giving us a way for artists to take back some of that power, by putting us in a position of having the first and thus primary agent being a government attached watchdog who has the power and resources to protect us from getting screwed, but who has a 10 year track record of always being passive,and NEVER being pro-active, and never actually distributing anything themselves. And doesn’t take a 40% marketplace commission out of your pocket over and on top of trying to make you grant exclusive rights, like most of the other so-called agents (see dictionary under parasitic infestation of the colon) do to people in the 3D community.
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Thanks for the offer, but to video blog I’d need a new laptop and an Oculus, but also some time, as I am very very busy.
But I will think about it.
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Perhaps you know some people who are talented Machina artists you could recommend to this person though? It seems like a good Idea if someone has the time and talent.
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Pingback: Bits and Pieces 2013-39
If anyone knows where the pervy furries do the naughtly things, could they please tell me.
Using the search engine in SL is useless. There are many places which can be classed, from their descriptions, as wretched hives of scum and villainy, but the worst that seems to happen is that there are furries standing around while the music of some popular beat combo is streamed into the parcel.
Dragons fornicating on the roof do not count.
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