That Was the Year That Was

As the year draws to an end, it’s time for many bloggers to write their reflections on the year that has gone, and then to their wishes for the year to come.  Daniel Voyager has done a neat review of the year … various people, such as Prokofy Neva, have given their predictions for 2012.

We’ve lost a lot of regions this year – some (mostly) academic and non-profit ones gone because initial funding ran out or because, without the educational discount, the cost of tier is simply too high.  They have closed or, in some cases, moved to Open Sim.  A few, such as the First World War Poetry Archive (formerly owned by the University of Oxford) have found private patrons.

In the art world, we have seen stunning exhibitions and installations.  We’ve seen departures of leading artists such as Feathers Boa this year and the closing of the AM Radio sims and the Dresden Art Gallery, but, on the whole, Second Life Art seems to be in a strong position. Here I think the Challenges set by the University of Western Australia have played a key part in setting and raising the bar for virtual art. These are Challenges that anyone can enter, and if familiar names do win some of the monthly competitions, there’s always a good representation of new artists who come through.  And it’s great to see names that are familiar in Second Life art continuing to move forward, creating new and exciting works that challenge our perceptions, that delight us with their beauty, that help to shape the virtual world we inhabit.  Art is being well supported too by the Linden Endowment for the Arts and by events such as Burn 2 which – although much reduced in size from its Linden-funded peak, continues to be an exciting and vibrant festival of creativity.

It’s been a mixed year for inworld media.  We’ve seen the closure of one of the oldest and best fashion magazines – Second Style.  Many of the magazines that survive have revenue streams that come from property or other business interests – such as Royal Living, Avenue and Best of Second Life.  It’s great that they can draw on this – and hopefully adds to their sustainability.  But it is sad that a mass media in Second Life is not developing – perhaps a reflection of the problems that real life media are facing.  Instead we have blogs; there are a range of very popular ones – and some are extremely thought-provoking, such as Inara Prey’s Living in a Modem World, or tempting one to explore, such as Honour Macmillan’s Honour’s Post Menopausal View (of Second Life), or informative ones such as Daniel Voyager’s.

There’ve been two big events (for me, at least) in broadcast media – and one is linked to the other.  The first was, of course, the decision by Treet.TV to end inhouse live recording.  I’ve talked before of the response of many producers and show hosts being like fledglings, firmly kicked out of the nest because, really, they could fly.  And many of the programmes discovered that yes, they could fly, and rather well.  The First Question, Giant Snail Races and Designing Worlds took short breaks and came back with new energy.  New shows – like Happy Hunting! and The Stream Scene – have started. Metaverse Arts is having a reboot and will be back at the end of January – and other treet shows, new and old, will be starting soon.  It’s an exciting time.

One result of the changeover was that the Relay for Life Telethon became a joint production between treet.tv, Metaverse TV and Metaworld Broadcasting.  Thanks to the efforts of all concerned, we ran a dedicated channel broadcasting throughout the entire Relay.  It was a great example of the co-operation that makes Second Life such a wonderful experience for so many.

The two closures I feel should worry the Lab most this year are the loss of two of the Grendel’s sims and Alien Isles.  The former were closed because of on-going and unaddressed problems with the technology – it reflected poorly on the support system as well as the ongoing tech issues.  For me the former were encapsulated when Toady Nakamura was detailing the problems she was having with the software and, without any attempt being made to suggest solutions, she was instead rather pompously upbraided by a Linden for referring to the viewer she was using as Viewer 3.0.0 instead of Version 3.0 of Viewer 2.

The second closure, for me, is the one that really should worry the Lab. Because the reason that Alien Isles closed was that its owners decided it would be more fun to have smart phones instead. Lorin Tone and Judi Newall are still here and still creating … but they are not doing it on their own land.  And when when residents like Lorin and Judi see no compelling reason to own land, the Lab is taking a huge hit.

One positive and exciting development this year has been in my own area – the homes and gardens market.  It really started in 2010, but we’ve seen it developing apace this year as designers – traditionally an essentially lonely breed, beavering away on their own sky platforms – have been drawn into a series of exciting projects and shared opportunities. Last year, we saw Second Life Homes and Gardens started by Jennaa Loire and the Spruce Up Your Space initiative, as well as Elle Kirschner’s HotShots contest.  We also saw a huge explosion in Hunts – something that has continued this year.

We shouldn’t under-estimate the impact of the brilliant work done by Nikki Mathieson here with the Homes and Gardens Expo in May.  Held in support of Relay for Life every year, this one has grown and grown.  It offers a chance for those lonely designers to come and get together and share their ideas and their work, and it has given birth to some exciting projects – this year we saw the SL Designers Remix and the SL Designers Challenge.  Another phenomenon has been the growth of creator markets devoted to Homes and Gardens.  In addition to The Nest, we also have the SL Homes and Gardens Market Village and the Cookie Jar, both aimed at the smaller (and/or newer) designers.

To set against these positive developments, we are seeing a decline in themed and roleplay sims, including several that seemed comparatively vibrant and healthy.  Regions such as Jabberwock, Greater Ireland, Elf Clan lands have all gone.  The West of Ireland has shrunk to a single sim from four.  Antiquity faced major problems earlier in the year, and many of the Steamlands are feeling the pinch.  I’ve discussed at some length the role that the improved marketplace is playing in this – that people who would have shopped in themed sims now tend to browse the Marketplace and jump to main stores.  Creators are selling goods, but not in the small malls in themed sims, with the result that they close those outlier stores, relying more on trade from the Marketplace. And without the rent from those stores, landowners in themed sims need new business models or they go under.

The end of the year has seen the Lab introduce new gaming tools which are currently being tested and will be rolled out to certified developers – apparently.  There are people creating great games already in Second Life (like Mad Pea) – and this system will certainly offer opportunities for places like Retropolis where the owners are working on including games and quests.  Hunt Huds could acquire whole new levels that will make grid wide quests even more fun for participants.

But I am wondering what the business model that will support these games will be.  I can see how it will work in the case of Hunt Huds … but if roleplay regions fold, what will be the use of new tools?  Unless, of course, roleplay regions adopt a subscription system.

Mesh. I suppose I should talk about Mesh.  But, you know what?  I’ve seen a few nice pieces made in Mesh but as yet, I find it profoundly dull.  And as for mesh clothes and mesh hair … well, until mesh clothing can be created that reliably fits my shape, I don’t see much point in shelling out.

Predictions for 2012?

I’m going to make one.

The issue of preserving areas within Second Life will become a major one. And I’m going to write a post on that shortly.