Hosoi Ichiba Machinima Awards 2008
March 27, 2008
If you’re into machinima production and would like to win fifty thousand Linden dollars, the information I received today may interest you:
We are looking for artists that can compose the Best Machinima Impression of our Hosoi Ichiba and surroundings on Virgin Island. Hosoi Ichiba is a japanese style market enclosed by walls and watch towers, overlooking a beautiful landscape. Outside the walls you will find Hosoi Yu Ch’un, a typical japanese fishing village and the farming village, “Hosoi Lung Ch’un” The sim is packed with romantic spots for you to build your story around.
Your production must apply to the following conditions
- A good story line
- Use of Windlight
- Min. duration of 100 secs
- High quality video
- Published on Youtube
- Title should contain ‘Hosoi Ichiba’
If possible, use:
- Authentic japanese avatars
- Background sound and or music
What are the rules?
This contest will take off at 15 april 2008.
Your contribution should be published before 15 june 2008
A qualified jury will vote for the winning production
The winning video will be published on our Hosoi Ichiba blog.
The winning artist will be rewarded with 50.000 L$ in cash.
IM Amiryu Hosoi with the url to your production (youtube)
More information at:
http://hosoi-ichiba.blogspot.com/
Contributions can be viewed at:
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=hosoi+ichiba
Hosoi Ichiba, Japanese Gardens & Lifestyle:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virgin%20Island/91/175/30/
Good luck,
Amiryu Hosoi
Popularity: 2% [?]
Virtual Combat Expo
March 26, 2008
Apollo Case is an Australian Second Life Resident who owns Armory Island, one of the more popular haunts for avatars who like their weapons. He recently sent me some information on the 3rd Annual Combat Expo coming up in May this year.
Apollo is touting the expo as focusing on anything to do with virtual combat - “We want to help in-world creators raise their corporate profile within Second Life, and assist real life companies in building their presence within the virtual world.”
There’s also a schedule of presentations up for grabs - “presentations from real life organizations that are friendly towards Australia and its allies will also be welcome.” So any enemies of Australia obviously aren’t welcome (who are Australia’s enemies anyway?)
There’s a website for further information at www.slcombatexpo.com, or check it out in-world.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Second Life Brand Center launches
March 25, 2008
Linden Lab have announced the creation of a new sub-section on the Second Life website called the Second Life Brand Center.
It’s essentially a more formalised structure for promoting your business as being part of the Second Life community. It’s also a further way of Linden Lab reinforcing appropriate use of their Trademarks - including the main Second Life logo. Anyone using that logo is being given 90 days to ensure its use meets Linden Lab’s guidelines.
What do you think of this? Is it a useful tool for your business or a means of Linden Lab further tightening their grip on what you do in-world?
Popularity: 3% [?]
A year ago on The Metaverse Journal
March 25, 2008
We interviewed Gary Hayes (SL: Gary Hazlitt) about his involvement with the Telstra and ABC presences in Second Life, and a whole lot more.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Episode 1 of TMJ Podcast
March 24, 2008
It’s taken a while but I’m proud to announce that first edition of the Metaverse Journal Podcast is now available:
We’re working on being listed in the podcast directory of iTunes but in the meantime, you can subscribe to the podcast RSS feed here. As Jovin very handily says in the comments below, pasting the link into iTunes (’Advanced’ menu - ‘Subscribe to Podcast’) will get you subscribed within iTunes anyway.
The running sheet for Episode 1:
1. Introduction
2. News roundup
3. Book reviews
4. Editorial: Telstra and ABC one year on
5. Wrap-up
As I mention in the podcast, its ongoing success will depend on you - post a comment here on what you liked / disliked about the first edition and what other stuff you’d like to hear. If you wanted to submit your own audio snippets for inclusion, they’ll be used as well. Think of it as your audio soapbox.
All feedback appreciated though I already know I have some improvement to do in terms of audio production and my own delivery 
For the tech-heads, the podcast was recorded using a trial version of Ubercaster. I was so impressed with it that I’ve now purchased it - it’s well worth a look if podcasting’s your thing.
Popularity: 4% [?]
The Watch - virtual worlds in the news
March 24, 2008
1. CNN Money - IBM, Forterra Using Unified Communications in Virtual Worlds to Solve “Tower of Babel” for Intelligence Agencies. “IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Forterra Systems are working to solve an age-old problem that challenges U.S. security and costs taxpayers millions. Forterra plans to develop a futuristic unified communications solution code-named “Babel Bridge” that could allow U.S. intelligence agencies to use a common graphical collaboration system to instantly communicate within a virtual world.”
2. CNET - Sports fans: Belly up to the virtual bar. “Numedeon, the 9-year-old company behind kids’ virtual world Whyville.net, is taking a leap into producing simulated environments for adults, starting with a sports theme. Called SportsBlox, the site launched in beta this week as part of March Madness.”
3. The Guardian - Sims 3 - do fictional virtual worlds still have a role? “EA has revealed the first details of Sims 3, the next generation of its multi-million selling life simulation. Due sometime next year, the game will feature a totally new engine, as well as a host of intriguing features. Paramount, perhaps, is the new open neighbourhood system, which gives players seamless access to the outiside world, rather than the rather limited ‘community lots’ system from Sims Unleashed, Sims 2, etc. You’ll be able to head out, shop, meet virtual pals, spy on neighbours, etc.”
4. Mashable - Myrl is a SocNet for your Virtual World Avatars. “Myrl is an upcoming social network for virtual world addicts, created in an effort to poke holes in the walled-garden approach still plagued by virtual worlds today. The name Myrl stands for My Real Life/My Role Life, and is aptly fitted with social networking tools hoping to bridge the gaps between virtual worlds out there.”
5. Processor.com - Online Communities Go Corporate - What Can Virtual Worlds Do For Your SME? “When most people think of virtual worlds, they usually think of caffeine-fueled Internet addicts spending countless hours in front of their computer monitors, interacting with other equally sleep-deprived online friends. Witness the rising popularity of massive online multiplayer games and environments, such as EverQuest, Second Life, World of Warcraft, and others. But, virtual worlds are going corporate as many enterprises realize they can leverage them to take their businesses in new directions.”
6. Mashable - When an Ad Network Launches a Virtual World… “What happens when an advertising network decides to create a virtual world? You get riplounge. Stable Media, LLC has teamed up with Wyndstorm to create the upcoming virtual world for social networking, called riplounge. The beta version launches today. Now, we’ve seen a great deal of virtual worlds that have launched in the past couple of years, some of the more recent have had the blatant approach to self-promotion.”
7. The Economist - Break down these walls. ” “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” Apply Winston Churchill’s aphorism to the internet, and about the farthest back you can look is 1994, when the previously obscure computer network first became known to a wider public. Many people first ventured onto the internet from AOL, CompuServe and Prodigy, which were subscription-based online services that offered e-mail, chatrooms, discussion boards and so on. Having provided their users with access to the internet, however, these venerable digital communities were undermined by it.”
8. The Earth Times -
New Virtual Village Explores Global Drinking Water Crisis. “You may not be able to travel to a developing country and see the global water crisis first hand, but now you can visit WaterPartners Village — a virtual exploration of the water crisis — launching across social networking sites, like Second Life, on World Water Day, March 22.”
9. Fox News - Virtual Sex Toy Thefts Result In Real-Life Court Settlement. “A federal judge accepted the settlement Thursday of a lawsuit filed last year against a Texas man accused of stealing sex toys developed for the online world, “Second Life.” According to the settlement, Robert Leatherwood agreed not to copy, display or distribute any items sold by Eros LLC, a Tampa Bay-area company that creates virtual sex scripts in the “Second Life” universe.”
10. Science Daily - Virtual-reality Video Game To Help Burn Patients Play Their Way To Pain Relief. “To a patient recovering from severe burns, no place would be more soothing than a polar landscape of gently falling snowflakes, snowmen, penguins, igloos and icy rivers. That’s the thinking behind SnowWorld, an interactive, virtual-reality video game being used at Loyola University Hospital in Maywood, Ill., to manage pain felt by burn patients during wound care and physical therapy. Loyola is the first hospital in Illinois and only one of a handful across the nation that is employing this 21st century technology to help burn patients recover from their injuries.”
Popularity: 3% [?]
Weekend Whimsy
March 21, 2008
1. Wolfie Waves’ SGC Dialing Computer
2. Oops
3. Zero Punctuation: Tabula Rasa
Popularity: 4% [?]
