23rd March 2008
The problems of creating art in Second Life are becoming clear now. Inevitably, Second Life is saturated in gimmiky work that is much like Disney World ... after all, Second Life is the world of fantasies. So much of it so garish it is like being in a drug induced hallucinary state and is fun, hut often hard to take seriously. It's easy to create work that at first one thinks is clever only to find out that a simple set of scripts available to all is the cause of the wonder. However, there are many who are using a clever combination of scripting and imported imagery (textures) to create experiences that are all encompassing and enthralling. Adam Ramona's work does just this http://slurl.com/secondlife/Marni/214/185/24 and combines some intriguing sounds with collision scripts to make the work interactive and yet not lose the intensity of what he is doing. But it exists purely on aesthetic terms.

19th March 2008
Nite Zelmanov (aka Chris from Canada), joined the team after finding his store by pure chance when looking for scripts. He greeted me dressed in full Chinese outfit and gave me a guided tour of his work in his rickshaw (a great way to travel). We went via the tower (where a selction of fantastic fractals were on show) to his lab http://slurl.com/secondlife/Peacock%20Park/140/213/63 and he offered me a space to hang my photographs. In the lab, he showed me his latest mad creation - a room that pelted us with balls in a kind of pinball fashion. I immediately wanted to fall over when hit and he sent me an attachment to make me do so. It became obvious very quickly that we were both interested in the same things and I invited him to join the project, knowing that his craziness and his thirst for creating was exactly what the project was looking for.

15th March 2008:

Isn't Second Life just a game? Yes and no. It's multi-layered and complex in its usage. Educational and outreaching closing the barriers between individuals in many senses - geographical, physical, and in many senses allowing users to be equals it also serves as a virtual laboratory to social scientists and workshops for digital exploration. The one problem most enountered is that behind every avatar is a 'person' and that person brings with it real life issues that are not necessarily beneficial to the idea of a 'community'. There is virutally no 'policing' in Second Life.

It took me a few weeks to understand the culture of Second Life and to recognise how often it was an extension of First Life. I learned the software capabilities fairly easily, understanding that it was designed for all to use. Now I am beginning to explore the boundaries and see what can be pushed.