A Real Breath In A Surreal World

Following up on my last post on Winter products, I took a look at the rest of my Winter items. One of the more popular products lately is winter oriented. It’s a teeny wearable particle effect simply called “Breath”. You wear it on your chin and you “breathe” out steamy winter breath every seven seconds. Just like being outside on a truly frigid day.

Some may say the cloud is bigger than it should be, but I disagree. I designed the effect to match my real life experience. And that experience is based on severe Canadian winters, where the air temperature can fall to as low as -40 degrees. (Celsius or Fahrenheit? It actually doesn’t matter at that temperature; it’s damned cold!)

In that weather you really do get a massive cloud of vapor surrounding your head, and that’s the reality I modeled this product against.

This is one of those items where matching reality actually works in Second Life, as opposed to the surreal giant snowflakes I described earlier. But that poses a problem with design approach that’s been bothering me - should one match reality? Or should a maker produce unreal items? Which is the correct approach?

My conclusion is that neither is the correct yardstick. Instead the measure of success should be the feeling generated by the product. The problem is that “feeling” is a very difficult thing to measure. Maybe this is where those with an artistic eye come to the fore, because they are more able to intuitively recognize the feeling produced. In the end what matters is how well the product alters the feelings of its user, and that could be achieved either by reality or through surrealism.

Can You Feel a Snowflake?

Normally, snowflakes melt when you touch them. But that doesn’t happen in Second Life; they merely float away. But you can still feel them.

I make snowflakes - particle ones, of course - and have several versions for sale at Electric Pixels. I’ve had various types of snowmaking attachments and gadgets on store shelves for over two years, but this year I wanted to try something a little different.

I made Giant Snowflakes.

Crazy, you think? Perhaps, but here’s the theory: virtual reality is all about immersing people into an environment. Immersion is a combination of visual, auditory and situational factors that when combined, make the resident feel like they are somewhere other than sitting in front of their computer. We’ve all experienced and appreciate  carefully engineered immersions.

To achieve the desired immersion feelings, I try to engineer my particle effects to be realistic (well, or seemingly realistic for those items that aren’t really possible in real life). For example, my older snowstorm drops thick clods of snow that kinda looks like real snowfall, or my RainMaker attempts to look like real rain.

However, I tried something different. Instead of making realistic snowflakes, which would be so small you can’t really see them on the screen, I made giant snowflakes, a meter across. Totally unrealistic, yet it seems to work. When you see the flakes, you feel kinda snowy.

Why does this work? I believe it’s because the crisp images of snowflakes immediately register in your brain when they’re seen. The snowflake symbols evoke feelings of snow. The unreal becomes real!

I’ve used these giant snowflakes in some new particle effects, now on sale at Electric Pixels. SnowFlurry (image at the top) creates a tiny snowstorm around you, while SnowWeddingRing (image) produces an amazing animated ring of snow around you and your partner. There’s also a SnowRing for singles. And for those who want even more, I have one more giant snowflake item hidden in a hunt item (for the Snowflake Grid Wide Hunt, no less). I hope you enjoy them!

Dear SLanta

Dear SLanta:

I haven’t written to you in quite a while, but this year I feel it’s necessary. That’s right, I believe that I’ve been a very, very good avatar all year long. With a few exceptions. Mostly I’ve been good. Well behaved. Usually. No one could question that! Except, well, um. Don’t worry about that, SLanta.

Oh, I clearly deserve some Christmas presents, and just so you have an idea of the items I desperately want, I’ve prepared this short list for you to give to the SLelves. I’d be very happy if you managed to get me one of them, but even happier if you sent me more than one, especially if you send all of them!

• A software fix for those fatal graphics errors that occur all too often to the SL Viewer on my Mac. They always seem to happen at precisely the wrong time. I’m so glad my friends understand when I abruptly disappear in the middle of a deep conversation.
• A reduction in Linden Lab tier fees - not so much for me, but for all those who were adversely affected by increases. Well, yeah, I’d like some too if you’re handing them out.
• More customers! I get quite a few customers showing up at my shop, but I can always use a few more. In fact, SLanta, if you need some snow, I happen to have some you might be interested in. Drop by Electric Pixels and I’ll give you a deal!
• I want the guy with the oddly-shaped 208 sm parcel smack dab in the middle of my property to reduce his price from the outrageous L$35K (that’s L$170.00+ per sm) to something, anything more reasonable. SLanta, believe me when I say that he’s been a very naughty person. In fact, why not just give me the parcel! Yeah!
• More time in the day. I realize that everyone will be asking for this one, but I really, really need this one more than anyone! I have so much to do, so many people to see and so many places to visit that I must get more hours. SLanta, I know that this one is asking a lot from you, but I believe you can do almost anything. Please!
• Tickets to SLCC 2009 for all my friends who were unable to make the 2008 episode. Nothing could make me happier than being able to meet my close friends in person, and SLCC 2009 would be a terrific place to do it. And you can come too, you wouldn't be out of place!

Thanks again, SLanta, for your consideration of my meager requests. I know you can do it! I’ll leave a cookie for you.

Flashy Dance Effect

Finally I've gotten around to making a new dance effect - something you can wear while dancing. If you haven't tried wearable dance effects yet, please do so. They can profoundly change your dance experience.

The new effect is called "DanceFlash", and it might appear simple at first: every three seconds it flashes a white spray that lasts for half a second. The interesting part is that you get twelve (that's 12) copies! This means you can simultaneously wear up to twelve at a time, all flashing at different intervals. What does it look like? The picture here doesn't really capture it properly - when all twelve are active, it looks like, well, think Papparazi at feeding time!

Of course, you don't have to wear them all at once - just pick the right number for the situation and put them on. By default they attach to various points on your avatar, but if you don't like that you can always attach them to the bottom of your foot or other silly places easily enough.

One other effect is also available: Snow Sparkle. It's a tiny random sparkle for your snow fields. Just sprinkle copies of this tiny effect and your snowbanks will twinkle just like real life. (Thanks to Landon Gibbs for this brilliant idea.)

Both are available now at Electric Pixels.

Getting Ready for Winter!

Somehow I had some time this weekend to build some new effects, including an entirely new line of Teleportation effects.

Geez, I think I need a coat in this picture! Brrr! These three winter effects are now available at Electric Pixels:

• Snower Personal, which produces a vast amount of snowflakes around you when you wear the effect.
• Snower Subtle, which produces a much smaller amount of snowflakes. I am not sure which one is best for you, but now you have a choice.
• WinterKit, which includes not only Snower Personal and Snower Subtle, but also the new Breath effect. It produces a frosty breath every seven seconds and when combined with the snow effects makes the scene look very cold!

I've also produced three new Teleportation effects. These are worn like many other effects, except they are inactive until you teleport. Then when you rez they will activate for two seconds. What happens next depends on the effect:

• RaveRinger TP produces a small blast of multicolored streaks along a randomly angled plane. It goes off only once when you teleport, like all of these teleportation effects.
• NightFog TP instantly produces a 10m area of complete darkness. The effect slows after two seconds and the darkness gradually lifts. This would be great for a spooky halloween entrance!
• SuperFog TP instantly produces a 10m white cloud all around you. Again, it disperes in about two seconds.

A word of warning: the teleportation effects might be considered rude in some areas, so be very sure that you will be well received when you teleport!

Halloween and Frosty Effects

This week I created two new unique seasonal effects.

Since Halloween is coming up, I thought it would be appropriate to have at least one effect. But instead of making a "spooky" effect like everyone else, my pal DeForest Beck suggested I make a "nice" effect instead. Thus was born the idea of the CandyGiver. It's simple to operate, as all my effects are. Just wear it and you may scan the vicinity for other avatars. You are presented with a list of names, and the one you select is given dozens of candy items. There are eighteen different types of candy, including a selection of chocolate bars, gum, lollypops and of course chocolate kisses! Don't eat too much!

The other new effect is quite obvious, but I have never encountered it. "Breath" is a tiny object worn on your nose (yes, it is transparent so no one can see it). Every seven seconds it emits a puff of steam. What is it for? Winter! This is what your breath actually looks like in -20C weather, and I should know, living in a cold RL country. This is just the thing for those of you who like to romp in the snow.

Now, if only I could find a snowsuit somewhere...

[Update: I did find someone with a snowsuit!]