Tag Archives: sl experiences

Garden Of Dreams
May 7 2013

Spring Days 4: The Forests of Second Life

When sims on Second Life are born, they are one of two things a desert and a grassland island, Residents who love nature preserve their sims natural look from time to time, creative, amazing sims that are perfect for photography and relaxation.

 Second Life several amazing nature sims for you to visit.

Taiga

Tagia is a beautiful quiet peaceful forest found on the Tagia Awesome sim. Based on the Siberian taiga. The Stream Plays: 24/f smooth pop music.
Features: Beautiful Lake, an air ship to relax on, bike rides around the sim. Interactive relaxation spots, A cottage opened to visitors.Visitors can also go jet skiing on the lake as well as have a nice nature walk through the woods.

Garden Of Dreams

Garden of Dreams is a beautifully magical sim is lined with large trees., made to bring lovers together.
Stream playing: Romantic, classical , new age music.
Features: Interactive boards on landing spot for visitors to explore, such as vendors a store and teleport used to visit different parts of the sim.

 

A Forest close to our hearts is from the Isle of Dee, the forest is not only beautiful but is home to a race of beings called the Wylds, they aren’t too friendly about strangers wondering into their Forest. Nevertheless it’s a beautiful and peaceful place, well until you venture in there.

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A little friend from the Forests of Dee.

Happy Exploring.

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Apr 16 2013

Spring Days: Day 2 Linden Realms

The second day of spring finds you walking through a bright and colourful forest. On your travels you find yourself picking up crystals of different colours.

There is a rumble that seems to be coming from behind you… and just as you turn…

This is Linden Realms, Second Life’s very own MMORPG created by Linden Labs. You run around collecting different types of crystals. Each crystals gives you a Linden reward. But be careful….listen out for the rumbling. Continue reading →

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Apr 10 2013

Second Life Walkthrough: How to Get Lindens in SL? ( How do I get a job?)

Second Life has its own, very active, economy and currency. It is called the Linden Dollar (L$) and is about 0.01USD = 1L$. Time  for a few FAQ (or Frequently Asked Questions)

Why do I need Lindens?

To buy goods and services, such as clothes and a place to live.

How do I receive Lindens?

There are two ways:

1) Buy Lindens from the Second Life website using real money. You can do this by signing in to the Second Life website (using your SL username and password), go to your Dashboard, then to buy. It will ask you how much you want to purchase noting that the minimum allowed is at least 500L$ or 3.00USD.

2) You can get a job in world. There are several jobs that you can do in Second life. You can find these jobs through Job Agencies in world.( Search Job agencies). You can also create items to sell for Lindens or open your own business.

What kind of businesses/jobs are there in Second Life?

There are several jobs/businesses you can become involved in. The most common jobs are available through clubs and other music based establishments  , working as a DJ, Host/Hostess, and Dancer. There are others jobs that are less common such as Managers, Assistants, Models, Writers etc.

Businesses include Clothes Designer,Builder, Script Writer, Club Owner, Property Owner, Blogger (Fashion, News, Music & Destinations). These are jobs that takes a lot of commitment, so if you do not have the time and don’t want the stress the most frequent jobs would be more ideal for you. Some jobs, particularly the most common ones, have a promotion system (Start at the bottom and work your way to the top) but this depends on the owners. 

How do I find work?

Job agencies are a great way to find jobs. There are tons Job centres and agencies for you to find work. Most jobs require you to fill out an application form and send it to the employers. 

What are employers looking for?

Many employers are looking for Reliable employees, someone who will show up when they say they will and do their job well. As a result many employers will not hire you until you are 30 days old and in Second Life on a regular basis.

There are some jobs that will need experience and even training. Being a DJ in SL will require you to have training and experience (There are schools and help guides out there that specialize in  DJ training). Hosting is another job that requires training,  most clubs will offer to train you since  Hosts need  to use different marketing equipment to pull customers in.

Helpful Links:

So You Want To Own A Business in Second Life Part 1 & Part 2 & Part 3 & Part 4

Becoming a Dj in 8 Steps 

Jobs in Second Life Series

These are some of the questions that have been the FAQ for the Torch, if you have any more questions ask at valkyrie@thetorchslguide.com

Well,  you have the money, how about we look for a place you can call home? Join us next time on Second Life Walkthrough.

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Mar 27 2013

Second Life Walkthrough: Just Joined Second Life? What Now?

First of all, welcome to Second Life, congratulations on getting your account and taking your first confusing steps into this confusing as all hell virtual world. Now you are here? What do you do first? Some Residents of SL would say that nothing really interesting happens until you reach 30 days old, but that isn’t true. It is true that you can’t really do anything until you are 30 days, like apply for jobs but we’ll get to that when we get to the living in Second Life bit of this walk through. You can do anything you want before you reach your 30 days in SL and Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life, have happily done something to help newcomers find their way.

I always tell newcomers that the best way to experience SL in their first few weeks is to explore the places in the destination guid. Back to Linden Labs making the kind of easier for new residents to explore the world.

Seven places as soon as your land in world, introducing you to Seven part of Second Life.

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Art

Second Life is ripe with culture and very creative people, one of ways residents show their creativity is through art. If you are interested in seeing the amazing creations of Second Life’s Art community go through that Portal.

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Roleplaying

Second Life’s roleplaying community is large, with several different kinds of sims dedicated to Roleplaying. From Lovercraftian Horror to Medieval Fantasy to Futuristic Cyber, if you are interested in checking out Second Life’s Roleplaying Go through the portal.

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Popular and Social

These two Portals lead you to popular hotspots as well as social communities, great places to hang out and meet other Second Life residents. Go through the portals to meet new people and make friends.

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Music

There are so many musical places in Second Life, from clubs to pubs, live musicians to teaching schools for wannabe musicians. Follow this portal to start your musician journey.

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Editor’s Picks

These Destinations were picks by the editor of the destination guide on the Second Life website. This portal leads to them.

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Linden Realms

Second Life’s very own video game, Go on quests, collect crystals and earn Lindens. Just head through the portal.

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Adult

Finally a portal that leads to the seedy side of Second Life, the adult sims.

Exploring Second Life will allow you to see and experience  every part of Second Life before you finally decide on what you’re interested in doing, but what happens when you don’t have found that special thing and you’ve reached 30 days? Well how about we answer a few questions that we are always asked here at The Torch. About things  that happen in every day Second Life, beginning with ‘How do I get a job in Second Life?’

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Feb 13 2013

The Romantic Spots of Second Life: Fishing in Virtual Ryukyu

The thing that everyone loves about Second Life is that they can go to any real world replica destination they please. If you want to go to the island of Hawaii, you can do so with a click. New York? Sure! Paris? Oui oui. Want to go to Dublin to explore Irish culture? Yes, please. All done with the click of a landmark.

So with this ability why not have a romantic date in the Village of Virtual Ryukyu, a place dedicated to ancient Japanese culture. Created by Second Life Residents Inuyasha Meiji and Silverfox ‘Giniji’ Rainbow. It is the perfect spot for those who would love to share their interest with ancient Japanese culture. Here you can relax by the sea as the music stream takes your away on an oriental journey. You can you go fishing, take a stroll around the village, watch a friendly combat in the local dojo, or even enjoy the local cruise (Yes there is traditional Japanese food here. You can’t eat it but adds to the immersive experience. It will have you craving for the real thing though, so be warned :) .). This is truly a beautiful place that should be shared with your loved ones. So take your date to Virtual Ryukyu, go fishing and enjoy your Valentines Day.

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Follow Virtual Ryukyu on Twitter and check out their blog

Feb 11 2013

Things to do in Second Life – Week of February 10, 2013

Check out some of the fun and exciting things to do and see in Second Life this week:

Fundraisers:

One Billion Rising in Second Life:  ONE BILLION RISING began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS. On February 14, 2013, men and women in Second Life will join activists, writers, thinkers, celebrities, and people across the world to Walk, Dance, and Rise as a show of unity, individual strength, and the need for change.

2013 Relay for Life: in Second Life Team Registration has opened!! Please see the websites below for more information:

http://rflofsl.intuitwebsites.com/

https://www.facebook.com/rflofsl

Mardi Gras Themed:

Mardi Gras Town: The vibrant sounds of authentic New Orleans jazz will fill your ears the moment you land on the cobblestoned streets of Mardi Gras Town. A holiday venue with incredible colors, ambiance and a world-renowned festive spirit, Mardi Gras Town is your destination to let the good times roll.

Mardi Gras at Two Moon Paradise:  Come and celebrate Mardi Gras week from February 7th to the 14th at Two Moon Paradise. Join in the week-long festivities including live music, events, costume contests, festival rides and much more. There’s even free masks and Mardi Gras beads for everyone. For a list of all events for the week, visit the blog at http://twomoonparadise.wordpress.com/.

Valentines Day Themed:

2013 Valentine Town: Valentine Town is a visual panorama of all things that denote love and affection. From chocolate waterfalls to the sugary delight of giant gumballs, expect an endless feast for all the senses with remarkable vistas and colors that bathe visitors with affectionate delight. Incredible stores are also packed with items for passionate lovers and those they love. So what’s stopping you? Head to Valentine Town today!

Love Potion No. 9.9 Hunt:Phinneas Phicklephogg needs a challenge. He has mastered all the lessons in the Spellmaster’s Guide to Alchemy, 2nd Edition and life has become a monotany of talismans, wards, and curses. With Love in the air, people are pounding down his door for ways to protect and control the heart, but the one thing he can’t create is True Love in a bottle. Or can he? Join Phinneas’ adventure to brew Love Potion 9.9. Perfection may be overrated but the rewards of True Love never are!

The Tainted Love Hunt: The Tainted Love Hunt is a grid-wide treasure hunt focusing on anything but that nice, romantic Valentine’s Day love. Expect obsessional love, painful love, even loving unto death. Featuring great prizes from some of most troubled, twisted and talented people in Second Life, the Tainted Love Hunt runs from February 1st to February 28th, 2013.

Valentines R’ Us: Choose from a great selection of Valentine’s gifts this year at Valentines R’ Us. Whether you’re looking for roses, chocolates, unique cards or formal wear for that most romantic of nights, you’ll find it at Valentines R’ Us.

Love Bug: Love is in the air, and the passionate music lovers at the Velvet are celebrating Valentines Day with a festival of amorous music. They’ve built a drive-in cinema and lined up 11 lovely DJs to entertain under the big screen this Valentine’s day, February 14th, from 12 am ’til 11 pm. Like an awkward first date, you might not be watching the movie, but you can be sure the soundtrack will sweep you off your feet. Grab some popcorn, head on down to the Velvet Drive-In and catch the Love Bug.

Ready for Love Festival: Come to Tribute City as they usher in the Valentine love season with a month long festival! Events include singles parties to find that perfect someone, a couples photo contest to show off that perfect someone, a merchant’s fair, live DJs, tribute bands and more. For more information, visit http://tributecity.blogspot.com/.

Music & Festivals:

Trojan Empire:  The Trojan Empire is honored to present The Pulse of Musical Spring, A Second Life Music Festival. Doing their part to promote music and wonderful performers in Second Life, the sim is delighted to host this amazing this full scale music event from Friday, February 15th to Sunday the 17th. Come on down and join in this ultimate sensation!

The Light and Shadow Pleasure Faire:  Part craft fair, part historical reenactment and part performance art. Buy crafts and food at booths, enjoy parades, crafts, live jugglers, musicians, magicians and other entertainers as they perform throughout the weekend. Or even test your skill at tournaments throughout the realms. Bring medieval attire, or touch the Sylvhara welcome kit for the location of free period clothes. Running from February 14th through the 17th, visit http://bit.ly/VIyVT5 for more information.

Hunts:

The Stupid Cupid Hunt: That Cupid, he’s so stupid! Flying around, shooting arrows everywhere, making everyone dizzy, trailing little hearts wherever he goes… He’s trying to make love matches all across SecondLife! It’s time to stop Cupid before he gets any more stupid! Find the arrows at stores across SL to lead you to Cupid’s love nest and fall in love with over 20 sponsor prizes! Running from February 1st to the 15th, don’t miss it.

The Tainted Love Hunt: The Tainted Love Hunt is a grid-wide treasure hunt focusing on anything but that nice, romantic Valentines Day love. Expect obsessional love, painful love, even loving unto death. Featuring great prizes from some of most troubled, twisted and talented people in Second Life, the Tainted Love Hunt runs from February 1st to February 28th, 2013.

Cold Winter Nights Hunt:  The Cold Winter Nights Hunt is a high quality gridwide hunt from 50 of your favorite designers and stores. Set your diary to midnight on January 15th and get ready to hunt! Each quality item in this hunt only costs 10 Lindens! Be sure to check out their website for more details: http://coldwinternightshunt.wordpress.com/.

Art & Exhibitions:

Manilism: Manilism is a collaboration between new media artists Julius Redillas and Richard Coronel. This multimedia installation features the premiere of the video Bleached Nightmare, performances and a sound art. The sim runs from February 1st through the end of February. Come and see.

Angelwood Bay Arts Center: Angelwood Bay Arts Center is a pioneering venture to help artists make the transition from SL to RL and vice versa. Angelwood Bay is honored to present five great artists at their opening on Feb.14th, 2013. Make the connection at http://bit.ly/XjxDb8.

Split Screen Installation Space:  The fantastical installation “Yes, Giovanni” by Yooma Mayo is showing at the Split Screen Installation Space, along with Pixels Sideways’s “Afterlife.” Showing through February 28th, this isn’t a show to miss.

LEA Arts Festival:  What better way to showcase the work of over 30 artists, performers and machinimatographers than with a month-long celebration in February? The LEA Arts Festival features twenty full sims of art installations, machinima screenings, artist talks, interviews, performances, classes and more! Opening day is Feb 2nd with a packed schedule of great events. Read more at http://lindenarts.blogspot.com

Danger in Evolution: DangerInEvolution is a project born from an artistic collaboration between Kicca Igaly and Nessuno Myoo for the LEA (Linden Endowment for the Arts). DangerInEvolution makes it possible to see the contradiction at the heart of any technological and scientific evolution that fails to take into account, maturity and an awareness and value of all potential risks. The installation is open from now until the end of February.

CitySphere: Welcome to Citysphère, a new vision of Second Life. A city with 132 buildings distributed on a floating sphere, this mind-bending experience features three times the surface area of most sims and must be seen. For more information, and important Citysphere advice, go to bit.ly/RNdSf1. The exhibition runs throughout the month.

Puzzles/Games:

The Winter Safety Game:
Winter weather can be a killer. The challenge of The Winter Safety Game is to prepare home, barn, and car for a winter blizzard and travel safely through it to Grandma’s 75th birthday party. Score points by interacting with content, encountering a variety of hazardous situations and solving problems. Collect enough points to access skating, fireworks, and prizes at the party. Open now through March 20th.

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Oct 28 2012

The Haunting of Second Life: The Haunted Coal Mine

This is the only haunted destination that will not be a teaser, I will be spoiling this one because I think it deserves a fair mention. While doing research for this teaser, to my dismay I found that the destination was gone, so I’m going to give as much detail as I possibly can for this, since I can’t get any pictures, I did manage to find a video of it on Youtube, which I’ll add it to this article.

The Haunted Coal Mine, was filled with atmosphere not only from the surroundings but also from 1930s music that played on the media stream. That seriously added to its creepiness. It did not rely on jump scares, it did have them but they were used in a professional way and were not used all the time, meaning you could visit the mine  several times,go through the whole thing and not once come across a jump scare then when you think you’re safe and go through again, BAM! right there. One example of a jump scare was in the elevator that took us from stage to stage,throughout the mine. The first time we went to the haunted coal mine, a face grew out of the wall appearing out of no where behind us. There was no noise, if we hadn’t moved ( I turned around to get a good look at the elevator) we probably wouldn’t have seen it, but we did and it did make us scream and had us on edge every time we stepped into the elevator.

Venturing deeper into the mine, we came across various doors, and once we entered those doors, we were taken to different places, one was a hell mouth, where you would unknowingly summon a demon, and another place that I remember was a serious mind screw. It was a world where everything was bigger than you, and I’m pretty sure you were meant to be an insect, that was the feeling I personally got from it. The more you walked through this world things would be come distorted and crazy and it really had you wondering if you were ever going get out, because the doors, that usually meant an exit back into the mine, would play tricks on you. You would think that you were going to exit finally and walk through a door only to find that it brought you back to the beginning of that world.

Then there was the mine cart ride, where you had lava pour beside you as you zipped through it and a huge demonic face grins at you as you go by.

The Haunted Coal Mine was a haunted place done right, it was filled with frights that would make think that you were never going to get out. You really got the feeling that the creators enjoyed making this place and it’s really sad that it didn’t last.

Check out the Short Walkthrough of the Haunted Coal Mine. It is actually A LOT bigger than what is shown in the video.

(Note: If it does still exist and I just couldn’t find it, please send us an email info@thetorchslguide.com  and let us know that it’s still there, with slurl. We really want you guys to experience this place for yourself.)

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Oct 27 2012

The Haunting of Second Life: The Last House on The Left of Sexy Mamas.

I have to admit this one was a weird find. For those of you who have no idea what the title means, Sexy Mamas is a store that offers clothes and other pregnancy items to Residents that wish to experience family life in our virtual world.

Ironically in a place where the beginning of life is celebrated, there is a part dedicated to Death. Apparently this place is on the SL’s Top Haunted Places Tour and Hunt for this year but it was around long before then and I didn’t even notice it was the haunted places tour until I came to take a picture of the place for this teaser..

This place is a traditional haunted house, with a bit of a spin it, it’s amazing not just because of its location but because well, it’s fun. It’s interactive and great if you just a place to have fun with your friends and give them a bit of a scare. And with all Haunted Houses, there is a ….secret in the basement.

Visit the Last House on the Left of Sexy Mamas, it is deliciously cheesy, fun, spooky, and worth checking out.

(small note: I know my directions are wrong, it’s actually the last house on the right then left of Sexy Mamas, but that is a bit of a mouth full don’t you think?)

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Oct 25 2012

The Haunting of Second Life: The Doomed Ship

In space no one can hear you scream, isn’t that how the saying goes?

The Doomed Ship is no exception, throwing you into a dark claustrophobic ship in the middle of space, where the enemy is your own imagination.

Visit the Doomed Ship if you’re brave enough to try to uncover the ship’s secrets, don’t forget your oxygen, and try not lean on any buttons we don’t want you drifting out to space now do we?

[01:41]  Airlock – Open Space: The door leading to the cold vacuum of space is malfunctioning. Watch your step.

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Aug 23 2012

Schools in Second Life– Back to School (Role play)

Second Life has many schools in world, some are based on or are the virtual extension of real life schools and others offer particular residents a school experience in the form of roleplaying. Yes you can go to school in Second Life. All role play schools in Second Life follow the education system of the USA, because most owners are American. Their academic subjects range from traditional subjects such as English, Science and Maths to others that are more specific and Second Life orientated such as Building, Clothes creation and Photography.

Hardknock Elementary School:

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Hardknock Elementary School  has been opened for 5 years, giving role players a good quality elementary school. It is a part of the Pleasantville Community.  They provide an immersive realistic experience, with a staff of teachers who have some experience in teaching in Second Life Terms are monthly and cost 400L$ per month, uniform is included. They offer not only classes but various extra activities such as drama,and sports.

Edgewood Prep School:

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Edgewood Prep is a role play school that aims at the high class part of Second Life and is apart of the Edgewood Community  Their tuition fee is 800L$ a month.

Seaside Youth Community Center:

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  A part  of Second Life Role play community Alterscape, it is an immersive Urban based role play community with members from around the world.It has both an elementary school age range from 5-12 and a high school which is 13 –17. Although not a part of Seaside, Alterscape also has a university called Columtreal University. More information can be found on their website.

Willowdale Elementary, Junior High & High School:

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Willowdale’s Elementary( Grammar), Junior High & High School are apart of the Fable wood Community and is the school for Next Gen Inc, an adoption agency for child and teen avatars. Tuition Fee differs for each school, the elementary school is 200L$ per term ( month) while the high school is 400L$ per term.

All schools employ teachers, from a variety of subjects and background. As soon as we are aware they also pay their teachers although salaries differ for each school.

If you are interested in teaching or being coming a part of any of the schools feel free to visit them. ( Please note that all schools are PG, and abide by Second Life’s TOS (Terms Of Service), they also have their own rules that work within the TOS. Treat them with the same respect you would like to be treated with and remember that behind every avatar big or small is a real person with real feelings).