Category: Metaverse

The Arcade Is Coming!

The Arcade Is Coming!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 5 Comments

September is my favourite month.

Why? Well, it’s my birthday month for a start, and this year is going to be a special one, it’s my 40th. But what has made it even more ruddy fabulous is that The  Arcade gacha event will be hitting the grid again,  and if you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks then you’ll have missed the teaser images featured on Plurk and on various Flickr pages.

To be perfectly honest, it would have probably been more beneficial to my health if I had been living under a rock, that way I wouldn’t have seen any previews of what this round has in store for us. The last round was amazing enough, but bloody hell, when I first saw some of the pictures of what this round had in store for us, well, I am embarrassed to admit that I actually cried!

Seriously dear reader, I blubbed. 

I confess that I am cringing as I write this, but my emotional response to the goodies on offer was nothing short of visceral. I sobbed when I saw the collections of critters, furniture items and accessories that have been promised to us for this round.

Why? Well, I could say it’s hormones seeing as I officially hit middle-age in a few weeks, so you could forgive me if I was feeling a little mid-life crisis like. But I actually don’t have an excuse, other than I was totally moved and completely blown-away out of the park astonished by the creations that I saw.

Bear in mind I’ve only seen these on the official ad posters, too, so goodness knows what condition I will be in when I actually hit the machines!   Unfortunately, I have no doubt that this round will be jam-packed 24/7 for days on end, which will drive me round the twist. I’ll be one of those poor dots that you see on the map hovering pathetically at sim borders, pleading at my monitor for someone to leave so that I can get in!

So what am I especially looking forward to?  I’ll post some of my favourites over the next few days, but first of all I want to tell you about some of the fantastic animal-themed items that I have seen and simply MUST have. 

The first images that made me misty-eyed were the pictures of the INTRIGUE CO. Puppy Pals….

Puppy Pals

..see what I mean?

Why did I blub? Well, first of all, PUPPIES! But also because I’m a big fan of the INTRIGUE CO. plushies collections, and these are without a doubt in my mind the best examples yet. I love the way that these guys are crafted.   Not only do they look like the breeds that they are representing, they are perfectly coloured and feature irresistible breed-unique detailing, like the bow on the Yorkie’s hair. It must have taken ages to make these, but what an absolute joy they all are to behold.

Do I have a favourite?  I do have a few to be honest, but I’m going to try my hardest to win all of them!

Now, let me introduce you to the SILENT SPARROW ‘Pwnies!’

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Now, if you know me in real-life (unlucky!) then you’ll know that I have a bit of a thing about a little show called ‘My Little Pony-Friendship is Magic’.

Yes readers, Kitty is a Brony, with no fucks given.

I have a collection of ponies on my desk, as well as an ever-expanding  (like my waistline) family of plushies courtesy of my local ‘Build-A-Bear Workshop’.  You could say therefore that I’m a bit of a fan, and I’d barely finished wiping  my eyes when I saw the poster image of the pwnies, and started blarting all over again! I mean JUST LOOK AT THEM! They are utterly perfect; a multitude of poses and colours and patterns and you would have to have a heart made of the coldest steel to not fall into a messy puddle of happiness at the sight of these.

They are just so much fun, and I am especially taken by Dash (for obvious reasons) and of course, Matt and David (seeing as I’m a bit of a Whovian as well!) To be honest, yes I want all of these as well, and I’m already starting to panic about how many prims I’m going to need to free up to accommodate all of this Gacha awesome. (My house is pretty darn near perfect for me in-world, but I’m going to have some epic rearranging to do to accommodate all of these wonderful things!)

Yummy Fish

But let’s not stop there! It looks as though I am going to have to find the room for an aquarium too, because YUMMY! have created a piano-shaped aquarium and a collection of fish to inhabit it and boy are they are super-cute.

I don’t have the space or time for a  fish tank anymore so this will be the next best thing for me.  I’m looking forward to seeing how these fish work too,  because apparently each one is animated with unique movements so I’m anticipating something very special indeed. I haven’t really selected a favourite fishy, but I am very taken by the ‘Spotted Weirdo’, as I feel that I have a lot in common with it. (I fear that the acquisition of this tank will lead me into ridiculous games of ‘Find The Fish’, which is sure to drive everyone around me bonkers, but no shits given!)

Not only that, but the packaging for this particular Gacha prize is pretty special too!

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Last but not least are my absolute critter must-haves from this collection. They are, of course, cats, and this is when my tears REALLY fell. Because just LOOK AT THEM:

Cats

 

Now, a fact that you possibly don’t know about me, apart from my obviously being cat obsessed, is that I collect Maneki Neko and images of the Egyptian Goddess Bast.  In fact, I am completely Bast-obsessed.  I have statues, jewellery and books about the cult of the cat in Ancient Egypt, and I also like to make trips down to London to see the Gayer-Anderson cat in the British Museum. (Mine in a previous life, obviously 😉

So you can imagine that when I saw this collection and  spotted ‘Isis’ the Egyptian puss, as well as not one but three Maneki-Neko, I almost had a heart attack from excitement.  But there’s more; there’s a chibi-cat for everyone in this set; for example there’s ‘Pumpkin’, who obviously appeals due to my Witchy persuasions (and also because I had an amazing cat called Pumpkin too!) and ‘Sweetie’  is another Whovian reference and an absolute must for my in-world Doctor Who collection. There are so many fabulous felines here to adore, and then there is ‘Fatman’, who reminds me of my much-missed ginger lad (for whom I confess I am still mourning).

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Allegory, if by chance you’re reading this, I thought your ‘Voubou’ collection was outstanding and have them proudly displayed in my home, but these are on a whole different level. Every one of these cats is perfection.  They’re shaped so sweetly and decorated so perfectly. I cannot wait to get my paws on them; I just hope that I don’t have to wait too long because I know EXACTLY where I’m putting them. Well, I *think* that I do…GAH!

The Arcade opens on September 1st (that’ll be Sunday then) and I shall be clawing my way into that sim with all the strength and power I can muster so that I can get my mitts on all of these wonderful  creations, and I expect that you will be doing exactly the same!  I fear it will be a battle, but so long as I can get my critter-fix within a reasonable time frame I’m sure I’ll be fine!

Do check out the official blog and Flickr groups for updates on this event, and tune in tomorrow when I’ll be sharing some other favourite picks of mine. (These didn’t make me cry, but they are just as outstanding!)

 

The Drax Files Episode 9 Is Out Now!

The Drax Files Episode 9 Is Out Now!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

After a brief sojourn Draxtor Despres is back with another excellent episode of his machinima series ‘The Drax Files: World Makers’.

I really missed his regular updates while he was away, so I was delighted to receive word from the great man himself that he’d uploaded a new episode and raced home to view it.

This episode features Tiffany Mitchell (in-world Elie Spot), the designer behind coveted brands Mon Tissu and Celoe, both located on the Mayfair sim.

The first thing that struck me about Elie is that she is just as beautiful in real life as she is in Second, where she creates wonderful clothing, shoes and accessories.

I was really pleased to see her genuine enthusiasm for our virtual world, a trait that I absolutely adore seeing in fellow Second Lifers, and it would seem that the metaverse has provided her with a welcome outlet for her many creative talents.

There’s no doubting that Tiffany is a busy lass in both universes, and she lives the kind of life that I can only dream about. Second Life is her main source of  income (how impressive is that?) but she’s also a blogger at ‘Offbeat and Inspired’, a real life DIY lifestyle blog.  Not only that but she also finds the time to be the creative editor at ‘Cake & Whiskey’; a  magazine aimed at women in business.

I for one certainly found this edition of The Draxtor Files inspiring, and can only wish Tiffany/Elie all the very best for her future endeavours in both worlds.

 

It’s Time To SLX Connect!

It’s Time To SLX Connect!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 3 Comments

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There’s a new social network in town! It’s called SLX Connect and describes itself as a ‘Social Life Xperience Network’ for SL Avatars.

It’s the brainchild of Athayus Quan, who has been working really hard over the past few months to establish this new site and it looks as though the work is paying off; already the stats are showing that the site has jumped significantly in worldwide rankings in a very short space of time.

If you use Facebook then you won’t find the site intimidating to use at all. It’s easy to navigate and establishing a profile is very simple. You can add all kinds of updates including  photographs, videos and even Soundcloud playlists if you so wish. If you are a huge fan of social networks then I’ve no doubt that this one will make a great addition to your portfolio.

I’m really enjoying using it so far.  As much as I like Plurk I find the drama and bitching that are sadly an inherent part of the Plurk way of life overwhelming at times and having a different site that’s purely dedicated to Second Life avatars is a refreshing alternative.   Athayus has promised lots of updates and is working really hard at making the site user-friendly and relevant to the Second Life audience, and I  think he’s doing a great job!

He’s also offering a special deal to potential advertisers; if you’re considering advertising your virtual business then you may want to take him up on his promotional deal which is limited to just ten sponsors. Places are sure to go quick, so don’t miss out!

Here’s wishing Athayus and everyone involved with SLX Connect the very best of luck and you can visit my page by clicking HERE. 

Look Of The Day: Young And Beautiful

Look Of The Day: Young And Beautiful

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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Second Life has been a bit of a bellyache for me recently, and that’s putting it mildly.

Rezzing has been problematic with even simple surface textures taking near impossible lengths of time to load. I can’t bear it when it doesn’t play nice; is anyone else experiencing issues at the moment or is it just me? Quite frankly it’s put me into a funk of gargantuan proportions, hence my lack of updates recently. I can’t blog without pictures, so I need Second Life to be good to me.

I was also struggling to get into events too, especially Collabor88, and I *needed* to get into that one because rumour had it that it was exceptionally good.  Fortunately Second Life decided to be much more responsive earlier and allowed me to go in-world, and I managed to TP into the event.

I’m happy to confirm that it is indeed an incredibly good round (with just a few exceptions that I thought looked out of place) and with the theme being ‘Razzle Dazzle’ we were pretty much guaranteed something very special indeed. There’s a great range of clothing, but also exceptional hair, furniture and buildings too. I was especially impressed by how many designers had included ornate, decorative touches into their work and really gone the extra mile when it came to colour and finish. It’s incredibly satisfying to see and to shop at!

I have a number of fabulous items from the event to share with you.  It’s impossible to pick just one item so I won’t include them all in one post, but feature a few different looks over the next few blog entries.  I’ll be mixing C88 items with other bits and bobs found in my inventory.

First of all, IZZIE BUTTON continues to go from strength to strength where her skin-work is concerned, because her entries for this round are just utterly sublime. 2013 really has been a year of discovery in Second Life for me, and she is definitely one of the designers that I have fallen in love with this year. Her offering for Collabor88 is the ‘Kaelyn 20’s skin, which is available in 4 different make-up options. It’s the whole package, courteously including appliers for slink hands and feet, as well as a choice of light or dark brow options and even eyeliner too. I tend to wear a light tan/medium skin tone but was more than happy to swap for this divinely pale number, and I soon snapped up the entire range. (At L$188 per skin, it would be rude not to!)

My second choice from C88 is the glorious drop-waist frock from TRES BLAH.  It’s in almost my absolute favourite colour; which is a sort of plum/burgundy shade.  (I adore it, and I’d say that about 75% of my real life wardrobe features variations on this colour, the rest is of course black!) so I was thrilled to see so many items at the event sporting this hue. Anyway, back to the dress, which is of course mesh (to be brutally honest reader I would struggle to purchase anything that wasn’t these days) and features a drop waist, a short double-tier lace skirt as well as a delicate pattern to the main body. It’s a modern take on the quintessential flapper style and is available in six colours at L$188 a pop.  I did wonder if it would be a little too girly for me, but nope, it worked perfectly for me with a pair of much-loved patterned lace cut-out leggings  from LARK and my ever-present ILO boots.  I don’t think I’ve stopped wearing ILO boots since the last round of The Arcade finished. I didn’t even win them all, but by gum the ones I did win I am wearing to bloody death!)

To finish my look, and what really makes it for me, has to be this style fromMONSO. It’s called ‘Yong’ and is a unisex style.   I’ve never worn MONSO hair before, but I now consider myself a convert, having snapped up both of the styles that were available from this brand at C88. I made sure I purchased both styles in the custom packs so that I could have lots of wear out of the shades that were included.  I didn’t mind forking out L$288 for each pack either because they contain a great selection of shades and come with a great hud that makes colour and size change an absolute doddle. I did note that the style is materials ready, but alas I fear that makes little difference on my screen due to a graphics card that has sadly seen better days. No matter, materials or not the hair looks stunning and really helped to bring this look together.

To finish I dusted down my trusty Tegryn Scarf in Olive from THEOSOPHY that was gathering dust in  corner and there you have it, a casual, yet very tidy take on the Razzle Dazzle theme courtesy of this fantastic Collabor88 round!

What have you enjoyed about this round of C88? Care to share? Feel free to divulge all in the comments below!

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Kitty wears:

Shape – Kitty’s Own.

Skin – Kaelyn 20’s Skin by Izzies (C88)

Hair – Yong by Monso (C88)

Eyes –         by Ikon

Lashes –      by Hush

Dress – Drop Waist Dress by Tres Blah (C88)

Leggings –    by Lark

Boots –        By Ilo

Scarf – Tegryn Scarf in Olive by Theosophy