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Designing Your Second Life
Whether your second, virtual life has just begun, or you’ve been “in-world" for a long time, a successful and rewarding experience depends on your mastery of design. Everything from your avatar to your home, your clothes to your behavior says something about who you are and the way others see you. In this book Rebecca Tapley—“Mera
Luan” in SL—shows you how to design everything from bodies to earrings, cars to castles, for improved appearance, function, and usability. Real-world topics such as urban planning, color theory, user experience, interior design, and landscaping are mapped to SL conditions. Learn how to spot the best skin and hair, clothing, architecture and construction, property for sale, and more. In addition, Rebecca’s insights and observations on Second Life etiquette, manners, customs, and other subtle socio-cultural realities will help you make your way through this new and sometimes baffling world. Have a more rewarding second life by learning how to:
* Create a realistic or fantastical avatar
* Make gorgeous clothes and other luxury goods
* Build impressive homes and planned communities
* Develop whole islands
* Establish a social community and career Life.
CONTENTS:
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Designing Your Second Life
General Introduction
Tier fees, prims, square meterage, and building for “free”
Overall Design Advice
The Second Life window, toolbars, and interface
Chapter 2: Designing Yourself
Choosing your name
Choosing your basic/beginning avatar
Customizing your avatar’s shape: the head and face
Customizing your avatar’s shape: the upper & lower body
Customizing your avatar’s other features: eyes, hair, and skin
Going non-human: ears, tails, wings, and other extras
Going non-human: tinies, furries, dragons, robots, and other “species”
Chapter 3: Designing Your Style
Clothes: dos, don’ts, and going for broke
Shoes, jewelry and other accessories
Makeup, facial hair, and other grooming possibilities
Piercings, tattoos, and other body modifications
Postures, poses, and other self-expressive animations
Chapter 4: Designing Your Social Life
Your Profile
Using Search
Joining Groups
Social Etiquette
Hookups, Dating, and Partnerships
Second Life pregnancy and children
Chapter 5: Designing Your Career
The Second Life economy
Help Wanted: how to find a job using SL’s classifieds and forums
Creative jobs: design, construction, modeling, DJing
Public service jobs: escorts, bodyguards, bartenders, retail sales
Real estate: buying, selling, renting, flipping, and managing SL property
The Second Life entrepreneur: starting your own Second Life business
Chapter 6: Designing Your Lifestyle
Just plain Dick and Jane: living “normal” in SL
Costume culture: goths, punks, and bikers
Armoire culture: Masters, Mistresses, Dom(me)s, submissives, and slaves
Total transformation: furries, tinies, dragons, robots, etc.
Light roleplaying communities: vampires, elves, the Wild West, etc.
Heavy roleplaying communites: Gor, Star Trek, Napoleon’s navy, etc.
Chapter 7: Designing Your Home
Some general yet good advice about designing buildings in SL
Apartments, townhouses, and condos
An example build: the Gorean-Roman villa
An example build: the Lion’s Gate castle
An example build: the skybox
An example build: the chrysanthemum house
Chapter 8: Designing Your Land
Real Life vs. Second Life property
Residential, commercial, and mixed zone spaces
An introduction to terraforming and landscaping in SL
First-Land property: starting small and simple
Mainland property: getting the most for your money
Small island property: when to leave the mainland
Buying, owning, and developing your own small island
Appendix A: Useful In-World Resources
Appendix B: Useful Real-World Resources
Appendix C: SecondLifeSpeak: A dictionary of commonly used in-world terms
Appendix D: A Quick Reference Guide to Clothing Templates
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