Almost paradise

[Scylla Rhiadra]

23 hours ago, ItHadToComeToThis said:

But, compare SL now to a decade ago. Back then weird and wonderful creations were rife through the world. Anyone could come in and start building immediately and those who got good could twist and torture prims to create some spectacular builds and FX in a matter of days/weeks. Nowadays?, you can’t do that anymore. Gone are the days of rezzing a few prims and trying your hand at building and come have the days of learning multiple different extra software, some of which takes at least a year to become fairly proficient in,  purely for the purposes of making mesh houses, clothes, textures, scenery. The fact is that 90% of the average users in SL can’t be bothered with that as it’s far too daunting and indeed confusing and is a huge undertaking for little reward. So we are left with a cookie cutter world, all using the same prefabs and decor created by the same 5 people with the very occasional sim arising from it that does actually look half decent.

I think this is a not unpopular view, and I share it . . . with reservations.

I agree entirely with your lament about the eclipse of a broad resident-based creativity in SL, something that has been, as you note, effected by the lack of in-world tools for building mesh, and the steep learning curve associated with using off-world tools such as blender. And I think, generally, that you're right about the way that has resulted in a more bland "cookie cutter" look for, well, just about everything. You see that in fashion, in avatar customization, and in landscaping and builds.

On the other hand, and despite the existence of a handful of diehards, I think very few residents regret the introduction of mesh, and the overall vast improvement on how SL, and our avatars look. And there are some gloriously beautiful builds out there, available at a reasonable price. In terms of fashion too, the small handful of makers who dominate the market do so because they produce absolutely superb mesh clothing.

In a sense, though, what we've seen is the gentrification of SL. Everything looks so much nicer than it once did, but the cost has unquestionably been a loss of diversity, variety, and (I think) creative whimsy. It's like we all live in a well managed condo now: it's gorgeous . . . and yet just a little bit soulless.

[kali Wylder]

no, not paradise exactly but for many, we found a place that met needs that went unfulfilled in RL. For me, It afforded me a wonderful group of friends from around the world. I too regret the passing of the early days when I learned about how to work with prims and make stuff.  Granted, the stuff I made was not as beautiful as the stuff that gets made these days, but the joy of creating  stuff myself was really nice.

And of course there was

Not exactly paradise but pretty exciting nevertheless.

 

[roseelvira]

Paradise by the dashboard light ,,,, they always played that before rocky horror on Friday and Saturday nights , at the rocky horror midnight  showings ,,,,, 

[Rolig Loon]

I'm not sure about Paradise, but this isn't a parking lot either.  I've been here well over 12 years, like many others who have already commented, so I have seen the excitement of the "wild and wooly" days when we could all create stuff with native prims and I have seen the dramatic quality improvements (and the "gentrification") that came with the switch to user-created mesh.  I am much more talented as a scripter than as a builder, so I weathered the shift by moving away from making clothing and odd prim items and toward making more complex scripts.  I've watched all my longtime friends make their own choices about what's exciting today. Those who are not creators have been caught up in different ways to decorate or to customize their avatars or in new kinds of games and events.  If we didn't still think that SL is a great place to be creative, socialize, explore, and whatever, we would have left ages ago.  If we didn't think that SL's future is going to be at least as exciting for us, we'd leave now.  This is Paradise in progress.

Put simply, Paradise, like Hell, is what you make of the world around you.  All in all, I see this as a world that will keep growing and where I can keep growing.  It's not a bad place to have retired.

[Mother Mystic]

I know this is more of a myth for many and for the longest time it was for me as well. 

I do mix RL/SL and have met quite a few users in person and never had any unpleasant experiences. I tried to make SL my paradise from the get go and for the most part I have succeeded. Was never looking for anything in particular, just to enjoy the art, the creation and since I see it as an extension of myself, I saw it as a tool. 

But I have had one of those mythical chances of running into someone not only looking like their avi, but better. lol And complimented by a bunch of insanely lucky coincidences, that person turned out to be everything I could have hoped to find in a person and more. I was certainly not expecting this off SL and I was certainly not even looking at the time, yet my planets have just aligned that way. The rest is history :3

I suppose my point is, yes, it's hella rare but it can be paradise. Just don't go looking for it, let it come your way.

 

weee~ bit of a long post x