The Roaring 20's Chicago RP Sim

The phrase "the roaring twenties" was meant to emphasize a great period of social and artistic culture, from jazz, flappers to the crash of 1929 and in between inventions, political changes, industrialism and new technology such as cars was all part of this era. But one issue made this era unforgettable, the prohibition. Under the eighteenth amendment, alcohol was prohibited to be sold because the government wanted to fix "social problems" happening at the time. The prohibition led to many things including the rise of organized crime and gangsters such as the well known Al Capone.

So what does this history lesson have to do with our Second Life world? Well, it has a lot to do with it! As you may know, everything found in our real life can be found or created in SL. Shepham Moorlord, the now owner took over the sim of SL Chicago Roaring 20's after Fay and Lance, the creators, had to leave due to personal reasons. Here is an excerpt of the interview I had with one of the old owners and Moorlord, as he gave me a tour around the sim.

Q: The sim takes place in the 1920's, is there a reason why this period was chosen?

A: We selected this time period mainly because it had not been done in SL. You see many medieval and western theme sim's but none that have been for Chicago 1920's: The gangsters, gun molls, corruption

Q: What is the purpose of this sim?

A: To bring people together from various walks of lifeand all over SL that have the same interests like history, good role play and a quality sim to be in. And build strong friendships giving us a place to live and play where we share common interests. I believe rp should be fun. I think we have to always try to help new people join in, so many sims becomes clickish and make it hard for new people. I also believe that those who run the roleplay need to entertain others and not worry about winning. We dont have anyone in leadership positions with large egos or power hungry. This sim is all about good people, good stories and fun.

Q: What are the most important rules members MUST obey at all times?

A: 1.) That this is a role play sim first...not a combat sim....combat is some of it..yes, but you need to have good role play and character development.
2.) That everyone needs to wear the proper clothes and meters even if coming to observe and look around.
3.) Respect to all people on the sim....new or old alike.

Q: How long has this seem existed?

A: June 2010. However we have over 600 people in our group and have been a SL showcase role play sim. And being renovated since a week ago.

Q: What are the meters used for?

A: For the combat portion of the role play. They are basically health meters, so when your shot, they go down in health until your dead.

Q:So since this is a roleplay area, what happens to a person that had been gunned down? Can they still come back or do they have to come back with a different character?

A: Well they have to go to the hospital and role play out the injuries with one of our medical staff. Our doctors determine how long they are out for based on injuries, could be a few hours or a few days, then they can come back into gun play. Until then they are wounded.

Q: Can you tell us some "in character" slang that players have to use?

A: The 1920's were a fun time to speak the English language. We actually give people a slang dictionary. Here are a few of my favorites:

Bull - (1) a policeman or law-enforcement officer including FBI (2) nonsense (3) to chat idly, to exaggerate
Cat's Meow - Something splendid or stylish; similar to bee's knees; The best or greatest, wonderful
Daddy - a young woman's boyfriend or lover, especially if he's rich
Piker - (1) a cheapskate (2) a coward
Pill - (1) a teacher (2) an unlikable person

Q: Tell us about the clothing used in you sim? Why is that so important ?

A: Well back in those days people dressed up. There weren't jeans and T-shirts and shorts. Most men in suits and most women in dresses. The flapper dresses were the rage and dapper looking men in suits. So its very important to have and get the right looks in clothes to make the sim look historical. We have some of the top designers in SL that have made us some very real clothes for the time period. For the open area, we like the ladies and gents to wear semi formal gowns or gowns and the gents to wear suits and ties.

Q: During this period in RL it is known that there were "families" that would take over neighborhoods, what does this sim have in similarity to that?

A:Yes that is part of it. The criminal element was a huge part of those days...Prohibition and illegal wrong doings were part of everyday life. We do have 2-3 "Organizations" and welcome people that want to join those that exist or start their own.

Q: Is there anything you would like our readers to know about your sim?

A: I want everyone to know that all people are welcome in our sim. Its a fun time period to role play in and even if you have no experience we have role play classes and can help you. We made the sim for people, not to make money or personal gain..its for fun :)

We try to have a scheduled RP twice a week

Q: What is you role in this sim?

A: Well really, I'm just a guy who was lucky enough to be in a posititon to save it. Other than that, I try to keep things organized and run it like a business. My role here is to RP like everyone else, I'm just a minor player. The sim was going through some problems because of personal issues and the old owners decided to leave, I caught them in time, so we saved it. I felt their vision needed to carry on, they were both true people of vision. There are challanges in sl, you have to do it because you love it. I'm in business in RL so i have a good background for it.

The tour given by Moorlord was fantastic! He really takes pride in his new sim. If you like to visit here are the links to the sim's blog and landmark to this amazing sim! Have fun role playing and enjoy every single corner!

To get to the Roaring 20's RP, go to the Rich Island sim at (210, 236, 312).

To check out the online newsletter of the RP, The Chicagoan: Click Here.

Lizzy Arriaga