By DrFran Babcock
There are a lot of times when I find myself alone in Second
Life™, especially because I log in often, at 5:00 AM my time, which is 2 AM in
SL. So, I have devised ways to keep myself amused while solitary. Geo Roulette
is a game I made up that I based on my love for exploring the grid. SL is huge,
and the only way to see things that I might not see is to depend upon luck.
The Rules of the Game
Geo Roulette is a game that relies upon that vastness of the
grid. Here’s how to play:
2. Click on the map until you get a red circle, which indicates that you have clicked on a valid parcel. (I generally try to do at least one mainland continent parcel and two estates each time I play.)
3. Click the teleport button on the map.
4. Once at your location:
a.
You can travel/fly anywhere within 300 meters or
so of your landing point. Sometimes it’s necessary to go farther, because
there’s a lot of abandoned land on some mainland continents.
b.
You can cross a sim boundary if it’s within the
100 meter limit.
c.
Oh, and no cheating. “You get what you get, and
you don’t get upset.” More often than not, the landing place is a dud.
d.
Explore and have fun!
Now that you know the rules, I will share with you the
different places I landed on during this round of Geo Roulette. The results are
not always very exciting, and you will learn that there is a lot of abandoned land in SL. I was
amazed at the luck I had this round, and almost felt as if readers wouldn’t
believe me, but this is exactly how
things worked for me this time.
Geo Roulette #1
Mainland Sim: Sverdlovsk (Google Translate
says that’s Romanian) http://maps.secondlife.com/
What is it with Romanians and the dead? Vampires are the
claim to fame for these lovely people, and this area is not a disappointment. I
am happy that I landed somewhere interesting for my first try.
If you look around you will find crypts, gravestones, and
other macabre decorations. The gates and everything around are all for sale.
Too bad that I found this a few days after Halloween. It would have made a
great backdrop for scary photos.
Close to this location is a shop with a novel, but not new
idea: Pay What You Want.
The owners explain that this is a “Viral Economic
Environment,” and that they want to see what people will pay if they are given
the choice. The viral part is their hope that you will spread the word. All of
the items are created by a small group of friends who are trying a new
marketing approach. The notecard I received was written by JubJub Forder. The
items on sale, mostly home furnishings and foliage, seemed well-made. I didn’t buy any, because I didn’t have a
need at the moment. I am not sure how much I would have paid. Prices vary so
much in Second Life™.
Geo Roulette #2: Les
Terres d’Haelis: http://maps.secondlife.com/
It took a few clicks on the map until I got a red circle,
but as soon as I did, I TPed, and landed on what looked like a Viking ship!
Coincidentally, I had been to this place before, when I researching Vikings in
Second Life. Once again, I had been lucky in my teleporting.
As I looked around, and read the location on the top of my
user interface, I realized I was in a French Gor Roleplay sim. Thankfully, the
sim was empty, because I am not a proponent of Gor. However, I have always
found Gor builders to be formidable, and this location was not a
disappointment.
The welcome notecard is in French, and from what I could
make out, it’s a real Gor Roleplay sim, stating that all of the play is based
on the works of Norman, the writer who created the whole genre.
If you are fluent in French and like Gor, this is the place
for you. As I said, I find Gor repugnant, but the snowy build, and quaint
village look of the place was quite appealing, and would make a great backdrop
for winter photos. It’s easy enough to go there at times when Francophones
might not be about. The few times I landed there to take pictures, the sim was
empty. If this seems like something you would like, contact the admins of the
sim: evilsmoka viprer, anoyah resident, and omnyia resident, or the moderator:
svenmorden resident.
Geo Roulette #3:
Moscow Red Square
I could not believe my luck this round of Geo Roulette,
because my third parcel turned out to be Moscow Red Square. This sim is the
real thing in terms of being a locale where the majority of the avatars about
were in voice, speaking Russian! I didn’t join in, because I was on a mission
to complete the third phase of the game, and I, um, don’t speak Russian.
However, you do not have to speak the language to feast on the visual delights
of this sim. 
Most likely, I will never get to
see St. Basil’s storybook cathedral in Moscow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
St. Basil’s is not the only attraction on the sim. The huge
plaza contains also a good replica of Lenin’s Tomb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Conclusion
So, there it is…my new game. If you think this might be
something you might want to do, please IM me to let me know how it worked out
and the places you visited. The potential for amazing discoveries is one of the
things that keeps me logging into SL all the time. Share your great finds with
me.
DrFran Babcock
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