Genetic Love Interview

By Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich)

Last week, my article mentioned a release party for a new mod for the SPACE-A-LOPE at MIDI and Furzona This week, I got to interview the creator of the now released SPACE-A-LOPE, Dr Prawn (badasslobster) (also known as Doc), and pick their brain about their creative processes when working on mods and more.

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Cyfir: What got you started in modding and why did you open a Second Life store?

Doc: So modding was a consequence of being held back by the traditional sandboxes. I decided to do what I wanted instead.  Early on when I started Second Life, I heard it was an open world full of possibilities. So, I took that to a literal sense. Thus, I made a screaming house fire. Which got me labeled a griefer. But I was laughing, why couldn’t everyone else? As time passed, I wondered how I could make content that kept my childish whims while creating something beautiful and tangible yet inviting to all levels and types of people within Second Life.

Cyfir: How did you come up with the name for your store?

Doc: Genetic Love’s name came from an old project that got revived for a time, but didn’t make it in the end, although now it shares the same name as my upcoming comic. So, I put it into the mod store. I have a deep and enthralling love of science and genetics, so why not change the DNA of your avatar?

Cyfir: What programs do you use?

Doc: Sai 1.0, Sai 2.0, Z Brush, 3DS Max, Motion Builder as well as Daz for conceptual imagery.

Cyfir: What advice can you give to anyone thinking about starting to mod for Second Life?

Doc: Fear nothing. Do whatever the hell you want to do, and more importantly what you love. Take the raw imagination in your head and put it down on paper no matter what. Don’t be afraid if it doesn’t look perfect, everyone starts somewhere. Be proud that you took those first steps. Make sure to give yourself ample time to complete your commitments while still tending to your mental health and celebrate fiercely when you complete anything.

Cyfir: What was the inspiration for the SPACE-A-LOPE?

Doc: Last year I moved to Texas to join the moon of my life. After leaving New York and regaining some creativity, I became fascinated with lore of the south. So, what better than the crazy legend of the Jackalope. As for the space part, that came in because of my history with Genetic Love. My first mod was the Space Dragon, which lore wise are exactly what they sound like. Your traditional dragon, but with exotic colors and love of fiestas!

Cyfir: Can you walk us through the process of the SPACE-A-LOPE’s creation?

Doc: Before you even model a single polygon, it all starts with a preliminary sketch. I wanted to be done in a reasonable time, so instead of doing my usual massive amount of conceptual art, I googled pictures of Jackalopes and sketched next to them until I found the iteration I loved most. There were even versions with wings! But, at the end of the day a lot of the crazier versions detracted from the simplicity of what Genetic Love’s concepts are. So, I cut back, I knew the horns were the centerpiece, so from there I began color blocking, finding what the right feel for this avatar was going to be. Once I found that, I put some money down on a shading kit, and began my work on the actual mod itself. There were a total of 12 prototypes until I settled on the final pattern that you see on the mod today. From that point, there was a lot of focus on color theory, figuring out which colors would be the most appealing to market. The classic Space-a-lope is very much a carbon copy of my original space dragon, right down to some of the original raw files used. Once all the texture work was done, I coded all the Omega Appliers.

But what a lot of people unfamiliar with being a creator in Second Life don’t know is the insane amount of time that goes into marketing and launch. It’s one thing to make a mod or a creation, and an entirely different beast to make the vendors, and build the gallery. I work hard to ensure even the pictures on the marketplace are flawless. Some of those pictures took hours to get right where we needed them so that we could separate ourselves from other makers as truly professional. When you step into a Genetic Love pop up shop, or go to an event, we want to make sure you feel whisked away to another world, to our Bauhaus so to speak, that the product speaks for itself. I do have the luxury of an excellent team, in fact, the vendors were made by my great friend and MIDI founder Lain Lycoris. My friend Zooks helped with some of our photography, and even my other half Altair Luna Sol modeled the Space-a-lope for the launch so people could better understand what they were investing in. We go so far as to develop each version of the space-a-lope into a fully-fledged character. Zooks and I have an everlasting and passionate love of fighting games and drew deeply on that when it came to building the personality and lore for each version of the Space-a-lope. For example, the “Natural” color of the space-a-lope is named Sparrow. As you will see from the pictures in the gallery he loves to spar, as he is pictured having it out in an old school brawl with “Kala” the classic Space-a-lope. As you will see all the other colors and versions are full of lore and personality. This was truly a labor of love, through and through. In fact, there will be a full bio for each character on the marketplace listings.

Cyfir: Tell us a little bit about your club MIDI.

Doc: So, I should clarify I don’t own it, that would be Serra / RaishiFox, with the help of Lain Lycoris. Rather, I got into MIDI long ago and was lucky to find a home on staff. I was DJ’ing at the ARK, but I felt like I didn’t have much of an audience, or rather one that was into my abstract music. But one day, I was offered a job with MIDI before it had even opened yet. I was unsure at first, but I had nothing to lose, so one teleport later and I quit immediately with the ARK and went full time at MIDI. It was the first time that I found home. I felt understood and accepted for who I was, and was allowed full creative expression as an artist, without any of the traditional and archaic club rules that prevent a lot of talent from blooming.

Cyfir: What do you have in mind for upcoming projects for your store?

Doc: First things first. I’m going to create a brand new, open source shade kit for the Second Life body, as well as Omega compliant bodies. The reason why I’m working on that first, is that most of the shade kits you see on the marketplace now are incredibly restricting. Also, I had a really horrible personal experience with the shade kit I purchased recently. I think it’s unfair the stranglehold that some of these creators have had on the marketplace, and the “Boys club” that some of this has become. So it’s my goal to make this open source, and community driven! So, anyone can go ahead and add any component, remove anything they want from the shade kit and put it into their own projects. And the best part is, it’s free, because I believe everyone should have freedom of creative expression without barriers.

After that is completed, the Genetic Love team and I will begin work on the SunF**** project. It will be in keeping with our current theme of mythical creatures. It is a nod to my current fursona, and a nod to one of my favorite bands, Swans, who has a song of the same name, which describes the creature in question. We are extremely excited to share this with all of you!

Cyfir: What would you say is most rewarding about making stuff for people in Second Life?

Doc: What’s the most rewarding part is seeing people get excited or fall in love with our products. Genetic Love is truly its own entity and different from many other stores. We are mod and creator friendly by design, which has really done a lot to make people go nuts for things that we make. Even better seeing what people do with our mods when they begin to sell. The way they make unique and original characters for themselves to live their best life. It brings me so much joy to help give them that. Another thing I absolutely love is when people take a species we have created, and make yet another new species from it, like a blossoming family tree! It’s truly the heart of what Genetic Love hopes to share.

Cyfir: Is there anything else you would like to plug?

Doc: Shout out to all the pears! Zooks, Art, my right-hand man and brother. Lain, my mentor. Altair / Infidailia, my loving partner for helping translate my nonsense, and keeping me sane, without her, this interview would’ve had far more profanity and broken desks. Shoutout to Xii from Apricot Paws! Shoutout to all the people who support us, and this project for over six years now! Of course, shoutout to MobianAngel for keeping me together, and being an amazing advisor and friend. (Checkout their YouTube! Smash that like button!) Finally, thank YOU Cyfir for this interview, I hope we get to do this again soon.

Doc, OUT *Drops Mic*

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You can find Doc’s store here: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/148126

All SpaceAlope mods can be found here: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Geneticloves-SpaceAlope-Natrual/19456334

Cyfir

Interview with Silvia Ametza

By Deaflegacy

Silvia Ametza

I recently met up with Silvia Ametza, the builder of the Newser's exhibit at the Second Life Birthday. She invited me to her sim, and we met at the meeting place there. Silvia then started showing me her work. Starting with a copy of the Newser tower.

“This is (the) tower – original as intended. All works – all floors available.” said Silvia, “But due to script restrictions, floors between ground and top were closed.” We got on the elevator,. “All is automatic, like a real elevator. We planned with Bixyl to put on every level something from SL history – 15 levels – 15 years. Unfortunately, our plan was halted by script restrictions.”

My next question was, “What were your first few days on Second Life like before you become good at building.” According to Silvia , it was confusing, “I logged in and spent maybe 30 minutes in and then – logged out for a looong time.” She still had an account and after some time, just logged in without any goal – just logged in and started to explore. “Exploring was actually my first activity in Second Life,” said Silvia,

I asked Silvia Ametza where she got her first start in building. According to her, some years ago, not that long as at the beginning, Silvia didn't enter Second Life much. “I find SL fascinating with all that options available to residents – socializing, finding new friends regardless of where they are from, builds, clubs, various activities, etc and I decided I will learn how to shape prim. (smile),” replied Silvia, “You know – brick – one simple brick and you can build cathedrals with them. I do see in simple prim – simplest shape – cube as a brick. I can shape it. I can use many of them and give them some meaning. Later I learned some scripts and now, meshes.”

“I do still prefer using simple prims shaped and made from the mesh," Silvia Ametza continued to say, "It is very rewarding to see your build appreciated by people. This tower was built by two of us, Aimeelou Destiny and me. Aimee gave life to this tower, and to many builds we did together, with her elegant highly efficient scripts and as well builds. She corrected me many times what and how something should look. I do love building, showing it, and often give to people – I am very poor as (a) seller. I do prefer build for my friends and as a gift. Their happiness satisfies me a lot and it is a good pay for me.”

 

The next question is if Silva took school in learning how to build. “No,” she replied, “My first prim rezzed – cube – and I played with one single prim to see what can be done. Then I rezzed other default shapes like cylinders, etc and straight away, my imagination busted out – woooooow this is material I could build probably anything. So, no school, self teaching (smile)."

Silvia wanted to show me her biggest build. “It was difficult and it was done for joined sims called Cumberland City – they used this build but sadly, sims are gone now.” Before Silvia Ametza showed me her biggest build, I asked her how many times she had built for the SL Newser on the Second Life anniversary date. “Three times,” replied Silvia, “I did enjoy all of them.”

I was curious about if Silvia had any inspiration when it comes to building something. “It is various," replied Silvia, "Depends on mode or for an example, my best friend, Aimee shows me something – some pictures on Google and just says 'we can buld that.' And – we jump to work and just build, rebulid, fix. Often when I am exploring Second Life (many nice sims and builds) I get motivation there – plants, builds, vehicles, a lot of motivations and trying to check my abilities what I can do. As well – friends often ask- We would like to have this or that – is it possible for you to build something? Or in case of my friend< Gee – I see her build – gallery and have idea how to rebuild and make it better."

I asked Silva if she would continue to build for a long time. “Yes, I like building and will continue,” she replied. We then went to an exhibit by Kim. “Kim was able to accumulate to small parcel a lot of information," Silvia told me, "She even created voting stations to see what people think. In my opinion as builder, this is one of the best exhibits I have ever seen. Weather prediction and giving information on demand fast in case of some emergencies like was for example Catrina Storm in the USA requires a lot of education and deep knowledge. It is her world. Kim is now on stage in China, having the meeting with Chinese scientists, she inspires me a lot as well, she is motivating me to build something special, not just to please eyes.”

Silva went on to show me her biggest build. “Increase draw distance to – maybe 400 to see it all," she told me, "This bridge with realistic design. It has lights as well and all bridge needs.” She showed me the other side of the bridge. We went on maintenance carriage. “It goes back automatically – Aimee and me – we made this bridge together. What's more, Aimee scripted it all (smile).” Silvia then offered to show me their airship. I accepted, and she brought me to it, telling me, “Fully functional air ship with moving parts. Airship made by Aimeelou Destiny and me. Scripted by Aimee.” Unfortunately I found out a bit too late that I have forgotten to take a picture of the airship but it was amazing.

In my opinion, Silvia Ametza is a really good builder. She had built a 15-floors building for the SL Newser for the SL15B. I have gone on the building and would end up being impressed. I look forward to seeing her new buildings in the years to come.

Deaflegacy

Rua Whitepaw's Keyboard

By Bixyl Shuftan

While talking to Nydia Tungsten recently about her new radio station for KVXN, she wanted to show me something else. We went to a place at the Angels Estates, and there was Rua Whitepaw, whom had a large keyboard before her that reminded me of the one Tom Hanks was dancing on in the movie "Big."

"THIS is the other news Item I wanted to tell you about," Nydia told me, "She has even been awarded Lindens to continue working on this." Rua shyly greeted us, and then explained how the piano worked. "You can click on the keys to play," she stated, then explained there was another method, "You can say the name of a note in channel 2 chat. So for example /2 C4 … It goes from C2 to C6, and the back notes are with #. So C2 C#2 D2... and so on. You can also combine keys to make chords... try /2 C4 E4 G4." I did, and the result was a short melody.

"The real fun part is that you can write scripts that say the right things at the right time," She explained, "Like this …" And the piano began playing a tune familiar to those playing Nintendo games. She then did a second one from a familiar Russian drop piece puzzle game, though there was a pause, "SL lag sometimes messes it up a bit. … I think it's actually flood protection. You definitely need a lag free sim to make it work right."

When I asked her where she had got the idea from, Rua answered, "I remember seeing a piano that you could play by clicking in Rocket City. But that could only be played by clicking so it was cumbersome and I felt that it limited me in expressing myself musically. So I wondered what if I make something that lets you play several notes at once And then I thought, if I make it listen to chat, then I could tell it to play as many notes as I want. So two days ago I thought I'd try it out to see if I could make it work."

"Then yesterday I made the basic idea, it was the same as now except with less keys, and then I showed it at Rocket City. And they liked it a lot and offered me money so I could improve it and then sell it. I don't think they want to sell it there though. I think they just liked the idea and wanted me to finish it." "I think they do," Nydia commented, "or they wouldn't have given you the money." Rua explained there were expenses in building the keyboard, "each key has its own sound, so that's 10 L$ each to upload. It has 4 octaves and 12 keys per octave... so 48 keys, that's 480 L$ that has gone into it already." Of what Rocket City wanted with the keyboard, "maybe they'll put it out there too so others can use it, like the old piano."

Rua continued, "I guess the nice part is that the sounds can easily be replaced. So if someone has sounds of a proper piano or some other instrument, they can put them in. … I can show you the scripts I used to make those three songs. Basically every note is one message. So if it were to appear in local chat there'd be hundreds of messages. The scripts work by saying the note names, and then waiting a certain time. The shorter the time, the faster the song plays. But it sounds strange when it's too fast, because the sounds all mix together. And it also causes more flooding."

Rua called the keyboard, "more of a proof of concept more than anything. But I like that it works so well. It's amazing what SL can do really. And I'm kind of curious to see what others can make out of it. You can be creative and express yourself with it, that's what I think is important. It opens doors." Nydia was all smiles about her friend and what she had done, "She has done EXTREMELY well, and I am VERY proud of her. She is a VERY smart girl." Later on,  Jasmine Dawn Shuftan saw the piano and commented, "Rua you made a wonderful thing in this, made SL a little more beautiful."

Bixyl Shuftan

50's Drive-in Build-Off Winners

The Virtual Museum of Architecture celebrated the fun of 1950’s drive-ins at its Spring Build-off this year.   The two winning designs can be seen at Purdue University, Virtual Museum of Architecture (208, 113,26).  Mickey Wizardly won First Place in the Pro Division with “Betsy’s Drive-in”, and Toxic Darkmatter won First Place in the Novice Division for “Double T Drive-in.”   

     Both designs featured colorful neon signs and the popular 50’s colors of turquoise, hot pink and black and white checked floors.  Cars and motorcycles are parked outside, and “Betsy’s Drive-in” includes some “squawk-boxes”, too.   Signs from the 50’s, tempting malts on the counter, and a rock-n-roll tune playing inside the “Double T Drive-in” added extra fun and authenticity.
 

      In front of each drive-in is the winner’s trophy, which was created by Doe Silverspar.  The trophy, entitled “Skating”, was the winning design in a mini-contest held about a month before the drive-in build-off.   I chatted briefly with Silverspar about designing and building in Second Life.  She has been involved with this activity since she joined SL in September, 2007.   She suggested that residents who are interested in building join Builder’s Brewery.  “They offer top notch classes constantly, and the classes are free,” she said. 

      Builder’s Brewery, as well as over a dozen other SL businesses, sponsored this year’s event.   Djinn Dasmijn was the Build-off Coordinator.  

Grey Lupindo

Ready to Mezmerize! A Preview of SL8B

The place is massive!! The magic is there . The builds are magnificent. The sims are named appropriately: Stupendous, Mesmerize, Stunning, Pizzazz to name a few. Each one is filled with builds that you will absolutely love. I spent some time talking to some of the builders about their creations.

I met Master Kaos and Cherub Spectre, builders of Octoverville's display. Miss Cherub told me, “We are sponsoring the SL8B MegaHunt. Octoberville was the creators of the 1st scavenger hunt in SL, so this build is based around that and includes the SL8B MegaHunt. This sign behind me portrays how anyone can 'make it' in Second Life, as we were only a couple weeks old when we built our first Octoberville and it was featured in the Second Opinion, the LL Newsletter, which you can see the archived version on that prim back there. Torley Linden was very nice to dig that up for me.” Be sure to stop over there and visit the exhibit in Magnificent and look in all the sims for hunt items

I ran into a tiny, Morton Wheels, standing in front of his motor shop in the Impressive sim. Maymay Matova, another of the builders said this is “A place where you get an impression of biker life in Second Life. Sit beside our campfire and don´t forget to grab our free SL8B biker boots and cap! Check our landmarks to biker sims, grab your bike, ride on the streets and feel like easy rider. Isn´t this like magic? ” Morton morphed from a tiny to his biker self. You can find their pictures on the poster in the front of the exhibit in case they are not around when you visit. There will be lots of entertainment listed in the events both sl8b arranged or on the parcels.

Next I met Dagoth Graves in front of his Entertainment place. “ I will be having a few Draco live performers here doing small shows throughout the SL8 event, Bruce Scrabblebat, Jody Mubble (Y-Factor), StevenJaimz Hunniton, CelticMaidenWarrior Lancaster and a few others,” he told me. Look for his place in Impresssive.

There are so many wonderful places and freebies. I took a lovely pod tour which informed me about some of the exhibitors and what was going on in that area. Look for it. It will open on Monday as you know and I warn you to come low prim and as unscripted as you can. Have a wonderful time! I will be reporting on more goings on as the week progresses. Look for me in the sims. I will be a greeter and wearing a snail avatar and I will look for you too!

Gemma Cleanslate