For a while now I’ve been intrigued ARG’s and Immersive Fiction, and I’ve always thought that Second Life is the perfect environment for this sort of thing. While I was really inspired by attempts I had seen so far such as Gary Bukowski’s “EVA Project” and Gigs Taggart’s “Shanti” – I’ve also always thought that there was so much more that could be done within SL itself (as opposed to via blogs, websites, ect.) So last week, while finishing up a little build for SL6B, I decided to take most of these ARG-style puzzles that I had been cultivating, add in an admittedly amateur and rushed story, mix them into the futuristic SL6B theme, and throw it all at the wall like spaghetti. Well, some of it stuck and became(or hopefully will become) the brief story of “Tomorrow’s Sandbox”, and it might even stick to the wall long enough to be an interesting distraction for a few people. At best, I hope it will inspire others to see why I think this type of medium is perfect for SL.
Since this evolved out of a build I was completing, I couldn’t really find a good way to “hide myself behind the PM’s curtain” so to speak – Anyone looking at the creator of most objects involved will see “Logan Bauer”, and it might even be painfully obvious that this isn’t REALLY the result of virtual time travel and a conspiracy of post-apocalyptic AI overlords. If this ruins your immersion I am sorry, but it is what it is. So, Please do not IM Logan Bauer asking for solutions or answers to any of the puzzles, this is not “Logan’s” story, but along the way you may encounter other avatars who ARE a part of the story, who you will need to interact with. This is not a promotion for anything or viral marketing of any kind, this is loosely tied to the SLB6 celebration only because that’s where the build started, and I am in no way affiliated with Linden Lab, ect.
So while I don’t really plan to discuss this as Logan until it’s over, I do welcome and appreciate any feedback in the meanwhile. This is my “test case” and I’m just getting my feet wet here – It’s been a dream of mine for a while now, and I had a lot of fun putting it together. If a puzzle seems frustrating or too hard, it’s probably meant to be hard so people will work together to find the solution. If a puzzle seems too easy, it’s because I wanted something that more people could participate in. But to reiterate, you can IM me and say “that (puzzle/plot element) (sucked/rocked), ect”, I’m fine with that – but don’t IM Logan to say “I want a hint” or “What do we do next?!?” – Logan won’t respond and there is already an in-game mechanism where hints will be broadcast if and when they’re necessary.
Good Luck, and most importantly, Have Fun!
Not to be confused with the previous calla lilies – this kit will let you make 6-petal ones such as Tiger lilies, Easter lilies, ect. Here’s the box cover! :
