Tuning in to AM Radio (again)

I am aware of at least 4 blog posts that I have been meaning to write. I am also aware that they are unlikely to get written in the next few days. So "sorry" to places like virtual Birmingham and Czech Republic, and a couple of interesting health sims I've recently toured in Second Life - I will put some ill-formed words together about you in the very near future. But right now, it is late at night, I am off for a few days' away from computers and all-things-virtual tomorrow, and I wanted to put up a mindless post that needed no research or, indeed, much in the way of wordage - just pictures.

I have raved about AM Radio's builds before - and the cognoscenti of Second Life should already be familiar with his many marvellous creations. However, for those of you who don't know his work, or who don't stay close enough to these things (and that includes me), it is worth noting that Mr Radio's latest creations are available for inspection. Spread across 3 sims (Welsh Lakes is a good starting point) you will find many things to marvel at. The multiple, inter-connected Klein bottles have given way to... well... go and find out. And The Refuge and Expansion seems to have expanded too, with the addition of a fine flying machine. Here's the piccies - take a look - and then go visit. If you've not seen AM's work before, I hope you like - I'd be amazed if you don't...

Figment Island

Occasionally I stumble upon sims that have been happily (or quietly) going about their business for ages. I found tonight's sim to be a difficult one to judge. Part of the difficulty is that this is not a European or American sim, and so may not have generated much hoopla in the Western blogs. In fact, a little light Googling reveals that the sim is a good 18 months old! Odd that it has been knocking around for so long, yet I have not stumbled upon any actual reviews of the place. So where am I talking about? I guess the title of this post rather gives the game away: Figment Island.

The island belongs, not unreasonably, to a company called Figment - who are based in Singapore. They describe themselves as"Asia's first full-integrated virtual world marketing communications agency" - and while I get the gist, this still sounds like it was dreamt up during a particularly fruitful workshop on buzzword generation. Just to add another dollop of snottiness, I would also question their effectiveness in virtual world marketing communications if I can find so few mentions of their existence. But that is perhaps below the belt. As we shall see, what they have on their island is actually rather good - at least, I think so.

So what's on the island then? It is easiest viewed as being split into 3 zones - in order of preference: the art gallery; the company area and the other bit.

My favourite - and I daresay it will be yours, too - is GetsmART. This is a virtual world art gallery by Ngee Ann Secondary School. I am not sure about the validity of a Secondary School on the adult grid - maybe that's down to a definition of "Secondary" - but this place is great. The accompanying notecard tells me: "Students and teachers’ art works are featured here.In this gallery, students are taken through 'thinking processes' using thinking routines that are adopted from Artful Thinking - a model developed by Project Zero, Harvard University. Through this, we hope students’ thinking dispositions are developed and deepened." You can pick up a HUD that will help you with your thinking processes - but the gallery, tho' small, was fun to walk through. I particularly enjoyed the... what?... "3D charcoal sketch"(?) at the end. The experience is not really designed with the solo visitor in mind, but rather it should be a small group activity, mentored or mediated (albeit with a light touch). Once through the gallery, you are led to a relaxing seating area, where you can discuss the works (or so I deduced). Most of my pictures are of this GetsmART area.

Floating above the sim is the second of the 3 zones. This is Figment's space, and is best(?) described as a giant snowflake lying on top of an immense floating tree. Well, it is Second Life, after all. The various arms of the snowflake offer different facilities - such as meeting areas, or orientation. The content is crisp, well textured and has a nice, open aspect to it.

The third zone is perhaps the least successful - and may be incomplete. This is leased to Ascendas, a "leading provider of business space solutions", to promote Neuros & Immunos, a biomedical research building. The accompanying notecard explains: "Strategically located within Biopolis at one-north - Asia's home for biomedical sciences, the seven-storey Neuros & Immunos offer fully-infrastructured laboratory space and a conducive research environment that makes it the choice location for a quality biomedical R&D centre." There is a faithful reproduction of the facade of the building, but no actual way in. The point? Ummm... I'm not at all clear on that one. I suppose it does offer potential overseas clients a 3D panoramic view - but is that really enough?

Well that's the sim so far... not a huge amount to show for a company that has been doing virtual worlds stuff for well over a year now, unless there's a slew of successful sims that I know nothing about (quite likely!). If this is the case, don't hide them away! Let's get to see them! In the meantime you can see my pictures: