Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?

Merino (aka Çağla Solak) has produced this really useful and easy to follow series of short YouTube tutorial videos for building in Second Life. You can follow the instructions and practice building at Çağ University’s sandbox in the Second Life campus. Don’t forget to activate the Cag University group so you have permission to build.

How to Build in Second Life demonstrates the basics: creating a prim; using the ‘object’ tab to edit; applying textures; and linking objects.

Build a Basic Solar Panel in Second Life applies what was learned in the previous video.

the Basic Mushroom Lamp Modelling in Second Life tutorial explains how to make an object interactive by using a script.

The Second Life Marketplace Guide | How to Buy and Use Items tutorial explains how to find free items to use in your own building.

Using scripts to animate objects so that they react to being clicked is explained in How to Use a Script in Second Life.

Second Life Notecard Giver Tutorial exlpains how to have an object give out a notecard to anyone who clicks on it.

All videos coutesy of Çağla Solak.

The class this Saturday began with Gentle Heron talking about the importance of accessibility when building in Second Life. The founder of Virtual Ability, she has a lifetime of experience in the area and her approach is based on the principle that ensuring accessibility is not simply to support the disabled but, it significantly improves results for everyone. Gentle also shared a link to the Second Life wiki on accessibility which has lots of useful information.

This was followed by a visit to the Happy Hippo Building School with Leslea Aldrin and JeZeBeLe Dagger. The school is a tremendous resource for anyone building in Second Life. It offers regular building classes at all levels and specialising in a range of topics from scripting to adding media. Many classes can be taken at your own convenience and are available all the time. The school is well worth visiting to see the huge range of support available. Here is the Landmark for the school in Second Life.