On Offworld

Any day of the week, no matter what the season, you'll find music and dance parties happening all over Opensim. It is one of the enduring and vivifying features of the hypergrid culture. I asked popular German DJ Genie Fegte to say why he thinks this is so.

Genie Fegte: Music is international and lets you forget the problems of the world for a moment. Music can connect people, even across language barriers. You enjoy the music together and shut everything negative and evil out of your head for a while. I think that's a main reason why parties are so popular in virtual worlds.

Offworld grid is a popular spot for dancing on Friday evenings, European time. It's a grid with a long history, all the way back to 2007 when the owner, Genie Fegte, set up his first opensim grid called  "Land of Vikings". This of course was before hypergridding became a commonplace in opensim, pre-mesh, and things were still pretty basic and often very unreliable. 

Genie Fegte:  I never let that put me off and continued working with Opensim. I am a perfectionist and when I have a problem in front of me, I sit on it until it is solved. I got my first computer in 1988. There was no real internet or pre-made programs. So I learned to program from magazines and books. Everything I know about computers today I taught myself.

At the same time that he was setting up his first opensim grid, Genie was also experimenting in SL.

Genie Fegte: In 2007, I streamed in Second Life for the first time. That's where I got to know and love the darkwave/gothic genre. In Metropolis, I started "Metroradio" with a friend and since then I've been streaming in Opensim, sometimes more, sometimes less.  I love music and I think my fans notice that too. That's probably one of the reasons why I'm so popular. 

Genie Fegte dancing with his partner, Icelady  Pearl

Most people who know the grid are familiar with Club Rotation, the pyramid dance hall on the sim of the same name. But the grid is made up of 26 regions, most of which Genie designed in the limited spare time he has when not working in RL. Worth noting - the gorgeous fantasy bayou landscape build "Jambalaya", "Les piedes de sables", "The Farm" and Genie's home region "Abbydeen".

Jambalaya region

Genie Fegte: For me, Offworld is a place to meet people and to use music to chase away their everyday worries for a while.  Music is a big part of my life in general, not just in Opensim. When I was about 12, I started playing music at my older brothers' parties. That was in the early 80s. That's why I love almost all music from the 80s. A year ago I bought an electric guitar and am currently learning to play it.

Loru Destiny (right) dancing with the crowd on Offworld

Fellow DJ Loru Destiny is a big fan.
Loru Destiny: Genie is a wonderful man. He is friendly and has a great sense of humour. He knows an incredible amount about IT and always helps if you have problems. He loves music and loves to please others with it.

Genie Fegte: Opensim is a very big challenge. Without a solid foundation of knowledge, it is almost impossible to run a grid. Socially, it is just as big a challenge. There are many friendly people in OpenSim (who I like to surround myself with), but there are also many envious people (I generally try to avoid these). Opensim is a great way to make new contacts and meet nice people. Friendships are formed beyond virtual worlds (for example, I used my vacation to meet up with 3 friends from Opensim). The best thing about OpenSim is that it works globally, so you get to know people from all over the world. People should look within themselves and learn that we are all just like the rest of us. Life is short and you should enjoy every day and not waste it on negative things. At the moment I am satisfied with how Opensim works, in my opinion nothing needs to be changed.

HG Address: hop://offworld.eu:8002/Club%20Rotation/125/117/23