Performing in VWs by Laszlo Ordogh

 The following is a guest post by Velazquez Bonetto, in rl László Ördögh. Vela's long career in virtual worlds is best known for the many performances and presentations of the Cybernetic Art Research Project 'CARP'  which was founded in Second Life in 2007. Now based mostly on Craft Grid and a close collaborator with Rosanna Galvani and her Museo del Metaverso, Vela reflects here on aspects of performance in Virtual Worlds. 

The miracle that we are experiencing today: the Cyberspace, the dematerialized virtual time-space, the worldwide webbed society, where we surf at lightspeed. Any artist NOT using this virtual universe as a challenge and a goal does not deserve the name Avantgarde.

Velazquez and colleague Rosanna Galvani, on Craft Grid, 2022

Why work in Virtual worlds?

1: Everything built in virtual worlds has no material consequences. Everything is Illusion but is useful as a model situation.
2: There is a unbelievable potential in variability and flexibility.
3: Nowhere else you can express and experiment new ideas and thoughts in such a fast spontaneous way. For creative people this world is a  playground to model new situations and experiment with them.

New and Nu on Safari

This week a trip two regions with something 'nu' about them - first, New Hope, on Asgard, also known by its hg address grid.our-dawn, and to NUNA the spectacular sim on 3rd Rock grid. Complete addresses, as usual, at the end of the post.

the spectacular NUNA art museum on 3rd Rock Grid

First up Asgard, aka Grid Our Dawn, in some places called 'Starfleet', but Asgard is a shorter name so I'm going to stick with it. The story of the Asgard grid is a story full of Ragnaroks - although, not really, because that Viking term means the final destruction of the world, and this grid/group has survived not one massive upheaval but many, and with surprising resilience. We met on a community sim with two members of the grid, Thundergod Thor and Star Ravenhurst.

Go Continental on Neverworld

Dawn is breaking over a new continent on Neverworld, and it might just be the answer to your dreams. 

The new continent is called Bountiful. 

If you don't know Neverland, it's a 7 year old grid with a solid tech, drama-free, HG Friendly reputation. The grid's motto 'Live, Love, Create' fits it perfectly. It's a mixed-use grid, with art installations, a fun Hunt region with worthwhile prizes, a lot of quality freebie shops, and plenty of residential areas too. 

Click here to get to the Neverworld Grid website.

Govega Sachertorte

The rental charges, if you want to get a region of your own, are reasonable, and there are self-hosting opportunities too. If you just want a bit of a sim to live on, then the prices are ... well, non existent!  

I asked Govega what she considers to be the secret of her success.

Govega Sachertorte: I'm nice! Just kidding... I am lucky to have a good team, we give out free land, and we don't micro manage people. We don't force events on them or rules. Or act like a pyramid scheme lol We are the no drama grid. This is the 4th or 5th time I've done a project with a massive themed area, and I am optimistic about the success.  It starts slow and before you know it, you are  turning people away.

To visit the new continent, you should jump over to

Creanovale in Summer

Truth to tell, Opensim isn't one of those places where you just automatically count on people to be reliable, communicative, and also talented. But if exceptions prove a rule, then look no further than Dabici Straulino and Kelso Uxlay. They bring together all these virtues not only in their kind offer to host our first field trip of the final Safari season of 2022, but also with their beautiful build on their grid, Creanovale.

Arriving on the grid is always an exciting moment. 

Maria on Safari

 The third season of the year kicked off in style with two very different destinations... yeah, yeah, I always say that, but this time it's true. First hour, chatting around the campfire with Maria Korolov -  then off into the Canadian paradise, Creanovale, with its amazing countryside and hilarious underwater and overwater activities. The Creanovale trip will be in a separate post, because the gifs alone deserve their honored space. Not to mention Dabici's goldfish. Right now, we have other business. Hypergrid Business.

Maria Korolov

Most opensim residents have heard of Maria. Journalist, novelist, creator of websites and collector of grid statistics, you probably have consulted, maybe even contributed to, her Hypergrid Business website, which she started in... well, let's let her tell us all about it.

Going, Going... Gone

 'Gone' is not a word we want to hear - not if you're talking about a grid being gone, especially if the gone grid is OSGrid. 

The historic 'Test Grid' of OpenSimulator, OSGrid, just celebrated its 15th anniversary. As tradition demands, in a couple of weeks there will be a Fundraiser Auction to help bring in some money to support the grid.

So here are some fundraiser questions, do you agree with these answers?

Virtual Spain in OSGrid

Some great news for anyone whose first language is Spanish. 

We all know that people new to Opensim -and not so new - struggle with finding resources, resolving bugs, and finding congenial company. But if English is not your first language, it's all way harder. So how to cope? Well generally speaking, people flock to a grid where a good percentage of the residents speak their language, that's why you find 'German' and 'French' grids all over the place - it's not racism, it's just that at the end of a long day when you are being frustrated by the vagaries of Opensim, you want to talk to someone who knows what you're on about, without struggling in another tongue.

Of course, we have opensim legends who are Spanish speakers, like Victoria Logan and Tina Bey, Plastichansa Bade and Zonja Capalini, Xirana Oximoxi and the lovely singer Nazirah - just to name a few. But there is room for growth in community support for anyone who wants to take the plunge and whose first language is Spanish.  Spanish worlds in Opensim are something of a rarity. Well, not a rarity, but let's say the best known Spanish-friendly grid has a fairly dramatic reputation, which is not to everyone's taste. So what happens when someone who speaks only Spanish comes to Opensim?  

Evan Belmond and friends have decided to try to fill that need with a brand new sim called Virtual Spain, on OSGrid. The idea is to create a central place where Spanish speakers who love Opensim can come and get advice, find freebies, and make friends without having to fight with the Yandex translator every five minutes.