Perhaps I blogged to soon...

Sometime today, while I was off helping a friend move, the terraforming gnomes came along and visited my little slice of the mainland. So some of yesterday's considerations are out the door. I'll have to make sure my build completely negates the monolith to my south and my neighbors to the north (who have inched their building closer to the property line. Well, I said I liked constraints... careful what you wish for... The plateau, with a fairly tasteful building nestled inside, tops out at 60m. I would assume that this monolithic terraforming job means they want their privacy, and I should respect that with my build.


So on to the next part of the thought process: purpose and style...

A. What will it be for?

I have two primary needs. First: A spot to build. The Ruins and the Observatory are just too cramped for building. I lose things or am constantly clicking some piece of them while I'm trying to build. I'm not entirely free to move my camera around because the majority of the build is underground. Then there are sandboxes. Sandboxes are too... well... hit or miss. Finding a quiet spot is difficult. So that adds another requirement: a spot to build that is open yet private-ish.

Second: I'd like to start putting things I've made out for sale. So a showroom.

All right. Now we're getting somewhere.

B. Who will be the primary consumers?

Me for the build area, and hopefully the hordes of admiring buyers who are just waiting to flock through my doors. So it has to be somewhat accessible to the regular SL resident. By that, I mean no hidden doors or funky gadgets. Well, I can't rely entirely on funky gadgets.

C. What vernacular will it be in? (eg. Steampunk, Retro-Future, Medieval, Renaissance, Modern, Arboreal, etc.)

I'm thinking Fusion, a mixing of styles. One thing I want to do is make a build that is a bit out of the ordinary for me. So let's think Futuristic for now, but I mean Iain Banks ultra-future, not Jetsons style future.

D. There is no D.

E. Any other considerations?

Yes. I'd like the build to take into account and make allowances for the things SL can do that RL can't. People fly. People teleport. I can launch you 1308511.7m into the air and when you land you dust yourself off. Walls can be insubstantial and/or invisible. I want to try to abandon RL preconceptions. To a point. After all, if customers come and can't figure out how to use something because of some wacky idea I had, I've failed.

By the way, that "E" is pretty much the same I use for every build.


Next time:

Find five inspirations in world and detail what you like/don't like and what you plan to steal derive extreme inspiration from.