Out of the Blue: Why I care about Blue Mars

With barely any content to speak of, no currency, audio, media, or voice, and a User Interface that allows for limited communication and camera movements, it’s not hard to understand why Blue Mars has its detractors. Despite all of its early Beta deficiencies, however, there are compelling reasons to believe that it holds great promise for current and future aficionados of 3D immersive environments.

Most Second Life residents I’ve spoken with don’t know quite what to make of Blue Mars,
but none appear to believe that it will supplant or even displace their virtual world, though I do sense a modicum of concerned solidarity and defensiveness. There’s this Capulet-Montague thingy going on… like, if you so much as praise one aspect of Blue Mars it’s a form of treason or something. Personally, I subscribe to the Romeo and Juliet canon: “Can’t we all just get along?” Or am I misquoting?

Conventional wisdom would indicate that Second Life, which – ironically – could be called a mature virtual world by comparison, with its entrenched communities, tons of content and hundreds (thousands?) of events a week, is here to stay… but Blue Mars, in its infancy, has not yet begun to demonstrate its gravitas. It will take time, money, and a growing community of dedicated developers and residents.


Would you feed this little bitty baby vitamins or Kryptonite?

In development

Every time I have a chance to speak with Jim Sink, recently named CEO of Avatar Reality, the company that owns Blue Mars, I come away feeling energized and hopeful for this budding platform. In a recent conversation, I asked him what they were concentrating on at the moment. “In order to create a vibrant virtual world community, we need to have outstanding content and we need to attract extraordinary developers. In a coming release, we’ll be offering the ability to create clothing, and we’re providing new uploading tools, too,” he explained.


Meet Blue Mars’ Ruth. Yes, these are default avatars created by unfashionistas at Avatar Reality, with a little fiddling I did around the eyes within the Face Customization editor. Please hurry up fashion designers, and make me something I want to wear

“At present, most of our energy is focused on laying the groundwork to prepare Blue Mars as a development platform. Of course, things like the UI are exceptionally important – we know how important this is to the community – and we’ve already begun to implement changes based on users’ feedback. There’s no shortage of things we need to do.”

Money makes the world go around (especially if you can cash in/cash out)

And one of the things that Blue Mars plans to do soon is launch the Blue Mars currency and, as Jim puts it, “the fundamentals of the economy.” I wondered out loud how musicians who depend on tips would make out in Blue Mars since only developers can cash out. To this, Jim had some very good news: “All developers will be able to cash out and anyone can become a developer, but Blue Mars requires more information and needs to know a lot more about you if you are going to be moving money in and out of the platform.“

Location, Location, Location (and putting a price on things)

Another impending feature will reside on the web-based Developer MyPages: Soon developers will have the ability to upload blocks of shops, set prices to items – including ready-to-use residences, clothing and stuff, and also real estate. Land! This is cool, but here I am going to dig my heels in the ground hard… there ain’t NO way I’m going to have a cookie-cutter home. Not here, not there, not anywhere. I once lived in a development and had the bad habit of driving right by my home because it was indistinguishable from all the others on the block. This just isn’t my thing. I don’t do it in real life, and I sure as heck am not going to do it in my virtual life. Yes, I’m that neighbor that annoys everyone by painting her house purple.


Blue Mars Betti in the kitchen? No, no, no! This isn't the kind of cooking I plan to do


Web to Blue Mars and back

Blue Mars has every expectation that they will be unveiling new MyPage web pages for end-users, too, from which they can edit their in-world profile, and purchase Blues, among other things.

Repeat after me: It’s a PLATFORM

Many of us, myself included, have been calling Blue Mars “a virtual world,” when it is actually a platform for many virtual worlds, and a staging area for all kinds of new – to me - talented people. For developers, entrepreneurs, artists it is a next-gen technological solution from which you can build your environments. For end users (the jury is still out on what we are going to be called… Residents? Martians? Colonists?) it is intended to be a destination offering rich diversity and choices.



These gorgeous photos of coming new content courtesy of Richard H. Childers, president of Virtual Space Entertainment (VSE), one of the first City developers on Blue Mars

“Scurvy-inducing 3D”

Jim Sink recently tweeted, and of course, I looked, “CryEngine isn't just for realism. Check out this amazing work that would look right at home in Blue Mars.”

Games… yes! Blue Mars is flinging its doors open to members of the thriving Crytek modders community, inviting them to create their own games and content. A recent scrumptious example is Monkey Island 2, in which free-lancing 3D artist Hannes Appell first demonstrated how, with a little “voodoo,” he could enhance the gorgeous hand painted 2D concept art with a basic camera projection. Those pirates sure are mean to little froggies.



He then went on to demonstrate – just for fun - how original Monkey Island 2 backgrounds can look and feel in a modern 3d game engine, by building the sets with Maya and then exporting them into Cryengine's Sandbox editor.



Hannes is a Bavarian and now lives in Germany where he will soon graduate from the Institute for Animation & Visual Effects of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. If LucasArts doesn’t hire him after this little “experiment,” someone sure will. This video has only been posted on YouTube for 19 days and already it’s had 329,000 views and the comments beg him to “MAKE A REAL MOD OUT OF IT.” A little Blue Mars, Hannes?

Role Playing

I’m also like a stuttering deer caught in the headlights when it comes to Role Playing, but were I an elf, Trekkie, furry, or inclined to hang out in locations that attempt to accurately portray a historical era, such as Second Life’s Roman Forum or the 1920’s Berlin Project, Blue Mars’ built-in ability to control incoming content such as how an avatar looks or dresses would make suspension of belief considerably more intense.


Photo courtesy of VSE, a Blue Mars City developer

Architecture and design

I like the way h3oworldz, a CryEngine modder group, used the platform to demonstrate how valuable a "3D realtime walkthrough" a structure or set can be to demo environmental effects and scale. They would likely be interested in hearing about DB Bailey from Second Life and his success at using a virtual world to demonstrate a real life structure to ultimately sell a real life project.

Vinyl"Club from h3oconceptz on Vimeo.

Machinima

VAM United is a German group working on a science fiction movie project using the CryEngine2 game engine. They’ve created this proof-of-concept as they prepare to produce a feature-length machinima based on a “loved and acclaimed” book. I highly recommend that you watch it here for better quality, but here is the YouTube version for you non-clickers:



What will the work of the likes of Lyric Lundquist or Lainy Voom or Colemarie Soleil look like, shot in Blue Mars?

Look at this one. Tell me, with a straight face, that you can't make use of these graphics and physics to create your vids...

See also:

• August 29, 2009: This is it! New virtual world Blue Mars rolls out open Beta
• July 31, 2009: More Blue Mars – The official roll-out dates (and some musings)
• April 15, 2009: New answers and more questions regarding the upcoming virtual world Blue Mars

Get wet!

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

Oh, I know... I've been away for a while, but it's time to get rockin' again. Thought I'd get you wet behind the ears while I conduct some research for my next blogposts, so here's a ZeroG shower, courtesy of Oni Horan.



Don't worry! The water at Space Colony Necronom is recycled and purified for your crystal-clean and sensual enjoyment, but do keep in mind - before you hop over there - that Necronom is a dark role-playing environment.

Starbase C3's new sim-wide Skybase Vigilance

all photography by Wellington Bahram

Cube Inada (aka Larry Rosenthal), has been creating and running 3D virtual worlds online since 1996, beginning with Starbase C3, the first real-time 3D world on AOL. Since 2006, Cube has integrated Starbase C3 and its active membership into Second Life with numerous builds throughout the grid, including the Interdimensional Alien Flying Circus.



Now Cube has launched Skybase Vigilance (teleport directly from here), an open-ended role-playing sim and Starship building/Sci-Fi community, consisting of a large floating space station, a command ship, space docks for the fleet, and a hidden alien moon base, all located above a mysterious gas giant planet, Olia.



"We created a unique back story and an immersive 3D environment that not only fits within the larger Starbase C3 Universe, but also works well with our many other locations," said Cube.



Primarily staffed by bio-engineered avatars and remote telepresence drones, Starbase C3 functions as a 22nd century "Area 51." You can read up on the storyline here. Cube has also created over a dozen ships, fighters, gunships, shuttles and other vehicles for his active community.

Space Colony Necronom - A dark role-playing extravaganza

I do not condone rape or violence, especially of the non-consentual variety. Ultimately, I do not care as long as the participants are willing. My interest in Space Colony Necronom is in its content as a fantasy build, but the creator's motivation and goals are intriguing, nevertheless.

Oni Horan (rez: 8/7/2007) got busy in September of 2007, whipping together a sci-fi fantasy build that - until that time - existed only in his dreams. Sorely limited by a parcel allocation of 3,000 prims, he toiled away until October, when he flung open the doors of Space Colony Necronom VI (teleport directly from here), an "interactive adult roleplaying environment."

Apparently believing that oft-quoted cinematic line "If you build it, they will come," he did little to promote it... but it worked. Yesterday's traffic numbers were 22,826, which I contributed to, I might add. (Mom, if you are reading this, I only went to check out the build!)



Oni says that the Space Colony was "formerly known as Colony Necronom VI, but today this place is abandoned, overtaken by alien lifeforms that have used the colonists for breeding. The only thing that can be found there today is madness and death."

Interestingly, Oni has not created any role-playing rules or grounds for banishment, other than that he does not allow "full functionality of weapons."



Bettina Tizzy: Tell me a little about your decision to make it hardcore. Did that decision come first or later? (Space Colony Necronom describes itself as a place for rape, monsters, BDSM, and then some).

Oni Horan: You mean sexual? It is said that two things are needed to sell a medium: violence and sex. Now if you look at the gaming industry of today, it is clear which path has been chosen to follow. While I certainly won't argue about the aesthetic value that violence can have, I find it deeply regrettable that this new medium has chosen such a destructive path almost exclusively.


Careful what you touch here!

Oni Horan: Themes of love and sexuality have no place in this industry and in the few rare instances where that is different, it always leads to a scandal of gigantic proportions, that warns everyone in the US not to pursue that path any further. Everyone knows the relation that Americans have towards sexuality, so as a European I say let them take care of violence and hatred, while we explore the other path, just like it has always been in every medium.


Touch at your own risk

Bettina Tizzy: Are you a 3D artist in Real Life?

Oni Horan: No, but I'm experienced with the medium. I study something like game design. Usually, I make music or draw comics, but in Second Life I can move within all mediums that I know: audio, video, graphics... it all comes together.


Self portrait by Oni Haran

Oni Horan: Second Life is ultimately the most complex virtual enviroment for open thoughts and ideas. Be it politically, socially, or even sexually, people have a chance to express themselves in a very sophisticated way. For that, however, the proper enviroments need to be in place.


Hibernation pods at Space Colony Necronom

Oni Horan: For example, there is a very rich variety of fantasy locations throughout Second Life, which in turn has brought forth a multitude of things to do, thousands of outfits, philosophies and people to explore.



Oni Horan: Basically, any idea can be expressed within a fantasy context, while science fiction, a genre that from the very first day has always primarly served to express novel thoughts and ideas, seems to be quite lacking.



Oni Horan: There are a good number of incredible sci-fi enviroments in Second Life. However, there just is not enough space for many individuals to exist within, so I do hope to add a part to that.



Oni Horan: Every time someone shows me an avatar he himself created just to exist within the context of the station... every time someone wrote themselves their own background... I feel that my goal has been accomplished. I hope that in this way, I have added my own two bits of variety to a world that is still so new and unexplored."


... and indeed, a number of Space Colony Necronom residents have adapted their look to their storyline. "You never know what to expect," said Oni


Avatars are disproportionately bizarre and unusual here, as compared to other regions in Second Life

Oni Horan: There are a million ideas left to be built. I do all this to show that Second Life has got a lot more creative potential than is usually seen. I support many creators that otherwise wouldn't have a chance for exposure. They create things for the station and they can sell their products within the brand I have created. It's still a pretty early phase.