Today is, or in an hour was, my Birthday! While it has not been possible to do too much at this time given the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions still in effect surrounding seating in restaurants and closure of businesses, this has nevertheless been a relaxing and enjoyable day spent with family, friends and a pile of rather delicious food.
But the good thing with virtual environments is that you can explore a fictional outside world from the comfort of your home. With the evening almost over and a bit of time on my hand, I travelled around some of Second Life’s photogenic spots in search of a place to take a Birthday Photo in. While struggling for inspiration, this is what I came up with. I… just wish I had some fairy floss / cotton candy right now…
This photo was taken in Second Life. Second Life does have a reputation for more adult content (there is no shortage of that if you explicitly look for it). However, those interested in using it to build custom avatars and take great photographs will find a lot on offer from the user-created worlds, purchasable content for your avatars, a high level of customisation and clients dedicated to taking fantastic photos. Just beware that with high quality content comes a potentially high real-world cost for digital assets.
Take That (In-Game) Snap Daily Photo is an off-shoot of the Take That (In-Game) Snap article series, in which the first article focusing on Final Fantasy XIV was recently published. This looks at, celebrates and critiques how video game developers have implemented professional photography-like systems into their games. It will cover how the systems handle, just how accessible they are and, where applicable, how a modding community might be making these tools even better. With this Daily Photo spin-off series, I will be sharing individual photos from the games either covered or soon-to-be-covered in the series.
