Dynamic Content

I was thinking about something while chatting with Aurican last night, and it might be something to consider. What makes SL fresh and interesting is the amount of change. I've found I've loved logging on a few times a day and just taken a tour around the new Darkwood sim just to see what's new. It keeps me coming back. The same thing with Darkwood village. I love logging on and finding out my neighbor reshaped their house or a new project opened up down the way.

It's dynamic, it's changing. It gives you a reason to return.

But then you have the very well done, well-planned and beautiful Japanese village just over the mountain from us. It's great, and fun to wander through. But you know what? I have no reason to fly by there any more than maybe once or twice a month, because it's essentially 'finished'.

It's like a virtual website in a way. If the content never changes, there's not much reason to return. But as much as I dislike taxes and agree with some of what has been said, perhaps it's not so bad that they force us to tear down the old to put up the new? I've already torn down my Mayan Temple to afford my new land, but I think I can make something better.

I also have not lost what I created. It's sitting in my inventory, and I can one day re-create it. But what the cost did was make me only do one thing at once. It will make me try and make the most of the space I have.

What I'm trying to do is let people build on my space, rent out a branch, go nuts with the content. If they want it to only be up for awhile, that's fine. Then tear it down, and change again. It's like sculpture, it's like what some artists do.

Inukshuks for example. They're beautiful, they're visually stimulating - but they were not meant to last, they were not meant forever. They were meant to have their moment, let people enjoy it, then knock it down for something new.

If I had left my temple up and focused all my efforts on Darkwood, no one save new users would have a reason to come visit it, because it wouldn't change. It would remain the same, it would be a showpiece. I'd prefer something that would make people say, "Oh, I wonder what's changed at Yuki's today?"

Just my rambly thoughts. Agree/disagree/flames and pitchforks?

I agree with ya. This is the main reason I'm glad NAV is growing slowly. And I'm so thankful the Lindens are allowing us to grow it slowly.

I recently took down the gingerbread house and released my land in Hawthorne so I'd be able to manage my finances better for new projects. It was kinda sad deleting the house (especially since it wasn't letting me save to inventory for some reason!) but I know I can rebuild it someday if I want to...

#!

I also agree.

I deleted Pleasure Cove in Shipley for cash to fuel the Nexus Prime expansion. Although, the project had a certain sentimental value, and I hoped to do more with it in the future, I simply didn't spend enough time there to justify maintaining it.

I am very interested in dynamic content approach to SL. I think the emphasis has been on static. Build it, make it pretty, and move on to next project. I want to discover ways to make projects like the themed community retain the interest of the builders and the visitors even after its "finished".

I'm not sure how that will happen, but I suspect strongly there will have to be a certain amount of builders who "live" there. Live meaning you hang out there and consider it a home base. People have to wanna be around, hang out, experiment, build as well as host and attend events.

I think its a challenge, but it does represent for me the direction I would like to see in SL. Thriving areas that keep players engaged, entertained, and coming back again and again.

So, while I understand the distress over taxes and the difficulty of organizing and maintaining very large projects, I also understand that the tax system may actually be functioning perfectly well according to its agenda.

In a town hall meeting on 6/10, Philip said: