Here I was all bummed out that I missed my opportunity to meet Violet Blue at the Sex in Video Games Conference, because she was constantly busy for the few hours she attended the event, and I was therefore hesitant to approach her and say, “Hey, yeah, um, hi Violet. I read your blog and stuff …”

But now I don’t feel half as bad anymore since it turns out she may not have been in the greatest of moods anyway, specifically after she got through with her panel, Turning on the Player. (See here for details on panels and speaker bios.)

Meanwhile, I had a chance to take part in a couple of cool interviews recently. The pieces should be published later this week and early next week. Stay tuned for the links. Also, I was recently asked to sit in on a panel dealing with sex in virtual worlds. The group will be discussing the topic as part of the Second Life Community Convention, set for Aug. 18-20 in San Francisco. I haven’t yet committed to it, but it sounds like fun. We shall see…

*Drool* *Buldge*

This voluptuous woman goes by the name of Padea and her digital likeness resides inside Erotasy Island, a multiplayer adult game scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2008, according to the Web site. The virtual version of Padea functions as a personal digital assistant meant to lend a helping hand to users in-game. Players, I think, can select their own PDAs after they are greeted and initially shown around by Padea, or if they are really smitten by her, they can keep her around.

That’s about all I bothered to find out. You can investigate the Web site for further details. I just wanted to post an image of the lovely real-life Padea because she was so nice to look at as our greeter girl here at the Sex in Video Games Conference. I mean, you can only stare at conference panelists for so long before your eyes yearn for a break.

In other news, Ren Reynolds dropped a wake-up bomb today after he criticized the very panel he was on, which focused on the issue of morals and ethics in adult-related video games and MMOs. As panelists responded to the moderator’s questions, one inquiry prompted Reynolds to voice objection to the fact that the panel’s discussion was being framed around American law. Indeed, as far as I know, everyone in the group was from the states except for him.

Reynolds, who hails from the UK, reminded everyone that virtual worlds and video games and MMOs attract inhabitants and users from all over the globe, not just the U.S., and different countries have different laws on the books and different mores. Reynolds’ comments were handled well and with good-natured humor, and as far as I was concerned, it was a point well taken.

Cheers.

UPDATE: I just noticed I wrote “digital likness” instead of “digital likeness” in reference to Padea in the first paragraph. Sounds like a Freudian thing. Also, I am looking forward to getting home and going through my notes so I could make a wrap-up post or two on the conference. I have some stuff that I’d definitely like to share.

I asked Brashears if the company planned any interface tweaking that would (directly or indirectly) benefit the facilitation of 3-D simulated sex inside SL’s virtual world. He told me efforts are in fact under way to help address sloppy visual displays users have to put up with while engaging in animations, including sex poses — eg., problems such as virtual genitals not properly lining up with each other during sex simulation, and body parts going through body parts, making the on-screen display look too unrealistic, thereby diminishing user immersion.

“That is something we’re working on. We know that‘s a huge problem,” said Brashears, who couldn‘t provide a time frame for when such updates would be made to the SL client.

I also asked him whether Linden Lab would ever consider adding digital genitals to the world’s standard-issue avatars, versus users having no other option but to buy them at retail, which is currently the case. He said it’s a development that ranks low on the priority list, if at all. “I don’t see that coming any time soon,” he said, adding that would present age-appropriateness issues as far as younger users who reside on SL’s separate teen grid. He also said adding genitalia would present compatibility issues that relate to SL’s body templates.

“Then every texture that was drawn to (those templates) would break,” he said.

Brashears said the user-created genitalia that’s currently available in-world is sufficient enough at the moment. But he added that including such virtual body parts with avatars’ basic anatomies may be something the company might seriously consider doing in the long term in the general interest of improving the overall appearance of stock avatars.

Brashears also did not foresee the company incorporating sex animations into the interface any time soon. Users currently can purchase animation overrides and pose balls to execute such displays.

Another interesting tidbit that’s not specifically sex-related: Brashears said that Linden Lab is currently working on enhancements aimed at reducing the amount of time it takes brand-new users to get the hang of the interface and become acclimated with in-world navigation. Currently, a considerable amount of new users spend up to four hours trying to get a rough idea of how to make their way around SL (I am guessing this negatively affects the tally of user accounts.) Linden Lab would like to see that four-hour time frame reduced to 30 minutes, Brashears said.

Utherverse Inc. president Ray Schwartz (makers of RedLightCenter), who looks to be dealing with the press.

Of all the sights and goings on that I didn’t blog about today, the one I most regret entails a bronze-skinned, blond female who was distributing conference goodie bags to attendees and speakers as they checked in at the door. She had plump breasts and wore a white bikini. Yum. Tomorrow, I swear, my first order of business will be to snap an image of her sexiness and then post it.

I just got back a little while ago from dinner at a trendy Asian place with a nice group that included Black Love Interactive founder Kelly Rued (an enchanting woman), author and Wired News columnist Regina Lynn (she’s EXTREMELY cool), pixel artist Andrea Fryer, who flew in from Finland to be here, Terra Nova and Gamasutra writer (among other roles) Ren Reynolds, and a number of others. Also, I had the pleasure today of finally meeting Heroine Sheik blogger Bonnie Ruberg (a cool person), who was covering the conference for Wired. Lastly, I got to meet Brenda Brathwaite. Also very cool.

My panel (Pleasing the Player: What Emergent Sex Can Teach Developers) went well, although the first few minutes were a little bumpy due to some nervousness among speakers (Andrea Fryer and I in particular). A pair of company execs, a reporter from France (!) and some others approached me afterward for further discussion, so I took that as a good sign.

A good portion of the content in today’s lectures — and even some of the panels — seemed to amount to the equivalent of a crash course in simulated sex aimed specifically at bringing people up to speed, specifically developers and companies that lacked substantial background on the topic but wanted to cash in on its growing popularity. It seems that spirit of give and take, after all, relates to one of the big reasons why this conference was put together in the first place: to build a mutually beneficial relationship between the adult entertainment and video game industries.

During a break at the Sex in Video Games Conference.

Dave Taylor just gave a presentation on the future of technology and sex, and I gotta say, the future looks bright, based on the images and clips shown during his lecture. Drool-inducing depictions of graphically rendered bodies filled the screen as he spoke. I mean, some were really hot, with attendees falling silent for brief moments as they watched.

“There’s a lot of awesome skin simulation technology going on,” said Taylor, who also outlined the latest strides as far as motion capture technology.

This morning, Brenda Brathwaite gave an engaging and lively talk that amounted to a veritable State of the Sex in Video Games address. Brathwaite said media attention given to simulated sex lately has been a plus for the industry as a whole. “We’ve had lots of press coverage. All positive press coverage. It’s been a great year for that,” she said.

She also dished out some marketing advice to the crowd, which totaled about 100 or more people and included game developers and other content creators, businesspeople in the field, and folks from the adult entertainment industry. Brathwaite said if nookie is played up too big as far as marketing and distribution aimed at the mainstream, it’ll backfire. “If you sensationalize it (sex), you can kiss big-box stores goodbye,” she said.

Two games that include adult content yet have been successful in mainstream marketing because the sex is not magnified are God of War, and The Sims 2, Brathwaite said.

However, if sex is the main or sole aspect of a video or computer game, then a good idea might be to tailor the marketing and distribution campaign accordingly, Brathwaite said. “Instead of selling the way games are traditionally sold, sell the way porn is traditionally sold,” she said.

Just kidding.

I am in San Francisco, I’ve checked into my hotel room, and I am connected to the Internet. Life is good. Now all I need is a good-looking naked person in my room and I’ll be all set.

It’s kind of quiet here right now (perhaps due to the fact that the conference is at a different hotel.) This is in sharp contrast to the plane ride, which was a tad on the bumpy side (that’s an understatement) due to crappy weather. But here in San Fran, it’s sunny, but extremely windy. And chilly, might I add. Feels like it’s in the 60s. I guess that’s chilly for me, since I live in the desert.

Anyhow, I’m supposed to hook up later with several conference-goers to grab a bit to eat at one of the local joints — maybe put down a few in the process. Beers, that is. See you soon.

I’ll have my camera with me, so I’ll also be somewhat of a roving photographer, as well as an oversexed blogger who will be following his nose for interesting stuff to cover. Which won’t be that hard, considering the roster of speakers and interesting talks that are scheduled. Have you seen the agenda? It kicks ass. As some may already know, I’ll be on the panel called Pleasing the Player: What Emergent Sex Can Teach Developers.

Outside of that, one panel discussion that I’ll be VERY keen on attending is the one titled Morals & Ethics & Sex & Games. Among those slated to participate are an attorney whose specialty is free speech and censorship issues, and a Free Speech Coalition staffer. Yes, I will be scrutinizing words, and hoping the discussion is not laden with legalese. Here’s the official synopsis for what sorts of issues that panel will be addressing:

Verrrry interesting. *rests a finger to lip, raising an eyebrow* OK, once more on this one though:

Should consensual sexual violence be allowed in virtual worlds?

The short answer: Yep, particularly if BDSM is considered ‘violence’ in this inquiry.

Anyhow, keep in mind that I am a live-blogging virgin and will be popping my proverbial cherry at this event. So, I have no idea how smoothly this will go. I can tell you this: I’ve been a news journalist (now an editor) for daily print media for some eight years, so I’m no stranger to covering stuff. Only thing is, I don’t expect to be making newsy posts. Nope. I do not wish to be so formal. My chief aim will be to provide an overall sense of what’s going on and what’s being said, ideally including glimpses from behind the scenes. Perhaps there will even be firsthand accounts of me having panic attacks inside my hotel room the night before my panel!

UPDATE: OK, like I said, the site is up, but it seems to be loading really slowly. Hopefully, that’ll be addressed soon, as DreamHost just posted that things are nearly back to normal, but not quite yet.

UPDATE 2: It seems the site lag has subsided and everything is back to normal.

Game Today, which is published by the news site De Telegraaf in the Netherlands, has posted a piece dealing with sex in Second Life; the story seems to be spun around virtual escorts. The piece is published in Dutch, so you can feed the URL into a site like this one from AltaVista if you wanted to check out a rough English translation. And when I say rough, I mean rough. In fact, my comments — and the entire post, for that matter — still read more or less like gibberish even post-translation.

Snippet:

Also Noche Kandora, in the virtual world improve as Cheri mosquito net barrel confessed, do report of the sexual side of Second life, but then with another angle. On its site, Apogeevr.com, they it has mainly concerning adult interpersoonlijke relations and everything what at comes there look at. “I have been interested in how users handle each other in virtual surroundings and the resemblances and differ between that and relations in the real world. Especially the differences are interesting! Thus enormously much manifest themselves of those relations in Second life as cyberseksueel. I think that the security and anonymity which this way’n virtual world with itself brings with us the threshold concerning to help ours deepest like to express.”

As you might have noticed, one of my quotes is even followed by an exclamation point, which I did not use in my e-mailed responses to the journalist. I mean, I am enthusiastic about cybersex, but I am not manic. It is a choppy translation, although I did get a kick out of this phraseology: “I have been interested in how users handle each other in virtual surroundings …” Hmm. I guess you can say that.

One more snippet:

Sex is possible therefore, however, work in a game, although Second life are of course far from a standard game. “I do not consider it once as a game. It is a virtual world, where you can see clearly what our still to wait state in interpersoonlijk and commercial area outside the real world,” thus Kandora.

Yes, thus Kandora.

So that’s the extent of my comments in that piece. But I thought I would post my verbatim responses (with the journalist’s consent) to four of the questions I was asked during the interview. I mean, I went through the trouble of answering these and I want to see them posted, goddamn it. Actually, the main reason I am posting this is I thought it was pertinent. Also, I may very well use some of it for my About page. I don’t expect to routinely post interview transcripts.

** When did you start your ’second life’ and when was it that you became sexually active in the ‘game’?
I first logged into Second Life in September 2005. After spending the next several weeks getting acquainted with the interface and becoming acclimated to the in-world environment, I began growing curious about cybersexual interaction. I did not lose my virtual virginity until January 2006, so I think I may have been somewhat of a late bloomer, considering the prevalence of sex in Second Life and the relatively relaxed attitudes about it among users — although SL is not merely one big orgy.

I am guessing that a lot of SL newbies have their first cybersexual encounter rather early on in comparison to me. But for me personally, it took a while for a few reasons, including the fact that inhabitants pretty much have to grope around on their own to learn about engaging sexually in Second Life, due chiefly to the fact that sex is not a standard part of the SL interface. Rather, it is an emergent behavioral component of the in-world experience. Another reason is simply because I did not have the spare time to interact in SL as often as I would have liked, so getting savvy about 3-D cybersex and finding a partner was a relatively slow process.

** Why did you start a blog about your virtual sexual life?
Apogeevr.com initially had a broader scope: in the beginning, it focused on virtual reality in general. But I ultimately decided to dedicate Apogeevr.com exclusively to simulated sex and avatar relationships in Second Life. I do blog about my own virtual erotic encounters in Second Life, but it would be inaccurate to say that the blog is solely about me — or the virtual me. Apogeevr.com’s goal is to cover the more expansive spectrum of adult relationships in SL.

Part of my motivation for maintaining Apogeevr.com is that I am genuinely interested in user behavior in virtual environments, and the ways in which it compares with how we conduct ourselves in the physical world. There are similarities that pique my interest, such as how genuine human emotions can come into play when users engage with one another romantically in a virtual environment. But the differences are perhaps more striking and fascinating. And it seems that a good number of them — the ones that I personally find riveting, anyway — tend to manifest themselves in the context of cybersexual interaction, based on what I’ve observed. (Note the shameless, repetitive plugging of Apogeevr.com… OK, back to my verbatim responses.)

For example, I think a place like Second Life can be more conducive to the exploration and expression of our more primal urges because of the sense of safety and anonymity that an online 3-D environment can provide. In this regard, some people are simply more human in virtual space as compared with out in the physical world, as incongruous as that may sound. People are much more apt to self-edit and curb their baser urges in real life, even in consensual situations where they would have the leeway to indulge in such behavior.

So if you’re someone who likes to study and write about the more unfettered forms of lust and human expression, which I do, I think being inside a virtual environment like Second Life provides a great vantage point, since in a lot of instances, one is granted a more candid glimpse of true human nature. In addition, maintaining Apogeevr.com is fun, as is Second Life.

** Of course, Second Life isn’t really a standard game, but would you say that sex adds to the gameplay? Or does gameplay add to the sex?
Firstly, I would like to point out that I do not consider Second Life to be a game. I consider it a virtual world — albeit a primitive one due to the industry-wide technological strides that still need to made in terms of rendering these sorts of environments. Nevertheless, I do in fact see it as a virtual world, reflecting a dawning medium for human interaction and commerce.

And since I consider Second Life a virtual world — and one with a huge social component — I believe that cybersex does add to the experience. In fact, I think the sex component is crucial. This is particularly the case because Second Life, just as its very name suggests, functions in many regards as a synthetic parallel to the physical world, I think. So, why should a parallel of real life be without sex? I mean, the personality extensions that are manifested inside the virtual space of Second Life are not without their sexual needs and desires.

** Do you play games other than Second Life, and if so, which (both sexually themed and not)? If not, why not?
Like I said, I do not consider Second Life to be a game. Also, I am not a gamer. I do not play video games or computer games.

“I was hoping to see some equal time for the relationship part of it. Not all sex,” Emily said in an IM to me on Sunday, after she formally offered herself to her new virtual master Kasmodian Nephilim during a collaring ceremony that took place in the public square of a large BDSM sim inside SL’s virtual world.

I caught a few glimpses of the proceedings, but I missed most of them, and not by choice. The lag was thick due to high user density (the event was pretty well-attended), causing me to crash about a zillion times. Luckily, a friend inside the world (thanks, KC!) managed to get me a transcript, which was oozing with heartfelt sentiments that Kasmodian and Emily expressed to one another via text in front of a dozen or so of their friends and acquaintances.

“I find myself wanting to care for you in a way that I never knew possible and therefore I have decided to offer you myself as a gift,” Emily told Kasmodian at the ceremony.

“I accept your submission to me in front of the witnesses that have gathered here today,” Kasmodian said, “and let it be known on this day that I have accepted you as mine, that I will honor the gift you have given to me and fulfill all your needs. In front of the witnesses that have gathered here today, I place my collar around your neck as a binding symbol of unity between a master and his submissive, a collar that no other shall own nor command, a collar that will signify the fact that I will protect, honor, respect and cherish you for the days to come. With this collar I do bind you to me in submission, and let it be known that I am Kasmodian Nephilim, Master to Emily Darrow.”

SL resident Marc Walcott said the way the collaring was conducted reflected the values he is trying to cultivate at the Black Rose Inn & Dungeons sim, where the ceremony took place. Marc co-owns Black Rose with his SL wife Ivy Thatch.

“… Here at Black Rose we are actually aiming to promote a true D/s style, whereas with the sexual element of D/s we are also bringing in the social, friendship, caring and loving aspect which is lacking in SL D/s and BDSM,” he explained.

The philosophy seemed to be embodied in the comments that Emily and Kasmodian exchanged.

“Will you submit to me, Little one, knowing that I will be loving but firm and that I will expect your love and obedience in return?” Kasmodian said.

“To submit is to exchange weakness for strength, intelligence for foolishness and bravery for fear,“ Emily said. “Submission is the ultimate in trust and from that trust the ultimate in love.”

The couple’s relationship is three-plus weeks old, and they refrained from 3-D cybersex until after the ceremony, Emily explained to me in an IM. “… Even though sex is important it’s not always the reason for a D/s relationship,” Emily wrote.

Photo Credits
Collaring photos: (second and fourth images) Second Life resident Marc Walcott
Reception photos (first and third images): Noche Kandora

At any rate, I’ve never been to one of these, so I can’t say for sure exactly what it’s going to entail. Is there an exchanging of vows during the ceremony, or any other profession of commitment, for example? We’ll see. From what I can gather, it’s a proceeding during which the master/mistress formally takes ownership of the submissive partner. And in my initial opinion, it’s a romantic public expression and acknowledgement of the dom-sub dynamic in the relationship.

I am sometimes astonished at how many users engage in BDSM-oriented relationships in Second Life. But I guess the relative prevalence of these sorts of bonds is not so mind-boggling when you consider the sexual repression a lot of people in the physical world are subjected to, whether it be by law, by misguided personal choice, because of twisted religious convictions, or whatever.

I wonder what the numbers would be like if you were to compare the amount of people enjoying BDSM in Second Life with those who are participating in such pleasures in real life. I think it’s safe to say there would be a big imbalance in the numbers. And you probably already know which realm of human existence would boast the higher total.

People always talk about what lofty/altruistic goals virtual worlds could achieve: fostering world peace, serving as an educational tool, etc. I say that one of the greatest contributions virtual worlds could make is serving as a place for positive sexual experimentation — a sort of ‘sandbox’ for lust that can provide some encouragement for users to take with them into the real world, as well as help them become more acclimated and comfortable with regard to their darker desires.

In this sense, virtual worlds can help boost the numbers of people in the physical world who are fully comfortable exploring and expressing their more base erotic urges, such as consensually beating and mistreating their sexual partners. Hey, then maybe we’d even have world peace as a residual effect because more people would feel less inclined to be ill-tempered, thanks to their cathartic outlet.

So, yeah, the sub (bride?) tells me she has a beautiful dress picked out for tomorrow’s occasion. I wonder what her master has in mind in terms of his own appearance.

Related reading: To have, to love and to beat.

Also, I just added a new plugin to Apogeevr for incoming links (there it is in the sidebar). Right now, it may be making the site look a little quirky, such as by breaking the layout if you’re using Internet Explorer. The culprit is the top link (which is ironically from my new site). I’m hoping the official link title “5fingerpie” kicks in soon so that the consecutive characters will be broken up, thereby clearing up the problem. I’ve noticed that the page also takes a bit longer to download at times. Don’t like that. If I keep experiencing these types of problems, then I’ll just deactivate the damn plugin. We’ll see what happens.

I also wanted to mention that I plan to live-blog the Sex in Video Games Conference, where I’ll be on one of the panels. I also plan to attend most of the lectures and moderated discussions. I don’t expect I’ll be blogging the event from a newsy angle. I’ll merely be blogging my experiences and observations. I plan on taking notes through a lot of it, so some of the posts may include some really informative tidbits.

And shit, I’ve yet to book my flight!

Update: I nixed the incoming links plugin. ‘Twas getting on my nerves.

At any rate, I read an interesting post today at 3pointD.com about how voice is to be integrated into the interface of the massively multiplayer sci-fi game EVE Online. What I thought was particularly interesting was how the company that created Second Life apparently viewed bringing voice into its own virtual space.

“Part of what’s stopped Linden Lab from bringing in voice support, though, according to the Lindens I’ve spoken to, is that it would break the immersion of the world for many residents,” 3pointD.com’s Mark Wallace writes.

This would more than likely be true in a lot of cases. For example, I think it’s safe to say there are many users in Second Life whose real-life voices wouldn’t exactly be a perfect fit for the various personae they take on in their synthetic surroundings. I mean, could you envision a fire-breathing dragon speaking like a 19-year-old girl? Or a voluptuous female avatar conversing in the timbre of Barry White?

Granted, there are already users in Second Life who use voice to augment their in-world experience at their own discretion via outside communications tools such as Skype. But like I explained, that can shatter immersion for a good many users.

That’s why I am intrigued when I read the forward-looking musings of staffers from Vivox, the company behind the voice program being integrated into EVE Online. In the past, I’ve read quotes from Vivox execs explaining how they plan to ultimately develop “voice fonts,” so that users can customize their voice inflections to better suit their virtual selves. What I wonder is if one’s avatar would be able to lip-synch along with their in-world speech. I also wonder what the audio quality would be like, as well as how the feature would be actuated from a logistics standpoint. For instance, would one be able to wear a headset that could be used in lieu of a computer mic?

Regardless, I’d be very interested in using a voice font feature should it ever be incorporated into the Second Life interface. At this point, I can’t even venture to guess if I’d like it or not unless I actually experience it. I have no idea how it would affect my own immersion. Perhaps after using it, I would continue to enjoy typing text instead. Then again, texting can be pretty annoying at times during avatar sex. I mean, your hands are already busy trying to execute the act on the screen, which can involve using both the mouse and the keyboard. And your hands may be busy doing other things, too. Ya know?

On the flip side, perhaps the less we engage with the keyboard and mouse, the less likely we are to connect with the on-screen depictions. It’s been my experience, through reading and observing, that the less a user is tactilely or physically involved with the interface, the more likely he or she is to lose interest. Which also brings up the question, how far should developers of games and virtual worlds go in simplifying the 3D virtual sex interface, or just the virtual environment interface in general? I guess perhaps the really competent ones might already have a sense of the answer to that question. Or not. Dunno.

The old marketing adage that it pays to advertise is not only helpful for greasing the wheels of commerce, but I find the same holds true when it comes to publicizing some juicy details about yourself while roaming a sprawling virtual world like Second Life.

My experience as an SL inhabitant has been greatly enhanced over the past month or so, ever since I deliberately touched up my avatar profile to be more telling about who I was as a real-life individual. For example, it displays the names of several groups that I now belong to, including ones involving non-traditional gender identification and sexuality, which, I think, is a tactful way of communicating such information.

This has translated into dividends for me, being a biologically male user who identifies as gender binary in real-life, yet interacts in-world with a female avatar. (Oh, what a tangled [World Wide] web!) Anyway, because my profile is now a closer reflection of what sort of sexual animal I am, I don’t have to feel like I am trying to pull the wool over someone’s eyes, particularly if I wind up luring a hetero male or strictly lesbian avatar into the sack, for example. I mean, as long as a user knows how to read — in this case, my profile — and adheres to the age-old motto of look before you leap, I think he or she will be spared any unwelcome surprises down the road, if you know what I’m saying.

(By the way, my ratings suck, so try not to look at them in that photo. More people need to give me some points already!)

OK, where was I? Oh yeah. I also have found that posting revealing details in one’s avatar profile — whether displaying likes and dislikes, interests, fetishes, sexual orientations or whatever — helps make for a more efficient virtual existence, particularly in that it significantly reduces the amount of time one would otherwise have to spend in-world seeking out inhabitants who can make your own experience more enriched.

I guess all this can be regarded as a bit silly — the notion that I even give a hoot about these matters, considering the fact that Second Life is based in large part on role play, including swapping gender. But still, I think there is always an element of risk of being accused of misrepresenting oneself (or at least the anticipatory fear of such an accusation), especially if a given online 3D relationship blossoms emotionally on a premise that later comes crumbling down on the revelation of certain truths.

On a related and somewhat futuristic note, these matters got me to thinking about whether it would be beneficial or detrimental (or a little of both) to have some personal profile information within immediate reach of others we interact with in real life via some form of advanced computer technology.

What I’m trying to say is, a craftily composed profile can contribute to a more rewarding experience in virtual space. Would a similar information source that may ultimately become available through some interface in the physical world make our lives on this planet more efficient, fruitful and enjoyable? Wouldn’t it help us cut to the chase by allowing us to know more details about one another up front, including the aspects of ourselves that we try to hide but would be better off being expressed and exposed from the onset?

Or would such openness demand too high a price, at the expense of the unmediated mystery and adventure of courting others or just interacting with people in general? Maybe a virtual world is the only place where relaxed, before-the-fact disclosure is feasible, being as there may simply be too many risks involved with such unprecedented divulgence in the physical world. Or maybe there’s a middle ground to be staked out.

Kelly asks, Are toons sexier than the real thing? That’s a good question to throw out there. I suppose there is a pretty significant degree of appeal to a graphically rendered person who’s so recognizably made of pixels, perhaps partially due to the fact that real-life bodily imperfections are banished in favor of idealized physical traits. And like Bossgator commented in the thread, virtual incarnations can help us venture outside the everyday and immerse us in fantasy — I would say an experience akin to looking at the glossy pictures of the air-brushed models gazing out from the pages of adult magazines.

Regardless, as I’ve mentioned in the post below, the best damn digital depiction I’ve laid eyes on so far is the female dancer in DreamStripper. I’ve yet to see something like that inhabiting Second Life, and I am very skeptical as to whether it’s even possible to create an avatar in SL that is as convincing-looking, specifically in terms of skin texture, anatomical detail and authentic-appearing facial features. But I could be entirely wrong. In fact, I’d like to interview someone knowledgeable about skins in Second Life who also can speak about the topic with authority and some eloquence.

Rolling in Linden cash
Anyway, to take a drastic turn in terms of topic so I could end this post on a self-congratulatory note, I made L$1300 yesterday from a client at my Second Life BDSM dungeon, in what amounted to roughly an hour’s worth of sadistic beatings, verbal lashings and sex. The sum translates to a whopping $4.67 in U.S. currency, based on the Linden Lab (makers of Second Life) exchange rate earlier today. OK, so it’s chump change, but it was a personal best for me in terms of earnings from a single customer. And the total should even take care of about a week’s worth of land-use payments for my large, in-world property where my land-hog castle is located.

Would ya look at her? What I want to know is, why can’t I get my Second Life avatar to have an appearance like that? I mean, photorealistically speaking. The obvious answer is, different clients: the redhead above was rendered with DreamStripper, created by Ensign Games, versus the redhead that is my alter ego (Cheri Horton) inside Second Life.

Cheri’s a looker, it’s true. But she’s much more toonish in appearance, like other Second Life avatars tend to be, whereas Ensign Games’ erotic dancer is a lot more evocative of a real babe, in the face, particularly. I just hope that one day, within a reasonable time frame, the Second Life user — myself included, obviously, — will be able to whip up an avatar as uncanny as the voluptuous incarnation you see above without having to possess any sort of extensive knowledge of custom-tailoring skins. After all, I’m a user. I want to hit the ground running and not have to pull my hair out trying to create something that will help me suspend disbelief during virtual world interaction — particularly when engaging in 3D cybersex.

If you take a much closer look at the DreamStripper photo shown above, as well as this one here, you’ll notice how much more polished the depiction of the human form is compared with the more primitive-looking synthetic beings inside Second Life — based on what I’ve seen, anyway. Aside from the more precise portrayal of the face, take special note of the vividness of the stomach, the lifelikeness of the knees, and the relatively convincing impression given by the hands. In fact, the hands and the feet of Second Life avatars are what seem to be in need of the most improvement.

Still, despite all of its points in the visually-true-to-life department, where DreamStripper falls short is when its avatar bends at the limbs and joints, as you can see here. Additionally, SL has a big benefit over DreamStripper in that it gives users the advantage of creating avatars that resemble nearly anything or anyone their heart desires. In other words, to a large degree, users are ideally not confined to a certain mold, as is the case with DreamStripper (as far as I know, since I have never actually played DreamStripper.)

Enter CryoGen

At any rate, one Second Life resident who may be able to help her fellow users overcome flawed digital embodiments is skin-maker Michelle Margetts, shown above. Michelle, who says she created her own avatar to be a facsimile of her real-life self, is the founder, owner and operator of the CryoGen Lab Cloning Facility on the Makkeolli sim, coordinates 44,242,54.

Michelle, who hails from Denmark in real life, sells photorealistic skins inside her 19,456-square-meter Second Life business. She has already reproduced the likenesses of a number of Hollywood stars, and now is beginning to concentrate her efforts on trying to digitally duplicate SL residents’ real-life appearances.

“At CryoGen Lab, we always try to give you the best and most diverse skins in SL,” Michelle tells would-be customers on a promotional note card she makes available inside her business. “Therefore, we are now offering a new product line called: CryoGen ‘Unique You’ Skin. This skin will be custom built based on you! Yes… YOU…! With a picture of your ‘Real Self,’ we can recreate a 3D texture for your SL Avatar. All we need is a high quality picture of your face.”

Not only are her Photoshop-rendered skins closer to real life than what may be achievable by the average in-world consumer who tinkers and endlessly tweaks with Second Life’s avatar customization tools, but they also offer a largely unprecedented element of uniqueness, given the fact that they are fashioned based on users’ real-life appearances — theoretically guaranteeing that no two avatars will be the same.

As of now, there are numerous clones inhabiting Second Life, due to the fact that countless users have comparatively limited knowledge as far as custom-tailoring their standard-issue avatars, and lots of users merely purchase mass-produced, pre-fabricated skins when they want to enhance the usability and image of their in-world personae.

Still, that said, I believe there are still limitations on how real you can make an avatar appear in Second Life’s virtual world. I’m certainly no expert, but I’m guessing that may be partially because of the nature of the platform itself, as well as any shortcomings in Second Life skin templates, such as the ones depicted in the photo at left. Maybe there’s even a need for more highly-skilled skin creators. Again, I know none of this for sure, and I certainly lack any semblance of technical expertise in this area. I am merely offering commentary from the perspective of a user — and one who happens to demand greater immersion from the virtual world I inhabit.

Second Life Photorealism set posted on Flickr.