For those who don't know what Second Life is, it's...Well, to be fair, it's not easy to explain. I can say it's a simulation game, but it's more than that. It's really not a game at all, but a whole virtual world with its own money system. Very much like the real world, you need money (or Lindens) to get by.
I first encountered Second Life back in 2007. I believe I played various accounts until about 2010. I think that's the right date because I remember "building" homes in my mind as I tried to sleep at the hospital, waiting on word about my mother. (Spoiler: the news wasn't good)
I went back in late 2018. This account, Iphigena, is not my main one. Instead, I am challenging myself to be different. Or difficult. See, if you were to log on to Second Life now, you'd be amazed at how much it grew and the fashion changes. Among those changes is mesh bodies. Everything is made for these mesh bodies, and the classic system avatars of 2007 are, well, a thing of the past. Thus, I have challenged myself to go through as long as I can with a free account and no mesh body. I will earn my own Lindens and only buy what I can, as long as it serves on a classic avatar body.
So, a history lesson. As I said, I originally started back in 2007. I remember my first avatar well. I really liked her, and wish I had some way of saving her. Alas, she is gone. A moment of silence for my first fallen.
Since I don't have any pictures of her anymore (and, indeed my darlings, I don't think I ever saved any pictures, to begin with) I must rely on the internet and pray I could find what looked right. I will admit now, I have shamelessly stolen the following pictures. But never fear darlings, I did put in their original URL so the original posters do get credit.
From https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-get-started-in-second-life-in-10-easy-steps/
Now, I swear my first avatar was the second female down. If not her, then I ended up making my avatar very similar. I'm also almost positive I used or looked at the last female avatar on that row. But I will tell you, darlings, my memory is not the best. I forget what I had for breakfast five minutes after eating. I think I may be part cat in that aspect.
From http://adam-n-eve.co.uk/
Now, I think she may have been the start of an ALT of mine back in the day. From the webpage, she was part of a new default avatar set around 2008 or so. So, that's roughly right. Plus, to those starting Second Life, she is available for free in your Default Library as "The Girl Next Door".
So, even in the little time I started, you can see a difference in the avatars. Our little woman in the pink dress was, at that time, considered the height of awesome for default avatars. Ah, but times have changed.
Which brings me to now and my challenge. While I do love many of the mesh advancements, I believe we can all agree they can get expensive. So, my challenge is to live in Second Life for as long as I can, as close to a classic system avatar as possible. Not only that but as a full free avatar, meaning I will not "pay" myself or use my main account to "gift" this account with anything. For now, anything I buy will be through Lindens earned through working in Second Life or finding ways to make money. I will post on those later.
So, let's see Iphigena, shall we?
Iphigena, the Default
Here she is, darlings! This is who I started life as this time around. Not bad, given that she is a default avatar. In fact, had I used her back in 2007, I would have been considered beautiful and on the cutting edge. She's rather cute, really. But, alas, as cute as she is, she's still a default.
I went out and made a few Lindens first. I spent those Lindens to fix myself up.
Iphigena, the Second
Not too shabby, and she cost me only about $5L. The shape was handmade by modifying a default shape. As I sorta mentioned, Iphigena is not my main account. She's an ALT. In my main account, I have a habit of writing the portions of shapes I like and saving them on my computer. I pulled those measurements up and created a shape all my own. Shapes are the cheapest things you can make. As I said, this one didn't cost me a Linden, as I modified it to fit my needs.
The skin is from Seven Deadly S{k}ins. It's a $1L system skin called Kandice v 2, probably the only system skin they have now. I love their store, and use them for my main account. So, the skin is quality, and a real steal at that price.
The hair is from Rezology, called Breakthrough. Again, only cost $1L. This company has a few $1L items to buy, and they are quality as well. I have a few of them saved for when I go shopping.
The shirt is from Sea Hole, where everything is $1L and basically made for classic avatars. I think I found my first favorite shop.
The pants are from Larry Jeans. It's from the Dollarabie pack, so guess how much it was. Yep. $1L. So nice, darlings.
The shoes, though you can't see them, are free flats I got on Orientation Island. You can complete some obstacles to help you learn how to do various skills in Second Life and are rewarded with fake dollars that you can use only there to learn how to buy. I got the shoes and that was it.
So, for about $5L, I was able to create a very nice avatar to start off with. I headed to some Freebie shops and hunted in the Marketplace for deals. I am continuing to make my Lindens, though only a few a day. I'm eager to see how far this journey will take me.
Next up: My attempts at money-making, week 1 and 2.
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