Meta Grinding and Nemo

Second Life so many stories that I try not to clog Terra Nova with them, but two articles on New World Notes deserve your attention. The first, “Evolving Nemo”, details the creation of evolving AI creatures within Second Life. While boids and genetic algorithms built on top of SL’s scripting language are interesting, what pushes this effort over the top is the use of shared code and standards within SL’s ALife group. The second, “Grinding the World” covers the exploits of residents determined to ride skateboards all over Second Life. What sets this effort apart from previous attempts is that they’ve actually built a board that’s fun to ride (and shot a video to show what it can do). It certainly isn’t THUG 2 yet, but there is something magical about grinding a 30 meter tall replica of Tintin ‘s rocket with a group of friends! It’s amazing what SL’s residents make as they combine community, creation, and markets with a pinch of physics and scripting.