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During a recent office hour, a number of fine folks joined me on an excursion to a Region that gets much deserved praise, but that most of us had only seen in pictures.  And I must insist… although they give you a taste of the neon adventure that awaits, pictures do little justice to Spiral Walcher’s work,

You start your voyage in a realistic environment and perpetual darkness, I suspect as contrast to what comes next.  Following the glowing footsteps leads you to the start of your magical journey (or a souvenir shop depending on which way you go) where it’s down the acid-trippy rabbit hole you go!  Briefly separated as we plunge one at a time through the electric entryway, we arrive at the start of what turns out to be a familiar preface - the traditional amusement park lineup where you wait for the next car to arrive.  Or in this case, the next teacup.

While waiting for our whole crew’s descent, a couple rushes by us like excited kids who just finished their first go and are running back to the start for a second, while a more reserved couple stands by, hesitant about which might be the appropriate vehicle…are they simply Friends or is a Couples teacup more appropriate?  Leaving the two to giggle and flirt a bit, and hoping they make the right decision, we split up by fours and cup by cup are immersed in the Glow!

GLOW, a feature enabled in Second Life specifically by your GPU, really powers the wow factor in the Tunnel of Light.  It’s a fun ride regardless, but having Glow turns this digital landscape into a neon nirvana.  So be sure you’ve enabled Shaders to really get the most out of the experience.

In our travels we float on electrical currents via bone china under monster dragonflies and past giant trees.  At a distance the fine mesh of neon lines and their fog of Glow (see above) creates a haze that acts as a kind of atmospheric perspective and keeps foreground items like your cup full of friends in sharp contrast.  It’s an emmersive effect unlike any other I’ve seen in SL.

The ride proceeds at a pace that you can choose (fast or slow) and, should you want to take a bit of a break, allows you to pull off the path to let other teacups float by while you pause.  With this group of chatty office hour regulars, the slow ride is a good opportunity to goof around a bit and enjoy not just the charged scenery, but good company.

A bit later I had a chance to talk to Spiral about how he creates the patterns of light, and was surprised to find that I had guessed all wrong…

Blue Linden: hmmm so no sculpties involved?
Spiral Walcher: nope
Spiral Walcher: i very, very, VERY rarely use sculpties
Blue Linden: i just assumed
Spiral Walcher: most do
Blue Linden: they seem to trace intricate shapes
Spiral Walcher: most people also think all of my stuff is particles.  lol
Blue Linden: hehe that’s not too surprising
Blue Linden: since i discovered SL it’s become easy for me to see the difference when games use one or the other
Spiral Walcher: yeah
Blue Linden: i don’t know if I would have made the distinction before
Blue Linden: now I spend time playing games and saying “how can I do that in SL”
Spiral Walcher: heh.  same here
Spiral Walcher: Crysis gave me a lot to figure out with glow here
Blue Linden: oh really
Spiral Walcher: yeah.  they use a lot of glow highlights in the alien section of Crysis
Blue Linden: oh that’s right
Blue Linden: that’s a pretty game alright
Spiral Walcher: pretty?
Spiral Walcher: just pretty?
Spiral Walcher: it’s damned sexy
Blue Linden: lol
Blue Linden: okay, it’s hardware bendingly pretty

I find it reassuring that despite my 6 years of bending prims every which way, of all the conversations about how sculpties make regular prims obsolete, and of all the amazing things I’ve seen inworld…that someone can come along and make something simple yet elegant that really inspires.

Rezzable’s Tunnel Of Light page
Tunnel Of Light machinima by rockerfaerie

Special thanks to the cool people, and nekos, and hellhounds, and robots who joined me on this Eureka Field Trip.  Good times!

Hi, Madhavi Linden here again, bringing you a fresh batch of projects developed by Solution Providers (SPs) for you to enjoy. I am always looking for new (or at least new to many) and fun experiences created by SPs for residents, so if you have any suggestions, please add them to the comments. Happy exploring!

Get a unique perspective on art and design at LOCUS. In this developing art community, you can ride up an art installation (see a view from inside the Urban Spectre below), walk through photographs, and otherwise immersive yourself in the artwork of both Second Life and real life artists and designers (Solution Provider: David Denton Architects)

Unleash your inner soccer (football) player! Join the v-Soccer community, where, using a HUD, you can compete in a variety of matches, events and tournaments with residents from around the world. Hear the roar of the crowd as you score the winning goal for your team. (Solution Provider: ISN Virtual Worlds)

Want to get back to nature without leaving Second Life? Then visit Naturum Island Resort where you can cast your line out and catch some fish, catch some waves, or catch some rays in a beautiful and relaxing setting. (Solution Provider: Metabirds)

Meet me in St. Louis! Visit the St. Louis Arch, take a ride on the steamboat, and experience a taste of what St. Louis has to offer. Want to see more? You can go under the Arch to purchase tickets to visit the Arch in real life and speak live with a staff member from the St. Louis Visitor’s Commission. (Solution Provider: Designing Digitally)

For more information on Solution Provider projects, please visit the Solution Provider Directory

For more information on the Solution Provider Program, please visit the SecondLifeGrid website