My name is Paystreak people call me Pay
Like Alikakadri (Ali) I was very lucky to have found Noobia quickly
- within three days of coming to SL.
I had come to SL to learn about how it operated and to see
first-hand how it could be used to create financial opportunities for someone
in RL. As an experienced gamer I figured that I was ahead on the curve on the
skills needed to operate in a virtual world. To some degree it may have helped but
right from the start I knew that this was a world that was so variable and
sometimes so bizarre that for the first day I was mostly just trying to grasp
the basics of moving around while surrounded by surreal input from every
direction.
I have described the early days of SL like Mardi Gras on
acid. The surroundings were dreamlike and the people I encountered were either
just as confused as I was or obviously comfortable and operating at a level that
I could only envy. For the first two days I both wallowed and revelled in this
brave new world I had come to. At every turn there was something that made me
wonder just what the heck I was getting into. Within hours of arriving I was
lurching around Galaxy Mall in my starter avatar trying to figure out
....well.....EVERYTHING and finding lots of opportunities to be reminded just how
mind numbingly different things could be here.
I vividly remember standing in the mall looking at a box
labelled “Box of c*cks” and thinking “ok I know what they are but why are they
in a box,.... in a mall.... and who would want to collect them??”
It’s my own fault really. There is ample info about SL on
the net and some great starter learning places. I was even shown some of them
in the getting started intro that came up when I first signed in. I could have
saved myself all sorts of confusion but oh nononono not me, I was just gonna jump
in blind and see where it all lead.
Where it lead was me trying to figure out how to get
anywhere but between the start point and the place I ended up by tapping a
board. I could go back and forth between about four places – a start point –a mall
–another empty store that felt like I was in some sort of apocalypse movie
where I was the last person on earth and a beach where naked people ignored me
until I got like three people trying to chat to me about the most intimate of
stuff. I did not understand the land mark system or tps or how to find new ones
but I knew that sl had to be bigger than that! By a fluke I discovered flying
and thus for maybe an hour began a cross SL trek of the most awkward kind. Fly
really high look down and fly then land someplace new. Fly drop repeat. I was
getting places ....slowly. No rhyme or reason. No direction. I figured that
there had to be easier ways but I was in a hurry to just discover so off I went.
Then I discovered the map and zooming in and out and now I could zap to places
using the map. WOW now I was really getting the hang of this SL thing!
I had no idea how to check on the places I was headed so
every new poof was a doorway to ...something. I had no terms of reference for a
lot of it. Welcome to the Neko club? What the heck is that? Who cares
..next!!!! Vampires?? They got vampires here??!!! Yikes!! NEEEEXT!!!! Another beach
– what is with all these beaches and naked people???? Neeeeext! Well maybe not
in a big hurry – maybe one drink ackkkk! Nexxxt!
By my third day I had seen a lot of stuff that made no sense
and I was busy adding to that pile when I struck disaster. In a attempt to zap
to a new place I got stuck hanging in mid air. I could not move, I could not
see the ground, I was in limbo. I hung there trying things and other than
discovering new ways to move my cam around me I was going nowhere. As I hung in
space I noticed a flashing tab on my chat box. I had used chat maybe three
times talking to people or trying to but the flashy light was new. What the
heck may as well push it, I wasn’t going anywhere anyway.
A new window opened and the words, “Hello are you ok?”
Yikes? Where were they broadcasting from? How did they see
me? Was I trespassing and in trouble?
I replied that I was stuck and could not move and a very
patient person talked me through accepting a tp and getting out of there.
I had been found and saved by a member of Helping Haven. He got
me to the ground in a sim where nobody was speaking English and after some
initial difficulty in communication he figured out I was new (as if THAT wasn’t
obvious) and had no clue (also obvious). He took me to Helping Haven and the
people there were absolutely fantastic. Helpful and kind and very tolerant of
outright dumb. They did not comment about what I had done to my avatar in an
attempt to customize it when I discovered I could play with appearance sliders.
I should not have played with the sliders..............really.
Nevertheless my Frankenavi was not made fun of and I got
some great help. As I wandered around on their parcel grabbing free stuff I didn’t
know how to use and reading things that were over my head I came across a sign
that said “First home in second life – free”, and I thought well I have no idea
why I might need a home but I could be hanging out here awhile so why not, and
I took that tp to Noobia. It was late at night and I landed in an empty hotel
lobby. A sign there explained that new
people under 30 days could get a free apartment for 2 weeks. Sounded good – no idea
why yet but hey it was free and I had an inventory bulging with free stuff so
more free couldn’t hurt. Plus two whole weeks! Man I would have everything
figured out in two weeks noooo problem. I was not sure how I was supposed to
get this apartment so I stood there........hmmmmmmm......... maybe if I read
the sign again.... but harder??? After awhile I followed my usual procedure in
sl and just wandered around looking at everything, taking anything free that
was not nailed down and generally poking at stuff. I came around a corner and
found a bunch of pictures on the wall and figured out that it was a contact
system for staff. I picked one that had a picture of a pretty girl who had a
nice vibe and tapped a board that would change my life. She answered me!!! I
asked about the apartment and she said she would be there to help shortly. I
waited for a minute and then ...wow ....in walked a cute girl with wings (very
attractive in an angelic sorta way) and elf ears, 3 days into sl and it did not
phase me a bit – on her they were perfect***. This was my first time to meet
Elvy, one of Noobia’s hard working volunteer mentors and a person who would
become a big part of my sl life.
My sl adventure was truly about to begin.
***If you are not yet familiar with Second Life and elf ears
and wings seem strange to you, oh lordy are you in for a treat when you come
here! Trust me in two weeks you won’t blink an eye as you stand around chatting
with a 12 foot tall demon, a 3 foot chinchilla, a talking horse, a sorta human
with what look like cat ears and a wagging cat tail, a loin clothed barbarian
princess, and assorted lol “normal” people.
Please refer to my assessment made in the early part of my post...Mardi
Gras.......on acid.......govern yourself accordingly.
No comments:
Post a Comment