From a Creator's PoV - Jan 29

Before we start on this week's topic, I wanted to clarify some thoughts on last week's topic, specifically Mod perms.  There are certainly some very good exceptions, usually involving scripting that could very easily get broken unintentionally if the item is modded.  I still think that allowing someone who is good at modding to receive a moddable version is a good thing, but then I've only made one vehicle in all my time in SL [that being where I heard the most exceptions to the modding bit], so its quite likely it just leads to too many headaches.  So, consider this an addendum to last week.  Some things need to remain no mod for sanity reasons.

Onward to this week's topic.  I originally had this absolutely brilliant idea, but I forgot it, perhaps do to a kerfluffle on an a third party SL [and other things] forum about Gacha machines.  So, since I'm thinking about them anyway, I figured I'd talk about how I feel about them as a creator and as a consumer.

First of all, the whole discussion that brought about this topic for this week is; Are Gacha machines gambling.  Apparently, at least some people think it is, but...  its not, unless buying a pack of CCG cards is gambling, or baseball cards, or using a gumball machine is gambling.  Since, the last time I looked those were legal in states with gambling laws [outside of lotteries, gambling was illegal], I don't see how a similar mechanic that deals in pennies of Real World money would become gambling.

Now, you can have buying addictions; I've known people who had to buy just one more pack of Magic the Gathering cards, because the rare they wanted was in that next one.  And there are folks who will put in thousands of lindens trying to get that rare from the gacha machines in world, too.  But it doesn't make it gambling.  Not gambling in the legal sense.  You always get a prize unless something has gone wrong.  Just like you make a 'gamble' that when you put your quarter into the machine to get a red gumball, you will get a gumball, it just might not be the colour you want.

So, random chance doesn't mean gambling, it means you have a chance of getting the specific thing you want, but you will always get a thing.  Besides, as someone who's favorite colour is blue, I rarely want the rares anyway.  I want a common, and I'm fine not getting the rare.  Of course, you know, then we come to -set- gachas.

Set Gachas are probably a very profitable way to go.  You put money in trying to get the whole set and of course, because of how the RNG works, you end up with 20 or so of one thing, because you don't just get what you haven't gotten before.  I'd never do these myself, because I like to keep things as simple as possible, and this isn't my personal cup of tea.  Still, if each item will work on its own?  Its still ethical, and if there were some pieces I'd be happy with, I'd consider playing them, I just wouldn't be inclined to set up my own machines like this.

Now, my biggest problems with gachas personally is rezzables.  I've gotten some freaking adorable items from gachas, early on; piggies in tea cups, lamps.  But I won't rez them because SL eats things.  So they sit in my inventory.  I myself have always offered to trade out trans items for copy ones, once trading was done.  I -know- that other creators do this too, which is a great thing to offer.  After all, who wants to saddle someone with 20 black and white top hats that they could copy.  Not good business practice, in my opinion anyway.  But you know, they could trade those, then whoever ended up with them would have that option; trade it in for a copy version.

Something folks need to understand though.  Some people might sell their gacha items individually [or in a collector's box], or give you one if they see you've spent a good $10 in real money on the machine and are inclined, HOWEVER, some gacha events have rules/agreements in place where you as a creator can't do that.  And that's fine, there is a culture around those events to allow for a healthy resale market of these things.  Its sort of like breedables, without the constant expense of food.

As a creator, the reason I do not mess with gachas much any more, its a rampaging pain in the arse.  It really is.  I'd say there is about twice as much work into setting up for a gacha, and that's with a supplied machine from the event.  That's not including if you need to make some for yourself.
I won't go much beyond this, this week, since it starts going into a different topic.

And now, as I finish this, I remember my topic idea from the beginning of the week, and it will be something we do next week.  But just a reminder to those who think spending 2k lindens on a gacha machine as being a scam?  That is a whopping $8USD.

A Faerycat on Mars pt 3

And time for another installment of my [literary] adventures on Mars [even if one was actually on Earth].  This has made me realize I really don't read like I used to when I was younger, and encouraged me to pick back up books and devour them again, for which I'm very grateful.  For someone who used to average 5-7 books a day, and not particularly slim volumes, not being able to finish one book in a day makes me think I need to make time for reading again.

And if you haven't read Martian Chronicles, I strongly encourage it.  Its not a big book and its absolutely brilliantly written.

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Xenoanthropology
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The study of ancient cultures has always fascinated me, drawn me like a moth to a flame.  What was this?  What was its purpose?  All questions that crossed my mind as I studied the objects in the Martian house we'd taken as a base as we tried to study and understand the people who'd been here before us.

This exquisite spider figure, with its movable limbs, what purpose did it serve?  Whatever it was, of course, it didn't work now.  Still, it was a lovely thing.  I looked at it, resting on my arm, and wished I could make it work, but alas, such was not to be.

The masks, of course, were not any easier to understand.  The ones we'd found on site reminded me of the comedy and tragedy masks of the ancient Greeks, but I couldn't help wondering if there was another purpose.  With the Martians being all but extinct, there really wasn't anyone to ask.

All these questions, and no real answers easily obtained.  Maybe one day, everything will become cleared, but until then, it is for us to continue to study.

Credits
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Skin: Porcelain [unreleased]
Hands and Feet: Slink
Hair: Magika Dreamy
Eyes: Atomic Faery Faerydust Dust [World Goth Fair 2014]
Wings: Atomic Faery - Bayou Dragonfly Wings [Previous round of The Fantasy Collective]
Tail: NV Fluffy Tail

Outfit
Boots - Bliensen - Kosmonaut Boots [Slink] Martian Dust - Exclusive Colour [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]
Skirt and Top - Greymoon - Martian Dust Outfit [Skirt in Black, Top in Silver] [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]
Eyeshadow - Beautiful Freak - Obake Eyeshadow Blue
Lipstick - Atomic Faery Frosted Indigo over FCD Colourbox Lips blue lined 3

Decor
Table and Chair - 22769 [bauwerk] Spaceship Junkjard Debris Chair and Table [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]
Masks - Chaos, Panic and Disorder - Faces on Mars Masks in Blue and Silver [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]; Aftershok - Mask Gold Angry [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]
Plants - @->~ISD - Martian Fireflowers [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]

From a Creator's PoV - Jan 22

Hi guys, time for another edition of my new creator's pov series.  This one addresses a creator's reactions to things other creators do.  Again, I've seen others reacting in a similar faction, so I know its not just something that I think.

Labeling something as mod when its not actually mod, but simply has scripts.
[Or the Mod Debate]

No, this isn't mod, and when other creators do this, it makes others look bad.  And why isn't it mod, anyway?  Really, it doesn't stop people from copying your stuff, it really doesn't.  Someone wants to, they will steal it.  But saying something is mod and its not, but simply has scripts to make limited choices or resize?  That is not mod.  That is a nice feature, but it isn't mod.

Now, on the other hand, something might not show as mod, but its because of scripts inside that are no mod [really LL?] so if something says no mod in your inventory but is advertised as mod, edit and check the texture tab.

So, with rigged mesh, why would you need to mod it?  You can't adjust the size or position.  But, you can add materials, adjust tints, add additional scripts to do fun things like slowly shift colours over a day.  So, if you have been making things no mod because it can't resize?  Consider making it mod, please?

Customer Service or why didn't you read the <insert here>.

Look, for a good many of us creators, we work our arses off for basically the price of a cup of coffee or a tea.  People will come and complain at us because we're 'overcharging' or that such and such doesn't work, because they didn't read the notecards, or the marketplace description before buying something for a specific avatar, then wonder why its not working.  And I know we're people too, so its not like none of us will ever lose our patience.  Trust me, I know.  I worked in the service industry, long before SL existed.  But...

But it is very important not to lose our tempers with customers, no matter how frustrated we are.  Okay, someone is rude.  Still, keep your cool, its called professionalism.  Because one thing I have heard a lot in five years of selling my creations in SL, is that people are afraid to contact creators if they have a problem.  Why?  Because they got yelled at, or cussed out, or basically horrid CS.  Thing is, most of us, I think, can give good customer service, want to help people actually get a good experience with their creations, and we can't if folks are afraid to contact us.

So if you are going to get mad at someone if there is a problem?  Hire someone else to handle your CS, or just count to ten backwards, take a deep breath, and be courteous.  They might not pay you much, but really, you decided to sell stuff.

Being Honest

Part of marketing is creating an illusion of quality.  I get that, I really do.  But it can be frustrating when people have these ads that promise so much, and yet deliver so little.  And its hard sometimes to make sure the item being sold is obvious in those ads, while still giving context to it.  But if you are selling something, it seems to me that ad images should have minimum editing, to give a reasonably honest view of the item.  Ads shouldn't be of renders from a 3d program, because it just won't be accurate, for example.


Making sure customers are getting what they expect is good for all of us out there, on both sides of the creator/customer road.  Especially if you don't include demos, make sure the ad is as good a representation as you can.

And this wraps up this week's PoV blog post.  Until later, be safe and be well.

A faerycat on Mars pt 2

Apologies for the break between posts.  I'd planned on trying to blog while out of town but my laptop just doesn't take as nice of images and for some reason is unreliable with displaying materials.  But, enough of that.  Let's discuss some more of my thoughts on our book this month, Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury.  All of the stories in the book take place on Mars, except one, a rather somber cautionary tale, I suppose.  I added some elements of other stories and took advantage of my fae powers of shapechanging for one, and I hope you like this story.

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A Sort of Homecoming
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 It hadn't been easy to leave Mars and come back home, knowing that the powers that be were well on their way to blowing up the human race.  I had to go back though, my sister and her family were still there, and well, Earth was where I was born, after all.

So, onto the last ship heading out of the now abandoned colonies, and then to my sister's home...

Where was everyone?  Had there been an evacuation?  The roads had been empty, on my way here.  I went inside, and the water was still running, the quiet hum of the machinery running louder over the quiet stillness of total solitude.

I went back outside, and that's when I noticed the extent of the tragedy; not only of my family, but all of humanity.












Credits
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Skin: Custom
Hands and Feet: Slink
Hair: SL Library
Eyes: Unreleased

Outfit: Avatar Bizarre - Martian Colonist Uniform in Black, Martian Colonist Boots [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]

Setting
House: Anachron - Soft Rains House Scorched [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]
Chair: Trompe Loeil - Ribbon Chairs

From a Creator's PoV

I decided to start doing this once a week, since its something I can do even when in a hotel room, with my laptop, which just doesn't do pictures as well as my desktop.  Its to be a collection of thoughts on creating in SL, personal experiences with the whole process, and observations of what other creators seem to also have dealings with.  I'm going to try and keep these on theme, so it doesn't wander all over the place, and while sometimes there might be images, they're more likely to be of upload screens, or shots from blender or similar, rather than anything artistic.  This first one will be one of trying to work out some things for my own main business, Atomic Faery, but also will include some basic thoughts on the Events vs Main Stores release debate.  That's something that will probably be covered in more depth later, but we'll see.  So, let's begin.

Last January, myself and one of my oldest and dearest friends decided to use our real world business stuff in SL.  His health wasn't all that good, so we hadn't really gotten much done physically, and I was fairly sure that at least computer stuff wasn't beyond him yet.  So, we make a shop alt [the things I learned with Faerycat Designs - store alts are your friend], we start doing events and such, and then he died.  There was a lot of time last year where between grief and a suddenly very busy physical world schedule that I didn't do much, and didn't even really sit down and explore my options.

Atomic Faery was our thing together.  We were going to do steampunk/sci-fi meets faery jewelry originally.  In SL we were advised by a very smart lady, to pick a focus point, and since at the time Steampunk was still fairly common, and Faery stuff wasn't, to go with Faery.  Besides, faery can be anywhen, and anywhere; in the long run that would have probably suited us best.  But its been a year, and I think during this lull I need to puzzle through things.

There are reasons to keep the same name/concept/etc., like keeping the memory going, or because rebranding is a rampaging pain in the arse[ no, seriously - it stinks].  And I've a fair number of tools I want to work with, some of which are no longer available, that are licensed to the shop alt.  if I rebrand, that would mean a new shop alt, and no longer using those items.  And its a decent name with a nice logo that we chose together.

But there are reasons to start over too.  It feels like I'm trying to fill in the shoes of two people, not just myself.  And I don't like changing the things we worked on together [like the ad boards] or even to redo the ads he did, even when it needs to be done.  And sometimes it feels like, since august, the store has pulled up an SEP field.  Even as a sponsor, I don't get noticed at events, and that's with some good advertising from the organizers.  I went from making moderate sales, to one really spectacular month to anywhere from a trickle to nothing at all.

I am not complaining, mind you.  I am a creative, I make stuff, its what I do.  Not making sales might mean that I'm having to spend a bit more of the fun budget, but its not like its a matter of having food on the table or for the cats, either.  If it was, I'd shrink the club and put the shop just on MP.  Right now I'm trying to analyze -why- I still sell prim and sculpt based items from Faerycat Designs, more than newer mesh and material enabled items.

Some of it seems to be the Ads themselves.  Changes in my photography style might be making the original ad template colour choices harder to read for folks.  Maybe its the store name, maybe I'm not handling it right?  Anyway, whatever it is, I want to puzzle it out sooner rather than later.  Enough of this.  I'm sure I'm not the only creator who worries over things like this.  And I mentioned a discussion on the Events vs Main Stores release debate.

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So, there are a LOT of events in SL these days.  You can't swing an undead neko without hitting one.  And really, that's how creators tend to make money anymore.  It has gotten to the point where there are a vocal few who will loudly complain about events, about the lowered quality of stores in events, and how we need to release in our main stores.  Except...

That doesn't work.  The first round of A Tattered Page proved that.  I don't mean for me, since all of fall was an abysmal failure for me [see above], but for everyone else.  It was done main store and marketplace only, no central location.  And no one made more than a few sales, at least as far as the event people can tell.  And its a real shame.  I'd love to do more with my main store.  I think others would too.  But its just not really feasible for most of us, because events are how money is made.

As for the claims that events are causing quality to go downhill?  I suspect that's more burnout that would happen if they were doing store releases.  Sometimes, we all need a break.  Myself?  I haven't noticed this at all because of events.  I've seen and gotten some amazing things from them, and I don't think its events causing a decrease in quality at all.

A faerycat on Mars, part 1

A long time ago, before there was a Second Life, or a faerycat, a girl read Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury.  She loved it, and one would have thought she'd have read more of his works [she doesn't get this either, honestly], and it wasn't until this round of A Tattered Page that she got around to reading Martian Chronicles [Which she also loved and is kicking herself for not reading earlier].  Understand, as a girl, her school created an award just because of her and her reading habits; she went through 6 cards a year and the next closest was 3 cards.  Major bookworm and that was only the school library, not including parents books [serious Sci Fi and Fantasy geeks] or the county library.  The only reason to have -not- read more Bradbury would have been it not being available.

Anyway, forward to today, when A Tattered Page begins.  This is my first time being on the blog end of things; usually I'm the one sending out things to be blogged, if liked by the bloggers.  I can't tell you all how excited I am, and as the pretty things come out, oh, I'm even more excited.  I've stories running all through my head, and I'm going to sort of follow a similar pattern to the stories of Mars by Mr. Bradbury.

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Dreams

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Dreams...  they haunt my sleep, dreams of pale skinned men, with blue eyes.  Songs come to my lips that I've never heard before, that no one has, and words are spoken in my sleep that brings anger to others.

Wonders I see in my dreams, so real, yet impossible.  Science shows that there is too much oxygen for life to exist on the third planet, after all.  But, still, I dream of men from the third planet, and wonder at their existence.

Perhaps I should wear a mask for now.  My emotions are a turmoil, and I know that my dreams are upsetting another.  He's impatient with me, and acting strangely himself.  Perhaps he has dreams as well, but he tells me mine are foolish.

 For now though, I'll wait here, wait to see if my dreams are real...

Or simply just dreams...

A Tattered Page is an event celebrating books, which is just up my alley.  Its a four times a year event, that takes place both in the main stores of those participating and a central location aptly called the Library.  There are so many things to work with this round, the book being the Martian Chronicles; lending itself to martian, earth spacemen, and some rather tragic other things [its a really good read].

This blog-story is inspired by one of the earliest parts of the book, Ylla.  I won't say more, I tried to keep from spoilers while trying to catch the feel for it.

Credits
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Skin: Sunspot [unreleased]
Hands and Feet: Slink
Hair: Magika Dreamy
Eyes: FCD Mesh Eyes: Vivid, White Scelera - in gold
Horns: 8f8 Renaissance Horns: Glass [Previous round of The Fantasy Collective]
Wings: Atomic Faery - Bayou Dragonfly Wings [Previous round of The Fantasy Collective]
Tail: NV Fluffy Tail

Outfit
Pants and Shirt: Avatar Bizarre - Ylla White [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]
Pauldrons: Luminary - Peregrine Pauldrons [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]
                  note: Slightly modified to make match with clothing better
Shoes: Pale Empress - Severina Sandals Teal

Decor
Rug and Couch: Faerycat Designs
Mars and Moons: ATP
Fireflowers: @->~ISD - Martian Fire Flower in Bowl in Canal Blue, Mountain Red and Polar White
        [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]
 Mask Shelf: Black Tulip -  'Choose Your Emotion' Shelf [A Tattered Page - Martian Chronicles]

More to come!