PICTURESQUE NEW SECOND LIFE SIM EXPECTED TO GENERATE 14 MILLION IDENTICAL PHOTOGRAPHS
A BEAUTIFUL new Second Life destination is preparing to open its doors, allowing every man, woman and their dog to upload eight virtually indistinguishable photographs of it every day.
The lovingly constructed coastal sim features everything required for a successful Second Life photography destination, including mist, wildflowers, a rusty bicycle, an abandoned greenhouse and several pieces of furniture inexplicably positioned outdoors.
Creator Mabel Wren, who spent six months building the region, said: “I wanted somewhere that felt magical, slightly fey and effortlessly bohemian. “So obviously there's a VW camper van with fairy lights in it.”
Visitors enter beside a crooked wooden sign pointing towards HOME, WANDER, BREATHE and COFFEE, none of which actually lead anywhere. Further along the path is an artisan bakery containing three loaves of bread, a typewriter, twelve dried flowers in bottles and absolutely nobody selling bread.
AUTHENTICITY
At the centre of the region is a small fishing village carefully constructed to look as though generations of hardy islanders have lived there. One cottage contains a ukulele, a stack of vinyl records and a framed print saying STAY WILD, suggesting its previous occupant was either a fisherman or a graphic designer from the Bronx.
There is also a coffee shop where visitors can sit beside a steaming mug while staring thoughtfully through a window at the rain. The mug cannot be picked up. This is considered immersive.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Within seven minutes of the sim opening, photographers are expected to discover exactly the same eight locations.
These include the bicycle, the greenhouse, the camper van, a rowing boat pulled onto the beach and a wooden chair facing the sea which everyone will photograph in black and white and call Solitude.
There is also a jetty. At the end of the jetty is a post. On the post is a seagull.
Inclusion of the seagull in any series of photos is non-negotiable. “We weren't originally going to include him,” explained Wren, “but photographers kept asking where the seagull was.
“We've therefore put one there, although we're prepared to move him approximately eighteen inches if he starts appearing in more than 4,000 Primfeed posts a week.”
Early visitors have already praised the bird. Photographer Aria Moonwhisper said: “I saw him standing there against the sunset and immediately knew I had to capture the moment.
“I've done seven versions.”
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Other attractions include an old telephone box covered in ivy, a broken piano in a field, a fox sitting somewhere implausible and a washing line featuring several white bedsheets which have apparently been drying since 2017.
Dogs are strongly encouraged. Every visitor who owns one is expected to photograph themselves walking it along the beach while wearing a large cardigan and looking away from the camera.
Couples can instead stand ankle-deep in the sea embracing beneath an umbrella.
Single residents may sit on the jetty looking wistfully towards the horizon as though somebody has just left them.
OPENING DAY
The sim officially opens this weekend.
By Monday morning, residents who have never visited will nevertheless be able to describe every square metre of it after seeing the same greenhouse on Primfeed 600 times.
Wren hopes people will take their time and explore. “There's actually loads of little hidden details around the region,” she said. “They're not just the obvious photography spots.”
At the time of publication your correspondent is led to believe that nobody had found any of them.
Someone had, however, taken another picture of the seagull.