(....continuation from
part 3)
As interest in themed
areas like Americana, Yamato, Nexus Prime and others continued,
Second life as a whole tried to work out another issue: residential
land.
One of the ways this was
managed was with the "First Land" program, which ran until
2007, allowing a first time land owner to purchase a prime piece of
512m mainland for only L$512. It wasn't a bad deal for the time, but
also led to much abuse as people began to create alts to buy up vast
numbers of early 512m parcels, then reselling those parcels to the
main account.
In some cases, themed
communities were attempted for housing, allowing people to have a
piece of virtual suburbia for their first land. One of the earliest
of these was the
LuskEstate, in the shadow of its far more well-known neighbors, the
furry homeland of Luskwood and the Ahern Welcome Area.
A notecard, still
available on one side at the Lusk Estates, describes the area as "a
small suburban area divided into cozy parcels" declaring that,
"Lusk is the perfect place to build your home if you're looking
for a nice, quiet region without the stores and looming towers you
might find building elsewhere."
The area was little more
than a series of rudimentary streets -- even simpler than those of
earlier cities like Lindenberg -- with parcels for homes set up in a
grid pattern. The project quickly fell into disrepair until the
project was handed over to the "Lusk Estates Land Trust"
under resident control.
While the Lusk Estates,
like the majority of the mainland, had no covenant, the land trust
did keep several zoning and land guidelines, including no subdividing
land and no terraforming, rules that govern city areas today. They
also disallowed anything except residences, prohibited "flashing
textures, large particle displays, loud and/or looping sounds, or any
script that puts unnecessary strain on the region," and required
parcels to be developed.
The Lusk Estates, as
modestly successful as they were, led to the creation of yet another
planned community in Boardman, which was also duplicated as "Brown"
in the old "Color" regions.
Initially managed by Haney
Linden, Boardman opened in May of 2003. Going farther than Lusk, this
area included a street layout with sidewalks and street lamps,
manicured yards, and a small residential community feel.
"Welcome to the land
of palm trees swaying gently in the fresh sea breezes," said
Haney Linden on their blog post of the time. "Designed in a
Southern California style, Boardman is host to 'Pre-Fab.' Structures
here are limited to an easy-to-assemble pre-fabricated mini version
of 'House-In-a-Box.'
"This region is
designed to especially appeal to newer residents who may not have
developed expert building skills," Haney continued. "While
all structures are pre-fabricated, you can customize them to express
your true inner spirit. It's a no-hassle, inexpensive way to get
started making a home in Second Life."
Much like the Lusk
Estates, however, Boardman didn't exactly capture the imagination.
The rules on using the prefab home were relaxed, and the land became
run down. Pieces of the road were soon missing, and land barons
complained that they would be lucky to make any money selling land in
that area.
Then, again mirroring the
Lusk Estates, a community group stepped into the gap, working with
Haney's replacement, Jack Linden, to refurbish Boardman. The area was
rebuilt and revitalized by its new residents and land owners. Today,
it is much like it was when they stepped in, including a Town Hall
still adorned with Jack Linden's mayoral photo, located at
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Boardman/150/167/24
Yet, much like the Lusk
Estates and, to a lesser extent, Boardman's twin in
Brown,
the area feels stuck in time, home to builds that haven't changed
since 2005, owned by residents who later went on to build their own
regions and stores well beyond the confines of Boardman.
Meanwhile, the lab
continued to work on Providing a community experience in the same
vein as these early efforts, building on what came before. They
developed
Blumfield
and
WestHaven as a "first Land" project, once again providing
suburban streets and prefabricated homes for new landowners to set up
their virtual home.
With these two regions
showing more promise than their predecessors, the lab gambled on an
expansion, creating a nine-region community initially on the eastern
edge of the Sansara Continent, called Shermerville. The community,
launched in February of 2006, had a central region, called
"Shermerville Central" with a playground, a pool, a "stage
4" for community meetings, and even a neighborhood sandbox area.
Surrounding Shermerville Central were 8 other regions, Shermerville
N, Shermerville NE, Shermerville E, Shermerville, Shermerville SE,
Shermerville S, Shermerville SW, Shermerville Shermerville W, and, of
course, Shermerville NW.
Aside: it is only a
coincidence that your erstwhile writer also came into existence in
Second Live in February of 2006, and resides in one of the remaining
Shermerville regions.
The Shermerville project
as a whole was doomed, however. Sales were not as robust as expected,
as once again, a suburb area with limited land impact -- each parcel
was limited to 512m -- and other restrictions proved unwelcome. The
project was eventually shuttered, save two Shermerville regions that
were grafted onto Blumfield and West Haven, with a bridge connecting
them to Nova Albion.
After both Shermerville
and First Land shuttered, one could have reasonably assumed that
Linden Lab would no longer look towards developing residential areas,
yet in 2009 a new project was announced:
LindenHomes. Initially provided in 4 distinct themes with several home
styles, the Linden Homes were markedly different from "First
Land." For one, the home was both a required part of the home as
well as arranged in such a way as to not be a part of the parcel's
land impact.
No terraforming and no
dividing the parcels remained the rule in Linden Homes, with the
regions of the Nascera continent (the land mass that contained such
homes) further solidifying the rules with an actual covenant. Unlike
past attempts are residential area, Linden Home owners could also
neither choose their specific parcel, nor could they sell it to
another.
This proved initially
fairly successful, with two additional copies of the Nascera landmass
added to the grid. That success was to be somewhat short-lived,
however, as the economic downturn of the era reached into Second
Life, stunting much of the potential growth of Second Life for some
time.
Yet hope springs eternal.
After the launch of the
Horizons
project on the Zindra continent, featuring another suburban area,
this time with a retro-futuristic theme and prefabs that you could
shift into four different designs, Linden Lab apparently felt now was
the time to once again explore the suburbs.
In 2019 -- a full decade
after the launch of the original Linden Homes -- a second generation
launched, initially featuring yet another suburban community, as well
as a second theme featuring houseboats. Carrying elements from both
its first-generation Linden Home predecessors as well as design
elements gleaned from Horizons and, yes, Bay City, the Linden Homes
of the
Bellisseria
continent proved themselves to be a hit. At last, after 16 years, the
code for a successful Residential community appears cracked.
The area has continually
expanded over the year, introducing a third theme -- campers and
trailers - - that seems to evoke the relationship between Boardman
and its "Camp Linden" neighbor in a far more successful
fashion. They have also promised many other themes and potential
expansion to come.
With the success of the
new Linden Homes, I am nonetheless left wondering: what awaits the
future for the grid's cities, and what will the metaverse metropolis
of the future look like?
Next Time, we have another
city of Second Life's past to explore as well look to Bay City's
neighbor to the East, Nova Albion, in the next issue.
Reporter Historian Marianne McCann
191202
