The dream of the prim that captivated the grid. Black Swan is now closing.
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Remembering Black Swan images from the Flickr Pool (add your photos to the group) |
We are closing Black Swan, follow the path, in Second Life as soon as the ticket goes through. Probably next few days/hours, so you might get another chance to see it for a last time if you zap over asap. Otherwise you can visit "Black Swan Revisited" on our OpenSim-based private grid.
I am sure it is/will be remembered as one of the great sims ever in SL. Why? Of course it is a spectacular design and filled with some of the greatest sculpties ever rezzed. It began as a vision by Light Waves (our hero of the prim). It was a single, strong vision delivered in glorious sculpted prim detail. But really it became something about discovering the best of the virtual experience possible. It was meant to inspire other people to take chances and push the limits of the grid. (Read why did we call it Black Swan here)
It was an incredible art space. We added work from other amazing creators such as Noobility by Seifert Surface and Art Laxness. Which is a truly stunning, dynamic piece that rebuilds itself and collapses every hour. We also had a fascinating work from Bryn Oh (visit her amazing Immersiva area here) which brought visitors into an intriguing story of lies and revelations.
But I don't think it was the prims that made Black Swan so popular alone. It was the ultimate showcase and place to appreciate the most creative things that could be made in SL. We were able to use the space to host exciting fashion events featuring clothing, skins, accessories and more from some of the greatest designers ever to work in the metaverse. Recap on the latest/last event here.
I still recall the first day we put Night Dreaming out. It opened people's mind to how the virtual is different from the real.
Of course Black Swan was the fitting place to showcase the Grand Odalisque as well.
One of my favorite machinimas from Black Swan courtesy Lainy Voom below:
<- *click*
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Comments
The King Is Dead ... Long Live The King
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 04:58 — Lostmedia Ares (not verified)It's a sad day indeed , Second lifes most awe-inspiring experiences ..
I LOVED to sit at the Landing point and listen to the sound of the jaws clanging as they drop at the sight that greet's new visitors .
The Black Swan will be miissed by many , But without a doubt it touched many more .
I would like to thank Light Wave & RightAsRain Rimbaud for giving us all the chance to experience the magic.
The King Is Dead ... Long Live The King.
Side Note: Lostmedia Ares Pwnz Light Wave ! ....... at Naked tea drinking :)
Remembered? Only for a short time, sadly.
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 16:59 — Ari Blackthorne (not verified)Black Swan, Dinosaurs and Greenies are the Rezzable legacy.
When you whacked the dinos it was impressive and reinforced the foundation that all things on the grid are temporary. When this happened, it also predicted the 'demise' of Black Swan and I have no doubt soon the Greenies.
I am not here to whine or bitch or wag my finger at you or Rezzable proper. But only to say that yes, Black Swan (and Greenies) will be remembered in SL, perhaps as the most amazing of all builds on the grid... for a time. A couple months? Longer? I don;t know. I remember the dinosaurs fondly - but yet ask anyone you can find on the grid about it. Even those that remember it only remember it because they were asked about it. The same will be true about Black Swan and eventually the Greenies ... and Rezzable altogether once you finally pull-up the last stake.
I understand Rezzable's motivation, causes and reasons for doing so. But at the same time, as wonderful as the Rezzable builds are, it is too much 'work' and 'nuisance' to connect to another grid system as it means logging-out, then resetting where the viewer points to and logging-in again for so 'little' content. Only those of us adept with the use of the grid viewers and alternate grids will ever really get to see where you're hiding now.
The day all these grids are able to be interconnected in any meaningful way (Meerkat viewer does make a damned fine attempt at it) is a long-way off.
I wish Rezzable well and good fortune and though it is a sad riddance, it will not be all that profound for very long I hate to say.
@Ari...so nothing lasts
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 20:07 — RightAsRain Rimbaud@Ari...so nothing lasts forever, even in the digital realm? I think there will be more easier interchange between grids soon enuff. But really you are right that the metaverse is a here and now kinda place. Content is consumed quickly by only a few people and takes a lot of effort to make. So this is the challenge... thanks for support. Hope to see you around...
I have no idea what Ari is
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 21:20 — Kasumi Rieko (not verified)I have no idea what Ari is talking about. "logging out, then resetting where the viewer points and logging in again", I quess I am one of the un-adept ones in SL. Just hope I get a chance to see it before it is gone (if it isn't already).
It's sad to see Black Swan
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 04:18 — Pavig LokIt's sad to see Black Swan go. Not just due to Light Waves fantastic work on the original concept, but for what it did for other artists. Black Swan, like Greenies, started off in the brain of Light Waves a long time before anyone saw them on the grid. Having a home for them allowed many others to contribute to the vision. Quite a few folk who contributed to both projects are respected SL artists and creators themselves. The fashion designers who have exhibited on the sim are another creative group who has contributed. Not least, and too often forgotten, the SL community who have shown their creative potential in documenting the site, or even just by the theatre of their presence. Nothing lasts forever, but creativity that was shown in Black Swan will continue. :)
That truly was some nice work...!
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 11:02 — Tracy Welles (not verified)On one hand, it's sad to see the art work move from SL, on the other I can't help but congratulate on the moving of the Rezzable works to your own opensimulator grid.
@ Kasumi
Sun, 09/06/2009 - 13:21 — Ari Blackthorne (not verified)What I am speaking of is this: Once Rezzable leaves the Second Life grid, you only will be able to visit their wonderful builds on their own, private grid.
Rhetorical question: Do you know how to set your viewer to log-in to the Rezzable grid and not the Second Life grid? Then set it to log-in to the Second Life grid when you are ready to go back there? Even if *you* and *I* can do this, 99.95% of everyone using the Second Life (or any other) grid viewer does not know how to do this. And even for those that do, it is (right now anyway) kind of an annoyance to do it (yes, one can create Windows Shortcuts to do it, but it's more difficult on the Macintosh as command-line arguments are not used on that system.)
Many are working on ways to make it easier to select which grid you log-into from the start-up screen of the viewer. This will make it easier to visit Rezzable's grid. However, the majority use the Linden Lab viewer - I won't hold my breath Linden Lab adds such functionality for a very, very long time. Many are working hard to make it possible so you can "teleport" from one grid to another just like teleporting from one sim to another. But I think this is a ways-off (year or two or three - not just the technology, but all of it including intergrid agreements and all that - and hence whether Linden Lab will even allow this in any foreseeable future.)
Rezzable obviously has the resources and dedication to set-up their builds and keep them there. However, in Second Life, except for the builds created by Linden Lab themselves, nothing is guaranteed to stay put because no one has any control (even Rezzable.) Linen Lab has the control and your maintenance of anything other than your own presence on the Second Life grid costs money. It's why so many builds disappear, often without notice.
I for one am sick and tired of people who proclaim (for whatever reason) they are "tired of Linden Lab/Second Life" and they will leave - only to see they are full of hot-air. Rezzable said the same thing. And I appreciate and respect them for actually saying what they mean and meaning what they say and following through. I respect the decision greatly. And I for one will be on their grid exploring their builds.
Like Apple Computer, who raised an uproar when they discontinued including floppy drives in their computers and leading the entire computer industry (as is often the case) in another direction, Rezzable is ahead of the curve. Their builds are among the few incredibly compelling destinations in Second Life. So, when the intergrid operability if finally a reality, they'll be ready. It also gives a reason for those working on intergrid teleporting, or at least log-in options to try just a little hard and bring this functionality to us just a little faster. Open Grid is nothing. It is Second Life in 2004. However, having a place like a Rezzable grid to visit finally gives a compelling reason to create a viewer that allows multiple-grid functionality.
It unfortunately will just be a rather lonely existence on the rezzable grid until that happens.
@Ari--actually all you need
Sun, 09/06/2009 - 23:32 — RightAsRain Rimbaud@Ari--actually all you need to do to get to one of our grids is hit a button on the web page and it will fire-up whatever viewer you want. This works on Rezzable and HK Grids.
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Mon, 09/07/2009 - 02:45 — Anonymous Rezzable Scam Victim (not verified)Black Swan may have been filled with good work and pretty sculpties but it was also home to a very silly and downright insulting scam. The rules of the stupid game were: Either buy a pixel watch for almost L$1k or don't and get the banz0r.
That made Black Swan dead for me long before this wannabe sad story got posted. Good riddance.
Thanks RightAs
Mon, 09/07/2009 - 03:27 — Ari Blackthorne (not verified)Thanks RightAs Rain...
Perhaps making that clearer on your home page - no wait - all your pages? LOL
I admit, I haven't noticed anything jumping out at me for doing this.
Oh hai numbnuts "Anonymous
Mon, 09/07/2009 - 08:55 — Respondant (not verified)Oh hai numbnuts "Anonymous Rezzable Scam Victim" - the watches were 200l. NOT 1k. You only ever had to buy it once. And you didnt get banned, just ejected. And for special events Black Swan was FREE.
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Mon, 09/07/2009 - 08:58 — mint (not verified)i feel sickened that i'd never known about black swan until after its demise.. seems like a beautiful place..one i'll never know..
Black Swan and its content
Wed, 09/09/2009 - 02:13 — Virtual (not verified)Black Swan was my favorite sim in Second Life, I also met Starax there in the very beginning when he was building. Well the positive thing about this is that the sim isn't lost and will remain to exist, in the future we might see Starax and Light Waves his work all over the Metaverse for anyone to enjoy.
Peace/piece of art - Lights off
Thu, 09/10/2009 - 10:25 — Carla Broek (not verified)Uhuh, didn't know that (just found out Black Swan and the Tunnel of Light were your sims) but filmed parts of it right on time I guess...
www.vimeo.com/6432292
It was amazing from an artistic point of view, enjoyed seeing and filming those sims.
Thank you Carla for the link
Thu, 09/10/2009 - 13:25 — Lokum ShilovaThank you Carla for the link I adore how you connected those two sims love the great effects please see our link to it http://rezzable.com/blog/lokum-shilova/lights-carla-broek again many thanks and keep up the great work look forward to seeing more creativenesss
It is still there...
Sat, 09/12/2009 - 09:33 — Miro CollasI am standing in Black Swan as I type this. Odd it should take so long to shut down.
I will miss the place, a lot. But I won't be making a huge effort to come see it on another grid either, not until other grids are as stable as SL is (and that isn't saying much, is it?)Personally, I think the move was a bad idea. (Course I don't know the story so that is an UNinformed opinion.) I also have to question the ethics of some of those involved in Black Swan, but I won't go there. Artistically, the place was tops, no question. BUT... there is so much other great art in SL too. Rezzable has just reduced its audience to a tiny fraction of what it used to be - and that for a long time to come. I think everyone loses that way - Rezzable included.
-- Miro
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