Creating Your World: The Official Guide to Advanced Content Creation for Second Life (Paperback)

~ (Author), Kimberly Rufer-Bach (Author), Richard Platel (Author)
Key Phrases: building block type, new script, smooth land, Second Life, Wizard Jet, Hole Size (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Enrich your virtual existence by mastering the techniques and tactics the experts use to create jaw-dropping SL content—everything from buildings and vehicles to clothing, landscapes, and animations. This official, exclusive guide from a team of Second Life content-creation experts was written with the full support of Linden Lab and features in-depth instructions for creating beautiful content and putting it to work in-world. It’s both a practical, step-by-step guide and a creative session with some of the most artistic and talented minds in the Second Life community. CD included.

From the Back Cover

Your second life is what you make it

Enrich your virtual existence by mastering the techniques and tactics the experts use to create jaw-dropping SL content—everything from buildings and vehicles to clothing, landscapes, and animations. This official, exclusive guide from a team of Second Life content-creation experts was written with the full support of Linden Lab and features in-depth instructions for creating beautiful content and putting it to work in-world.

Start a new fashion trend with custom clothing featuring realistic buttons, pockets, patterns, and even wrinkles. Tour SL in the car of your dreams or in your own private jet. Create cool animations and scripts to communicate with other SL residents, and more. Both a practical, step-by-step guide and a creative session with some of the most artistic and talented minds in the Second Life community, this book will quickly build your skills and inspire you to join Second Life's elite ranks of content creators.

• Basic concepts: Understand movement, inventory, and client/server issues

• Advanced building: Morph prims and design anything with these advanced techniques

• SL scripting programs and third-party editors: Use a variety of tools to write, test, and debug scripts for vehicles, games, motion, and more

• Become a virtual pioneer: Start terraforming with SL land tools

• Dazzle visitors: Make an impact with textures, lighting, landscaping, and more

• Go Hollywood: Storyboard, shoot film, add sound effects, and produce machinima

• Real communication: Manage data, chat, and send e-mail—in-world and out

On the CD
The book's CD features tutorial files, textures, clothing and character templates, machinima, cool tools, and a host of other resources provided by Linden Lab to help Second Life content creators.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (October 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470171146
• ISBN-13: 978-0470171141
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57,843 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Rather disappointing, December 10, 2007

By	Stephen Gray (New York, US) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book did not turn out to be the resource I thought it would be. It's little more than a re-hash of "The Official Guide." Everything is dealt with as an introduction to the subject, even though much of the information can be found in the previous book. Few topics are dealt with in any depth except LSL scripting. Unfortunately the scripting section is quite obviously written by a programmer who is not a teacher. Many assumptions are made about the level of knowledge of the reader who needs a previous grounding in Java or C++ to understand what the author is talking about.

Overall, this book would be fine as a stand alone, but it is NOT a companion to the Official Guide. Nor is it useful as a guide to actually making things in second life. The reader is, instead, merely given a gloss of what is possible and then sent off to experiment on his own. As much or more can be learned through in-world tutorials, web sites and You-Tube videos (which are a far better resource for learning what this book purports to teach).

If you're really interested in becoming a designer or builder in second life, this book is not your guide.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Guide Yet!, October 24, 2007

By	Ann Enigma "virtual professor" (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews

I work with students in SL, and this is the clearest, most direct guide for developing in Second Life that I've seen. Most of this information is available around the web or in-world, but not in an easy to find or understand spot. Buy this now!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars must have!, October 23, 2007

By	Allison Childs "Allison" (Arkansas, USA) - See all my reviews

I'm an older secondlife resident and I was very impressed with the book, The detail included applies both to oldbies and noobies! Very entertaining and I learned a few new things that i use on a regular basis.
A++++++