Sephiroth Juran and The Next Day

September 9, 2010
Written by Angelina Lerintzo





 

The Next Day -- A Role Playing Sim

When I visited The Next Day in Second Life® there were a lot of breath-taking views. The different coloured lighting schemes reminded me of urban lifestyle in the district parts of my hometown. As I went deeper and looked at the structure of the buildings, I saw a futuristic theme inside the sim. However, it kind of reminded me of different cities and countries. So, I view it as a mixture of four countries like Macau, Byron Bay, Hong Kong and Japan. 

Press Pass: The Next day, it’s very nice. Whose idea was it at first?

Sephiroth: Well at the beginning my partner, Sana Dagger, was building a RP futuristic vassel in space, then the sim owner Morgane Nyle, who belongs to this chain of sims, and had only middle age ones, wanted to change one of them in urban style and asked Sana to build it. So she left her vassel project to begin building here. Morgane chose the name. The idea of building a sim in this style is Sana’s. We began to build it together, then sweet Tantulus joined us later. While we were building the first sim, we decided to add a second one. Finished them both, we opened 3 months ago.

How did you meet Sana Dagger, Morgan  Nyle, and Tantulus?

I met them on an RP sim, as I’ve been RPing for 3 years on SL. So I met Sana and Sweet as players like me and we became friends. Morgane was a sim owner of the sims where I played, so when I got invited to join the staff of those sims I knew her too.

From left to right: Sephiroth Juran, Press Pass Reporter Angelina Lerintzo, and Sana Dagger.

Hold on, I’m kind of curious. How much money do you earn every month for creating the Next Day?

We don’t earn money, it’s just for passion. We rent shop spaces and apartments or clan bases just to cover a part of the sim’s fees. 

Wow. That’s real commitment. How do you manage to balance between real life and The Next Day in Second Life?

I spend free time in SL, depending on RL commitments. SL is a creative environment that allows you to create things you can't in RL, and to free your fantasy. So it’s quite fun. Many think of it as a game, but for me it’s more a place to create. Of course this takes time, let’s say it’s a “hobby,” not different from many others.

What is the CCS (community combat system) meter for?

It’s a combat meter, very diffused. It’s used for roleplay in the sim, as  it allows people to fight.

The Next Day

That is indeed fascinating. What languages does the community use to communicate with others?

Their own, there’s not an official language. Mainly the community is English and French speaking. To interact they are requested to use a translator, or try to communicate in RP as they would do if they meet a foreigner in real life. I mean it's SL, the best mixing of cultures.

How and when did your love affair with creating massive structures grow?

I began to build in SL 2 and a half years ago. The items in my shop include weapons, armor and gorean outfits. I began with large buildings on those sims 1 year ago.

The colours, the design, and variety of culture. You astound many for creating such brilliant places full of details. How many people told you that you are their source of inspiration?

Well there are many creators in SL, really talented. Yes many probably take inspiration from here to make new works, but the problem of building a sim like this is that it takes much time, and RL commitments. Even keeping a sim closed for months while you build it is a cost that not many wish to substain. It’s a lot of work and time.

Sephiroth and Sana

Some new members who just started playing second life want to create amazing structures, buildings, and shops. Can they learn to build big structures fast? What is the secret?

It takes time to learn. The problem is that it’s not something you can teach. Personally I did try, I got an info notecard somewhere in my language that teaches the basics, then I began trying. For sure it’s a great speed up having someone sharing the passion, because you learn faster while helping each other. 

It seems easy. I’ve built a table when I experimented with it. It was fun but quite challenging. Do we need a lot of patience if we want to build such structures? Does it frustrate you sometimes?

It doesn’t because I love it but for sure you must have a passion to do that at a certain level. Some people find it easy, some not. Those who do are sure candidates. The problem is not so much learning to build things in SL, but going on to learn at a certain level. For example building a sim like this needs sculpted prims, using programs outside SL like Blender 3D, or Maya or 3DMax. Same thing for textures, you must learn to use Photoshop to make things different from what is already seen. You can even purchase nice stuff. We did that even in many parts of the sim. Sometimes you must learn to script, as building a sim needs many scripted things. So if you are a team, everyone puts their knowledge together and it’s easier. Sana is really talented with photoshop, sweet with Blender 3D. I learned to use Blender too, I’m quiet good in scripting, and we all are able to build. But learning to build on SL means learning other software.

Have you ever argued with your colleagues about disagreements? 

Yes, we did a lot. Sometimes building a sim is frustrating, as you think you’ll never finish. So yes it happened.

 The Black Bunny

What are the famous spots in The Next Day?

The Black Bunny, the main club.  Damville, the criminal street. The Arena. The Dock Art Fair, that is the art gallery. But there are a lot of places, clubs and bars. 

Where can we find the location of Black Bunny and Damville?

Damville is at the north east side of The Next Day sim, where there’s a police car. Black Bunny is under the same sim, you reach it from a tunnel in the same area, using the elevator, but it’s easier to reach it with the sim teleport system. You find teleport screens everywhere. Touch them, select the destination, right click and teleport.

This is a common question people ask. Which location is best for combats and battles?

The Arena is the place to train, but people fight everywhere. Battles happen during RPs. This is not a counterstrike sim. The combat meter is used when people begin to struggle and aggress in RP, or decide to use force to solve problems.

What groups exist in The Next Day and what role do they play in the community?

We have 4 RP groups: criminals, Next Police Department (whose role is quite clear), MedLabs for those who like hospital and researcher RP, and Citizens for those who wish to manage a non-RP activity like a club or a bar. There are even some CCS clans, really old, but people can create their own RP groups as they wish, following the background of the sim. The ones we created are just an idea to help RP, the only limit is their fantasy.

Is there any competition between you and the other designers in second life?

Well, I can’t speak for the others, but personally I like to explore and look at what others do and create. I like when people create here, I don’t see that as competition but as a source of inspiration and a way to see new ideas. But for sure it’s a personal thing.

In real life, some people want to escape their life and continue it in second life. Do you agree that escaping from life would be a good thing?

Hmm. No, but I think this is something a lot of people think about second life. People can escape real life with a videogame, with Second Life, with a hobby, and a lot of things. It’s simply their problem. Second Life is part of life just like anything else and saying it’s an escape is usually from those un able to use it. 

I wish I could do that. There must be a lot of compliments and people who want to meet you. Do you find it frustrating and satisfying?

Yes, we get many messages. Personally, I find it satisfying. It depends if I’m busy when they contact me. But no, it’s not frustrating.

Why should more people come to the Next Day as a destination?

It's mainly a RP sim, but many just come to visit the place, as the build is quite accurate and took 1 year of work.  Many come here to take photographs and so on. There are clubs with events with live DJ mixes. There’s even an art gallery, where we allow monthly an SL artist or photographer to display creations for free. Most people come to immerse in the town life and start RPing, create their own character and play in the town.

Thank you for reading.

Press Pass Reporter

Angelina Lerintzo