I’ve been wandering around the edge of the grid lately, hopping from island to island on the utter frontiers of the world. That’s not to say it isn’t civilized out there, as I found out when I landed on OsMoz, the perfume island.
Now, I’ve seen perfume in Second Life before, and it took the form of an annoying chat spammer.“Emmie’s cologne: The fresh smell of hibiscus wafting by is cloying, yet vibrant.”Luckily OsMoz doesn’t go there. Instead they have a selection of perfumes and (yes, guys) colognes that manifest themselves as particle emitters. Attach your perfume, and use a HUD to control the intensity. A bottle of perfume lasts twenty hours and costs L$100, but testers that last an hour are free.
But let’s not kid ourselves. It’s a particle emitter, people. And maybe I’ve watched too many cartoons, but any smell coming from you that’s visible isn’t a good one.
Realistically, the perfume they’re selling is incidental. I doubt the island was built to make a profit by selling particle emitters. Instead it’s more of an extension of the osmoz.com web site, connecting to and providing similar content in a virtual world setting. It also gives people who are really, really, really into perfume a place gather socially. A very well done flower tour will take you to the major sights on the island. Its a flower built for two, so you can bring a friend.
There’s the obligatory dance club and a conferece center. It was a quiet Sunday when I visited, but the conference center features a video of the opening night party, and it looks like it was a lot of fun. Too bad they don’t have a schedule of events posted… hint, hint, hint.
The News Fountain is supposed to dipslay news, which looks like it would come from an RSS feed. Except it was either broken or there was no news. That said, it’s one of the nicer waterfalls I’ve seen in Second Life.
OsMoz is a French creation, everything, from the tour to the notecards, to the maps is available in both French and English. Bravo. If only the Japanese would do that.
One of the more interestng spots is the Ingredient Garden, where you can explore the different components that go into perfume. Click the sign next to the ingredient and it expands to explain where the ingredient is used. Guys, this would be a nice place to take someone special, and since there are ingredients that go into men’s cologne there’s something for you, too.
Even more interesting is The Quiz. There are versions of the quiz for both men and women. Attach a HUD, walk down the path to each sign and answer questions about your likes and dislikes. When you’re done the HUD will display what perfume family is right for you… so so they say. It got me pretty much right, surprisingly.
So, in conclusion… perfume in Second Life? Silly. OsMoz? Kind of fun.
May 12, 2008 at 11:54 am |
“And maybe I’ve watched too many cartoons, but any smell coming from you that’s visible isn’t a good one.”
This is the first time I’m checking out your blog here, and that quote alone will keep me coming back.