So last week I received an invitation to check out a new arts colony in Second Life, an entire sim called Artropolis [Artropolis 23/122/22] that just recently had its grand opening. And wow, check out what I found when I got there; not only a luxuriously complex build like something straight out of the jungles of South America, but even with an entertaining mythological backstory behind the origins of the space. (It turns out, you see, that Artropolis was actually an entire civilization of enlightened artists at one time; much like Atlantis, their society mysteriously disappeared thousands of years ago, with only the first bits and pieces of it now being rediscovered in the modern era.)
After the tour, I had the pleasant experience of chatting with lead builder Esch Snoats, who explained all kinds of things to me -- from how the look and backstory of Artropolis came about, to the unique challenges concerning a group of people developing a sim collaboratively. The transcript is below, interspersed with photos from my walking tour; I warmly thank Esch for taking the time to talk with me.
In The Grid: So let's start with my admission that I don't know that much about Artropolis yet; you first came to my attention simply through an email I received a couple of weeks ago. How long have you been open now, and where the idea germinate from?
Esch Snoats: Artropolis actually just had its grand opening this past Sunday, Feb 11th, but it's been around really for a month [longer than that]. The idea really came from a combination of people. Filthy Fluno, another artist and sim manager of Artropolis, was involved in what was considered the first artist colony [in Second Life] several months ago, but the place closed down and we were both looking for a new home, essentially. He talked to a friend he knew, Maxim Deharo, who owned a sim and was looking for something to do with it. Filthy sold him on the idea to turn it into an artist colony like no other, and they hired me to build it. So I got to build it as well as have a studio there to show my own art. The one thing we noticed that was missing in a lot of places claiming to be artist colonies is that it didn't support all the arts. Before we even built one prim, we sat down and had the game plan from the very beginning with what we wanted to do with the sim and how to do it.
ITG: So it was one person who owned the sim, another who came up with the idea, and a third person -- you -- who designed it?
ES: Well the initial idea was by Filthy, yeah, but he and I really ironed it out together. He came up with the idea of this ancient artist society that mysteriously disappeared. My spin on it was that modern society has started to creep back into the land. That's why you have modern buildings on one side [of the sim], over the ruins of the other culture, etc. But the further into the sim you get, the more ancient it looks and [with] no modern stuff. But once we ironed out the backstory for the sim, it was myself who did the layout of it all. Now there's a fourth person involved too, Xtasy Veil; she actually is the one who did the landscaping and terraforming. So once the ball was rolling, she was the first on the scene and knew what we wanted to do, and made the land what you see. I then moved in behind her and started building, based on how she did her part.
ITG: I have to admit, I found something you just mentioned to be a really fun part of Artropolis that you don't see at many other arts organizations; you all have invented your own fantastical mythology, explaining the origins of your space.
ES: Yeah, we wanted the sim to be more immersive than you see in other sims. By having the backstory, it really does make everything around you make sense. And I think that's the key to why it looks good and has been raved about by many people, is because we didn't build it willy-nilly; we had a plan and used the backstory as a guide on how it should be built. So it makes it more, what's the word, tangible?
ITG: I definitely want to get more into the details of the actual build, but let's first talk just a bit about your background. Are you an artist yourself? In real life as well?
ES: Yes and yes [laughter]. I've been an artist for around 27 years now, and I've pretty much covered every medium you can stick your fingers in. Right now I'm concentrating on digital art as well as photography. I have a studio at Artropolis on the back side of the temple, and sell limited-edition and one-of-a-kind art. I have a website where I just started to sell my artwork that you see in SL. I don't have a full gallery up yet, but pretty much if I'm selling it in SL I'm also selling it in RL too. I've had a lot of requests for it, otherwise I probably wouldn't have done it [laughter]. I've been playing SL since May 2006.
ITG: And had you ever taken on such a large building project before? Was this your first entire-sim commission?
ES: This is the first time I've been hired to build an entire sim. I own a prefab store that I've been doing since probably June 2006 or so, so I have a lot of experience in building. I think what landed me the gig for this building project is that at the old artist colony Filthy and I were at, I was allowed to build my own studio as long as I donated it to the sim [afterwards]. Filthy saw the final product and loved it so much, he had me on top of the list of builders for Artropolis.
ITG: So before we get into the more technical aspects of the build, first let's discuss the difference between terraforming and manmade structures, like what you did with the prefabs. Was that enough of an education in building to make the terraforming for the sim go smoothly, or were there new and unexpected challenges?
ES: Well, with prefabs, I obviously have no control over the land the person is setting it on, so I cross my fingers and hope they know what they're doing. But with Artropolis, my main goal was to make it look natural in the environment. That's why I wanted Xtasy to terraform first and me build second; because I wanted it to look like the land had been there longer, and that this society had come in and built into the land, not the other way around. I've found too many places on the grid where the opposite happens, and it sticks out like a sore thumb. But as far as the education part of it is concerned -- yes, building prefabs definitely gave me in-depth, first-hand knowledge of the building tools, and how prims function with each other and whatnot. But more important than the actual building is the textures used. You can have the best build ever, but if you use textures that don't compliment each other, then it's ruined.
ITG: Actually, this brings us to another question I wanted to ask, which is about the collaborative process of a group of people developing a sim together. You mentioned, for example, that your team worked out almost all the details in advance; what kinds of details were those? What does a group of developers have to think about ahead of time, to make the process itself go as well as possible?
ES: Well, the first rule of building a sim is [asking], "What is this sim going to be used for?" Once you nail that down, then you can get into more detailed specifics. In this case, we already knew it was an artist colony, but we needed to work out details like how best to support all the arts SL has to offer and things like that. Artropolis is the first sim I've found that supports not just art and music, but theater and poetry and other stuff as well. So once you work out the sim's function, then things fall into place and it really then comes down to designing the look of the sim. I think a lot of places do this out of order; they'll build first, then say, "Okay, what can we use this for?" And to me that's sloppy, at least when it comes to an entire sim under one theme is concerned. Once you have your plan first, then everything else really does fall into place.
ITG: And especially interesting, I think, is the additional challenge of building in a sense of history, like you all did. You mentioned, for example, making the buildings look like they were naturally added to the terraforming that already existed. Were there other tricks like that you found that helped add a sense of time and history to Artropolis?
ES: Hmm. I don't know if there were other 'tricks,' really. We just knew that "there once was a great society here, but now it's gone;" so I strategically laid out the studios around the sim, and [the location of] the studio would dictate if I used stone textures or wood. There's only one type of stone texture I use, besides the temple, which has two or three; because my thoughts were that they gathered the stone from the same quarry. And if the studio is built up on a hill or into a cliffside, obviously they can't get stone up there, so we'll use wood. I put a lot of real life logic into this, which I think is why people love the sim so much. Everything just clicks together, it makes sense.
ITG: Well, as an example of another 'trick' -- I love that giant statue of your mythological founder, that sits at the top of the sim's highest mountain. And I love even more that you've explained it all in your text history that's given out as a notecard there. It's not only a nice unifying design element, but also makes it feel there like ancients have left grand things behind.
ES: Yeah, exactly; but in the case of the Statue of David, I didn't build that. That was something Filthy bought from a fantastic SL-based sculptor. But we put it there for that exact reason, to blend it into the history. Also something that was my doing, that tied into modern society creeping back in, is that I wanted those elements to be touristy in nature. [As if] Artropolis sat there for hundreds or thousands of years unknown, then someone found it and said, "Hey, let's turn this into a tourist location." So that's why you have things like the boat ride with a half-sunk boat, and a hiking trail, and a modern bar and grill, and signs pointing you to attractions and stuff.
ITG: And let's talk a moment about another intriguing design element of the sim; the almost hidden passages that connect studio spaces, that are yet just clear enough so that they're obvious to newcomers. It's a great way to simultaneously give each artist an autonomous space, and to connect them together in a natural way. How challenging was it to build such convoluted, narrow spaces?
ES: One of my philosophies about building Artropolis was that we needed little "easter eggs" around the sim. We need to give people reasons to explore. So things like hidden overgrown trails that connect studios and the like, was stuff that I did before the landscaping phase took place. So people who want to explore will get something out of it, and it makes them feel like they've accomplished something other than just walking around and looking at things. I think a lot of the credit with how the studios are laid out goes to Xtasy, because I really did go off of her original terraforming. I would fly up and see how close studios were in relation to one another, and tweak spots here and there. That way you have some hidden, but others right next to each other, etc.
ITG: Was having this virtual space an integral part of the collaborative process? Could you only build such a thing, like you said, by literally being able to all be there together, flying over the space, tweaking things here and there in real time, etc? Or do you think such a sim could reasonably get built the traditional way; exchanging 2D documents, having audio conference calls, etc?
ES: Yeah definitely, after I would finish each section I would bring Filthy in and hear his opinion of what I did. Sometimes he would point out something I didn't think about, and would then either move the studio entirely or tweak it so that it worked better. I'm sure it could have been done in traditional methods, me sending an email to Filth saying "hey check this out" and he goes then emails me back, etc; so it's very nice being able to be there at the same time, looking at the same build, and brainstorming if something doesn't work as expected. But really, you throw traditional methods out the door, just because of the nature of SL. You wouldn't be doing this for any other application, really; and if you were making a game or something, then everyone would probably be in the same [physical] building anyway.
ITG: I have to imagine, by the way, that in some senses this must've felt like the times of the old aristocracy; that the owner of this sim is the 'baron,' so to speak, and you all the team hired to build him a new court. Is this a viable way of looking at professional opportunities in SL?
ES: I can see that connection, yeah, especially since it's the sim owner paying me to build the sim. We had the added luxury that Max trusted our judgement with things, and really was a silent partner in it all. He would come around and say "hey cool" and stuff, but he never really had a hands-on approach to what we did. Not that that's a good or bad thing, but he trusted myself and Filthy [to the point] where he could concentrate on other stuff, while we did our thing.
ITG: Right; from how you've talked about it, it seems that Max's main interest is in owning the sim, doing something interesting with it, and recouping his costs at the end of it all. And he's simply given the artists a budget and left them alone, just like the old royals used to do in the aristocracy. I'm comparing this, for example, to the modern era of Hollywood executives and the like, who feel the obligation to step in and screw with the creative process in the middle of it. Was it nice to have a guy like Max "signing the checks," so to speak?
ES: Absolutely. Not that I wouldn't have taken in his input and suggestions; but having one less person making decisions always keeps things moving along faster. Now in the case of SL, I think there's never really an [ultimate] decision-by-committee with sim-building, because for the most part the sim owner is the one calling the [final] shots.
ITG: How did you end up tackling the multimedia question, by the way? How does Artropolis present things like theatre and film events?
ES: Well, from our standpoint, we're providing a [centralized] venue for those events to take place. Shockingly, there is a thriving live-theater scene inside SL; it's weird to think that these people are acting with their avatars, but using their real voices to provide the dialogue and stuff. It's amazing what people have done with SL. So by providing the venues for all that, we're doing something most [artist colonies] don't. Plus the same venue for the theater can be used for other things as well, so we're not shooting ourselves in the foot really since it's more flexible.
ITG: So how did the official opening on the 11th go? I tried to attend, actually, but my low-end computer kept me from doing so.
ES: All I can say is wow. The event was five hours long, and we maxxed out the sim the entire time. Max had to raise the number of people allowed to enter the sim; even he couldn't get in, because it was packed nonstop. We had three musicians who played during the event, and Filthy gave a presentation about the art scene in SL and whatnot. At one point we crashed the sim because of how busy the place was [laughter].
ITG: And what's the current situation with vacancies? How much does a studio cost, and how does one apply for one?
ES: Well, another thing that we also worked out early on, before the sim was even built, was how to handle the artist studios. We only have 15 artist studios in the sim, and it's by invite only to set up shop there. Both Filthy and I have seen too many times where just having a rental box in a place doesn't necessarily bring in the best artists, so we wanted absolute control over it. We have an interview process we do with someone who is interested; that way we can feel them out, see their work, etc. This way Artropolis only shows the best of the best, and we control the quality of what is shown there. Now as far as how much the rent is, that's info I don't have -- you'd need to talk to Filthy. I can tell you that we give ultimate freedom to the artists who are there, though. They get a lot of prims for the rent, and can add on to what is already there. And that's the cool thing, is I built this sim but now that artists have moved in, they've built on top of what I did and made it their own.
ITG: Thus adding even more to the history of the sim.
ES: Exactly! So if someone wants to add on, they can get the textures I used or use something that compliments what's there, and build on top of what I did. We also have standards for that as well. We don't want them to make it look out of theme, so we get final say on what they do. So that's also a plus with Artropolis, is that we let the artists actually develop their space the way they need to.
ITG: So are you accepting applications right now? Or are all 15 spots already filled?
ES: Last I checked we're about half-filled; so yeah, definitely, if anyone wants to set up shop there, contact Filthy Fluno.
ITG: And just to finish things up, because I know we need to get going soon; what are the upcoming plans for Artropolis? I know you'll be spending most of your time merely getting settled, and getting occupancy up to 100 percent; but will you be starting up a regular event schedule, for example, or other such projects?
ES: To be honest, now that the place is open, my level of involvement is lowered down. I'm currently working on a website for the sim; but other than that, I'm not really dealing with upcoming events and stuff. I guess I should give an open invitation to any musician or performance-artist or what-have-you; if you want to come check the place out and play there, by all means contact Filthy.
ITG: And what's next for you personally? Will you be concentrating on your fine-art work for awhile, or are you now itching to take on another big virtual building project?
ES: Well, after Artropolis was complete Filthy told me, "Dude, if you don't get other building gigs from this I'll be shocked." I hope to use this as resume material -- [proof] that I can handle big-scale builds and use that to my advantage. Right now my main focus is getting my own website finished, so that people can start buying my artwork for RL purposes. I've had a lot of requests to buy my work in RL, so that fueled me into getting this site up to do it; but I put it on the side because of Artropolis.
ITG: And finally, just because I ask everyone this, what are your chances of attending this year's community convention? It's in Chicago, after all, and you're not that far from there in real life.
ES: It's only because it's near me that I'll be going. I'm a stay-at-home dad, so I don't get many chances to travel because of it. Now that it's only four hours away, I've convinced the wife to let me go for the weekend [laughter]. So now it's a matter of saving up for it, and I'm good.
ITG: Will we maybe see an Artropolis-sponsored mixed-reality event there? Hmm?
ES: Filthy and I are actually talking about promoting Artropolis hard there, but we literally just started talking about it last night. I want to talk to others who've went to past conventions on how things are done, so we can get something ready for it. Of course I'll be pushing my own art as well, so I'll be juggling it seems [laughter].
Artropolis can be found on the web at artropolitans.com, and in the grid at [Artropolis 23/122/22]; Esch's personal site can be found at strikingsolid.com. To learn more about Artropolis studio prices, and to start the application process, IM Filthy Fluno in the grid. The public is welcome to stop by the sim at any time.