"I would say it's an outdoor adventure destination," said Mackenzie Aura Starlight (mackenzie aura) of the two sims she is helping to run. The original LilBirdy is a full sim island and their new land, on the mainland, will be an extension.
The original LilBirdy isn't really
that old, and while it is open to the public it will have its technical grand
opening in early August.
Mackenzie and her partner Kit "Marikit" Starlight (elida starlight) established the island sim to be "a breathtaking, family friendly destination in Second Life where dreams dance on the breeze and adventure awaits around every corner," according to Marikit.
While the island is technically
private, the pair have opened it up to the public to explore and enjoy. The
island is filled with lush forests perfect for exploring and camping. It also
has plenty of locations set aside for cuddles.
There are also ways to get around the
sim.
"As you can see we have a
horse rezzer a bike rezzer and an ATV rezzer here," said
Mackenzie.
With an emphasis on nature, Mackenzie
said that she would like to find ways to educate those who want to learn more
about nature.
"We are debating if we want to
offer a nature school or just do a nature center that way people can learn at
their own pace. I would love for them to earn badges by learning about plants
they see in SL and how it can help them in RL. That's my dream but it will take
a while," said Mackenzie.
"Our goal was to make it like a
state or federal park, realistic... but have some magical aspects to it like
the light on the trees. We also are utilizing a special effect for the
environment," said Mackenzie, encouraging people to use the shared
environment.
In fact, the shared environment is set to cycle through a full day in four hours.
"That way you can role play a day
out with family in any time zone," said Mackenzie.
There are a lot of park type
features on the island sim. There are group campfires where visitors can enjoy
all types of camping treats such as marshmallows.
The pair is planning to have an
outdoor outfitter mall for those who realize they didn't pack all of their
camping essentials.
In addition to lots of camping,
there is also a large swimming hole as well as a raft or tubing ride. There are
also plans for a large, custom splash pad.
The island is also set up for
changing weather. While it will randomly rain on visitors, the flora will
change with the seasons so people can experience their favorite times of the
year.
There is a large flower garden which can be set up for any type of celebration, including weddings and birthday parties.
Much of what exists on the
island sim either already exists or will on their newly purchased piece of the
mainland.
"Mainland is more focused
on Get the Freight Out and it's an extension," said Mackenzie, pointing
out that there are multiple modes of transportation available.
"We bought more land on the
mainland and we have been adding on as part of LiBirdy. The GTFO Hub now has an
airport, harbor, space station, and parking lot which allows others to use the
vehicles that are open and GTFO ready, and our helicopter pad, and a lot of
little nooks. I will also have little LilBirdy stores that are relevant
to either forest, or harbors, and or space themed LilBirdy. We are also
working on rebranding the vehicles to LiBirdy with customization. I know
we are considering adding a zip line to the mainland LilBirdy also," said
Mackenzie.
When they bought this new land
the previous owners allowed them to keep the Get the Freight Out hub.
"The previous owner sold it as a hub. We decided it sounded like a lot of fun! All we had to do was re-register it and we decided to buy surrounding land to add to it," said Mackenzie.
"Like we have limited
boating options from the sim, but you can utilize the waters on SL from
here," she added, or you can fly in from another airport to this location
which is really cool!"
There is also skiing available.
People can get free skis and tubes to enjoy the slopes in the snowy portion of
the sim.
This mainland extension is set
up like a state park, according to Mackenzie, with dirt roads and paths instead
of them being paved. The pair are even providing cars that people can drive
around the sim. They want to make opportunities available for everyone.
This extension has everything
from shops and faces to a marina and even a submarine to explore their
underwater area.
There is a lot to explore both
on the island and the mainland but the two are constantly adding to and
changing both locations.
"Nothing is guaranteed to
stay the same. It will be constantly changing," said Mackenzie with a
smile.
"My ultimate goal is to have fun! We like the private sim because it can be for private events, but this public sim gets more traffic as of now and we have been meeting lots of new people through this hub. It will allow us to use experiences also to create 'arrival' type of experiences for coming to LilBirdy that are unique," said Mackenzie.
- Main Sim: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LilBirdy/211/129/54
- Mainland Sim: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clear/56/167/108
- Group: secondlife:///app/group/8cf63673-c292-d51c-3db6-2779647727b5/about
- Preferred Contact: Mackenzie Aura Starlight (mackenzie aura)