The city sims – where’s Melbourne?

Knightsbridge, Liverpool (recently relocated from a mainland sim to an island) and Amsterdam are just three cities that have their SL replicas, of varying accuracy and purpose.

knightsbridge.jpg

amsterdam.jpg

Other city areas replicated include Times Square in New York (currently in development) and Paris (circa 1900).

paris1900.jpg

They all have their appeal, but I’m wondering when someone will take on an Australian city. I personally believe Melbourne would be the pick – iconic parts of Sydney have been well and truly covered now (Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour, Sydney Harbour Bridge) whereas Melbourne has a character that would make it sit nicely aside replicas like Liverpool. Amsterdam well and truly has the red-light district covered so not sure a virtual King’s Cross or St Kilda is required.

What are your thoughts on city sims – do they have a contribution to make in SL and if so, what contribution do you think an Australian city sim would make?

Comments

  1. Earnest Candour says

    Gold Coast gets my vote. Though I guess a lot of stuff in SL looks like the GC anyway (ie plastic), so maybe not.

    No wait, Perth. Northbridge in Perth would be perfect actually.

    EC.

  2. Speaking as a Melbourne resident, I think the Brisbane CBD would work much better. It’s hard to think of a representative chunk of Melbourne that would work well. Royal Park? Southern end of Lygon street? Brunswick street? Bits of North Carlton and the Tin Pot Cafe? The riverside between the aquarium and St Kilda Road, perhaps? Or the Domain?

    Almost all, are long narrow stretches.

  3. Speaking as a Melbourne resident, I think the Brisbane CBD would work much better. It’s hard to think of a representative chunk of Melbourne that would work well. Royal Park? Southern end of Lygon street? Brunswick street? Bits of North Carlton and the Tin Pot Cafe? The riverside between the aquarium and St Kilda Road, perhaps? Or the Domain?

    Almost all, are long narrow stretches.

  4. Earnest Candour says

    Gold Coast gets my vote. Though I guess a lot of stuff in SL looks like the GC anyway (ie plastic), so maybe not.

    No wait, Perth. Northbridge in Perth would be perfect actually.

    EC.

  5. Cities in the clouds, under the sea, on a cliff-face or on the underside of an outsized cornflake box….we have all the possibilities under the Second Life sun and all we can do is create poor facsimiles of what we already have in the real world?

    Is Second Life just a travel brochure or a growing monument to our own lack of imaginaton?

  6. Cities in the clouds, under the sea, on a cliff-face or on the underside of an outsized cornflake box….we have all the possibilities under the Second Life sun and all we can do is create poor facsimiles of what we already have in the real world?

    Is Second Life just a travel brochure or a growing monument to our own lack of imaginaton?

  7. Not enough kids in SL to do Northbridge effectively =p

  8. Not enough kids in SL to do Northbridge effectively =p

  9. People often delight in the new and strange, as much as they relax in the comfortable and familiar.

    My avatar can fly, but I spend more time walking than flying. I think there’s plenty of room for both the mundane and the fantastic.

  10. People often delight in the new and strange, as much as they relax in the comfortable and familiar.

    My avatar can fly, but I spend more time walking than flying. I think there’s plenty of room for both the mundane and the fantastic.

  11. Earnest Candour says

    If someone wanted to do a really authentic Brisbane CBD sim, we’d need 24 hour bots who harass AVs for money and use push scripts at taxi cues 😉

    Now that would be something to see

    EC.

  12. Earnest Candour says

    I’m liking the self deprecating Aussie thread we got going.

    Skribe, I MISS those CAT buses, are they still free? Tried squeezing onto a peak hour train in Syd lately? its like real world lag. But I digress…

  13. Spectoral says

    **Melbourne Royal Gallery of Victoria including spire
    **Federation Square complex
    **all the way to Bourke Street Mall (REAL replica retail shops = interaction and $$$), i mean, come on, everyone comes to Melbourne to shop…
    **the Yarra River and Southbank strip
    **Possibly Crown Casino if Crown want to get amongst the online gambling
    **the MCG – with AFL news / feeds / broadcasts
    **Hardware Lane, Brown Alley, Royal Arcade with the iconic European cafe walkthroughs

    Clearly Melbourne is full of icons that would leave developers scratching their heads about what NOT to include. We completely leave Brisbane CBD for dead, I don’t know what these people are talking about. It’s more than just a visual landscape, people.

  14. Spectoral says

    **Melbourne Royal Gallery of Victoria including spire
    **Federation Square complex
    **all the way to Bourke Street Mall (REAL replica retail shops = interaction and $$$), i mean, come on, everyone comes to Melbourne to shop…
    **the Yarra River and Southbank strip
    **Possibly Crown Casino if Crown want to get amongst the online gambling
    **the MCG – with AFL news / feeds / broadcasts
    **Hardware Lane, Brown Alley, Royal Arcade with the iconic European cafe walkthroughs

    Clearly Melbourne is full of icons that would leave developers scratching their heads about what NOT to include. We completely leave Brisbane CBD for dead, I don’t know what these people are talking about. It’s more than just a visual landscape, people.

  15. Heh, Spectoral all those pale in comparison to Perth’s Bell Tower. The turn of the century ferries. The CAT buses that leave just as you arrive. The pay-as-much-as-you-like Indian restaurant. The Black Swan scultures – except instead of being black, they’re bronzy-kinda coloured. Now there is a major Australian iconic drawcard =).

  16. Earnest Candour says

    If someone wanted to do a really authentic Brisbane CBD sim, we’d need 24 hour bots who harass AVs for money and use push scripts at taxi cues 😉

    Now that would be something to see

    EC.

  17. Earnest Candour says

    I’m liking the self deprecating Aussie thread we got going.

    Skribe, I MISS those CAT buses, are they still free? Tried squeezing onto a peak hour train in Syd lately? its like real world lag. But I digress…

  18. Heh, Spectoral all those pale in comparison to Perth’s Bell Tower. The turn of the century ferries. The CAT buses that leave just as you arrive. The pay-as-much-as-you-like Indian restaurant. The Black Swan scultures – except instead of being black, they’re bronzy-kinda coloured. Now there is a major Australian iconic drawcard =).

  19. Earnest Candour says

    Well, more nostalgic for the Perth lifestyle, as opposed to the CATs themselves. Fremantle would be good to see in SL.

  20. Yeah, they’re still free. But if you’re seriously nostalgic for the CATs then you really need to get out more because that really is very, very sad =).

  21. Yeah, they’re still free. But if you’re seriously nostalgic for the CATs then you really need to get out more because that really is very, very sad =).

  22. Earnest Candour says

    Well, more nostalgic for the Perth lifestyle, as opposed to the CATs themselves. Fremantle would be good to see in SL.

  23. Agreed about Freo.

  24. Agreed about Freo.

  25. Randle Lane says

    As a Melbourne resident I would like to say that Flinders Street Station could be pretty good to have a look at. Jeff’s shead and the melbourne exhibition building could also be made and be used for others to set up their own stalls.

  26. Randle Lane says

    As a Melbourne resident I would like to say that Flinders Street Station could be pretty good to have a look at. Jeff’s shead and the melbourne exhibition building could also be made and be used for others to set up their own stalls.

  27. Lola Lockjaw says

    Hi. There is a small St Kilda Sim in second life, it has Luna Park and the Espy. Its in Omega City and has some live Dj’s. The owner (me) is always looking for ways to improve the sim and Dj’s etc so if anyone has any feedback, it would be much appreciated.

  28. Lola Lockjaw says

    Hi. There is a small St Kilda Sim in second life, it has Luna Park and the Espy. Its in Omega City and has some live Dj’s. The owner (me) is always looking for ways to improve the sim and Dj’s etc so if anyone has any feedback, it would be much appreciated.

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