Aimee Weber

Aimee Weber

The Avastar

Midnight City

American Apparel virtual store

Aimee Weber is a Second Life designer/celebrity that has taken that, and this, world by storm. She has been actively involved in SL for many years now, developing fashion, architecture, cities for her own person projects as well as for corporate clients. Aimee took some time out from her busy schedule to answer a few questions for NWD.

Can you give me your perspective on the current state of Second Life (SL)? It certainly seemed to swell in popularity a couple of years ago but this soon seemed to wane.
Second Life rode a publicity bubble where all kinds of unrealistic expectations there thrown about. When the bubble popped, there was a bit of a fall where people overreacted, and many bloggers and people in the press delighted in declaring Second Life's demise. Since then I think the platform has evened out and grows steadily. We now have realistic expectations of SL.

What type of design work have you been involved in recently for SL?
Aimee Weber Studio has mostly been doing work for government and military simulations and prototyping. We've created simulated environments and provided training to the Navy as well as some anti-terrorism organizations. We've created a nuclear reactor and working radiological experiments for Nuclear Regulatory Commission. We've prototyped models for Siemens and we also did work for the MacArthur foundation.

Does your design work extend into other metaspaces, other than SL?
Well much of our work also occurs in Maya and Blender, and some of our projects involve server side programming. These basic sills are very transferable. Right now we're looking at Blue Mars.

What challenges do you face as a designer for metaspaces?
The biggest challenge is platform stability and limitations in the platform feature set. Many of our projects have been hindered by Second Life's lack of convenient export features and collaboration tools (transferring entire sims to a client is never an easy task.)

What is the most enjoyable aspect of working in your design business?
It's an aesthetic business. I love simply looking at what we've done. The prettier the build the better.

What is the least enjoyable aspect of working in your design business?
Well as a serious business much of my day-to-day work involves proposals, payroll, taxes, grant applications, and other organizational tasks. This leaves less room for getting my hands on the prims. I try to build whenever I can but it's not as much as it used to be.

Who has been an influence in your work?
My formative years in Second Life were heavily influenced by Francis Chung, Mistress Midnight, Chip Midnight and Nepheline Protagonists. I also spent a lot of time in video games like Half Life trying to deconstruct how they made such attractive environments so that I could incorporate those techniques into my own work.

What type of things inspire your creative process?
I love dramatic environments (which, unfortunately, most serious clients don't request) such as heavy shadows from multiple light sources, and eerie color schemes. I love gritty city streets and builds with lots of little nooks and hidden places. I also love weather, rain especially. That always gets me in a creative mood.

What advice would you give a designer who is new to developing environments/experiences for SL or other metaspaces?
Take the time to thoroughly learn the tools. It can be boring going through every tutorial and reading a Photoshop book cover-to-cover ... but learning the correct ways to accomplish a task can really save you time. Also, try to spend a lot of time tinkering. Do free-form experiments on how badly you can torture a prim, or how you can play with baked textures. Finally, be persistent and patient. Don't become frustrated if you aren't a superstar or millionaire overnight. Most of the big names in SL took years to get to where they are. You can do it too but you might have to put in at least as much time as they did.

What are the greatest challenges you find in developing metaspaces for corporate clients?
Like in any consulting business, it's managing client expectations. When a client constantly pushes for more work than was agreed, that can be exhausting. Clients with vague, unattainable aesthetic goals can be difficult to manage when their dreams aren't possible with modern 3D technology. We've been fortunate to have some great clients with a robust technical background.

Can you enlighten me to your thoughts on sound in an immersive environment?
Sound effects are absolutely essential for an immersive environment. Ambient sounds, even if barely perceptible, can go a long way to set the mood of your build. Wav files can also create illusions of motion, for example a door scripted to silently close may "feel" as though it is lightly touching the stops ... but if you script a well-timed "SLAM" then the same exact motion will feel stronger and will imbue the door with a sense of weight. All that said, builders should avoid intrusive or distracting sounds.

What tips and tricks do you have for designers that would encourage users to revisit the space?
Assuming the content is worthy in the first place, regular and frequent updates will keep people coming back to see what's new. Hosting events (parties, dances, discussions, etc.) is a good way to drive traffic your way. Also, if you can make visitors feel somehow involved with the project, they will keep coming back. Perhaps you can create a sandbox, or give people small parcels so they can add their own touches to your space.

Being a major fashion purveyor within SL, what are your tips for next seasons SL fashion? And which outlets would you recommend SL fashion junkies visit?
My work has moved away from fashion and is almost exclusively corporate and government contracts. In fact my avatar (clothing and all) is now a registered trademark! I never change my clothes! So to be perfectly honest I'm not sure what's hot in SL fashion right now. I'd say designers should just look at whatever Lady Gaga is doing. She even sort of LOOKS like an SL avatar.

If people wanted to discover some truly amazing architecture or environments in SL, what would be your top three recommendations?
I'm going to pass on this one since I have a bias towards my own work and the work of my friends.

What are your future aspirations for your career?
I'd like to see Aimee Weber Studio grow into a major art house providing 3D content, designs, and programming to all kinds of platforms, from virtual worlds to video games to animated Hollywood productions.

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