Spotlight on Kayaker Magic
Today's spotlight shines on one of our prolific creators, Kayaker Magic. Kayaker has been with Discovery Grid since the beginning, September 2016. His company, Ocean Engineering, sells to the metaverse through Kitely Market. You can see his creations inworld at regions Pangaea and Panthalassa.
Can you tell the community a little about yourself (real life and virtual)?
I am a retired software developer, bringing 40 years of RL experience to bear on writing scripted items in-world. I first became
interested in SL when I read their TOS (Do you know anyone else who did that first?) and was amazed to hear you can script
self-replicating objects, and it is allowed! (As long as they don’t get loose and bring down the servers). In RL I am an avid
kayaker and have paddled thousands of miles of wilderness expeditions on the ocean. I also love kayak surfing, so I was inspired
to find ways to bring surfing and then other water-sports to OpenSimulator.
How did you hear about Discovery Grid? How long have you been here?
When Gregg Legendary first started Discovery Grid, he invited me to come and set up some adventurous things to do here. I already
had things like surfing and sailing to bring, then I built some new things just for Discovery Grid like horseback riding and dune buggies.
The horses in region Spirit Rock Ranch are a collaboration: The horses were originally designed and built by Gregg and I wrote the scripts.
Spirit Rock Ranch had too much land and I filled in some of it with a dune field. This inspired me to make a vehicle to drive over the dunes!
What would you like people to know about Discovery Grid?
The adventure is still there in Discovery Grid and there are many things to do! The oceans connect all the land together for sailing.
Then there is the land and the air to race cars, fly hang gliders and much more.
Tell us how you feel about OpenSim?
Despite the fact that the technology of the viewer is hopelessly out of date, I think OpenSimulator still has legs. The HyperGrid Metaverse
creates a large community of people to meet and creative places to explore. The ability to build in-world (something missing in most newer
systems today) lowers the bar for new people to learn to contribute. The open-source server code allows some of us to host new worlds even
on their computers at home, then share them with the world.
What would you like us to know about your talents and skills in virtual?
When I first came to SL and then OpenSim, I thought I would concentrate on writing scripts. But to make complete products in-world I soon
had to learn many new skills: Building, texture mapping, animation, sound editing and mesh modeling.
What can you tell us about creating in virtual?
It takes many different parts to make a single product in-world, all stitched together with a script. As a project nears completion my
excitement rises to a crescendo. The moment when all the pieces lock together and something COMES TO LIFE for the first time is practically
orgasmic for me.
Paint a picture for us, in words, about your business?
At one time I thought I would concentrate on water-based projects in-world, so I named my company Ocean Engineering. But I cannot resist
working on non-water based projects that catch my fancy. People often ask me to do contract script writing and I usually refuse. I can think
of projects of my own twice as fast as I can finish them and would rather work on my own ideas. But if an idea is interesting I sometimes
take it on. Don’t ask me to make a wandering deer, for example. Why make something as ordinary as a deer or an elk when I can build a T-Rex
and go BIG GAME HUNTING!
In closing, what do you see in your future in regards to Discovery Grid?
I say I am a citizen of the Metaverse and I prefer not to have satellite stores in every grid. Discovery Grid is the only place I have an
in-world store on Gloebit Island, everyone else has to go to the Kitely Market to get my stuff.