The Internet is the biggest source of information today, but sometimes, things get lost and forgotten through the sands of time itself. But what happens when the internet becomes a museum that gives faithful testimony of someone's experiences? Today we would like to celebrate sl0nderman: a member of Worlds.com for 10 years now, who has decided to share with us a little piece of his history through the creation of one of the best finished works and full of surprises that will not fail to surprise those who frequent this chat room. Just to get you in the mood, here's a short interview with the man himself!
How did you get to know about Worlds?I joined from 4chan, or more accurately, from a friend I met on 4chan. It was pretty popular on /x/, the paranormal discussion board, at the time and I think Worlds is still discussed there but not as much. The short version of the story is that I joined a very small chatroom from there and one of them eventually brought up exploring Worlds. I sadly don't talk to most of them anymore, but I still think about those people a lot.
Any funny/weird story you have from your time on Worlds?I regret that my memory is not so great of my earlier days on Worlds. I was mostly along for the ride in those days, I wasn't very good at exploring either and mostly found new places when someone showed me. I remember a joke that SirG told in GroundZero but it's a little rude so I won't repeat it here right now. I remember being yelled at by HOST-Melissa for running around and standing too close to other people, which I think is a common experience for people touring Worlds at the time. I also remember finding Sanic world the first time, that was really really funny to me. Temina, who I joined Worlds with originally, put up a Tumblr blog about it with screenshots and such. I submitted a post to that blog with a screenshot of Sanic world and "GOTTA GO FAST" over and over and it got like 600 notes for some reason. I remember we both were laughing about how this stupid post got that much attention.
How long did it take for you to learn Shaper?Even though I've been around Worlds for a while, I really didn't learn Shaper until about 2020. I was even really bad at avatar customizing back then. When I returned to Worlds after an extended break, I really wanted to try and get a custom Hologram avatar working. I had to do a lot of research and taught myself a lot. I couldn't make the avatar work but I did learn a lot about shaper and .rwx models, which lead to making my most popular Youtube guide on making 2D avatars. Learning the basics didn't take very long, but what took longer and I'm still learning is the most efficient ways to do things. From my programmer's perspective, finding the optimal way to get a desired result is a very enjoyable puzzle.
If you have/had any, I'd like to know about your earlier work on Worlds (avatars, events, building, whatever you can think of)So like I was talking about, the very first thing I tried to do was make a hologram avatar which I don't recommend as a first step for anyone learning Shaper. I eventually found resources on a lot of old Japanese websites and eventually found a download of compimg, the program used to make the hologram .mov files. The problem was that this version of the program was so old that it didn't even work on my computer without the aid of the DOSbox emulator. The old version was also annoying because it didn't actually explain what commands to use, so I only had a README file that came with it to guess what I was doing. I eventually talked to Wirla about it and he showed me an updated version of the software and that was a blessing. I showed him the old version and I believe he uploaded it on Worlio for archival purposes.
Right now most of my worlds are offline while I migrate entirely to Worlio.com, but you can see a lot of them in the videos and guide I've made. The very first world I made as part of the learning process was a small forest maze with some hologram animals I cropped from photos I'd taken. It was very basic but I still liked how it looked.
The next world I made was a gallery to put all the holograms I was making in for display while I worked on trying to figure out how to make them into avatars. Even then I was putting in details like a mirror that let you change views and a hidden room.
I never really hosted any events aside from showing some newbies around at odd hours, but I sure did participate in or at least watch a lot of them. Maybe one day we'll get another comedy night.
How long did it take to finish your last world?My computer says I made the project folder on Jan 6th but I didn't start working on it immediately. I like to do a little planning first and flesh out ideas before I jump in. When you write your ideas down, it makes it easier not to get overwhelmed because then you can check off things as you go. I had a strict release date of Feb 10th because that was the exactly day of my account creation (you can find this information out yourself by checking your account info and seeing when you received your new user complimentary VIP). So I say the whole process took me from 2-3 weeks of passionate work. I was still coming up with new ideas up until the night before. The morning of I was testing and testing and testing because I had asked Balaam to include it on his weekly tour and I wanted everything to go right and I'm blessed that it went perfectly smoothly.
I sat down to write a short script for a video explaining the references and techniques I used in the world and when I finished I realized that I had written a 6 page essay. So I think I'm going to just post that along with some pictures soon and maybe eventually turn it into a video when I feel like talking for 40 minutes.
And now... A written tour that portrays his testimony in art form.
Part 1:At the beginning we'll find an empty room. I think this is a little bit what we all experience when we first arrive at worlds.com, the feeling of emptiness and silence, of not knowing what to do. Until, after a few turns, we find an up arrow: an elevator will take us for a ride during which sl0nderman tells us very slowly how was his first experience inside the chat. When we get to the top, we fall shockingly... But this is not the end.
Part 2:We approach a room that, for the exploration experts, has an intimate reference to one of the classic rooms of Worlds (which we can originally find in "Glee Pod"), where sl0nderman resignifies elements of that lonely place that hides a love poem. At this point we can interact with the elements of the room. If you know how to explore, you will find the exit.
Part 3: Mugshots?The next space we will find if we successfully exit the previous one is a tribute to Mugshots. I recommend always looking around. There are exquisite details and at all times you can interact with them, something not often seen in Worlds. Did you see what I'm talking about? As we go through the door we find 3x3 image boards that also reflect experiences through the eyes of sl0nderman, with a great sense of aesthetics. This will lead us to one more door, but a very unconventional one.
Part 4: The key.Ever heard of the phrase "The key of the book and the lock"? Never more literal. In this place you will discover the mysteries of this legend.
Part 5: EnaGo into the deep. Don't ask questions, just let yourself go into the deep.
Part 6: The Temple of the Birds - B.A.V.I.To remember where we come from. We were all penguins at one time or another, and we've also seen endless chains in the chat room that all participants repeat the same word endlessly: kiwi. Honoring the beginnings of absolutely everyone in Worlds, everyone is welcome at the temple.
Part 7: GOTTA GO FAST.Have you ever ended up deaf when you accidentally landed in Sanic? This hallway honors that accidental teleport. Don't worry, sl0nderman was kind and doesn't stun us with loud sounds.
Part 8: "Let the machine live your fantasy".In March 2010, RX's "Bumble" video was released, which sparked a series of memes that remained on the internet to this day. If you know what I'm talking about, you're going to love this section of the Decennial. It's not only a fun little piece that alludes to the internet's past, but it's also a display of never-before-seen technical and design skills. And if you don't know what we're talking about... You should interact with this room.
Part 9: Train / Ruby QuestYou are in an abandoned place in the middle of the forest. What if there's eyes looking at you from hidden places, and what if you try to get out and find a prisoner? At this point, the mouse is of vital importance. What things are there to interact with? What places could you access?
Part 10: Time is a virtue.Clocks can talk. Time gives the answers.
Part 11: Heaven?Is the sky open or closed? You arrived successfully, almost at the end of the tour. What's on the horizon? Is it the beginning or the end? I encourage you to try the invisible platform and walk around a bit.
If you want a novelty avatar, sl0n has you covered!
If you want a little music or maybe some pleasing visuals to pass the time, go down those stairs and click around. Sound on!
If you're looking for a new game, invite your friends over and check out the Auditorium down the hall together. What time of day do you like best?
And if that's not enough, you can always go to "Travel" and start over. You never know if you've seen everything...
Worldmark