Love them or hate them — and many people do love them — but there are now breedables on the hypergrid.
Previously, breedables in OpenSim were limited to closed grids like InWorldz, with Oyo Breedables, Fussels Breedables, and, of course, Amaretto Breedables.
As of this week, however, breedable turtles have arrived on AviWorlds, SkyLife Grid, and Kitely, thanks to the efforts of SkyLife founder Josh Boam, owner of the JP Collection store on the Kitely Market and the Second Life Marketplace.
Why turtles?
There used to be breedable turtles in Second Life, called Petable Turtles, said Boam, back in the pre-mesh days. He recalls that there were even auctions where turtle breeders sold turtles.
“I spent 13,000 Lindens one time on a turtle in Second Life,” he said.  “They’re cute.”
But it didn’t last.
Now he’s bringing turtles back.
Boam made his LifePet Breedables turtles using Maya to create the mesh turtles themselves, Photoshop for the textures, and the free breedable scripts from Ferd Frederix for the functionality.
How they work
You start out with a box, open it up, and you get a little turtle egg. Click on it to hatch it, and set up the turtle den for the turtles to roam around. It takes seven days for the turtles to grow to maturity, after which they can breed and reproduce every five days.
The turtles eat turtle food, which lasts one month per turtle, which is sold separately. They come in seven starter colors, then with every new generation, you get new types of turtles.
“There are thousands of combinations you can have,” Boam said. “The deeper you get in the generation, that’s when they start showing things like glow and shine.”
The turtles are animated, so that they move around, or tuck themselves into shells when they go to sleep.
“When they mate they get up on their hind legs and bob their heads a little bit,” he said. “It’s kind of cute.”
The turtles cost 275 AV$, or a about US $1.37, on the AviWorlds grid, or $1 each on the Kitely Market.
Help wanted
Unfortunately, while Boam can build and script a turtle, he’s not as strong at the other aspects of creating a successful business around the product.
For example, breedables need events such as auctions and shows.
“I have to get someone to do the events,” Boam said. “I’m horrible at it. If someone wants to help out, they can send me an email at joshboam@yahoo.com.”
Boam said he’s also willing to export the turtles over the hypergrid. Right now, they’re only sold locally, because the scripts break when exported. So far, he hasn’t been able to fix this problem.
Again, if someone wants to help, they can contact him.
He’s also willing to set up stores or affiliate outlets on other grids.
“I’d love to get them out there,” he said.
Unfortunately, he said, there’s a lack of affiliate vendors in OpenSim.
“In Second Life, that’s how we do it,” he said. “Affiliate vendors rock. Give them 50 percent, they’re making money, they’re making you money, and you don’t have to do anything — they’re advertising your product for you.”
Scripting a vendor system, server-side modules, or database-driven breedables scripts that will ensure authenticity even across the hypergrid — these are all tasks beyond his programming skills, he said.
Beyond turtles: pot and horses
Turtles not your thing?
Boam also makes breedable pot plants — “Blazing Breedables” — and is working on breedable horses.
“Anything can be a breedable,” he said.
The pot plants are already available for sale on the AviWorlds grid, on the Blazing Breedables region, for AV$ 349 each, plant food sold separately. They’re also sold on Avination, Zandramas, and in Second Life.
“Not everybody wants to grow virtual cannabis,” he admitted. “There’s not a lot to do with it once it grows.”
In theory, however, someone could turn the product into something people could smoke.
“And if someone wants to come in on with me with to do that, they could come in and make lots of money,” he said. “I’m very easy to work with.”
The breedable horses, called Stunning Stallions, are not yet available for purchase, because they’re still in beta.
In addition, Boam said, he could use some help making the horses rideable.
“I want to do pigs, too — they’re kinda cute,” he added.
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