Game on!

You've heard of golf widows, right? Well, I am a hockey widow!

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, Patrice is playing for the Whales in the Second Life Hockey League. There are four teams competing for the SL equivalent of the Stanley Cup. I was kidding about the hockey widow part. All of her practices and many of her games are at times when I'm not online. When my online time and a scheduled game coincide, I love to go watch.

She practises hard to get better. It's not an easy game to play, especially if you're on defence. The animation does not allow skating backwards—yet. It's often difficult to see the puck, even when you're on the ice. It's difficult to check someone off the puck, and it seems to be all too easy for a puck carrier to waltz in and shoot before the defence has even had a chance to react. I'm beginning to realize that an accurate shot is one of the most important offensive skills to have.

If it's hard sometimes for players to see the puck, it's even more difficult for spectators. Sometime what I'll do is use the camera controls to zoom in on one of the players and let him or her drag my view around the ice. If you zoom in on a hot forward, you are likely to find that elusive puck on her or his stick!

For the players especially, there is often lag to contend with. Anyone who comes to a game, please remove anything scripted! That includes jewellery (often), animation overrides, and many other toys. They probably need a script bouncer like many live concerts have. I tend to fly in to the rink itself from the landing point. I detest the default female walk.

The rink is located at Jericho Hill. It's easy to find a landmark if you look up SL Hockey League. Sorry, I still haven't learned how to post a SLurl!