Logica CMG Revisited

Back in April last year I wrote a piece on European IT giant, Logica CMG and their (then) new - and eponymous - presence in Second Life. At the time, this was planned to be a largely private sim, providing meeting and networking facilities for Logica staff, and it was modelled as a sort of laid-back beachfront, with a lot of water, a few low-key constructions and a chunk of beach. Maybe this reveals how my memory works, but today I was squinting over the map when I noticed Logica CMG again - and I could see immediately that the sim was totally different from the incarnation I witnessed 8 months ago. So I poked the teleport button and went to have a look.

The island is indeed radically different. For one thing, it now seems to be aimed at the outside world, rather than the internal, company world. It is still, despite the company's international credentials, a Dutch build. For example, one of the buildings is only too happy to give me information on the company's many locations - provided I stick within The Netherlands. There's an auditorium, informal meeting and dancing areas, and a number of information zones. There is also a plethora of mini-skyscrapers, emblazoned in the company's non-too-fetching yellow and grey livery, that seem to serve no particular function at the moment. It is a very.... "busy"... place. There's a lot crammed in here, and the cramming is made somewhat claustrophobic by the presence of glass walls and corridors - a lot of glass walls and corridors. Quite what benefit these provide I do not know. The overall impression I have is of a giant hamster cage - though mercifully without the giant hamster.

As far as I can tell, the build is not quite finished. There were a few rough edges, default textures and the like, that are no doubt being ironed out. While I admire the zeal with which they have applied themselves to squeezing so much into a single sim, to me it feels confusing and overdone. I think the old maxim that "sometimes less is more" is something worth pondering. To be blunt, I think the first incarnation worked better - at least, it worked better for me. And here are a few snaps to ponder: