Samsung SDM

Well, it seems that hardly anyone noticed that this blog had gone into hibernate mode for a couple of weeks. In fact, despite appearances to the contrary, it still is. But you know how it is... once you get into the habit of writing this crap, it gets difficult to stop. So I thought I should keep my hand in, as it were, and push out a couple of posts about sims I've not seen covered elsewhere. This is usually a surefire way of provoking my chum, VeeJay, into pointing out how he'd covered these sims years ago on Mindblizzard - carrying the implication that I had not read and/or sufficiently digested the posts in question: actually a not-unreasonable assertion. However, I'm quietly confident that he hasn't covered this first sim: Samsung SDM.

SDM, in this case, refers to Samsung Design Membership. Note that if you plan on following the link to the website, you'd be best to use something other than Firefox, which seems to have trouble rendering the pages (at least, my copy did). Originally founded in 1993, SDM was an initiative to encourage design excellence in Korea, by discovering and nurturing new design talent. In 2006 the programme was expanded globally. It offers selected design student access to facilities almost equivalent to a design studio, and encourages them to work on their own projects and share their work with others. Offering them a space in Second Life seems a logical next step, providing both a creative medium and a common, shared locale, independent of geography.

The build is by Korean virtual world builders, Acid Crebiz, who have also developed a multi-sim presence for Samsung that is still closed to the general public. Indications on the island suggest that Samsung SDM has been open to members of the SDM group for quite some time. I don't believe it has been open to the public for that long - though I will doubtless be proved wrong on this! Parts of the sim are still closed to the public.

To be honest I am not too sure what to make of this place. It has some nice detailing in parts, but I don't get much sense of its purpose. Various displays provide some background on the SDM programme, and there is a blimp tour of the sim. But aside from a closed auditorium (pictured below), I don't get much sense of communal facilities, nor have I seen areas set aside for SDM students to develop visualisations. All in all, much as I normally like Acid Crebiz builds, I am at a loss to pin down the purpose of this sim. Perhaps you'd care to enlighten me?

Here's a few snaps to give you a flavour of the place:


The second post will follow shortly...