Hi everyone! Hoping that I find you all well.
I have some exciting news for you this week. There is a new member of the team, bringing lots of experience to help the goddesses bring us even more awesomeness.
When you see Lera Silverbough in the group please give her a very warm welcome.

I managed to grab a few minutes of Lera’s time and invite down to the shed to find out more (maybe she will build me a new shed as Krysta said no)

Hey Lera!
Welcome to the Potted team and thanks for taking the time to chat with me to get you introduced to the Potted addicts, I mean inmates.. um.. no, players. Potted players, yes, that’s it.
Tell us a little bit about you, your SL journey and how you ended up at the Potted Asylum.. um.. Potted Shed

Hi, Shaun – thanks for inviting me to the shed! I’ve been in and out of SL since… gosh, I think ‘08? I fell in love with some really lovely pixel ponies in early
2012 and spent time calling auctions all over SL, worked for ABC for a little while, and discovered in the process of doing that work that I loved doing digital art.

One thing many people in SL don’t know about me is that I am what’s known in the US as legally blind. You know cataracts, like what older folks can end up with? I was born with them. Some really pioneering surgeries when I was still an infant let me keep some vision, but not enough to drive with or play sports or read normal print font, and that close-up vision definitely got worse as I grew up, forcing me to leave behind a lot of the art I’d loved as a kid, simply because I just couldn’t see well enough anymore. By the time I was 16 I had to use a white cane to stay safe basically any time I left the house. So when I discovered digital art – software that would let me paint and sculpt while what I was working on could be zoomed in on as much as I needed to – it was absolutely life-changing for me. It
definitely started out as something I just did for fun, but eventually sort of took over my whole life! My RL degree is in communications studies, and I eventually ended up making use of that to teach others how to make use of these tools that can often seem overwhelming and insurmountable. Which is how I met the Potted goddesses!

What most excites you about creating for Potted?

Mm, that’s a tough question. I’ve absolutely loved every minute of my time here, but I’m the worst at the ‘pick one’ kind of questions. I can tell you that one of the most exciting things about creating for Potted is the challenge. Being a game within SL means we don’t have control over a lot of things the way we would in something like a computer game or a phone app. So you get an idea for something outside the box – like a pot made out of an ice sculpture, for example – that you think people would really like, but you can’t just go make your own ice material because SL doesn’t know how to read that. It’ll just give you an import error or at best will try to come through on the texture’s alpha blending mode, which… does not always look nice. So you’ve gotta figure out ways to
make that clear-but-not-transparent “ice” vibe come through for the people looking at it, and it’s got to look at least decent on a wide variety of Windlight
settings. Or, well, I guess those are Environment settings now? I spent a long time working outside SL, forgive me. I still catch myself saying ‘prim count’ instead of Land Impact.

Which is your favorite Potted plant type?

Mm, I’m an absolute sucker for climbing ivy, so that was definitely a contender, but the Karnivores have definitely become my weird little alien babies.
They’re just these cute little guys and I absolutely adore them.

What do you hope to bring to the people of Potted?

I spent quite a few years working in various parts of this industry outside of SL, building for other platforms and learning how to optimize what you’re making for the kind of work you’ll need it to do. I want to make use of that knowledge and experience to help bring parts of this game to life in ways that will push the boundaries of what’s “possible” and give our players a little extra dose of magic in their day.

and to finish…..
If you could be an animal for a day, what would you be?

Haha, my fiancée says living with me is like having a person-sized house cat, but if I could pick one I think it would absolutely be a unicorn. But then I wouldn’t want to give it back, so I guess at that point I’m just a unicorn forever, which works for me!

Thanks again Lera, was really good talking to you.

NEW LE POTS
Easter is almost here and that brings Easter LE Pots! Now available in the store!

For the Spiders we have
Coffee Break – LE Cutest Bunny
Lil Sass – LE Easter Basket Fun
LE Easter Chantenay

Philodendrons
LE Bunnysaurus
LE Bunny Hunt
LE Easter Winner

Ivys
Java Jangle – LE Little Bunny
Trendy Tower – LE Spring Flowers
Tundra LE Baby Lamb

Not forgetting the Patreon Exclusive Karnivores

Level 6+
Teeny Terracotta – LE Egg Hunt

Level 7
Lava Lair – LE Easter Springs

All of these pots are limited to ONE per Avi per 24 hours
The will retire March 31st! So grab them up while you can.

Don’t forget to look out for the Harvestable LEs that match these pots. So cute!

That’s a wrap for this week. Take care and see you around the grid.