Meet the team: James Atlloud

The Hypergrid International Expo has a Technical Director with a flair for filming and a deep rooted love of scifi.  James Atlloud shares here a little bit of his story.

James Atlloud: I had a very pastoral upbringing in the country where I read a lot of science fiction books which encouraged me to imagine wondrous things.  In work I had natural inclinations to electricity and to computer tech.  I studied educational technology and concluded my studies with Second Life as my Master’s thesis subject.   Since then I’ve applied myself as time allows to explore and support virtual worlds and in particular support Open Simulator.

In Opensim James is well known for his weekly appearances on Youtube shows MBTV and Inworld Review, and he is a fixture among the Safari crowd that grid-hops for fun on Wednesdays. Thanks to all this hypergridding experience, he knows a thing or two about opensim's more interesting foibles. 

The HIE event in October will be held on Craft grid - how do you feel about that?

Meet the HIE Team: Tosha Tyran

 The core organizers of HIE each have their own niche and special skills, and Tosha Tyran is no exception. Well known for her re-creation of famous monuments like the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat, she defines herself as a "Virtual brick layer with a slight tendency towards gigantonomy". Tosha had been active in virtual worlds since 2005. She speaks three languages, in virtual since 2005, and was one of the first four members when Craft Grid was founded, back in 2010. 

This conference is the Hypergrid International Expo. What does the word 'International' have for you?

Tosha Tyran: I have long since stopped considering myself a citizen of a single nation. My aim is to act and be seen as an internationalist. Therefore this international event for me is great! It helps to overcome national borders and even languages. This conference gives all avatars - and of course the persons behind them -  great opportunity to jump a little higher and see the other side of ones borders. It widens the angle of sight and of mind.

Meet the HIE Team: Mal Burns

Mal Burns is a metaverse news aggregator and broadcaster. He is co-host of two shows on Youtube. MBTV is a news show VR technology, innovation and innovators. Inworld Review, is focused on the latest developments and events in Opensim Both shows are broadcast each Sunday when in season, and you can find previous shows here on Youtube. Mal has been involved in virtual worlds since their inception, in Second Life, Sansar, Sinespace to mention a few of the many he has explored, and these days is mostly to be found in Opensim. He co-created the original HIE event, back in 2017.

This conference is the Hypergrid International Expo. What does 'International' mean to you in this context?

Why HIE?

 HIE stands for Hypergrid International Expo.

 It's a weekend of information and arts and community, held online, in Opensim.

• Hypergrid - because the event, held on Craft Grid, is open to anyone who wants to teleport in from a hypergrid enabled grid in opensim. No need to make a special Avatar.
• International - because the talks given during the event will be in a number of different languages, with subtitles so that everyone can follow what's being explained from the podium.
• Expo - because it's an opportunity to exhibit and show off the diversity and variety of cultures that are present in Opensim, with art given pride of place throughout the event.

But wait - isn't there already an annual Opensim Conference? 

Yes! The excellent Opensim Community Conference has been holding annual events since 2013. 

This important event features a wide variety of talks, all in English. These offer an excellent opportunity to better know the projects and progress going on across Opensim, to meet fellow residents and to workshop new ideas and experience art and educational activities.

However, not everyone in Opensim is fluent in English.  So....

HIE Style

 HIE conference is all about everyday living in opensim, in its many languages and cultures. 

The Regions where the conference will be held are on Craft Grid, courtesy of Licu Rau.

The look of the build combines various steampunk features, and is based on an original design by Arielle Delamerlibre of Phaandoria Grid, and set up on Craft by Mal Burns. 

Rotating cogs, clocks, and stone-age hypergates feature  on the perimeter of the auditorium - the style reminds us of the inner workings of opensim, and the many time zones we all live in.

The build is spread out over four regions, all joined together and surrounded by off region hills. 

This 4- region setup allows us to have more people present, without all drowning in lag. 

The speakers podium is positioned in the center of the four regions, and is surrounded by club - style tables, each with four chairs, giving the build an intimate feel. Sit with friends, or join a table with new people, and make new friends.
Mark the date on your calendar, October 7 and 8 2023, for the next HIE event. Join us as part of the audience, or as a presenter. Experience the fantastic cultural diversity of opensim!

HIE - with subtitles!

 The talks at the Hypergrid International Expo are given in German, Spanish, French... and so on. But not in English! So, you may say, am I excluded because I only speak English?

Absolutely not. You are welcome to join in, in fact you're invited!   But how will you know what's being said?

Simple.

 Each attendee on arrival joins an inworld group representing their language of choice, English or French, or Italian, there are 6 options. 

As the speaker makes their presentation, 'subtitles' will appear in the Group Chat, so you will be able to follow the gist of what is being said. 

These 'subtitles' - the bones of the talk being given - along with the visual aids, will make it possible for you to understand the talk and get a flavor of the many languages being spoken all around opensim!
The groups already exist on Craft Grid. Anyone can join the groups (even if you are a hypergrid visitor to Craft) - you can join one or multiple groups, as you desire, and of course there is no charge.

If your first language is French, Italian, German or Spanish and you would like to give a speech at HIE, please join our Discord group right away!

Art at the HIE

 In 2017, the HIE conference was an international success involving a dozen grids and a huge team of presenters, moderators, translators and of course, a wonderful audience. 

Cherry Manga presentation in 2017

In 2023, the HIE conference will be another mashup of languages and grids. 

But one language will be very much front and center - that of art and visual performance. 

In each session of the conference, we plan to involve an artist who will feature big visual effects, making this a conference above and beyond what is possible in real life.

Karima Hoisan presenting at the 2017 HIE event

This presents a real challenge to artists, in technical and figurative terms. We look forward to seeing what they come up with!  Are you interested in presenting at HIE? All presentations are made in languages other than English. If you speak German, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish, get in touch with us inworld. 

Come to the HG Safari Clubhouse on OSGrid. 

At the landing area you will find this green, Tree-shaped Mailbox for HIE correspondence. 

Leave a notecard with your details and we will get back to you!