Seawolf dragon avatars have fantastic documentation

I love fantastic documentation. Whether it's to-the-point, humorous text or a memorably delightful screencast, I can't help but admire outstanding examples that go above and beyond. Recently in Second Life, several peeps pointed me to Verkin Raven & Stickman Ingman's Seawolf Monsters — in particular, badass dragons.

Not only did the site have a burning cabin with gorgeous glow and particle flames (not the staid old animated textures which served their purpose long ago), the dragons were on display. (One suspects they started the fire.)

One very kewl thing I observed is: in order to enable better avatar articulations, these dragons make use of a clever hack which deforms your avatar mesh so your limbs are stretched out, all Inquisition-style. I've seen that trick used for freakish effect before, but never couched in sculpted prims and mastered like this. The dragons also have custom sounds, customizable body parts, and more "experience candy".

As is often true with me, I adore seeing choice individual techniques combined together. It's like raw fish on rice with a touch of wasabi, or something like that.

Nearby, I saw a great signboard which more avatar makers — and content creators in general — should learn from to be better. Not only does it provide the usual feature summary list and still pics of the avatars, there's also previews of what the Heads-Up Display controller looks like, which lets the dragon emit fire (and ice, or something blue-ish), change colors, and other rockin' stuff. And unexpectedly, a link to a wiki page!

I clicked it and looked in my web browser. Wow, this documentation is great! Not only does it inform you of all the features and benefits before you buy (otherwise, I might not have clearly known you can change eye textures or that it has a special camera mode), it's much easier to look up later if you need help — compared to, say, the boring limits of an inworld notecard.

Whenever possible, I recommend reading a product's manual before buying it. Past the marketing claptrap, manuals can make you aware of strengths & weaknesses, and put you in a better position of what to expect.

That being said, I haven't bought one of these dragons yet, but will be doing so soon. I'm impressed by the whole package: I've seen a few Seawolf dragons in action, flapping wings, breathing fire, and all so I know the avatar rocks.  hus, fantasy creatures with fantastic documentation. The only one part I haven't experienced yet is customer service, but the wiki makes this sound amenable, too:

• Are you friendly to critique and feedback?

Definitely! You can send feedback to either Stickman Ingmann or Verkin Raven, although Stick generally handles scripted features/animation and Verkin the art and effects.

Have you had a positive experience with quality documentation and/or service for a product, Second Life or otherwise? Let me know and let's praise the people responsible!

Tagged as: General