New York City in SL?? That’s right, the Big Apple is now on the grid, and while it isn’t an exact replica of the real life Gotham, New York City SL more than captures the feel, energy and excitement of its namesake, with tall stately high rises and the never ending traffic of residents and visitors alike, milling about park spaces and sidewalks, shopping elegant stores or just commuting home. New York City SL represents the commercial, entertainment and residential aspects of New York at its very best.

This is a clean, safe New York, brimming with energy and potential, replete with chic commercial builds, hosting glamorous design houses, adorned by elegant ornamental entrances and, of course, sophisticated brownstones, ideally suited for urban living, situated along tree-lined avenues. At night, as the sun sets, the activity only intensifies as the UNDERGROUND SESSIONS crank up at the SoHo Warehouse, where the NEW YORK SOUNDS mix music live and mingle with “the most talented poets, writers, producers, and musicians on the grid” in badass weekly events that make this Second Life metropolis, like its moniker, a city that never sleeps.

Adding authenticity to this virtual borough are landmarks, easily recognizable by real life New Yorkers, such as the Holland Tunnel and the Promenade as well some of New York’s most well-known neighborhoods and thoroughfares: from SoHo and the Upper West Side to Park Avenue and Canal. New York City SL provides the perfect setting for all to “live and thrive,” which are precisely the words at the forefront of New York City SL owner Joi Price’s mind when planning this virtual community.

Drawing from her own experience as a native New Yorker, Price returned to SL from a sabbatical in the spring of 2011 with a “creative itch” to create New York City themed builds for her architecture line “The Apple Architects.” Joi confides, “That idea quickly transformed as I acquired this sim and the nostalgia to recreate my favorite aspects of the real New York City emerged. The idea was to create a lifestyle sim where working, living and playing effortlessly merge together.”

Finding a lack of such places in Second Life, Price became determined to fill this essential void. “Unfortunately, well built sims tend to only be role play and what I wanted to create was the opposite of that,” explains Price. “New York City SL is a ‘Real Play’ sim that encourages visitors from all walks of life to explore and be themselves. I aim for it to be a melting pot. To bring people together, even if they decide just to be commuters. It embodies all aspects of the opportunities that a city can bring, for fun, for experiences, and for commerce.”

Without a formal background in architecture, Price admits it was a challenge at times to arrange all the various elements and meld them together, and adds, “The price of building a fully rendered sim can be taxing on computers without high graphics specs.”

Despite the challenges, the result of Joi’s endeavors speaks for itself. New York City SL is both visually stunning and unparalleled in detail. Each building within this virtual city – each creation – is an amazing piece of art finished with beautiful textures and realistic shading. How did she accomplish it? Price answers, “Inspiration. Life imitates art. I pay particular detail to materials (textures). I’ve photographed limestone, brick and stone textures in real life for usage on the sim and in The Apple Architecture builds.”

A crucial element in the mix is the light and shadows fully rendered throughout the entire sim. Price comments, “The [rendered light] technique can be painstakingly achieved in many ways, but I think it is critical to the realism in second life. Without rendering, the second life platform can only progress to a level of a high quality cartoon.”