I swung by the latest round of the January 2020 Belle Event just for MadPea’s Smoothie Maker. Despite its hefty 19 prim count, I was determined to add it to my virtual kitchen collection.
And boy, did it look amazing in photos on Flickr. As a decorative piece, it’s top-notch. But when it comes to its actual function, I have to say, I was disappointed.
I have no qualms with the animation; it’s rather impressive. It’s the subsequent action that leaves me slightly uneasy.
While the smoothie is being made, you get this dialogue in the nearby chat:
[14:05] MadPea Smoothie Maker: You’re making a Banana Strawberry Peach smoothie![14:05] MadPea Smoothie Maker: You just added 6 strawberries[14:05] MadPea Smoothie Maker: You just added 1 banana[14:06] MadPea Smoothie Maker: You just added ½ peach[14:06] MadPea Smoothie Maker: You just added ¾ cup of apple juice[14:06] Second Life: You decline ‘MadPea Banana Strawberry Peach Smoothie’ ( Koala Beach (201,213,2045) ) from MadPea Smoothie Maker. (I declined it because I have a few in my inventory already.)
The smoothie maker animation itself is impressive, no complaints there. But the final step left me scratching my head. The smoothie gets dumped into your inventory, and then you have to attach it to your avatar. The hand animation isn’t very convincing either, since my fingers keep moving, indicating that it doesn’t override my personal AO. Now, you could accuse me of being lazy, but isn’t having to rummage around in your inventory to attach the smoothie a bit archaic?
Of course, I can’t forget to mention ChicChica in this discussion because, let’s face it, the smoothie maker is essentially a dispenser. And in my recent dispenser purchases, most of them come with the convenient feature of self-attaching the object. ChicChica’s earlier dispensers didn’t have this feature, but she has since rectified it. Although, I must admit, I wish she would update some of her earlier designs because they look so darn good as decorative pieces. But hey, there’s always room for improvement, right?
In this example I’m using one of ChicChica hot chocolate dispensers that is set up on my coffee table. I’m still in the same pose from the kitchen.
Notice the difference?
Depending on your purpose for buying it, the self-attachment issue may not be a major concern. If you’re looking for a decorative item with animation or just want to take pictures for Flickr, then it’s perfect. However, for me personally, if I had to wait for the smoothie to go into my inventory, I might have skipped it as I already have a lot of kitchen clutter. One of my friends mentioned that she couldn’t spare the 19 prims and preferred to buy JunkFood’s blender, which only takes up three prims.
Despite the smoothie maker not meeting my expectations, I still hold MadPea in high regard and would continue to buy from them. It’s understandable that not every product can be perfect. As a brand, I love what MadPea creates, and if they come across this post, I hope they see it as constructive feedback. Although I’m not a creator, I do expect that most creators should be able to create objects that self-attach.
In the future, I will be more patient and wait until the end of the animation before purchasing.
When buying kitchen clutter, I usually do it for decoration purposes, to roleplay, or for taking pictures for my Flickr account. I look for items that are aesthetically pleasing and have good quality textures. I also prefer objects that are low prim and have a high level of interactivity.
What motivates you to purchase kitchen clutter in Second Life? Is it primarily for decoration purposes, to enhance your roleplaying experience, to capture a photo for Flickr, or for other reasons? What specific criteria do you look for when selecting kitchen items to buy in Second Life?
