System Failure - a fascinating point and click adventure in Second Life

These are great times for people who love to play games based on the Second Life platform. Halloween is the period when a lot of Second Life builders want to present something special. Yesterday I found another Second Life game that is absolutely amazing: System Failure.

What is the secret behind these little robots with chain saw limbs?

System Failure is the seventh "Halloween Survival Game" by Pulse Games and it is open until November 17 - so don't miss it! It is a point and click adventure game in the tradition of LucasArts' Maniac Mension or Monkey Island. It is an completely interactive, story driven Second Life gaming experience with multiple levels across several sims. There are challenging puzzles, some scares and even hidden prizes from dozens of famous designers. And despite this attractive gaming package, the whole experience is for free.

Shield Technologies is one of the largest and most omnipresent corporations of the modern world, researching, developing and producing some of the most advanced products we all use every day to better our lives. But what is happening at their newest and most expensive facility will terrify you! Where did all the workers go and why did they leave all their belongings behind? It's up to YOU to find out and what you uncover, could kill you! [pulsegames.blogspot]

Loki's "THE WELL: Sollicitus" - Second Life as a game engine

One of the bloggers that I follow regularly, Ciaran Laval, has recently asked if LL is working on a new project, making Second Life also a game engine.  He thinks that the TOS change might have an origin in an aim of Linden Lab to enable Second Life to become a game engine as well. 

Desura, the digital distribution platform Linden Lab own lists a number of game engines for devs to get their hands on. There are big players such as Unity 3D , Unreal Development Kit and CryEngine3. However there are also much smaller players such as Ren’PY for visual novels and Adventure Game Studio for those who want to make point and click adventures. These latter ones are the ones where I think opportunity could knock for Linden Lab.

Picture by Uccello Poultry

It is funny that Ciaran's post coincides with one of the best game experiences that I have had so far in Second Life. Loki has just released his newest Second Life game called "The Well: Solicitus" and you shouldn't miss it as it will only accessible for one month. The game is a sequel of a Second Life mini-adventure that people could play last year at Halloween time. 

The story is that a year after the events of 2012, a team of scientific investigators are sent down the well to understand the caves strange geology and maybe find a clue to why the rescue team and a young boy disappeared with no trace. You arrive a day later than the rest of the team to find the make shift lab abandoned. [lokielot.com]

Madpea's Lennon Park Massacre hunt - a horrific story to jump into

The September Madpea hunt game called the Lennon Park Massacre -will be launched on September 1 at 11am and provide you with a horrific story to jump into. Invest another tragic incident: 

12 teens and 3 camp counselors were found dead in a tragic school bus fire 1 year ago. The bus had just left a summer camp at Lennon Park.  A single teen survivor, Madison Walkner, was able to escape the flames and call 911. The bad publicity closed Lennon Park and the abandoned camp was never investigated, until now.  (Madpea blog)

UPDATE: "Cry of the Peacock Hunt" - The Sequel to "Room 326" starts tomorrow!

UPDATE: THE HUNT DETAILS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON THE MADPEA BLOG.

While we are all waiting for the new Madpea game "Unia" available this summer (but no official release date has been communicated yet), we can now kill the waiting time with two Madpea hunts. While the "Room 326" hunt will continue until August 31, the sequel "Cry of the Peacock Hunt" is going to be launched tomorrow, August 1. This new hunt will only be running for the Month of August, so you shouldn't wait too long, grab your hunting gear and explore the secrets that the fortune teller Madame Peacock will unveil to you.

Picture taken from the Madpea Facebook page

There is not much information available yet, even if the hunt start is already tomorrow. There is no post on the Madpea blog, but an advance notice on the Madpea Facebook page:

First preview pictures of the upcoming Madpea game Unia

Last week Madpea owner Kiana Writer has published first preview pictures of the upcoming game Unia. She also wrote some background information on the origins of the game itself - which isn't revealing anything we don't  already know from Draxtor's video on Madpea.

Image taken from the Madpea blog

Catching up with MadPea projects: "Unia" and the "Room 326 hunt"

It has been a long time since I wrote my last blog post. My first life is simply too busy and I have almost no time left to share my Second Life gaming experiences with you. I am therefore planning to change the concept of this blog. In the future I will try to collect and highlight what other people are writing about games in Second Life rather than writing long posts myself.

Let's do some catching up and let's start with MadPea. They closed all of their Sims in-world with a "Big Zombie Invasion" party on May 31st. All current games that MadPea had on the grid were blown up: The Kaaos Effect, Reaction, Storybook Stories, the Tunnel of Doom, The Spider, Shock Therapy, Gulliver and many more. I always planned to play "The Kaaos Effect" and "Shock Therapy" at a later point in time. Sadly I have finally have missed out the chance to play them...

But at least MadPea promised that from the ashes and dust will rise a brand new bigger and better MadPea . They promise that new games with immersion never seen before are on their way.

Rabid Rabbits - A Second Life Experience Game from Loki Eliot

Loki Eliot has released a new game on Easter Monday and it combines adventure game with hunt game and jump'n'run game elements. Go and help the Goblins to get their Sacred Statues back from the Rabid Rabbits. Play a game of finding Rabbit holes, bashing Bunnies, collecting Sacred Statues and pleasing the Goblin King of the Goblins. 

Using the free HUD you meet the Goblin King, get a given a weapon and sent to search the island for nine Rabid Rabbit Holes, each containing a Sacred Statue. The game length depends on how quick you can find the Rabbit Holes and can be from 15 mins to an hour. It uses RPG story telling elements at the start before letting you loose with a weapon system that has its own damage system where you need to eat sushi to regain health.

Walk through: the Madpea LOST TREASURE hunt

Madpea published an interview with the first person to survive the Devil's Cave - or maybe the first person who made it through the Devil's Cave. After all Xill Flux died 19 times in order to make it through the game in 7 hours and 15 minutes. Well, I would be happy if I "only" would die twice as often before finishing the game and 15 hours of playing time is a realistic objective for my gaming skills. There is an interview with Xill Flux on her impressions of the hunt on the Madpea blog.

As there is no better way to show you the graphics of a game than a walk-through, I have today recorded my progress in the Devil's Cave. The video doesn't go too far into the game, so that the Madpea crew doesn't have to get nervous about me giving away too many secrets. The video will give you a good impression on the surroundings and the atmosphere of the game, which for me is a great mix of the following ingredients: SL hunts, adventure games and jump-and-run elements.

The cliffhanger trailer for the LOST TREASURE OF THE INCA WARRIOR

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you should know that I am a fan of the Madpea and "The Legend of the Month hunt" series. These hunts take you on interactive grid-wide adventures. 

I was planning to wait with a blog post on the next Madpea hunt called the LOST TREASURE OF THE INCA WARRIOR until having played it myself. And there are also a few posts in the pipeline that I wanted to publish first. But all my plans changed when I watched this teaser trailer of the game:

The machinima trailer is simply amazing! After watching it I fully agree with the Madpea promotion slogan "The most anticipated game of the year is starting ". Since I have seen the trailer, I am totally anticipating the LOST TREASURE OF THE INCA WARRIOR hunt!

The global domination hunt - solve puzzles to win the prizes

Yesterday, when writing about the new heads-up displays (HUDs) which are the basis for second life gameplay, I couldn't stop thinking about the possibilities that the new elements such as cut screens, dialogue bubbles and an interactive inventory could bring to Second Life hunts. Only recently I have played the Love Portion 9.9 hunt from MadPea and as much as I loved the story elements I was also having a doubt: Isn't it a bit outdated to cam arround sims looking for an object? Wouldn't it be much more exiting to meet game characters instead which give you tasks to accomplish? Wouldn't it be more interesting to solve puzzles like in adventure games in order to achieve an item? Yes it probably would...

Picture taken from Quan's Travelogues

Have you ever experienced the situation that after having a good idea you find out that someone else just recently put it into practice? That's what happened to me here. Just a few hours after reflecting on a new puzzle approach to Second Life hunts, I found a blog posts about a new game called "Global Domination".

Love Potion No. 9.9 hunt

The latest Madpea Legend of the Month hunt is out: Love Potion No. 9.9! Each month a new Madpea hunt legend is discovered and the stories take you on interactive grid-wide adventures. After the dark and suspense story of the Room 326 hunt a story about Love comes as a welcome change. The February edition hunt is less dark and dreary. 

I got lost at the start of the treasure hunt - but it's such a beautiful sim!

As I wrote in December I believe that Madpea hunts stand out of the crowd. You will not only be searching for hidden items but also for clues that move the story forward. So I decided that I should really play this treasure hunt myself. Madpea also writes about point-and-click game elements on their blog and I wanted to check them out. Moreover two Dwarfins avatars are amongst the hunt goodies. And the Dwarfins are probably the most innovative breadable game concept in Second Life at the moment.

After having spent a long evening with the hunt,  I am very happy with the time investment: it's simply the best SL hunt that I have played so far. The sim hosting the start and the ending of the story is incredibly beautiful and the story elements create a suspense atmosphere. The included riddles help you to advance in the game. 

The Garden - SL as a graphic adventure game?

In the eighties and nineties graphic adventure games were a popular genre. They revolutionized game-play by making use of visual human perception in a game where the player interacts with the game environment, characters and objects. In many of these games, the mouse pointer was used to apply different actions to different objects. Clues relied upon dialogues between the player and characters within the game. The player was interacting with characters and objects in order to solve complex puzzles and to advance in the story line.

Picture of "The Garden" by grace mcdunnough