Still feel the need for a scare? Visit Nu'ville Horrors in Second Life!

This year's Helloween brought us a real overkill of horror builds in Second Life. We did see some fantastic games like "The Well Sollicitus" or "System Failure" and many themed events and places. I really hoped that the horror theme is sucked dry for good, but a nicely done latecomer arrived on the scene: the creators and real life sisters, Anya Ohmai (owner of Ohmai) and Suetabulous Yootz (owner of Beetlebones), have released Nuville Horrors - a Second Life experience (running until February 2nd).

Nu'ville Horrors is an immersive experience with a ride to enjoy and a hunt with 50 gifts. "At the spooky town of Nuville your final destination will be the 13th floor, so why don't you take your time and knock on each and every door?" Well, the entry prize for this experience could be an obstacle for some: you can either join the group for 800 lindens and get unlimited access to the sim or pay 100 lindens for a bus ticket (which is valid for 12 hours). Fellow bloggers write that the prizes are of such a great quality that they are well worth the expenses.

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]

Madpea's Dark Dimension Hunt - too hard for me

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I like Madpea hunts a lot and regularly present them here. Their latest hunt "Dark Dimension" started at October 6 and will run until November 10. For the first time ever I started a Madpea hunt, played it for the first few locations and lost my interest. It is now more than three weeks since I have stopped hunting and I couldn't motivate myself to come back.

Well, it's not the fault of the hunt story, which is really good as far as I have seen it. The winner of a MadPea writing contest has had their creation come alive in the hands of the MadPea Crew: Telestoi Weissmann.

An old prison island has been converted into a corporate haven of shops, boutiques and corrupt clubs. From the construction team to the sales force, more and more people are mysteriously vanishing daily. The 'Blue Sky Corporation' is desperate as tales of a 'black monster' are leaking through the rumor mill. They have hired you to get the island back in order - but a secret lurks in the darkness.

I would have really liked to experience the story myself. But two problems stopped me: the lag in some of the hunt locations and the difficulty level of the hunt item hiding places. A lot of Second Life creators seem to ignore the fact that a hudge amount of 1024x1024 textures at one place will bring the Second Life platform to its knees. There are more and more shops that have thousands of such textures creating huge lag in the region and bringing framerates to the bottom end - even with only one or two avatars on the sim. Imagine these places with dozens of hunters... it is lag hell. Madpea really have to consider not only the performance of their own sim but also the performance of the hunting places: can they really take the additional traffic of a hunt? It is not fun crashing all the time at some hunt locations.

HELLOWEEN at the Sound Garden Rock Club

The Sound Garden Rock Club is a rock club in Second Life that branched out a little with a great "HELLOWEEN" themed build. Don't miss the features such as a Zombie Killing Swamp with prizes for highest death count and a themed Hunt with fabulous prizes.

Don't get pulled under the trap door.

The haunted house containing the hunting items has some really well done horror scenes and it is nothing for sensible minds. There is a lot of blood and a quite psychotic imagery. The effects animations and sounds are well done and make an impression. You won't get bored hunting for the little treasure chests.

One of the less bloody places...

There is also a haunted graveyard with little trick or treat ghosts that either trick you or treat you. Most of the time your activities in this great built will be accompanied with some of the best rock DJs and hosts on the grid. The place will be open until the 3rd of November. Enjoy the interactive build  and don't forget to sit and click every where.

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)

Magellan’s Grid Scavenger Hunt - Solve puzzles in Linden premium areas

Magellan Linden has created a hunt game. He asks players to gather materials and components and to destroy the machines of the evil adversary. Magellan has built a laboratory on the Isles of Ice which serves as a starting point in order to learn more, get equipped and start the hunt! If you are a premium member, that is... The scavenger hunt is set in the Linden areas and as such also tours the Premium areas.

Magelan certainly has a special sense of humor.  You get to stop Mole people who normally are friendly but are now controlled by an evil mole named Dr. Talpa. The hunt HUD is called "Magellan's Omnispectral Monocle" or M.O.M - which he recommends to wear with pride. But on top of that are the special quests where you need to be wearing a mind protection hat in form of a sucker fish. Just look at the cute photo below from Maddy Gynoid...

Maddy Gynoid wearing a sucker fish hat

Maddy's presents his game impressions in a blog post and he seems to be having quite some fun:

Fish Hunt - A Second Life hunt game which can earn you some Lindens

Here is the first entry from the a game creator who submitted their game to be showcased. It's from Goldtokens who say on their website that 52.282 players have used their games to earn Lindens in Second Life. Their portfolio currently includes six games: Gold Hunt, Farm Frenzy, Snuffles, Shubbies, Noob Hunt and the Fish Hunt. Goldtokens have submitted the Fish Hunt with the following text:

It's tough for most avatars to make a living in Second Life. Why not become your own boss and earn that living as a fisherman or fisherwoman? With Fish Hunt its really easy to earn linden. What's more you get to explore some of the coolest places the grid has to offer and meet all the coolest people too! Fishing has something fun for everyone. Compete to become the best fisher on the grid, visit cool multiplier events with big crowds of fishers and make new friends!

Some additional information on the gameplay is available on the Goldtokens website and the Marketplace product description:

Some tips and hints for the "Cry of the Peacock" hunt

I have been playing the "Cry of the Peacock" hunt in the last days and I think that it is a real fun experience. However since it is a rather complex hunt, I would like to provide you with some tips that might help you with your game experience.

Searching for clues

First of all the hunt is split into 4 different parts. 

1) The first part is the search for pieces of piano music that have hidden inside 20 stores around Mad City. There is a list of the 20 stores that you'll have to search in a notecard that you'll receive with the game HUD. This is the hunt item that you'll have to search for:

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:

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.

Fantasy Faire 2013 – The Key Of Hope Hunt

Unfortunately I do not find much time to blog lately. And then I seems to miss a lot of things. Fantasy fair has published a hunt in collaboration with Madpea Productions: The Key Of Hope. As Madpea creates the most interactive and fun hunts in SL, you should give it a go. The problem is: The first part of the hunt ends already tomorrow, Monday the 29th of April  at 23:59 SLT. So hurry and finish it in the next 24 hours.

There will also be a second part of the hunt starting at May 1st which will then run until 23:59SLT on Sunday May 19. Here are some explanations from the hunt creators:

Welcome to the Key of Hope Hunt, dear adventurer.

This is a quest in two parts. The first part will have you exploring the Fairelands as you collect items needed to create a Talisman that will grant you safe passage into the Valley of Ish’Nar. Once you have created your Talisman you will receive further instructions from the Bard Queen as to the task she has set for you. For now, be content knowing that your actions start you on a journey that will, if successful, save the Fairelands from certain darkness.

Before you can begin with the hunt, you must read a letter from the Bard Queen advising you of the items you need to collect to forge the Talisman. Explore the Bard Queen’s camp located in the ruins just north of Lumenaria to start your introduction to the game.

Playing now will result in getting a voucher to redeem for the Final Chapter Hunt HUD.

Start your hunt here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Valley%20of%20IshNar/145/197/23

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. 

MadPea Room 326 hunt - Play an interactive adventure

Three weeks ago I have presented the game concept of SL hunts. Today I want to introduce you to a game developer who brings the hunt experience to a new level: MadPea Productions is one of the leading game developers for Second Life (and I will certainly present more of their game portfolio in the future).

MadPea regularly releases  hunts in their "The Legend of the Month hunt" series. In these hunts the stories take you on interactive grid-wide adventures. The next episode "Room 326" will be up and running today at 12pm SLT and will immerse you to the story of Room 326 at the Silent Peacock Hotel. 

By adding a background story and by making the player become part of that story the MadPea hunts stand out of the crowd. You will not only be searching for hidden items but also for clues and events that move the story forward. You'll need to purchase a HUD for L$10 which will present you onscreen messages, take you through the story and give you clues where to find the next hidden items and messages.

Second Life hunts - It is a game

Do you remember the thrills of a scavenger hunt in your youth? Have you dreamed of finding a message in a bottle leading you to a hidden treasure? Were you fascinated by the riddles that the protagonists of adventure books solve during their treasure hunt? Then you'll understand the success of Second Life hunts. There is a good reason why the "The Hunt & Hunters Resource Centre" is one of the top entries in the games section of the SL destination guide.

Me at the Hunt & Hunters Resource Center

As a game concept in Second Life hunts are very popular  - even if many don't even see it as a game. They might counter that the motivation for participating in hunts is to get nice outfits and gimmicks for free. But there are residents with cramped inventories filled with thousands of unused hunt items. I don't go on hunts often, but I have more unopened hunt items in my inventory than anything else. The secret success of the Second Life hunts seems to be, that finding and collecting the prices gives a satisfaction similar to collecting achievements in classical games. The hunt price itself often is of less interest.