Inworld

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Oct. 23, "The Dark is Calling," by JoeyTheCat_Flanagan.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Oct. 22, "Sunset at Niwa Point," by Acacia Merlin. Visit inworld here.

Wondering where the inspiration behind your favorite Zombie sims comes from? Want to know where they got that amazing spooky texture? Get answers from the sim creators here! Ask questions in the comments. Swap and share your favorite zombie tales, locations and more creepy stuff.

From Firestorm2Ireto, of The Urban Zombie:

1. What is your inspiration/where do you get your ideas?

I got my inspiration from one of my fav zombie movies, which is Zombieland, and the AMC series "The Walking Dead," along with the feel of the classic movie "Night of the Living Dead." I wanted to keep things in a modern urban setting, just like in the movies, along with a few little extra surprises — like the blood-curdling sounds that the zombies make (Brains! Brains!). Each day I change or add something new. Most people were afraid to leave the safety of the stairs, so I installed a series of overhead ziplines that will take them to a high and safe place to shoot from. There will be more to come as we will be expanding the sim in the near future.

2. Where can visitors buy the things they see on your sim? — i.e. favorite zombie-stuff creators inworld (or on Marketplace).

People can purchase from a wide selecton of weapons at my gun shop. I have carefully selected the best weapons from the best vendors in SL, as well as fighting clothes and other gear. As people become better at shooting they want the better weapons.

3. What is the objective of your sim/i.e. vision?

My objective is to make sure that anyone who visits my sim will have fun, that's the bottom line. I have a great staff of officers who are more than willing to assist anyone that comes here, and I make sure that each person is greeted and made to feel welcome and made to feel that they are all part of this thing. I am always told by people that they love to come here to just unwind from real life and relieve stress by blasting zombies. I find myself doing just the same. My vision is to keep this a drama-free sim — if you can't find a good laugh here then it does not exist anywhere. Most people who come here talk on voice chat, and it really pleases me to hear the laughter, because that shows me that they are having a great time and that's what it is all about. So, my vision is to maintain that level of happiness for all of the time.

4. Are you doing anything special for Halloween?

The answer to question four is easy! Yes, we are going to have parties all Halloween weekend here at Urban Zombie. We have our own in-house DJ as well as a pretty nice club on site. Trust me — we are going to have a blast.

5. How long have you been in SL and what is your favorite thing about it?

I have been in Second Life for just over three years. The best thing I love about SL is the freedom from RL and the ability to explore things that are not possible to do in RL — the ability to meet and to interact with people from all over the world and from all walks of life. We've met and made some very great friends here in SL, and that's a wonderful thing. The one thing that I can never say is that SL is boring, and that has been proven to me each day for the past three years.

6. Do you have recommendations on other cool zombie locales and your favorite stuff to do inworld?

As to the last question,  my recommendations for other cool zombie sims are as follows: Grim's is a fun place to shoot zombies; the same can be said for The Dead Zone. We are all friends and we all have the same objective, and that is to rid the world of those pesky zombies and have a great laugh while doing so. We enjoy going to biker sims to ride our bikes, but we also love to dance and explore the wonders of Second Life. Please feel free to come here and help us erase zombies from our world, because they just keep coming and coming!

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "WASP at the University of Western Australia," by Trixie LeTrefoil. Visit inworld here.

We’re offering a limited-time deal on some of our most popular items — Private Islands and Homesteads. For the first time, new land or additional land is available without the usual set-up fee. From October 21 to 23, you can take advantage of this special and become a Landowner if you’re not already — or maybe bump up the size of your land.

Land is the mainstay of Second Life. Without Land, the places where you interact with other Residents wouldn’t exist. From animations you love, role-play and games, socializing, showing off your latest outfit, and your own home and vehicles, to shopping, business and educational experiences — Land is what makes it all possible!


Limited-time offer

Take advantage of this land sale now! Some terms and conditions apply. Want more info? Head over to the information page and have a look at the Terms & Conditions, FAQ and how you can order your very own Island without a set-up fee.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Oct. 20, "Queen of Wands is next to the Crosstime Pub," by Ravenelle. Visit inworld here.

Wondering where the inspiration behind your favorite Zombie sims comes from? Want to know where they got that amazing spooky texture? Get answers from the sim creators here! Ask questions in the comments. Swap and share your favorite zombie tales, locations and more creepy stuff.

From Hartigan Beck, creator of Miho's Zombie attack:

1. What is your inspiration? Where do you get your ideas?

For the last three years, I have built increasingly large and more elaborate haunted houses for Halloween. Last year's “Editor's Picks” featured the haunted house as “Ghoul's Manor.” The zombie room got the best response from visitors, so I thought it would be fun to build a zombie village. My concept was to have a “normal town” setting that was taken over by zombies.

2. Where can visitors buy the things they see on your sim — i.e. favorite zombie stuff/creators inworld (or on Marketplace)?

MacGyver Serdyuk is the creator of my zombies, which are very low-lag and have customizable features. He has a vendor just outside the entrance to the village.

3. What is the objective of your sim  — i.e. your vision?  

I wanted to create a free-form, fun zombie shooting place with as few rules and guidelines as possible. I like the idea of allowing others to structure their game as they wish. I try to appeal to kids and casual shooters by offering a safe, PG environment. Many shooters like the constancy of the village design, and have favorite spots to shoot. They also seem to enjoy the lack of danger — I allow shooters to stand on roofs, fly above the village, etc. This setting is different from the more intense sims, where there are complex mazes, damage, etc. That said, I also have contests every week with L$1500 purses to involve the more competitive shooters. I try to keep the competition friendly by having small gradations in the prizes. To keep the game fresh, I also have themed “indoor arenas” that I switch every 2 to 3 weeks, often with their own contests. Themes include medieval castles, Western towns, warehouses, nuclear plants — and now, a haunted house. I have appointed officers to help police the region for violators, who are warned if possible before being banned.

4. Are you doing anything special for Halloween?

I have built a three-level Haunted House. The lower level has traditional Halloween themes. The upper level is a zombie shooting area, where zombies glow in the dark among countless skeletons. The middle area is a maze with constantly moving walls. Visitors who successfully navigate the maze are rewarded with a free boxed custom house. I am participating in Carolyn Avro’s “Top Second Life Haunted Places,” which will list my Haunted House as part of a “tour.”

5. How long have you been in Second Life, and what is your favorite thing about it?  

I have been here since April 2007. I have enjoyed building, and now the free-form creativity of making a game that others enjoy.

6. Do you have other recommendations about other zombie locales and your favorite stuff to do in-world?

I've been too busy with my own region to visit many other zombie areas. I would encourage people to find an activity that they enjoy, and become good at it.

Wondering where the inspiration behind your favorite Zombie sims comes from? Want to know where they got that amazing spooky texture? Get answers from the sim creators here! Ask questions in the comments. Swap and share your favorite zombie tales, locations and more creepy stuff.

From Mystree Rain, of Zombie Bloodbath:

1. What is your inspiration/where do you get your ideas?

My first idea for the sim was to do a city theme, like “28 Days Later,” or even “Resident Evil” and  “Left 4 Dead” — great games that I love to play. In the end I decided I wanted to do something that was unique to me. I had an idea in my head and I looked very hard to find the perfect items. Some things I had to build myself, but most things were easy to find. The person who inspired me to do my own was Grimly Darkfold — her sim was so amazing and so much fun that I wanted to try myself.

2. Where can visitors buy the things they see on your sim? — i.e. favorite zombie-stuff creators inworld (or on Marketplace).

There are a few people that contributed to my design. The biggest contributions were Grimly Darkfold (Creators of the Zombies) and Lady Nansen (Forgotten Village). Most of what you see can be found there.  A couple others like Loki Ball, Novocaine Islay, Furr Burt, P4NDOR4 Quintess, Marisha Matfield, and myself, Mystree Rain. Most, if not all, can be found both inworld and on Marketplace.

3. What is the objective of your sim/i.e. vision?

To have a fun, friendly sim with people who enjoy doing what I love to do — kill zombies.  

4. Are you doing anything special for Halloween?

Yes, we currently have Zombies dressed for Halloween, as well as Halloween gifts scattered through the sim. There are two gifts each for women, men, kids, and furries!

5. How long have you been in SL and what is your favorite thing about it?

I have been in SL for a little over a year. I would have to say my favorite thing about it is the amount of creativity I see here. There are so many amazing sims with fantastic attractions! The sim designs, products designs, the many people you can meet from all over the world. It is rather amazing.

6. Do you have recommendations on other cool zombie locales and your favorite stuff to do inworld?

I absolutely love Grimly's Bloodbath and Beyond. For so long she had the only sim I visited outside of my own. I love to kill zombies and I love to explore Second Life. I have an entire folder full of awesome places to explore that I often find myself handing out to newcomers.

Check out today's Flickr Pic of the Day, "Multiple at AM Radio's The Quiet," by Ziki Questi.

Zombies have invaded Second Life! There are a ton of stumbling, bloodthirsty freaks just waiting to go on the attack against you. Situated on blood-splattered sims and definitely scare-worthy, these zombies are more gruesome than your average ghoul. Zap ’em dead fast by following one of these step-by-step guides — select the one that matches how much time you have to kill (bad pun intended):

Got an Hour?

• The Quick Kill: Getting Started in Less than an Hour

Got Several Hours?

• Professional Zombie Slaying: A Guide for Hunters with Several Hours to Kill

Got Days?

• Zombie Maniacs: For Zombie Hunts Over Many Days or Weeks

The Quick Kill: Getting Started in Less Than an Hour

Want a brainless diversion with the braindead? If you are new to Second Life (or to zombie-slaying in general), this guide will take you right into the action. Dive in and take out the undead in less time than it takes to watch an episode of “The Walking Dead.”

1. Connect to Second Life
If you aren’t yet a member of Second Life, then join now! It’s fast... and free.
(If you want to learn even more about the basics of SL, we recommend Strawberry Singh’s Newbie Resource Guide). Already a member? Great! Fire up your Second Life Viewer to start zombie huntin'!

2. Choose a Zombie location.
There are tons of Zombie spots to pick from — each is unique and created by a resident of Second Life. For example, a location like the Dead Zone is ideal if you want to immediately immerse yourself in the action and only have 30 minutes or so. So, we’ll start there...

3.Find the Dead Zone –

After you have logged in to Second Life, you can find the Dead Zone through the link above. The Dead Zone is on the Gigi Solace region, so the above link will allow you to view this location on a map. Once you launch the map, it shows you the location that you’ll want to visit. Click “Visit this location”



Inside Second Life, you’ll notice that the Web link has opened a right side panel with a prompt to Teleport into the location: Click that button – and prepare for the zombie attack!

Once you arrive, you will see a sign on the wall to your left. You’ll need to first join the zombie hunting group for this location. Click the sign and accept the group invitation.

After you join the group, you can then grab your free gun to the left by clicking on the sign on the wall.

 

You should now see the gun offered to you in the lower right side of your screen. Select “Keep” to accept the free gun.

Click “Keep” in the message that appears in the lower right.

Click the suitcase icon on the right of your viewer screen to open your inventory, then click the “Recent” tab and right click on the gun in the folder “Dead Zone Free Gun."

Even after you are “wearing” the gun, you won’t see it until you type the word “draw” into the chat window and the gun will appear:

Go into "mouselook” mode by hitting the letter “M” on your keyboard (outside of the chat bar) whenever you want to shoot the gun. Click your mouse to fire.

Get warmed up at target practice, and then make your way to the streets of the Dead Zone to start shooting Zombies!

There are tons of amazing, Resident-created Zombie locations inworld. Here are two more that are especially ideal if you have less than an hour to play:

• Darkness Falls @ Pandemonium
• Zombie Attack

Professional Zombie Slaying: A Guide for Hunters with Several Hours to Kill

If you’re settling in for the evening or your boss is on vacation, you’re probably itching for a Zombie marathon with a bit more staying power. Once you’ve invested a little more time, several SL zombie locations can take you deeper into strategy, costuming, weaponry and exploration.

1. Sign in to your Second Life Viewer and teleport to the Urban Zombie, where you can find a whole herd of evil zombies ready to devour you. There are tons of zombie spots to pick from — each is unique and created by a resident of Second Life. But a location like the The Urban Zombie is ideal if you are more than a casual gamer and want to really get into the action.

This eerie abandoned city is the perfect location to hunt zombies — explore the haunted alleys and dark passageways, but be on the lookout for not-so-nice visitors!

2. Grab the HUD when you first arrive by clicking on the box.

3. Wear the HUD.
How? First, you’ll find it as a new item (labeled “GRIM COMBAT SYSTEM HUD”) in your Inventory. To open it, drop and drag it to the ground and then click on the item to open/unpack it and “Copy to Inventory.”

In your Inventory,  you can now “wear” the HUD by simply adding it to your current outfit — and you’ll be suited up to go!

For a complete explanation of the HUD and combat features, please see the Grim Combat System notecard that was added to your inventory when you picked up the free HUD. You’ll notice that the HUD features scores and experience points, as well as tracking of quests and missions. If you have the time, this is worth checking out!

4. Equip yourself with a gun.
If you need a free gun, there is a sign to the right of the free HUD that offers you “Free Guns.”  Place your mouse over the sign and wait for the pop-up, then select “Take Copy” and then “Buy.” Don’t worry, it is set to “free,” so you won’t be charged. This item is now in your inventory, so you can drag it from the inventory to the ground to rez it. Then, right-click open and copy to inventory.

In your inventory, you can highlight the gun you want (look under the folder “Urban Zombie Free Guns”) and then right-click Wear to select it.

5. Zap Zombies.
When you are ready for combat, type in “draw” into the chat bar to show your weapon. At this point, you can enter “M” outside the chat bar to enter mouselook and start shooting!

You can buy armor and other accessories nearby — keep an eye out for the signs. Go into mouselook to shoot your guns. Once you’re armed and ready, head over to where the action is — watch your back! These zombies move fast!

Check out these other cool, immersive zombie experiences:

• Miho's Zombie Attack
• The Maze

Zombie Maniacs: For Zombie Hunts Over Many Days or Weeks

For Second Life Residents who simply can’t get enough zombie action in a single session, there are even more zombie-fighting options that will immerse you deeper into the combat gameplay. One example of this is Bloodbath and Beyond. Below we walk you through this experience and point out tips that apply to similar Second Life locations.

Bloodbath & Beyond looks and feels like playing an MMORPG within Second Life. In this fantasy medieval role-playing sim, you fight zombies, skeletons and elves, complete quests for prizes and rewards, drink potions to rejuvenate, and much more. Play with friends and even level up.

1. Learn the rules.

Like most role-play games, plan to start by spending 20 minutes or so reading all the background information. In Bloodbath and Beyond, one wall makes it easy for you to contact the sim owners for help and questions. To really appreciate the intricacies of this game, you should start by reading the rules provided in the notecard that you’ll receive alongside your free HUD.

2. Join the group. Interact with other role-players, ask questions and get notified of fun things and announcements. New to Second Life Groups? Here's more on how they work.

3. Dress the part. A must for enjoying role-play. You’ll see banners at the landing point for Bloodbath & Beyond to help you get started. Note that this particular location has a medieval fantasy theme, so you’ll have the best experience if your dress the part.

4. Carry a weapon. Start with a free weapon and combat HUD. In this location, guns are not allowed so you’ll be given a free starter pack with a longbow and long sword. Your HUD has several advanced features and helps to track scores, experience points, quests and missions. For a complete explanation, please see the Grim Combat System notecard that was added to your inventory when you picked up the HUD.




5. Keep score. Zombie hunters always have guts, but there’s also glory:

So log in to Grimley's Bloodbath and Beyond, kick back and have some fun!

Check out these other great Zombie-slaying locations perfect for long-term play:

• Zombie City
• Zombie Bloodbath



Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "Lollipop Forest," by Sari Choche. Visit inworld here.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "Tulip," by PiperRoxley. Visit inworld here.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "Hangin," by Jasmine Lisle. Visit inworld here.

Check out today's Pic of the Day, "Wenge," by Inhandra.

Visit the University of Western Australia's site to check out info on the latest Machinima contest. The challenge is to create a machinima that features at least one of the artworks submitted to the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge. What can you create? Submissions are accepted through Nov. 10. You could be one of the winners in the L$300,000 prize pool!

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day by deoridhe.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day by apploniacriss.



Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day by Linda Reddevil.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "One of those silly moments," by Lori Stanton.

Check out the SL Pic of the Day, "Astrape, Goddess of Lightning, by Lyresa Werefox.



Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day, "Warm Autumn," by Maja Braveheart.

"It came to be on Halloween, the day the night took over. And I was caught by a friend or two, and a boy just slightly older. They claimed me scared, chicken, a scaredy cat, a slightly quivering mass..."  —  Barbara Blackcinder

The above passage opens "Halloween at the Graveyard," a poem that appears in the new SL web-based publication Wordmonger. This new literary site features original visual poetry, micro-fiction and short stories from writers who frequent Book Island in Second Life.

Check out Wordmonger to read the full poem and other literary creations from the SL community.

Read even more coverage of this new publication on T Lee Harris' blog Comments from the Peanut Gallery.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the day, "INK," by Ysé Ah. Visit inworld at http://bit.ly/qZU9bB.



Aspen's 2011 Halloween Project is based on the soon-to-be-published short story "The Dare" by Daniel Mathews. On Halloween night, three boys dare one another to explore Northstun Manor. Their adventures will take them through a murky swamp, the infamous Northstun Manor and finally an extensive graveyard. Don't miss the daily prizes and giveaways.

Check out the Flickr Pic of the Day, "Laryn," by Λric.