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Best of Halloween Host: Cherub Spectre

Linden Lab

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Behind the Scenes of Octoberville

When you visit a place such as Octoberville you think of haunted houses, mazes, hunts, Crowbar, and making friends, but there is so much more to Octoberville than meets the eye.

Beginning with a brainstorming session that usually takes place in June; we devise the continuing story of Octoberville. Sometimes, it can be quite a challenge to maintain the original sleepy, autumn feel, while adding the elements of fear and delightful frustration that Octoberville is known for.

As the project manager, it is my job to make sure that everyone is on the same page and we are on schedule to have the build completed and tested by October 1st. This can be quite a challenge as we all have real life jobs and responsibilities to balance as well. It is also difficult to motivate people to work on autumn projects when its 90 degrees outside and thoughts of swimming pools and backyard barbeques seem more relevant.

Octoberville Photo 3.jpg

By September 1st, the main maze and general layout of Octoberville is completed, but the haunted house and the actual game still needs to be developed. With only a month left to create the meat of the game, life becomes more hectic. Everyone in the family, including our daughters, is consumed with finishing the project. After school, before and after work, during dinner, we are sharing ideas, arguing points, and putting the pieces together that will soon become many fans’ favorite Second Life event.

By the middle of September, nerves are on edge and we, too, are counting down the days until October 1st. While Nathan is finishing up the code to the hunt, Master Kaos is coming up with puzzling rooms for the haunted house and putting finishing details around the rest of Octoberville to make everything look realistic. My daughters are taking the scripted hunt items and hiding them, while I am making sure that everything flows correctly and ensuring there are no holes in the game.

Octoberville Photo 1.jpg

The final week before opening is probably the most stressful time of the year. We are hiding the last of the items and testing the game in its entirety.

Finally, on October 1st, our efforts pay off as we watch Octoberville become filled to capacity with fans within 1 minute after opening.

Octoberville Photo 2.jpg

Photos by Taylor Flanagan


About the Author: Cherub Spectre (along with Master Kaos and Nathan Oddfellow) is the creator and designer of Octoberville, which is celebrating its seventh year on the grid.  Visit Octoberville in Second Life!

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Cinderella Weatherwax

This was my fourth year doing Octoberville, each year it gets better and better and I have become more and more obsessed!

I very much appreciate all the hard work of those involved and really great to hear that it's a family affair creation!

Kudos!

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Cherub Spectre

Thank you Cinderella. Master Kaos, Nathan Oddfellow and I really enjoy creating Octoberville, but what we enjoy more is the amazing group of people that have emerged from it. SO many lasting friendships have been made and each year we continue to grow and have become like a family. So many people stick around, even when they are done with the game to help others and it just really is a great experience.

SPeaking of behind the scenes, I have to say it was amazing how real lives and Second Lives melded last year when we lost Stoney Putzo and the entire Octoberville group got together to help us pay funeral expenses. It just goes to show that the line between real life and Second Life is very blurred if there is one at all.

Thanks for posting Cinderella!

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Dorrie Fredriksson

I literally wait 334 days for Octoberville to open.  This is the most fun, entertaining, addictive place on SecondLife, bar none.  Once you have done this massive mystery solving hunt, and spent a month interacting with the wonderful people in this village, and gotten to know the mind blowing creators, made friends you look forward to seeing every day, looked forward to seeing the crazy costumes you know are going to show up somewhere along the way every day, you realize that the month has come to an end. But it doesn't stop there.  You still have the friends you made, the feeling of family you take away from the Octoberville village and the Crowbar!  You talk to them during the entire year, wondering what are Cherub and MK and Nathan going to set up for us next time?  You talk to everyone you know about this awesome place you go to and you bring them with you when it opens back up in October and make addicts out of them too!  I can be found here for the entire month of October, all day every day. Once I finish the mystery, I am right there helping out the next person!  I cannot say enough about Octoberville and the people who created it and the people who, like me, are there all month for everyone who needs help along the way.  Thank you Cherub, MK, and Nathan

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Annika7 Dagger

I anxiously wait for Octoberville opening day!  This is my 4th year, got my name up on the wall twice now, missed year 2 and now missing year 4 - darn RL!!!  I've turned at least 20 avis onto Octoberville and they just love it!!!  The scenery really gets to you.  Love the roleplay too - just makes the entire experience something to NOT MISS...darn RL!!!  I've even gotten my co-horts at work wanting me to login during lunch to show them SL.  Now there's 10 of us here iSL and in Octoberville.  Whooot Hoooot!!! :-)

Just wanted to say that your entire family and staff outdo yourselves each year - making each year more exciting.  Even though I can't finish the game this year, I still enjoy playing....hee hee  CYA around...maybe  :-)

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Fearchar Enoch

I love Octoberville mainly for the ambiance. I've never completed the hunt, but I love going through the house and the whole region and soakin up the atmosphere. This is my fifth year. Back in '07 I was just looking for Hallowe'en decorations and happened on O'ville in search--then I noticed it was more than just a place to buy decorations.

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Master Kaos

My favorite thing about Octoberville is all of the friends that I have made and the people that come each year to show their love and support and just have a great time celebrating halloween!! To all of you, much love!!! You have sincerely shown us your love over the years and we cannot thank you enough!!

 

 

Master Kaos

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Taysa Roffo

This is my 5th year enjoying and exploring Octoberville. The first year, I was such a new player and had no clue what a hunt was and I could barely fly around. The creators of Octoberville took me under their wing and not only taught me about Octoberville, but taught me about Second Life as well. Master Kaos and Cherub become more like part of my family and I come back every year for the thrill, the scare, the mazes, the haunts and the hunt but most of all, the friendship that I share with not only the creators, but other players that enjoy the atmosphere, the ambience, and the excitement of Octoberville. Friends come together to search for items, to solve a murder mystery, to go crazy inside the many mazes and to dance well into the night at the club Crowbar. Lasting relationships have begun in Octoberville and I for one am proud to count among my friends the creators of Octoberville. The autumn season is for me, a time to come back home to Octoberville. I love it more than I could ever express. Thank you for your efforts and your time.

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Silken Snoodle

Ok, seriously...Crowbar. The entire sim is amazing and fun, but it's the people that bring me back year after year.

Crowbar is one of the best clubs in SL, the people are fun, there aren't a ton of gestures (most of the time), and everyone is welcoming.

 

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Jupiter Firelyte

This was my second time around through Octoberville and I loved it just as much as the first time. It's one of the most enjoyable events in Second Life. It's smart, creative, challenging, and loads of fun. The OV community is warm and friendly, always ready to lend a hand. I look forward to doing it again next year and see what the creative team comes up with next.

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Knotty Twine

I agree.  The whole sim is fun and very well done.  I've hunted for several years but have never made it through.  And yet I come back, year after year.  Maybe this year...  if only someone would throw me a pebble, or a pepsi, or a crunch....

Everyone is very friendly here - if you haven't visited, do it now!  The artists and programmers are great!  What a fun way to celebrate the season!

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Meryet Amat

I'm with Silken, CROWBAR!!! 

I was first introduced to OV due to a costume contest/part at Crowbar in 2007.  It's so addictive that I've come back every since.  You can't act for a nicer more talented group of people that both create and visit Octoberville.  I've met many great friends while visiting OV and look forward to October all year long.

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Trolluv Toll

Silken Snoodle said it.. the people. The Sim is beautiful the hunt, the puzzles they're all amazingly addictive yes, but seeing the same hunters each year as well as the ones just discovering Octoberville, it's a feeling of a family that gets bigger every year. Like most everyone else who's commented, I also do a countdown to opening day.

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Cherub Spectre

@Taysa, I remember your first day. Just saying that is so cool. To remember something that was so long ago. I remember you struggling to get used to things and hooking you up with a home inside the build and giving you a job. You were so quiet back then.. operative phrase.. back then.. lol You have grown to be a staple within the OV community. Put Tay 1 and Tay 2 together and its pure chaos.. and fun! We love you.

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Cherub Spectre

@Silken You know, you are so right! Octoberville has become an amazingly popular game in Second Life but Crowbar is just as important and probably doesnt get enough publicity for what it is. Unlike other clubs, I have rarely ever seen any drama in Crowbar. Everyone gets along and fits in and it really has become a huge family. And Master Kaos plays the most awesome, crazy, stuff you all know but would never expect to hear, music! Crowbar and Master Kaos is synonymous.

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Cherub Spectre

@Jupiter I have to say I am so amazed at just how many people stick around when they are finished with the game to help other people. I have been to many game sims and its so hard to get any answers to questions. It really shows the dedication of the players to the build/game. It makes a creator smile!

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Cherub Spectre

@Knotty It doesnt matter if you complete the game or not, just having you with us to share the experience is awesome! Whether you have been here since the first year in 2005 or you are a first-timer, you are welcomed as if we have known you for years and the rest of the group treat each person the same way.. I think THAT is the cause of the magic of Octoberville.

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Cherub Spectre

@Meryet I still remember when we first met. I was introduced to you at your place by Charllie Lane. I got to know you at Crowbar, and then you have  stuck with us with other builds and ideas. YOu have always supported us and we thank you very much!

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Asus Flow

For me OctoberVille is the best! Always looking forward to it. It's the 3rd time i've finished the hunt. What i really enjoy about OctoberVille is the atmosphere of the sim, but also among the people who are hunting. Think this year it was really amazing how little lag we had on the sim, one year i've given up due to lag. This was the first year i joined the group and i sure had no regrets, i love the chats. Keep it going folks!

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Graydirk Enoch

Each year since I first found Octoberville, I've looked forward to the start of October...just so I can dive right in and see what creative environment has been put together this year.  The gang at OV never fails to impress!  Each year the game gets new twists and turns and new surprises.  I gladly work on very few hours of sleep once I start the game (this year was a few 3 hr nights) as it always becomes like a great book...once you start it...you can't put it down.  Even when I finish the game myself, I have as much fun helping others finish (and getting them addicted to OV) as I did when I first started.  This year has been particularly challenging and I'm still finding new places where the items like to appear at.  The complexity just makes my head spin.  Being one of the few Elders, I have had a chance to see OV change and grow many times.  It is fun to get chatting with others about items/quests/challenges from years past and that "one special item that took you forever to find"

Besides the game, the think I love most about OV is the social aspect of it.  People who I rarely see the rest of the year magically appear in OV and we are able to catch up and help each other.  Its this community that SL strives for and I'm glad to be a part of it.!  OV becomes a true melting pot during October.  All the clicks of SL are left behind and everyone just mixes together (male/female/neko/goth//hobo/vampire/werewolf/gay/straight/steampunk/etc...) and no one cares if you are running around without hair on or as a jester (in my case)

Already looking forward to next years!   Keep up the fantastic work

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Cherub Spectre

@Meryet I would say the most challenging part of creating Octoberville is motivating everyone to start early enough so that we dont have to stress as time draws closer to October1. Each year we start in May/June, but we dont really get to the heart of it until September. Its really hard to be autumn-inspired in the middle of summer. So come September, stress tend to be higher than any other month of the year.

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