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Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Oct. 30, "MVW Halloween Show," by Sazzy O Miss V .

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Oct. 29, "Az 2 @ Firefly's Halloween 2011," by Rick Aucoin.

Check out the Pic of the Day for Oct. 28, "Tay Tay Halloween Costume ," by Taylor Flanagan.

It was Halloween, Mildred's favorite holiday. “Halloween is the day I was born,” she would say. “Mother found me in the Great Pumpkin Patch. That is why I am who I am and I needn't say more.” Most of the townsfolk wanted to believe the brooding, dark little child was a Halloween baby. It did help explain things. Things whispered about. Things that Mildred was understood to have done. Things that would soon become more and more troubling... even dangerous! Free pumpkins at the Great Pumpkin Patch and Haunted House Every October, Tarot Fate's Amusements would come to town. Mildred absolutely HAD to go! “Mother, father, it's time to visit the spirits,” she would pronounce each Hallow’s Eve. Tarot Fate's Amusements: Fortune Tellers Mildred's favorite attraction was the Spook House Ride. This year something very strange happened. Mother, father and Mildred entered the spook house — but only Mildred came out! Sinatra's Spook House Ride Alone and oddly undisturbed by the loss of her parents, Mildred consulted a Spirit Cabinet. “It is time Mildred, time for you to meet your maker,” the spooky spirit voice from the cabinet moaned. Spirit Cabinet All of the sudden, with a whiz-bang and a handy landmark, Mildred was transported to the dreary forest of Darkness Falls. “What a lovely forest,” Mildred thought. “That cabin sure looks cozy — I feel strangely drawn to it, and suddenly very sleepy.” Darkness Falls, Bentham Hollow Upon entering the cabin, Mildred instantly fell to the floor in a heap and went slippy-sliding into a deep, dreamy sleep! When she awoke she was in a tiny room, and every wall of that room was covered in beautiful party dresses. Bloom Dresses: Rotten TOe, Las Venturas “These dresses look so familiar,” thought Mildred. “I must try one on.” But just as she reached for a dress, a giant door appeared in the wall and swung open! Wicked Eyeball: Grim Brothers, Clematis Island “ENTER,” chimed a group of Wicked Eyeballs. “It's time for you to meet your maker!” Mildred, without hesitation, stepped right into the room and said calmly, “Show me.” Happy Halloween! The End.

Designing Horror Every October you start to feel that crisp chill in the air, feel the wind blow a little more strongly. The smells of apples, pine and damp are more pungent, and you start to anticipate Halloween. You want the spectres, the goblins, the undead and you know that creators in SL are hard at work building the stuff nightmares are made of. I've had the horror of designing large Halloween builds and games in SL for the last five years, along with an amazing team of scripters, builders and gamers. With all that experience, I continue to learn more every year about what is possible in this amazingly adaptable place. In "The Flesh Game," we tried to terrify — and anyone can do it with your own builds, sounds and mood. The build, of course, is the structure, the visual environment where you can use texture, color and space to create mood — even a sense of claustrophobia or a vastness of area that makes someone feel small or lost. It's possible to create corners or darkened places where someone is afraid to walk by lest a ghoul pounce from its hiding place. The coagulating pool of blood on the floor or backlit green-tinted wall is all it takes to make someone shudder. Sounds are extremely important for elevating fear, such as a screech down a darkened hallway that makes you not want to take one more step, the wailing keen of children laughing or the slow creak of a door can build anticipation of the horrors to come. Walk through your haunted area and listen. What would make you shiver when you turn a corner? Perhaps the slow plodding sound thud of the boots of a killer would quicken your step. Fear is a very strong emotion, and even more so, the anticipation of fear — the buildup going from safety into terror that can make you gasp. A shock can make you scream out loud — and coming back into the light, you take a huge breath, still feeling the thick steady pound in your chest and you're safe — but for how long? About the Author: Ivey Deschanel owns the alternative clothing store Sn@tch, as well as three sims with partner Roblem Hogarth. They hold an annual Interactive Halloween game, which this year is The Flesh Game. You can read her blog at: http://snatch-sl.blogspot.com.

Check out the Flickr Pic of the Day for Oct. 27, "DOLLCOCO ," by Kagemaru McMahon .

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. 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. 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. 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!

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Oct. 26, "Abandoned," by Solangesimondsen. Visit inworld here.

Halloween Love Story Halloween season is the best time of year to use all the abilities that Second Life offers Residents. Some Halloween looks you can create literally with one click, wearing creepy makeup — or simply attaching a pumpkin on the head! This time, we prepared more elaborate looks and we draw you into our romantic yet melancholy —and little bit scary — Halloween Love Story. Please enjoy these amazing couples! For the above image, the skeleton avatars (male and female) are from Vita's Boudoir. The gentleman pictured above is wearing a Sleepy Hollow avatar from Little Britain Designs and the lady is a Headless Queen avatar from Vita's Boudoir. In this image (above), the gentleman is wearing skin and claws from Little Britain Designs, while the hat is from Akeyo. His fedora and outfit come from Gizza’s Fusion Chic collection. The lady is wearing Dream Ink skin, hair from booN and the outfit Batterflies Hero is from Vita's Boudoir. In the above image, the lovely lady wears Gio skin from Glam Affair, hair (Brigitte) by LeLutka and an “I'll Die for You” outfit from Vita's Boudoir. The “partner” comes with the outfit! Here we see a “skinless” man who is actually wearing Nomine skin (Raw skin male), with hair by Shag (Rise), distressed leather pants from The Abyss and Mullingar boots by Hoorenbeek. The snake woman is wearing skin by Glam Affair (Gio) with Snake Queen outfit from Vita's Boudoir and claws by La Malvada Mujer. All Poses by Del May. Editorial is taken at "The Looking Glass" sim. We hope you found some great dress-up ideas for Halloween! For this showcase, pictures and styling was made by Petra Messioptra. Concept and idea by Vitabela Dubrovna and Petra Messioptra. Happy Halloween to all! About the Authors: Vitabela Dubrovna and Petra Messioptra collaborate on the fashion blog http://vitabela-vitabela.blogspot.com. This blog is platform where many talented designers, photographers and artists (Precious Restless,Petra Messioptra, urikoH Blinker, Mo Miasma,Cole Marie Soleil and Eshi Otawara) post about wide range of themes linked with Second Life — but mostly about fashion.

Host blog posts will be going live every day through Friday, when the live event happens in the Halloween Forum. Check out posts by Kiana Writer and Uccello Poultry!

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Oct. 25, "The Last Train," by Victor1st Mornington. Visit inworld here.

0A10h66I7js So, what’s your favorite scary story this Halloween? Praying Mary, Moonkiller, Skinner and the idiot savant who can draw people’s auras suddenly were filling up my mind with their evil agendas, begging me to bring them to life. The family of lunatics started to grow and desperately needed a home for roaming around. I tried to stop them, push them in the back of my mind, hoping they could wait for a little bit longer, till there was more time.. but once an evil seed has been planted, it grows without feeding. A mad asylum needed to be built for this story. When I approached the team in August asking if we could make an interactive and immersive asylum with a kick-ass story — and why not at the same time make that into a grid-wide hunt involving 50 high-quality stores? — I was expecting more resistance. With a little bit of bribing, blackmailing and cheese throwing, they were all willing to work extremely hard to make sure this mad idea would become a reality and MadPea would be able to provide an unforgettable adventure for Halloween.  Little by little the mysterious foggy swamp took over the whole island. It used to belong to a Native American tribe, who had very bizarre methods for draining souls from the evil-doers. Many, many years later, the highly anticipated Peatonville Asylum gets built on the swamp. Top-class doctors and staff were hired to treat the most severely mentally damaged patients and a special large grant was assigned to this rehabilitation program, aiming to use new technologies and methods in making the patients fit for society again. The program started to show tremendous progress in a short amount of time, until it all went wrong. One by one they start dying in the most gruesome ways and when help finally arrives, there is no one left to tell the story. Only a journal and shards of an ancient stone remain. Dare to enter this scary mystery? Environment rich of sounds, details, spooky elements and interactivity will keep you entertained for hours and in the end you will be exhausted with a big smile on your face and inventory full of goodies. Built with love, blood, sweat and other wonderful bodily fluids, the Peatonville Asylum awaits.. About the author: Kiana Writer has been a prominent game creator in Second Life for several years. As a co-founder of MadPea Games, Kiana has helped to create several popular games including The Devil's Labyrinth, The Kaaos Effect and Virtual Medical Doctor. Her newest co-creation, The Peatonville Asylum, debuts Oct. 28. 

Making your own Halloween _______. So you've had lots of fun exploring the various haunted houses, maddening mazes, and other spooky spots celebrating Halloween in Second Life this year and you say to yourself, “But I can make a better Halloween _______ than that!” Maybe you can, but it takes a bit of planning to bodge something together. Good thing you have a year for putting it all together. First you need to sort out what kind of venue it will be. A so-called “dark ride” like you find in amusement parks? How about a walk-through haunted house or even a haunted forest? The assets you have will be your biggest consideration in this decision with land being chief among them. Fortunately, Janeforyou Barbara let me use a large chunk of her land and a few thousand prims to make my fourth annual Halloween treat, the Menagerie Isle Haunted House My dream is to one day use a whole region as the folks at Innsmouth do, but even if you have only a 117-prim, 512-square meter parcel, you can put together something great if you have great ideas. It all comes together with the decorating. That's the where the theme comes in. Popping about Second Life this year, I saw a greater variety than ever before, but paying tribute to horror films was quite popular, especially zombie flicks. Even folks who usually don't go see the likes of Freddy, Jason, and their kin in theaters will, thanks to mass marketing, be familiar with the characters — so your intent is clear, but these themes might be so mainstream that their familiarity could decrease their impact. Think carefully about clever ways to incorporate pop-horror into your creations while seriously considering more traditional items like ghosts and skeletons. This means you also need to think about the build itself. Get together with your team, or if you don't have one, frequently invite friends to give you a third-party perspective. This is my second year with a two-stage installation at Menagerie Isle: a pre-show walkabout in a decrepit mansion made by BailyMarie Princess and available in her shop at Abbey Island, every room decorated with spiders or ghosts or... well, I won't spoil the surprises. Then there is a dark ride through several themed tableaus that eventually ends in an eerie graveyard where anyone who survived can pick up a gift before running off. I used many commercially sourced items — ghosts, spiders, furniture, etc. — along with custom textures and items I made myself. Because I worked alone, I had several people look in to catch my mistakes, such as when the ride stopped at a certain spot if two or more folks were in the car at the same time. Assets, theme, and build are the basic components. Post your ideas in the comments for what you like to see in a Halloween attraction, whether you are a builder or not. I’d also like to see your suggestions, with SLurls if you can, for what you thought were great attractions or places to shop. Don't be scared to post something! Bay City Hay Halloween Maze The Linden Moles and the Bay City Alliance have a Hay Maze full of whimsical fun and prizes. Bewitched Haunted Dark Forest The Bewitched Haunted Dark Forest is a whole region of spookiness. Isle of Ewe Shops can be attractions, too! The Isle of Ewe has dressed up for the holiday and the Meeroos have gotten into the spirit of things.

Mark your calendars for the Best of SL Halloween: A Resident-Hosted Event, held this Friday, Oct. 28, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Pacific) in the official Forums. Plus, check the official Second Life Blog all week for guest blog posts from our Hosts! Halloween Hosts Available in the Forum this Friday, Oct. 28 and Guest Blogging this Week: MiaSnow Myriam Ivey Deschanel Uccello Poultry Vitabella Dubrovna Sinatra Cartier Kiana Writer Cherub Spectre Hear What Second Life Creators and Bloggers Think in Real Time Your Halloween Hosts are Second Life Residents with experience creating or even simply enjoying Haunted Locations in Second Life. They’ll be standing by in the Halloween Forum to share favorite inworld locations, costumes, and tips and tricks for scripting successful haunted experiences. Ask Questions Experts will be on call in the community from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. (Pacific) on Friday, Oct. 28. This is your chance to ask the experts any Halloween or Second Life questions you can dream up. Share Your Creations Want to share your own creations? All participants can post and share images of favorite Second Life Halloween and Haunted locations, costuming and memories from past years. Join the forum conversation and ask the experts for advice on building, costuming and other questions hand-picked for the pros. Don’t miss this special event, which can be found on the Second Life Blogs and Forums this Friday, Oct. 28!

Check out the Featured SL Evolution photo by Winter Wardhani.

Check out the SL Flickr Pic of the Day for Oct. 24, "Pumpkin-cide," by Rick Fermi.

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

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