Cat Face Gaming

 

A friend told me about a gaming place located on the SL mainland, "Cat Face Gaming." Located near "The Shelter," it offers a large variety of games. Bixyl Shuftan went over to check the place out. 

 

Read more in Places. 

 

News in Brief

 

There's a lot going on, but not so much time to write about it.

 

Of the Firestorm update we wrote about on Monday morning, it would finally be released later that afternoon. You can read details in the Firestorm blog. 

 

Almost overlooked, earlier this month Linden Lab would announce the transfer of the ownership of Tilia to Thunes was now completed.  

 

And a few days ago, Linden Lab would announce that the six months of free Madpea Unlimited was almost up.  

 

EOTB: Madpea's Kiana Writer in Second Life Spotlight

 

Today in the official Second Life blog, Linden Lab did a Second Life Spotlight article featuring Kiana Writer, the head of Madpea, one of Second Life's most noted gaming areas.

 

 Today, we’re shining a spotlight on Kiana Writer, the founder of MadPea, whose immersive adventures, compelling storytelling, and innovative spirit have left a lasting mark on Second Life for nearly two decades.

 

You can read the article here.

 

"Our Holiday Gift To You" Linden Lab Announces All Residents Get Six Months Free of Madpea Unlimited

 

Madpea has long been providing games for the residents of Second Life to play. Years ago, one could play them for free, such as Virtual Medical Doctor from 2011. In more recent times, they've been making more detailed and challenging games that they've been charging fees to play. They've operated independently from Linden Lab. But a few days ago, the Lab would announce they had made a deal with them, and the result being every resident from basic accounts to Premium Plus would be getting a free six month subscription to Madpea's Unlimited game package.

Get ready for an amazing treat, Second Life community! We’re thrilled to announce that all Second Life residents are receiving six months free access to MadPea Unlimited - the acclaimed and popular subscription service from MadPea Productions. Valued at an incredible L$12,000, this gift unlocks a world of engaging Second Life content and surprises including exciting story-driven games and hunts, exclusive gifts, and fun experiences to play alone or with friends. 

 

The Lab would go on to say that the free service doesn't start right away, but takes effect on Wednesday January 1st.  Also, residents don't need to do anything to activate it. 

For more information, check out the Lab's blog entry (here), and the page on the Madpea website:

https://madpeagames.com/unlimited-2025/

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Three Underwater Places: Mad Mines, Pacifique, Nightgarden

 

In the USA and many other places, August can seem like the hottest month of the year. So many of us are looking to cool off a bit. And one place to cool off is in the water. Recently Bixyl Shuftan decided to check out a few underwater areas in Second Life: Mad Mines, Pacifique, and one that was part of a place we looked at before, Nightgarden. So what did he find?

 

Read more in Places. 

 

Announcement: This Saturday at The Science Circle - "Cirque du Mystere"

 

"Cirque du Mystere"

Saturday December 25

10 AM to 11 AM

On Saturday, December 25 at 10 AM & 9 PM PST, we’ll treat you to a compelling murder mystery, facilitated by MadPea (link).

To participate you need a HUD of 500 L$, which you will receive from The Science Circle.

We enjoyed your presence in 2021 and with this Murder Mystery experience we hope to offer you a fun and challenging end to the year.

Organizer: Chantal Jager 

For more information, Click Here. 

 (Click here if the video does not play)

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"Cirque du Mystere"

Saturday December 25

9 PM to 10 PM

We’ll be treating you all to a compelling murder mystery facilitated by MadPea (link), so bring your magnifying glasses!

To participate you’ll need a 500L$ HUD, which you will receive from the Science Circle.

Thank you for a thrilling 2021, and a great start to the East calendar, we hope to see you again in the new year!

Organizer: Jes Stannard 

For more information, Click Here. 

 

The Drax Files: World Makers "Episode 47: Mad World"

(Click here if the video fails to play)

From Draxtor Despress on October 8, "Halloween holds a special place in many people’s hearts. Dressing up in scary, funny and or weird ways [Drax once went trick/treating as Mitt Romney with a binder full of scantily clad Barbie dolls and was briefly detained by local police in California…] Even though it is a very American holiday, Kiana Writer from MadPea Games loved everything around Halloween when growing up in Finland. Especially the scary parts! She and her team brought her sensibilities and imagination into Second Life with a year-round celebration in form of a massive amusement park called 'MadWorld': lots of games, rides, role-play, special events and prices await the SL resident who dares to enter…. 'Halloween used to be much scarier when I grow up' she says, 'but we can relive these childhood memories in Second Life everyday!' Needless to say that everything that MadPea offers in MadWorld is completely custom built and scripted for Second Life and can be enjoyed as the chosen avatar embodiment. Case in point: Drax went ghost hunting - in the rain - with his beloved slider shoes…

+++++++++++

"A very special thanks as always to our background actors and gracious sim owners / event organizers [including but not limited to BCreative Wilde, Gaius Tripsa, Quiggles78, Threshin Bartnett, Sangi Phaeton, Thalia Lupindo, Raceyy, LadyRose Writer, TheOnlyNoMad] and of course production designer, location and logistics wrangler Marianne McCann: can you spot her in this one? Hint: she looks quite pale in a couple of scenes …. "

 In this video the following sims were featured visited [pay them a visit this Halloween season and tell them Count Draxula sent you!] Madworld = https://secondlife.com/destination/ma... The Well = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife... Bay City = https://secondlife.com/destination/ba... Twisted = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife... Trick or Treat Lane = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife... Everwinter = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife... Skull Creek = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife... Ripe = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife... Malaika Park = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife... Rose Garden = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife... Cica Ghost = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife... Bryn Oh = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife... For more information about MadPea check out http://www.madpeagames.com/ This episode contains carousel music from the historic Playland amusement park in San Francisco as well as from Disneyland’s “King Arthur” carousel. We also used a little bit of New Orleans jazz performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz Academy.

Madpea's Egg Hunt: Last Day Tomorrow

For those who haven't had quite enough of Easter, there's another egg hunt going on. This one is by Madpea Games, and is going on until tomorrow. To take part, head to Neogene (133/185/1502). There's a 100L fee to get the Heads Up Display and basket, which you add/attach to your avatar (wearing may knock off a part of you). You then use the radar on the HUD to find the eggs. There are three in the sim you start out in. The nearest one is out in the open. A second is in a building. The third is also in a building, but hidden so that finding it takes some panning around.

Once you've found all the eggs in a sim, just press the "?" symbol on your HUD, on the pink egg. You'll then be teleported to another sim to find more. Different eggs are worth different amounts of points, from 10 to 50. Get enough points, and you can exchange them for prizes. And of course, there are an "eggstravagant" number of egg puns.

Madpea has a history of making games inworld for residents to play, in the past few years charging a fee for a number of them. Among those in the past include Unia, Buried, and Virtual Medical Doctor.

The final day of the Madpea Egg Hunt is tomorrow, with one more day to exchange points for prizes. For more information, check the Madpea blog.

Bixyl Shuftan

Madpea International Food Fair Taking Place Until March 4

Madpea Productions, the company in Second Life noted for it's detailed games over the years, is running a charity event in cooperation with Feed a Smile, the Madpea International Food Fair. The event started on Saturday with musicians such as Shannon O'herlihy performing. Due to the lag, some attending watched from just past the sim border not far from the stage, or stayed near the TP point and donated to kiosks near there.

The "Queen Pea" Kiana Writer was among those at the Saturday events  On the event's webpage, the group stated, "Our goal is building a kitchen for impoverished school children in the Rhonda Slums of Nakuru, Kenya. The MadPea International Food Fair will raise funds for the kitchen with the help of some of the grid’s top designers, who will sell exclusive food-themed items and gachas throughout the event with 50% of all earnings going toward Feed a Smile. Additionally, donations will be accepted throughout the fair. The fair will be a full cultural feast; alongside the awesome shopping, live musicians and DJs will provide music at the festival’s Center Stage virtually round-the-clock."

By Sunday, the total amount raised had passed the one million Linden mark. 

Madpea has done charity events before. In October 2015, they raised over a million and a half Lindens to help build a school in Africa. 

The Food Fair will have at least two performances every day, today having Beth Odets at 2PM and Zak Claxton at 6PM, with four performances tomorrow Tuesday February 21. The closing party will be on Saturday March 4 from 1-3PM SL time.

For more information on the Food Fair, and the latest fundraising total, check the page at http://www.madpeagames.com/events/madpea-international-food-fair/ . To see the event stage yourself, head to Harms Way (171/151/1234) .

*Update* According to Modem World, the "Live and Learn" charity, which gets a third of it's money through Second Life "Feed a Smile" fundraisers, the people Madpea is partnering with in this event, recently had their outdoor kitchen wrecked due to bad weather.  The new kitchen will be a sturdier and more hygenic indoor one.

Avi Choice Awards Results

Yesterday, the Avi Choice Awards, hosted by Trader Whiplash and Nuala Maracus, were held for the final time. There were many dozens of categories from the practical to the artistic that were given three categories: Fashion, the Arts, and SLife. Among the winners were ...

Favorite Sim to Explore - Madpea by Kiana Writer

Favorite Hunt Organizer - Madpea

Favorite Place to Take a Date - Calas Galadhon Park by Tymus Tenk and Truck Merideth

Favorite Second Life Group - Builders Brewery

Favorite Recorded Show - Drax Files by Draxtor Despress

Favorite Machinima Artist/Videographer - Bryn Oh

Favorite Artist - Bryn Oh

Favorite Art Gallery - Rose Theater by Kaya Angel

Favorite Dance Troupe - Guerilla Burlesque  by Chrybind Scribe

Favorite Pop Singer - Macamillion Kleene

Favorite Radio DJ - Trader Whiplash

There were some surprises. The "Favorite Annual Event" was the Hair Fair by Sasy Scarborough, which beat the RFL Fantasy Faire, and the better known Relay for Life season and the Second Life Birthday celebration. Another surprise was "Favorite Magazone, Newspaper, or Periodical," which was won by "Love to Decorate" which beat out the better known Second Life Enquirer, Prim Perfect, the Best of Second Life, and the Second Life Newser.

Congratulations to the winners.

Going Out With A Bang: Madpea Blows Up UNIA Game Area

UNIA was a game that Madpea was proud of. Originally planned to be up for a little more than a year, it stayed for a year and a half. But all things come to an end, and inevitably UNIA had to come down so the space could be used by a new game. But instead of quietly closing it, the Madpea staff made a public event out of it. As those who were around watched, the sim blew up all around them.

Read Bixyl Shuftan's story in Extra.

Weekend at a Glance

There were a few things going on this weekend. Among them, the "Hot Bay City Nights" car show event at Bay City. Still going on at North Channel (128/128/24) until the 27th, you can see a number of classic cars there.

It was also the first day of the new game at Madpea, "Lost Treasure of the Inca Warrior." "People Embark on an epic expedition, solve puzzles and dodge deadly traps as you navigate your way through the Devil's Cave and crack the vault where precious treasures are waiting to be discovered." To play it, teleport to MadPea (218/60/2224), pay for the gaming HUD, and brave the tunnel.

The weekend was also the last couple days of the "Lovefest," or Lovecraft festival, in Umbra. This wasn't about romance, but an event for fans of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft best known for "The Call of Cthulhu." Taking place on the week of the writer's birthday, it's over now, more info available at the website: https://lovefest.wordpress.com/ . Besides the shopping, there was a passenger ship, and an island with things Man Was Not Meant To Know. Read more about the event later this week.

Bixyl Shuftan

SL13B Sneak Peeks

Feeling a little anxious about not yet being able to attend the Second Life Birthday celebration? Maybe a good book to pass the time would help. At the northeast corner of SL13B Stupendous, someone was certainly set for some heavy reading with these oversized books.

And nothing wrong with a cold drink while reading. These two vending machines were pluged-in nearby. Unfortunately they were empty when I checked them out.

One of the exhibitors, Madpea, released this video teaser of their exhibit, "Mad Monster Mountain."



(Click here if the video fails to play)

"We made this video to tease you guys on the amazing experience you will be able to have at SL13B. Visit us there, and dare to try our ride! The Gates will open on Sunday June 19th and you will find us on the Spellbound region:" 

The SL13B is just two days away, opening at Noon SL time on Sunday June 19th.

Bixyl Shuftan

Madpea's "Unia" Game To End on July 31

It was about a year ago in which the Madpea gaming team and location released "Unia," an inworld horror game. The product of more than two years of development, Madpea was very proud of the game, and the public group chatter has been full of people playing and asking for hints for many months. But all good things, and scary things, come to an end, and earlier this week Madpea announced the game would be closing on July 31.

UNIA was a dream come true for us at MadPea but every dream has an ending and UNIA’s end is nigh! July 31st UNIA will close and the zombie chickens will be returned to their pens, the sandworms will bury themselves forever and the Dreamers will drift off to restful sleep forever more. UNIA was the biggest game to hit Second Life and has been keeping players captivated for over a year. Until the closure in July we have slashed the price of the gold hud to 500L$ and removed the Silver and Bronze options. Play UNIA from now until then with your friends before this piece of Second Life history is no more.

Those interested in playing, it's not for free but the full package is now cheaper. The Bronze and Silver HUDs, which were 400 and 750 Lindens respectively, have been discontinued while the Gold HUD, which has three colors of uniform, a "triple shield," and a lockpick for an axe and gun, is now 500L.

Madpea has a long history of making games within Second Life, going back several years, some of which the Newser has reported on. Their most recent game is "The Interview."

Instructions on how to play Unia

Madpea blog

Madpea website

Hat Tip: Inara Pey

Bixyl Shuftan

Firestorm and Madpea to Launch Community Gateway, Launch Party Today

Besides Welcome Island, over Second Life's history some locations have had their own welcome areas for newcomers to provide some basic information and maybe a gift or two. Indeed for the first several years of the Grid, this was encouraged by Linden Lab under a program "enabling them to steer incoming users directly to their own orientation / support environment, and thus provide them with assistance and hands-on support in getting started in SL." But it was discontinued in August 2010.

In September, Inara Pey reported that Linden Lab was planning to bring back the Community Gateway program. "The idea is that the new registrant would begin their time in SL in the experience that matches their interest," Patch Linden was quoted as saying. Among the groups involved with the testing was Firestorm. Recently it was announced that Madpea was joining up with them, " we’re delighted to be teaming up with Jessica Lyon and the Firestorm team on their project to produce a Community Gateway for new residents to Second Life. Community Gateways will provide a rich, learning environment for new residents. Showing them how to use their viewers, how to interact, how to develop as an avatar and, with MadPea’s help…how to play games and have an amazing SL experience."

To celebrate, Team Firestorm is combining their Halloween celebrations with a "Gateway Launch Party," "The biggest Firestorm Halloween celebration to date will be this Saturday Oct 31st with live performances from Seth Regan (Mankind Tracer) @ 1PM, Nance Brody @ 2PM and Changhigh Trinity Sisters Fireshow @ 3PM. Then at 4pm DJQuad spins tunes and we open the massive month-long Halloween hunt with amazing content from over 150 well-known Second Life merchants."

The event will also be the kickoff for their "Spooky Nights Hunt organized by the Huntress Spooky Mistwallow purposed to create awareness of the gateway regions and what they offer by encouraging existing users to explore."

The locations for the party are Firestorm Showcase (239/17/26), Firestorm SB (18/17/26), /Firestorm HS1 (240/242/26) and Firestorm HS2 (20/240/26).

Bixyl Shuftan

Madpea's Halloween/10,000 Members Party

The Madpea group recently announced they had a total of ten thousand members in their group. It's a fairly active one as one doesn't have to wait long usually for chatter and conversation. To mark the occasion, their Halloween Party is also being called the "Ten Thousand Pea Party," with 20,000 Lindens in prizes given out, and one lucky member of the group to receive 10,000 Lindens.

The epic Halloween party will start at 1pm slt at the Peatonville Asylum with music from our very own DJ Kess Crystal. All our vips will receive a special 10,000 PEA GROUP GIFT, plus we will randomly throw money at you! The amounts will be random as will the winners be and in total we’ll be giving away 20,000L$!!!!  Costumes aren’t necessary but it’s Halloween so if you can dress up and come party with the Peas and MadPea Crew. It’s our way of saying we LOVE you Peas! Thank you for making MadPea the number 1 game community in Second Life!

Madpea Charity Event Raises Over A Million And A Half Lindens

Last weekend from Friday September 25 to Sunday September 27, the Madpea Charity Auctions took place. Over the course of three days, people dropping in on the event in Stargazer Bay made bids on over sixty various Second Life personalities from Saffia Widdershins of "Designing Worlds" to Draxtor Despress of the "Drax Files," to Xiola Linden, to Madpea leader Kiana Writer herself, and many others. All the while, they listened to 22 various DJs and live musicians. The event, in cooperation with Feed a Smile, was to raise funds to build a school in Kenya.

The event was a success from the start, raising almost 460,000 Lindens at the end of the first day. "The first day, far exceeded expectations," spoke Kess Crystal when interviewed Friday evening, "and we had two new auctionees over night, another Linden and Bryn Oh. There are now 64 auction boards for people, and eight for real life items, like the jewelry here." She pointed to some kiosks with pictures of jewelry. She explained there were four Lindens whom made themselves up for bid, "Alexa, Simon, Rider and Xiola." Of the number of people who were there that day, "Oh I have no idea ... but there were constantly 45-70 people here for most of the events." Kess explained she had something of a dual role at the event, "I have two hats on for this because the event is (at) my club, hee-hee. So I organized it for MadPea here."

As the Lindens came in, a build of the school the money was going to went up piece by piece, symbolizing what the amount raised would pay for. "The school behind us is being built as we raise more money. Yesterday that was just foundations. We're trying to give a virtual representation of the difference the money is actually making. So it's all based on the actual costs involved. The target is 1.4 million L$ that is the actual cost once turned into euros of a whole classroom. So at half a million after one day you can see we are def on track."

"We would expect Sunday to be the highest day as that's the day the auctions close so people will get last minute bids in. Currently I believe Xiola Linden is the person with the highest bid on their board. Bryn will go for a lot but I've literally just activated her board."

Besides the entertainers, Saturday also had the debut screening of the "Paradise Lost" machinima by Canary Beck. Sunday itself would be so crowded when I logged in, I couldn't get in until after the auctions were closed and the boards taken down. The total amount raised was 1,667,762 Lindens, well over the goal. The extra money will go to additional Feed-A-Smile operations.

The top three bids made, according to the Madpea blog,  were for Alexa Linden at 50,001 Linden dollars, Callie Cline (the co-owner of the Kittycats breedable pets) at 87,000 Lindens, and Kiana Writer at a whopping 150,000, or $600 US dollars. Inara Pey of Modem World had a list of the volunteers, she herself getting a bid of 30,000. Among the others were Bryn Oh for 45,000, Draxtor Despress for 31,500, Jessica Lyon for 30,000, and Saffia Widdershins for 26,666.

Madpea says they'll most likely plan further benefits in future years, "A few brave souls have asked Kess when the next one will be. We'll let her recover first."

Bixyl Shuftan/

The Madpea Charity Auction

This weekend, the "Madpea Celeberty Auction" is taking place. The event boasts three days of DJs and live music performers, in addition to various SL personalities taking part in auctions, from artist Bryn Oh, to SL video journalist Draxtor Despress to the "Queen Pea" Kiana Writer herself, "Last year I ended up singing at Furry Fair so I’m curious to see what you’d like to buy me for!" Some jewelry, real jewelry and not virtual, is also up for bid.

Dropping by yesterday at the location of the event, Stargazer Bay, the place was packed, with dozens of residents listening to Angela McKeenan and her band perform.  By the end of the day, almost half a million Linden dollars had been raised to help build a school in Kenya.

Today boasts events such as Max Kleene's live performance and a screening of Canary Beck's "Paradise Lost" machinima. Sunday has Anek Fuchs' performance and the "live" auctions.

Stargazer Bay (63/65/3008)

Madpea Looking For "High Profile Residents" For Charity Auction

A month from now on September 27 2015, Madpea will be doing a charity auction for "Feed a Smile." Part of a larger organization, "Live and Learn," they are "currently in the process of building a school in Nakuru. The first classroom and staff office were opened in January but there is a long way to go with each classroom costing around 19,000 USD to complete." More information about the project can be found on Live and Learn's website.

Madpea stated that last year, their SL Celeberty Auction for Feed a Smile raised 1.1 million Lindens, "and this year, we want to help complete one of those classrooms and get those kids into education."

But we need your help

Most ‘Celebrity’ SL Residents don’t actually consider themselves celebs but if you are a well-known resident on any scaled and think other residents would place a L$ value on spending some time with you then we want and NEED you to take part in this project. Maybe you’re a photographer that could offer a portrait or a one-to-one tutorial of your work? A prolific blogger who could share your knowledge with another resident? A store owner or creator willing to give a demonstration or create a unique product. Maybe you’re a DJ or Live musician willing to give an hour show to a winning bidder. The options are endless and you get to choose what you give.

The Celebrity Auction will take place on the 25-27th September with a weekend full of live music and entertainment and will culminate with a live auction on the 27th September at a specially built area at !Exodus! Rock Club.

We’ve seen recently with The Lexi Project just how phenomenal the generosity of SL’rs can be and how we can make RL changes to people’s lives when we work together. Please nudge your favourite SL Residents to join us ... We’re also looking for live singers, bands and DJ’s to take part in the weekend events. 

Volunteers are asked to complete the Celebrity SL Auction Joining Form for the event.

For more information, one can contact Kess Crystal inworld or by email: kess@madpeagames.com

Source: Madpea, Modem World

Review of Madpea's "Buried"

Second Life Newser is happy to introduce our newest writer, Kiirya Lii (account name Kiirya Huntress). In her first article, Kiirya took on a challenge: Madpea's latest game "Buried." This is an adventure game in which you take on the role of a geocacher, someone who uses a GPS device to track down the locations of hidden items, whom is searching for a missing writer. So what did Kiirya think of the game?

Read more in Design.