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About to catch an Arccanine
The Pokémon franchise has been around in various forms for twenty years, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that a team of Second Life users have created a playable version of the game. What is surprising is how long the game has existed, and how ambitious it is -- and how few players even knew it existed, until the Pokémon Go phenomenon. For the last 8 or years, in fact, the three creators have been building and maintaining a full Pokemon roleplaying experience on the island of Ravenlock. Only recently, thanks to the new augmented reality mobile game hit, foot traffic from random visitors in search of virtual Pokémon has spiked.
“On average,” lead creator Mindy Runo tells me, “we get roughly ten new players a day prior to Go. And now it’s about twenty to thirty [a day].”
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Hamlet v. Aggron
That’s not just new players, she adds, but “troublemakers", as she calls them: “One of the reasons we are actually working on the new rebuild. We plan to implement a new security system that should make those who play here quite a bit safer.”
Created by Mindy, Casio2000, and Ivy Steampunk, this isn’t an augmented reality take on Pokémon the phone game, but a game that plays out in multiple 3D environments -- forest, mountain, cave, and so on. So you don’t detect the pokémon themselves with a proximity tracker, but with your own eyes -- and take them down with pokéballs you actually throw. (Available in multiple varieties from a dispenser near the teleport landing spot, helpfully labeled “Pokécenter”.)
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Pokécenter located top right of Cindy's galleon-tipped tail
“The catch system was actually the first thing we developed,” says Mindy. “the scripts I used were clunky, basic, easily hacked, and you had to wear a new ball each time you threw one. It wasn’t until I got Casio, the scripter, and Ivy, the texture artist, that the sim really became known.” As you may have noticed, Mindy is a large-breasted furry with a tail so large, a Spanish galleon and a large shark swim through its thick tufts. (History shows us that behind every great, ambitiously obsessive Second Life hack is usually a furry, or maybe many.)
“We’re currently in our seventh sim rebuild, working on the 8th, we rebuild the sim every 2 years, incorporating new ideas, scripts, pets, ideas, areas, and more. And yes,” she adds grinning, “I am aware that i said ‘ideas’ twice. We get quite a lot thanks to the community.”
As that suggests, Ravenlock’s tribute to Pokémon has a dedicated player base, large enough to help keep the game running through donations (via game-related content) for many years. Now that community is certain to grow. And though it’s a non-profit project, the three developers have devoted much of their lives in the last few years to sustaining it. “Honestly, if we put all the time together from all of us working on it, more than a few years time put into it; when we’re not working [in real life], we’re here working,” as Mindy puts it.
However, her real life job has become pretty time-consuming recently. “I have been pulling near 70+ hours a week due to the increase of traffic.” That's because she works at a corner store popular with Pokémon Go players. “Kids tend to stop for drinks and gas, while driving two miles an hour down the road to hatch eggs.”
You read that last part right: Her time developing virtual Pokémon for avatar players is being cut short by demands from real world Pokémon players.
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. Set up to play can be a bit confusing, especially for SL newcomers, but hopefully you can ask a community member for some help.Hat tip: [To see links please register here]
MORE on RavenLock’s Version of Pokemon (from game manual)
RavenLock Pokemon sim is one of the oldest Pokemon Roleplay sim with a large number of creatures to catch and enjoy to search around. The sim survived through many difficulty but with some help and support from most visitors including staff who loves the sim and Pokemons, we are able to keep an on going development and updates of the sim, Special thanks to any that had tipped us and shared there experience to support us!
The sim is build base on layers (One-Over-Another) to maximize the world and maps for over 700 creatures. On one layer would have about 65,536 sqm for RP to take place and pacific Pokemon to rez on that level which would involved with there elements and styles. The view and the colors are base off of 8 bit gaming and texturing to minimize the loads and to keep a good personal view while exploring around. Most part of the sim is build base on MESH structures and objects to reduce the rendering frame cost and amount of prim usage.
Special features of the sim are an on-going Pokemon system development for more improvements and updates to new Pokemon creatures, also the creations of the tools for used in roleplay such as "Poke Ball Thrower", HUDs, treasure digging and prize vendor-ling, would give out a gaming and easy to use capturing any roleplay creatures (wild creatures that wonders around). For most that enjoys the sim and would love to be close by to some roleplay area, the sim also has a rental system for role-players and visitors to rent on each of the world maps (layers) including shops and malls.
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