The McFly Project, July 2015 (Flickr) – click any image for full size
I’ve visited Oyster Bay, the demonstration region for Lick Sim Designs, several times; however, for various reasons I’ve never managed to actually blog about it. So when I saw Sera Bellic, Lick’s proprietor and chief designer, had once again re-worked the region, and this time with something of a science fiction leaning, I decided to put matters right and not only visit and take photos, but this time actually write about my time there.
Like all of Sera’s designs, The McFly Project is a marvellously photogenic, immersive environment which once again demonstrates her talent for region design. It’s also a place very much of two parts, although they are intertwined, perhaps in ways beyond that suggested by the region’s Destination Guide description: Step into the past and explore what once was, and find your way to the future.
The McFly Project, July 2015 (Flickr)
“That past” comes in the form of an old fun fair, a place gradually being reclaimed by nature. The big top tent is fading, the Ferris wheel and carousels are broken and overgrown, signs are fading while weeds are taking over the ticket booth. Everywhere you look, it is clear that nature is slowly reclaiming everything.
Or almost everything; overhead, humming quietly are a number of automated drones. They appear to be keeping an eye on things, roaming back and forth slowly, sometimes circling, sometimes dipping towards the ground before rising again, their presence the first hint of the more sci-fi nature of this place.
The McFly Project, July 2015 (Flickr)
From the big top, a dirt path (with helpful arrows) will lead you through the dilapidated fairground to the distant cliffs. Here sits the entrance to a cave leading underground, guarded by an R2 unit in as much a distressed condition as the fun fair.
The cave will take you underground and to caverns deep and – well, if not exactly dungeons old, then certainly to places that should be explored fully, and which build up more of the sci-fi side of the region’s design. Follow directions here carefully to make sure you get to see everything – especially when finding your way back out.
Assuming you follow the right path (it’s not hard 🙂 ), you’ll arrive at the future: a watery environment complete with fantastic structures, bordered by a greensward to one side, and overlooked by cliff side houses as more of the automated drones hover and flit overhead.
The McFly Project, July 2015 (Flickr)
One of the buildings here will likely be familiar to any sci-fi fan who has seen 2013’s Oblivion, although it occupies a position very different to that seen in the film. Small platforms dot the water while teleport pads offer one means of getting around, boat rezzers another.
While The McFly Project’s description suggests you are visiting times past and times future (hence the name: think Marty McFly), there is nevertheless a narrative running through the design, starting at the big top and finishing at this idyllic-looking waterside living.
For me, that narrative, complete with distant echoes of Oblivion throughout, suggested that far from being a vision of the future, the seemingly perfect high tech environment, protected by high cliffs and tumbling waterfalls, is actually “the present” for those living there. The fun fair, meanwhile, is a part of their past, shattered by some kind of catastrophe which may even now present a threat, perhaps physical or perhaps biological. Why else would there be drones patrolling and monitoring it, and why else would there be a weapons cache in the caverns, and decontamination units both there and on the platform where one emerges from that subterranean world?
The McFly Project, July 2015 (Flickr)
The McFly Project is offered with recommended windlight settings, and I do suggest adopting the one for the trip through the caverns to “the future”, as it is ideal for both settings. Also make sure you have local sounds on, and do take the time to touch things as you explore; the region is awash with interactive elements literally from the moment you arrive (click the silver star on landing point platform), together with numerous places to sit and rest.
Sera tends to change the region’s design every 2 – 3 months; so as The McFly Project has only recently opened, it is liable to be around for a while yet. Even so, I wouldn’t put of playing a visit too long, just in case; if you love exploring region builds, this isn’t one to miss.
SLurl Details
- The McFly Project (Rated: Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 