Alpha’s Critterflop Hallowpop in Second Life

October is starting to rise over the year’s horizon, bringing with it – inevitably – thoughts of Halloween, pumpkins and all the associated shenanigans associated with this time of year. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a particular fan of the modern hullabaloo around Halloween, but within Second Life it can sometimes be rewarding exploring suitably themed region designs that opt to offer offer something a little different from the usual fare.

One such place is Critterflop Hallowpop, the latest iteration of Alpha Auer’s Alphatribe Island.

Following somewhat is the tradition of Quirklewick Hollow (see my piece here for more) and Gingerbread and the Woodies (again, see my piece here for more), Critterflop takes a jump into a critter-led celebration of all things seen as Halloween related – broomsticks, pointy hats, pies, and more – coupled with a further engaging science fiction-ish twist.

As with the two designs mentioned above, Critterflop Hallowpop focuses on a village setting, one which seems to meander across a misty landscape and between autumnal trees gathered into groves close enough to one another to form a loose woodland. But as this is Alpha, the homes and houses in this village are far from ordinary: their styles are an engaging combination of ideas and looks.

Black roofs rise to points or curves, their looks distinctly hat-like over and around white walls withing which the placement of windows and doors can suggest the idea of a face here and there. In addition, the shapes of some houses are almost organic and / or suggestive of familiar objects – a sailing boat here, a coffee pot lacking its spout there (or perhaps a lighthouse tower with a hat replacing its lantern room), a pumpkin with its oversized stalk draped by a large hat, and so on. One even sits on four sturdy legs with a beak and eyes at one end and a tail at the other, looking like a living creature, the living space with familiar door and windows forming the creature’s body.

On, in, and around these are the village’s inhabitants – cats, crows, bats, rag dolls, a sorcerer, and raccoons. They all share the space with more curious characters. Some of these appear to be little aliens coming for a visit, others – the bird-like cats, for example – suggest some of the locals either have ingenious Halloween costumes or have been tinkering with magic.

Not that any actual dark mischief is going on here; the locals are having too much fun for that. The raccoons, for example, appear to particularly enjoy baking pies. Wander through the woodlands and you’ll find a group of them showing off their baking skills whilst sitting on giant pies. Elsewhere, in a clearing, more raccoons are demonstrating their broomstick riding skills as they circle a bonfire, watched by an appreciative audience of other racoons together with rag dolls.

All of the critters to be found within the village are available for sale and come as huggies. A market stall featuring all of them, together with framed paintings, can be found to the north-east of the setting. Just across from it is a further store area, again offer the current critters together with those from previous builds, together with her superb sculptures and unique flora.

As ever with Alpha’s designs, Critterflop Hallowpop is charming in its engagement, and photogenic in its uniqueness and detail. On arrival, I strongly recommend locating the information giver close by the Landing Point. This will deliver a folder of information and bits – notably an introduction to the setting with ideas for enhancing your visit, and some notes on best viewing.

In short with the latter, please using the local Shared Environment for lighting; if you can, enable shadows and local lighting and push your draw distance as high as s comfortable for your system’s performance). Also included in the folder is a rezzable pack of complimentary poseballs for people to use it they wish (rezzing is open within the region, with a 120-minute return time – but do please pick up anything you might rez out).

But above all, do visit Critterflop Hallowpop and have fun

SLurl Details

• Critterflop Hallowpop (Alphatribe Island, rated Moderate)