Category: Reviews

On Saturday October 12th, Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith invited me to see their 2013 Halloween Experience, Veil of Darkness a little ahead of opening it to group members to preview on Sunday October 13th. A full public opening is scheduled for Monday October 14th, and if you’re into Halloween, horror, the macabre or simply like a little spookiness, this is something you are not going to want to miss.

You start at the side of a road. Before you is a bridge, albeit bordered by information boards (one of which contains important information intended to help you enjoy the experience to the fullest). Make sure you accept the region windlight and, if you can, turn on Advanced Lighting Model (ALM: Preferences > Graphics > Advanced Lighting Model) – you can leave Shadows set to None. If ALM causes your computer problems, trying setting local time to Midnight.

Before you is a path winding through a woodland. Your goal – follow it and make your way to the brooding, dark mass of a castle on high and once there, find the door which will return you to the relative safety of the start-point. But don’t expect this to be a simple night-time hike; as my friend in the picture above shows, there are things to see here, and not all of them may be friendly. There are also places to explore, such as the village of the damned, the Halloween pavilion or the castle itself, as well as things to do, including a tour through a part of the region by raft.

Veil of Darkness is wonderfully immersive. As well as setting ALM (if you can) and windlight, make sure you have sounds on and allow the region’s audio stream to play. Truck has hand-picked the music for the stream, and it greatly adds depth and feeling to your explorations.

The routes you can take in your wanderings many be easy to find – or they may not. As the region is intentionally dark (another reason for keeping Shadows set to None when wandering), you may want to tweak the brightness on your screen a little. Keep an eye out for the torches which mark some of the route, and for paths through the trees and for boarded walkways; all of lead somewhere. Make sure you touch the things you pass in places. Not all of them bite. Some may even treat you :).

The level of creativity Ty and Truck have invested in this build is phenomenal, and the care and love employed in bringing it all together is evident everywhere – hence why I refer this to an experience, rather than a destination. The more fully you can immerse yourself in it, the more you’ll enjoy it. In fact, it’s fair to say that while it wasn’t built with Oculus Rift in mind, it would be ideal for use with the headset.

As you explore, you’ll get the feeling eyes are watching you  – or at least, eye sockets – and you’d be right. Here be monsters, ogres, witches, zombies, and other creatures of the night(mare) – some of which have far more than the usual two eyes one generally expects to find in others… There are also some delightful touches of humour to be found which will raise a small (or a wail!), and which are fully in keeping with the theme of the region. Keep an eye out for Bambi and his, um, friend, for example!

Finding your way to the castle is not hard – and there is certainly no need to fly or click-teleport to get there. Rather, the fun of the walk is discovering all there is to see. I spent two hours roaming around, and still found more to see when I returned after reluctantly dragging myself off to bed. So the key is to take your time. Especially in the castle.

Perched on a plateau overlooking the rest of the region, the castle is a foreboding place, reached via a long bridge. Here you will need to watch your step – literally – if you are to find your way. And if footsteps fail, a guiding hand may just help with directions. Or not.

Within the cold, hard stone of the castle are rooms and passages, each with its own secrets to be discovered. Finding your way up to the top may take time, but it is worth it. Once there you will find a Wonderland,  although the Cheshire Cat might not be quite so friendly as you’d been lead to believe from certain books. You might even find yourself in conversation with Malice in Wonderland, if she’s available.

It is in this room that the door to freedom is hid. But can you find it? The clue is there, as anyone with an inkling for Alice’s encounters should realise – if not quite right away. If you are stuck as to where it might be, there are at least comfortable armchairs and a sofa to sit on … and one or two objects inviting you to touch them. Will you dare?

Veil of Darkness opens on Monday October 14th and will remain so through until the start of November. As well as being open to exploration by the intrepid, it will also host some Halloween events – so keep an eye on the Calas Galadhon website.

Related Links

• Veil of Darkness (Rated: Moderate)
• Calas Galadhon website

In my Second Life wanderings, I sometimes receive recommendations of places to visit, which are always welcome. So when Sammi Borgin recently dropped me a line about Avedon Park, occupying most of the full region of Newfie Land, I set out to investigate.

Avedon Park is home to The Factory, a club located up in the sky, and a landscaped park down at ground level, which is both open to the public and a home to the creative team behind the region. There’s a lot to see and do here, with walks, water features, castles, a touch of steampunk, a photo studio /gallery and more.

Created by Aura Firehawk and Karma Avedon, the region is largely free to roam, but as noted above, do be aware that this is also their home, so do please take note of any privacy signs you find while exploring. Also, please keep in mind that the property in the south-east corner of the region, separated from the rest by tall mountains, is not a part of the park but an entirely separate private residence.

The arrival point, located towards the west side of the region offers a teleport system for getting around and to get to the club overhead, and an information board which will offer to open a link to the Avedon Park website when clicked. This provides general information on the park, including a history to the place, which introduces readers to James Wellington Avedon, “a noted  entrepreneurial inventor and explorer” of the early 20th Century, credited with discovering the land, and Captain Charles T. Firehawk, “the noted WWI pilot and accomplished explorer”, Avedon’s partner.  The website makes for an entertaining (and informative) read when exploring the region, and has some very nice photography within it.

Where you go following your arrival is entirely up to you; the teleport system makes reaching some parts of the park easier than when using pedal extremities, but I do urge you to wander and take your time on foot – there is much to see (and do), and a lot of little details which make the time taken in wandering more than worthwhile.

Within the area of the park containing the arrival point you’ll find the Avedon Gallery / studio, a private house boat, a tree house and two large bodies of water. A path wanders through the area, crossing a stone bridge into Firehawk Cove, an island on the north-west side of the region offering places to relax by the water or to dance in the shade of a gazebo and even the opportunity to try your hand at fencing with a friend or two on a pier at the water’s edge.

Just before the bridge to Firehawk Cove, the path branches, with one part of it leading you across two wooden bridges and a small islet to Firehawk Island. Here you can follow a wooded path to a small beach and the Sanctum Tower, which faces Sky Castle across a narrow neck of water.

Sky Castle itself is apparently available to rent as a venue for weddings – although you might have to get your feet wet in getting to it! The castle – one of Alex Bader’s stunning creations (as is much else to be found here), sits on its own island on the north-east of the region and offers a commanding view back across the water to the Sanctum Tower and across to the tall cliffs to the east, which have further walks at their feet and the Avedon Amazing Music Machine further up.  The cliffs are reached via Fennux Park, home to a small colony of Fennux.

This is another region which has been put together with a wonderful eye for creativity and invention – the website accompanying it really is a must-read if one wishes to fully immerse oneself here, as it adds depth and colour to the park.

Windlight settings are supplied with the region, but as usual, I opted to play with my own in taking snaps, and the region is very photogenic in this respect, being suited to a wide range of windlight themes and settings, whether preset (viewer allowing) or your own.

I very much enjoyed my afternoon of wandering through the park, and loved all the little touches to be found – the deer drinking at the lakeside, the bird bath, the Amazing Music Machine and so on. For thosew who like a little activity, there is the aforemention fencing, opportunities to go swiming and various games to be found scattered across the park. Do make sure you have sounds enabled and speakers / headphones on when you visit, as the soundscape has also been put together with care.

All told, a recommended visit, and my thanks to Sammi for pointing Avedon Park out to me.

Related Links

• Avedon Park SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
• Avedon Park website

I first introduced to Worlds End Garden back in 2011, when I was taken there by Himitu Twine. After that visit, it became a regular haunt until one day the region it was on was under new management, and I thought the garden had been closed. In fact, Lucia Genesis, the garden’s creator, had relocated it to her own homestead region, and I’d missed any / all notices about the move prior to it happening.

However, in perusing Flickr, I came across an image by Lucia which carried a short announcement that Worlds End Garden will be closing on October 18th 2013, and that while her store on Kowloon and her SL Marketplace presence will remain, she is apparently ending her creative work in Second Life.

There are and will be many who find this news to be sad. While some are ill-at-ease with the various religious motifs found within the garden, many – myself included – have always found it a place of tranquility, where the heart can be put at ease and the mind can contemplate the imagery present in the region or simply float free.

The garden has gone through small updates and changes during its time in SL; but the central themes and motifs – the aforementioned religious motifs, the use of water, light, and sound (do have ambient sound on should you visit) – have remained constant.

There are now only two island vignettes remaining, and although the sky scene is still present, the teleport system appears to have been unlinked. Whether this is all part of gentle preparations for the forthcoming departure, I’ve no idea. However, for all of those who have enjoyed Worlds End Garden and haven’t visited for a while, the clock is now sadly ticking. For those who haven’t yet visited, I’ll leave you with some images of the garden, past and present and remind you that it will be available to see through until October 18th.

Thank you, Lucia, for providing such a haven for so long in Second Life.

Related Links

• Worlds End Garden SLurl (Rated Moderate)