One thing you don’t see very often in Second Life is using the platform as a game. Oh, we have games we play together, and there are extensive role-play regions, but could someone actually build, say, an adventure game?
Well, the people who made Numbakulla have tried to do just that. Realistically, nothing created in Second Life is going to beat out a purpose-built multi-DVD quest. But you’d be surprised just how much can actually be accomplished.
The environments in Numbakulla aren’t the most immersively beautiful I’ve seen in Second Life — the quality ranges from Wow to Ho-Hum — but it’s surprising the variety of environments they were able to pack into a single region. As with any good adventure game, you have a definite sense of place no matter where you are.
Flight is disabled on Numbakulla, so mountains, and rocks and twisty paths serve to keep you sufficiently confused. Who thought you could get lost in a single region?
I won’t say much about the adventure, since that would be telling. Suffice it to say you find yourself on a lonesome beach with a book, a shovel… and a mystery. Let the games begin.
