Call it "Retro"..YHN is of a certain age where he might recall feeding a video game a quarter or two in his day. One of the more memorable videogames of the era was JOUST, a game with an amusing premise and fiendish execution. The player was a Sky Knight; flying a giant mutant buzzard armed only with a lance. The concept was simple-- keep flapping the wings on the buzzard (accomplished with rapid button pushes) and dive at your target, impaling them. It doesn't sound easy, and come to think of it, it wasn't easy (at least at the higher levels!).
A recent post on the SL Forums brought the efforts of Mr. Wynx Whiplash and Abramelin Wolfe to my attention. They have created an inworld version of the classic video game. After being notified by the excited Miss Tombola about the existence of the game, I popped over to the demonstration area in MOON SHADOW to see what the fuss was all about.I'm happy to report that the inworld version, SKY JOUST, is astonishing! The Moon Shadow sim seems to be dedicated to inworld roleplaying; in fact another discovery there will be the subject of a further post. SKY JOUST is set up in a large, gloomy, volcanic cavern, exactly like the game screen above except in three dimensions. Players rez birds (giant vulture-y looking things, much like the originals) and they have to flap the wings to achieve lift, whilst aiming their birds at targets is accomplished with arrow keys. You may recognize the name of Abramelin Wolfe; he is the animation genius behind Abraminations in world. The animations on the birds are quite skillfully done.
Players may purchase birds and jousting equipment of various hues. There is also a giant party pack- which isn't cheap at almost 7K Lindens, but it will provide you with a jousting arena, volcanic lava, stalagmites and all, as well as as many birds as you like.
Like its inspiration, SKY JOUST isn't exactly easy. I did manage to vanquish an opponent or two, but was knocked out of the saddle several times for my pains. This was on the demo buzzard one can rez for free at the site.
SKY JOUST was a pleasant trip down memory lane; I could definitely see the nostalgia factor at work here. A single bird is quite affordable; the giant "party pack" somewhat less so, unless you wish to set it up on your land permanently. I'd have to think long and hard before investing 7K lindens on such a diversion, at the expense of quite a few prims. Still, if you found enough enthusiasts amongst your friends and colleagues, you could create your own jousting cave and have at it with little expense. Well worth checking into.
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1 comments:
Yay Joust! I was so thrilled to find this only a few days after our improvised ostrich jousting at Burning Life.
I wonder if they'd sell the setup with rezzers without their (wonderfully done) diorama? I can think of many surreal places in SecondLife that could do with some squawking bird jousts.
Still, as expensive as it is, I think it is more than justified by the craftsmanship. The birds alone are about a week's work, I'd guess.
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