"Tyrah & the Curse of the Magical Glytches" is a new adventure game that just launched in Second Life, and it's major news in several ways: It's a game developed and run by Linden Lab itself, and after 14 years on the market, it's the first game Linden Lab has published that spans across the entire grid of Second Life. It's a bit like Pokemon Go, but set in a virtual world, with Glytch creatures to catch instead of Pokemon. From the announcement:
The Glytches are all over the grid, in places like PaleoQuest, Linden Realms, Horizons, various InfoHubs and other locations. They’re even on parcels owned by Residents! Don’t worry, they won’t be on your own personal parcel unless you want them there. There’s information about how to apply to host Glytches on your parcels in the Official TCMG Wiki page.
PaleoQuest and the like are single location games also published by Linden Lab. This new game, by contrast, is integrated into the entire virtual world, and invites users to hide creatures on their own land. (You know, like how RL store owners often hide Pokemon in their locations, to attract more foot traffic.)
This game, by the way, is the one promised in Linden Lab's recent announcement to greatly expand and enhance SL. Fittingly, this isn't going to be a static experience, but an evolving one:
"Right now we are focusing on updating Tyrah and the Curse of the Magical Glytches on a regular basis, " as Dee Linden, Linden Lab's Land Operations Supervisor, puts it to me, "by adding more locations where Glytches can be caught -- this includes our own locations as well as Resident owned parcels in the near future."
The company hopes the game helps grow the Second Life userbase, and encourages them to create interactive experiences of their own:
"We utilize the games to engage and retain users," says Patch Linden, Senior Director of Product Operations, "and to provide technology and feature demonstrations to educate Residents on the capabilities Second Life can offer." (The same core technologies are also used in the company's Learning and Social Island to help orient first-time users, he adds.)
This specific game is actually a spin-off of another, less world-spanning one that launched a few years ago:
"The inspiration was mostly derived from our need to replace Magellan's Grid Hunt with something more robust, that has an updated story line, and utilizes the most modern aspects of experience tools," Patch adds. "The game itself is a progression driven by the Magellan and Tyrah story that is largely featured and drives the other games, starting with Magellan himself prior to Linden Realms, and through the other games like PaleoQuest and Horizons."
Personally I think the game narrative and set-up is a bit complex and inside baseball, especially for new users who've never heard of these pre-existing characters, but it's exciting to see Linden Lab trying this out. If it attracts a core playerbase, I can easily see it becoming a grid-wide sensation just like Pokemon Go, as players comb the virtual world in search of Glytches -- and other users get drawn in, to see what the fuss is about.
UPDATE, 9/26: By request, changed attribution of some quotes from Dee to Patch.
I'm sorry, but this article's claim about the "First Grid-Wide Game In Second Life" is entirely incorrect.
The Gold Hunt has been a grid wide item hunting game since 2011:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Gold-Hunt-Items-Pack-Increase-Land-Traffic-65-commission/2265555
I'm posting that marketplace link to evidence what I am saying. I'm no longer working for that company as a developer. I have no commercial interest in it other than the pride of having been involved in such an innovative, large-scale project.
Here's our diamond gem that looks VERY much like the one in your article's screenshot:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Gold-Hunt-Diamond-Gem-Increase-Land-Traffic-65-tax-trial/2557942
The GoldTokens.net network has been mentioned on this site many times before. Thousands of players have been teleporting between sims, hunting for coins, gems and fishing at the coastlines of sims for half a decade now. And that's despite the huge technical challenges of Second Life's HTTP API, which throttles requests to external servers.
Now Linden Lab is repeating a long-established pattern of encroachment upon the business models of its most successful creators. To me it seems a little immoral to declare a neutral ground for third party businesses, see which ones thrive and then completely reverse policy and create own-brand products.
I don't disagree that this topic deserves a mention in the NWN blog, but surely there's another side to this story as well.
Posted by: Anonymous Ex GoldTokens.net Developer | Friday, September 22, 2017 at 12:47 AM
@Anonymous Ex GoldTokens.net Developer: Yep, competing with their own customers.
I usually make it a habit not to do business with any company that does that.
Posted by: Dartagan Shepherd | Friday, September 22, 2017 at 03:20 AM
"it's the first game LINDEN LAB has published that spans across the entire grid of Second Life"
Posted by: Wagner J Au | Friday, September 22, 2017 at 09:58 AM
This one is fun, you capture critters that you can keep as pets. Common ones are transferable. Epic ones are more sophisticated. For what I have seen, you aren't hunting for actual gems, they are just points, you are capturing little monsters around the grid, they even react and fight back.
Posted by: Pulsar | Friday, September 22, 2017 at 11:32 AM
creatures. adventure across the grid. Yeah, I thought of it years ago and thought it would be best if you could get a bunch of location/place/experience/merchants in on it but start off with using rez areas etc. that LL has open on the main grid. Big project, who the heck am I and would this be worth the time as it makes me more social than I want to be or are comfortable with. It isn't so hard, just not much motivation as it seems the lowest common denominator won big time in the past. From lucky chairs, midnight madness to the hunts more common these days. Very easy, just obvious consumerism with no worry of games getting in the way of real shoppers. So I thought it was a bad idea. Here is LL with a bad idea, sure they thought of it years ago as well. But monsters in the adventure that you capture? Not part of my idea. To much like a rip off of pokemon for my taste. Wow, so it looks like a tasteless idea that attracts people who are not maybe consumers and just want monsters, that fight (and cause lag? Even if they don't they will be blamed for it lol.) uh...wow, I feel like all those naysayers and haters who predict SL will die any time soon. :(
I bet it will be a success, not sure if the people will purchase stuff at the majority of places who are hungry for traffic but the mad pea guys and RP gaming guys may make some sales of game items as they build their brand names a little via this with the n00bs.
Posted by: nameheregoesinthisbox | Friday, September 22, 2017 at 09:01 PM
So I have been hunting each day this last week. (First article on opening day here: https://chicatphilsplace.blogspot.com/2017/09/tyrah-and-curse-of-magical-glytches.html which has been my top popular post since its appeared and I guess that says something)
Here is my view after about (not go to say how long but WAY longer than I should have been playing).
First of all while there WILL be -- as announced, glytch hunting on private land -- up through Sunday there was only Linden Lands -- 4 on the Realms, 2 on Paeloquest, Tahoe, Murray and some other places. I just did a quick check now to make sure and all but the snow sim introduced late Sunday which I hated and didn't bookmark LOL is *definitely* Governor Linden, Public Works or Maintanence in the land tab. The wiki says that glytchs will be available and people can apply at a later date.
This IS a very fun game and the glytchs are super cute -- some especially with high marks to the creators. Like Sansar though, the game likely need some more testing as there have been issues from opening day.
We already have a glytch vernacular. "Zombie" glytchs who hang around forever and do not succumb or attack (sometimes for days). "Slow to wake" for the ones that take a minute or two becoming active -- to EITHER get captured or hurt their would be capturers big time. "Glytchs aren't dropping" was heard all weekend when many to most folks could gather gems (hard to come by) but with no glytchs appeared in inventory.
These problems are particularly troublesome for new players (many of whom IMed me as maybe I looked like I might help -- which I tried to do). I sent many to the wiki and explained to others that you didn't always get gems (or glytchs even when the were "dropping" :D).
I posted all the info I had on the forums for the devs in hopes of fixing things. It is a big project and it may take some time. I had a great week playing hooky and enjoyed myself a lot, but last night I decided to return to my normal adventures and put away my hunting gear. I would need another 450 pink gems just to get into the bonus area. That would take me several weeks at my current rate and folks are getting better all the time so who knows if that rate would continue.
So for most -- even if they enjoy the fun -- it won't be a long term thing. Unless of course other options are added. I was joking with a friend this eve and said that I could just MAKE that canon (2500 pink gems) and carry it around and it would LOOK like I was super special. I am not going to do that of course. It might be a copyright infringement for one thing :D.
It will be interesting to watch how this new game progresses. Some folks love it, some hate it. Hopefully it will find its audience!
Posted by: Chic Aeon | Monday, September 25, 2017 at 06:30 PM