I recently met with Wynter Sommer and Andi Canare at BattleBeast Breedables and was given a tour by Battle himself. I love Second Life animals, both regular and fantasy, so this was an incredible experience for me. Battle tells us a bit about his beginning in Second Life and life before BattleBeast:
'Most of the team have been in Second Life since 2006 or 2007. When I had looked at Second Life before, it seemed slow and clunky (and I probably didn't understand it). When I came back in 2008, it was ready for me, and vice versa.'
'I used to sleep more ;) Seriously, I think I used to watch TV more. Who needs TV when you can make friends from all over the world, in our own "alternate" reality show... and fly dragons?! Woohoo!'
The dragons are amazing and very interactive. Battle goes on to tell us a bit more about them, "I've owned several breedables in Second Life; some horses, some dogs, cats, and I think a plant or two."
'The team has owned pretty much every single breedable in Second Life. We draw on that for inspiration and ideas, to make this a high-quality, enjoyable, and long-lasting project.'
'BattleBeast Breedables bring together breedables, gaming, and Role Play. Now you can *do* something significant with your breedables, and enjoy them as a "game" within Second Life.'
'Success in breeding the dragons can affect battle, and success in battle can affect breeding. We saw this as a natural evolution of the breedables as they usually are, into a breedable that you can actually play and enjoy.'
'It made sense, since many people enjoy the competitive aspect of games, that giving people a way to compete using their dragons - for fame and fortune - would be well-received. We are very very pleased with reaction and comments.'
What separates BattleBeast Breedables from the rest and gives them their own unique quality? Battle explains the concept of the dragons:
'No other breedable in Second Life today can be used in battles or combat, in a way that reinforces the 'Nature and Nurture" model.
Nature is from the breeding, and encompasses a rich genetic model, with fun surprises, as things evolve (ouch... pun intended. ;) Nurture comes from experience in battle, where you have one-on-one battles with other animals and their owner or trainers.'
'We've gotten a lot of encouraging feedback and comments that our first "beast" is a dragon. People like dragons. There are a lot of myths about dragons. Dragons appear to play into many of the fantasy and role-play aspects of Second Life.'
'The dragons do what you expect them to do as breedables: they grow, mate, have young, pass on genetic traits, etc. They also have personalities, and some of their behavior is specifically tied back to the myths and legends of dragons through history.'
'There are many legends about dragons, and you'll find that many of them are incorporated into our BattleBeast Breedable dragons. The dragons can live a very long time... there are myths and legends of them living for hundreds of years in Second Life.'
‘We are excited for dragon owners, trainers, warriors... discover the puzzle and mystery of what the dragons are all about. It is, after all... the Year of The Dragon’!
Battle elaborates more as to what the future holds for the dragons, their part in role play as well as the different types of dragons:
‘Over time, we'll introduce a variety of new dragons - types, colors, etc; some with special battle skills and magical/mystical abilities’.
We have established an Affiliates program for people who'd like to get into the business of selling the dragons, supporting them in
one of several ways. As we move into our Open Beta and proceed to launch
‘For battle, you connect your dragon to a HUD, and then face off against another dragon owner, whose dragon has challenged your dragon. The gaming is turn-based. In each turn, you choose an Attack, a Defense, and/or ... something special, in battling your opponent’.
‘There is definitely a subtle strategy involved in managing your limited resource of Stamina for the battle, which focused on reduced your opponent's Hit Points to 0. We take into account the reality of SL having lag, and balance that off with some accommodation for reflexes and skill/timing’.
‘We are currently in a Closed Beta period. The Beta group has been breeding and battling with several colors of Western Scaled Dragons: Green, Blue, Black, White, Red, and I hear that some other colors might have mutated their way into the Beta group already. In time, new dragon variants will be introduced... it's exciting’!
In regards to the inworld group for BattleBeast:
‘We have a Closed Beta Second Life group, and a main group: BattleBeast Breedables’.
‘The Closed Beta is full, set (please no requests to join; we've had to turn away a lot of people). We're excited to see the numbers steadily climbing, as more and more people hear about the concept, and our success to date in bringing out a quality experience’.
http://world.secondlife.com/group/fb641124-7ae7-5758-d3ae-6b645a20530b?lang=en-US
Battle has some good advice for people who are new to breedables:
‘Have fun, and keep it in context. We've noticed that as much as it's fun, some people get *really really* serious about the breedables. As a team, we've worked hard to design and create an engaging experience for people to enjoy. It's a tall order, and we have a very talented team who are working hard to make it fun’!
The BattleBeast team, a great collective, who together have brought these unique dragons to Second Life:
‘We are a team of designs, artists, programmers, promoters, writers... who've been lured into this project by the dragons... they are magical! ;)
‘The best photos of the dragons, the logo, and the latest news from the team, are all available at our web site:
http://www.battlebeastbreedables.com
The BattleBeast Team
Programming and development - BattleBeast Resident
Project Development - Wynter Sommer
Art And 3D Design - Eleanora Newell
Director Of Marketing - Andi Canare
Community Liason - Nynaveve Wirefly
CSR Lead - Saytome Woodget
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