… with the title henceforth being a playful nod to one of my fave Saturday morning cartoons, but not what I actually did on Samurai Island yesterday. I was TPing around a lot, and happened to land smack dab in the middle where Esprite Xavier and Ayame Musashi were training. Training how? Pretty much the first thing that rezzed was a scoreboard saying COMBAT SAMURAI ISLAND and a list of… Kills and Deaths! O my.

First, a discursion: I've wanted, but haven't been able to get more deeply into expert gaming experiences in Second Life. Either the rulebooks are too long (big notecards) or the interfaces aren't friendly enough (especially in the pre-HUD era—things have changed for the better!). I know many who are enthusiasts of the deep-'n'-enthralling roleplay, but I am simple folk. I'd just like to pick up a sword and slash away and…

that's exactly what I did!

In several minutes, I was equipped with an Ashes Katana, which I promptly Torleyized (aka watermelonized), then was told by my newfound instructors Espy and Ayame to hold the mouse button down on the ground while pressing the arrow keys for movement. Owner of Samurai Island, KatanaBlade Anubis, looked on.

Instant gratification: HOLY MOLY THESE WEAPONS ROCK!!!

And you know what? I've checked off another item on my list: the double dash! Historical proof:

I'll know client movement has improved, the days we have scripted objects that allow us to tap forward twice and do a "double dash" like in certain very fastpaced video games involving rapid movement.

I was literally sprinting within seconds. Now, the whole framework of this combat system is it requires stamina, indicated by a blue bar, to do sudden motions. I asked if there was a way for me to do this casually everyday, I would soooo use it. Hopefully oneday.

Anyhoo, this isn't even the half of it: oh NO! The next thing, I found myself launching into the air, sword swinging with motion trails (yes, something I've never seen before here), and then, slamming buttons furiously, I managed to capitulate into a sacred sort of special combo, with forks of lighting arcing out of my Ashes Katana, and then SCHWOOOOM! I burst forward with a surge of energy, delivering a masterstrike.

OMG KICKASS!!!

OMG OMG OMG and that wasn't the end! Next, into the temple, with breakable objects! SL's really gotta have more of these, and the Combat Samurai Island team are blazing a trail! Like some demented watermelony Zatoichi, I thundered into the opening of the temple, and the screen almost shook (it didn't, but would be a kewl FollowCam effect) when Espy descended from above, boards following and splinter particles enhancing the effects.

I was then invited to break the table in the middle and set the whole place on fire by striking the oil lamps, which I proceeded to do! I was in my best "Japanese Break Stuff Hotel" mood—BOOYEAH!

A sheer highlight was seeing Ayame's special move, apparently inspired by Full Metal Alchemist where overlaying runes rotate at different speed and she let loose with sparks of something fierce.

When I got a break, I checked out a display case of swords. These weapons are seriously primmy, and they perform surprisingly well! I'm hoping added speed in 1.9.1 makes things even faster.

Additionally well-worth noting: on top of all this swift swordplay, there's also an inventory HUD which stores potions, and—uh, well, I don't know what else it houses—but it's nice to add this extra dimension.

And I fought until the sun came up, and smiled as I watched my name go up on the leaderboard. (Which, reiterates my much earlier belief that I hope in the future, if there are going to be types of social rating systems, they'll be done by Residents.)

I have some suggestions too. These are meant generally, as I'm just full of ideas:

  • Use FollowCam to make cinematics more dramatic! For example, if you slice someone up and send them on their way, the camera could pan upwards as the rain pours down, and then zoom into the victor's face. Kinda like some fighting games on the market do—yes, it's good!
     
  • Add the Lunar Scythe as a weapon. Espy said it'd be hard to do two-handed animations, but in that case, fight with one hand holding the scythe as I do when normally posed. (It's not so ludicrous when you consider Pyramid Head holds his massive blade with a single hand.) And it could spin out rotating blades at high velocities, and maybe the special power would be magic heaps of wheat coming down and suffocating the enemy—paralyzing them in place—before slashing away!
     
  • You know what? I also found the main stage is easily derezzed. Ayame mentioned changing the scene every day for variety. Personally, I envision a majestic BATTLE THROUGH TIME. Not each day, not each hour, but each minute the atmosphere morphs. You could fight through all four seasons and then some, and say you unleash a lethally devastating combo: a gigantic shockwave that sends your foe and you back in time, where you'd battle amongst prehistoric runes. Perhaps dinosaurs would walk in the background and you could chop them up for extra life!
     
  • For this reason, I'd like to see NPCs, so we can reenact—and do better—than the fight vs. the Crazy 88s in Kill Bill, a stated influence of the CSI group. One after another, all comin' atcha!
     
  • Furthermore, how about duo-on-duo attacks? Like, team up with a partner, and you can charge each other to do combos in tandem. Maybe one picks the other up, energizing their soul, and launches them like an astral torpedo.
     
  • Again, I want the "double dash" outside of the game environment!

A gracious thanx for the good time shown to me by my hosts. Samurai Combat Island is brought to you by the team of Esprite Xavier, Ayame Musashi, Archanox Underthorn, and KatanaBlade Anubis.

I HAVE LONG DREAMED OF SEEING EPIC SEQUENCED + SPONTANEOUS BATTLES IN SECOND LIFE, AND THE DREAM IS COMING TRUE!!!