On occasion it has been known for Second Life residents to be at a loss as to what to do that afternoon or evening with themselves in-world. Sometimes you can feel like you have seen it all and experienced everything Second Life has to offer you. Have you tried games in-world, and no I don't mean the plethora of board game/ hud/ trivia games on offer in the shops, I mean actual interactive, use your mind games. If you've not tried in-world games, MadPea may very well save you from an evening unsure what to do next.


MadPea Productions create interactive games in Second Life and these aren't your average game either. With well thought out and constructed story boards, scripted HUDs, clues, action, mystery and adventure these games have captivated a lot of residents already which has earned MadPea quite a following. Question is when will you join in?

I managed to speak quickly to Kiana Writer, the founder of MadPea about the games and the concept behind MadPea Productions itself.


Can you tell us what the main aim of MadPea Productions is?

Our main goal is to create high quality and exciting content in Second Life. We like to push the limits of the engine and show people what is possible to do. We want to create a community around our games, so that the players are not alone, they can meet like-minded people or get the help if needed.

What game development experience did you have before coming to Second Life?

Hmm.. does it count that I created a Batman board game when I was little? ;) I honestly had none, I'm a real life writer. When I realized that my stories could involve into interactive games and people were enjoying them, I truly found my calling there.

How does a game come together, how it is conceived and converted into an in-world entertainment zone?

We are a bit chaotic here.. usually we start with my story and build the surroundings around it. Sometimes though, one of us creates an amazing build or we have a HUD idea we like to test and then make a storyline to fit that. Our games all include three main elements: it has to have an interesting story, that actually makes sense and is not just a filler to show off some fantastic graphics (sadly I think a lot of games are like that.. :( ), it has to be interactive and it has to be built so that the player loses himself into the whole experience.

Have you faced any complications when bringing a vision into Second Life?

Not really, sometimes we have to make minor changes to the storyline to better fit the platform restrictions. We imagine and build in SL, so we are not facing the difficulties of trying to import the game from another platform to here.


What sort of feedback have you received from the Second Life community?

So far, the feedback has been really great and positive.We have a large group called madpeas, that is really supportive to all members. We love to hear feedback of all kind so that we can improve. Sometimes people don't understand that this is our hobby and that we are doing the games on our sparetime and for free, at times we are getting demands that are just impossible to meet. With thanks to Orange we have had the space to create on their islands. We are hoping to find more real life companies as sponsors to be able to test our ideas and bring out quality entertainment in Second Life. Sometimes sadly, the money is a huge restriction on what we can create. We have even had some of the Lindens playing our games (and of course we've been spying on them then ;) ).

What’s in the pipeline for MadPea?

We have a big event coming on the 26th at our headquarters, where we are revealing some future plans. We have at least one bigger game coming out this summer. Right now, we're all taking a little time off for holidays and for planning the next year.


Wether you're a romantic helping to discover the ending in Firefly, or a would-be Ethan Hunt trying to finish Within, or even a top class sleuth trying to solve the mystery of the Swamp Hotel, if you're the sort of person who enjoys thinking outside the box and solving mysteries then get along to MadPea, I guarantee you won't regret it.

MadPea Productions HQ

*All images reposted with the kind permission of MadPea Productions*