MadPea Games recently announced; MadPea Changes its Strategy :

There come certain points in life when we have to do a little re-evaluation of who we are and where we are going. After some discussions within the team, we came to the conclusion that we are stopping the UNIA development on THIS platform.

UNIA is a massive production in terms of games in Second Life. Over two years in development and at a cost of over US$12,000 it was a bold production. Unfortunately MadPea Games ran into some unexpected circumstances during development, losing their sponsor and 19 members of their team, including a long standing lead developer.

However they were determined to see UNIA through, but going forward, now that they have a smaller team, the focus will be on smaller games. An important point to note here is that MadPea Games are not leaving Second Life. Indeed they are still positive about games in Second Life and have a full roadmap ahead of them :

Our roadmap is already full for the rest of the year and we’re going to spoil you rotten! Our next adventure is being scheduled to launch October 1st and it’ll be epic.

However you don’t have to wait until October to sample something new from MadPea, The Collection launched on August 7th and will run until September 30th.

So what is The Collection? I’ll allow MadPea Games to explain :

The Collection is an interactive and immersive adventure game that will transport you to a bygone age of mystery and curses. You will become the main character in a quest that will lead you to hidden treasures that are not what they seem and the music of the night is just the beginning of the horror that awaits you.

Treasure, quests and music of the night and then there’s the storyline.

MadPea Games write interesting storylines and The Collection is no exception :

Just as you were about to start your well deserved summer vacation, you receive a Notification of Death letter. Your distant grandfather has sadly passed away and he made YOU as his sole heir. As you arrive to the town of Parkchester to collect your inheritance, you realize that your grandfather was a man of many secrets.
All of grandfather’s belongings will be yours, he only has one wish:

You need to finish his Collection.

Suddenly you find yourself in the middle of an unsolved old Victorian mystery. Following the footsteps of a Polish maid you embark on a journey, completing grandfather’s Collection, that piece by piece brings you closer to finding out the horrific truth.

Riches and rewards await, but the real question is:

“Do you dare to waltz in the pale moonlight?”

To play you will need to buy a HUD, they come in three sizes and are priced at L$100, 300 and 800. The L$100 version provides standard game play, the L$300 version comes with extra prizes and the L$800 version comes with an outfit, an exclusive extra quest and even more prizes.

The starting area is an urban area, although there’s a nice cafe around if you look hard enough. The setting is well presented, easy to navigate and you’ll see a number of stores from sponsors if you’re rather shop than partake in the game.

I like MadPea Games, they have a good vision and even though they are aiming smaller, they still have a good target in their sights :

Our focus will be on smaller scale games that are more suitable for the Second Life platform.

We’re thriving to bring out narrative adventures and collaborate with other SL businesses. We believe that together we can make a difference and accomplish more visibility to the real world to show the power of Virtual Worlds.

MadPea Games, like many others in Second Life, provide things for people to do, so it is good to hear that they will still be around. I should also add that Kess Crystal of MadPea Games does offer me Tuna Fish sandwiches, but that in no way interferes with my impartiality regarding their products!

SLURL To The Collection : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Consignment/182/71/3801/