Dranopia, the breedable dragons system developed by Timmi Allen, Leni Galli and Ciaran Maktoum, has added a new chapter to the ongoing saga of Dranopia: The Quest.

In Revolt of the Forgotten, the story is picked-up shortly after the groms have been defeated and the lost souls of the Dranopia ancestors rescued. But a new cataclysm has engulfed the resting-place of the ancestors’ souls: a great flood has occurred, sweeping away everything before it, leaving only a vortex of swirling water, and the openings to long-forgotten tunnels leading deep into the walls of the gorge, tunnels revealed as earth and stone collapsed under the force of the swirling water below…

Revolt takes the mechanics of the original Quest and moves them into a labyrinth of underground tunnels which must be explored while once again flying upon a dragon (either your own or one obtained from the start-point for the quest), and attempting to obtain a range of items along the way.

The essential game system remains the same, but presents significantly more to do. From the start point / rezzing area, you take your dragon (and a game HUD available from the free vendors) and fly through the arch and out over the water. Your goal is to collect as many coins and keys as you can in the game time. Along the way, you can also obtain additional game-play time and restore the health and vitality of your dragon – and you must also avoid various threats and obstacles.

Moving the game into a tunnel systems adds a new dimension in flying your dragon; the confines of the tunnels mean that camera angles and views are much tighter. Those familiar with operating in the first person (Mouselook) in SL might be at something of an advantage here; as the tunnels twist and turn, rise and fall, seeing what lies ahead is not always easy in third person; adjusting your camera offsets might also help.

Speed is also something to watch, as it is easy to find yourself hitting walls and floors, costing you time and possibly points, or missing branches and turns where the tunnels split and twist.

The labyrinth comprises a number of distinct forms, each separated from the other via a door. Each contains a key to be found as well as coins, green health hearts and red hearts for bonus time. Both of the latter are of equal importance: the green hearts help restore your dragon’s vitality and handling – if the dragon’s strength drops to zero, then your game is over; you’ll be dropped to the ground and your dragon will vanish. Red hearts help extend you game time, allowing you to collect more coins and keys; you can gain up to 600 seconds at any one time.

Points are awarded for coins, etc., obtained – but are also deducted should you have an encounter with whatever lurks in the passages and tunnels – of which I cannot say more here, you’ll have to discover things for yourself 🙂 – but that fact the points can be lost is another reason for watching your speed. Coins start at 5 points for the blue glass coins, rising to 100 points for the gold coins. Treasure chests can be opened by obtaining the required keys (each of which will gain you 50 additional points).

Given all these elements – coins, keys, treasure, bonus time, health – the game HUD is somewhat more complex that the original, but well-presented and easy to understand. By default it attaches to the top centre of your screen – and that’s probably the best place for it, as it is easy to reference it without blocking your in-world view.

High scores are recorded on scoreboards located at the start area – but you’ll need to have media-on-a-prim (MOAP) running in order to see the scoreboard displays.

I would advise playing the game without running anything else that might be processor-intensive on your computer; I had my anti-virus software start a scan during my time in the tunnels and my ability to fly my dragon in the confines of the passageways completely fell through the floor…

All-in-all, Revolt of the Forgotten builds nicely on the game-play from the original Quest, adding additional elements that should help attract those who played the original game, while providing a nice gaming experience for those who haven’t yet tried the system. There are seven dragons available at the start-point for those that don’t have a Dranopia dragon of their own to rez, and each again has its own characteristics.

Why not hop over to Dranopia and give things a try for yourself?

Dranopia: Revolt of the Forgotten is available on the Virtual Services Sculptie Experiments region.

