Tag: Second Life Destinations

I decided to return to Cica Ghost’s current build, A-Maze-Ing, because after seeing more pictures on Flickr, I realised there was still much I hadn’t shown the first time around. Cica’s worlds are like that; they reward return visits, always offering another small detail or whimsical surprise. You can read about my first visit here

Cica’s Cat

One thing I missed the first time was Cica’s cat. Not always present in every build, but often appearing in one form or another, her feline friend feels like a recurring character. This time I made sure to catch it

Wall art

I also wanted to look more closely at the wall art scattered throughout the maze. Forget Banksy; these playful, cartoonish drawings aren’t rebellious so much as lighthearted and funny. They’re simple, but not amateurish, and they made me smile as I passed.

Sleeping Monster

Another detail: inside one of the little houses I found a sleeping monster. My photo doesn’t show it, but in-world you can see its chest rise and fall as it breathes. A tiny touch, but absolutely adorable.

Textures and Atmosphere

The whole build has a kind of cartoonishness, but not in a crude sense, more like a deliberately stylised storybook world. The wheeled wooden animal rides, for example, hold up beautifully even zoomed in with ultra graphics. The overall light is soft and hazy and sepia tinted.

Rides and Interactions

I didn’t ride the wooden animals on my first visit, except to test out the small rides designed for Dinkies, so I made a point of testing them this time. Each one has its own whimsical pose:

• On the duck, you sit cross-legged.
• On the giraffe, you lie on your stomach, knees bent, feet in the air.
• On the horse, you recline on your back, arms folded behind your head.
• On the elephant, you sit upright, feet on either side of its head.

There are also plenty of seats, benches, pods in the trees, and places tucked inside houses. Each has several poses, some playful, like doing a handstand on the back of a bench

A Visit Worth Making

The maze itself, the bottle-shaped houses, the ladders and rides , I wrote about those in my first post, which you can find here. This follow-up is really about the little details that give A-Maze-Ing its character.

The build is open for a week or two more, so I encourage you to visit before it’s gone. While I was there, I ran into a group of role-play campers and their leader, having a wonderful time running through the maze. It was the perfect reminder: Cica’s worlds aren’t just about looking; they’re about playing, laughing, and discovering together.

Useful Links

For other relevant links, see Cica’s Inworld Shop, Cica on Marketplace, Cica’s personal Flickr stream, and the Cica Flickr group. 

For other bloggers’ views and photographs of A-Maze-Ing, take a look at posts by Inara Pey, Susann Decuir, Yse Dido Petra Haas, Hans van der Velden, Bsukmet Imniali, Bruno Denis and Caity Tobias

A link to see all my posts about Cica Ghost.is HERE

📌 Follow this blog for more Second Life destinations, art, and oddities.

🌍 Join us in the Second Life Destinations Facebook Group where bloggers share new finds.
📸 Photographers, share your snapshots in the Second Life Destinations Flickr Group.

A new build by Cica Ghost opened on Monday, 11th August:A-Maze-Ing. As usual, it’s accompanied by a thoughtful quote:

“At some point we all look up and realize we are lost in a maze.” – John Green

Before you explore, I recommend turning on the shared environment:
World → Environment → Use Shared Environment.
Here, the light matters; the sepia tones, soft shadows, and muted skies are part of the experience

First Impressions

This is quite different from Cica’s previous build Among the Hills. The sky is a brown sepia, scattered with drifting clouds. Below, an island-sized maze stretches out, its walls of red brick and grey plaster intersecting at perfect right angles. The floor beneath your feet is brick too, patterned in circles like an old patio.

Here and there, steep little hillocks rise almost vertically. Many have a single tree at the top; others are bare, and a few hold bottle-shaped houses. At the very centre, on a raised area, stand more bottle-shaped houses, mostly brick, some with partial plaster coverings, looking like something from a dream. 

Exploring the Maze

Your arrival point is on the east of the island, where four large wooden animals wait: a giraffe, an elephant, a horse, and a duck, all with wheels and ready to ride. In true Cica style, there’s also a second, smaller set so Dinkies can join in the fun. 

At one end of the island, a small shop sells some of Cica’s whimsical “monsters,” including the wheeled animals. 

This time, there are no towering creatures like in some of her earlier builds, but I spotted a few snails and a strange rabbit-like being. And yes, their eyes move, as always. 

Colours, Details, and Surprises

True to form, there are also trees and flowers, all in sepia or white, matching the sky and stonework

The only real splashes of colour come from a few painted red sections of wall and charming line drawings of cats and other animals. 

The quiet charm of this build is in its details. the interplay of light, texture, and geometry, and the unexpected little discoveries around each corner. 

Supporting Cica’s Art

In these tightened times, when money is scarce, I know it’s a lot to ask, but if you enjoy Cica’s work, consider leaving a contribution at one of the tip jars or perhaps buying a monster as a souvenir. Your support helps her continue to build these playful and imaginative spaces for us all to enjoy.

A-Maze-Ing is exactly what the name promises: a playful labyrinth, an atmospheric landscape, and another reminder of how Cica Ghost can turn the simplest shapes into something magical.

For other relevant links, see Cica’s Inworld Shop, Cica on Marketplace, Cica’s personal Flickr stream, and the Cica Flickr group. 

For other bloggers’ views and photographs of A-Mazing-ing, take a look at posts by Inara Pey, Susann Decuir, Yse and Dido Petra Haas

A link to see all my posts about Cica Ghost is HERE

📌 Follow this blog for more Second Life destinations, art, and oddities.

🌍 Join us in the Second Life Destinations Facebook Group where bloggers share new finds.
📸 Photographers, share your snapshots in the Second Life Destinations Flickr Group.