January 06, 2007

Beyond Function

Many of the more famous stores in Second Life have re-opened this week with new builds in new sims. While I was taking a look around (and buying ridiculous quantities of socks), it occurred to me that I had been avoiding pointing out areas of interest that happen to have been built for primarily commercial purposes. In retrospect, I think this has been unfair: there are many shops throughout SL that are more than just a nice place to buy things. Tableau Island, for example, immediately comes to mind.

The boardwalk at Tableau

They still have their Christmas Decorations up.



You arrive on the pier and are immediately greeted with signs advertising "Fun Things to do in Tableau." So you know right off the bat that it's a town built for the tourist. The buildings themselves look like they've been braving the salt spray for years and there's some fun swag just like you would expect from a campy little beach town (souvenir t-shirts for example). You can wander away from the beach and boardwalk and visit the park, tree house, underwater caves and bumper boats.

Mahoroba

Doesn't Mahoroba just look like fun?



One of my top 10 favorite places in SL is Mahoroba. It is a completely zany little Japanese Pixel-Pop town. Not only are there entertaining surprises scattered throughout the build, but some really talented designers have their shops here. Clothing, accessories and animations are next door to amusing and useful gadgets (my Mary Poppins Umbrella came from Seagel Neville's store). And if that weren't enough for a good time, there is also a subway station.

Subway Train

Mahoroba is in a PG sim, so be sure to wear pants.



Silentsparrow and Factotum Dicassel have a new location in Koreshan that is as frought with ambiance as the old one. But the new location has room for an extensive underground network of tunnels. There are several ways into the dank sewers. I'll leave it to you to discover them.

underground!

/me wonders if she will ever get out.



Add to that the Uber Creepy Amusement Park next door and you have the makings of a lovely outing. Really, I could have Baedekered Koreshan Pointe all by itself!

hella creepy

Dude. Seriously Creepy. Don't miss the Teacup Ride.



I promise that while this list is incomplete - I have seen many commercial locations that transcend their function - I will never again omit spots of interest simply because I shop there!

PS What's a girl gotta do to get that "water shortage" bug fixed? World-->Region/Estate

Socks! at Celestial City, Celestial Studios (35, 219, 25)
Tableau, Tableau (244, 183, 24)
Mahoroba, Shaka (110, 219, 25)
The Subway, Shaka (131 ,155 26)
Silentsparrow and Factotum Dicassel, Koreshan (107, 216, 26)
Koreshan Pointe, Koreshan (242, 79, 24)

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