Through… The Looking Glass

I think I came across The Looking Glass (TLG) last March. I don’t know precisely what I was searching for, but there I was, in that sim, with a shop that looked like a church on a mountaintop. I bought a few things, went back to my plot, and started to landscape something unusual for me [see that post]. It turned out ok, and I would have kept it if it weren’t for my constant mutations. The point is, the TLG products have a fantasy and enchanting appeal that kept me going back to the sim to appreciate it from time to time.

The last time I was in Horizon Dream –the name of the sim that houses TLG– the landing point wasn’t the simple platform with a few decorative buildings I found that first day. It had grown a woodsy pier and a small town center. I think that was a month or so ago. Today, when I came back to another visit this morning, the town was in full bloom, alive, transformed into the main store.

I probably spent more than an hour taking pictures all over the place; it is just so awesome. Marcus Inkpen, the man behind the prims, has done a terrific job, carefully paying attention to every minute part, both above ground and underneath it.

But The Looking Glass is not merely a store anymore. Upgraded to town status, it now seeks (and has the potential) to build a community. For that it is about to inaugurate an “abandoned theater”, that even though it is in an “exquisitely” derelict state, it’s one of the most attractive playhouses I’ve visited in SL. It is so rich and detailed that somehow I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen there; the experience promises to be immersive in all the sense of the word.

The other main building dedicated as a cultural center is the old church-like building that used to be the main store, that really used to be a museum originally. Going by the name of The Flying Eye Art Museum, it currently features Mr. Inkpen’s own artworks, but will schedule other exhibits in the near future. Join The Looking Glass group inworld to stay tuned to what’s to come both in the museum hall and the auditorium.

An important part of the new construction is a series of underground passages that run across most of the sim, and interconnect some mine-like excavations (I assume they are man-made and done in ancient times) with the city’s sewers system in the most complete and “natural” looking tunnels I have seen so far in SL (yes, there are some others, but not like these ones).

I guess I have to say TLG used to be a shop. Now it promises to become a place that everyone should add to their destination places for continuous exploration. To visit The Looking Glass follow this [slurl].