Pando is the perfect entertainment sim for the whole family.
When I was a new clown, Izzie introduced me to Pando. Since then I have introduced it to others. Why did I stick to Pando when there are so many other carnivals around? Because of the entertainment provided there, in a low-lag environment.
You have a free bowling alley, a free movie theater, a diner with room for a whole school, cafés, a money tree for the newcomers and a free paintball arena.
It also has an arcade full of fun with free games for the whole family. Among others is Aqua Dash; where you can use your own 7 Seas fish to compete with others. There is Wack-a-Mole and the high-paced sci-fi VectorZone. Everything has high-score lists so you can see how good you are compared to others.
The main reason to come to a carnival is of course the rides. Pando has all the rides you can imagine. Bumper Cars are one of my favourites and we have spent hours on that one. There is a Ferris Wheel that gives you and your loved one a really nice view, several high-paced swing-rides, such as the popular Freak-Out. A favourite among the kids is the Corster, an inverted roller-coaster where you swing freely off the cart, riding under the rails high in the sky and down through a waterfall. This is one of two roller-coasters in Pando, the other being Jet Stream, the quickest ride in SL.
If you are brave enough, take a stroll through the Fun House. The name says fun, there’s a clown to greet you, but you quickly discover that this is a maze of horror. It is easy to get lost in here, especially in the underground maze, where you have to find the right combination of levers to pull to find your way out.
If you are there with your loved one, make sure to check out the Tunnel Of Love, a short but romantic ride in a swan boat.
Each of the rides is designed by some of SL’s top carnival designers, Atom Burma, (who has retired and his work is only available on the marketplace), Buxton Malaprop and Ethan Sands. Of course, the ever so creative Jahman Ochs, the curator and owner of Pando, has designed some himself.
Jahman started early, in the 1980s. He had plans for things that ahead of that times technology and he actually wrote some “scripted 3D objects”, such as the ones that are common now in Second Life, almost thirty years later. When SL came about eight years ago he was very excited to put some of his ideas to the test and his goal has always been to create entertaining environments where the visitors spend long periods of time.
Jahman started out his second life with another project; an exact replica of Greenwich Village in New York and Washington Square. Although critically acclaimed, it did not attract many visitors and after a year of thinking and tinkering he went back to his childhood, looking at what he used to do back then. He grew up around carnivals, so it was only natural to create one in SL.
Pando is at its best when you are a larger group visiting, something made possible by the sims ability to have a lot less lag than most sims. I’ve seen a whole school visiting at once without causing as much as a screen flicker.
If you ever get tired of the rides, or feel the hunger rising, there are several food stands around Pando with people ready to give you whatever you ask for; everything from french fries to cotton candy.
Written by: Morphman
Pictures by: Morphman