This is a text adventure game that deletes itself the more people play it. Eventually all the text will be gone and the game will be blank, with no choices left to be made. I've set it up with my best guess as to how many visits the game should permit before going blank...
In my mind the game is about the effect of tourism on the beautiful place of the world. Mandala is a curious, tiny world that begs to be explored... but the more people enjoy and explore it, the more damage they do. Authenticity, life, and utility slip away. What is left is a husk, filled with high-school children on field trips, and tourists flashing their cameras.
It has been pointed out that this format also fits the theme of environmentalism, so I will probably make a piece on that theme as well. The source is available on github, and with a bit more polish I may be able to release it for people to use.
If you sit down to play this game, and discover that it is just a blank screen, or a single hallway... remember that at one time it was more than that. At one time it was filled with my thoughts.
EDIT: wow people are actually playing Mandala, I'm thrilled! I just want to say, for the record... I will not reseed the database during the competition. I've thought long and hard about this. I thought I might reseed after a week -- like "reset" the world -- but I've decided that would take away from the message.
EDIT: If you are one of the people who have played Mandala, and you received an orange flavoured candy from a little girl, please leave a comment. As many as 10 players may have encountered the girl, but I think only 1 or possibly 2 actually received an orange flavoured candy from her. I'm just curious to know who. I kind of think of that as being the "goal state" of Mandala, so if you received the candy: you beat Mandala!
It's hard to judge, based on the core mechanic of the game. I saw a house, and a garden, and talked to an old woman (who was not on vacation). Hard to tell which choices might be going away soon.
Thanks for the comments everyone! I wish I had had more time to polish the actual world more, as it stands it is not as engaging as it could be (and too wordy in places). I started LD48 late enough that I only had 24 hours... :)
A fascinating concept - I'm genuinely curious how exactly you put it all together. Could have used some more proofreading, though: you have a "seen of a whether worn coast" which should be a "scene of a weather-worn coast."
Ha ha ha oh man. Just before launch I noticed I had spelled "plain" as "plane" all the way through. There are two factors: all the content was made in about 5 hours; I am a terrible speller and spell-checkers don't help with that kind of error.
If I had had time to really proof-read, that would have been great.
brilliant idea, and maybe the audience is for the hard core, but I think most players need a little more assistance to figure out what to do, or some big moments to make it fun.
beautiful idea and a very interesting experience. Playing the game and thinking about how everything around me was affected by other people beforehand really gave the impression that I was in a habitable place where others before me have come and go and left a mark. Really liked the game, concept and theme behind the game.
By the time I'd played the game, the effect of the other players was evident, but it seemed like there was still enough there to explore. Some of the choices seemed a little confusing, but concept is wonderful and I would love to see more games like it.
A few entries this year presented zen gardens or rooms with sliding shoji screens. I wish I had the skills to present such a place, perhaps in tandem with text.
This was really cool! Love the execution, loved seeing things disappear while I was playing them, really unnerving. (Also you tried to play my game when it was down, it's up now!)
It's an interesting idea, but a little hard to get into. Very much a high-concept game with the fading text. I got stuck in a couple spots with no apparent exits and had to back-button to get out. The writing is interesting, and the fading mechanic is definitely artsy.
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If I had had time to really proof-read, that would have been great.
Makes me wonder how much I missed - how many features were already destroyed by the time I got here.
(Also you tried to play my game when it was down, it's up now!)
Very beautiful both as a concept and as an experience.
nice job!
Please, take a minute to play and rate my game! Thanks!