![]() And the possibility that an earthquake could topple the already fragile structures, located in one of the world’s most seismically active regions, remains ever-present. With the onset of warmer weather in the past three decades, their deterioration has accelerated. The low humidity in this high-altitude desert is one reason Alchi’s murals have survived for almost a millennium. The most pressing threat, according to engineers and conservators who have assessed the buildings, is a changing climate. Cracks in clay-brick and mud-plaster walls have widened. ![]() Rain and snowmelt have seeped into temple buildings, causing mud streaks to obliterate portions of the murals. The monastery and its paintings are in grave danger. Who created them? Why don’t they conform to orthodox Tibetan Buddhist conventions? Might they hold the key to rediscovering a lost civilization that once thrived, more than a hundred miles to the west, along the Silk Road? They are among the best-preserved examples anywhere of Buddhist art from this period, and for three decades-since the Indian government first allowed foreign visitors to the region-scholars have been trying to unlock their secrets. These extraordinary figures have graced this small monastery in Alchi, a hamlet high in the Indian Himalayas along the border with Tibet, for about 900 years. Each massive figure wears a dhoti, a kind of sarong, embellished with minutely rendered scenes from the life of Buddha. Two hulking statues, one embodying compassion and the other wisdom, stand in niches on side walls, attended by garishly colored sculptures depicting flying goddesses and minor deities. It’s a painted statue of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, a messianic being of Tibetan Buddhism come to bring enlightenment to the world. At the far end of the room, towering more than 17 feet high, stands an unblinking figure, naked to the waist, with four arms and a gilded head topped with a spiked crown. Mesmerizing colored patterns scroll across the wood beams overhead the temple’s walls are covered with hundreds of small seated Buddhas, finely painted in ocher, black, green, azurite and gold. It takes my mind even longer to register the scene before me. This has been on my mind constantly lately and I even made my own Reddit account just to post about it here.The wood-framed door is tiny, as if intended for a Hobbit, and after I duck through it into the gloomy interior-dank and perfumed with the saccharine scent of burnt butter oil and incense-my eyes take a while to adjust. ( ) I believe this game was hosted on its own website and was played via Flash in browser like Poptropica. ![]() I doodled what I can remember of what the characters and game looked like. I made an account on this game and played it sometime between 2007-2010. I looked on the Wayback Machine myself, though, and nothing listed in the "Rooms & Houses," "Town & Garden," or "Simulation" sections fits the bill. Other details: There might have been a link to or an advertisement for this game on at some point for me to have found it, as that is how I found a lot of the games I played when I was a kid. There were also elevator "blocks" you could place in your buildings that looked like circular lights on the floor. I don't remember if there was a chat function or not, but I do remember seeing other players walking around and visiting their structures. You could also make your own building and publish it for other players to explore. Each was labeled with who built it, what they named it, etc. Notable gameplay mechanics: Players were able to walk around in a 2D isometric city that was made of other players' structures. I think they had arms and legs, but I am not sure- what I do remember specifically is that each had a small greenish-grey panel on its face with a little =) smiley face. This is what I remember the most clearly, since you would see them every time you logged in. Notable characters: The player characters were small white and grey robots that were circular in shape. It took place in a city that was virtually all white and grey, aside from some panes of glass and diamond () shaped crystals, which could be yellow, red, blue, or green I think. The entire game was isometric and laid out on a grid that your character could walk around on. Graphics/art style: It was a bit cartoony, but mostly sleek-looking in design. Social aspects + building, if there were any other aspects to the game I sadly don't remember them.Įstimated year of release: 2000s to early 2010s
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