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!