In Your Personal Archipel, by Travesol_Dog, you press the "z" key and a tiny island is generated, little blocks piled on top of one another. Before your eyes, the island moves through the four seasons. Spring brings pale green trees, splashes of cherry blossom pink. In the summer the trees are rich green, turning to brown and gold in the autumn. Winter comes and coats the island in snow. The year turns. This is all that happens. It is intensely calming.Almost every island generates with a large mountain in the middle. Take a deep breath. How easy it is to imagine standing on the top of these mountains as the canopy below you changes color with the year. The cold in winter, the freshness of the air in spring.Once, when I was younger, I was climbing Scafell—a mountain in England's lake district—and a fog rolled in. The air was filled with sharp specks of hail that crept under the sleeves of my coat, and I could barely see ahead of me. Feet slipping on the rocks. I took shelter in a low abandoned building next to a wide field of slate. Years ago, it would have been carried down the mountain for use on the roofs in the village below. That industry's all but dried up now.When I got down the mountain, there were helicopters and news crews waiting at the base, people busying around in thick coats. A climbing team had become lost, I learned, much higher up the mountain, and had only just descended, minutes before me. Our breath was visible in the air. The climbers were sitting in the backs of jeeps wrapped in blankets. How lucky.Take a deep breath. Look out at the seasons changing in the canopy below you. Come on. Come on, there's a mountain to descend. May we be met at the bottom with warmth and with activity.Your Personal Archipel is playable for free in your browser.
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