Here is a unique experience that left a profound mark on me. While it may not be something I created, it holds a poetic essence that, I think, deserves to be shared. The main theme of the story is a video game called Outer Wilds. Now, you might question if a video game can truly belong in the world of art, and honestly, I largely agree with you. Yet, there are a few exceptional creations by talented individuals that are absolutely worth exploring, and I think this is one of them.
Outer Wilds is a journey into mystery and discovery. It has no enemies, no weapons, no dark overlords, no quests, no rankings, and no competition with other players. There is only you, the story, the world, and your memory. Set in an alternative universe, you embody a young creature who has just been appointed the new astronaut of the tribe. Armed with a rocket, your mission is to explore your solar system and uncover the remnants of a long-gone civilisation. Your primary weapon for this journey: a translator, which allows you to translate messages left behind by this ancient race. These messages, inscribed on walls, range from family discussions to grand scientific announcements.
One of the game’s core mechanics is that it resets every 22 minutes. After each cycle, nothing you have done is saved. Everything you have accomplished vanishes except your own memory as the player. This memory is what you will rely on while exploring the universe, seeking to unravel what happened, why time keeps restarting, and what you can do about it. I will not spoil the details because the less you know, the better your experience will be if you choose to play it. But I will say that the story touches on many profound themes: the importance of the journey, the fragility of life, the pursuit of knowledge, the passage of time, death, and the inevitable end of all things.
I hope I have sparked your interest in giving it a try because, as you can probably tell, I highly recommend this game. I could go on for hours about its exceptional level design, the physics, the beautiful soundtrack, and the intricate, mind-blowing story. But what I really want to highlight is why I believe this game is a masterpiece. As I mentioned, you spend the game investigating the remnants of a vanished civilisation through the messages they left behind. You never interact with an individual from this race—only find sketches on walls of how they looked like and, occasionally, their skeletons. Yet, as you progress, you learn more about them—who they were, what they were doing, and why they disappeared. You start to know their names, their habits, their personalities, and even little anecdotes about their lives. The more you play, the more you feel as though you know them, even though you have never seen one. And as you stumble upon their graves and the remains of their final moments, it hits hard. For me, the most powerful aspect of this game is its ability to make you feel deeply attached to beings that do not exist, all through the medium of text.
It may not be for everyone, but if you enjoy exploration, mystery, and puzzle-solving, I encourage you to give it a chance. You might just find a journey that resonates with you as profoundly as it did with me.
One weekend, my brother so desperately needed a break from his work and we all ended up on our way to Nuwara Eliya, the most populous holiday destination among Sri Lankans, preferred for its cool climate, presenting a welcome and relaxing respite, especially for the ones like us who are constantly wearied from the heat of Colombo. With the time posing limitations on our itinerary (since this was a short excursion of just one and a half days), we chose “Moon Plains” as our main event for the weekend as it was an ideal, short, non-tiring jaunt suiting the occasion. Although there are several attraction sites to visit around Nuwara Eliya, we somehow always manage to end up visiting Horton Plains every time we go to the central highlands. Don’t get me wrong, I love Horton Plains. It is in fact one of my favourite places in the country. But this time around we decided on Moon Plains for a change and because it is relatively unheard of compared with the other, well-known travel destinations. My knowledge of Moon Plains, at the time, was only limited to what I have learned in my grade eleven Geography. I remember it being mentioned alongside Horton Plains as examples for Pathana grasslands.
Moon Plains (in Sinhalese called Sandathenna) is located in Nuwara Eliya District within the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is located right next to Lake Gregory and is approximately 5 km from the Nuwara Eliya town. Located at a 1950 m elevation from sea level, Moon Plains lie within the upcountry wet zone and is categorised under the “Wet Pathana Grassland” vegetation type based on the plant communities that are present there. Another distinct feature about the Moon Plains area, in addition to the cool safari rides that it is now famous for, is the Moon Plains Sanitary Landfill that was installed in 2004, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Until its installation, a section of the Moon Plains area had been utilised as an open garbage dumping site under the Municipal Council of Nuwara Eliya. Now, however, the area is renovated and redesigned and is attracting much attention as a tourists attraction spot, with a whole brigade of safari jeeps working in full throttle to keep up with the increasing numbers of both local and foreign tourists that visit the place ever since it was opened as an Agricultural and Environmental Tourism Zone in 2014.
The hexagonal platform installed at the top of Moon Plains viewpoint
Unfortunately, a thick fog veils the beautiful scenery beyond.
We arrived early in the morning at the location and bought our entry tickets that cost 50 rupees each. As the very first group for the day, we knew we had the advantage of enjoying the location by ourselves without the distraction of other visitors, which is always satisfying. At the entrance, before entering the plains, we had to switch to a safari jeep (which cost 2000 rupees) whose driver became the guide for our oncoming tour. The morning was extremely misty and chilly and we rolled along the bumpy roads that snaked through the plains toward the “Moon Plains Viewpoint”, which is supposed to be the highlight of the tour. At the onset of the ride, we first drove through the greenhouses and the premises of the “government potato seed farm” which comes under the Department of Agriculture, through which the entrance to the plain lies. After passing that area, what rolled on were the vast expanses of grass carpeted hilly undulations, bordered by the dark green patches of cloud forests of the surrounding Kandapola-Seetha Eliya forest reserve, and, of course, the beautiful silence (this reminded me a lot of the landscape of Horton Plains which has a similar vegetation pattern). To add to the excitement, we had sporadic sightings of birds (Moon Plains is said to be home to 105 bird species out of which 16 are endemic), a jungle fowl, a group of wild boars, buffaloes, and bear monkeys (purple-faced leaf monkey) that enlivened the landscape.
From our very amiable guide, we learned that certain parts of the plains are being used for seed potato cultivation with the practice of “crop rotation”. Here, a “ fallowing” type crop rotation is being practiced. This means, after completing one cycle of potato cultivation in one fraction of the field, that land is left fallow (without cultivating). Meanwhile, the remaining portion of land is cultivated. Likewise, seed potatoes are cultivated alternately in two fractions of the field. Through this practice, the soil texture and fertility could be maintained over a longer period by allowing the land to recover, rather than cultivating continuously on the same spot. So, on our journey through the Moon Plains, we were shown both these fallow lands and the ones that are under cultivation.
[Seed potato plants are cultivated to obtain tubers with the sole purpose of replanting, to obtain fresh potato plants for new cultivations. These seed potatoes, generated in these premises, are eventually distributed among the local farmers to initiate individual potato cultivations]
Just me, waiting for the mist to clear out (It is not a white wall behind me)
Eventually, we arrived at the viewpoint which is generally referred to as the “ Second World’s End” (the first is in the Horton Plains). There is a small platform that is perched at the very top of the viewpoint from where you can capture a panoramic view of the surrounding hill country. Unfortunately, a very persistent veil of fog that descended while we were at the viewpoint robbed us off of this beautiful scenery. Our guide explained that the view covers two provinces, Uva and Central, and nine mountain peaks, Pidurutalaga, Single Tree Mountain, Kikiliyamana Mountain, Great Western Mountain, Konical Hill Mountain, Kirigalpoththa Mountain, Thotupola Mountain, Hakgala Mountain and Namunukula Mountain, some of which he was able to show us vaguely through the misty veil.
However, we couldn’t stay for long at the viewpoint until the mist cleared out (although we so desperately wanted to) as the jeep ride only permits just one hour for the round trip, per group. Sadly, we departed and made our way back to the entrance and at the very end of our ride, we saw several other groups just starting theirs. If the mist had lifted, they would have probably been able to capture the magnificent scenery that we couldn’t. Anyhow, what is not to like in a relaxing ride through hilly terrain in cold weather in the central highlands of Sri Lanka? Therefore, this Moon Plains excursion is so totally MyCuppaTea.
MyCuppaTea 