I didn’t manage a good photo of these birds — they were fast! I’m pretty sure this is a common kingfisher — so pretty in its bright blue and orange. I love imagining masses of them flitting through the water garden, diving for the fish. (Were there fish in some of the gardens? […]
I am just so grateful for Kel Bachus and Dana Steinhoff and Rad Magpie, for giving me the chance to try to bring a little bit of Sri Lankan story vision to life. Here’s a quick preview of one of Kat Weaver’s concept sketches for Sigiriya (the video game!), based on one of my photos
If you visit, do pay attention to the signs — no going into the ponds, no walking on the bricks. They’re 1500 years old or so. Crumbly! Fragile! #sigiriyagame *****
Here’s one where the water seems to be at the right level — you could imagine the ladies of the court walking down the steps, bending to trail their fingers in the still water…. #sigiriyagame *****
Oh, while we’re talking about wildlife, mustn’t forget the dogs. This kind of dog is all over Sri Lanka, and there are actually lots of groups working on helping to rescue and take care of street dogs — we bought some souvenirs in the airport from a shop run by one of those
I admit to being a little obsessed with the water of the Sigiriya gardens. One of my first ideas for the video game was to simply do an irrigation game — sort of a cross between the physics and puzzle-solving of Where’s My Water? and the aesthetic pleasures of something like Gardenscapes. In
And then in some areas of the garden, the water is still moving. Again, not sure if this is a deliberate choice by the archaeology department, to restore some parts of the irrigation system and not others? Or just a function of how much rain they’ve had lately? I’d love to talk to someone
In case you missed it before, a little background on Sigiriya, focusing on the king part of the story. (For the game, we’re actually mostly *not* focusing on the king part of the story…) #sigiriyagame *****
And of course, along with plants and flowers, you get wildlife. Lots of lovely white egrets at Sigiriya. #sigiriyagame *****
The water levels would rise and fall, depending on rainfall, to some extent, I think. (I don’t think I really have a good grasp on the complex irrigation system at Sigiriya yet.) But I’m pretty sure (based on my guide’s comments) that you should picture this particular structure as full of water, covered
