Build the rhythm, not a backdrop.
The Palace grows from a repeated structural bay: columns, galleries, roof strips and glazing share a common module. Repetition supplies the scale, while the fountain and retained trees give you places to recognise.
Actual in-game frameThe Crystal Palace / educational mystery
The Palace of Echoes
The crowds have gone. The Palace still has something to say.
Explore the glass halls with a field book in one hand and a stereoscope in the other. Three exhibits hold three memories; follow your curiosity, not a prescribed route.
Enter the Palace▶Keyboard + mouse or touch · WebGL 2 · headphones recommended
A gentle supernatural mystery. Historical context includes imperial power and exploitation.
3 discoveriesFountain, elm and optical court
2 live camerasThe stereoscope's separate eye views
Touch + desktopWalk freely or travel from the book
Behind the experience
A museum tour you can investigate.
The history lives in the objects. The fiction gives you a reason to look closer.
A lens that actually has something to focus.
The carried stereoscope renders two offset views of the same world. Its focus control changes convergence; a fictional visitor at the optical court only becomes readable when the instrument, viewpoint and alignment agree.
← Back to NotesWrong answers keep the visit moving.
The fountain, elm and optical court can be investigated in any order. Hints respond to mistakes without removing progress. The field book holds discoveries, sources, travel controls and the distinction between evidence and invention.
Two eyes need a budget.
Each eye gets a bounded render target, smaller in light detail. While the instrument is raised, the ordinary planar-reflection pass is skipped. Renderer state is restored when the lens is lowered.
What this version is
A place to explore. A direction to build on.
This is an atmospheric interpretation, not a measured reconstruction. Its supernatural visitors and puzzles are invented. Progress lasts for the current visit and resets on reload. Touch controls are included; performance varies by device.
Generated architecture. Credited materials.
The halls, effects and score are generated in the browser. The build also carries CC0 material maps and an environment image, plus a credited historical print in the field book.
Material credits · Historical references & interpretation · Library licenses
Controls
Step inside.
WASD to walk; drag to look; J opens the field book; L raises the lens; E examines; 1 / 2 / 3 travel to exhibits. Focus with the wheel or bracket keys. On touch, use the walking compass, Book, Lens and Examine.
The return link above the player unloads the experience and its sound.