Seva

My goal for this Ludum Dare was to ship an inspiring prototype and rediscover the joy of making a game in a very short time, with the modern tools agentic coding gives us: I could focus on the gameplay and on the art direction of the assets, 99% of them AI-generated.

I chose to opt out of the Graphics category, since nearly everything was generated by AI. I still took particular care of the world and the atmosphere: even when the result is made by AI, art direction keeps all its meaning to make a coherent game.

I also had the pleasure of composing a track dedicated to the game, while taking part in the Two Hour Album Challenge (2HAC) at the same time.

A game made with Godot.

An old robot wakes up under the moss.

A season has passed. Deep in the forest, an old mossy robot opens its eye beside an abandoned forge.

Something hums beneath it.

Made for Ludum Dare 60, theme "Old Tech". Play it right here in your browser (about 15 to 20 minutes), or download it for Windows or Linux.

Take the wheel of the Drill, a rusty old machine whose head hangs from a cable. Bore down through humus, clay and rock, reel the head back up with what it found, and empty the bucket at the forge.

Inside the forge, your finds land on the lot cards: nuts, copper wire, gears, pistons, vacuum tubes... Complete a lot and the forge turns it into a new part for the Drill.

Every bit opens a harder layer of the ground. Somewhere under the forge, an ancient Energy is waiting. Reach it, and the forge comes back to life.

What is in the jam build

• One dig, five layers of ground: humus, clay, rock, deep rock and ancient bedrock, each one harder than the last, down to the Energy reserve 100 rows under the forge
• Seven forge lots: the Drill Bit, the Drill Bit II and the Great Engine to break harder ground, the Side Bit to dig sideways, the Regulator to drink less Energy, the Lamp to light the dark, and extra Baskets to carry more finds
• 22 kinds of old parts to dig up, from nails and springs to relays, vacuum tubes and punch cards
• A tank to watch: the Drill runs on Energy and goes back to its quay to refuel when it runs low
• A living forest in pixel art, with seasons that turn while you dig
• Auto-save: leave anytime, Continue picks up where you stopped

How to play

• A / D or Left / Right: walk, roll the Drill along the quarry
• S or Down (hold): drill down
• W or Up (hold): climb the Drill head up the cable, it stops on the next cell when released
• A / D while drilling, once the Side Bit is mounted: dig sideways
• R: reel the Drill head back up
• E: board the Drill, empty its bucket at the forge, enter the forge
• Q: step out of the Drill, leave the forge
• Mouse click or arrows + Enter: pick a lot card in the forge
• 1 / 2: focus the robot or the Drill
• Esc: pause (music on or off, back to the main menu)

A tutorial hint in the top-right corner and a pointing hand guide the first minutes. A gamepad also drives the robot and the Drill (stick or D-pad, A, X, Y, B, Start).

Credits

• Game: Uralys (uralys.com)
• Music: Old Tech, by Uralys, composed during the Two Hour Album Challenge held alongside Ludum Dare 60, one track of Pumped, the collaborative album of that challenge
• Engine: Godot 4.7, with Fox, Agentic Coding + AI Generative sprites
• Font: Kenney Mini by Kenney (CC0)
• Pointer hand: Kenney Cursor Pixel Pack (CC0)
• Key prompts: Kenney Input Prompts Pixel (CC0)
• Sound effects: Kenney UI Audio, Interface Sounds, Impact Sounds, Foley Sounds, RPG Audio and Digital Audio (CC0)
• God rays shader: pend00 on godotshaders.com (CC0)

Made for Ludum Dare 60, theme Old Tech.