u/Extension-Parsnip789

As mentioned in a previous post, I am currently working on the game Fatherlode (a reference to Motherlode, released on Miniclip in 2004):

https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeGameDev/comments/1vprbtp/just_making_my_first_game_fatherlode/

The game is coming along really well and I've added quite a bit of content, but most importantly, I've overhauled the game's pixel art to make most things significantly better-looking.

As a reminder, the game will feature:

• A real tutorial, a proper introduction, and a save system (100%)
• Implementation of a stats tree system (100%)
• 250 achievements (100%)
• 25 different ores (100%)
• About thirty treasures to find (100%)
• Dozens of different obstacles (60%)
• Over 2000 meters of depth (60%)
• Real objectives with an NPC dialogue system, lore, etc. (30%)
• The ability to build new buildings as you progress (70%)
• Diversified creatures to make the descents more complex (100%)
• Etc.

For those who are curious, attached are new photos AND videos.

Since the last time, I have:

• Redone all the pixel art for the ores and tiles in the game
• Implemented the Tutorial Robot on the surface for more interactions
• Set up a "radio system" that allows communication with different NPCs if the player meets certain conditions, in order to understand the game's lore, with several NPCs to unlock
• Added several events during the descent
• Added a few consumables
• Made exploration less frustrating
• Added around forty dialogue boxes
• Functionalized the buildings that the player can construct (such as the purifier, which purifies ores over time)
• Established a day/night cycle and a progressing in-game day counter

And some screenshots :

https://postimg.cc/gallery/8N7Lz9G
https://postimg.cc/gallery/Y7hHCzf

For the past 3 weeks, I’ve been making a game with Claude Code called “Fatherlode” (as a reference to the game Motherlode released in 2004 on Miniclip), whose goal is fairly simple:

You have a POD, you dig deeper and deeper, you collect ores, sell them, upgrade your POD, and so on. Back in 2004, Motherlode was extremely addictive — a small Flash game that was really popular. Here with Fatherlode, I’m adding more and more mechanics:

• A real tutorial, a proper introduction, and a save system
• Implementation of a stats tree system
• 250 achievements
• 25 different ores
• About thirty treasures to find
• Dozens of different obstacles
• Over 2000 meters of depth
• Real objectives with an NPC dialogue system, lore, etc.
• The ability to build new buildings as you progress
• Diversified creatures to make the descents more complex
• Etc.

For now it's only in french, but i will translate it later in english, obviously. The game is progressing well — it’s still a long way from being finished. Little by little, I’m mainly trying to add small gameplay details, mechanics, and overall polish, things like:

• “NPC talking gibberish” voices during dialogues
• Small effects scattered here and there
• Gradually refining the pixel-art so everything feels consistent
• Checking whether the exploration feels good, if the POD upgrades are balanced (and not broken), and improving that
• Etc.

Honestly, from the very beginning it was just a little crazy idea… and I find it so much fun — and addictive — to code the game little by little that I even want to learn how to code myself. I went as far as paying for Claude Max just to get more usage per week, and in only 3 weeks I feel like the project has absolutely nothing left in common with how it started.

I think Adobe miss a lot of things. haha