FoonLudum Dare ExplorerLD58 → Excavation Sierra

Excavation Sierra

By PQuiskamp, parkuhrmd and A.D.Chaos

View on ldjam.com

CategoryRankScoreCount
Overall284.2222
Fun364.0922
Innovation54.3422
Theme134.5022
Graphics744.4222
Audio1433.8022
Mood1903.8722

Comments

thejackimonster 2025-10-06 19:46

Very nice game! I like the story telling and the art style very much. I'm probably not patient enough for this kind of game, destroying a lot of bones but I definitely see how this is part of the fun. Great job!

skale 2025-10-07 20:39

Feels amazing! It really looks like a polished game. The concept and gameplay are interesting, and the digging mechanic is implemented really well — I love that you need to be careful not to damage the bones (I smashed them). The art style and sounds give it a cozy, immersive feel

bahonika 2025-10-07 20:42

It's super! Mb you should add some chill music?

kayrum 2025-10-07 20:43

Great game I just wished i coul zoom in to take a closer look at the dig site and the bones!

pro4 2025-10-07 20:51

Really great art and vibe for the game. I was able to dig up the whole skeleton for 12700. Definitely damaged bones a bit, but overall it looked not too bad haha. Curious what the theoretical max score could be?

Thanks for the fun game.

kazuren 2025-10-07 20:55

One of my favorite games so far! I really loved having to be extremely careful not to damage any bones and I liked the GPR mechanic, well done!

bones.png

lukewaffel 2025-10-07 20:57

Great gameplay!

I really enjoyed the process of being careful around the bones, using the brush to remove the last pieces of dirt was really satisfying! I'm kind of sad the brush was basically useless after the safety trowel upgrade, which I got fairly early on. Loved seeing the 'damaged' state of the bones on the display being the way I damaged them.

Amazing concept!

electric-sun 2025-10-07 21:03

So much fun! I wish i got to play this when i was 6 i would have been obsessed.

parkuhrmd 2025-10-07 21:04

@pro4 The final score is your remaining money times 100. So the best score while buying all upgrades and damaging no bones is $78,300 (Nice job, @kazuren!), but in theory you could just buy the trowel and start digging blind, which would get you up to $204,100. I hope nobody does that.

nicekot 2025-10-07 21:07

Amazing concept and interesting implementation. My only complaint is the brush is so slow to dig, that you may think in the very beginning that you are doing something wrong. Also you can dig only marked spots and even the slightest miss makes LMB take no effect. This might be confusing.

But progression, style and polish are impressive. Kudos!

isaac 2025-10-07 21:09

Very chill experience! Love the game loop. My first attempt I got a final score of $58000. Now that I got the hang of it, I enjoyed the game so much I tried again and I'm pretty sure I got a perfect playthrough with every piece coming out pristine with a final score of $78300! Good job on the complete game!

parkuhrmd 2025-10-07 21:11

@nicekot Thanks! The brush works a lot faster if you wiggle it with the mouse, but I admit that the mechanic is not telegraphed well.

bea 2025-10-07 23:02

ah this was lovely! I remember playing a physics crate moving game of yours some years back and this is just as excellent as that was! perfect scope, great gameplay! only complaint was I got a bug where the skull got stuck the first time I played it, but it was good enough I wanted to start over anyway:3

2025-10-08 12:21

It's a very cool game. I just got stuck and couldn't stop until I had unearthed everything. The design, the art, the sounds - the caviar is very tactile and pleasant!

parkuhrmd 2025-10-08 21:16

@bea Thanks, I still remember your chicken game! Yes, the bones hit boxes are a bit wonky at times, but the brush usually clears it up :)

wetburritosupreme 2025-10-10 18:27

What an absolute gem! Really engaging game and I love the art style!

fullbuff 2025-10-11 14:46

Wow, it was a very enjoyable game. The overall polish makes it very satisfying, good job!

fin1717 2025-10-11 15:12

The concept of Excavation is so fresh and intresting! I've collected all the bones, but made many of them broken lol It's a little difficult to avoid break the bones before getting the safety trowel,but once I get it, things became much easier. I had so much fun playing this game~

ruruie 2025-10-11 15:37

This is a terrific little game and probably is nerfed because it's a jam and not many folks will spend an hour playing it. Reminds me of Unpacking. Worthy of development. Only criticism I had was I really had trouble understanding the rules of the damage inducing tools and being stuck. Oftentimes I was trying to trowel around the edges and get damage where I thought I was good.

emmatw 2025-10-14 21:04

This is a really nice game! It's well executed and a great use of the theme. The art style is a great fit as well.

dasmaichen 2025-10-15 11:03

Very nice game. I damaged some of the bones ^^' but I could continue, so it was a nice feeling. :)

blackcat508 2025-10-15 20:29

This is a really unique idea! Excavating is quite fun and the pixel art works really well