As teased in a previous update, I’ve spent some of my spare time over the past months building a game project that had been sitting in my drawer for years. That game is now officially released. In fact, it has already been live since the equinox and is currently on version 1.0.2. I just finally got around to properly posting about it here.
So: what exactly is WHERE ARE THEY?, and where can you play it?
WHERE ARE THEY? Is Out. Play It Here.
WHERE ARE THEY? is a roguelike pixel-art space exploration game inspired by the Fermi Paradox. Your homeworld is gone. One seed ship escapes into the unknown. Your task is simple: Find a new world. Adapt. Survive.
The game combines exploration, colony management, survival mechanics, gene editing, terraforming, and a fair amount of cosmic existential dread. Or, in less dramatic terms: Think Oregon Trail meets No Man’s Sky with pixel art, strange alien species, and the occasional terrible life decision.
Most importantly, the game is completely free to play, contains no ads, and does not track you.
Play now: https://wherearethey.dev/where-are-they/
A Play Store release is currently in progress. The browser version already works well on desktop and mobile devices.
What to Expect
The current release is a single-player experience and, in some ways, a proof of concept for a much larger long-term vision for a multiplayer v2, where everyone explores the same galaxy at the same time.
Features of the current version include:
- A galaxy that spans 7,000 light years across
- Filled with hundreds of millions of procedurally generated stars and planets
- Six playable species with different biological traits
- Terraforming and gene editing systems
- Colony building and resource management
- 34 buildings and numerous upgrades
- Ship augments, rare artifacts, and hidden encounters
- A dynamic timeline tied to real-world time
- A Fermi-Paradox-inspired setting about isolation, survival, and expansion in a hostile galaxy
- An adaptive, atmospheric soundtrack
- Unlocks & easter eggs
Here are some screenshots:
How the Game Came About
Years ago, I had an idea for a pixel-art space exploration game where players discover a galaxy spanning thousands of light years and containing tens of millions of stars and hundreds of millions of planets.
While the multiplayer version is still in the idea phase, I decided to first create a smaller single-player version that would actually be feasible as a one-person project.
However, the game would not exist in its current shape without the help of around 50 amazing beta testers who went through multiple testing phases, reported bugs, balanced mechanics, and repeatedly found creative new ways to break things. So, a big THANK YOU goes to everyone on the Discord server who helped shape the project over the past months.
How the Game was Developed
The gameplay, story, lore, mechanics, events, balancing ideas, and overall creative direction are entirely my own work. However, I used several AI tools to make the project feasible as a solo developer with limited time and resources:
- Google AI Studio (Gemini) was used as a coding assistant throughout development. This dramatically accelerated the process of building UI systems, structuring files, prototyping mechanics, and iterating on features. In practice, AI worked best for quickly generating frameworks and accelerating repetitive tasks, while debugging, balancing, and restructuring were often done manually in code. Without tools like this, the project would probably still exist only as a collection of documents and unfinished notes.
- The soundtrack was created using Suno. Initially, I mainly wanted atmospheric placeholder music for testing purposes. Unexpectedly, the soundtrack ended up becoming one of the highest-rated parts of the beta according to player feedback. Because of that, the music may actually remain part of the project long term, potentially in a refined form. You can listen to the soundtrack here.
- The current pixel-art (species and building icons etc.) was generated using ChatGPT image generation. If the project eventually grows into a larger second version, I would strongly prefer to replace many of those assets with proper hand-crafted artwork created by actual artists. The current visuals were mainly a pragmatic solution that allowed the game to become playable without requiring a full art budget.
What Comes Next?
The long-term vision for the game remains much bigger than the current release. Whether that vision is actually achievable remains to be seen.
For now, I mainly hope players enjoy exploring this first version of the idea.
If you would like to report bugs, share feedback, support the project, or potentially contribute to future development, visit the official website: https://wherearethey.dev/about.html
