The Weight of Gold

Tile Data Configuration

We ended up with 18 unique tiles. The hard part was configuring the neighboring tile relationships - each tile needed to know which other tiles could be adjacent to it. For example, a vertical wall could have another vertical wall, a vertical doorway, a vertical cap, two different corners, or an intersection tile as neighbors. Joel created a bidirectional linking system that automatically updated neighbor relationships, which quartered the time needed for this tedious process.

Tile Mesh Implementation

After getting the level generation functional with blockout meshes, I passed them to our 3D artist who turned them into textured sandstone walls that seamlessly flow into each other. I QA’d and implemented them into the engine, creating custom optimized colliders (shown in white).

Player Character

The first thing I created was the movement logic, which later evolved with dodging, attacking, and animations. The standout mechanic is the Midas Touch - a melee attack that turns enemies into golden statues. These can be pawned for gold coins to buy upgrades. However, overly greedy behavior can backfire, as the player themselves can be turned to gold in certain instances.

Enemies

I created 3 unique enemy variants with distinct behaviors:

• Locust - Jumps around and attacks in melee range
• Scorpion - Ranged attacks and powerful sting
• Snake - Can sense the player through walls

Another team member created the models, while I handled rigging, animating, and implementing them with FSM logic.

Final Boss

For the first time in a jam, I created a boss encounter! I made an intro cutscene and implemented 4 attack methods using FSMs:

• Melee Fast - 2 swift wide arc attacks, low damage
• Melee Strong - Overhead attack, high damage
• Charge - Gap closer, low damage
• Coin Toss - Shotgun-like projectiles, medium damage

More details about the boss and endings below.

Creating Gilly

I modeled Gilly on a whim in about 30 minutes early in the jam. Despite the quick turnaround, I knew this mysterious skeletal merchant would become central to the game’s narrative. His design evokes an otherworldly shopkeeper - floating, skeletal, with an unsettling charm that masks his true intentions. He operates a shop where players can sell their golden statues and purchase powerful upgrades, each transaction deepening their corruption.

The Minimap & Corruption

I created the minimap using an orthographic camera that tracks the player, showing their position in the randomly generated world. But the minimap also houses the corruption mechanic - as players turn enemies and miners into gold, sell statues, and buy upgrades, a red border grows around the minimap. More corruption = more power, but if it reaches 100%, the player faces an alternate ending where their greed literally consumes them.

Ozymandias - The Final Boss

Players with moderate corruption face Ozymandias, a gold-stricken giant alchemist corrupted by his own greed. This climactic battle features 5 unique attack patterns that test everything the player has learned. I designed and implemented all of his combat mechanics using finite state machines, creating a dynamic fight that shifts between aggressive melee strikes, ranged coin projectiles, and devastating area attacks. Defeating Ozymandias grants one of three endings based on your corruption level - each offering a different reflection on the cost of greed.

The Corruption Ending

If corruption reaches 100%, you never face Ozymandias at all. Instead, Gilly intercepts you with praise for fully embracing greed. But this “victory” is hollow - in a scripted cutscene, the player’s overwhelming avarice compels them to use the golden glove on Gilly himself. The tables turn as the player transforms into gold, consumed by the very power they sought to master. This ending serves as a cautionary tale: unchecked greed doesn’t lead to triumph, but to self-destruction.

ProPixelizer Shader

The game uses a mix of PBR shading for the static environment and ProPixelizer for dynamic elements like characters, pickuppables, and projectiles. This dual approach gave the game a distinctive pixelated aesthetic while clearly differentiating interactive objects from the background geometry.

Dense Dust Particles

Dense dust particles are strategically placed along the edges of the procedurally generated map to clearly communicate impassable terrain boundaries. This visual cue helps players understand the playable space without breaking immersion, using environmental storytelling to mark where the dungeon walls meet the endless desert beyond.

Sparse Dust Particles

In more open areas, sparse dust particles drift lazily through the air, creating a sense of scale and atmosphere without overwhelming the player. These lighter particle effects help maintain visual clarity during combat while still reinforcing the desert setting.