Grave Seasons devlog details roguelike-style procedurally generated mines and confirms March 9th launch

A Grave Seasons devlog explains how the mines are built as a procedural roguelike without extensive combat, covers biome art and music, and mentions a Horror Game Awards nomination.

What changed

• The post refers to a launch on March 9th.

Design Goals

• The team wanted mining to be engaging and novel, without extensive combat but with some risk.
• Player preparation is described as a core game loop, with players buying or crafting items to keep energy up.
• Inspirations include Harvest Moon N64 and Animal Crossing digging mechanics, plus traditional farming sims with rarer ores deeper down.

Mine Generation

• Mine layouts use simple rules to create chains of corridors and larger chambers, while keeping an escape route and a trapdoor to the next level.
• Foreground and background walls enclose each layout, with accent tiles placed in a regular pattern designed by the art team.
• Obstacles and surprises in deeper levels are scattered using cellular automata.
• Mineable rocks and forageable items are distributed using per-biome loot tables.
• Mine generation is engine-agnostic, and the code team joked about an ASCII version with no promises.

Art and Atmosphere

• Salt mines were chosen for the first layer to allow an atypical colour palette, inspired in part by Columbian salt mine cathedrals.
• Deeper levels move away from reality and hint at what lies beneath Ashenridge.
• The only threat in the mines is the player's own time and energy.
• Bespoke waypoint rooms between levels allow fishing and can be revisited at any time.

Music and Audio

• The audio team made a source track that guided later compositions.
• That source track was later reused for one of the later biomes.
• Variations were composed per biome, meant to differ without diverging too much.

Other News

• The team took part in several showcases, including Cozy After Dark.
• IGN shared a video with exclusive gameplay and a developer conversation with Blumhouse Games.
• Players are invited to vote for Grave Seasons in the Horror Game Awards.

Interactive tools and community guides are hosted on graveseasonal.com.