LudumData

The Lineman by tater-hater

[raw]
made by tater-hater for Ludum Dare 59 (COMPO)

In a world where all communications rely on a single cable, it's caretakers must be prepared for anything.

dithered-image.png The Linemen are responsible for the safety of the Line. They protect it and repair it.

Take on the role of a Lineman and navigate a disconnected world as you troubleshoot and fight to keep the Line open.

Play Now!

Known Bugs

  • Power levels need to be pressed twice.
  • Some text is a bit wonky.

Controls

  • Move - WASD or Arrow Keys
  • A button - Z
  • B Button - X
  • Start - Enter

Screenshots

Screenshot<em>20260418</em>235102.png Screenshot<em>20260418</em>235215.png

Credits

I made the game with GB studio. I used this amazing tool to help make uniformly styled NPCs and player models. Free Simple Pixel Sprite Generator by ponponyayaGames

The main image from the poster is from Unsplash

This tutorial made the gunshot sound Effects bearable. WAV Samples in GB Studio 3.1 - YouTube

Inspiration

I love westerns. I specifically wanted to find a way to have a story with a strong, mysterious main character that was able to still be cool and important, but also non-violent. It was easy to think about how important an outdoorsy IT person would be in a world where there are just a few cables that connect cities.

The world also takes a lot of inspiration from the novella Cities Are Forests Waiting To Happen by Cecile Cristofari.

AI Disclaimer

This game was made by me with no AI use. no-AI.png

Play In Browser https://bytebistro.dev/ld59/
Link https://bytebistro.dev/LD59/rom/ld59-lineman.gbc
Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/59/the-lineman

Ratings

Overall 237th 3.105⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 263th 2.605⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 260th 2.737⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 194th 3.368⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 191th 3.237⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Audio 227th 2.333⭐ 20🧑‍⚖️
Mood 143th 3.474⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 11🗳️ 9🗨️

Feedback

MountainGoose
Apr 20th · 04:14 UTC
Great job getting so many different scenes done. Enjoy fixing me some lines
LDJam user 428646
Apr 20th · 04:30 UTC
Almost gave up because I didn't realize that I had to hit the lever haha, but I figured it out and I actually really liked this one! It's glitchy in all the best ways. I doubt it was intentional, but the weirdly clipping text boxes and disappearing sprites added to the weird surreal feeling of the game. Gameplay was fairly basic, but I enjoy me some fetch quests. I do wish that the choices you make led to something, but it's still pretty neat.
Matt Giuca
Apr 20th · 13:17 UTC
I like the simple story, it's clear a lot of work went into this.

I had a lot of trouble with the actual signal UI. Firstly I was very confused about up and down ... am I right that the main switch "up" is on and "down" is off? That's not how most power switches I am familiar with worked and I got stuck for a long time on that. Needs an LED to show "on" / "off" status. And also I couldn't figure out what the signal 1/2 buttons were for, especially on the first one. (I think those were just breakers right, not needed in the first puzzle?)
leenoi
Apr 20th · 13:24 UTC
Very cute game! You got so much done, and I got really invested in the story and job during playing this.
GideonGriebenow
Apr 20th · 19:54 UTC
Well done on completing a game! I was able to finish it without too much head scratching.
Arada
Apr 21st · 02:13 UTC
Nice work!
CrociDB
Apr 22nd · 11:57 UTC
I somehow always crave short little experiences like this one. You did a great job! :)
SMOLBIGBY
Apr 23rd · 20:39 UTC
It was a very simple game, but a good one. I really liked the graphics. The only problem I had is that I couldn’t walk diagonally for some reason (is this a bug?).
Paroxysmal
Apr 25th · 02:22 UTC
Really like the gameboy ascetic. Well done.
bentglasstube
Apr 26th · 21:12 UTC
Impressive to make a gameboy game in such a short time, I know working with older consoles can be a real pain. The story was cute and I loved the sprites. My only complaint is that it was too short. I will have to go back and make different choices to see what happens. Great work.
Shoalmuse
Apr 27th · 07:01 UTC
Great graphics and world building with so little. The talking noise was kind irritating and some music would add a lot. I really enjoyed my time being a heartless lineman!
jk5000
May 07th · 10:40 UTC
A simple and fun little game. Well done.
Flightless
May 07th · 20:30 UTC
I really liked it, nice one! Good dialogue and such cool graphics.
![Skärmbild 2026-05-07 222734.png](///raw/985/d/z/732f8.png)
Shram
May 07th · 21:43 UTC
Don't you think the look of your covers doesn't quite match your schedule?