If you’re craving some fantasy and missing the iconic dwarves, elves, and humans from the Lord of the Rings franchise, then Forgotten Mines might be just what you need. Not only is the gameplay loop engaging, but the game’s pixel art is visually appealing. Recently featured during the Steam Next Fest, this tactical roguelite RPG promises an exciting adventure as you lead a team of dwarves to reclaim their lost mines.
In Forgotten Mines, a horde of goblins, demons, and orcs has overrun your ancestral mines. You and your dwarven cohort must fight through procedurally generated rooms, combining the fast pace of roguelite gameplay with the strategic depth of a tactical RPG. Additionally, you can customize your team with new armor and weapons to maximize your chances of success. Despite its small scale, the game offers grand depth, replayability, and challenge. Every decision counts, as a single misstep could lead to defeat and force you to restart your quest.
In Forgotten Mines, a horde of goblins, demons, and orcs has overrun your ancestral mines. You and your dwarven cohort must fight through procedurally generated rooms, combining the fast pace of roguelite gameplay with the strategic depth of a tactical RPG. Additionally, you can customize your team with new armor and weapons to maximize your chances of success. Despite its small scale, the game offers grand depth, replayability, and challenge. Every decision counts, as a single misstep could lead to defeat and force you to restart your quest.
We had the pleasure of interviewing the solo developer from Brazil behind Cannibal Goose, whose game is available on Steam. You can also play the demo yourself. Additionally, the developer is active on Discord, and you can join the community here.
Can you tell us about your development journey? How did it all start, and is Forgotten Mines your debut game?
I started developing Forgotten Mines in June/July 2022. At the time, I had played a million hours of FTL and Into the Breach and was experiencing a bit of a personal strategy roguelike fever. One day, I was at my old job, in an office, I took some sheets of paper from the printer and started doodling. I was determined to create “my own Into the Breach”. I started to conceive the scope of the game and, at that point, I had already done enough demos to understand the problems of having an idea that is too far-fetched, too grandiose, that will never be done.
I started with a modest-sized but possible idea: a strategy roguelike, where you control three units and go through four different areas to finally defeat the final enemy. The only thing I wanted with an above average number was the amount of different equipment that the game could offer the player (at this moment, the game has more than 320; at the time of the first demo’s release, the game had more than 100).
I had never made a commercial game before, but the challenge of doing so was serving as fuel for the creation of this new demo. I decided to use dwarves as the protagonists of a story I wanted to tell and, at first, the game would only have dwarves (later, with development, other species were added). Dwarves fit well into the descending narrative I wanted. I had seen many games where the journey was an uphill climb, literally or metaphorically. Characters climbing a tower, or even rising morally throughout a journey. I wanted the opposite. I wanted characters that the further they go, the further they descend, in every way. I wanted a one-way journey, win or lose, the characters would never return.
In about 6 months, in December 2022, I finished the demo and published a game on Steam for the first time. I received much greater feedback than I had expected and then some publishers appeared with meetings, emails, proposals and plans. The feeling of debutant anxiety was somewhat alleviated after the partnership with the publisher. All of their experience and support from a team drastically changed the way I saw and conceived the game (I believe for the better).
What’s it like being a developer in Brazil? What’s your opinion on the gaming industry there?
When I tell others around here that I’m a “game dev”, people don’t usually believe it. Some of them, perhaps those who are a little older, even express some indignation such as: “Okay, but what is your real job?” I have no idea if things are like this in every corner of the world, but here, I believe that this is mainly because everything involved with the creation of electronic games is still part of an external cultural imaginary.
We are voracious players, we play like thirsty professionals in a life-or-death marathon, and, in fact, we have been playing for decades. But I spent most of my life without games localized in Portuguese, for example. Games have been localized here for about ten years, most of us grew up with games in English and even Japanese. I think this explains a lot how in the Brazilian popular imagination, the development of electronic games is quite unlikely. But, things seem to be changing a lot in the last decade. There are several successful games with absurd quality that came from here. We have lots of wonderful pixel artists and studios and associations are starting to appear more and more. I feel like we could be an important hub for game creation in a global context, but for any flower to appear, it needs to be watered.
What were your expectations for Steam Next Fest?
To be honest, I don’t really know. All of this is still very new to me, it’s my first Next Fest. In these early days, I have been following some numbers and I am quite excited. The flow of people accessing the game is truly impressive.
Could you share some numbers with us? How many wishlists does the game have? Are you satisfied with the direction your game is going?
I don’t know if I can disclose internal information of this type, for contractual reasons. But, giving a slightly more abstract answer, I would say that we are in an average position in an indie context of 2024. The market is getting tougher and I feel that it is getting more and more difficult to stand out. The indie aesthetic has become popular and is increasingly widespread in bigger budget games. Things get mixed up and it becomes difficult to differentiate what is indie from what is an AA game, for example.
The game ended up changing course, in some sense, with the development and contact with the publisher. But I believe it has improved. The story I wanted to tell is the same, but the game has improved a lot. It has more content, better gameplay and, generally speaking, it’s more cohesive. I’m glad I learned so much and got the game in a better direction than it was initially.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind Forgotten Mines?
Berserk. Of course, there are a lot of other things there, but that’s it. Miura-san’s work made me want to tell my own stories of moral deviance, blood, and revenge. Not to mention the nihilistic and platonic points that this work carries in its subtext. I wanted to make an amalgam of bloody stories, to tell the story of how you have to lose yourself into the abyss to, perhaps, recover what you had.
Can you briefly introduce the story setting? Why did you choose to set the game in mines and make dwarves the main characters?
I wanted to tell a story of moral decay, revenge and political reconquest. There is no room for horizontal exploration in a story like this. Things are vertical and in only one direction: downwards. Dwarves are perfect for this. Beings from the underground, territorial and stubborn enough to want to wage a centuries-long war seeking revenge. Perfect for telling the story of what is lost in this process.
In Forgotten Mines, Dorvgrad was the capital of the Dwarven Kingdom. The dwarves’ classic greed made them dig too deep, until they reached a physical frontier to non-Euclidean space. The problem is that they arrived at the gates of the Abyss and there all the demons and their creator live. This Creator is also a creature, born from the repressed evil desires of the material plane’s inhabitants. In short, it’s just crazy.
We can play as humans, elves, and dwarves. Are you thinking of adding more races, or will the content mainly revolve around them?
There are already other playable species in Forgotten Mines. Kobolds are unlocked after beating the game for the first time. And, the undead are kind of situational, but you can also play with them. I think adding extra content is a constant in my head and new species, classes, amulets, enemies and items are part of that. I still have a few things to hang on this Christmas tree.
Let’s talk about the UI. It’s probably the best one I’ve seen in many games I’ve played. Did you approach it with simplicity in mind? What about the tutorial, which presents detailed explanations?
In fact, until December last year the UI was pretty bad. I was quite lost in this aspect, and ended up receiving advice from more experienced game designers and UI designers at Ishtar Games. If it weren’t for that, I believe the question would have been worked the other way around: “It’s probably the worst one I’ve seen”. But simplicity has always been an important parameter in the UI concept, especially due to the limitations of just one guy making a game.
I hate tutorials. And, to be honest, I don’t like the direction the game’s introduction took. I hate this bunch of texts. I would like players to learn to play by playing, trying and failing. I wanted something closer to Animal Well, more like “you’re in there, you test until you learn”. But most feedback didn’t go in that direction. I ended up going in that direction, after all, the game is made for the players.
What was the thought process behind the variety of classes, such as knights, rogues, and mages? How did you balance their abilities?
I created things with the idea of temporal balance. In other words, the class that starts strong, does not receive many good and interesting things over time, and the class that starts weak, receives more interesting perk options that can leave it very broken at the end of the run. Of course, in the middle of all this there is the Blacksmith, which is the most broken class in this game, so far. Some classes are simpler to play, the player just needs to hit the enemy. Others have interesting combo possibilities, but which may go unnoticed by less attentive players. The truth is that classes considered weak, such as Archers, have possibilities for very fun combos and possibly brutal late games.
How do you ensure the game in general feels balanced? I’m impressed by the uniqueness and personalities of each race and character. Why did you decide to implement this?
The method to ensure balance and feel good when playing a class is to test it thoroughly. I tested and tested. There’s a test I like to do that’s a type of dopamine injection. If the class doesn’t have a moment throughout a run where the player is bursting with dopamine after a well-made play, that class isn’t ready yet. Of course, there are classes more focused on support, but even these have the chance to make great plays and carry some battles, if played correctly.
Another point of interest is the limited turns for exploring and mining ores after defeating enemies. Was this planned from the beginning? Why are the enemies so strong after turn 8? Is it possible to defeat them and earn better rewards?
The game without this would be boring, believe me. The turn limits make the player have the necessary anxiety to move and not wait for enemies to come to meet him. The player is attacking, the enemies are defending. They win if you do nothing, if nothing changes. The turn limit reflects this, this discomfort of those seeking change. If time passes and nothing changes, the conservatives win.
The idea of powerful reinforcements is to educate the player after a few times, so that they can play the game quickly and accurately. They will understand that he cannot wait and that they cannot compete with the reinforcements, at least not at first. As time passes, the players will discover that they can do anything, even blow up the reinforcements and farm the extra XP they offer. In fact, there are undead that are exclusive to reinforcement waves, if the player wants to complete the compendium, he will have to learn to face enemies after turn 8.
How does the equipment system work, and what role do gems play in unlocking new gear and classes? Will it be difficult to acquire them?
Amulets and classes can be purchased with gems. Amulets fulfill an important function of forming possible combos with classes, as the player chooses their class and amulet formation before entering the run. There are certain amulets and combinations of them that make certain classes more viable (or even overpowered). In this sense, gems are, perhaps, the most important currency in the game.
And no, it’s not difficult to get them. Maybe at first yes, but, over time, the player realizes that there are ways to increase the chance of blue boulders appearing and the amount of gems that they possibly drop. At the end of each area, the player receives a number of gems as a reward, and this amount increases as they advance to other areas. In other words, losing a run in the first or second area is not very good for gem farming. Descent Mode also plays an important role for gem hunters. At the end of each room, you earn an amount of gems equal to your descent level, that is, you can farm up to 20 extra gems per room, with your descent level at maximum.
With over 50 enemy types and bosses, how do you ensure that each encounter feels unique and challenging?
I honestly believe that I do not guarantee any of this. But sometimes I try. Overall, the enemies are similar, but the small differences in behaviors, attributes and skill sets help this distinction seem more real. The player ends up feeling a lot of difference when facing an enemy with Movement 1 and then facing one, exactly the same, with Movement 2. It’s just a point of difference, right? But this completely changes the way the player will deal with this enemy.
The game features a timeless, retro visual design. What inspired this aesthetic choice?
The second generation of Pokémon, to be more specific, Pokémon Silver. This was certainly the game I played the most in my life. I still play today. In fact, I have a lot of appreciation for the aesthetics and gameplay delivered by the Game Boy. I believe that this was the best console ever made by humanity.
How does Descent Mode enhance the challenge of the game, and what can players expect from this mode?
They can expect a lot of difficulty and a larger than normal reward for metaprogression. The truth is that I believe, at this moment, that it is not even possible to beat the game with Descent Mode at maximum. It’s brutal.
As a solo developer, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the development of Forgotten Mines?
Everything was a huge challenge. I feel, at this point at the very end of development, that I had a kind of 2-year pregnancy, very tiring. But I think that today, I can see that my biggest challenge was translating my ideas into UX. I’m also not a very competent visual artist, I would say, so I tried all the time to keep things sober and small. Anyway, more than ever, I feel like game development really is a marathon. Whenever possible, it is important to seek and accept help, if not, it is likely that the marathon runner will not reach the end.
How do you hope players will feel when they finally reclaim the Forgotten Mines?
I hope they feel grief and the cleansing it brings with it. Mourning for the characters who carried the player there, to their goal. And, of course, I hope the players can enjoy the many contents and conquer the mines in every way possible, including with the Kobolds. They deserve a home, after all.
How do you plan to support the game post-launch? Are there any updates or additional content in the works?
I have ideas that haven’t been put into the game yet. Classes, Amulets and equipment always pop into my head. But, I will try to amalgamate things and put the additional content together in the near future. I’ve also been thinking a lot about a possible different mode in an update, but the ideas are still very embryonic and, to be completely honest, everything will depend on feedback and public reception. Public interest is an important fuel for maintaining things. I hope players enjoy it and can support Forgotten Mines, so it can have a long life and invade consoles too.
English (UK) 
Hrvatski