Quiet Carriage
Press "W" to Make Choo Choo
Quiet Carriage is a little train that runs along the bottom of your desktop while you work. Take a trip on legendary old locomotives: the Flying Scotsman on its first non-stop run from London to Edinburgh in 1928, and Union Pacific's giant Big Boy hauling freight up into the Rockies.
We wanted to capture the state of mind everyone knows from gazing out of a train window, and to let you hear these famous engines work: every beat of the exhaust and every click of the rails is synthesised from the real wheel layout and speed of each locomotive.
> This game was made for Ludum Dare 60 by three people: Nikolay, Alex and Oleg. We only had three days, so there isn't much content. You'll see the same objects through the window, and all the trains are quickly drawn. Honestly, Nikolay and Alex are now made almost entirely of coffee, and I have no idea how Alex managed to paint over all the sketches in color, but here we are. We hope you don't mind :)
How to Play
- Seat your passengers. Everyone on the train wants something different: some want a seat in the dining car, some want to sit alone, some want company their own age, and some just want to hear the locomotive go "choo-choo". Click and drag a passenger to move them to the seat they'd like.
- Blow the whistle. Click the locomotive to get closer, then press the whistle button.
- Collect happiness. Happy passengers give you happiness points. Once you have enough, you unlock the next train and can ride it. There are two trains so far, and we may add more if we feel inspired.
Wishes never expire, and you never lose your points. Play as much or as little as you like, or just leave the train running.
A Desktop Companion
Quiet Carriage is a desktop companion for Windows: it runs in the background as a strip along the bottom of your desktop, over your wallpaper, while you get on with your day.
The web version lets you try it in a browser. It shows a mock desktop, which you can't interact with, so you can see how the app sits on a real one. That's why the screenshots have a background that looks like an older version of Windows.
Good Ol' Iron Trains
Our game is about old trains, inspired by Big Boy's amazing cross-country journey a few months ago. There are so many beautiful locomotives out there: the LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman, Stephenson's Rocket, the Pioneer Zephyr, and more. When the "Old Tech" theme was announced, old trains were the first thing that came to mind.
Trains Bring Peace of Mind
We're a three-person team: a programmer Nikolay, an artist Alex, and a train fan who is also our game designer Oleg. Right now it feels like everyone is running around fighting the madness of AI FOMO, and we think it's important to take time to focus and enjoy what we love doing. For us, one of the best ways to concentrate is a train journey, sitting by the window and listening to the wheels. Can you relate?
Art Timelapses
_At first we were thinking of Japanese trains, so some stations have a more Japanese style._
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*Windows and web only for now; maybe we'll make a macOS version. Made with the Defold game engine.*
Comments43
@unpickel Oh, sorry for the confusion! Just hold and drag the passenger inside the carriage to move them from one seat to another :) But thanks for playing!
That said, the hand-drawn artwork is very well-crafted—
everything looks absolutely great! An amazing job for a game created during a game jam.
The Windows version runs in the background as a companion app, so you can work or study while listening to train sounds and enjoying the cozy, gentle feeling of travelling somewhere :)
But I understand that the web version may be a bit confusing because of the fake Windows background :) I hope that makes sense!
The artwork looks beautiful, and the whole concept feels really cozy :3
@grizwhirl, thank you for the kind words! I just forwarded your message to Alex, our artist.
The art style is charming, and I love the attention to detail with the locomotive sounds! The passenger seating mechanic is also a nice touch that gives you something to interact with without making the experience stressful.
I'd love to see more trains, different landscapes, and maybe some weather effects like rain or snow to make the journeys even more atmospheric!
Overall, a really cozy and original take on the Old Tech theme. Great job!
Love the desktop companion idea! And a special thanks for the game within a game: the Staring Out of a Train Window Simulator. :D
All in all though, great game, definitly my favourite so far in terms of atmosphere!
We wanted to accurately simulate the sound of the lever that turns the wheels striking.
But we seem to have overlooked something while working late over the weekend, when we were tired and not thinking clearly. We’ve now fixed the errors and would love to hear what you think.
Thank you!
And you get a bonus point for also including the _Big Boy_ locomotive 🚂
Everything feels so remarkably polished !
The parallax scrolling through the window is mind-blowing! 🌄
Interaction loop is simple, satisfying, and super relaxing.
The aesthetic create such a lovely, warm atmosphere.
It fits the "OLD TECH" theme in such a clever, refreshing way.
Huge congratulations the the hard work👏
The graphics also deserve a special mention!
The passenger gameplay reminded me a bit of the game Is This Seat Taken, but you definitely have your own chill twist on it
The train sounds and art are great!
I also noticed that you can seat people correctly, collect the emoji, and then move them around again. I'm not sure if that affects anything. Also I only found out by accident that you're supposed to click on the emojis. Maybe there was a hint, but I missed it.