Steam buggy

by cogcomp
I, as usual, didn't have a lot of time to make something. So this was probably made in around 24 hours.

I really wanted to try making some kind of old pseudo 3D racing style game..
and that seemed like a good idea when the theme is "old tech".

So it's at tiny game where you drive "steam" buggies around a procedurally generated track.

Tools used: bfxr, audacity, gimp, wing3d, visual studio 2022, raylib & ableton live 11 lite.

Comments21

cogcomp
cogcompauthor18 Oct 2026, 17:31
Here's a video of me playing the game:

ALEXTRASH19 Oct 2026, 12:27
I love old racing games. Cool game!
Leophyte
Leophyte19 Oct 2026, 12:28
This is sick, you really get the feeling of speed thanks to how the road is generated and the sprites appear.
I got screwed a few times because I got bumped by invisible cars somehow, and I didn't figure out if there was an ending? I got to 1000 score after doing each map twice and stopped
Really cool entry for sure
Frogravity
Frogravity19 Oct 2026, 13:00
I got the next level transition after the gameover one started but unfortunately it didn't count :(

Anyway, this was really cool!! I loved the aesthetic here, it was fun and I didn't see the different worlds coming! Initially I tried playing this like every racing game - holding forward & staying at max speed at all time - and very promptly died multiple times. Eventually I realized that the play was actually sticking to lower speeds, especially once the coal pieces got close, which was very different for a racing game - I liked it! Ended up sticking to the 40-70 range usually, speeding up just after collecting coal and slowing down once I felt the next one would arrive soon. At first I thought I could continue indefinitely with this strategy, but the turns caught me off-guard as they got sharper and I started missing coal pieces. This was actually super intense, I stuck to very low speeds (funnily enough, bumping into other races *increased* your speed to 40 at this point, which persevered their role as an obstacle :)) and chased every coal piece with my life on the line. Loved it! But anyway yeah, fun game!
Pazio di Dante19 Oct 2026, 16:54
Love the idea that for the first time you will try to go very fast, but eventually you will run out of coal very quickly and you will miss it because you don't have that reaction. And you need balance your speed to also don't run out of time.
Also loved little thing if you go backward you will EARN coal not spend
peremily19 Oct 2026, 17:27
I liked it! Although I found it tricky at times as when going quick i couldn't see any coal or other drivers, which might be a feature to get you to slow down!
khaotom
khaotom19 Oct 2026, 19:55
Cool racer. The fuel use and collection is a nice feature addition to this style of game!
niterich
niterich19 Oct 2026, 23:54
Really fun game! I love the feeling of movement and energy when you get to top speed - though that came with the problem of running into other cars (and NOT running into coal) with absolutely no time to react. I think adding a longer road ahead, or other drivers that better match your speed, would make this game even greater
YEZISOFT20 Oct 2026, 06:40
One of the cars was as black as coal, and it just kept crashing into things over and over again!haha!interesting game!
Chomby20 Oct 2026, 14:52
Evokes memories of Ridge Racer or Outrun series. I like the balance between wanting speed, and control for collecting coal. I also like the detail that you can lap other racers. Stage 2 is cool but I wasn't able to see if there's a stage 3 or not.
Ilari20 Oct 2026, 19:26
Inspiring! Now I want to make and old-timey racing game... I was pleasantly surprised that it had more than one track. Fun game, well done.
Rolly
Rolly20 Oct 2026, 20:03
Cool game! It definitely has this very special vibe to it that brings memories back instantly :D

The music fits very well, and the loop is simple but so effective that's it's now stuck in my head for the next 4 hours.

It took me a few attempts to get my coal usage right, to go the next stage, but I got there eventually.

Good job!
AO-85
AO-8520 Oct 2026, 22:26
I love old racing games. Cool game!
Lucky Racoon21 Oct 2026, 00:48
Fun game! The idea and audio was creative. Felt like I was playing an arcade game.
PurpledArtFrog
PurpledArtFrog21 Oct 2026, 07:41
The absolute best entry I have seen when it comes to the theme. I think it comes with the fact that this resonates with my own age and I remember playing these kinds of games (technically different of course, but the feel is absolutely on point).
Eugenik
Eugenik21 Oct 2026, 12:32
The use of old-school tech constraints really brings the theme to life, and it creates a cool atmosphere for the racing. The balance needed between driving fast and managing the fuel source adds a really unique layer to this pseudo-3D experience.
Tesseract21 Oct 2026, 13:46
Your source code upload doesn't include the header file "LD60.h" (I'm undertaking a probably doomed attempt to build it on Linux).
Lomna
Lomna21 Oct 2026, 15:33
I keep running into the blue car thinking it is coal 😆
cogcomp
cogcompauthor21 Oct 2026, 18:47
@tesseract The LD60.h header file was empty other than a "#pragma once". With a bunch of small tweaks it should be possible to get it working on Linux. Some of the syntax is most likely not 100% gcc/clang compatible. I did make a linux version of "MoruMatrix" https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/morumatrix two jams ago and it uses the same version of raylib.
cogcomp
cogcompauthor21 Oct 2026, 18:47
@tesseract The LD60.h header file was empty other than a "#pragma once". With a bunch of small tweaks it should be possible to get it working on Linux. Some of the syntax is most likely not 100% gcc/clang compatible. I did make a linux version of "MoruMatrix" https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/morumatrix two jams ago and it uses the same version of raylib.

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