14 pictures from the build, in the order they were made, each with its date and a line. The rest stay in the game, where they belong. Click a picture for the full-size original. The game is free at alderhoard.com.
July 18, 2026Zorkdude. The first thing drawn, before there was a valley to stand in: hat, lantern, a sword on his back.July 20, 2026Brit, two days later, floating. She wore the pyjamas for six weeks before she got her kit.August 29, 2026Original concept art for the moon cavern.August 31, 2026Within a couple of days of thinking about building a game, I decided it would be a simple valley adventure but with actual arcade cabinets in it.September 2, 2026The name, cut in slate. The game's masthead, and the one banner on this page.September 2, 2026Brit's kit, front and back: helmet, jerkin, the sword. Every later Brit was drawn from this.September 4, 2026The good dog gets told he is a good dog. Chickens watch.September 4, 2026The garden's animals, frame by frame: the dog, a hen, a chick. This is what the game draws from.September 5, 2026Zorkdude as he is now. Compare July.September 5, 2026Brit as she is now, in the kit.September 13, 2026Four arrows and a space. The whole control scheme, as a wordmark.September 17, 2026We drew him pointing in 4 different directions. You'll figure out why when you play Contraption.September 18, 2026Mars, the pad: one quarter of the crater, painted September 16 and patched at its seams since.September 18, 2026Brit sits with a capybara by the river. First painted August 31 in the pyjamas, repainted in her kit. You can do this in the valley. Nothing happens, and that is the point.
