itch.io

Depletion Verge is a minimalist 3D exploration game. You play as a blue geometric fish wandering an infinite, procedurally generated city. I recently removed the old web version (it was a bit of a mess, built in JS). But I'm happy to announce a complete rework is landing this weekend, built with Kotlin and WebGPU.

What's new?

· Brand-new rendering engine (bye-bye WebGL, hello WebGPU).

· Octree-based infinite world generation (like Minecraft).

· Main menu & achievement fixes based on feedback.

Why post here?

I'm looking for help! I want to add player-named achievements. If you have a cool idea, drop it here. If I like it, you'll see your name in the game.

Feedback is pure gold.

Testers have been brutally honest, and I love it. My current focus is fixing grey buildings and weird animations. If you want to join the chaos, I've set up a Discord (there's a bot I built in half a day—it can't read commands, but it exists).

You can play the new version this weekend via the link below!

https://itch.io/embed/4118615

Thanks for this — I'll look into chunk systems and octree. I've been using a basic chunk system already, but it's not fully optimized yet. Perlin noise for terrain is something I've thought about, but I'm holding off for now. You're right about scope creep — I'll focus on the core first and come back to this later. Thanks for the direction.

Which version were you playing — web or desktop? If desktop — thank you for downloading it. 

That means a lot. If web — that's an old build. I'm updating it next week.

Just to be clear — I'm not asking to blame you for not downloading the desktop version. I just want to know which build you saw, so I know what I'm fixing.

About the city boundary: You're right — the city isn't truly endless. It generates buildings within a certain radius around the player.

 I limited it because if I generated too many buildings, the resource pool would overflow and the game would crash. The "infinite green world" after the city stops is just the ground plane. It's not a feature — it's a limitation. 

 I'm working on a better chunk system that keeps generating as you walk. It won't be truly infinite, but it will feel much larger than the current version. Thanks for walking that far. That's more than most people do.

Hey, I remember this one.

 Quick update on a few things: 

 - Key rebinding is already in. v.999-snapshot2 has it. I know it took a while, but it's there now.

 - The buildings in that old video were real — that was the Godot version. The current version also has real buildings (and procedural city generation), though it's still rough and stutters at the start. - The hand-drawn style in the video... I made that in Moho. My drawing skills are not great. A kid could probably do better. But it's what I had at the time. - Aliasing — yeah, it's probably worse now with the new engine. But I'll fix it. Not being mysterious

Thanks for this — and I think I've seen you around on Discord too. 

Appreciate you taking the time to write here. You're right about the web version. 

I keep saying "not yet" and that's on me. I don't have a solid date yet, but I'll give one once I'm past the current crashes. And the GIF suggestion — I'll do that this week. 

Even a short clip of the fish walking and the city generating would be better than nothing. Thanks again for the honest feedback.

I'm alive. The game is alive. I didn't disappear. I collected a lot of feedback. A lot of "complaints" — fair ones. 

So I took them seriously. I spent two weeks rewriting the entire engine and the game from scratch. That's the fastest I've ever worked. The result is v.999-snapshot2. There's still a small hurdle to play — not a gate I built on purpose, just something the rewrite generated. I'll smooth it out. I also made a tiny launcher that checks for Java 21+ and downloads it if needed. 

 Web version? Not yet. If I made one now, I'd probably collapse. So please be patient. If you have a moment, download it. 

Give it a try. Let me know what breaks. That's how this gets better. ---

 🔧 What's new in v.999-snapshot2

 - Engine rewritten — Depletion Verge now runs on Pinchlg Bloom (Kotlin + Vulkan + LWJGL) - Background blur on the menu - City generation is back (stutters at start — I know, I'm working on it) 

- Key rebinding (thanks to a mysterious tip) - Launcher included (checks Java, downloads it, starts the game — or just double-click the .jar if you prefer) --- 

 ❓ The TIGSource thing

 I posted on TIGSource as soon as I registered. I was excited. 

But my avatar is a giant baby head and I feel like everyone sees me as a "noob."   (+_+)?

 I also checked Google Analytics. People are clicking through from TIGSource. But the retention rate is 0%. Exactly 0. So I'm asking — how do I actually get people to stay? What works? What should I change? Any advice is welcome. I'll follow it immediately. 

 🎮 Play here:

https://pinchlg.itch.io/depletion-verge

I'm using Kotlin for Bloom. Same language as before, but now it's all my own code — no engine wrapper, no external framework. 

Just Kotlin + LWJGL + Vulkan. The triangle on screen is written in Kotlin. So is the GLTF loader, the input system, the camera movement — everything. It's not fast yet. But it's mine.

Thanks for reading — and for the questions. I'll try to answer them clearly. 

 1. I'm making both. A game called Depletion Verge, and an engine called Bloom to run it. They're built together. 

 2. Kool Engine is an engine made by Fabmax. I used it for a long time, and I respect him. But I wanted more control, so I started OpenDE based on Kool — then deleted it because I regretted the path. That's where the "lost everything" part came from. 

 3. Depletion Verge is the game — a sailfish walking on land. LWJGL is the library I use for OpenGL/Vulkan bindings. 

 4. The logo is not "penie" — it's a stylized "DE" from Depletion Verge. I'll take the feedback though, maybe it needs a redesign. 

 5. How I lost the code: I deleted it by mistake, and emptied the recycle bin without checking. No one to blame but myself. 

 6. Yes — I'm making backups now. Learned that lesson the hard way. 

 7. Bloom is written in Kotlin. Same as before, but now it's my own code from scratch. Thanks for asking. That alone helps.

I'm not here to promote anything. This is a record of where my project stopped, and where it might start again. I started Depletion Verge over a year ago. A sailfish walking on land. No HUD, no goals, just an endless city. 

 Then I lost the source code. I lost the engine. I lost everything in one night. I tried to build my own engine (OpenDE) based on Kool Engine. 

I have respect for Fabmax. But I regret it. I deleted OpenDE. I didn't open-source it. That was the low point. Now I'm starting over — with a new engine called Bloom. It's built from scratch with Kotlin, Vulkan, and LWJGL. No Unity. No Unreal. No Kool. Just my own code. It's still early. Right now there is only a triangle on screen. But that triangle is mine. It compiles. It runs.

 It's the first step. I'm not asking for money or followers. I just want to put this out there. If a few kind people see this and say "keep going" — that would already mean a lot. One year gone. But maybe the next one will be better.

Hey, thanks for playing and writing all this — this is exactly the kind of feedback I need. 

 You're right about most of it: not much to do yet, buildings have no collision on web, and A/D strafing doesn't work. About A/D — I intentionally left it out.

 A fish walking sideways just looks weird.

 So it's W/S forward/back, and mouse to turn. I know it feels off if you're used to standard FPS controls, but that's the design choice for now. 

 The red light not doing anything — fair point.

 I'll think about it. And yes, jumping is in but there's no real use for it yet. 

That's on me. The game loop is supposed to be: find the helicopter and leave the city. 

That's not in yet. It's coming in the next version. If you're curious, you can follow the progress on Discord: https://discord.gg/eKzfmrgU5B Thanks again for the honest breakdown. 

It helps more than you think.

Web version just got a small fix (achievement popups don't jump around anymore). Still no version number — I don't feel confident enough to give it one yet. Maybe someday.

Also... I forgot to include the character animations in the web build. They're in the JVM version, just not on web. So if you're not afraid of Java (or you already have it from Minecraft), you can download the desktop version and see the fish actually move properly.

Other than that, JVM and web are pretty much the same. Not much difference.

And hey — I have a Discord server. The game is rough, sure, but that doesn't mean the server has to sit there gathering dust. Even if you just want to chat about something else, you're welcome to hang out.

Web: https://depletion-verge.pages.dev

itch.io: https://pinchlg.itch.io/depletion-verge 

Discord: https://discord.gg/eKzfmrgU5B

If you have a minute, feel free to leave a comment or rating on the itch.io page. It helps more than you think.

Thanks for reading. The fish is watching. (◐‿◑)

Oh and by the way — you can press the apostrophe key (') to switch camera angles and actually see the sailfish. And the minus key (-) toggles free camera mode. So you can watch yourself walk around in the wilderness. Not that it gives you something to do... but at least you can see the fish.

Same Discord if you want to mess around with more hidden stuff: https://discord.gg/eKzfmrgU5B

Thanks for the detailed breakdown - this is exactly the kind of truth I need.

About the collisions: you're right, the web version currently has no collision. That's because the web build doesn't support PhysX yet. The JVM desktop version does have full collision (buildings are solid). I'm looking for a way to fix this on web.

Z-fighting on roads and no strafing (A/D) - noted. Those will be fixed.

And yes, it's not very interesting right now. That's what the helicopter update is for.

If you want to follow the progress or tell me more about what sucks, feel free to join my Discord: https://discord.gg/eKzfmrgU5B

Thanks again for playing and writing this. It helps.

Helicopter is literally the next thing on my list. v999. I promise. And thanks for the 8/10 — that means a lot  (#^.^#)

I'm back. 7 months ago I posted a prototype. No one played it. No one replied. (maybe)

I deserved it — the game had no core mechanic, required Java, and my page said nothing. So I listened. Here's what changed: 

Web version is LIVE No download. No Java. Just click and play (WebGPU required — Chrome/Edge 113+) 

New description No more "just walk". Now it says: a sailfish. An endless city. 6 achievements. A helicopter someday. 

Same game, two ways to play Desktop (Java 21+): https://pinchlg.itch.io/depletion-verge Web (browser): https://depletion-verge.pages.dev (also playable directly on the itch.io page)

I'm here to fix my game,  and find "destroy"... (￣y▽,￣)╭ 

Thank you again. You're right — I've been thinking "I'll wait until the next build" for too long. I needed to hear that it never ends.

About the .exe: right now the game is built with Kool Engine + Kotlin, which runs on JVM. I don't have a standalone .exe at the moment. That's why I'm working on a web version (WebGPU + WASM) — so people can play without downloading anything or worrying about Java.

But you're right. I'll stop waiting. I'll keep the current version up, and keep working toward something that runs more easily.

Once the web version or a standalone build is ready, I'll let you know. 

Thanks for the honest reality check — I really appreciate it.

You're absolutely right about the HTML5 issue. That's why I'm already working on a web version (WebGPU + WASM) to remove the Java/download barrier. It's not ready yet, but it's my top priority.

Thanks again for the honest feedback. 

Thanks again for the detailed feedback — seriously, this is the most useful reply I've gotten.

You're right about the page being unclear. I want to update it to explain the game better, but that new version isn't ready yet. So I haven't changed the page — I don't want to promise something that doesn't exist in the current build.

Once the next version is ready (with a proper goal), I'll rewrite the page and replace the video.

Thanks for being patient and honest. It helps a lot.

Hey, I tested your Rabbit Rocket Race as you said. Here's my honest feedback: 

 1. Language: English only. It would be nice to have other languages in the future. 

 2. Flying issue: I couldn't figure out how to keep flying. Maybe the controls aren't clear? 

It's a rocket but I couldn't stay in the air. 

 3. Some small things could be optimized, but overall it's not bad. Hope this helps. Good luck with your game. 

 Also, since you said you'd test mine if I test yours

Thanks!

Thanks! this is actually the first real feedback I've ever received. You have no idea how much this means to me.

About the "can't see my fish body" thing — yeah, that's on me. I forgot to mention in the post that you can press F5 to switch camera, and C to zoom in POV. So the fish is there... just hiding like a ninja.

But you're right — even if you see it, it's still pretty boring right now. No goal, no pressure, no reason to keep walking. A fish with nowhere to go.

Still, the fact that you mentioned the infinite city + chunk loading reminds you of Minecraft — that actually made my day. Maybe this weird fish thing has a pulse after all.

I'm already working on a web version (WebGPU + WASM), and I'll also try to add the dumbest, smallest goal possible. Like "find water" or "reach that weird building". Something. Anything.

If you ever feel like pressing F5 and C for 30 seconds just to confirm that yes, it's really a fish walking on land — I'd be forever grateful.

Find player or feedback

itch.io project link: https://pinchlg.itch.io/depletion-verge

Hi (｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ, I'm Pinchlg, the developer of Depletion Verge.

7 months ago I made a prototype about a sailfish walking on land. No HUD. No goals. No tutorial. No health bar. No timer. Just a fish in an endless modern city.

I posted it on itch.io and got zero downloads, zero replies, zero feedback for 7 whole months.

So now I'm posting here in the community, hoping that at least one person can play for 1 minute and tell me two things:

First, is it boring? How long did you last before closing it? 30 seconds? 1 minute? Or did you not even want to open it?

Second, is it broken? It runs fine on my computer, but I don't know if it works on other people's computers. If you see a black screen, crash, lag, or anything wrong, please tell me.

What I don't need is "good luck" or "nice art" because right now there is basically no art. It's just a simple prototype.

What I do need is very simple: play for 1 minute or even just 30 seconds, then reply one short line like "boring, I closed it" or "it crashed when I tried to walk" or "it actually runs fine but I felt nothing".

That's it. That alone is already huge help for me.

About the game: you are a sailfish walking on land. Endless modern city. No goals. Controls are WASD to move.

Thank you for reading. Even just one reply means a lot to me.

System requirement:

Java 21 required (...) Yes, this fish needs Java 21 or higher to walk on land. Blame the Kool Engine + Kotlin + LWJGL combo. Download Java here if you don't have it: https://adoptium.net/

BUT I'm fixing my mistake: I'm already working on a web version with WebGPU + WASM. Soon™ you'll be able to play in browser, no Java, no download, no suffering.

Until then... sorry about the Java thing (￣▽￣)"