Active Meltdown

Head Office's welcome pack for new hires. Some pages are missing. Head Office is aware.

Welcome to

Belmora

Belmora is a big green island far out at sea, with a mountain in the middle that's hollow with ore: copper and clay near the top, stone and iron below, crystal deeper still, and stranger things under that.

The town sits at the mountain's foot: a High Street from the station up to the mine gate, the square with its fountain and Head Office, and the shops. Around it lie the plots the company leases to its miners, joined up by the minecart loop line.

The miners are Square Heads from over the sea. They answer Head Office's advert, cross on the company ferry with a suitcase and a dream of getting rich, and are each given a plot, a copper pickaxe and a badge that says Intern Digger. From there it's up to them.

A miner in the town square, with Head Office's clock tower and the mountain behind it

The company

Head Office

The company that owns the island's mining rights. Its full name is very long and nobody uses it. The people who work for it are Ore Heads, which is where the game gets its name. Head Office isn't evil, only enormous, polite and very fond of forms. It pays fairly, by the kilo, blasts the mines on a schedule to refill them, and sends a report on every shift.

The ten titles

Every miner starts at the bottom and is promoted by Head Office, with a stamp.

  1. Level 1 Intern Digger
  2. Level 10 Probationary Digger
  3. Level 20 Junior Rock Associate
  4. Level 30 Rock Associate
  5. Level 40 Senior Rock Associate
  6. Level 50 Rock Supervisor
  7. Level 60 Blast Foreman
  8. Level 70 Regional Rock Manager
  9. Level 80 Director of Digging
  10. Level 90 Vice President of Rocks
  11. Level 100 Chairman of the Boulder

  • Head Office thanks you for your continued excavation.

  • Please do not dig the lobby.

  • Your enthusiasm has been noted and filed.

Under the mountain

The mines

Three mines are open to staff, each deeper and richer than the last. After every shift the Blast refills them, on Head Office's schedule.

  1. Mine 1

    The Foothill Dig

    The walk-in mine behind the town, at the top of the High Street. Everybody's first shift.

    Holds Copper, clay, tin and coal

  2. Mine 2

    Greystone Deep

    Down the mine line, where the rock turns grey and the pay gets better.

    Holds Stone and iron, slate, silver, limestone and malachite

  3. Mine 3

    The Crystal Caverns

    Caves lit by their own crystal. Bring a lamp anyway.

    Holds Glowing crystal, quartz, azurite and gold

Access restricted Deeper: The Frozen Depths, The Cinder Deep, The Ancient Ruins. Promotion required.

The town

The people

The shopkeepers and staff who keep the town running. They speak in a babble of their own, with what they mean on screen. Their names are still being filed.

  • Staff

    The Tool Smith

    The High Street

    A wall of pickaxes and tools, every one with its price.

  • Staff

    The Ore Buyer

    The Mine Station

    Weighs every haul on the scales and pays by the kilo.

  • Staff

    The HR clerk

    Head Office's counter

    Hands every new hire a badge and a copper pickaxe. Very polite. Has some questions about , when you have a moment.

  • Staff

    The Blast Foreman

    The shift board

    Runs the shift board and the Blast, and is very proud of his whistle.

  • Staff

    The Outfitter

    The Wardrobe

    Hard hats, overalls and the bowler hat, as worn by middle management.

  • Staff

    The Hardware Store, the Builder's Merchant and the Timber Yard

    Around the square

    Everything a plot needs to become a home.

Moving in

New residents on the way, each with a day of their own.

  • Resident

    The old miner

    A bench by the harbor

    Tells stories of the island before Head Office, if you sit long enough.

  • Resident

    The harbormaster

    The harbor and the pier

    Keeps the ferry and the sea in order.

  • Resident

    The fisher

    The pier, the lake and the river

    Will teach anyone to fish.

  • Resident

    The gardener

    The square's flower beds

    Will teach anyone to grow things.

  • Resident

    The postmaster

    The post office

    Delivers letters to every plot's mailbox, and Head Office's paperwork about what you did.

  • Resident

    The night watchman

    The town and the mine gate, at night

    Sees things at night. Won't talk about them.

Incident reports

What lives down there

The town, the plots and the mines are safe. The creatures live deeper, where crews only go if they choose to. Head Office files a report on every one.

On file

Met on the expeditions, which are being built now.

  • A Stonebound: a miner's shape in dark stone, a hard hat on its head, its eyes and cracks glowing amber

    Concept render

    The Stonebound

    Last seen On expeditions

    A miner's shape, in stone. Amber eyes. Hard hat: present.

    Walks straight at you, then brings both fists down.

    Staff are reminded not to ask the Stonebound where they worked before.

  • No photograph on file

    Crystal Mites

    Last seen On expeditions

    Small, quick and many, with crystals that glow.

    Circle, leap and bite. Run when they're the last one left.

    Head Office does not count Crystal Mites. There are too many.

  • No photograph on file

    The Keepers

    Last seen On expeditions

    Statues three metres tall, asleep in alcoves.

    A glyph on the chest lights as one wakes. It slams, sweeps and stomps.

    Do not touch the statues. Do not stand near the statues.

  • No photograph on file

    The Seal Warden

    Last seen At the

    Four and a half metres, on a floating plinth.

    Calls Stonebound out of the walls. Gets worse the longer the fight goes.

    It guards a seal. Head Office would like to know what the seal is for.

Being drawn

The next creatures for the expeditions, drawn and being brought to life.

  • The Glyph Caster: a robed figure floating over a wheel of glyph light

    The Glyph Caster

    Last seen On expeditions

    A robed figure floating over a wheel of glyph light.

    Hangs back and throws slow orbs of light. Shoves off anyone who gets close.

  • The Lantern Wisp: a lantern nobody holds, floating on a tail of light

    The Lantern Wisp

    Last seen On expeditions

    A lantern nobody holds, floating on a tail of light.

    Every creature near it moves quicker and hits harder.

  • The Lurker: a long body of stone plates on many legs

    The Lurker

    Last seen On expeditions

    Twelve plates on 24 legs.

    Lies unseen in the floor until someone walks too close.

  • The Tithe Moth: a moth as big as a person

    The Tithe Moth

    Last seen On expeditions

    As big as a person, shedding dust as it flies.

    Swoops down on a miner and leaves dust that slows whoever stands in it.

Sighted, unconfirmed

For the island at night, which is planned. Head Office has not confirmed any of these.

  • A silhouette of a lean four-legged shape

    Hollow Hounds

    Last seen Outside town, after dark

    No eyes. Hunts by sound, in stop-start dashes.

    Report continues:

  • A silhouette of a stag with branching antlers

    The Hollow Stag

    Last seen Far from town, after dark

    Rare. Antlers like roots, with on every tine.

  • A silhouette of a small body high up on six long legs

    Long-Legs

    Last seen Outside town, after dark

    Six stilts, far taller than a miner. Steps over fences.

    Do not stand under it.

  • No photograph on file

    The Tall Clerk

    Last seen Outside town, after dark

    A Head Office clerk, a metre too tall, with a clipboard.

    Never runs. Always keeps up. Your application is PENDING.

  • No photograph on file

    The Neighbour

    Last seen Outside your plot, all night

    Stands just outside the fence, facing the house.

    Walks off if approached. Has never been seen arriving.

  • No photograph on file

    Sleepwalkers

    Last seen Outside town, after dark

    Square Heads walking slow lines with their eyes shut.

    Identified as:

From the developers

In the works

What's being built for Ore Heads, and what's planned after it. None of it has a date yet, and all of it can still change.

  • In development

    Expeditions

    From Junior Rock Associate, crews of up to four sign up at the Mine Station for expeditions into dungeons under the mines: fresh every run, with creatures, relics, rolled gear and pages of the story to bring back. Pick a difficulty from Routine to Strongly Discouraged.

    Head Office reminds staff that expeditions are voluntary. Please initial here, here and here.

  • In development

    The Ledger

    Every miner's own company ledger: the old tablets found on expeditions with Head Office's translations stamped beside them, the memos from the notice board, and an incident report for every creature you meet. Missing pages show as numbered blanks.

    Keep the schedule.

  • Planned

    The townsfolk

    Every townsperson with a name, a day of their own, things to say that change with what you've done, friendships, and small jobs on the notice board.

    The Timber Yard requires 40 cobblestone. Head Office thanks you in advance.

  • Planned

    The wilds at night

    The town and the plots stay safe. Outside them, after dark, the ground itself brings creatures up. At dawn, something takes them back down. Light keeps them away, and Head Office sells lamps.

    Head Office reminds residents that the island is closed after dark. This is a guideline.

  • Planned

    A silhouette of something very tall on stilts, with too many long arms

    The Old Workings

    A mine from before Head Office's records, forgotten deep under the island and lit only by lanterns. Hard hats, lanterns and lunch tins hang from its timbers by the hundred. Something tall lives at the bottom, and it likes light.

    Lost Property Recovery, Level Minus Nine. Head Office has no record of a mine at this depth. Please return anything you find to Lost & Found. Bring a lantern. Do not let it see the lantern.

Not for circulation

Classified

Memos that slipped out of Head Office. Nobody in town seems to mind any of this. Some of it will make sense later.

  • Head Office has no record of lights inside the mountain on any night.

  • The fountain in the square is working normally. Water running uphill at night is a matter for Maintenance.

  • The founder's portrait in the lobby is years old. Any likeness to the current Chairman is a coincidence.

  • Congratulations on your transfer to the Deep Office. APPROVED. Please do not write.

  • The Blast keeps to the schedule. The schedule must never slip. Thank you for your understanding.

  • Staff who find old carvings are asked not to read them aloud. Count the seals. Keep them .

  • Re: the pool in the . Head Office has no comment. Please stop asking who made this place.

Ore Heads is in development. Names on this page are working names, and everything here can still change. Head Office thanks you for your discretion.

Want to dig first?

Playtests and a Steam page are on the way. They're announced on our Discord first.

Join our Discord activemeltdown@gmail.com

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