Operation: Forge the Deep

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Operation: Forge the Deep is an unconventional puzzle and simulation experience that combines fictional adventure with legitimate scientific concepts. Developed by BYU Materials Innovation Lab and published by BYU Mechanical Engineering, the game approaches materials science through interactive challenges rather than presenting it as a traditional academic subject. Its strongest distinguishing feature is the connection between its puzzles and scientific research, creating an experience that feels partly like an educational game, partly like a citizen-science project, and partly like a story-driven engineering adventure. It is certainly not designed as a conventional blockbuster, but its unusual purpose gives it an identity that is difficult to confuse with most other games on Steam. The story takes place during a devastating new ice age in which extreme cold has created serious problems for civilization. Energy is increasingly important as communities struggle to produce enough heat to survive. The narrative focuses on Reggie, an inventor whose family is experiencing these difficulties firsthand. His invention eventually becomes connected to a much larger effort to solve the crisi…

If it clicks for you and is enjoyable, great! I didn't find the puzzles interesting enough to delve deeper. The voicing needs a bit of volume correction. Otherwise neat concept.

This game is addictive. The puzzle solving nature of the game is intriguing and I have not come across another spatial awareness style of puzzle game like this before. It's interesting to learn about materials science while solving puzzles. I just "beat the computer" on a level, and that was pretty exhilirating. It did force me to move onto another puzzle after that though, so that was troublesome. Some of the controls are finicky, like when I first learned to rotate i instantly went into a really fast spin when i pressed the a or d key. and sometimes dialogue comes up and closes before I have a chance to read it, so i'm not sure what information was being shared.

I really like this game, though I don't play it much because at the end of a frustrating/stressful day, the last thing I want to do is think (monkey brain want smash smash). From the comments, it seems that a lot of people don't understand the physics/atomic level interactions that are being modeled here, so let me take a stab at clearing that confusion: in metals, every grain (cube in the game) has an affect on every other cube in some finite way. However, due to this interaction, as the number of grains increase, the complexity of the system becomes exponentially more complex. As such, this is what is considered an NP hard problem, in algorithms. What makes NP hard problems such a nuisance is that it's hypothetically possible for a computer to come to the best solution, but only if given an infinite time in which it can exhaustively try every single option and compare. In the case of a game like this where the cubes rotate on an analog axes, that means that there are an infinite number of rotations PER CUBE. Additionally, some of you may be saying, "well, there are algorithms that can find solutions without having to test every single solution", and to that, you would be correct…

I don't quite understand how it actually contributes to science but if that claim is true that's about the only real positive I have. The UI isn't very visually appealing or intuitive, controls are wonky and the "auto" feature basically just... completes the puzzle for you? The story is cool but it doesn't really make up for the clunky gameplay. I'm not a fan of limited moves either just because I feel it would be more enjoyable to be able to tinker and get the highest score possible. That, and it's a little difficult to use just the mouse to get the degree of rotation you intend on. I like the idea of real-world science applying to a puzzle game, that is something I'd like to see more of. The 3D puzzle is cool, the story intrigued me (always have a soft spot for post-apocalyptic themes) but overall I didn't enjoy it all that much. Not something I'd spend more than a couple dollars on but not bad for a free game.