Hourglass Uprising

THE GAME

Place your thumb on the scale of probability as The Conductor.

Everyone knows the city isn’t natural, but no one remembers why it was built. Generations have lived, loved, toiled, schemed, and died in the city without ever setting foot on true solid ground.

Based on Metropolis and Oceans 11 the world of Hourglass Uprising is a single city state where the Haves live at the top beneath the sky and everyone else is permitted to live in the cavers below. The game play is one part Chrono Ark and one part Etryian Odyssey, all glued together on backing of lo-fi, electro-swing, and magical speakeasy vibes.

I made this in early 2025 after playing Chrono Ark. I absolutely loved the combat system and was fascinated by all the tricks they used to create amazing animations with just a handful of static 2D hero shots for each character but I wasn’t a huge fan of the traversal mechanic between battles. A few months after beating the game I was listening to some electro-swing and trying Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl on a friend’s recommendation and the idea for Hourglass just sparked and wouldn’t leave me alone until I at least made a rough build of it. I would love to come back to this game but I am not nearly talented enough to draw these beautiful characters. I worked with some amazing freelancers to make the first few characters and hope to work with them again on this!