Madrid, 14 October 2024. BeriaLabs Games, a one-person video game studio in Madrid, published its first game, ÓRBITA: Bingo roguelite, on Steam on Wednesday 14 October. It is a single-player turn-based strategy game for Windows and Linux, developed solo with the help of a small group of testers. One day after the launch, on 15 October, its first update, version 4.9.31, arrived, prepared based on feedback from the first players.
A bingo card converted into a strategy board
ÓRBITA takes the bingo card and turns it into a board. Instead of waiting for numbers to be called, the player chooses balls from a tray. The marks remain on the card from one hand to the next, so the game consists of setting up rows, columns, and diagonals over several hands to complete them all at once. Before each move, the game shows the exact score that will be obtained, without estimates: the figure seen is the one that is added. There is no clock or countdown, and each decision can be considered calmly.
Each run goes through 30 stations spread across 5 rooms. Along the way, power-ups are collected, 60 in total, which change the way points are scored, and 15 guardians appear, each with their own rule that alters the board. There is a daily seed, the same for everyone, runs with a chosen seed, and an endless orbit to keep playing after winning. For those starting out, the game includes a 5-step guide and an explanatory mode with on-screen aids.
A quiet launch
ÓRBITA is the first game its author has published, and the launch has been discreet: as of 15 October, it had 118 copies sold and 10 reviews on Steam, all positive. In those first few days, the most useful input has been the comments from those who have played it. "Thanks to everyone who has played ÓRBITA since the launch and taken the time to write to us. This update comes from what you told us," say the version 4.9.31 release notes.
The first update, made from player feedback
A player pointed out on Steam that some tooltips appeared with part of the text in Spanish when the game was in another language, and that they found the interface cluttered. Another asked for easier-to-read text for the store's power-ups. Version 4.9.31, published on 15 October, responds to these comments:
- Translated tooltips in full. The FREE SPACE box and the explanatory mode tray were mixing Spanish text with the chosen language. These were corrected and all tooltips in the nine languages were then reviewed.
- SIMPLE interface. A new option, under Options → Movement, which removes the decorations from the table, the store, and the path (the illustrated background, the bingo machine, the lever, the rivets, and the shadows) and the empty labels, and lowers the visual effects. All game information remains visible and no figures or rules change. By default, the game remains in FULL.
- COMFORTABLE card text, under Options → Game: clearer font and more spacing to read the effect of each power-up under its card in the store.
- "Thanks to the community": a new section in the credits for those who help improve the game. Only the name of those who give their permission is added.
How it is made
ÓRBITA is developed with Godot 4.3, the open-source engine, and its GDScript language. The rules live in a deterministic core: the forecast seen before playing is calculated by the same engine without touching the game state, and automatic tests verify that what is added always matches what was predicted. The entire interface is drawn in code, and the trailer was recorded with Godot's Movie Maker from actual game states.
The game is in nine languages: Spanish from Spain and Latin America, English, Brazilian Portuguese, German, French, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese, the last two with their own fonts. It can be played entirely with a controller, and the testing team has played it on Steam Deck.
On the use of artificial intelligence
Its author explains it like this:
On AI: some of the art is AI-generated (many power-up cards, almost all guardian portraits, and story illustrations), as is the music (made with ACE-Step). The texts and the 9 translations have AI assistance, and I program the game with AI agents (Claude and Codex) which I direct and review. The balls, bingo machines, mechanical guardians, and some power-ups are Blender renders, the interface is drawn in code, and sound effects are synthesised by script. During the game, nothing is generated with AI.
Price and availability
ÓRBITA: Bingo roguelite is on sale on Steam for Windows and Linux for 8.19 € (8.99 USD). It launched with a 10% launch discount during its first week, until 21 October.
- ÓRBITA's Steam page
- Game website
- Press kit, with logos, capsules, screenshots, and trailers in the nine languages
About BeriaLabs Games
BeriaLabs Games is a one-person video game studio based in Madrid. ÓRBITA: Bingo roguelite is its first game. Press contact: press@berialabs.com.