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Route magical energy through a fantasy utility a mid-level employee.
Released 01 Oct 2026
Route magical energy through a fantasy utility a mid-level employee. Connect resources to consumers, manage complaints, and maintain the flow in this comedic puzzle-strategy game set in a mundane, magickal world. The benefits are not great, but neither is the pay! Welcome to the team!
Developed by Shawn Rider · Published by Shawn Rider
Arcana, Gas & Waterworks Inc. has about 1 positive and 1 negative player review out of a total 2. We'll add a detailed breakdown here when there are more reviews.
"Keeping the mana flowing since 643 A.O."
You've just been hired at AG&W Inc, the municipal utility company responsible for delivering magical energy, gas, and water to every town, tower, dungeon, and dragon's lair in the region. Your job is to lay the ley lines, pipe the pipe networks, and route the resources to the right customers. Your job title is provisional. Your desk is shared.
Nobody thanks you when things work, but everyone blames you when they don't.
Connect sources to consumers across hex-grid maps
Manage 5 energy types: Arcana, Fire, Water, Earth, and Gas
Build relay stations, splitters, transformers, batteries, and filters
Watch your network come alive with glowing neon energy flows (then watch a dragon submit a three-page grievance about delivery temperature)
Balance budgets while keeping customers satisfied
Handle escalating complaints from pixies, gnomes, dwarves, and dungeon lords
Discover energy interactions — some helpful, some explosive
Navigate 19 hand-crafted campaign scenarios across 6 career tiers
Start as a New Employee, rise to Chief of Reclamation
Unlock new components and abilities as you progress
Earn promotions by completing increasingly complex operations
Discover the dark secrets lurking in the company's past
CRT terminal aesthetic with phosphor glow and scanlines
Classic OS-inspired desktop hub
WynnAmp 2.7.3 music player
Fantasy world corporate satire laced with a mysterious meta-narrative
19 campaign scenarios with hand-crafted puzzles
Procedurally generated freelance operations for endless endgame replayability
15 Steam achievements
Full keyboard rebinding
Supports accessible gaming settings
Arcana, Gas & Waterworks Inc. is a loving tribute to infrastructure games, 90s operating systems, and corporate bureaucracy.
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 23 |
| Age ratings |
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| Controller required | No |
| Demo | View demo on Steam |
| DLC / extras | 1 listed on Steam |
| AI disclosure | Arcana, Gas & Waterworks Inc. was made by a single developer responsibly using Claude Code in my IDE (Nova by Panic) to write Lua source code and help me navigate the process of building and releasing a game on Steam. I designed and refined the gameplay myself with help from friends playing offering input. I wrote all of the dialog, messages, text, and more. I created the sequence of Operations, designed each puzzle, added funny names to each resource and consumer, and coordinated all of the narrative unlocks that happen throughout the gameplay. I designed all of the interfaces using Photoshop and Illustrator. All music was licensed from REAL INDIE MUSICIANS, who did NOT use generative AI in any way, and who are credited in the game. They worked hard on some tracks just for the game, and their human contributions should not be devalued. I recorded the narrative audio clips and modified them using traditional sound design techniques (modulation, pitch, etc.) in Logic Pro. I worked on the release version of the game from January 2026 until October 2026. Most of that time was spent refining gameplay interfaces and systems while filling in all of the many narrative elements and game assets. I have tried in the past to build full games, but this is the first time I've ever been able to get all the way. If I hadn't had a tool to help me get through the difficult nuts and bolts of the process and build I'm sure I never would have gotten here. My hope is to keep on creating unique and quirky games, and I hope others do, too. I'd love to see the diversity and range in games that we see in novels (and increasingly in movies and video). -- Shawn (a real human) |
| AI disclosure categories |
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| Website | Official website |
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