Solstice Protocol: A Puzzle Adventure to Save the Longest Day

kiran — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 10:46:32 +0000

This is a submission for the June Solstice Game Jam

Solstice Protocol is a sci-fi puzzle adventure where players pilot a repair drone through the ancient Helios Solar Facility. A catastrophic system failure is causing daylight to disappear, and unless the facility is repaired before sunset, the world will be plunged into permanent darkness.

Players must explore multiple sectors of the facility and repair corrupted solar nodes while a global Daylight Protocol meter continuously drains. Every puzzle solved restores daylight and brings the system closer to stabilization.

The game combines exploration, problem-solving, cryptography, binary logic, and programming concepts into a single mission inspired by the June Solstice theme of light, darkness, time, and transformation.

Core Features

Real-time daylight countdown system
Multi-sector facility exploration
Logic sequence puzzles
Binary accumulator challenges
Programming debugging puzzles
Turing-inspired cipher decryption challenges
Gemini Oracle hint system
Dynamic victory and failure states
Sci-fi atmosphere and world-building

** Video Demo**

https://youtu.be/4edt1JkrK6E

The video demonstrates:

Drone movement and exploration
Daylight countdown system
Puzzle solving
Gemini Oracle interactions
Sector progression
Solar Core restoration sequence
Final victory sequence

Code

GitHub Repository:

https://github.com/kiranbasnal9876/solstice-protocol-game

Playable Version:

https://kiranbasnal9876.github.io/solstice-protocol-game/

How I Built It

The game was built as a browser-based JavaScript project using a modular scene architecture.

Puzzle Design

The facility contains four different puzzle systems:
Solar Alignment Sequence
Players identify number patterns and predict the next value.
Binary Solar Coupler
Players activate binary switches to match a target decimal value.
Solar Kernel Debugger
Players inspect code snippets and identify logical programming errors.

Turing Enigma Decryptor

Players decrypt encoded words using Caesar-shift cryptography inspired by Alan Turing's work in codebreaking.

Daylight System

A central gameplay mechanic is the Daylight Protocol meter. Daylight continuously drains as the player explores the facility. Successfully repairing nodes restores daylight, creating constant tension and urgency.

Gemini Oracle

The Gemini Oracle acts as the facility's AI assistant. Players can interact with it to receive contextual hints, learn about the facility, and access information about Alan Turing and the Solstice Protocol.

Theme Inspiration

The June Solstice marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. I wanted to transform that concept into gameplay by making daylight itself the resource players must protect.

As the facility fails, daylight fades. Every repaired node becomes a fight to preserve the longest day.

Prize Category

Best Ode to Alan Turing

Alan Turing's influence is woven directly into the gameplay.

The game includes:

Cipher decryption challenges
Binary conversion puzzles
Debugging exercises
Turing Archive lore entries

These mechanics celebrate the foundations of computer science, cryptography, and logical reasoning pioneered by Turing.

Best Google AI Usage

The Gemini Oracle serves as the Helios Facility's onboard AI assistant.

Players can interact with the Oracle to:

Request hints
Learn about facility systems
Explore lore
Discover information about Alan Turing
Receive gameplay assistance

The Oracle was designed as both a gameplay feature and an immersive narrative component.

Final Thoughts

First, I'd like to apologize for submitting close to the deadline. I spent most of my available time polishing the gameplay, puzzles, atmosphere, and overall experience of Solstice Protocol, and I wanted to share the best version I could create.

This project was built with a lot of enthusiasm around the June Solstice theme, combining daylight preservation, puzzle-solving, cryptography, programming concepts, and sci-fi storytelling into a single experience.

I would be very grateful if the judges and community could take a look at the project and provide feedback. As a developer, this challenge was a great opportunity to learn, experiment, and push myself to build something creative from scratch.

If there are any issues with the submission or if I missed any requirement, please let me know. I appreciate your time and consideration, and I hope you enjoy exploring the Helios Solar Facility and helping save the longest day.

Thank you for reviewing Solstice Protocol.

DEV Community: kiran

Solstice Protocol: A Puzzle Adventure to Save the Longest Day