// Solo dev project — Southern New Mexico

Dead Sands

Something is wrong beneath the desert sands.

Survival Horror  ·  Open World  ·  In Development

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01 — About the Game

What Waits
in the Heat

Dead Sands is a survival horror game set across the desolate basin and range country of Southern New Mexico — a land of brutal sun, ancient silence, and things that should not exist.

You are stranded. Your vehicle is gone. The nearest town is a two-day walk across open desert — if the desert were safe. It is not.

Manage heat, thirst, and exposure while investigating the disappearances that have plagued this stretch of land for decades. The danger is real. The landscape is your enemy as much as anything else.

Built by a solo developer, learning in public. Every location, mechanic, and horror is a work in progress — and this site is where you can follow along.

Solo
Developer — Learning as I go
NM
Setting — Southern New Mexico desert
WIP
Status — Early development
Open
To community location suggestions

02 — Development Log

What's
Been Built

// Entry 001 — April 2026
The Desert Takes Shape

The project is officially underway. Initial development environment is set up. Got a startup framework set up using Claude to get me started. You've found the website for the project, and the subreddit is reddit.com/r/deadsands. Check back often for updates.

World Building Engine Setup

// More entries will appear as development progresses. Check back.

03 — Community

Know a
Cursed Place?

Southern New Mexico is full of strange, forgotten, and unsettling real locations. If you know somewhere — an abandoned structure, a remote stretch of road, a place with a dark history — submit it below. Good ideas may appear in the game.

// Submissions are read personally. No spam, no mailing list.
✓   Transmission received. If your location makes it into the game, you'll hear from us.