Ludwig

Ludwig is a story-driven game about a small research robot searching for new forms of energy. In 2098, Ludwig and his spaceship arrive in the Solar System, where humanity has left Earth for space colonies. His maps do not show the colonies, and he crashes into Physis, a station with a billion inhabitants, damaging its protective cover and his ship. Ludwig then crash-lands on Earth, and you must help him get his spaceship working in time to save Physis and provide energy knowledge to his home planet, the Robotronics.

Explore and investigate

You explore four connected environments: the spaceship’s crash site, an enormous dam, snowy and icy terrain crossed by balloon, and an almost endless desert. Along the way, you find components and construction plans to make gadgets that supply Ludwig with energy.

Ludwig uses a scanner to find and analyse physical phenomena. The knowledge he discovers is stored in a knowledgebase that begins as an empty concept map and gradually fills with information about physics and renewable energy. You use this knowledge to solve puzzles and uncover the laws of physics on Earth.

Learn about energy

As the story progresses, Ludwig learns about human technologies and advances through a technology tree, starting with combustion and moving on to renewable energy. Each of the four themed worlds focuses on a different topic: combustion, water power, wind energy or solar energy.

Each world also has a laboratory minigame that demonstrates its central concepts, such as how a pumped-storage power station works or where to place windmills for efficient energy output. The educational activities are integrated into the ongoing gameplay rather than separated into distinct learning or assessment sections.

Story and content

The game’s story spans more than 8 hours. It was developed with physics teachers, pupils and educators, and includes didactic materials for use in schools.