Proto Zero - NEW DEMO
A downloadable New-Gen Action Game for Windows
NEW DEMO
INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES:
- Changed UI (Upper Right Corner is WIP)
COMBAT CHANGES:
- Changed Jumping Right Arm Attack (Player)
- Changed behavior of failed juggle state of Dop-E
- Changed pushback on enemies
- Altered CQC - RC's movement patterns
- Improved Enemy Clustering
- Added new Healing Move for Dop-EXL
The Story:
A young man wakes up, trapped in some sort of metal coffin. He busts open through the door and finds himself trapped in some strange mega structure. Surrounded by strange and dangerous mechanical beings called "AUTOS" that want him dead, the only thing he can recall from his identity is a simple name yelled out by the teleprompter "FLESH SUBJECT ESCAPED. NAME; YUUTO."
Take control of Yuuto, and find out what has happened to this mechanical void of a world during his slumber.
The AUTOS:
Beings made of mechanical parts. The name is actually an abbreviation of their full name, "Autonomous Universal Turing Objects."
Dop-E:
A persistent AUTO with simpleton ai made of refined scrap metal that chases you down and can heal other nearby alleys at times. Though they don't take much to kill, they are quite a handful to deal with in groups. Basic strategy is to group them up and dispose of them with one blow, especially before they start gathering around.
Dop-E XL:
The larger variant of the original Dop-E, with the same simple protocol; if it sees you, it will rush punch you at full force. These giants are made of more refined scraps, though at a loss of their basic mobility
TetsuGyo:
An AUTO made from scrap metals, but with a more sophisticated set of attack protocols. It's strange projectiles can be reflected back or used to gain more energy.
CQC - RC (In-Demo):
Said to have come from long lost technologies, these AUTOs were refined down from massive bi-ped machines piloted by "the Flesh". It's full name is known as the "REFINED CORE." It is an absolute masterclass unit at close quarters combat, so proceed with caution. Bait out attacks with evasive maneuvers and counter attack after certain strikes.
How To Play
(STILL CURRENTLY NOT MAPPED FOR KEYBOARD CONTROLS):
START = PAUSE
Left Joystick = Move
Right Joystick = Look
A = Jump
B = Dash
X = Left Arm
Y = Right Arm
LT = Left Leg
RT = Right Leg
LB = Alt Button
RB = Alternate Focus/Camera Persepective
Explanations:
Severity:
The higher severity you have, the more difficult the game will be. Enemies become more aggressive and faster.
Charged Attacks:
Charged attacks are available after holding the designated ligament buttons for a short time. Holding a charge button will rid that limb of free use unless the button is released, initiating the Charged Attack.
Free Chaining:
Almost all attacks go into one another, regardless of limb or attack strength. Charged attacks can also be cancelled into or out of the chain.
POWER Moves:
Moves only available with a full power bar. Current 4 Power Moves
D-pad Up - Speed Up
D-pad Down - Healing Explosion
D-pad Left - Attack Power Increased
D-Pad Right: Spawn Proton Orbs
The more severity you have, the more potent the effects of each power up.
Please let me know what you guys think about this build of the game. UI might not be working properly on the homescreen, so alt+f4 to close the game.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- STEAM SET-UP AND UPDATE16 hours ago
- Ranked 1st place in the 220 Jam on Itch for fun!4 days ago
Comments
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I enjoyed the demo it has a suda-esque direction that i love tho i have too some critics.
Overall the combat mechanics are fun especially how you chain attacks and the feedback is satisfying but the character movements feel floaty and lack weight when you run and rotate it doesn't feel natural like he is not connected to the ground
The shaky camera help indicate a good punch but when you fight multiple enemies close its hard to read their move or your own move as it shakes a bit too much when you try to punch consecutively i think a balance need to be found with the amount and usage for example maybe a very light shake for combo starters/ light attack and a stronger shake for a finisher
Enemies sometimes stunlock you too much at point you can't move or flee effectively there was times when i got ganked and couldn't flee or get up leading to a very VERY quick death which lead back to what i said first about movement being floaty it it make dodging harder than it need to be and not quite satisfying
Honestly the game is pretty solid , its optimized and fluid (on my 3070 at least), the art direction and designs are good and it has that passionate inspired ps2/xbox era vibe experimentation (in a GOOD WAY) that we critically need back nowadays , the music is funky and is a good addition to the combat and fighting mechanics despite the current flaws are fun and have good potential !
Keep up the good work
Thank you very much for playing and thanks for your input. Also saw someone from the comments have the issue of stun lock enemy groups. Will adjust AI behavior according to those comments.
Camera Shake will be adjusted to not be so strong during crowd control encounters.
Will also look into adjusting the character's weight for gravity and maybe reduce base speed for a weightier feel.
Trying to go for somewhat of a minimalist hyperspace aesthetic, so I appreciate the parallels made with those generation of titles, especially with games like Asura's Wrath and MadWorld with super unique aesthetics and art direction.
Played the demo. Liking the direction, but I do have some critique to give for the current demo.
Combat feels a bit weird. At the one hand, it can feel tough yet at the other hand, pressing the regular attack buttons interchangeably was more than enough. Trying to get out of harm’s way feels a little tricky. I am not sure if it’s because of the animations fast startup or what, but it makes it feel tricky to dodge via normal movement. Side note, with the game perspective, I half-expected a lock-on system. I was able to get accustomed to it, but it does feel off not having some type of lock-on that the player can trigger especially for the tougher enemies.
I like the hit stop effects, but the screen shake can definitely feel insane. Furthermore, I like how insane it can be, but having an option to adjust screen shake would be nice as well for those who might feel motion sickness.
It does feel great to hit things, and I think that part is nailed down. I will admit, though, I did not use the four power moves much, if at all. Maybe it’s because it is the first level, and it would be more useful on the later levels, but just something to keep in mind.
Also, the game runs pretty smoothly on my end so that’s good. Haven’t gotten much stuttering, if at all. Overall, I can see the vision, I feel once the game’s overall combat reaches a cohesive all it will shine more as this trippy techno beat-em up.
Dully noted. what about the combat in particular was weird or felt off? And also I'm wondering about getting out of harm's way being difficult? Is there a situation you came across that made it clunky to dodge?
Also this "pressing the regular attack buttons interchangeably was more than enough." Did you not need to use any charge moves? What about the combat was somewhat weird to get? And did you play the demo again?
And as far as performance, was there any lagging or framedrops at any rate when an enemy got destroyed at all?
Played it again right now, I am starting to understand more what you are going for.
At first, the controls took a bit getting used to. Which is fine, new game after all. I think having a training mode of sorts for the final release would help with getting used to how the controls work can after doing some messing around, I see the potential lying underneath.
The way how combos is structure, I actually like. It’s surprisingly free-form. At first, I thought, how could I weave the charged punches into this string? Once I realized that I could negative edge cancel while doing the normal punches and kick, it clicked. I saw what you were going for. Cause while only pressing normal attacks could get me through the level, it’s injection of charge moves that really makes it come alive especially with the free-form.
With this extra time, I think I am able to describe in what I think is why the combat felt off. With how free-form it was, I was thinking that after a hit, I could cancel into some form of directional attack (basically if I push the left thumb stick to my left, the next punch from the character will go left), especially considering how much the enemies tend to gang up, as a way to do crowd control.
As for dodging/dash, I think it because it also doesn’t really have a form of directional dodge canceling after a hit towards an enemy. Because of how fast they come and how often they swarm, trying to get away from them felt clunky.
Side note, enemy animations and when I get hit from them feels confusing. Sometimes, I would just get stun-locked with how fast they attack after one another. And even when doing one on one, it seems like when an enemy runs after me, they can also attack while in running animation? Something to look into when possible.
For performance, it runs stable, did get a few frame-drops this time around when multiple enemies exploded. I do have a somewhat strong computer (that’s showing to its age) so bear that in mind.
One additional thing before I forget. Have you tried switching out X and Y with LB and RB? I feel with how much negative edging there is to be in the game, having the attacks be at a place where it can be done with relative ease via multiple fingers vs a thumb might work better for this, perhaps?
Input manager coming soon for custom button config.
Perfect!
There has been a bit of an issue with that in regards to enemies being too clustered together, gonna need to find a way to stop them from being so clustered or near each other so often. Also clarifying that when your severity is higher, there's less hit stun overall, and enemies will try to mash out on less tighter combos.
There is no directional dodge in the game as I do believe just turning left or right, then back dash or dashing is already very strong. Also a lot of, if not all, the enemy attacks are very much linear. Adding side dashes would just invalidate most of the close ranged attacks enemies have.
Also going to your quote here:
"I think I am able to describe in what I think is why the combat felt off. With how free-form it was, I was thinking that after a hit, I could cancel into some form of directional attack (basically if I push the left thumb stick to my left, the next punch from the character will go left), especially considering how much the enemies tend to gang up, as a way to do crowd control."
Attacks are actually soft auto locked from a certain distance on enemies, meaning that Yuuto will shift his forward position to the nearest enemy, but has to be very close in order for this to happen. I was trying to experiment to where the attack button isn't as dedicated as moving him forward, and having it similar to how strings work in Yakuza or No More Heroes by flicking the control stick a certain way, but that completely broke the way animations animated and collided. Will probably have to go in and change some normals that are more orbital in nature, since enemies do like to swarm around the player often.
"Side note, enemy animations and when I get hit from them feels confusing. Sometimes, I would just get stun-locked with how fast they attack after one another. And even when doing one on one, it seems like when an enemy runs after me, they can also attack while in running animation? Something to look into when possible."
Please describe which enemy this was. Might have to adjust behavior based on the issue of severity.
Gotcha, gotcha. For the enemy, Dop-E XL and CQC - RC are the enemies.