Windows Demo is Out - Dead Clones - Roguelite fan game after DC

[MCHLV]

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Dear community,

After 11 months of learning/working on it, I am really happy and a bit nervous to post here on the forum of Game Maker a first demo of Dead Clones

It is a fan game, with obvious inspirations. The main character runs across the dark coridors of ... well something like a fallen lab-dungeon, to slaughter clones, loot the orbs they left behind and understand the meaning of all this... which involves a boss somewhere along the way.

dead_clones_run_5

Watch "dead_clones_run_5" on Streamable.

streamable.com

T3STR Release 5 - NEW DEMO
The demo is only focused on the core mechanics: it is a linear run across 10 areas to face the [work-in-progress] boss. It should take you 3 or 4 minutes.
How to install:
You will find a .zip file on my drive (link below), 1-download, 2-extract the folder, 3-run dead_clones.exe... it should work hopefully
>>Link to the demo>>> Dead Clones - Latest T3STR Release

How to play:
- move and crouch - arrow keys
- jump, double jump, wall jump - Z
- slide, dodge - X
- strike - space
- interact - E
You can remap to your convenience (don't use the same input for two actions ) on keyboard, mouse, gamepad.

There is a tutorial but in a nutshell:
1-For the movement part, you need to slide under the half-size grids, you can double jump and wall jump.
2-For fighting, you will avoid attack while sliding (this is super important to master). You have a 3 hit combo (on ground and in the air) and a smash attack (down + jump while in the air).


I am looking for any feedback
I would be most interested in knowing:

• how gameplay feels: (fun, challenging, if you would play this longer, does it feel fair…)
• if everything is ok performance-wise (not lag, no bug, weird resolution, gamepad issues....)

But again, any feedback will help me tons. And, reach out to me if you want to be part of this.

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Thank you so much
MichelV

More bla bla:
The game is currently playable for the core gameplay.
I still have to set for a visual and audio style and to design (and code) all the ROGUE mechanisms for the game to have a proper meaning.
Like other indie dev, reaching this preliminary stage cost me a lot and I am now looking for any help the community can provide...kind words, constructive feedback, screenshots, follows, big bills. I have already found tons of help here and resources generously shared by our community.

If you feel like learning more about me or the project, just ask or you can go there https://deadclones.game.blog/ and join my 5 daily visitors (who are bots of course). Or there emptydiscord to discuss or give feedbacks or there also: https://twitter.com/GamemakerV...

 

[MCHLV]

and I do take 'like' as a feedback for me to go on...

 

[Cameron]

Looks great so far man! Make sure to keep with it and see it through to the end. What you have here is looking great though Nice palette colors, pixel art, and game mechanics.

 

[MCHLV]

Thank you @Cameron.

MichelV.motivation ++;

For the story, I can draw but I suck at color choice. I am only one man, so to have the project moving on, I have focused on programming and I have kept the color choices for later.
So what I did: my tiles are drawn in greyscale and they are colored through a shader, same for enemies. So I can change my mind in terms of color...

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For now, I am not happy with the readability of enemies which player cannot easily differentiate... This is unfair, so I will need to fix this... hopefuly before the demo otherwise everyone is going to yell at me....

Also, I would like the game to look better... which is a broad notion. I have tried some few things but I was not happy with the mood it gave the game (like I tried fog). I will need to come back later to add fancy effects.


M.

 

[Toque]

Art looks great.

 

[MCHLV]

Hello all,
So yes I have build a basic menu, where you can change controls... so I guess I just have to build 4-5 rooms and it will be ready to test...
I hope some of you will take the time to help me.
I'll keep you posted
M

 

[MCHLV]

Hello dear community,

So I have included a basic random generation (simple path of random rooms) so that I can share a demo.
I need to tweak some gameplay features (edge tolerance, wall jump timing...) before releasing this.
But yeah, if ever you feel like testing this for me PLEASE let me know.


M.

 

[Khao]

This looks actually properly genuinely good. I mean it. It already looks like something I'd be willing to spend money on.

Well, sort of. It would probably be wise to invest some time to create some different areas with different backgrounds and atmospheres. I'm guessing you want the entire game to be based on a creepy lab thingy, but I'm sure there's potential there to add some variety. Have cleaner sections. Darker sections. Places overcome by nature. That kinda thing. If the game is a roguelike, you can use that to convey progress. The "dungeon lab" is your theme, but you can have "sub-themes" to provide variety and even some cool gameplay additions.

If you've already considered this, then I really don't have much to say. I think you're well on your way to have an extremely solid product here. Maybe work a bit more on your logos and menus, but everything related to gameplay already looks brilliant.

 

[MCHLV]

Thank you Khao. Good vibes for my motivation !

The initial plan was to have a first vertical with one area out in 6 months and build from there with additional areas... This was 12 months ago and I still do not have my first boss, nor any gears / upgrades.
Your comment really helps me with my priorities: maybe tuning gamefeel with edge tolerance and such is not my proper next step and I need to put more flesh in the game (also I am quite happy with my logos so your feedback is also helpfull. After so much time on my project, I can't really see anything anymore).

Thanks !
M.

 

[MCHLV]

I DELETED THIS POST BECAUSE THERE IS A NEWER VERSION OF THE DEMO

 

[Yrbiax]

Hey, i tried your demo.

It was definetly challenging with only 3 hp and enemies being so fast.
Took some time to get used to, but dodging those dash attacks felt rewarding.
I found it hard to avoid taking damage in rooms with multiple enemies, because you couldnt dash or jump during melee animation.

I kinda got lost at the end and was wandering around empty rooms, finally found this orb.

 

[MCHLV]

@Yrbiax , thank you so much for taking the time to play this ! And congratulations on finishing it.
I should explain controls at game start.... and maybe the DSH3R (the one that charges) is a bit difficult compared to the other 2. I'll have a look to the melee animation window.
I guess you did not experience any technical issue, so that's also good news.

 

[MCHLV]

Hello all,

I added a tutorial room and a new start room.
I updated the demo link in the first post, thanks for those who will test it.

M.

 

[MCHLV]

Hello all !! I hope you are well...

Big news : there is a new release of Dead Clones Demo and it features a Bad ass Boss CRUSH3R

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So, months count is 14 since I started this project. I've learnt tons and I have setup a decent game architecture, I still have to design the 'rogue' part but the rest is ready and adding content (enemies, boss, visuals) will now be easier. For now, I really need some feedback on the game because I can't see anything anymore... I suspect my boss is too hard, DSH3R clone might be too quick to dodge, it may also feel the attack prevents you from dashing... I have many question but only you can help me progress with gameplay.

So can you please test this new demo: T3STR Release 5.I updated the link in the first post

Any advice, feedback will really help me.

Thank you very much,

M.

 

[MCHLV]

Hello all,
Thanks to feedbacks, I have tweaked the controls to make dash and wall jump more forgiving.
I updated the demo in the first post.
M.

 

[zendraw]

dead cells inspired?

 

[jcop]

First time trying your demo. This plays really nicely and everything has the right feel in that it controls and reacts the way I would expect it to. The graphics are great and the sound fx fit the action nicely.

I was using the keyboard because I couldn't get my gamepad to work with it. I usually have an Xbox controller connected for testing but don't have it with at the moment so I am using an old Gravis Gamepad Pro. The UI in the game said "A new gamepad (unknown type) was connected to slow 4. Current gamepad (XBOX compatible controller) connected to slot 0 is kept." I'll give it a try again later when I have my xbox controller hooked up.

Really impressed with this and it will make for a fun game.

 

[MCHLV]

dead cells inspired?

yes it is... and a lot. It is intended to give more air control and to be faster paced (though the mechanic is not yet implemented)

 

[MCHLV]

@jcop thank you for your kind words.

I still have some stuff to tweak and all the ROGUE part to design and implement, then the game will get a visual updrade and will look even better !

This gamepad thing concerns me because I am not doing anything complex. It is just the gamepad connect async event, that set the slot to the gamepad, except if another gamepad was connected before. Edit - I released a new demo with an additional gamepad test to secure gamepad swap.

 

[jcop]

@jcop thank you for your kind words.

I still have some stuff to tweak and all the ROGUE part to design and implement, then the game will get a visual updrade and will look even better !

This gamepad thing concerns me because I am not doing anything complex. It is just the gamepad connect async event, that set the slot to the gamepad, except if another gamepad was connected before. Edit - I released a new demo with an additional gamepad test to secure gamepad swap.

I'm not at the computer that had the gamepad issue now but I will try the updated demo on that computer next week. I did download the new demo where I am at now and used it with an Xbox One controller and it worked really well and felt natural to control.

 

[jcop]

I'm not at the computer that had the gamepad issue now but I will try the updated demo on that computer next week. I did download the new demo where I am at now and used it with an Xbox One controller and it worked really well and felt natural to control.

Tried Tester 7 just now and still having the gamepad issue. When I launch the game I get the following screen:


In Windows 10 settings I have this device listed:


However, the Xbox 360 controller isn't plugged in. Once I remove this device then the gamepad works in the game.

During gameplay everything works fine for controls but on the main menu pressing down doesn't work. Pressing up works fine. During gameplay down works along with jump to drop down to the platform below.

Btw... this is all just to try to help. I really like what you've made.

Finally, I unplugged the Gravis Gamepad and plugged in an Xbox One wired controller and everything worked great everywhere.

 

[MCHLV]

Hello jcop,

Thank you. I appreciate the time your taking to help me fix this.
The xbox 360 issue is weird. I have some clue for the down issue in the menu but game_pad discovery should work.

An option I was advised would be to always use all slots and don't bother with what is discovered as plugged/unpluged. Any connected gamepad will work anytime... which is not very elegant but I may give it a try.
I'll post a new release soon.
Thank you again

M.