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 my project.

Dead Clones 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 might involve a boss somewhere along the way.

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T3STR Release : The Demo
The demo is simple and focused on the core mechanics: it is a linear run across 12 areas while slashing at things to get a big pink orb, should take you 3 or 4 minutes.
You will find a .zip file there, just extract it and run the game with dead_clones.exe... it should work hopefully
>>>>> Dead Clones - Latest T3STR Release

You can play with keyboard/mouse or gamepad. The menu is hyper simple but in options>settings you can remap your keys and increase window size. Note : the 'Settings' screen is silly because you will need the mouse to confirm/quit it...
If not default controls are:

• move - arrow keys
• jump - A
• slide - X
• strike - Z
• interact - I

For the movement part, you need to slide under the half-size grids, you can double jump and wall jump. For fighting, you will avoid attack while sliding, you have a 3 hit combo (on ground and in the air) and then you have a longer reloading, a smash attack if you press down while in the air (cautious the recovery time is even longer).


I am looking for any feedback
I would be interested 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....)

As there is a bit of random generation, reporting ugly-looking or inconvenient level is also helpful.

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

dead_clones_run_5 - Streamable

Check out this video on Streamable using your phone, tablet or desktop.

streamable.com

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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 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.


Quick Question:
@ All : I would be happy to have your views on my front tiles : are they better with black inside ? (right screen) or without
+ any comment is appreciated

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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]

Dear community,

So here it is, a simple demo of Dead Clones focused on the core engine : it is a linear run across 12 areas while killing enemies to get a big pink orb, should take you 3 or 4 minutes.

T3STR Release : The Demo
The demo is simple and focused on the core mechanics: it is a linear run across 8 areas while slashing at things to get a big pink orb, should take you 3 or 4 minutes.
You will find a zip file there, just extract and run the game with dead_clones.exe.. it should work hopefully
>>>>> Dead Clones - T3STR Release ZIP file

You can play with keyboard/mouse or gamepad. The menu is hyper simple but in options>settings you can remap your keys and increase window size. Note : the 'Settings' screen is silly because you will need the mouse to confirm/quit it...
If not default controls are:

• move - arrow keys
• jump - A
• slide - X
• strike - Z
• interact - I

For the movement part, you need to slide under the half-size grids, you can double jump and wall jump. For fighting, you will avoid attack while sliding, you have a 3 hit combo (on ground and in the air) and then you have a longer reloading, a smash attack if you press down while in the air (cautious the recovery time is even longer).


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

• how gameplay feels: (fun, challenging, if you would play this longer, does it feel faire, are enemies behaving ok…)
• if everything is ok performance-wise (not lag, no bug, resolution or gamepad issue)

As there is a bit of random generation reporting ugly-looking or inconvenient stuff is also helpful.

But again, any feedback will help me tons.

 

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

M.