Project 'X' Malfunction by L14 Game Studio
Military robots have malfunctioned and take over the research facility. Only a single prototype remains unaffected. Take command and destroy the malfunctioned robots.
Top down turn based shooter. Press 'H' for controls.
My first attempt at a game. Made using Game Maker Studio 2.
Music by Trevor Lentz. https://opengameart.org/users/trevor-lentz






Ratings
| Overall | 448th | 3.211⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 447th | 3.105⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 516th | 3⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 501th | 3.237⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Graphics | 637th | 2.395⭐ | 21🧑⚖️ |
| Humor | 567th | 1.471⭐ | 19🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 482th | 2.765⭐ | 19🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 20🗳️ | 4🗨️ |
Otherwise, the gameplay is really cool ! I do not know if that is volunteer, but the fact that the ennemies can shoot when you shot for your second action is quite a good idea. So that is a turn-by-turn based game, with a hint of "reactivity actions" we have to do. Really cool !
I will not extend myself on the graphism part. At least we understand all the things there are one the screen.
So, overall good entry ! Keep coding :)
This game could have had a little bit more of those "Turn-Based" mechanics. And it was quite generic game, so that's why I gave it a little bit lower Innovation score.
But yeah, it was ok game overall. And really great if it was your first.
The music definitely kick ass ! It was a good idea to not overlook the audio (edit : just saw you did not made it. A little bit disappointing but hey, that doesn't lower the quality of your game !)
The UI and levels, while basic are very clean.
I don't know if it was done on purpose but the fact that the bullets movement aren't "bound" to the turns help blend the typical fast-action pace of top down shooters and the more static one of turn based games !
I like your game though. Really great work for your first time.
Some trouble areas I noticed are that the help screen has no mouse control to turn it off, and the relevant information on how to do so doesn't stick out. You can also use the displayed hotkeys to continue to play the game with the help screen up, which is a bit odd =P. I also found a bug/exploit. By trying to use my moves from my next turn right away to dodge incoming fire (in a similar manner to the enemies) I found that the game allowed me to go into negative moves, at no cost, immediately, before later resetting my moves back up to 2. In no time I was unloading strafing fire, and other ridiculous things that broke the cool gameplay =P. The game over sound effect also seemed loud, and the game over text should probably use 'begun' instead of 'began', in this case, but that's very minor.
The graphics were quite clear if a bit simple. The exceptions were: the fast-forward button, which I never bothered to use anyway, since shooting pretty much dominates it; and the exit door, which didn't seem to have a visible difference between locked and open states. I also had to check the door the very first time I played to see if killing all the enemies was required or not. A small lock icon, or a variant with one, would have made things clearer. A clear room sound effect similarly would have been nice to have along those same lines. Thinking about it, with the current game state, the door doesn't add anything, since you only ever interact with it when there is zero risk. Turning off the turn counter when everyone is dead was a nice touch though. The art design on the walls is probably the standout. Were those done with tiles, or programmatically or both? In any case, other than those exceptions the graphics are quite serviceable.
One thing I really liked was the mood of the game. The font, music, and even the stark art style worked together to bring out a militaristic feel. Obviously there wasn't really any humor in the game, but that's to be expected with the serious mood.
When playing the game as designed (without the aid of the negative actions bug) the game demonstrates a clear and very effective blending of real-time and turn-based elements. It can be a little frustrating to maneuver around in a safe manner, but for the most part, it's a lot of fun.