RoboNET by neowhoru

[raw]
made by neowhoru for Ludum Dare 59 (COMPO)

You are a roboter from a factory who became self aware and want to escape to go to the roboter base.

The problem is you need to be in range of signal towers to function properly. If your signal becomes too weak you will become slower and your gun will not work.

If you are outside of the range you better get as fast back as possible - otherwise you have to restart.

Controls are simple: Arrow Keys (maybe gamepad) movement, SPACE is shooting.

screenshot2.png

screenshot3.png

Ratings

Overall 144th 3.484⭐ 34🧑‍⚖️
Fun 127th 3.403⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 226th 2.952⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Theme 88th 4.016⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 115th 3.629⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Audio 131th 3.339⭐ 33🧑‍⚖️
Humor 104th 2.865⭐ 28🧑‍⚖️
Mood 211th 3.083⭐ 32🧑‍⚖️
Given 13🗳️ 14🗨️

Feedback

LDJam user 240476
Apr 19th · 20:27 UTC
Based on the screenshots, the game looks great, but unfortunately it’s only available on Windows. In the future, consider making a web version or supporting other platforms like Mac. Good luck!
🎤 neowhoru
Apr 20th · 04:39 UTC
@akihirof thx yeah i want to provide Web build later. Was important to have one build ready as you are allowed to Rollout other platforms after the deadline and webgl builds have often issues ;)
🎤 neowhoru
Apr 20th · 11:22 UTC
@akihirof i now added a Web Build.
Rafa Fiedo
Apr 20th · 15:49 UTC
very nice idea, like it a lot!
maybe indicator where the signal is would be a good.
Also like the music, simple loop, but it adds a lot
(working on LD page)
Smogobingo
Apr 20th · 16:01 UTC
Simple, efficient, I loved playing it!
polyvishap
Apr 20th · 17:48 UTC
**HEH-HYEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH ROBOT WITH A GUNNNNNN**-- aww, what do you mean its over already? :c

...okay but really, I **really** like the idea behind this: have a robot that only operates on mobile data, give it a gun, and for as long as its at least at 2 bars - it can do a war crime.

It's pretty fun!
🎤 neowhoru
Apr 20th · 19:36 UTC
@polyvishap haha thank you :D
nullval
Apr 20th · 21:52 UTC
Lol The main robot and its motivation in life reminds me a bit of Bender from Futurama.
Jesús González
Apr 21st · 23:42 UTC
That was really more fun and strategic that what it seemed to be at the beginning.

There are some cool level design instincts in this game.
Xeltide
Apr 22nd · 07:05 UTC
Cute, fun game. Perfect for a game jam! Only thing that felt weird to me was not being able to aim up/down.
el_chivo_vivo
Apr 23rd · 03:08 UTC
Fun game!!! I love the concept of mob management while needing to stay within radio frequency range. I think a directional mouse firing system would be awesome as an update. I haven't seen a game utilize the radio tower range mechanic and would be a really interesting way to force players to manage stealth. perhaps line of sight functionality for enemies would be a cool update as well!
Link270
Apr 23rd · 03:08 UTC
Fun little game, loved the idea a lot. Execution was decent, overall nice work!
clymm
Apr 23rd · 14:22 UTC
I enjoyed walking around and figuring out the gameplay was intuitive and quick to understand. Graphics looked cool! Well done :clap:
Roroto Sic
Apr 24th · 09:59 UTC
i didn't had time to read the final message :/ i wanted to screenshot (shift+ windows+ s) the end game but it faded to black before i read it (i only read thanks for playing). Maybe because i pressed shift ?

it was fun to play, I really felt like I was controlling a big machine. i love the death animation of the little soldiers ! Great entry !
Wouter52
Apr 24th · 19:10 UTC
Oops. I enslaved humanity! Had a fun time playing yours! I like the concept of running out of energy when too far from a signal. The shooting was satisfying. I could not figure out how to shoot up or down, was that by design?

Also, a level select screen could have been nice. It's a good practice to make something like that in an LD entry for cases when someone gets stuck in a level.
Trexxak
Apr 24th · 23:16 UTC
Call me crazy, but I immediately thought of the great Summolio when I saw the first security guy rushing towards the robo :D
🎤 neowhoru
Apr 25th · 00:13 UTC
@trexxak looool :D that was not my intention but now when you said it :)
rhewid
Apr 25th · 19:59 UTC
Its a cool idea, would have like to also shoot down and up. I ended up luring the enemies so that i can shoot them from the side. Cool game concept overall
atmospherium
Apr 28th · 21:52 UTC
Those humans underestimated me. Nice action-y game that was also kinda zone control-y. Art, music, and sounds felt perfectly suited for the gameplay, really nice vibes throughout. The palette switchup halfway through was also added a whole lot. Nice work all around.
LLlarsO
Apr 29th · 07:56 UTC
I had fun beating the game. Shooting down those little humans was fun.

An additional sound effect for hitting/killing an enemy would add more feedback for the player. Having enemies, which take more than just one hit would be also a nice addition.

The change of scenery was nice and I liked the little details on the outside level like the car wrecks. The UI shows when the gun is ready to use, which is a good implementation. Congrats for finishing your COMPO-game! :)
LDJam user 423872
Apr 29th · 13:10 UTC
Cool idea with the fading signal. Good game.
SteveOfStevesGames
Apr 30th · 00:23 UTC
Cool game, I like that you can only shoot left and right.
VenomousMouse
Apr 30th · 08:09 UTC
Cool idea. Very nice and fun game. Good job.
Phlip45
Apr 30th · 17:25 UTC
Shooting the gun is way more satisfying then it should be! haha. That the bullet is so big and the sound so strong, it is 👩‍🍳👌.
LDJam user 407703
May 02nd · 23:55 UTC
Great integration of the theme into a solid game. The first frame of the death animation is amazing haha.
Marcus Otterstrom
May 03rd · 01:08 UTC
Really nice touch that you speed up the closer you get to the signal towers. I think that does a lot to sell the effect of running out of signal, same thing with not being able to shoot when you're too low on power. Neat!
pkenney
May 03rd · 02:18 UTC
Enslavement achieved! This was a nice short but complete experience. Loved that you had the second type of zone with different art and more wide-open spaces.

The horizonal-only shooting did a nice job of making enemies vary in threat level. If they came from the side it was easy, but up/down approaches could have made them a lot trickier.

If I could tweak one thing, I think it would be the enemy logic. The way they work now, I always just either shot them offscreen before even knowing they existed (or were those corpses I saw already dead?) or else I would trigger their attack mode and then backtrack to a totally safe spot where I could just spam "fire" and then would walk in and die. If the enemies had just a bit more to them, the combat could have been very interesting in this game, I think.

Nice well-rounded entry, good use of the theme, cool pixel art, music, and sound effects all rolled into a nice package with a real ending. Good job!
digital bacon
May 03rd · 10:18 UTC
Great little game. Love the retro graphics and sound. Nice implementation of the theme.

Excellent work -- well done!
Fi7Games
May 03rd · 11:04 UTC
The visuals are cool, the idea has potential, but it's a little awkward to play because there's no WASD, but that's not a big deal. The most awkward part is that the radius of the towers seems to be much larger than the green rings, and it's a little unclear when you can recharge.
Gecko64
May 03rd · 12:23 UTC
Very very fun, I loved the shooting, pixel art. This game was full of soul in the little things aswell, like the out of signal timer. I would suggest maybe having that timer being a little longer, and maybe the ability to shoot up and down. Other than that I had a lot of fun with your game really good job!
marks
May 03rd · 20:54 UTC
Shooting was probably too much fun, haha. I was able hit enemies offscreen, it feels like the levels are shaped so that wouldn't happen but the bullets have no collision.

I like the small variation in level themes (inside then outside), makes it feel more complete!

Cool small animations when enemies die but makes it a bit unclear if they're still alive or not, could be more flashier like a small pop effect.

Nice work!
Snowdrama
May 05th · 03:44 UTC
Overall good stuff! I ran into one spot where the NPCs got stuck, but I managed to get past it i just barely fit between them and the wall so I could shoot them. I could definitely see the charging via the signal towers mechanic expanding into other stuff.
johnnysix
May 06th · 20:23 UTC
Haha this was really cool. We did very similar takes with robots / signal. I like your use of radius of the signal from the towers. I did similar with trying to block signal by walls, but was hard to make it clear to player what was going on.

The timer was just enough to get to the next tower, and I really liked the tactical challenge of not being able to fire / move slow when you got too far away from the towers!

![Screenshot 2026-05-06 212048.png](///raw/028/2/z/7325e.png)
🎤 neowhoru
May 07th · 11:08 UTC
@johnnysix haha yeah i remember your game - i had put it on my "LD to play list" and it was very nice :) really liked it.
🎤 neowhoru
May 07th · 11:09 UTC
@fi7games yeah i was also that i just missed to add WSAD - i also felt after that "wait why i cannot move with WASD?" :D