Protoganda
Protoganda's graphics were inspired by old movies with special effects made without the use of computers. And to some extent by the feeling you get from watching old protoganda movies. The gameplay is a fairly straight boss fight flare, with a focus on time, rather than lives.
You start out with three minutes playtime. Defeating a boss gives you an extra fifteen seconds. Getting your ship blown up deducts forty. If the timer reaches zero, you lose.
There are two different gameplay modes, 'absorb' and 'shield'. Shield gives the player a defensive tool that can be used to get out of tight spots; press Z + X to repell bullets. You also get a chargeable shooting function that automatically targets the enemy. Hold X until your ship is glowing, and then release. Z fires your main cannon.
In Absorb mode, I borrowed heavily from the great Ikaruga. You can switch color to become invulnerable against bullets of the same color as yourself. Touching a bullet absorbs it, and you build up power to release a charge shot, as well as replenish a bit of time. Bullets of the color opposite to the enemy does more damage. Press the C key to release a charged shot.
There are two online highscore boards (one for each mode), and a variety of different options to extend the fun. - cactus
The bosses names are taken from a list of the 50 most common Russian family names. Press the F1 key to change resolution to 640x480 for a larger gameplay window display. Use the R key during a game to restart immediately without returning to the main menu. A sequel to Protoganda is in the works.
Name: Protoganda
Developer: cactus
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Direct download link: Click here
Shield hiscore table
Absorb hiscore table
Comments
Cactus is a machine. Brilliant as usual.
Posted by: Kevin | October 25, 2007 8:20 AM
Man, I read that as Prot Agenda, which is Fart Agenda in Dutch O_O How many games has Cactus cranked out this month already, btw? Doesn't he have to work, or eat, or sleep? Does he have some framework and a pool of graphics he throws together each week for a new game? This pace is seriously surreal O_O
Posted by: Kon-Tiki | October 25, 2007 8:49 AM
This game blew my mind.
Posted by: Petri | October 25, 2007 9:57 AM
The propaganda film style was very cool :)
Posted by: BenH | October 25, 2007 2:55 PM
I finally broke down and tried Clean Asia the other week, and while that was amazing, this is just insane, if somewhat less polished. It's the little things, such as not changing the music at all throughout the entire thing (keeps your adrenaline up).The only thing I find obnoxious so far is that the bullets occasionally give me the sensation that they are changing direction mid-flight. But it's a fairly small thing, keeps you on your toes.Dang, I gotta make a shooter sometime.
Posted by: David | October 25, 2007 5:20 PM
And as usual I can't access ANY of Cactus' websites. No highscore tables for me.I'll talk about the actual game once I play it.
Posted by: Melly | October 25, 2007 9:40 PM
i thought we werent supposed to share this. is that restriction gone now?
Posted by: plounted | October 25, 2007 9:44 PM
It wasn't available to the public during the first two weeks after I sent it out to those who had donated, but now it's free for everyone.@Melly: I've been talking to Tim about getting a mirror for my site. Think positive thoughts untill then ;)
Posted by: cactus | October 25, 2007 9:48 PM
@cactus: thanks man. ^_^ Though this means this is a common issue with people? Or is it just cause of me? I find that hard, but I think I'm the only one who ever complained in the places I lurk at.
Posted by: Melly | October 25, 2007 9:57 PM
after having played it for a bit today, here are my thoughts:For a simple shmup, it's actually pretty damn addictive. I love the graphical style, which is pretty much cactus' signature. The music is ace too, really put me in the mood for some boss blasting.As far as the dual gameplay goes, I have to say I prefer "shield", but "absorb", obviously taken from Ikaruga, is pretty fun too. It just relies more on memorization of the bullet patterns, but I like the different gameplay options.I felt that the accelerated movement of the player's ship was just a slight bit annoying, but it didn't bother me too much (nothing like some shmups where movement is so slippery you can barely control it). I'm just the kind of guy that likes to have fully precise control over his ship's movement in bullet-hells.Overall it's an ace game. And even though I can't see it for myself, I bet Tim has made it his duty to master this shmup as well.
Posted by: Melly | October 25, 2007 10:52 PM