Freeware Game Pick: Probability 0 (Droqen)
Fantastic stuff by Mr. Droqen in the form of Probability 0. A downward-scrolling platformer, this is definitely a case of practice makes perfect aka when you first play this game, you will die. LOTS.
Players first opt for either Talent (set amount of skill points to distribute) or Potential (no skill points to begin with, but points picked up from killing enemies), before setting off on their plunge into the unknown. Z jumps, X punches/throws ninja stars. Pressing space accesses the Upgrade Menu - and this is where it gets interesting. Skill points can be used to buy special abilities and upgrades for your stocky little guy, and each ability bought opens up more abilities available for purchase.
Each ability, of course, will make your descent easier. It's all very nicely done, and the skill tree really makes you sit and wonder if there is a perfect set or order to choose. Throw into this music which gets more aggravated as more enemies are close by, and flashing statistics all over the place which, in general, want to tell you how close you are to death, and you've got yourself quite the experience.
Give it a shot over at Gamejolt.
Comments
I wonder why there haven't been more shumps that are downward-scrolling. Nonetheless this is one great shump to add to any gamers library.
Posted by: Alex | January 21, 2010 3:34 AM
I've really been having fun with this one. There's just so much replay value, and everything works very smoothly; it's great.
Posted by: KniteBlargh | January 21, 2010 4:54 AM
want to like this game but it just doesnt click with me. half the time i have to jump so far i get stunned/damaged, the rest of the time i either end up in an unescapable pit or fly off the bottom of the screen never to be seen again.
Posted by: guy | January 21, 2010 7:46 AM
Great game; lots of replay value with the different modes and randomly-generated levels.
Posted by: ArticoMedia! | January 21, 2010 8:07 AM
This game is addicting. I keep on dying a bit after I get to the "mid-boss" when I get to level 4 though.
So far my favorite level pattern is Star> -> Knees+ -> Stock+ -> Stock++ -> Ghost Star (rare that I ever get to lvl 5).
My only complaint really is that I wish that the pickup queue would at least have one heart/star between every level. I went up to level 3 one time with no hearts and another time with no stars (man was that hard).
Posted by: fish | January 22, 2010 2:39 AM
Punch+, Knees+, Stomp, Power Punch! ...And generally that's about as far as I get D:
So addicting though
Posted by: Bundt | January 23, 2010 8:51 PM
Two things frustrate the hell out of me in this game:
1)Star and punch should be separate buttons.
2)You man's pathetically tiny punch range is made further annoying by the fact that there is no jump attack without stars, so you essentially have to wait for the enemy to blunder into your reach
too me, this is just frustrating to be enjoyable. I love the concept but whatever high-minded concept guided the above two decisions just make the game a pain.
Posted by: Mike Hawk | January 23, 2010 11:32 PM
I love this game. It is a perfect combination of excitement and frustration. Excitement because I know that as I get deeper and gain more levels, the harder it gets. Frustration because I can rarely blame the game for my inevitable death.
Two points of feedback:
1. While I like the idea of the health being represented by an ever-changing probability, the fact that the text is large and in the center of the screen can interfere with gameplay.
2. I ran into a few situations that were either blocked off completely or there was no way to drop down without taking damage. These situations happened very rarely, but were still there.
Overall, a very compelling and challenging game. Great job.
Posted by: St. Piacre | January 24, 2010 6:03 AM
Hi! I made this game, and figured I'd provide a little bit of feedback feedback.
Mike Hawk: Star and punch are the same button to keep the number of used buttons to a minimum. And you're only talking about an un-upgraded guy! Leveling up, you can increase your punch's damage (and hitbox), or the number of stars which you can hold. You can also gain a couple of other painmaking abilities that can be used mid-air.
fish: I'm glad you enjoyed it; I think that the pickup queue holding no stars or no hearts leads to an interesting sort of run where you realize and accept you're going to be run dry (of one resource) for a little while. This is better than having totally blind, random drops, anyway -- you can at least plan ahead (or panic? :D) for the drought to come!
Okay, I don't want to overstay my welcome! Thanks all for the comments; keep enjoying Probability 0 -- and keep on improving!
:3
Posted by: Droqen | February 3, 2010 12:49 PM