We're glad to announce our new keyboard-controlled arcade game called Protolife: Other Side.

Lead alien worms through familiar defense towers and help them evacuate from occupied colonized planet Leo-Nova. You used to destroy tons of them, this time let's try to save at least a few.

It is not a sequel or add-on for Protolife, it is a spin-off in a different genre but in the same universe.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2346710/Protolife_Other_Side/




Official Discord Link

Ok, this time we actually have integral mouse support!

Volcanic Giraffe is still alive and we are still making games. There have been some dead ends, unfinished prototypes and life struggles, but right now we are going for almost a year of stable development of Hexworld:



Hexworld is an autobattler grow-your-kingdom strategy, and it has little sword-wielding golems falling from the cliffs. And also an accountant cat.



The game comes to Early Access this spring, we really want to share it, we are eager for feedback! And of course, it will be improved, filled with content and polished before 1.0 release sometime later this year. It would mean a world to us if you wishlist the game and spread the news!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2166020/Hexworld

This is a minor patch with the following game crash fixes:

• Level 'Convoy' blocker - Uncaught TypeError: Cannot use 'in' operator to search for 'spawn-rate-percent' in 5 (thanks to juan ignacio)
  
• Custom levels with no builder units - Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property 'onMatterChange' of undefined
  
• Rare Experiments bug - Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property 'wavesGrp' of null (kudos to Kubla Khan)
  
• Rare Level Editor issue - Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property 'properties' of null
  

Hello everyone!

Level Editor for Protolife is out now. It is available in-game so there is no need to run any external applications.



It allows you to sketch your ideas, playtest some crazy situations, spawn a swarm of tumors against your custom towers and just be creative. A lot of things are tweakable already, and we are planning to expose even more parameters soon.

Steam Workshop

The most natural thing you can do with custom levels is to let other players to play them. Steam Workshop integration provides an ability to share your levels with the community and download new hand-made levels for yourself.



To start this challenge there are 8 new built-in custom levels and more are available within the Workshop.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1856092478
Version 1.2.1 - Changelog
General:

• New: Level Editor
  
• New: Steam Workshop integration (levels only)
  
• New: Custom Levels list (+ 8 custom levels)
  
• In-game menu and result panel now show the progress of experiment.
  

• Damage block: reload time +15% (was +50%), burst delay +30% (was +50%)
  
• Damage M2 block: reload time +15% (was +30%), burst delay still +30%
  
• Burst mod: reload time +25% (was +50%), burst delay -15% (was -10%)
  
• Burst M2 mod: reload time +25% (was +30%)
  
• Buckshot mod: reload time +60% (was +100%)
  
• Pierce block: pierce value 3 (was 1), reload time +50% (was +100%)
  
• Plasma gunpoint: base damage reverted to 1 (was 2).
  
• Mortar gunpoint now prioritises targets according to armor penetration (mainly structures) and randomly chooses from a set of 10 closer targets otherwise.

• Crash Report: Cannot read property 'toString' of undefined at KeyBindingButton.refreshKeyLabel
  
• Game crash after finishing experiments caused by shader on some gpus
  
• Crash Report: Cannot read property 'toLowerCase' of undefined at AnyKey.redraw (big thanks to CrackParrot)
  
• Crash Report: Cannot read property 'setBoosted' of undefined (kudos to hiromi_teija)
  
• Crash Report: Cannot read property '1' of undefined at BigGrid.getBigCell (thanks to Pemysl)
  
• Crash Report: Cannot read property 'onComplete' of undefined. Caused by InfectionBuilder (multiple reports)
  
• Fix for 'destroy buildings mission continues even if your base is destroyed' (thanks to Discord squad and Starkweather)
  
• Now you can remap W to Z (sorry, laestril!)
  
• Now Corruptors wont trigger 'if it works' achievement
  
• Now Corruptors cant place infection while death animation is active
  
• Fixed NG+ levels resetting NG progress issue (cheers to dragonboy212)
  
• Win screen stuck animation fixed
  
• Tumor boss now cant trigger both 'level win' and 'level lose' conditions simultaneously.
  
• No more sliding on the ground mortar projectiles, affected by pierce boosters.
  

Hello there, fellow tower builders! We finally brought you some news.
First and foremost, Protolife turns 1 year today!

It was an incredibly happy and productive year, and we wanted to thank everyone who supported us during this time.
Thanks to you, we were able to improve the game far beyond its release state and get an incredible feedback we never hoped to achieve.

Happy Birthday to Protolife!



Now, obviously, we couldn't possibly leave you without a present! It's not quite ready yet, and we'll make a proper announcement with a detailed breakdown once we are happy with all the features working as intended for now I'm just going to drop some pictures here. Enjoy! protoblockC

This patch mainly addresses Tower Editor balance issues and game crashes reported via Steam, Discord and email.

1. New threats for Experiments!



Corruptor

• hp: 5, average speed
  
• Uses alternative paths to breach the defense and spread the infection. Stay alert!
  
• Can be found at yellow and red risk experiments.
  

• Pretty tough. Armored: 10 hp and 3 armor, Magmatic: 14hp and fire resist, Electric 12hp and electric resist.
  
• Appear only at red risk experiments.
  

• ???
  

• Range - max: 30
  
• Salvos - max: 30
  
• Bullets per salvo - max: 30
  
• Reload time - min: 0.1 seconds
  
• Burst delay - min: 0.01 seconds
  
• Armor Penetration - max: 3
  
• Splash - max: 5
  
• Projectile Speed - max: 30
  

• Angle -5 deg. (was -20%)
  
• Speed +1 (was +3)
  

• Range +2 (was +3)
  
• Angle -5 deg. (was -25%)
  
• Speed +2 (was +6)
  

• Angle +15 deg. (was +60)
  
• Speed change removed (was -1)
  

• Angle +20 deg. (was +90)
  
• Spread change removed (was +1)
  
• Speed -1 (new)
  

• Reload time +30% (new)
  
• Burst delay +30% (new)
  

• Reload time +50% (new)
  
• Burst delay +50% (new)
  

• Reload time -10% (was -20%)
  
• Burst delay -10% (was -20%)
  

• Reload time -20% (was -40%)
  
• Burst delay -20% (was -40%)
  

• Reload time +30% (was +10%)
  
• Speed -1 (new)
  
• Burst delay +30% (was +10%)
  

• Speed +2 (new)
  
• Pierce +1 (was +2 when <10)
  
• Burst delay +100% (new)
  

• Energy -2 (was -1)
  
• Salvos +1 (was +2)
  
• Burst delay -10% (was -20%)
  

• Spread +2 (was +1)
  
• Salvos +2 (was +4)
  
• Burst delay -20% (was -30%)
  

• Speed +2 (was +5)
  
• Range -2 (was -20%)
  
• Bullets per salvo +2 (was +5)
  
• Burst delay +30%
  

• Reload time 1.2 sec. (was 1.5)
  
• Damage 2 (was 1)
  
• Burst delay 0.75 sec. (was 0.5)
  

• Angle 180 deg. (was 360)
  
• Reload time 1.4 sec. (was 1.6)
  
• Burst delay 1.2 sec. (was 0.5)
  
• Now prioritizes Magnetos and bioartillery shots (same as TX1, TX2, TX3).
  
• Proper sector color.
  

• Burst delay 1.2 sec. (was 0.5)
  
• Proper sector color.
  

• No changes
  

• No changes
  

• Energy -6 (was -4)
  
• Now has a constant range and angle (cant be changed via blocks)
  
• Now has an efficiency factor which decreases all boosting parameters
  
• Range 8
  
• Angle 180 deg.
  
• Efficiency 75%
  

• 20 damage on impact, slow reload, slow projectile speed, electrocutes everything on its way.
  

• Energy -8
  
• Range 10
  
• Angle 180 deg.
  
• Efficiency 50%
  

• WALL now has 10 hp (was 8).
  
• Burst delay specified for all towers so they are properly buffed via linkboosters.
  

• All missions: No more Tunnel Spawners, ZAPPERs, Repulsors, Infection Cannons at green risk levels.
  
• All missions: New late-game enemies for yellow and red risks levels.
  
• Survivals: No more Orange Centipedes and Magnetos at green risk levels.
  
• Survivals: Overall waves difficulty reduced by 20%.
  
• Max evolution level limit for all enemy structures: green risk = 3, yellow = 5, red = 10.
  

• ZAPPER can appear as a random spawn structure now. Experiments and New Game+ only.
  
• Tunnel Spawners (big ones) now have an additional evolution stage with a lower enemies spawn rate (20 worms, 0 behemoths).
  
• Levels 'Hollow', 'Focus', 'The Core' the first grow phase will be easier due to the Tunnel Spawners change.
  

• Crash Report: Cannot read property 'counter' of undefined at BigGrid.hasSome (multiple reports)
  
• Crash Report: Cannot read property 'X' of undefined at BigGrid.getBigCell (reported by A Pound of Life)
  
• Infection Cannon projectile size fixed. (reported by coeja73)
  
• Fixed infinite ricochet for a custom flame projectile (reported by Ghin)
  
• TX3 projectiles destroyed outside of the map (reported by Dmitry)
  
• Crash Report: SelectedTowerPanel2.show. Tower help and symmetrical patterns related issue (reported by Dmitry)
  
• TX2/TX3 proper boost/deboost of salvos count.
  
• Boost Linker multiple gunpoins does not work.
  
• Boost Linker cant boost towers in its range.
  
• Range booster does not boost custom resource harvesters.
  
• Boost/Deboost and pattern lock structure issues.
  
• Jumping custom mortar projectile
  
• Fixed all outdated descriptions in level briefings.
  
• Fixed some localization strings.
  

Version 1.1.2
This patch addresses multiple issues reported via Steam, Discord and email.

Experiments game mode

• Resource spawners and colony base wont block any major paths on randomly generated levels. (thanks to Kezzbo, vervedan and Ernest)
  
• Resource spawners for survival type missions are closer to the base now
  
• Orange Centipede spawn chance is significantly lower for low risk experiments
  

• Crash Report: _this5.substate.closeDialog is not a function (thanks to Austinlb90)
  
• Crash Report: Cannot read property 'length' of undefined at new Watcher (thanks to Jseah)
  
• Crash Report: Cannot read property 'bringToTop' of undefined (kudos to Sam Quan)
  
• Crash Report: Cannot read property 'a' of undefined (thanks toDr. Danger!and Austinlb90)
  
• Crash Report: Renaming a tower to a name you already have freezes the game
  
• Shader error for experiments reward dialog (thanks to do335)
  
• TMSL boost breaks its projectile trajectory (thanks to vervedan)
  

• New game mode: Experiments
  
• New game mode: New Game+
  
• New game feature: Tower Editor
  
• New game feature: Unlockable Tower Blocks
  
• New enemy structure: Pattern Shutdown disables random tower pattern until the structure destroyed (health: 5, armor: 1)
  
• New enemy mob: Orange Centipede drops orange slimes
  
• New tower patterns: TY1/TY2 short range shotguns, low ap, high dps, high spread
  
• New booster pattern: RBST boosts reload for all towers in range by x0.85, stackable
  
• New UI feature: survival wave preview shows the amount of enemies in each wave
  
• Some performance optimizations
  

• 28 - Squid Ravine: now has 2 TX3 on start
  
• 33 - Cluster: now does not spawn Magnetos (while still have two repulsor structures)
  
• All survival levels now use wave spawners (cocoons) instead of spawn-from-the-air approach
  

• TX3 rework now guards will return to the orbit upon targets death, more sustainable
  
• TMSL1 projectile follows the enemy
  
• TMSL2 now fires 3 projectiles with 5 dmg each instead of 1x20dmg, projectiles follow the enemy
  
• WBUILDER (wall printer) build time rate reduced to 0.5 seconds (was 2.0 seconds)
  
• Every tower now have a x0.5 time delay for the first reload (more convenient in a rush situation)
  
• Behemoths wont spawn from L0 buds
  
• Enemy ZAPPER reload time decreased to 0.5 sec (was 0.7 sec) due to TMSL2 rework
  
• Wave spawners health increased from 1 to 10 to avoid unintentional agro
  

• Crash Report: Cannot read property 'invincible' of undefined at TiledLevel.checkDefenceIntersection (multiple reports)
  
• A lot of minor UI tweaks and fixes
  

• Robot now makes one step side if reaches an obstacle on its way
  
• New secret robot ability to lock towers configuration (default key L) allows to nail down any tower so it will ignore any other possible transformations
  

Hello everyone!

After a long wait we are glad to announce that Protolife Lab institution is finally complete and now hiring new researchers.



You are required to participate in experiments* conducted in the safe** controlled environment.

* fights
** if you take all necessary precautions, see chapter 2 (Try Not To Die), p67 of the manual.

Research

• Every experiment is a unique experience on the randomly generated maps with a different challenge level.
  
• Once completed, the experiment will provide research data necessary for discovering new technologies.
  
• You are in control of setting up experiment conditions. Take a low risk, or go for a high reward.
  
• If your experiment is proven to be too tough, you can always return to it later, when you obtain some new weapons.
  

• You can design a custom tower pattern and use it in your fights.
  
• Balance the energy and stats to construct the super-weapons of your choice.
  
• Use the experiments data to unlock new gunpoints, stat boosters and behavior modificators.
  

• New Game+ is now available for everyone who finished the game
  
• Manually redesigned levels, including new harder versions of bosses. If you, like me, thought that the original campaign was a bit on the easy side, you will like NG+.
  
• All towers available from the start and as you play, you will unlock a couple of new ones exclusive to the NG+ mode.
  

Hello, everyone! Is it September already? Wow, time sure flies by.

A short status update to all Protolife defense squads: Update 1.1 is coming along well!



Although this picture will probably better reflect the harsh reality:



Despite the problems, we still continue our journey! Most of the new content revolves around 3 big features.

NG+ levels are almost complete! I took the idea of each map and turned it into absurd levels. To deal with that, you'll have the full tower arsenal for your disposal, plus 2 of the all-new tower class patterns. Meet boosters:



Almost all basic blocks and gunpoints for the tower editor have been completed. Here's the sneak peek of the mortar gunpoint, that will replace old and trusty missile launchers for the customizable long range support.



You will have access to standard stat improving blocks, as well as to some mods which will drastically change the way tower fires.



Keep it up, spread the news, and buy the game if you still haven't! We won't be charging any extras for content updates, so every small bit helps us to develop a better game.

The work on update proceeds as planned. Here are some progress notes.

New Game Plus

Levels are being updated and reworked by hand to make them interesting to seasoned player armed with a full range of towers from the start. Don't expect that NG+ will be a breeze through a known route.
Of course, we also heard your feedback on difficult levels of the original story mode. This time we'll try to make new levels difficult, but fair. Well, except maybe 2 or 3 special ones



Random Campaigns

Random campaign is in highly technical stage right now, so not much we can say about the actual gameplay principles. Don't treat anything as a promise here.
As far as our current vision goes, random campaigns will take place independently from the story mode. Each one will contain several random-generated levels complete with the boss fight. After beating the campaign you will receive reward in some form of credits. We'll probably also limit the amount of patterns that player can use throughout the single campaign.



Tower Editor

All of those rng campaign limits and rewards are justified by the fact that it's designed to work together with the third big feature of the update the tower editor. I won't be telling much about that one, just watch the gifs and see for yourself.

This version includes several balance improvements and bugfixes.

Improvements

• Game speed is optimized for high refresh-rate monitors (120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz). This also means game controls will be smoother in case of any fps drops.
  
• Gamepad hints are now available for in-game tooltips and help panel.

• Angle of the left tunnel is tweaked so its more friendly to 45 defense patterns.
  
• Now includes special cocoons that will release all the waves on impact, this prevents 'spawning from the air' issue and makes speedrun more challenging and fair.
  
• Late waves now spawn less enemies, total amount of Behemoths: 61 (was 115), Big worms: 55 (was 90), Magnetos: 4 (was 10).
  
• Flame drop now cant be blocked with a resource in cell (more effective).

• Fixed T1 and other sounds been muted in some cases.
  
• Fixed game crash related to the crystal farms destruction (Cannot read property 'gridX' of undefined at FarmSmall.update).
  
• Fixed ricochet issue for T3, T4 and TLZR when Particles Settings are lower than MAX.

We are still working on the game and would like you to know whats going on as well. After reading all the comments, reviews and discussions Im glad to say that a lot of feature requests match our original ideas about the future of Protolife.

So here is the upcoming plan:



There are three major steps displayed here (scheme does not reflect ongoing patches and minor improvements).

1.a Campaign Generator
Instead of just a single random level game mode we are working on mini-campaign generator, which is seed-based and generates a small amount of consequent levels. Imagine this as a challenge mode with a special reward.

1.b Tower Editor
Thats right a custom patterns editor. Of course it will have some limitations, but overall any player will be able to configure own version of T5 or TFLM3 and use it in mini-campaigns.

1.c NG+
We do love our main game sequence and dont want to make any huge changes to existing levels. What do we want is to expand the replayability of these levels with a New Game+ mode. In general, it would be a harder version of the original campaign with less limitations.

2. Level Editor, Steam Workshop & Trading Cards
This one has been requested a lot. Technically, theres a level editor a 3rd party software called Tiled. Tiled is amazing and free, but we cant distribute it with the game right now. At the same time we need to update our internal levels structure to make level creation process more simple and clear. Steam Workshop support goes right here as well so you will be able to share your levels with other players.



3. Planetary Defense
Last in the list goes the big update which will include a new game mode / expansion with some more content and new mechanics. Not much can be said about this because a) we have several prototypes to test and not sure which one would work better and b) wed like to surprise you.

Thats all for today. Let us now what do you think in comments or Twitter.

This update addresses several balance, controls and difficulty issues.

New features

• Steam Achievements!
  
• New option for helping with build accuracy when using continuous building.
  
• Several keyboard/gamepad improvements

• Start menu now includes 'Controls' setting where key bindings are (previously this setting was under in-game menu only).
  
• WASD work in the start menu, global map and in-game menu. These keys can be re-binded.
  
• Gamepad will not require an additional tap on level/global map start to interact.
  
• 'Hold SPACE and move to build a line of blocks' hint added for Biomass and Tower Defense levels.
  
• Global map remembers the level completed and won't scroll to the last one if some of the previous levels was replayed.
  
• Builder unit now does move if key released really fast.

• Acid Trip: Sleep time reduced to 75 (was 90). Green caterpillar now patrols the arena inside, so it doesnt rush until player reaches the second corner.
  
• Biomass: now includes special cocoons that will release all the waves on impact, this prevents 'spawning from the air' issue and makes speedrun more challenging and fair.
  
• Explosions at the end of Biomass and Tower Defense will kill all the mobs.
  
• TX* tower family now prefers enemy bullets, then magnetos, then other enemies.
  
• TX3 charges amount buffed to 5 (was 3).
  As a result TX* are now much more useful at handling magnetos and more reliable at the front. TX3 hopefully will be less of a disappointment.
  
  
• Reworked TFLM2:
  - Targets the point on the ground.
  - Bullet collision is off until it reaches the destination.
  - Always drops flame in a 'plus' pattern.
  - Cooldown increased to 3.5 sec (was 2.0)
  - Still affected by magneto shield
  
• Magneto: Shield radius will now diminish when under fire. With the TX* buffs it should be easier to deal with these guys now.
  
• Green caterpillar respawn time increased to 4 seconds (was 3).
  
• Karst Layer: no changes so far, but the level feels better due to TFLM2/TX buffs.

• Fixed Game crash related to switching between builder units in some cases (Cannot read property 'stop' of null at Hero.toBackground)

This version addresses several crashes happening at the start of the level and during the play.

Bug fixes

• Fixed crash related to the game start right after the main menu (Cannot set property 'visible' of undefined at Object._adjustHints)
  
• Fixed crash related to the level start and shaders configuration (Cannot initialize shader: program not linked)
  
• Fixed crash observed on some levels after builder unit was damaged and healed

• Level loading optimized a bit (infection seeding caused some lags at the start of the level)

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!
We are super excited to announce that Protolife is going live!
So go grab a copy, annoy your strategy-loving friends, go build some blocks and do tell us what you think about the game.



What's next?
For some time after release we are going to monitor your feedback. There's also at least one mandatory update planned, which will include steam achievements and some other features that didn't made it to release. And then... well, it really depends on how good the game turned out to be. I'd personally would love to see some challenges and skirmishes!

See you soon.

Release is closing, but we could not possibly miss the chance to participate in our favorite game jam again Ludum Dare 41. We had a lot of fun with this one.

This time we made a turn-based soccer game and it seems it's pretty fun to play.



We took 7th place in Overall category (out of ~2000 jam entries), which is our best result in Ludum Dare so far. Very inspiring!

Now when this very much needed break is over, we are ready to get back to Protolife.



Release Date
Temporarily shifting the perspective to another project really helps detecting problems and weak spots in the first one.

Our original goal was to release Protolife in the end of May, but it seems we will have to shift the release date for 1-2 weeks to improve things that got into our blind spot and do the chapter 3 the proper treatment. Not much longer though, as the game is almost ready and we are eager to share it! We will update the release date soon.


P.S.: This new game is called Infernoculus, you can try it here: https://graal.itch.io/infernoculus It's free.

The last week was amazing. We've got many participants and a lot of useful data!
Big thanks to everyone who participated and gave us the most valuable feedback.

Based on this feedback, we have a plenty of things to improve and think on, but the good news is that the original flow of the game will not change that much. Which means we are on the right way.
There were some critical bugs found in the beta test. They are now fixed and build is online. See the full patch notes here:

https://steamcommunity.com/games/809440/announcements/detail/1670148741716114963
Once again, thanks to all beta participants, your informative feedback and all the kind words!

See you soon.

Date: 2018-04-05
Platforms: Windows only
Version: 1.0.0b2

In-game settings:

• Windowed mode support. Has a set of fixed window sizes and ability to toggle fullscreen mode.

• Levels 'Adrenaline' and 'Cactus Field' now have a default intro instead of just empty dialog.
  
• Level pins adjusted to show the actual level size.

• Crash Report #1: SinglePad.pollStatus - Gamepad disconnection/sleep issue.
  
• Crash Report #2: 'disconnect' on 'AudioNode' on level start or restart.
  
• Crash Report #3: End of Chapter 2 and empty Global Map.
  
• WPRINT (wall printer) now works correctly on level edges.

• Removed some redundant messages in game logs ("WARN Cannot set frameName ...")

Hello everyone. We're hitting the end of another development cycle and at this stage we really need some help and feedback from you, people who are interested in the game.
I won't lie, it might not be pleasant. Some tables might fly, some chairs might be burnt. But in the end your help will make this game much better.



If you wish to participate, write me (icxon) or a333 in Steam directly, or drop us a mail at giraffe.volcanic@gmail.com, we will send you the key and instructions.

P.S. every hour my cat will eat one of the beta keys, so hurry up.
P.P.S. We live at +03 GMT, so if we are not answering we are asleep. Don't worry, the cat is sleeping too.

Hello everyone. We're hitting the end of another development cycle and at this stage we really need some help and feedback from you, people who are interested in the game.
I won't lie, it might not be pleasant. Some tables might fly, some chairs might be burnt. But in the end your help will make this game much better.



If you wish to participate, write me (icxon) or a333 in Steam directly, or drop us a mail at giraffe.volcanic@gmail.com, we will send you the key and instructions.

P.S. every hour my cat will eat one of the beta keys, so hurry up.
P.P.S. We live at +03 GMT, so if we are not answering we are asleep. Don't worry, the cat is sleeping too.

I'd like to shed some light on one of the main game mechanics building towers from blocks.
There are two types of buildable items in Protolife right now: blue blocks and yellow crystals. All structures in the game are made of these. And because there are many structures but only two blocks layout matters! Tower type, direction of fire, upgrades, retrofits, repairs everything is controlled by the blocks placement.

Blue blocks serve as a structural basis for your towers. Structures like low-tier towers and armored walls can be built using blue blocks only. For something more complex youll need the yellow crystals. They are used as a power source for upgrades and special functions.
Here is a small example of upgrading Tower 1 (T1) to T2 and T3 just with the correct placement of blocks!



All tower patterns (like T1, T2) are hardcoded, but the game allows you to combine these structures quite freely, which gives you a lot of space for improvisation.



Combined with the solid amount of basic patterns, this gives you an opportunity to design your own defenses in the harsh conditions of limited space, time and resources. We are working hard on balancing the towers so that every single building remains useful in the later stages of the game.

Youll need to know all of these patterns and how to mix them to overcome the enemy.

I'd like to shed some light on one of the main game mechanics building towers from blocks.
There are two types of buildable items in Protolife right now: blue blocks and yellow crystals. All structures in the game are made of these. And because there are many structures but only two blocks layout matters! Tower type, direction of fire, upgrades, retrofits, repairs everything is controlled by the blocks placement.

Blue blocks serve as a structural basis for your towers. Structures like low-tier towers and armored walls can be built using blue blocks only. For something more complex youll need the yellow crystals. They are used as a power source for upgrades and special functions.
Here is a small example of upgrading Tower 1 (T1) to T2 and T3 just with the correct placement of blocks!



All tower patterns (like T1, T2) are hardcoded, but the game allows you to combine these structures quite freely, which gives you a lot of space for improvisation.



Combined with the solid amount of basic patterns, this gives you an opportunity to design your own defenses in the harsh conditions of limited space, time and resources. We are working hard on balancing the towers so that every single building remains useful in the later stages of the game.

Youll need to know all of these patterns and how to mix them to overcome the enemy.

Volcanic Giraffe team here. And we are making Protolife.

Originally made for Ludum Dare 38 game jam, themed 'A Small World', we've took inspiration in the Petri dish, which is used to grow cultures of cells (such as bacteria) or small mosses. We also tried to mix in a bit of good old and some other cellular automata principles as gameplay mechanics, and a distinct feature: buildings made of singular blocks.

Here's that original entry: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/protolife

After 1 year of development we are almost ready to present you the game that has grown out of that prototype. Petri dish has become a planet, and the infection turned out even more deadly, but we kept and improved all of the features people loved most. I hope all of you, from folks who've supported us at Ludum Dare to people who just discovered this game, will like this 'slight graphics update', as we initially called the Steam release.

Glad to see you here and stay tuned for more updates!

Cheers,
icxon