Countdown Royale is my take on the battle royale genre. It has a few twists if you manage to kill all the other contestants. If you use gamejolt or itchiio, please consider leaving a comment and rating on one of those versions as well:

  • https://gamejolt.com/games/jq6/355643
  • https://adriendittrick.itch.io/jq6

Features

  • 3 levels
  • 5 weapons
  • health regeneration

Controls

  • WASD or arrow keys: move
  • Left click: shoot (when weapon is equipped)
  • Enter: start game
  • F4: toggle fullscreen (windows only)
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  • LD Smith
    Lv. 9

    Fun little shooter. The idea of having the people that you've killed come back as zombies was great. I wasn't able to get past the zombie wave to make it to the helicopter. Seems like the best strategy is to find a corner and let the other guys take out each other, until there are only 3 or 4 guys left.

  • Josh K.
    Lv. 14

    Not a bad little battle royale game Adrien! If you'd like to see our reactions, and rating feel free to check out our play through video. You're game is about 1:01:10 in. https://youtu.be/pQicLfNroyI

    Web Surfer
    Submitted

    Web Surfer

  • Jupiter Hadley
    Lv. 13

    I like the way the enemies move around and work. I included it in my GM48: Countdown compilation video series, if you’d like to take a look. :) https://youtu.be/MHzNKYCzwks

  • Kwis
    Lv. 67
    • Tree collisions should take in account depth (making their hitbox half their height would have been enough
    • As mentionned, finding the last guy is tedious and their aim in general is pretty precise
    • The pace is a bit slow. Your character doesn't move fast enough imo.
    • Zombies can corner you easily, and due to the lack of ammo, they end you pretty quickly

    The game is pretty complete and has lots of stuff! I also love how complex the AI is as it seems to be rather smart. It participates to the immersion of a battle royale and we can capture that atmosphere greatly. I like how your health is low, it makes it more realistic and gives tension, forcing you to be careful when moving, etc. Nice polish, overall pretty good entry!

    I'd say the weakness of the game is the lack of remarkable "punch" to either the sounds and the visuals. Some more feedback would have been nice (some kind of sound/visuals to notify you that only 2 of you remain for example, more feedback when touching someone and killing - with sounds, visuals, for example particles) Aside that, pretty good! Definitely one of my favourites.

  • Ramkey
    Lv. 2

    I don't know why, but I liked it soo much and enjoyed every aspect of it. Great job, rated the best I could!

  • Tero Hannula
    Patron

    Game was playable, maybe bit too slow paced. Enemy AI should get bit more complexity to vary other GMS games, as it was typical. 5 kings level the Kings AI was accurate, and was frustrating that you could not try peak and shoot. I got feeling game did not try anything new outside the usual game mechanic boundaries, but of course it would be risk to try something completly new in 48 hours.

    And yeah, you forgot the death zone, I was waiting that. I used good amount of time trying to find the helicopter as the area was too huge. There was good amount of content, but more tightpacked areas, and I would have appreciate the death zone. I am not fan of battle royal games, but density of game needs to be concentrated when area is huge and enemies grow fewer.

    Did you make the music? I finished the game and waited for final boss, got bit disappointed as the last level was too easy. But it was nice take on the theme. Not actual time running up, but more storywise. Overall, it felt like basic Game Maker topdown shooter.

  • Fachewachewa
    Patron

    I guess this is really a battle royale because every time a spent forever finding the last opponents, only to miss every shot, be out of ammo, and run to another gun while being aimbotted by the AI :(

    Ok, I'll try it again now that I've read other's feedback and saw that the last AI come to me at the end, I guess I'll stop roaming around (because I sweat that can take forever to find the last ones if you don't know they'll just find their way towards you).

    Right away, I'll say that the player needs a way to skip the intro.

    Ok so I managed to get to the 5 kings level but I gave up, I couldn't find the last one. I'll list some issues:

    • so as I mentioned, the lasts AI can be impossible to find, they get stuck on trees and stuff. They don't seem to have "real" pathfinding? I saw some trying to go in a straight line to a gun. Then the last one I saw was going in circles near a tree, then disappeared in the distance to get a gun and I never found it again.
    • The AI IS too good at shooting, especially the shotgun which have a way too good range.
    • It was kinda unclear I needed to get to the helicopter, and where it was.
    • overall, levels are too big, and the trees have really weird collisions
    • and I think there was another thing but I forgot.

    Anyway, very cool game overall, I'd try again if it wasn't for the infinite searching period at the end.

    Boyard
    Submitted

    Boyard

    • Adrien Dittrick
      Lv. 11
      Adrien Dittrick Composer of Countdown Royale

      5yrs ago

      This is all very valid criticism :) (and also makes me realize what the huge blue forcefield is usually for in battle royale games) Trees DO have weird collisions, I didn't feel like doing depth sorting on this one.

      If I had more time I would have probably ironed out such bugs but eh X)

      Also I forgot to implement dynamic difficulty, which is a thing I usually do (as in, the game gets easier every time you die)

      Thanks for playing my searching game :)

  • kbjwes77
    Lv. 19

    The amount of content you put into this was pretty impressive. The story and the way you changed up the gameplay in each level made for some engaging moments, I really wanted to see what would happen next!

    The only things I would point out that need work: The player's controls and instructions were a little vague, that would have helped me to realize I couldn't reload or that I had to eliminate the other contestants. I also think the game could do with more effects and feedback, polish the assets up and give the game some particles for some character.

    This was one of the more lengthy submissions, I played several times to try and complete it, and you kept me coming back to finish the fight. Also, good work on the enemy AI, maybe it was too good at aiming!

    Time's Up
    Submitted

    Time's Up

    • Adrien Dittrick
      Lv. 11
      Adrien Dittrick Composer of Countdown Royale

      5yrs ago

      Ah yes I should probably have added more in-game explanations. (but then again you actually finished it so maybe it was not all that wrong? X) )

      It's completely intended that the game doesn't tells you you have to eliminate the other contestants however. You're supposed to be the one engaging the fight with violence at all times. In my mind it made it a good learning experience :p

      Polish is lacking yes but you know, TIIIIIME X) if I had 3 days I would probably had spent some time adding screenshakes, particles, all sorts of things. But 48 hours was somehow just enough for me to put in all the content you see.

      Longest part for me was probably the music and sound. Music took me a bit more than one hour per track, and there are 3 tracks which is a HUGE amount of time in a jam. Sound effects I had to re-record entirely by mouth because my previous sound effects were apparently not jam-compliant :/ (coming from a combat arms SFX library)

      Thanks for noticing the AI :) it's one of the things I'm proud of in this game. It aims perfectly but has a reaction time of 1 second. Also it doesn't know tracking so you can dodge most bullets if you strafe well.

      Anyway I'm glad you enjoyed the experience :)

  • MirthCastle
    Lv. 2

    That was fun! I admit - I couldn't get past the first level.. I felt like I was looking for a helicopter somewhere? probably a few more tries and I would of made it.

    I stayed alive for a long time - kept hoping I could kill all the zombies but in the end the number stayed at -37.

    I think I wanna make something like that now lol!

    It was remarkably familiar to your game about how war was boring then you die, but instead with a countdown twist. :D

    Decent AI. They obviously had sets of directives to follow and was well executed.

    Good Job! :)

    OOZE
    Submitted

    OOZE

    • Adrien Dittrick
      Lv. 11
      Adrien Dittrick Composer of Countdown Royale

      5yrs ago

      Ah yes there is a helicopter you can reach for the next level :) (it flies near your spawn zone)

      It's very similar to my war game yes, for some reason making a topdown shooter like this is super fast for me. Only a few sprites to draw, easy controls, ect :)

      The AI I am proud of yes, thanks X)

  • Jamblefoot
    Lv. 8

    Did not expect the zombie hordes. This is a lot of fun and really well done. Would be cool to see some melee ability, perhaps a long-handled metal dish of sorts, but the variety of guns provided was much appreciated. Great job!

  • Luke No Further
    Lv. 14

    I got down to the last two and I swear to god my heart was beating like crazy! Surprisingly immersive - and an enjoyable single-player take on the Battle Royale genre.

    How the heck did you do that AI?! It worked really well and I felt like they were deliberately cornering me.

    Excellent work!

    P.S. - Hey can you make your source files available so I can take a look at your AI script? I'm intrigued!

    • Adrien Dittrick
      Lv. 11
      Adrien Dittrick Composer of Countdown Royale

      5yrs ago

      The AI adapts to player progression :)

      For instance:

      • they won't attack you before you pick up a gun
      • each only has a 10% chance of directly going after you
      • some will try to collect guns BEFORE shooting you
      • when less than 5 contestants remain, all will rush at you BUT obtain a gun beforehand.

      BTW try surviving the zombie wave for extra content!

  • Ajmal Rizni
    Lv. 8

    Cool idea for the theme! I liked how you had different weapons and scarce ammo. I think you could make some simple improvements to the game feel (eg. screenshake, flashing sprites, particle effects) but I understand polish is often the last concern when you have so little time. As a side note, I eliminated a bunch of people and got to final 2 before I died, argh! :<

  • Veralos
    Lv. 38

    Cool game. It's pretty clever how you used "countdown" to refer the amount of remaining contestants, rather than as some kind of timer. Unfortunately it got down to 2 contestants and I couldn't find the other guy after exploring the map for a while. Perhaps there needs to be some way to draw the remaining contestants together if something like this happens.

    Despite that hiccup I did enjoy the game a lot. It's fun fighting enemies and it's gets quite tense as the number of contestants goes down. I like how there are multiple different weapons to use. The graphics work nicely and I enjoyed the sounds, particularly some of the silly sounding guns.

  • Mitchell Flint
    Lv. 3

    Very fun! I didn't expect the zombies at the end. Ammo management is a fun challenge and the enemy AI works well. I think adding a weak melee attack would be nice, offering some extra way of defending yourself without a gun.

  • Jose
    Lv. 2

    I became king, now when I shot dead bodies the countdown goes negative!

    Had a hard time finding the last dude alive, adding a run/dash in the future might be nice.

    Bomb it!
    Submitted

    Bomb it!

  • FoxFX
    Lv. 2

    Just when you think this was some sort of Hunger Game parody...zombies!

    Running away from the zombies was almost impossible and ammo was very scarce to overcome that obstacle. I also was wondering if there was room to have the screen follow the mouse cursor so players could see further ahead.

    A surprising Top-Down shooter game you made. And very well polished with the use of dialogue.