ZOE

ZOE

Capsule (Apr 13 2021)

Developer:	Retchy Games
Music:	Tom Pegg
Program:	Retchy
Art:	Retchy
Release date:	TBD

ZOE - A Drawn On Film Shmup

ZOE is a side scrolling looping arena game, and is the first title currently in development by Retchy Games. Programming, artwork, design, animation and sound design is by Retchy, with music and additional sound design by Tom Pegg.

The game takes place on a looping length of 35mm film stock and is inspired by the experimental drawn on film animations of the early 20th Century by artists such as Norman McLaren and Oscar Fischinger. The player character, Zoe, is rudely awoken by the animator and must take the fight to them in order to get back to her peaceful slumber. The player takes control of Zoe as she shoots, dashes and pounds her way through the variety of weird and abstract enemies that the animator puts in her way, as well as the tools they use to make them.

Arcade mode consists of 5 levels which are all interspersed with 'mid boss' sequences offering the opportunity to deal early damage to the boss that carries over to the end of level boss fights, and to earn some bonus points if the enemies it spawns are all taken out. Waves of enemies (referred to as 'Reels') are broken up by brief periods of downtime to purchase power ups and upgrades from the shop.

Gameplay Overview

ZOE is a hybrid of a twin stick shooter and a run and gun game. The player has a Health bar and and Energy bar While flying, the player can use the dash move to plough through most enemies, but doing so costs energy

Controls

---

• Flying - Holding the jump button while on the ground will transition the player to the flying state if you have enough Energy.
  • Shoot Left Button - Shoot weapon left.
  • Shoot Right Button - Shoot weapon right.
  • Move Buttons Move independently from shooting direction.
  • Dash button - Dash in the direction of movement.
  • Pound Button - Pound downwards if flying or jumping.

• Grounded If you miss an enemy or energy button while pounding, or if you fly all the way down, the player will transition to the the grounded state.
  • Shoot Left Button - Shoot weapon left.
  • Shoot Right Button - Shoot weapon right.
  • Shoot Left Button + Shoot Up Button - Shoot weapon diagonally up and left.
  • Shoot Right Button + Shoot Up Button - Shoot weapon diagonally up and right.
  • Shoot Up Button - Shoot weapon up.

---

---

---

---

---

Shop

---

The Apple Shop appears between the 'Reels' during each level and provides an opportunity to upgrade your weapon, character, or purchase a perishable power up. Apples collected from downed enemies are used as currency in the shop.

• Base weapon Upgrade - Permanently upgrade your base weapon, currently up to level 4.
• Homing Weapon - Rapid fire homing missiles automatically aim at nearest enemies. Consumes energy and must be reloaded with energy. Will revert to base gun if energy runs out.
• Spread Weapon - Rapidly firing spread of 5 bullets. Consumes energy and must be reloaded with energy. Will revert to base gun if energy runs out.
• Heavy Weapon - Slower moving projectiles explode into 3 pieces which each deal damage to enemies. Consumes energy and must be reloaded with energy. Will revert to base gun if energy runs out.
• Player Speed - Increases player speed up to level 5.
• Shield - Grants three free hits to the player.
• Apple Gravity - Sucks Apples and Bananas towards player from greater distance. Increases to level 6.
• Points - Purchase points. The amount of points available scales with the current multiplier, as does the cost.

---

---

---

---

References & Contributors

1. Retchy Games: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/retchy_games
2. Written by the developer (Retchy)