They Grow
A downloadable game for Windows
"All of you are infected, we can't save you anymore."
As a dying man from a monstrous disease, enter an infested Hotel and fight real-time growing and mutating enemies. You only have to find two bio-samples before all is consumed, you won't survive, but Mankind might.
Controls for Keyboard:
A,D - Run;
W,S - Aim up and Down;
R - Reload;
Spacebar - Jump;
Ctrl- Shoot;
Shift- Kick;
Esc - Exit Game;
Controls for GamePad (Xbox 360):
Left/Right Arrows - Walk;
Up/Down Arrows - Aim up and Down;
A - Jump;
X - Shoot;
Y - Reload;
B - Kick;
Back Button - Exit Game;
Made for the "Low Stakes High-Rolling | Make a sci-fi game" 2021 Jam.
Check out my Patreon!
www.patreon.com/davidepuato
Music by White Bat Audio, check'em out HERE!
Game inspired by Oleg Vdovenko's "ILL", check his work HERE!
The game is still open to change, so if you have any feedback, just comment below!
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- FULL VERSION/REMAKE ANNOUNCEMENT!Mar 25, 2021
- Post Jam version.Feb 22, 2021
Comments
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Is this game still in development or is it cancelled?
sincerest regards doobzy-
Control scheme for keyboard is a bit clunky, but that's of course understandable, given the up & down shooting mechanic. Liked how there were multiple ways to approach the samples. at first i was discouraged that progress wasn't saved at all, but quickly realized that the path is not linear at all. music was on point. ending was on point. nice game
Thanks you so much! full version will be even more open.
just trying this now, it's very cool, but why not enable support for the analogue stick on gamepads? very hard to remember to use the d-pad instead since 99% of games now let you use the left stick.
anyway for now just came to stay that while they're obviously *VERY* DERVIATIVE OF dEAD sPACE'S NECROMORPHS, THESE ARE SOME OF THE CREEPIEST AND MOST DISTURBING ENEMIES--IF NOT THE OUTRIGHT CREEPIEST--THAT i'VE SEEN IN A 2D PLATFORMER/ACTION GAME.
hELLO and sorry for the late reply, i could not enable analog support at the time because i had no idea how to haha. the full version will have support for it.
and thanks so much for the comment, i am very happy knowing that it creeped you out! and yes, dead space and the thing where very big influences for them.
32xwin bits?
unfortunately it does not support it. sorry, i am not sure how i can make a 32xwin version of it either.
Dont worry,i have a new pc now!
So *this* is what it means to be a growing boy...
OH YES, THE GAME IS BASICALLY A BIOGRAPHY OF MY TEENS.
aND THANK YOU FOR THE VIDEO!
IT IS MY PLEASURE!
It says that the game has a virus called bladabindi for some reason...
Thats strange, as far as i know this is not a common problem, do you have an antivirus that you can scan your computer? It might be from your end, altought if it is not, i have no idea how the file could have been infected.
its to hard when you cant turn around in the air
and i think the place is to dark. so i add more brighnest in the video.
so far it was a nice game!
greeting from indonesia!
Thank you for the video! It seems that you are playing an old version of the game in the video, I fixed the darkness in the new version, and for the jumping I changed it so now you can shoot while jumping. Also fixed the bug where you can hide behind the soldiers in the end haha.
But thanks! And greetings from Brazil!
Really fun, short game. it's a nice concept i think could definitely be expanded upon in the future, Which is always nice to see even if it isn't. Lighting needs some work though. was jumping wildly in the dark sometimes hoping there was a platform.
Thank you! and yes, some areas where too dark since i couldn't test it on other computers so i just used my monitor for testing the lighting, wich created some problems for other people. but i fixed it in the new patch, hope the lantern helps with finding the path better.
Nice work on this! love the idea that it gets harder over time difficulty was indeed challenging which is very important. Though i would suggest a little better lighting especially in the darker areas like the corridors.
Thanks! I just uploaded a patched version that fixes the lights and other stuff.
WOW, well done man. Story is light but very good. the enemies are terrifying which is hard to do on side scroller. This thing fully fleshed out would be amazing and likely make a few $$.
Feedback:
Gunplay needs to be shored up. Crouch firing a shotgun while you can see heads are above the platform your standing on should hit the enemies. Crouching while firing both barrels would be nice. This could be an incorporation of alternate weapons where you have a fire and a special fire attack
better keyboard/Controller support: I saw this listed below but definitely second it
Slight increase in light sources properly hint out direction
at least 12 levels, short but difficult much like you already have
When murdered you could have horrific kill scenes
Any way good luck, this could be really good
Hello and thanks for the detailed feedback! i just released a patch that fixes some of these issues, on this version i might give some other patches, but for expanding it, like more levels, mechanics or endings, i am not going to be putting them on this version, but instead focusing my time on the planned full standalone version of the game.
so yeah, just keep an eye out for any news on the future of this project! and thanks again for the constructive criticism!
I played the game and i had a little bit of trouble with the controls but overall I enjoyed it. I loved the enemies and thought they were scary just full of surprises.
Thank you! the controls are indeed weird and i'll change them in the future. And im glad the enemies surprised as intended!
Thank you for the feedback! and indeed, the game has some optimization issues, it ran even slower before posting it for the jam. and the x button refers to the xbox gamepad, altought i'd agree that the information is not very clear, and enter for shooting was made because it is more confortable for changing from coding to testing the build, but for actual gameplay it is kinda weird, that and other stuff will be different in the next patch.
and Thanks again for the comment!
This game was awesome!! I love the idea and the platforming style! It was also hard as balls which to me, made it that much more enjoyable! Can't wait to see more from you!
Thanks! there will be definitely more from me on the future!
Gave it a Let's Play
Thank you so much for the video! it is indeed very inspired by the thing (1982).
Hello There, welcome to my nightmares. Keep preying on my imagination with your tense soundtrack and dimly-lit metamorphoses.
Thank you?
This was more difficult than I was expecting! Made for some funny rage-ish moments. But that ending... WOW! Very nice twist. I love the style of this game and the evolution of the enemies! Overall, this was a great experience!
Thanks! i'm Very glad that you liked the ending, even if it was technically for nothing haha!
Hiiii, I've made a video about the game and I wanted to share some feedback about it :D hopefully it's useful to you :)
-The main concept for the game and the "short story" you have put into it are pretty amazing and very interesting, exploring them in a longer game would be great :D-The visual style fits perfectly the game and give the player a very good experience :)
-I've found that some enemies are in very hard postions to be attacked without diying.
-The gameplay mechanics are pretty interesting and polished, they really give the player a solid gameplay experience.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the game . Hopefully this is useful to you :D, also if you could subscribe that would help me a lot :)
Regards
Thank you! the feedback is very useful, and indeed some enemies are on weird unshootable spots, i've already fixed it in a patch, im just waiting for the jam rating period to end so i can upload it.
And im already subscribed :)
Good to hear :D, thanks for subscribing :)
The game was fun and an interesting experience. Though I'd rethink some of the enemy location. Especially with how fast the monsters mutate. But besides that, really interesting game and story.
Here's my channel for other games I have played. http://www.youtube.com/c/Levont
Thank you for playing it! THE FUTURE VERSION WILL HAVE IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR GROWING METHODS AND TIMING.
A wonderful experience! David puato strikes again with another excellent demonstration of his talent as an indie dev
Oh wow, thank you so much for the kind comment!
windows detects a virus
Hello! I can guarantee it's definitely not a virus, this also sometimes happens with me when i download some games, if you can just give it permission to keep downloading or to execute the .exe, usually works.
Wow, it's pretty short, but I love it! Very cool the different interactions the monsters have and little "evolutions", I'd love to see more from you dev. Keep going!
Thank you! More is coming!
Thanks for playing!
love the game and the art style kinda reminds me of the pixelated game that i played way back i think it was a flash game but i love it very short tho i was expecting that you can shoot the guards from behind since there is a glitch that u cant die when u stand from behind but overall its a pretty good game
Thank you for the indepth gameplay! Ill definitely put another ending for the full version.
Wow thank you for creating an awesome game. I had fun playing this and I have to say I want to see more with this game as in more story etc as its pretty unique.
Thank you for checking another one of my games! Im planning on the expansion, i've got some interesting ideas for the story, especially for the clone bits.
It was a pleasure. Keep putting things out like this and you will show how talented a game creator you are.
nice game
Thanks!
You've made a bunch of games in the past, but this, my friend, may just be one of your best ones yet. I just love the gore in it. it's beautiful, it's a masterpiece.
Thank you so much, comments like this mean a lot! Hopefully the full game will be even better!
This was SO cool!!! I love the brutality of it, you really don't get any second chances!! I'd definitely love to see some more of this story!
Thank you! Im already planning the bigger story and on making it even more brutal!
LOVE IT!!
awesome game! the different mutations really made the game feel like it's own little ecosystem and seeing how everything interacted was really cool.
Thank you! im planning on even more mutations for the full version, so it feels even more like an ecosystem.
Great premise! Art style fits theme nicely, kudos for the soundtrack! Perfect candidate for multiple endings.
Thank's! the soundtrack is by White Bat Audio, really recommend their music.
And indeed, multiple endings would really fit the game, maybe even one where you become the monster and kill humans.
Amazing game dev and unexpected ending
Thank you SO MUCH!
A very good game, despite being short. The action in real-time gives certain adrenaline. It would be nice if the game could be expanded. It has good potential for more. Congratulations.
Thank you! i have been seeing a bunch of people interested in a bigger version, will definitely start planning it!
Show post...
cool ..hope look full story
Thank's! im beggining to plan a bigger story for a future version.
Really enjoyed this. It was difficult at first, but the game's length flattens the hurdle. Personally, I was hoping for a 'show, don't tell' sort of ending; it just explaint a little too much. The game's controls definitely took a minute to get used to but that was not a big issue, either.
Over all, if this game shall have a longer run-time and will keep it's permadeath and inherent difficulty, then by golly is this a good game!
Thank you so much for the comment! I was also dubious about the difficulty while making it, but its cool to see that it being short makes it ok.
I had to put a lot of exposition in the ending because i didn't plan on making an overarching plot, but if there are enough people interested in a bigger version, I will definitely make an expansion for the game, even making multiple endings that are more misterious!
Once again, thank you for the great Feedback!