Drug Enforcement Astronauts

DEA is a pixel-perfect 2D platformer with tight, responsive controls, fast-paced decision-making and a huge arsenal of gadgets and weapons - all in the realm of couch co-op multiplayer. The game features  a mixture of puzzles, platforming, wits, and high octane face-offs with hundreds of enemies onscreen at once. You have the freedom to choose exactly how you beat each stage - hoarde devastating weapons, strike from the shadows, re-wire electronics, deploy bait and traps, mind-control creatures, mount people and ride them, boss it with your mad free-running skills or mix up your build!

The future is a bleak dystopia. The galaxy as we know it has been populated by beings from far and wide. With the ever increasing stresses and complications of the intergalactic lifestyle, drug dependency  started to soar higher than ever. The people are addicted to drugs. The animals are addicted to drugs. Even the drugs are addicted to drugs. Now, ruthless, iron-fisted drug cartels own over 40% of the galaxy. A group of militant ex-law-enforcers form an underground movement - aptly naming themselves the DEA. They have taken the law into their own hands.

Wiring and Colour Coding

It's been a while since I've updated the blog, so I thought I'd share something that's been a consideration for a very long time. The game now incorporates a wiring system, allowing players and enemies alike to activate and deactivate props throughout the level. This system also gives players using the editor a vast amount of control in level design! Anyone can make complex, logic-driven levels using a simple and elegant design.

Crazy things happening

Essentially, all of the interactive props in the game (bounce pads, doors, traps, spikes, turrets, etc) are colour coded in red, green, blue, yellow or purple. Props can either be activated or deactivated, determining whether they follow their programmed behaviour or not. Hitting any kind of "activator" of the same colour will toggle all props of the same colour - inverting their state. This allows users to create their own puzzles using the editor, and also gives me the capability to create more puzzle-themed levels.

Pressure plate puzzles involve some teamwork

Smash plates act like pressure plates, except they stay active

A few of the elements married together

This concept is still being developed on, and I soon hope to add more combinations of logic, so people with knowledge of programming or electronics can build even more complex systems! :D