Defiled West

Winner of the 2024 NSE Games Innovation Challenge Design Muse Award!

In the old west, towns across the vast escapes have been corrupted with death. You play as Dynamite Deadlington, a fierce half-gunslinger, half-ghost. Your job is to clear these towns of rotting mass and restore it to a (somewhat) liveable state.

Development Notes (Help & Tips)

• Defeat the first boss (in Level One, top left) to unlock the Soul Scale abilities.
• Watch your dial once you've unlocked it; you die if it becomes too orange or too blue!
• The number in the bottom left is your total ammo for that weapon category. The bullet icons represent the ammo you have loaded into your weapon.
• Remember to use your skill points at the Well of Souls in Stickstead to enhance your abilities (such as shooting through multiple enemies).
• Melee Weapons are unfinished as our priority was gunplay.
• Please note that while your level progress is saved, the skills you unlock are not.
• We have a whole list of bugs to fix, if you spot anything weird or out of place, there's no harm in reporting it to us in the comments.

There are a lot of overlapping mechanics in Defiled West and we have been occupied with University commitments - please be patient with any issues you may find!

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Starting in the old town of Stickstead, complete two of six unique levels by clearing them of the damned. Encounter Undead, Ghosts, two unique bosses and various other threats along the way.

Indulge in four unique weapons while you keep careful control of your Soul Scale. Kill too many enemies and you may succumb to your wounds. Take too much damage and you may become Spectralised!

The demo contains 6 abilities per scale, with two upgrades available each. In this version, you'll be able to unlock 12 abilities and 24 upgrades.

Thanks for taking a look, we hope you follow the project and see where it goes! The full version is planned for Steam, but the Itch version will receive a finished Stickstead town past the game jam's release.

Short overview of the vision for the game:

Multiple unique towns to explore, each with their own buildings to clear, their own boss fights and enemies to conquer. 

• Various weapon types and variants - melee and ranged. 
• More unique sounds and soundtracks to fit every scenario
• Redesigned, grungy world art and animations
• An advanced soul scale system, working your way across the county to build your skills and condemn the dead to their rightful place among the dirt. 

Created by marshs (Sam) & Tbage (Trafford) for the NSE Unidays Games Innovation Challenge in just under 6 weeks.