Destroy Them, Rico | A 2D action game about an unknown adaptive entity [WIP]

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Hi everyone!

I’m working on DestroyThem — Rico, a 2D action game being developed in Godot.

Rico is an entity of unknown material nature. Its substance resembles a liquid metal more than anything else, but it does not correspond to any known material. Rico itself is just as difficult to classify: it reacts to events, changes its internal state, adapts, and develops persistent behavioural traits — although what exactly this represents, and whether it can be considered anything analogous to intelligence, remains unknown.

During the first stage of the game, Rico goes through a series of trials inside combat labyrinths. The goal is to test its capabilities, reactions to different threats, and its compatibility with a particular player. The way a person explores, takes risks, fights and makes decisions gradually begins to influence Rico itself.

The trials are accompanied by Amika — an Autonomous Modular Intelligent Companion. Amika observes Rico, scans its condition and surroundings, tracks damage and changes, and reacts to what is happening.

The opposing forces are autonomous machines made of functional engines, weapons and other modules. Their movement and orientation are calculated according to the current state of those systems. Losing an engine or another component can change thrust balance, manoeuvrability, orientation and subsequent combat behaviour. Damage therefore affects not only an abstract health value, but the way an enemy actually behaves.

Future stages are planned to include encounters with other Rico entities as well — including cooperative modes, arenas and PvP, where players will meet with their own Rico instances after those have already been shaped by their previous interactions.

So the main question of the experiment is not only:

“What is Rico?”

but also:

“What does Rico become alongside a particular person?”

I’ll use this thread as a development log to share new mechanics, experiments, enemies, procedural generation work, Rico and Amika behaviour, and other changes as the project develops.

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Great graphics, and nice, punchy OST !

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Thank you! Really glad you liked it — especially the OST. I’m still experimenting a lot with both the visuals and the sound, so it’s great to hear that they work well together.

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RICO — Notes from recent tests

It’s been a few weeks since my last update. I’ve spent most of that time observing Rico’s behavior and how things interact within the environment.

The basic idea hasn’t changed. I’m trying to create something more than a collection of separate game mechanics. I want an environment where the state of one object can affect the behavior of others.

A lot of attention has gone into Rico’s movement. His shape is constantly changing, his spikes keep moving, and his own movement impulses interact with the player’s input.

Every Rico has his own individual characteristics. At first, the differences can be hard to notice, but the longer you watch their movements and reactions, the more obvious they become.

I’ve also continued testing the autonomous drones. Their flight depends on individual engines, so damage can affect thrust balance, maneuverability, and how a machine behaves afterward. Sometimes losing an engine leads to some pretty unusual flight paths.

AMICO is still doing his own thing, too. He observes what’s happening, reacts to objects around him, and isn’t always focused on following Rico.

The upgrade station has changed quite a bit as well. Rico’s parameters can now be inspected and upgraded through a holographic interface available in several languages.

I put together a short video from the latest tests. It shows movement, combat, explosions, changes in Rico’s shape, and the upgrade station.

There’s still plenty of work ahead, but Rico’s behavior is now exactly where I wanted it to be. I’m especially curious to see how this whole environment comes across to people experiencing it for the first time.