Divinoids OT | Transform and Rampage Out!

[correojon]

Divinoids is what you get when you mix ancient deities, mythical monsters and transforming mechas, put it all in a retro-like game container, sprinkle it with some modern game design and then polish it a thousand times. This game looks simple on the surface, but has enough meat under its bones to keep you going for "one more game" until there is not a single building left standing and not a single planet to conquer or giant robot left to put up a fight. Then, you can choose a different character, create a completely different build, and do it all again.

And it's made by our very own Weltall Zero!

• Release date: April 3rd, 2020 (Humble Choice), 2020 (Steam / Switch)
• Developer: Catpad
• Platforms: PC (Steam / Humble Bundle), Switch
• Price: Free (Humble Bundle "Hunble Choice" program), TBA (Steam / Switch)

From the Steam store page:

Divinoids is a desperate struggle between a society much like our own, and highly advanced aliens piloting shapeshifting mechanical monstrosities... where you play as the aliens.

From the store page again:

Choose from a selection of Divinoids, mechanical shapeshifting gods and mythical creatures, and conquer everything in your path.

• Retro arcade look and feel, with modern gameplay sensibilities.
• Quickly shapeshift between god and beast form, doubling your attack and mobility options.
• Simultaneous local co-op.
• Dozens of active and passive modules and weapons, some with different effects depending on your current form.
• Challenging, but fair.
• Procedurally generated worlds and stages greatly enhance replayability.
• Optional retro CRT/Scanlines filter.

MEDUSA / JORMUNGANDR
Armed with a snake-shooting bow, Medusa can turn into Jormungandr to poison the opposing forces or chew through buildings.

ISIS / PHOENIX
Isis wields hard light constructs in various shapes, then takes to the skies as Phoenix to rain down burning feathers on her enemies!

OGMIOS / MANTICORE
Ogmios can use a whip to grab and throw enemies, or turn into the deadly Manticore to fill the screen with poison darts!

You can expand your Divinoid's abilities by equipping Passive and Active modules.

These can have many different effects, like gaining an air dash, drones that breathe fire, or even powerful special weapons like a rocket launcher!

There are over 30 modules to unlock, mix and match!

There are many ways to conquer a planet: you can destroy cities, disable shield generators, hijack supply convoys...

...and don't forget that you can have a friend join you to wreak havoc together!

On your journey through the universe you´ll find all kinds of alien planets. Magnetic storms, fog, volcanoes and more can pose a deadly threat!

The planetary troops are well trained and can become quite the challenge... but they pale in comparison to the heavy hitters like the Goliath Tank or the glorious Wundanius W!

Trailer:

Spoiler: Awesome Divinoid Artwork

• Humble: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/divinoids
• Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1251670/Divinoids/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/divinoids

An OT by Redcrayon & correojon ​

 

[Spence]

What even is this, never heard of it but it looks awesome! I'm interested in the Switch version.

 

[1upsuper]

I've been looking forward to this title for a while, but I didn't know it was coming out so soon. That's exciting.

 

[AmigoTaco]

This looks amazing

 

[Reddaye]

I really enjoy the Rampage games, and had never heard of this before now. Looks really cool, and something I'd totally be into. Gonna keep an eye on this for sure.

 

[Redcrayon]

I was lucky enough to be able to playtest this a little, and I absolutely love Medusa's special (seen in a gif above) where Jormungandr attacks the planet- it reminds me of stuff like FF summons where you are fighting a handful of enemies but then someone calls Leviathan to swamp the entire coastline with a tsunami!

Gameplay is relatively simple to start with (although modern game design still takes it way, way beyond Rampage), and there's a lot going on once you get into it. Master the characters and you can pull off some amazing stuff as you switch between forms.

 

[Weltall Zero]

What even is this, never heard of it but it looks awesome! I'm interested in the Switch version.

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I've been looking forward to this title for a while, but I didn't know it was coming out so soon. That's exciting.

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This looks amazing

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I really enjoy the Rampage games, and had never heard of this before now. Looks really cool, and something I'd totally be into. Gonna keep an eye on this for sure.

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I was lucky enough to be able to playtest this a little, and I absolutely love Medusa's special (seen in a gif above) where Jormungandr attacks the planet- it reminds me of stuff like FF summons where you are fighting a handful of enemies but then someone calls Leviathan to swamp the entire coastline with a tsunami!

Gameplay is relatively simple to start with (although modern game design still takes it way, way beyond Rampage), and there's a lot going on once you get into it. Master the characters and you can pull off some amazing stuff as you switch between forms.

Click to shrink...

Thanks everyone for the kind words, they mean so much more than you can possibly imagine! Please feel free to ask any questions, and once you get to play the game, suggestions and criticism. :)

 

[correojon]

I really enjoy the Rampage games, and had never heard of this before now. Looks really cool, and something I'd totally be into. Gonna keep an eye on this for sure.

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Yeah this is like Rampage on steroids. It starts simple but soon explodes with a million gameplay possibilities. I specially like using Ogmios' whip to grab the big submarines and toss them upwards against the flying enemies, it´s awesome!

 

[Weltall Zero]

Yeah this is like Rampage on steroids. It starts simple but soon explodes with a million gameplay possibilities. I specially like using Ogmios' whip to grab the big submarines and toss them upwards against the flying enemies, it´s awesome!

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Thank you so much for making the OP, it's so beautiful and intrincate!

Yeah, throwing enemies became one of the most fun mechanics in the game! It was originally going to be one of Ogmios' gimmicks, but frankly I had so much fun throwing tanks against planes and such that I had to give it to all of the Divinoids:

- Ogmios is the only one that can grab enemies from afar using its whip, still giving him an edge.
- Medusa can grab enemies using her bow as a pincer.
- Isis can grab enemies in Phoenix form, and throwing them from far up in the air never gets old. :D

 

[Redcrayon]

I feel like I need some deep lore on the pilots of the Divinoids now :D

 

[Weltall Zero]

I feel like I need some deep lore on the pilots of the Divinoids now :D

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While I never quite expanded too much on the concept as it doesn't figure into the game itself, the basic idea is that they're sort of "galactic gardeners". They leave other galactic civilizations alone, until these reach a technological point where they could become a potential threat to their own dominance in the future; then they conquer all of their planets, harvest their resources, rare metals and technology (represented in-game as nuts and bolts dropped by enemies :D), and pretty much send them back to the Stone Age, to start the cycle anew. This is why the Divinoids resemble gods and mythical creatures; they are the half-remembered legends of the harvest, passed along the survivors onto their descendants.

Fun fact: originally, the "free module" and "heart container" bonuses, instead of being dropped from orbit when you weaken the planetary shield enough, were already on the planet's surface, left behind by previous invasions, and revered since then by the inhabitants as sacred sites and temples, which is also why one of them has a pyramid shape.

 

[Redcrayon]

While I never quite expanded too much on the concept as it doesn't figure into the game itself, the basic idea is that they're sort of "galactic gardeners". They leave other galactic civilizations alone, until these reach a technological point where they could become a potential threat to their own dominance in the future; then they conquer all of their planets, harvest their resources, rare metals and technology (represented in-game as nuts and bolts dropped by enemies :D), and pretty much send them back to the Stone Age, to start the cycle anew. This is why the Divinoids resemble gods and mythical creatures; they are the half-remembered legends of the harvest, passed along the survivors onto their descendants.

Fun fact: originally, the "free module" and "heart container" bonuses, instead of being dropped from orbit when you weaken the planetary shield enough, were already on the planet's surface, left behind by previous invasions, and revered since then by the inhabitants as sacred sites and temples, which is also why one of them has a pyramid shape.

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I like the idea of these mythic concepts being a sort of handed-down memory of terrifying invaders, but actually being cool ancient alien battlesuits! As you say it doesn't figure much in the game but it does inform the title. Good job on picking something that hasn't been done for 'godlike/demigod figure', as opposed to the usual 'Titan', 'avatar', 'eidolon' etc. Is the 'oid' evoking ideas like 'mechanoid' or 'zoid' then? Apologies for my incessant curiosity here :D

 

[Weltall Zero]

Is the 'oid' evoking ideas like 'mechanoid' or 'zoid' then? Apologies for my incessant curiosity here :D

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Yes, that's right! "Android" is latin for "similar to a man" (from latin "andros"). The equivalent for gods would probably be something like "deusoid" or "divusoid", but "divinoid" (more or less using the adjectival form) sounded better and more understandable in English.

In the title, the "Divin" part is made of stone, while the "noid" part is made of machinery; this is entirely intentional. :)

And absolutely no need to apologize, hahah! I love that people are interested enough to ask questions. :)

 

[correojon]

While I never quite expanded too much on the concept as it doesn't figure into the game itself, the basic idea is that they're sort of "galactic gardeners". They leave other galactic civilizations alone, until these reach a technological point where they could become a potential threat to their own dominance in the future; then they conquer all of their planets, harvest their resources, rare metals and technology (represented in-game as nuts and bolts dropped by enemies :D), and pretty much send them back to the Stone Age, to start the cycle anew. This is why the Divinoids resemble gods and mythical creatures; they are the half-remembered legends of the harvest, passed along the survivors onto their descendants.

Fun fact: originally, the "free module" and "heart container" bonuses, instead of being dropped from orbit when you weaken the planetary shield enough, were already on the planet's surface, left behind by previous invasions, and revered since then by the inhabitants as sacred sites and temples, which is also why one of them has a pyramid shape.

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That's really cool! Did you get some inspiration from Stargate?

 

[Redcrayon]

You know people are gonna want the prequel showing your galactic gardeners 'pruning' other alien civilisations. Get back to work, Weltall :D

 

[Weltall Zero]

That's really cool! Did you get some inspiration from Stargate?

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Not really, this is the first time I've even thought about the similarities, hahah. To be frank the development was "I want robots that turn into gods and manticores and stuff", the story was more of a "how did we get here" post-hoc justification. :D

You know people are gonna want the prequel showing your galactic gardeners 'pruning' other alien civilisations. Get back to work, Weltall :D

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At some point I considered adding more alien species indeed; like, really alien:

Their "buildings" would be hives, with egg sacks that emit smaller enemies and stuff. They would mostly use melee attacks, to contrast with the ranged-based, more "Earth-like" enemies (this was before adding most of the transforming robot enemies with melee attacks of their own). It never got further than the concept phase, and the above animation I did for a change of pace.

 

[Redcrayon]

Not really, this is the first time I've even thought about the similarities, hahah. To be frank the development was "I want robots that turn into gods and manticores and stuff", the story was more of a "how did we get here" post-hoc justification. :D



At some point I considered adding more alien species indeed; like, really alien:

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OK that galaxy looks freaky!

 

[Morrigan]

Congratulations Weltall Zero!

 

[Weltall Zero]

OK that galaxy looks freaky!

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What's the point of touring the galaxy if it isn't super freaky? :)

Congratulations Weltall Zero!

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Thank you very much! :)

 

[cyress8]

Coming with my Humble Bundle choice sub.

Love games that are over the top action. That big ass snake chomping down got a hell of a chuckle out of me.

 

[HellBlazer]

Congrats Weltall Zero. I remember you posting about the development of this game in the indie dev thread a while back (I haven't really followed the thread in a while), good to see you managed to finish and release it! That's a great achievement.

 

[flyinj]

To play this on April 1st do I need to subscribe to a monthly service? Or can I buy it from the humble store without having to subscribe?

 

[Weltall Zero]

To play this on April 1st do I need to subscribe to a monthly service? Or can I buy it from the humble store without having to subscribe?

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I have an exclusivity contract for the game to be on Humble Choice until later this year. Once that's up, I plan to release it on Humble Store, Steam and hopefully Switch. :)

 

[Weltall Zero]

So apparently the Humble Trove doesn't update until 9 days from now:

April 2024 Humble Choice

Get April 2024 Humble Choice and more when you subscribe for just $11.99 per month!

www.humblebundle.com

I had no clue the trove updates separately from the Humble Choice games. This means Divinoids won't release until the 10th; sorry everyone. >_<

 

[Steeped in a Sea of Games]

Just wanted to say that the gifs posted in this topic are great. Definitely interested in this game.

 

[Deleted member 5621]

Yeah, not buying it now but wishlisting. As I read the OP I was fearing this was tower defense, but pleasantly surprised it is not.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Just wanted to say that the gifs posted in this topic are great. Definitely interested in this game.

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Thank you very much!

Yeah, not buying it now but wishlisting. As I read the OP I was fearing this was tower defense, but pleasantly surprised it is not.

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Tower defense? Well that would be some radical genre change, hahah. :)

Also, thanks for wishlisting; it raises the game's visibility and god knows us indies desperately need it.

 

[Weltall Zero]

So I just contacted Humble and they told me Divinoids will be available for Choice subscribers this Friday. Yay!

 

[Steeped in a Sea of Games]

So I just contacted Humble and they told me Divinoids will be available for Choice subscribers this Friday. Yay!

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Nice. I'll give it a try!

 

[correojon]

So I just contacted Humble and they told me Divinoids will be available for Choice subscribers this Friday. Yay!

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Nice! I updated the date in the OP, soon everyone will be able to play this!

 

[Weltall Zero]

Nice! I updated the date in the OP, soon everyone will be able to play this!

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Thank you very much!

 

[Weltall Zero]

Divinoids is now out! Claim and download it from your Humble Choice page. Please report back with any impressions!

 

[Redcrayon]

Weltall Zero
Which ones are your favourites so far? I always love finding the out-there ones for doing something really bizarre!

 

[Weltall Zero]

Weltall Zero
Which ones are your favourites so far? I always love finding the out-there ones for doing something really bizarre!

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Ahhh... that's such a hard question to answer, hahah. There's several categories for that.
- There's one that's deceptively simple, "with Ogmios, grab an enemy 170 pixels away", because it's made so that you have to be at just the right distance for the whip to extend almost completely. For some reason I find that one quite fun to attempt.
- There's others that make an already visually interesting situation that more fun, like the "The Towering Inferno" one about having seven buildings burning at once. :D
- Then there's the ones that are probably my favorite, which are the "instructive" or "teaching" achievements. The idea is that the player sees them in the achievement list, and thinks "wow, you can do that?". There's one about literally burning down a bridge, and it's neat because a lot of people don't realize you can destroy bridges and it will destroy them in the map screen (which prevents land-based enemies from crossing them, obviously). I want to see if I can come up with more "learning" achievements like that.

 

[Redcrayon]

Ahhh... that's such a hard question to answer, hahah. There's several categories for that.
- There's one that's deceptively simple, "with Ogmios, grab an enemy 170 pixels away", because it's made so that you have to be at just the right distance for the whip to extend almost completely. For some reason I find that one quite fun to attempt.
- There's others that make an already visually interesting situation that more fun, like the "The Towering Inferno" one about having seven buildings burning at once. :D
- Then there's the ones that are probably my favorite, which are the "instructive" or "teaching" achievements. The idea is that the player sees them in the achievement list, and thinks "wow, you can do that?". There's one about literally burning down a bridge, and it's neat because a lot of people don't realize you can destroy bridges and it will destroy them in the map screen (which prevents land-based enemies from crossing them, obviously). I want to see if I can come up with more "learning" achievements like that.

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I like educational achievements, I've often learned more that way! Monster Hunter GU is great for that, the in-game achievement list encourages you to try absolutely everything

 

[Weltall Zero]

I like educational achievements, I've often learned more that way! Monster Hunter GU is great for that, the in-game achievement list encourages you to try absolutely everything

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Yeah, I already have several that are naturally good for teaching players about mechanics (e.g. there's one about destroying an helicopter by throwing a tank on it, which implicitly teaches that grabbing and throwing is a thing), but I need to put achievements for all of the mechanics people miss, like parrying bullets with your own attacks, or tanking an attack with the split second invulnerability at the start of shapeshifting.

I'm just thinking it would also be perfect to e.g. show that some modules have different functionality depending on which form you equip them. For example, using both forms of the Sword Beam / Beam Sword in one game.

 

[AmigoTaco]

any update on when we can purchase this straight up? id rather not go through some odd subscription plan that i dont really need.

 

[Weltall Zero]

any update on when we can purchase this straight up? id rather not go through some odd subscription plan that i dont really need.

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My exclusivity period with Humble ends in two months, at which point I'll release on Steam. I'm using that time to add cloud saves and achievements (both pretty much done!), tweaking the difficulty, and adding more stuff. :)

 

[AmigoTaco]

great! thanks for the update and best of luck!

 

[Weltall Zero]

great! thanks for the update and best of luck!

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Thank you! :)