Warning On Browser Version!

This prototype was not intended for the browser! The web version is provided for accessibility, but for the proper experience, I recommend downloading. The game may crash or become unstable otherwise!

Controls

(Gamepad recommended for the best experience)

Keyboard:

  • Move: A / D or Arrow Keys
  • Jump: Space Bar
  • Dash / Dodge: Shift
  • Interact / Absorb: Enter
  • Cancel: Esc
  • Attack: J
  • Swap: K
  • Peek Camera: Arrow Keys
  • Shift Swap Target Right: I
  • Shift Swap Target Left: U
  • Swap Target Nearest: O
  • Mute Music: M

Gamepad (XInput):
(Press keyboard B-Key to initiate gamepad rebind stepper)
(Defaults based on ps4 controller)

  • Move: Left Stick
  • Jump: X Button
  • Dash / Dodge: Left Trigger (LT)
  • Interact / Absorb: Triangle Button
  • Cancel: Square Button
  • Attack: Circle Button
  • Swap: Right Trigger (RT)
  • Peek Camera: Right Stick
  • Shift Swap Target Right: D Pad Left
  • Shift Swap Target Left: D Pad Right
  • Swap Target Nearest: D Pad Up

About

Concrete Echos is a free prototype for a 2D action-platformer concept I've been developing. It's an early, personal hobby kind of project. As a young project, it's still rough around the edges, but my main goal was to create a specific mood and to test if the core ideas were fun.

I'd be grateful for any feedback.

Setting

They are called Concrete Echos: phantom-like manifestations of raw emotion. To most, they are invisible: the flash of a reckless impulse, an argument that erupts from nowhere, a sudden stroke of bad luck, a tragic accident. But for you, they are real.

You are Box, the sole survivor of an event that left you cursed with the power to see this hidden world. To everyone else, you're a phantom yourself—a kid with a box on his head, dodging threats that aren't there, fighting battles no one else can see.

Core Features (In This Prototype):

  • An Experiment in Defense: This prototype explores alternatives to the standard parry mechanic. Your defensive toolkit is built around two core ideas:



    • The Swap: A swap based teleport that's your primary defensive tool. Use it to switch places with enemies, turning them into living shields, or use it for traversal to access new areas.

    • The Absorb: Consume the essence of defeated Echos to heal. This choice has consequences—in this prototype, absorbing too much will make a key boss hostile, locking you out of a peaceful resolution.

  • Acrobatic Combat & Exploration: Master precise melee combat and a crucial dodge-dash to survive. Unlock traversal skills like the wall-jump to navigate the haunted metropolis.

About the Tech

This prototype is written in Go and stands on the shoulders of the following open-source projects:

  • Ebitengine: A 2D game library that provides the foundational tools for rendering, input, and audio.
  • LDtk: A modern and flexible level editor, with custom JSON export.

The game's architecture, including the Entity Component System (ECS), physics, and the code that integrates with these tools, is handled by Bappa, a custom framework I wrote specifically for this and future projects (maybe lol).

Bringing all these elements together has been a huge learning process. I expected to be humbled in terms of programming, but it turns out game development comes with a plethora of other skills that I was lacking. Without even considering the code (which is a bit al dente), everything from the actual game design—like literally placing stuff in the level—to creating/procuring art and sounds has been an exhausting challenge. Truly an intense hobby.

Credits

Visual Credits

Audio Credits

Misc Credit

More information

Download

Download
ce_windows.zip 219 MB
Download
ce_mac.zip 440 MB

Install instructions

Please open attached ReadMe.md in text editor for instructions.  Mostly just need to tell mac or windows OS that the game is not sus.