Shatter Protocol

Shatter Protocol is a bite-sized, 15-minute roguelite tower defense. I wanted a game with the deep, auto-chess merging mechanics of a massive strategy game, but condensed into a timeframe you can actually play on your commute (or on the toilet) without grinding for three hours just to see a good build.

You drop in, draft your arsenal, survive the geometric swarm, and get out.

How to Play

The crystal core fires automatically. Your job is to manage the arsenal.

• Defend: Survive continuous, escalating waves of geometric enemies to earn Gold.
• Draft & Merge: Spend Gold on chests. Buy three identical weapons to evolve them into devastating higher tiers with unique mechanics (like bouncing lasers and explosive bullets).
• Level Up: Use your excess Gold to buy raw Levels for your weapons, pushing their base stats higher and customizing your damage output before the next major wave hits.
• Quests (Risk vs. Reward): This is the driver of your run. Open the Quest menu to accept dangerous, temporary penalties (like faster enemies or massive defense buffs for the swarm). Survive the timer, and you will reap massive rewards.
• Bosses & Augments: Every few minutes, a massive Boss unit enters the void. Slaying it grants you a choice of game-changing Augments. Want to see those rare Epic and Legendary drops right at the start? You will need to invest in your meta-upgrades to push the math in your favor.
• Upgrade (Meta-Progression): Die, return to the hub, and spend your hard-earned Platinum and ems on permanent upgrades to push your crystal's defenses further on the next attempt.

Developer Notes: 

The "Spaghetti Code"

I am going to be completely honest with you: I am not a programmer, but I had a vision for this game that I desperately wanted to bring to life. Shatter Protocol was coded almost entirely with the help of AI. What does that mean for you? It means the code under the hood is an absolute spaghetti monster, and the game balance is completely broken right now. This is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) test build. The foundation is here, but I need your help to balance it. If you find a weapon combo that instantly crashes the economy, or an enemy that is literally impossible to kill at Minute 5, please tell me in the comments below! 

Explore the interface

This is a raw test build, so there is no hand-holding tutorial yet—curiosity is your best weapon! Don't be afraid to click around the HUD. Tap your equipped weapon icons to open detailed stat breakdowns, swipe and scroll through the description panels to read up on synergy tiers, and keep an eye out for small directional arrows that reveal your chest and reroll mechanics.

The Roadmap (What's Next?) 

This is just the skeleton. Once we get the core math balanced together, I plan to add:

• More base weapons and branching upgrade paths.
• A massive expansion to the economy and artifact system.
• Even more augments and special ones, tailored to a specific weapon to change its complete behaviour.
• Costumisation for the overlay. More colors, different styles.
• Better music and sfx.

Credits

• Design & Pixel Art: Me (I'm not an artist, working on it)
• Programming: Me + AI (Don't judge us)
• BGM (you can find them on pixabay.com):
  • Main Menu: JoelFazhari - SciFi Fantasy Soundscape
  • In-game: leberch - Cyberpunk
• Fonts: Munro