Gamma Zero
Gamma Zero is a vertically scrolling shoot-em-up developed by Sinclair Gurny in 2025 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The debut game by developer Sinclair Gurny.
Box Art
| Developer: | Sinclair Gurny |
|---|---|
| Release date: | March 2025 |
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Contents
Gameplay Overview
Gamma Zero is a vertically scrolling shoot-em-up developed by Sinclair Gurny in 2025 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Gamma Zero is a two-button game (with an optional auto fire button), with 3 ship types each with 8 colors. Gamma Zero consists of 3 stages, with a second loop, totally 6 stages. Gamma Zero's main focus is on unlocking all the unlockable colors by beating the stages, the boss rush mode, and challenges. Gamma Zero draws inspiration from many CAVE games with a variety of bullet patterns.
Controls
- Z (Tap) / C: Fire weapon
- Z (Hold): Fire weapon in focused mode
- X (Hold): Activate bomb
- TAB: Pause the game
Ships
Gamma Zero has three ship types: Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Alpha is a fast mobile ship with minimal difference between focus and standard firing. Beta is the balanced ship with a slightly wider standard fire. Gamma is the slow but very wide firing ship.
Each of the unlockable colors is based on various other shoot-em-ups and other properties with the prize for unlocking all colors is a special color for all ships.
Weapons
Gamma Zero ships all have a primary shot, which can be focused for added damage and slower movement. As well as a bomb which creates a cancellation zone which converts bullets into coins.
Items
Gamma Zero has four types of items. Coins, power ups, bombs, and 1ups. Coins are required for scoring and will be covered in detail in the scoring section. Power ups increase the power of the ship's primary weapon up to a maximum of level 12. Each ship starts with 3 starting bombs, and can a maximum of 5 bombs. Gamma Zero does not include score based 1ups.
Loops
Gamma Zero features a second loop which introduces revenge bullets and harder bullet patterns. To unlock the second stage no continues can be used while beating stages 1,2,and 3. The second loop is considered to be stages 4,5,6 which is required to fully unlock all achievements.
Scoring
Scoring in Gamma Zero revolves around a multiplier which is carried between levels and chain timer. The scoring system inspired by of Gamma Zero was designed to be straightforward to understand, rewarding for all skill levels, and have a high skill ceiling. The chain timer is reset by performing actions such as killing enemies or picking up items resets the chain timer. If the chain timer runs out, the score multiplier is reset to 1. The score gained from a particular action such as killing an enemy or picking up a coin is calculated by multiplying the Score Multiplier by the points for a particular action. All pickups decay their score from 10 to 1 after 5 seconds and their multiplier from 3 to 1 after 2 seconds. Bombs despite being incredibly useful for survival trade half of your multiplier away. Upon completion of the level, bonuses are given for the amount of coins collected (x5), the number of remaining bombs (x2000), the multiplier value at the end of the level (x10), and a no hit bonus(+20000). By carrying a high multiplier through all stages it is possible to get massive scores.
Strategy
The game features several difficultly modes which allows for beginners to have a more survival focused strategy while, more intermediate and advanced players can focus on scoring.
For beginners and other players focused on survival: use the wider shot available in the Beta and Gamma ships and stick to the lower half of the screen. Auto bomb is available on the easy difficulty; however, the power of the bomb is significantly reduced. For scoring focused play: use the faster Alpha and Beta ships. Killing enemies in close proximity allows for coins to be collected as quickly as possible which greatly increases the points. Bombs due to their multiplier tradeoffs should be used during the highest density patterns early in the game to convert as many bullets into coins as possible.
Story
The game jam and full release versions of Gamma Zero share the sci-fi horror aesthetic and space setting. However, differ in the story.
The Earth is under attack by creatures from deep space. Humanity's last remaining scientists have reverse-engineered alien technology to create ships, and it's up to you, as humanity's last hope, to take the fight back into space.
The attract screen shows a brief vignette which shows the eyeball shaped aliens exiting a portal and attacking earth which reads "They came from space, we were not prepared, we fought for our future, we lost everything". There are two more vignettes which are shown upon completion of stages 3 and 6.
Development History
Gamma Zero was originally developed as a game jam game for the Acerola Game Jam 0 in March 2024. It was developed using Love2D and the developer states that the game was developed without using any art assets, making all enemy, ship, and effect sprites using only built-in primitive shapes (lines, circles, etc.). Gamma Zero was later fully rewritten into a full release starting in Fall 2024 and releasing on steam on March 7, 2025.
Trivia
- The only significant piece shared between the original game jam version and the final release is the code for the moving the eyeball enemies' iris around
Gallery
See (Template Page)/Gallery for our collection of images and scans for the game.
References & Contributors
- Information provided by the developer: Sinclair Gurny syncr0
