- Protolife 1.2.4 -- Steam Deck Support - 1 August 2026
Hello everyone!Protolife is now playable on Steam Deck. There was a pending NW.js/Proton compatibility issue which is finally resolved.We tested the full playthrough on Steam Deck, everything should be working as you normally expect. There are no cloud saves, so you would need to start over if you switch devices, sorry for that!There are also some few fixes added for the gamepad controls - reduced input latency, full menu navigation support, better stop detection when you release the stick, better dead zones detection for diagonal controls.Important!Some underlaying libraries have been upgraded onto new versions given the last major game update was in 2019 and everything got badly outdated since then. The game may perform worse on older systems (e.g. Intel HD graphics), so please report anything you notice. We're keeping the old 1.2.2 version available as a branch you can roll back to i…
- Hexworld: Major Update - 19 May 2026
Hello, Protolife fans, everybody who kept our feed enabled through all these years! It's good to be in touch with you again -- we have some news for you.Hexworld 0.16 is now stable, and it's the last major update before the 1.0. For those of you who haven't heard about it, it's the project we have been working on for the past few years, and it is finally reaching the stage where we can slowly move onto next endeavours.I'll be honest - we'd love to work on Protolife 2 next. But whether we could or not, heavily depends on how well Hexworld will fare.What could you possibly do to help and improve these chances?1. Spread the word. Share the game with streamers and youtubers, talk in chats, make some posts in community feed. Any mention helps!2. Join our Discord. The old fan-made server went down and we couldn't contact the owner, but the official VG Discord will always have a place for all…
- Protolife: Other Side - 15 April 2023
We're glad to announce our new keyboard-controlled arcade game called Protolife: Other Side. Lead alien worms through familiar defense towers and help them evacuate from occupied colonized planet Leo-Nova. You used to destroy tons of them, this time let's try to save at least a few. It is not a sequel or add-on for Protolife, it is a spin-off in a different genre but in the same universe. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2346710/Protolife_Other_Side/ Official Discord Link
- New keyboard-controlled strategy is coming! - 24 March 2023
Ok, this time we actually have integral mouse support! Volcanic Giraffe is still alive and we are still making games. There have been some dead ends, unfinished prototypes and life struggles, but right now we are going for almost a year of stable development of Hexworld: Hexworld is an autobattler grow-your-kingdom strategy, and it has little sword-wielding golems falling from the cliffs. And also an accountant cat. The game comes to Early Access this spring, we really want to share it, we are eager for feedback! And of course, it will be improved, filled with content and polished before 1.0 release sometime later this year. It would mean a world to us if you wishlist the game and spread the news! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2166020/Hexworld
- Protolife 1.2.2 - 15 September 2019
This is a minor patch with the following game crash fixes: Level 'Convoy' blocker - Uncaught TypeError: Cannot use 'in' operator to search for 'spawn-rate-percent' in 5 (thanks to juan ignacio) Custom levels with no builder units - Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property 'onMatterChange' of undefined Rare Experiments bug - Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property 'wavesGrp' of null (kudos to Kubla Khan) Rare Level Editor issue - Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property 'properties' of null We also added some annoying help tips in Level Editor.
- Protolife 1.2 — Level Editor & Workshop - 8 September 2019
Hello everyone! Level Editor for Protolife is out now. It is available in-game so there is no need to run any external applications. It allows you to sketch your ideas, playtest some crazy situations, spawn a swarm of tumors against your custom towers and just be creative. A lot of things are tweakable already, and we are planning to expose even more parameters soon. Steam Workshop The most natural thing you can do with custom levels is to let other players to play them. Steam Workshop integration provides an ability to share your levels with the community and download new hand-made levels for yourself. To start this challenge — there are 8 new built-in custom levels and more are available within the Workshop. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1856092478 Version 1.2.1 - Changelog General: New: Level Editor New: Steam Workshop integration (levels only) New: Custom Le…
- Protolife: Year 1 - 15 June 2019
Hello there, fellow tower builders! We finally brought you some news. First and foremost, Protolife turns 1 year today! It was an incredibly happy and productive year, and we wanted to thank everyone who supported us during this time. Thanks to you, we were able to improve the game far beyond its release state and get an incredible feedback we never hoped to achieve. Happy Birthday to Protolife! https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F0af36805cdba774544246d84c84c5728f42e6698.jpg Now, obviously, we couldn't possibly leave you without a present! It's not quite ready yet, and we'll make a proper announcement with a detailed breakdown once we are happy with all the features working as intended — for now I'm just going to drop some pictures here. Enjoy! :protoblockC: https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2Fb2fa9284f628fa%25E2%2580%25A6
- Have you played Protolife? - 24 May 2019
Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time. Protolife occupies a rather special place in my repository of tower defence games for two reasons. First, the central concept of controlling a little construction bot that poops out blue blocks in specific patterns to create all your defences. It’s neat, it’s elegant, and it places you into Protolife’s world in a way that few games in this genre manage. Secondly, it’s better than pretty much anything else at teaching you how to play tower defence games – or even strategy games in general. (more…)
- Protolife 1.1.3 (Tower Editor balance) - 29 December 2018
This patch mainly addresses Tower Editor balance issues and game crashes reported via Steam, Discord and email. 1. New threats for Experiments! https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2Fabad2d75211cf7bb43e0d160579c1598bf4dbda3.gif Corruptor hp: 5, average speed Uses alternative paths to breach the defense and spread the infection. Stay alert! Can be found at yellow and red risk experiments. Elemental Worms Pretty tough. Armored: 10 hp and 3 armor, Magmatic: 14hp and fire resist, Electric 12hp and electric resist. Appear only at red risk experiments. Unidentified Behemoth ??? 2. New Game+ and Original Campaign Now you can go back to original campaign even if NG+ is in progress (if you want to replay some levels, complete achievements, etc.). There is an option to erase all progress including NG+ as well. 3. Tower Editor changes Tower summary panel now sh…
- Protolife 1.1.2 (+1.1 update notes) - 7 November 2018
Version 1.1.2 This patch addresses multiple issues reported via Steam, Discord and email. Experiments game mode Resource spawners and colony base won’t block any major paths on randomly generated levels. (thanks to Kezzbo, vervedan and Ernest) Resource spawners for survival type missions are closer to the base now Orange Centipede spawn chance is significantly lower for low risk experiments https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2Fc77750da6118a12a1c7adc017ac5d089dbe3def0.gif (resource spawners location, 'before' and 'after') All existed experiments could have significant changes due to these improvements. The amount of enemies and spawn locations may vary, but the layout of each level will be the same. Please note that we are still working on Tower Editor balance issues. Thank you for all the feedback provided about this feature. Fixes Crash Report: _t…
- Protolife 1.1 — Welcome to the Lab! - 30 October 2018
Hello everyone! After a long wait we are glad to announce that Protolife Lab institution is finally complete and now hiring new researchers. https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F78fa326bc414ae79ad9d725caefbabc5f40b9223.png You are required to participate in experiments* conducted in the safe** controlled environment. * fights ** if you take all necessary precautions, see chapter 2 (Try Not To Die), p67 of the manual. Research Every experiment is a unique experience on the randomly generated maps with a different challenge level. Once completed, the experiment will provide research data necessary for discovering new technologies. You are in control of setting up experiment conditions. Take a low risk, or go for a high reward. If your experiment is proven to be too tough, you can always return to it later, when you obtain some new weapons. https://st…
- September Status Report - 12 September 2018
Hello, everyone! Is it September already? Wow, time sure flies by. A short status update to all Protolife defense squads: Update 1.1 is coming along well! https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F3c0d87687e3d4d08d81f063ac5bb4d59e90b9796.png Although this picture will probably better reflect the harsh reality: https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F9aa7a046492983a087ecfa4cf5b1293b148d5bf1.png Despite the problems, we still continue our journey! Most of the new content revolves around 3 big features. NG+ levels are almost complete! I took the idea of each map and turned it into absurd levels. To deal with that, you'll have the full tower arsenal for your disposal, plus 2 of the all-new tower class patterns. Meet boosters: https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F937b6834b3eef8588ae5b%25E2%2580%25A6
- Week #06 — Status Report - 18 July 2018
The work on update proceeds as planned. Here are some progress notes. New Game Plus Levels are being updated and reworked by hand to make them interesting to seasoned player armed with a full range of towers from the start. Don't expect that NG+ will be a breeze through a known route. Of course, we also heard your feedback on difficult levels of the original story mode. This time we'll try to make new levels difficult, but fair. Well, except maybe 2 or 3 special ones… https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2Fc09a6c9f4b12025b202a6bdaf47ca03e7c70799c.gif Random Campaigns Random campaign is in highly technical stage right now, so not much we can say about the actual gameplay principles. Don't treat anything as a promise here. As far as our current vision goes, random campaigns will take place independently from the story mode. Each one will contain severa…
- Protolife 1.0.7 — Karst Layer and 144Hz - 4 July 2018
This version includes several balance improvements and bugfixes. Improvements Game speed is optimized for high refresh-rate monitors (120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz). This also means game controls will be smoother in case of any fps drops. Gamepad hints are now available for in-game tooltips and help panel. Balance changes — Karst Layer https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F1207b5871f6b17e137d0da18ddf3a46ebeeb57c0.png Angle of the left tunnel is tweaked so it’s more friendly to 45° defense patterns. Now includes special cocoons that will release all the waves on impact, this prevents 'spawning from the air' issue and makes speedrun more challenging and fair. Late waves now spawn less enemies, total amount of Behemoths: 61 (was 115), Big worms: 55 (was 90), Magnetos: 4 (was 10). Flame drop now can’t be blocked with a resource in cell (more effective). Overall c…
- Protolife Development Road Map - 27 June 2018
We are still working on the game and would like you to know what’s going on as well. After reading all the comments, reviews and discussions — I’m glad to say that a lot of feature requests match our original ideas about the future of Protolife. So here is the upcoming plan: https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F93d138ef953eb388829f3e8c08c660958195dc2e.jpg There are three major steps displayed here (scheme does not reflect ongoing patches and minor improvements). 1.a Campaign Generator Instead of just a single random level game mode we are working on mini-campaign generator, which is seed-based and generates a small amount of consequent levels. Imagine this as a challenge mode with a special reward. 1.b Tower Editor That’s right — a custom patterns editor. Of course it will have some limitations, but overall — any player will be able to configure ow…
- Protolife 1.0.5 — Achievements Live! - 22 June 2018
This update addresses several balance, controls and difficulty issues. New features Steam Achievements! New option for helping with build accuracy when using continuous building. Several keyboard/gamepad improvements Robot will slow down when continuous building is applied. This can help navigate more accurately. As well as there is no 'second block skip' lag anymore. Before this change: https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F877b448463212d14c69f38de625cde2c9d19c6f6.gif After this change: https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2Fe4e01817dda84d8809662dcfe441b2385658a70e.gif Game settings allow to disable/enable this slowdown. It is 'ON' by default. More controls improvements Start menu now includes 'Controls' setting where key bindings are (previously this setting was under in-game menu only). WASD work in the start…
- Protolife 1.0.3 patch released - 17 June 2018
This version addresses several crashes happening at the start of the level and during the play. Bug fixes Fixed crash related to the game start right after the main menu (Cannot set property 'visible' of undefined at Object._adjustHints) Fixed crash related to the level start and shaders configuration (Cannot initialize shader: program not linked) Fixed crash observed on some levels after builder unit was damaged and healed Other Level loading optimized a bit (infection seeding caused some lags at the start of the level) https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F5411d3e4cd184890b43983c6371e70d2f5d4e09f.gif Thank you everyone for you patience and crash reports. Next update is planned to deliver Steam achievements and control optimization. We are also looking at the ways to provide mouse control for the users who cannot play with the keyboard, as well as…
- Protolife is now released! - 15 June 2018
GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! We are super excited to announce that Protolife is going live! So go grab a copy, annoy your strategy-loving friends, go build some blocks and do tell us what you think about the game. https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F8c3010bf0d48a5df5d3ac9a8aa735e942c501b31.gif What's next? For some time after release we are going to monitor your feedback. There's also at least one mandatory update planned, which will include steam achievements and some other features that didn't made it to release. And then... well, it really depends on how good the game turned out to be. I'd personally would love to see some challenges and skirmishes! See you soon.
- Week #05 — LD41 and Release Date - 18 May 2018
Release is closing, but we could not possibly miss the chance to participate in our favorite game jam again — Ludum Dare 41. We had a lot of fun with this one. This time we made a turn-based soccer game and it seems it's pretty fun to play. https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F81f92d3e81d3f95bb51622cfe073685119d201e6.gif We took 7th place in Overall category (out of ~2000 jam entries), which is our best result in Ludum Dare so far. Very inspiring! Now when this very much needed break is over, we are ready to get back to Protolife. https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F32215614%2F92287bfd84a05d90f231b6bfd9c8cc59177631f8.png Release Date Temporarily shifting the perspective to another project really helps detecting problems and weak spots in the first one. Our original goal was to release Protolife in the end of May, but it…
- Week #04 — End of closed beta-testing - 11 April 2018
The last week was amazing. We've got many participants and a lot of useful data! Big thanks to everyone who participated and gave us the most valuable feedback. Based on this feedback, we have a plenty of things to improve and think on, but the good news is that the original flow of the game will not change that much. Which means we are on the right way. There were some critical bugs found in the beta test. They are now fixed and build is online. See the full patch notes here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/809440/announcements/detail/1670148741716114963 Once again, thanks to all beta participants, your informative feedback and all the kind words! See you soon.
