Degausser

Degausser is a real-time tactical RPG rouge-like game. You play as a group of hackers remote controlling four VERMIN security bots on a mission to escort the Disruptor down a freight elevator in VERMIN’s headquarters. Once you reach the end, your goal is to detonate the Disruptor in their main datacenter, erasing the data of every person in the city-state of Neo-Chicago, in the hopes it will bring about a new tomorrow. 

How To Play

• Use 1-4 to select a bot
• Use the Up and Down arrow keys to switch lanes
• Use the Right arrow key to use your current ability
• Press the Spacebar to pause the game
• Abilities have distinct cooldowns and require energy. Energy automatically refills, but be cautious of using too much at a time. 
• Protect the Disruptor

Goal

Your goal is to escort the Disruptor safely to the bottom of VERMIN HQ, defeating all enemies in your way. Remote controlled VERMIN bots are expendable, but the Disruptor cannot be destroyed. 

Tips

• It’s important to maintain a balanced array of abilities. If you have too many offensive abilities, you might take too much damage to either your bots or the Disruptor. If you have too many defensive abilities, you may not be able to damage your opponents, leaving you in a stalemate. Maintain a balanced build, but don’t be afraid to experiment. 
• Some abilities have friendly fire enabled. Be careful not to shoot your allies in the back, but remember that enemies may have the same abilities. Use this to your advantage. 
• Enemy bots can track your movements and act accordingly. Keep an eye on their movement patterns and time your shots accordingly. 
• Some abilities cast automatically. While this can be useful, keep an eye on your energy usage. 
• While you won’t be able to avoid all damage, the goal is to protect the Disruptor. Your bots are remote piloted, and therefore disposable. It’s more important to protect the Disruptor. Block damage with shields as much as possible. 
• Positioning is important. While you cannot control which bots have shields, you can position backline bots behind frontline bots with shields.
• Bots can be replaced at the ability selection screen by swapping their current ability for a new one. They will have a very small amount of health, so it’s important to protect them. 
  

Background

Degausser, ironically, was a game thought to be lost to time. A group of four young hackers, much like SICK themselves, once thought they could change the world. They weren’t on some crazy mission to blow up a datacenter, they were four teenagers pulling all-nighters in a computer lab they weren’t supposed to be in making a game they weren’t supposed to make. They thought they were making something that would change the whole world, but that wasn’t the case. The game garnered a cult following on hacker forums, but that’s about as far as it got. The four hackers who made the game, they all went their separate ways in the end.  

While it didn’t sell thousands of copies or even get a retail release, Degausser made it farther than they first imagined. Its influence is still felt in games today, and though it’s rarely discussed for its contributions, the ripple effect of its influence on modern gaming can still be felt today.  

I often think about those times. I think about what it meant to those four. They believed themselves to be trailblazing cyberspace cowboys, but in the end, their efforts were lost… Or so everyone thought.  

It may not change the world, but some things shouldn’t be forgotten. This is not the game in its original form, but it’s as close as I could make it to what Degausser was.  

From the hackers of the past, to the hackers of the present and future.  

S.