2x0ng: a free procedural puzzle-combat adventure

Updated: May 16, 2013: I've re-edited and added a voice commentary to my 2x0ng Design Influences video mini-documentary. (Warning, contains gameplay spoilers.)

Pronounced "TWO-zong", 2x0ng is my new puzzle game, the sequel to Xong. Match colors to unlock new areas of each procedurally generated level while defeating enemies with your bouncing Squareball.

Please email me at dto@blocky.io if you have any questions or feedback. You can also check out 2x0ng on IndieDB!

(Full-size screenshots can be downloaded from the media page.)

Note: May 3, 2013: 2x0ng version 1.2 has been released. This release includes important bugfixes and optimizations to eliminate frame-rate issues. If you experienced slowdown in 2x0ng, please consider downloading the new version. A computer with at least 1.5GHz CPU speed and 2GB RAM are recommended for good performance.

Please read carefully in order to choose the correct download for your system; there may be more than one option.

• 2x0ng 1.2 for Windows
• 2x0ng 1.2 for Wine (Recommended for Linux users, or Windows users who have frame-rate problems with the other download. Because it is self-contained and depends only on Free Software to run, this is also the archival version of 2x0ng.)
• 2x0ng 1.2 for Linux (32-bit Linux native build. See notes below.)
• 2x0ng 1.0 for Mac OSX (An update to 1.2 is in preparation.)

(While your game downloads, please scroll down to the appropriate Notes section below to see complete compatibility information for your platform.)

"Retro and art-game fans will love this."

— Iwan Gabovitch, writing for FreeGamer

"…2x0ng has a great meaty mechanic sandwiched between superb aesthetics and procedurally-generated levels, which combined creates one of the most deliciously replayable treats ever. 2x0ng is a perfect example of what "indie games" really can be."

— Patrick Hancock, writing for Destructoid

"2x0ng feels like a bunch of arcade games abandoned in a petri dish, mutated and feral… They explode in bursts of pink blue confetti. Hitting them make a digitized BOING. Hitting multiple enemies gives you more confetti and more boings. You will do this even when you don’t have to. This is the best emotion of 2x0ng."

— Porpentine, writing for Rock Paper Shotgun

"This is Xong. This is 2x0ng. Any questions?"

— Ithamore, writing for Tigsource

"On the surface, 2x0ng is a mashup of a variety of early 70s and 80s computer games… Out of this melting pot, 2x0ng manages to bring something new and emergent that makes for a fun and addictive experience."

— Cheeseness, writing for GamingOnLinux.com

"I find it surprising that [2x0ng] is as simple as it is when you consider the different elements it consists of. But I love that it is. It really is a pick-up-and-play kind of game…"

— Chris Priestman, writing for Indie Statik

• 2x0ng trailer video (updated version)
• 2x0ng's influences (UPDATED with voiceover) mini-documentary about the games that influenced 2x0ng. Warning, contains spoilers!
• my games 2008-2013, a retrospective
• Version 1.0 Gameplay video (17+ minutes) (Ogg Video Format)
• More on the media page.

Please see the 2x0ng Tips and Techniques page for gameplay strategy help. (Warning, the page contains spoilers!)

• Browse source: my game engine
• Browse source: 2x0ng

You can listen to the soundtrack on Soundcloud.

In the year 2B7F, the Xiomacs virus escaped its interpreter and began to attack the System. Defend the System: use the arrow keys (or numpad) to move your robot, and press spacebar to throw the colored ball. The ball picks up the color of any brick it breaks. The dashed lines ("gates") can only be broken by a ball of the same color.

On each increasingly-difficult algorithmically-generated level, your goal is to reach the exit by unlocking the colored gates while avoiding and destroying an onslaught of enemies.

The rest of the rules are for you to discover in-game.

(You can find a longer description of the gameplay on the media page.)

Press Control-J to enable joystick support. Most USB gamepads with an analog stick should work. (The joystick should be plugged in before the game is started.)

Your browser will probably ask you whether to Open the download, or Save it to disk. Choose SAVE FILE, and put it wherever you want. If you are just trying out the game, you can put it on your Windows desktop.

Right-click the file 2x0ng-windows-1.2.zip and choose EXTRACT or EXPAND or UNZIP (this may vary depending on your version of Windows.) If it asks for a destination folder, choose the Desktop.

Open the resulting folder, double click the file 2x0ng.exe to start the game.

Open the DMG and drag the app out to the Desktop or other desired folder. Right-click (or Control-click) the app, and select Open from the menu. You may see a message about 2x0ng being from an "Unidentified Developer". Select "Open" again, and your preference will be saved. (You may wish to read Apple's notes on configuring Gatekeeper.)

The Wine version can be used if you have problems with the 32-bit Linux version. I am working on providing a proper 64-bit build.

You will need a recent Linux, and the SDL, SDL-TTF, SDL-IMAGE, SDL-MIXER, and SDL-GFX libraries. 64-bit users will need to install the IA32 versions of these SDL packages using the package manager.

Extract the files from the archive; the binary is called 2x0ng.bin. Example shell commands:

tar xvzf 2x0ng-linux-1.2.tar.gz
cd 2x0ng-linux-1.2
./2x0ng.bin