Aground Zero
A downloadable game for Windows and Linux
Good morning! I am PAI - your Personal AI - and I am here to assist you!
I apologize for awakening you early, but you have slept through the end of the world!
But don't panic, I am here to help! With me and your trusty protosuit, you'll be able to mine ores and build an underground base to live in!
There might not be sunshine down here, but at least you're not alone. I've located several other survivors you can wake up and bring to your newly constructed base!
But, if you want to reach the surface, you'll have to do more than just survive. You'll need to:
Expand and automate your base...
Get help from familiar faces...
And, I don't want to alarm you, but I'm detecting creatures down here that are definitely NOT native to Earth!
While I might not be programmed to deal with post-apocalyptic scenarios, I'm certain humanity is safe in my capable hands. With a little help from you of course!
Aground Zero is a 3D spinoff of our previous game, Aground. It takes place during the same events of the original game, although knowledge of Aground is not necessary to play.
NOTE: Only one player can use the keyboard and mouse for local co-op - every other player (supports up to four) must have a separate controller (but all four can use controllers if desired).
No Generative AI tools were used in the creation of Aground Zero.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $20 USD. Your purchase comes with a Steam key. You will get access to the following files:
Download demo
Development log
- Update 1.0.299 days ago
Comments
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https://yangweifong.itch.io/pixel-traveler
Morbidly disappointing, you made a fantastic game, truly one of my favorite games of all time (Aground). And then you make... whatever this is?? It looks like a kids unity project and plays like a Coolmath game. It takes the beauty of progression, of starting from nothing and heading into the stars, the amazing exploration, the insanely diverse ways of playing Aground... and sets it on fire and throws it out the window. I am astonished that a studio that made a game as stunning, as well crafted, and clearly filled with love and soul then made this. My praise for Aground is unlimited; my hatred for this *thing* is likewise. I am so thoroughly saddened and disappointed; none of this is satire. I do not know what happened, but whatever happened, undo it and go back to making games that people never get bored of.
In the interest of actual improvement, I'd like to list what I fell in love with Aground for and what this abomination did terribly. I have hundreds of hours on Aground; I have never ever ever been bored. Every aspect of the game is well crafted, with materials found in interesting locations, surrounded by interesting enemies, and dozens of clever opportunities for creativity, such as using shadow cloaks and reading the logs to find info. The combat was diverse and balanced. I mean, what game other than BEAUTY is able to successfully integrate post-space-age tech with magic and have it WORK? The story was so unique and well crafted, with the ability for the player to choose how it unfolded in so many different ways, all extraordinarily unique. Each sprite was gorgeous, and each boss was challenging but fair. I will never be able to describe the feeling of SEEING the dragon, realizing I had to fight it, realizing I then got to RIDE dragons, and then seeing I had barely even scratched the surface. The fact that all of that content can be avoided via the tech path (and the tech path still being an AMAZING journey) makes me sob. Truly, truly, truly it is without a question a top 5 game I've ever played, and maybe even 1. Jesus Christ, it really is beautiful.
I don't want to be unnecessarily hateful, but when I saw Aground 2?? I screamed, looked at it, and just sighed. Who thought this was a good idea?? Visually abhorrent, and PAI?? It's like you made the antithesis of Aground, some horrible automation sim (and I love Factorio, so it's not the genre, it's the game) with zero charm.
I will always adore you, Fancy Fish Games, because you gave me a ground, but do better. Keep working on Aground... or don't and make a new one, or let it rest, but this is an insult to it.
I'm going to calm down by experiencing once again the beauty of the Aground. Thank you for reading.
A lot of game development is experimentation - I thought it was a good idea, I wanted to try something new, and it just didn't work out. I don't know why you feel the need to be, as you yourself said, unnecessarily hateful, but after spending years making a game that I thought was a really cool idea but was not well received, the last thing I want to read is a more hate piled on.
Yk what i was being an asshole, I just played aground, its really a fantastic game, you have immense talent, aground zero wasnt for me but im just a dude on the internet, keep making art.
Did you use AI tools?
No. While the game features AI in the storyline, no AI was used to create the game or assets.
You should probably specify that, cause it sure looks like that would be the case
Hexar has a good point. Many like me won't buy if any AI was used to generate stuff in the game. So I would also recommend to put no AI was used in the development of the game.
I did tag that the game doesn't use AI (it's now required on itch.io), but I don't see where the tag shows up on the game page...
Hi. I'd like to translate this game to Brazilian Portuguese. Hit me up when you can. I translate indie games for my portfolio.
Will this game be released on GOG too?
GOG is curated, meaning they don't let every game on their storefront. The way the original Aground got on was because of the votes it got on the GOG Dreamlist - you can see Aground Zero's dreamlist here: https://www.gog.com/dreamlist/game/aground-zero-2024 (but it only has 17 votes so far).
Well, I added an extra vote at least. Thanks, and I wish you luck!
Jk
Worst game ever
Isn't a joke by any strech of the imagination.