Readable Chaos
Weapons fire automatically, but the player’s positioning decides whether the screen becomes a machine of glory or a workplace incident.
Internal Team Dossier · v0.5 Direction
A bullet heaven RPG inside a corporate death-machine.
ASH & BRASS is a darkly funny survivor-like action RPG where Wren builds a rebellion inside The Pit: a moving fortress-city powered by stolen time, willing corporate monsters, and the kind of bureaucracy that would file a complaint while exploding.
Bullet HeavenBase BuildingDark ComedyOdd CastPushback System
Creative North Star
The player does not aim the apocalypse. They survive it, shape it, and upgrade it.
The genre target is now bullet heaven / survivor-like action RPG, not a manual bulletstorm shooter. The player controls movement, dodging, positioning, active powers, build choices, extraction timing, and base strategy while overbuilt steampunk weapons auto-fire into impossible hordes.
The game should feel intense, funny, and readable: homing brass wasps, orbiting cogblades, kettle mortars, chain hooks, depressed turrets, shield formations, commanders with clipboards, and Brub wandering in with soup at the worst possible time.
The team-facing promise: every run should produce one story, one build discovery, one ridiculous moment, and one reason to return to The Breach.
Weird Crew Energy
Wren, Brub, Elsi, Amara, Reeves, Mott, Auntie Voss, Latch, Juniper, and other oddballs make the base feel alive.
Oppression With Lunch Breaks
Snowpiercer-style hierarchy, corporate satire, propaganda, ration control, and monsters who still salute before attacking.
Consequences, Not Chores
The Pit pushes back. Strong bases handle pressure automatically. Weak bases create recovery missions, not dead ends.
What The Team Should Build Toward
Movement-first combat with automatic industrial violence.
This page is meant to excite collaborators while giving them clear direction: what the game is, what it is not, and what needs to feel good first.
The 30-Second Fantasy
Wren runs through a furnace hall while cogblades orbit him, brass wasps launch from his back, a kettle mortar arcs over a wall, chain hooks rip a commander out of formation, and Brub yells, “I found the mayo!” during the elite wave.
Player Controls
Move, dash, position, trigger active powers, choose upgrades, extract, assign support, manage corruption, and decide when the rebellion needs you.
Game Handles
Auto-firing weapons, targeting patterns, orbital effects, drones, rockets, passive traits, chain reactions, support triggers, and absurd overkill.
Not The Goal
Not a rigid tech demo. Not pure pixel art by requirement. Not a stale mob shooter. Not constant base babysitting. Not grimdark without jokes.
Core Systems
Deep enough for strategy. Clear enough to prototype.
Mission Loop
- Prepare at The Breach: weapons, armor, powers, crew support, and defense assignments.
- Deploy into a deck/outpost mission with escalating bullet-heaven pressure.
- Survive hordes, tactical squads, walls, bombers, commanders, and weird mission events.
- Extract survivors, scrap, ash, secrets, weapon parts, and new problems.
- Return home, upgrade, talk to the weirdos, and handle Pushback if The Pit noticed.
Auto-Weapon Builds
Cogblade Halo, Brass Wasp Launcher, Pipe Organ Cannon, Chrono Pistol, Kettle Mortar, Chain-Hook, Memory Blades, and other overbuilt disasters.
Tactical Horde AI
Swarms create panic. Shield units, bombers, flankers, wallbreakers, supports, and commanders create readable combat puzzles.
Corruption / Anchor
Powerful traits give major advantages and meaningful costs. Endings are shaped by who Wren becomes, not just one final button.
The Pushback
Outposts request help as threat rises. Strong bases repel attacks. Weak rooms break temporarily and create recovery missions.
Team Alignment
This should make people want to help.
For collaborators, the site should answer three questions quickly: “What is this?”, “Why is it different?”, and “Where can I contribute?” The answer is: a funny, weird, strategic bullet heaven RPG with a strong world, a clear prototype path, and a lot of room for art, writing, systems, music, character design, UI, and game feel.
“The horde creates panic. The squad creates a puzzle. The build creates the answer.”
“Outposts are where the player discovers the world. The Breach is where the world changes because of what they found.”
“The player does not aim every shot. They build the machine that fires them.”
The Weird Rebellion
Odd characters are a feature, not decoration.
Wren
The Ashborn. Reluctant symbol of rebellion. Dry, violent, haunted, and carrying more dead people than social skills.
Brub
Ogre mayologist. Not Transitioned. Huge, gentle, confused, and possibly the rebellion’s emotional support wall.
Elsi Varn
Engineer. Builds weapons from the machine’s own bones. Former augmentation designer with guilt and tools.
Sister Amara
Memory Keeper. Protects the dead from being forgotten and keeps Wren from becoming only ash.
Captain Reeves
Ex-Cryolyne officer. Knows enemy formations, still says corporate phrases by accident, and hates that he is useful.
Mott the Unpaid
Ledger rat. Hides living people from Cryolyne by making them officially dead. Morally good, legally awful.
Auntie Voss
Lower-deck cook. Feeds the rebellion, insults the Ashborn, and treats soup like a political weapon.
Latch
Door technician. Unlocks routes and emotional problems. Believes every locked door is a conversation with poor boundaries.
The Chairman
Orange face, ash-combover, gold suit, tiny hands, tremendous ego. The system with a smirk.
Updated Art Direction
Stylized grimy steampunk, not locked to pixel art.
New visual rule
The style should be cinematic, readable, funny, and game-production friendly. It can be 2D, 2.5D, stylized 3D, illustrated sprites, or hybrid. Pixel art remains a reference, not a constraint.
- Top-down/isometric readability
- Exaggerated silhouettes and expressive animation
- Brass, rust, ash, ember, steam, and corruption accents
- Streamer mode clarity for VFX and projectiles
What We Need Next
Make the first playable slice undeniable.
Feel Prototype
Movement, dash, auto-fire weapons, enemy swarms, 10-minute survival loop, one elite squad.
Weapon Juice
Cogblade Halo, Brass Wasp Launcher, Kettle Mortar, Chain-Hook. Make the screen feel hilarious and powerful.
Character Hook
Wren, Brub, Elsi, and The Chairman should be instantly readable from a single screenshot.
The Breach
Simple home base screen with upgrades, NPC banter, and one Pushback warning that does not feel like a chore.