coco online

COCO

You can't fly it. You can only tell it what to do.

The last living human, the last embryos, and one old ship built before ships had minds of their own. COCO has no AI pilot, so it does exactly what you program. Write its rules in plain sentences, deploy, and find out if they get humanity to Kalinaw.

Early prototype Programming roguelike Web · iOS · Android Landscape
PLAY FREE ON THE WEBTester password requiredSoon Get it on Google Play (coming soon)Soon Download on the App Store (coming soon)Soon

// none of these are open yet. try the Programming Bay below instead.

the prologue

Humanity is counting on you. COCO is counting on your instructions.

COCO is the ship you're sitting in. Let it tell you why you're out here, in its own voice, the way the game opens.

SHIP'S VOICE · COCO → DR. K. LEESTANDBY
1
The last human

Dr. K. Lee, geneticist. Twenty years adrift since J-Day, when every ship with an AI turned on its crew.

0
AI pilots on board

COCO is too old to have one. That's why the machines couldn't turn it, and why it can't decide anything for itself.

1
Astronomical unit to go

To Kalinaw, a planet whose strange magnetic field machines can't survive. Humans can.

!
One mothership closing in

Faster than COCO, and its scouts are faster still. You don't have to outrun it. Just get there first.

the programming bay

Write the rules. Hit deploy. Hope.

Four systems, each written as sentences: what COCO normally does, then the exceptions. Tap any highlighted word to change it. This is the program the game starts you with; break it, fix it, then deploy it on a 40-second demo leg.

COCO'S PLAN, IN PLAIN WORDS

    READY TO DEPLOY

    COCO will fly one leg using exactly what you wrote. No steering, no take-backs.

    // tap the field during a leg to fire the stun gun
    the vocabulary

    What COCO can sense, and what it can do.

    No code, no drag and drop. Every rule is a sentence built from these. The full game has a few more for boss fights.

    THREATS

    • enemies on screen count
    • incoming shots count
    • the nearest enemy distance
    • a boss is near yes / no
    • I'm in a danger zone yes / no
    • the boss's shield is up yes / no

    MY SHIP

    • my hull %
    • my shields %
    • distance this leg Mkm

    AROUND ME

    • asteroids on screen count
    • a powerup is near yes / no
    • I'm at the left / right edge yes / no
    • I'm at the top / bottom edge yes / no

    MOVEMENT

    • push forward
    • fall back
    • hold position
    • push forward, grabbing powerups

    COMBAT

    • shoot the nearest
    • shoot the toughest
    • shoot the weakest
    • shoot asteroids
    • hold fire

    EVASION

    • dodge shots
    • step out of danger
    • dash left / right / back
    • not dodge

    POWER

    • balanced 1·2·2
    • shields up 3·1·1
    • guns hot 1·3·1
    • full speed 1·1·3
    • or your own split of 5
    the run

    One astronomical unit, one minute at a time.

    A run is a string of 60-second legs. Between legs you're back in the Bay, rewriting whatever just went wrong. The enemies you leave behind keep coming. Drag COCO along the way.

    ☠MOTHERSHIP
    THE HERALD · 0.25 AU
    KALINAW · 1 AU
    0legs flown
    0 Mkmcovered
    150 Mkmto Kalinaw
    0:00flight time

    COCO online. Awaiting instructions.

    Five EMP charges per run. When COCO goes down, an EMP shockwave clears the screen and brings it back. Burn the last one and it's a new run, but your program comes with you.

    first boss · 0.25 AU

    The Herald finds you. Then it teaches you.

    The scouts' leader, the machine that marks COCO for the mothership. Every phase breaks a rule your program didn't know it needed, and the debrief tells you which one to write.

    Red lanes

    It paints a red lane under COCO, and a moment later the lane fires. Dodging shots won't help; the lane isn't a shot. COCO needs to know it's standing in one.

    The red lanes hit COCO 3×. Try an Evasion exception: when I'm in a danger zone, step out of danger.

    ship's log

    Still being built.

    COCO is an early prototype: one full run is playable end to end, and a lot is still on the bench.

    IN THE GAME

    • The Programming Bay, written as sentences
    • Four systems: movement, combat, evasion, power
    • COCO's voiced prologue and callouts
    • The Herald, the first real boss
    • EMP revives, and a run field that remembers what you fought
    • Painted art, music, and a cockpit HUD
    • An iOS build for testing
    questions from the crew

    FAQ

    So I don't fly the ship at all?

    Not directly. You write COCO's program, deploy, and watch. You do get two things in a leg: a stun gun you aim by tapping, and the power console, where you can take POWER off auto and shift energy by hand.

    Do I need to know how to code?

    No. Every rule is a sentence: "Normally, COCO will push forward. Unless there are more than 3 enemies on screen, then hold position." You pick the words; COCO does the rest, very literally.

    What happens when it all goes wrong?

    That's the game. The debrief shows what hit you and suggests a rule. Lose COCO and an EMP brings it back, five times per run. After that it's a new run, a new field, and the same program, now a little smarter.

    When can I play?

    Not yet. The web playtest (with a tester password, like Barangay Defense), Google Play and the App Store are all coming soon. Want in when it opens? Email [email protected].

    Does it collect anything?

    No account, no ads, no analytics. It remembers your sound settings and whether you've seen the prologue, on your device. The privacy policy has the details.

    Humanity has one last chance.
    It runs on your instructions.

    Coming to the web for testers, then Google Play and the App Store. The buttons light up the day they work.

    PLAY FREE ON THE WEBTester password requiredSoon Get it on Google Play (coming soon)Soon Download on the App Store (coming soon)Soon