Nullpointer is a cyberspace shooter that asks the important question: “What if Tron but with guns?” It turns out that the result is a lot of fun. With a replayable rogue-like structure, Nullpointer offers plenty of bit and bytes to blast into oblivion.
Originally created by Lycaon as part of the 7 Day Roguelike Challenge, Nullpointer is very simple. Choose a machine gun, shotgun or railgun and see how long you can survive in a trippy cyberspace maze packed with hazards and enemies. It’s accompanied by beeps, boops, dial-up static and techno tunes.
Nullpointer‘s level design makes it unique in the sea of procedurally generated shooters. While a game such as Strafe accurately captured the visual style of Doom and Quake, the randomly connected rooms didn’t always make sense. Nullpointer embraces the chaos of random levels by stressing verticality. Worlds are built like massive towers with floors packed with monsters. Each drop to a lower floor holds new possibilities and excitement. There’s definitely something to be said for leaping down a cyber-chasm and blasting a vectorised baddie with a railgun.
Nullpointer fits comfortably into my made-up category of “20 minute game”. It’s easy to pick up and shoot through a few levels. With a strong visual design and interesting vertical levels, there’s a ton of reasons to leap in and blast around. You can play Nullpointer on PC, Mac and Linux. A free game jam version is also available.
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