Zone-Out — Roshan Premnath

The Game

Browser-based cursor survival · Phaser 5 + Matter.js

Zone-Out is a survival game where the player controls a cursor on a graph paper background. Geometric shapes are thrown from all screen edges. Survive as long as possible.

The longer you survive, the more chaotic the world becomes — punctuated every 30 seconds by a dramatic colour shift that repaints everything.

Game Design, System Design, Development — Roshan Premnath
Art Direction, Narrative — Isha

Shape Design

Three shapes. Each has a distinct mechanical identity. The player learns them through play, not through a tutorial.

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The Threat

Square

The baseline danger. Instant death on contact. No special mechanic. Exists to fill space, create pressure, and punish passive play.

The floor of difficulty. Everything else is defined in relation to the square.

Spawns 60% of the time

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The Shield

Circle

Safe to touch. If the player positions themselves inside a circle, incoming shapes are physically blocked by its body. The shield is not passive — circles are physics objects pushed around by squares.

Introduces spatial awareness and positioning as a skill layer without adding any input complexity.

Spawns 25% of the time

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The Risk/Reward Tool

Triangle

One edge is visually distinct. Hitting it destroys the triangle and clears every shape on screen. Hitting any other part kills instantly. The triangle rotates continuously — the correct edge is never fixed.

A passive player can ignore triangles entirely. A skilled player who masters triangle reads can clear the screen on demand — buying breathing room as difficulty escalates.

Spawns 15% of the time

Colour as Rhythm

Every 30 seconds the entire game world repaints. This is not decoration. The colour shift serves three design functions simultaneously.

Reward

Spectacle for surviving another threshold. You earned this moment.

Signal

A clear marker that difficulty has increased. The world changing IS the warning.

Chaos

Each new palette is dramatically different, keeping the player visually stimulated.

The Death Sequence

Death is not an instant cut to a game over screen. It is a moment.

Freeze — physics stops, all shapes retain position

Shapes lose fill — only outlines remain, world becomes skeletal

Death circle — a sketchy circle draws itself around the cursor's death position

"Is my class boring you?!" slides aggressively from the top. Screen shakes on impact.

Game over screen — survival time displayed on a photograph of a real notebook

The player wasn't killed by shapes — they got caught zoning out. The teacher's speech bubble is the punchline. It transforms frustration into humour, encouraging retry.