02GamesGodot 4.7.1 · GDScript · 3D
ANTE ZERO
“Count down to nothing”
A dark 3D card-table duel where your remaining lives are counted on the fingers of one hand.
The Cut
The Cut looks familiar on purpose: hands, counts and pattern bonuses speak the language of poker. Everything around the table is where it stops being familiar.
Your stake in the match is physical. Five lives are represented by five fingers, and every lost hand takes one off the table with you.
Four opponents, four pressures
Easy through Extreme are not stat swaps. Each difficulty configures distinct opponent behavior, and Extreme adds its own money-based progression on top of the persistent save system.
Under the table sits the engineering: configurable opponent AI, a dialogue system, async match flow, pooled audio and a complete test suite keeping the rules honest.
What makes it technically interesting
- Tension structure borrowed from Buckshot Roulette; the central mechanic is entirely different: a custom poker-inspired card game called The Cut
- Five lives represented by fingers; lose a hand of cards, lose a digit
- Four difficulty modes, Easy, Normal, Hard and Extreme, each with distinct opponent behavior and configuration
- Configurable opponent AI, dialogue system and async match flow
- Persistent economy/save system; Extreme mode adds its own money-based progression
- The 3D props (knife, opponent, the hand itself) are built procedurally: Python scripts assemble the models in Blender instead of hand-placing vertices
- Packaged for Windows and Android alongside the browser build; audio pooling and a complete test suite behind the scenes; dark blocky pixel-art assets organized in clearly named directories for future swapping