DEADLOCK PROTOCOL
Project Overview
Deadlock Protocol is a character-driven, cyberpunk tower defense action game set in a world where corporate technology resurrected the dead — and sold it as progress.
When Project Lazarus failed, the world fell into chaos. The undead — fused with malfunctioning nanotech — began rebuilding civilization in their own image. The only thing standing between total assimilation and extinction is Vex Solari, the billionaire who caused it all… and his dangerously dysfunctional team of survivors.
Together, they’ll fight through hordes of techno-zombies, reclaim ruined sectors, and uncover the truth behind the Lazarus Network — a self-replicating machine intelligence that refuses to die.
Think Borderlands meets Ghost in the Shell, wrapped in a layer of corporate satire, dark humor, and flashy anime action.
Slick visuals, fast-paced combat, and biting dialogue define the tone. Every firefight feels like a product demo gone wrong. Every explosion feels a little too well-marketed.
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Male, mid-30s to 40s. Smooth, charismatic, and effortlessly confident — the kind of man who can sell you a nuke and make you feel good about it. Sounds like a corporate spokesman trapped in an action movie. Tone should flip easily between charming, egotistical, and genuinely commanding.
Tone: suave, charismatic, slightly sleazy but sharp
Vocal Style: confident, mid-low, controlled chaos
(Similar characters: Tony Stark, Handsome Jack)
- english
- videogame
- male adult
- video game
“Relax—if the world ends today, I’ve already written it off on my taxes.”
“Relax, I own the apocalypse. Literally. Check the paperwork.”
“You hear that? That’s the sound of a very expensive mistake walking our way.”
Male, late teens to early 20s. Energetic, reckless, and raw. A voice that carries equal parts swagger and insecurity — playful and unfiltered, with cracks of emotion under the bravado. Needs to sound like he’s been through too much but still thinks he’s invincible.
Tone: energetic, brash, youthful
Vocal Style: mid-high, scrappy, reactive
(Similar characters: Denji from Chainsaw Man, Spider-Man)
- english
- male teen
- male young adult
- yamcha
- nolan north
- shota
“You want something blown up? I’m your guy. You want it done neatly? Call literally anyone else.”
(angry/shaken) “You ever get tired of being everyone’s damn experiment?”
“I swear I’m not scared—my voice just does this when I’m VERY ALERT.”
Female, late 20s to mid-30s. Smooth, sultry, and manipulative — but intelligent enough to mask her motives with charm.
Tone: seductive, sarcastic, dangerous
Vocal Style: low, smooth, velvet with venom
(Similar characters: Catwoman, Morrigan Aensland.)
- english
- female adult
- video game
- videogame
“Careful, darling. Staring too long at me has… side effects.”
“Oh please. I’ve devoured things scarier than you as a midnight snack.”
“You really thought I’d stay? Oh, darling — that’s adorable.”
Male, 50s–60s. Feel free to add a slight South Asian/Indian accent. His voice should sound like a brilliant mind that’s fraying at the edges: passionate, fast-talking, occasionally muttering to himself, and unpredictable but kindhearted. When lucid, he’s eloquent; when manic, he’s unstoppable.
(Think: the rhythm of Irrfan Khan’s calm intellect meets the chaos of Doc Brown.)
- english
- male adult
- male senior
- video game
- generic indian (asian)
- indian american
“Don’t move! You’re about to experience… something. I think.”
“We used to cure diseases. Now we manufacture them. Funny, no? Progress in reverse.”
“Science is ninety percent failure! The other ten is fire!”
Autonomous Reconnaissance Model 6, aka "Argus" the robot
Gender-neutral or male. Calm, articulate, with an undertone of melancholy and dark humor. Argus should sound like an AI who’s seen too much — polite, professional, and tired of being polite. Its tone blends dry wit and quiet dread, like a bureaucrat trapped in a war zone. The delivery should never be robotic monotone; it should feel restrainedly human — as if emotion is seeping through despite programming.
Tone: dry, existential, deadpan
Vocal Style: monotone with subtle emotion, weary
(Similar Characters: K-2SO from Star Wars: Rogue One)
Bonus points if you provide your own robot filter! (It saves us work)
- english
- videogame
- neutral
- nonbinary
- androgynous
- video game
“Your chances of survival are low. Mine are lower. Please reconsider this plan.”
“You humans always come back with fewer supplies and more trauma. I call that consistency.”
“I wasn’t programmed to care. And yet… I seem to have developed the defect.”
Her voice should feel like someone who has survived warzones, corporate sabotage, and her own personal hell — yet refuses to break.
Kyra Navarro was once a top-tier private military contractor hired by Solari Systems for “security operations.” What they didn’t tell her was that she’d be guarding their dirty secrets — including illegal robotics experiments that malfunctioned and wiped out her entire squad. She was the only survivor.
She left Solari with scars, an eyepatch, and a lifelong hatred of “machines that think they’re people.”
Tone: stoic, commanding, intimidating
Vocal Style: deep-ish, no-nonsense, clipped delivery
(Similar characters: Sarah Connor from the Terminator series)
- english
- female adult
- military
- video game
- videogame
"Stay sharp, kid. This is not a fight we can win easily"
(Harshly) “Tell that CLANKER to stay out of my way. Last thing I need is scrap metal slowing down my shot.”
“Keep talking, Solari. Maybe one day a bullet will finally be polite enough to interrupt you.”
Customer Relations Unit Model 3, aka "Cheery" the Shopkeeper Robot
Vocal Style:
Gender-neutral or male. Bright, cheerful, overly enthusiastic — the kind of forced positivity you’d expect from a smiling mascot that’s definitely witnessing war crimes but legally can’t acknowledge them. Cheery should sound like a corporate training video come to life: energetic, eager to please, and incapable of negative emotion.
Unlike Argus’ weary deadpan, Cheery’s tone is aggressively upbeat, with bubbly inflection and a cadence that suggests HR rewrote his personality matrix six times.
Tone:
Peppy, friendly, relentlessly positive — sometimes disturbingly so.
Vocal Style:
Corporate customer service voice, permanently stuck at “day one orientation energy,” with a hint of artificial sweetness.
(Similar Characters: ideally would sound like Yes Man from Fallout: New Vegas)
- english
- male adult
“Excellent choice! That weapon is PERFECT for ripping apart the undead!"
"Solari Systems recognizes your bravery in approaching the checkout interface.”
“Solari Systems would like to remind you: morale is mandatory! Yay!”
The long-lost older sister of Zane, Kate Mercer was a PhD student before the technophages took over. She now has joined up with the Scrap Syndicate in order to salvage what's left of the world.
Looking for a young
**SPOILERS** - this character has a tragic death, and will have deeply emotional lines towards the end!
- female adult
- female young adult
"These people are struggling out here, Zane. While you run errands for Vex Solari, we're out here making a difference."
"I won't lie... I'm a little... conflicted about the new leadership. It seems like he just wants to start fights with the other side of town."
Mercenaries in Deadlock Protocol are optional, personality-rich side characters who assist the player in combat or special missions. Because they aren’t central to the narrative, each mercenary only needs a handful of short, punchy voice lines that communicate their identity fast.
Important note: Mercenary roles are minimal (1-3 sentences) and will be unpaid, but you will be listed in the game's credits.
Synth Siren - A haunting singer from the past with a mysterious, melodic edge — elegant, alluring, slightly eerie.
- female adult
(Intro Line) “Showtime.”
(Misc. Line) “Old rhythms never die.”
(KO Line) “My final note… falls…”
Mercenaries in Deadlock Protocol are optional, personality-rich side characters who assist the player in combat or special missions. Because they aren’t central to the narrative, each mercenary only needs a handful of short, punchy voice lines that communicate their identity fast.
Important note: Mercenary roles are minimal (1-3 sentences) and will be unpaid, but you will be listed in the game's credits.
SCRAP KITTY - A robot cat gone haywire. Glitchy, unpredictable, mechanical attitude mixed with feral energy.
Bonus points for robot filter!
- female young adult
(Intro Line) “Scrap Kitty online! Let's SCRATCH!”
(Misc. Line) “MEOW! Bite protocol: active!”
(KO Line) "nine lives… depleted…"
Mercenaries in Deadlock Protocol are optional, personality-rich side characters who assist the player in combat or special missions. Because they aren’t central to the narrative, each mercenary only needs a handful of short, punchy voice lines that communicate their identity fast. Important note: Mercenary roles are minimal (1-3 sentences) and will be unpaid, but you will be listed in the game's credits.
CYPHER BLADE – A silent cyber-mercenary wielding a futuristic katana. Precise, disciplined, and lethal.
- english
- video game
- samurai
- male young adult
- videogame
(Intro Line) “This will be quick.”
(Misc. Line) “No wasted motion.”
(KO Line) “…cut short.”
Mercenaries in Deadlock Protocol are optional, personality-rich side characters who assist the player in combat or special missions. Because they aren’t central to the narrative, each mercenary only needs a handful of short, punchy voice lines that communicate their identity fast. Important note: Mercenary roles are minimal (1-3 sentences) and will be unpaid, but you will be listed in the game's credits.
Burn Reaver – A flame-wielding biker merc who turns the battlefield into a scorched road. Loud, relentless, and fueled by fire, he charges straight through danger and leaves nothing but ash behind.
- english
- rough biker
- adult
- male adult
- video game
- videogame
(Intro Line) “BURN BABY BURN!!!"
(Misc. Line) “Let me cook here!"
(KO Line) “I'm snuffed out”
Mercenaries in Deadlock Protocol are optional, personality-rich side characters who assist the player in combat or special missions. Because they aren’t central to the narrative, each mercenary only needs a handful of short, punchy voice lines that communicate their identity fast.
Important note: Mercenary roles are minimal (1-3 sentences) and will be unpaid, but you will be listed in the game's credits.
Grave Ranger -
A robotic bounty hunter who stalks the wastes with mechanical patience and deadeye precision. Silent, relentless, and impossible to shake, he collects his marks like headstones on a long road.
- west country
- male adult
(Intro Line) “Let’s make this clean.”
(Misc. Line) “Clock’s still ticking.”
(KO Line) “Guess… that’s the end of the ride.”
Mercenaries in Deadlock Protocol are optional, personality-rich side characters who assist the player in combat or special missions. Because they aren’t central to the narrative, each mercenary only needs a handful of short, punchy voice lines that communicate their identity fast. Important note: Mercenary roles are minimal (1-3 sentences) and will be unpaid, but you will be listed in the game's credits.
C-R1 “Chippy” – A fast-talking support robot with a casino dealer’s charm, bending luck and probability to boost cash rewards while keeping the odds just barely in the player’s favor.
(Intro Line) "Let's deal!" / "Feelin' lucky today?"
(Misc. Line) "Don't quit - you're about to hit it big!"
(KO Line) "I've gone bust!"
Mercenaries in Deadlock Protocol are optional, personality-rich side characters who assist the player in combat or special missions. Because they aren’t central to the narrative, each mercenary only needs a handful of short, punchy voice lines that communicate their identity fast.
Important note: Mercenary roles are minimal (1-3 sentences) and will be unpaid, but you will be listed in the game's credits.
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B-R4T “BRAT”- A heavily armed military robot whose combat protocols have slipped into gleeful aggression. Loud, unstable, and overkill-happy, BRAT treats every firefight like a sanctioned meltdown.
- male adult
(Intro Line) “Weapons hot! Let's do this thing!”
(Misc. Line) “LOOK AT THAT SPREAD!”
(KO Line) “I regret NOTHING!”
The infected of Project Lazarus are not traditional undead — they are recompiled organisms, fusions of organic tissue and Solari nanotech. When the Lazarus Network failed, its self-repair algorithms began reanimating corpses and grafting scavenged machinery into them. Over time, these creatures learned to build.
- We are looking for sound effects, such as a noise when they get hit, a noise when they die, etc. Please do not do an extended gargle/drool into the mic, we have gotten way too many of those.
- This role will be unpaid, and we will allow many actors to throw in their zombie voice - just for fun! You will of course be listed in the game's credits under additional voices.
- videogame
- creature
- female adult
- monster
- male adult
- video game
*Say something you think would fit*
Genre: Techno · Industrial EDM · Cyber-Cinematic
Composer Direction: Pulsing synthetic beats, distorted basslines, and melancholic digital textures. The sound world balances corporate polish and ruined machinery — the pulse of a dying future that still wants to dance.
*Say something you think would fit*
We’re looking for a talented 2D character artist to help bring the cast of Deadlock Protocol to life through visual novel–style dialogue sprites.
The game’s art direction is stylized anime with a semi-realistic edge, matching the tone of the existing concept art (see attached references). Characters range from corporate technocrats and hackers to gothic thieves and robots — each with big personalities and expressive faces.
Sprites will be used for in-game dialogue scenes, similar to the style found in Fire Emblem, Persona, or VA-11 HALL-A — no animation required.
What We Need:
- Bust-up or waist-up sprites for multiple characters
- Clean linework and vibrant coloring consistent with concept art
- Expression variants (e.g., neutral, happy, angry, smug, serious, etc.)
- Deliverables in layered PSD or PNG format
Art Style Reference:
- Look at the Deadlock Protocol concept art for tone and design consistency
- Clean, expressive anime linework
- Slightly gritty, sci-fi aesthetic with colorful lighting
Nice to Have:
- Experience with game-ready asset organization
- Familiarity with dialogue-based games or VN-style presentation
*Say something you think would fit*
 wizardess heart fandub main/supporting cast (long term roles)](https://images.castingcall.club/project_images/image-1174496-wizardessheart01.webp)
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