Defense Mechanisms
October 2021 - Present
Overview
Defense Mechanisms is a tower defense bullet hell where the player plays a mechanic that must build defenses and steer clear of the danger.
This has been a passion project of mine that I've been creating off and on for almost 3 years now. While it still has a long way to go in many aspects, the core game play is very fun and enjoyable: I'll often simply play the game for fun!
Overall, this project has been the heart of my learning process when it comes to both game development and game design. Progress is often slow on this project because I use it as a space to learn new features of Unity, or to implement new design/development practices.
While the game is far from complete, the most recent playable build can be found here!
Features and achievements
A list of features I'm am proud of.
Fully Functional Settings:
This game was my first chance at adding a settings menu. I learned how to save player's settings and load them the next time the game starts.
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Save Load System:
A saving system is essential for any game. This was also my first take as save/loading. The tricky part was saving a game in progress and making sure the states of all towers are exactly as they were before the save.
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Level Editor:
I wanted the game to support custom levels so the entire game had to support this. Not only am I happy with allowing players to create levels, I'm also proud that the game scene is built at runtime. This allows to scene to be built differently for each level.
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Upgrade System:
I've always wondered how upgrade systems worked so I was excited to make my own. Designing this system was one of the most complicated parts of the project. Although the code is far from perfect, the system allows for a designer to make new upgrades easily completely in the editor.
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General Gameplay:
When I came up with the idea for this game, I had a pretty clear picture for how the game would play. Over half a year later, I've managed to get the gameplay loop pretty close to that original idea. Additionally, it's a great sign when playtesters genuinely enjoy the gameplay.
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Tower Designs:
Of course there are plenty of generic shooting towers, I'm really happy with the tower roster I've created. Many of the towers play into the game's core theme well (the stronger your defenses, the harder the game becomes for the player). Most towers have unique and fun designs that I am very happy with.
