Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
on the game map by placing defense turrets that shoot the incoming enemies. For each enemy
you kill, you usually get some amount of money or points that you can invest in new turrets or
upgrades. The concept is extremely simple, but getting the balance of this type of game right is
quite difficult.
Defender
(see Figure
3-9
), by DroidHen, is one of the most popular free games on Google Play,
but it uses a simple spin on tower defense that is well known to flash gamers. Instead of building
multiple towers, you have one player-controlled tower that can receive a number of upgrades,
ranging from attack power increases to splitting arrows. Besides the primary weapon, there are
different tech trees of spells that can be cast to mow down the invading enemy forces. What's
nice about this game is that it is simple, easily understandable, and polished. The graphics are
all clean and themed nicely together, and DroidHen got the balance just right, which tends to
keep you playing much longer than you plan. This game is smart in how it monetizes in that
there are a number of free upgrades you can get, but for the impatient, you can always purchase
things a little early with real money and get instant gratification.
Figure 3-9.
Defender, by DroidHen
Defender
has only one level, but it mixes up the baddies to deliver wave after wave of attack. It's
almost as if you don't notice that it has only one level because it's very nice looking and leads
you to pay far more attention to the baddies, your weapons, and your spells. Overall, this should
be good inspiration for the type of game a small team of developers can create in a reasonable
amount of time, one that casual players will enjoy.
Social Games
You didn't think we were going to skip social games, did you? If anything, the word “social� is
the biggest buzz (and one of the biggest money makers) in our modern technology collective.
What is social gaming? It is games in which you share experiences with your friends and
