Tower defense games, like MOBA games, as a game mode created entirely by players and promoted, today we have been able to see many development branches as well as famous game works. Tower defense game has “royal guard” (kingdom rush), orcs must die, tower defense light and other excellent works. MOBA type is more, from DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) to LOL (League of Legends) to “Heroes of the Storm” and the recent “Glory of the King” are very typical examples. Today we are going to talk about the past life of tower defense games, how exactly was tower defense born, and how did it develop?
Noble bloodline low-profile development
Tower Defence, or Tower Defence, according to Baidu, originated from one of the earliest web-based tower defence games (Desktop Tower Defence), but according to the research party, the earliest tower defence game was an arcade game called Rampart in 1990, in which players placed artillery to defend the castle and constantly In between attacks, players were given the opportunity to repair the walls. Due to the properties of tower defense itself, some players even suggested that the famous Space Invaders was the original starting point of tower defense games, although this is debatable, but it also raises the question, what is the core of tower defense games?
Ultimately, we believe that the core of tower defense games is “exploring the most cost-effective means to destroy the most enemies”, “protecting yourself” and “dynamic battlefield”, where the player needs to Players need to plan and predict the direction of the whole battlefield with limited resources and space, and make appropriate corrections in the middle. When we distill the core components of tower defense games, we find that they are very similar to real-time strategy games (RTS). Therefore, the tower defense game is not an accidental web game, but has long been rooted in the spirit of strategy games, with a noble and pure pedigree.
Regardless of whether Space Invaders and Bastion can be called the originators of tower defense games or the prototypes of tower defense features, it is necessary to admit that they have been more or less tinged with tower defense games. So what is the real opportunity for the development of tower defense games?
Since 1990, tower defense games have been silent for about 10 years, perhaps preparing to make a big comeback, perhaps preparing to make a big hit, perhaps because the market did not support or recognize it at that time, no one knows. The real opportunity for development in about 2000, when the real-time strategy games are to extend the life of the game to add the game map editor, allowing players to customize the game content under certain restrictions, both to save costs and increase the life of the game, the major manufacturers have followed suit. The result, as we all know, from “Warcraft 3” and “Starcraft” was born tower defense and DoTA class games, players can add their own heroes, items and other defense facilities. Soon after that, tower defense began to cocoon into a butterfly, towards “Defense Awakening”, “Potato Monster”, “Pixel Trash”, “Plants vs. Zombies” to the cell phone after the “Royal Guard”, “Tower Defense Light”, “Defend the Turnip” development; DoTA class games to “DOTA2”, “League of Legends”, “Heroes of the Storm” and now “King of Glory” after the “Dueling Pinganjing” development. Of course, DoTA games have been renamed as MOBA games and spread more widely.
Evolution and confrontation
Speaking of recent tower defense games, one game that must be mentioned is Plants vs. Zombies, a tower defense game that has spread around the world and has since appeared in cell phones, with various IP-licensed derivatives also selling well. The game content is probably the player needs to place plants on the map at will to fight zombies, there are a small number of plants can change the zombie route of travel, the player is fully aware of the zombie attack route, just need to block the zombies, to defend their homes. Excellent graphics and simplified screen UI made this game known to players, and also let the tower defense game again on the public eye, from then on, tower defense games began to show the well growth.
Orcs Must Die!”, creating first-person shooter plus tower defense mode. In April 11, Anomaly: Warzome Earth was released, and unlike traditional tower defense, players had to play as enemies (attackers) in ordinary tower defense games to successfully pass through layers of defensive local positions and finally reach the blocked destination. The final destination is blocked. When the PC and console tower defense games are competing forward, a unique potential platform is quietly emerging, that is, emphasizing the fragmentation of time to play the cell phone platform. December 11 the famous “Royal Guard” landed on the Web platform, after achieving good reputation and results to cell phone platform also received a very good response, whether the studio or the work itself have reaped a very high evaluation. At the same time, all kinds of imitators are springing up. Perhaps, most players feel that the success of “Royal Guards” is due to his mobile platform performance of beautiful graphics and all kinds of interesting eggs, but in fact there are some factors often ignored by players, that is, the game added the role of “hero”, the role can not be restricted by the site, move around the map at will, or block enemy attacks or go to the front. Or block the enemy attack or go to the front line positions to put out the fire. Also, defensive barracks have been added, and unlike other turrets, players can move the soldiers stationed in the barracks within a limited range, giving players room for micromanagement.
Throughout all the tower defense games that have won both word-of-mouth and market share, they all have one feature, seeking innovation or change while ensuring that the basic gameplay of tower defense remains the same, which not only makes the game more fun but also gives players more ample room to play.
Where to find the light of tower defense?
With the passing of the tower defense game bonus period, the number of games from the well-spurt increase began to step into the slow development stage, tower defense game whether in the cell phone platform or in the host platform, homogeneous products are increasing, players to the game content, the picture itself also gradually appear aesthetic fatigue. Are tower defense games just receding and eventually dying? Or do they struggle in the predicament and try to stand out from the milk into cream in the game market? Tower Defense Light” is probably one of the games that are trying to run hard to find a way out of the huge tower defense game market.
Tower Defense Light is a medieval tower defense game that tells the story of an expeditionary force that defeats an evil Titan and fights against it in a triumphant ambush. In the continent of Loshjian, which is full of swords and magic, players need to gather lost troops, fully use their wisdom, overcome many obstacles, go through the threat of the army of the dead and various magic creatures, find out the culprit behind and defeat him. The game cleverly integrates character development elements into the classic game mode of strategic tower defense, bringing a new experience to players. Each hero and soldier has various attributes such as attack power, life value, defense power, attack speed, blast, strength, agility, intelligence and so on. There are also a large number of skills to go with it, so that players can fully enjoy the fun of arranging troops and fighting monsters to upgrade the game.
I hope that “Tower Defense Light” can be a lighthouse for domestic tower defense games as its name suggests, and live up to the expectation of using wisdom to light up the path of domestic tower defense games.
