In my previous post I explained how I was having some titling issues with my current project: the remake of my first proper game. Well, I finally settled on the new name: “Final Defenders“. So without any more unnecessary ado, let’s take a look at where we’re at!
I’ll start with a recap of what the game is. In Final Defenders, you are one of the brave volunteers of the Anidran Defence Force tasked with holding off an invasion from a big consortium of interplanetary ass-hats: the Five Worlds Legion. You, and up to 3 of your friends, have only a trusty turret with which to defend the skies above your cities from this menace.
How It Plays
So the action takes place from a side-on perspective, in gameplay reminiscent of a blend between Missile Command and Space Invaders. It’s got a classic, retro feel for sure, but to be honest it’s not really a straight clone of anything. That should come as no surprise if you know me and my design mentality, but it’s only surprising because of how very basic it is. The gameplay is frantic, easily-accessible fun for couch co-op (when we can finally share couches again); but there is a subtle tactical layer in terms of things like prioritising targets, or the difference between making an enemy potentially break off with a warning shot and pummeling them until they explode.
Currently all these systems are in and working: we have player joining, turret selection, a variety of enemies, their AI, match length and difficulty controls. We have the ability to start battles, quit back to title, start another and so on. So the basics are all down. What’s missing?
What’s Left To Do
Mostly, the campaign and challenges, the “content”, is still in its infancy (isn’t that always the way?). I’ve got plans for all this, big and small, and some sort of basic campaign is not far off at all. There will likely be two modes here: “Classic” and “Defenders”. The former is a simple set of missions in order with increasing difficulty and limited cross-level effects. The latter will be more of a meta map with cities that are being attacked, while you pick what to defend. The more of your city intact at the end of the battle, the better your overall nation will fare in the meta map.
But for the initial release this August 30th, I’m just aiming to include the fourth original turret and a few minor improvements like proper models for the capital ships. When the game’s available on itch.io at the end of the month, I’d love to hear your feedback!