Tower Defense
Tower defense is a subgenre of strategy games where players protect their territory against waves of enemy attackers.
Characteristics
Defend!
Use resources wisely to survive all waves of increasingly difficult enemies.
ENEMY WAVES
↩️ Pathing
🔸🔷 Variety (health, number, loot, etc) ➕ Increasing difficulty (type, number, etc)
TOWER STRATEGY
✖️ Placement
🔸🔷 Variety (attack strength, type, size, etc)
🪙 Buy towers / 🧱 Build with resources
🆙 Upgrade towers
🔓Unlock new types
Keys of Success
Everyone Can Play - Main player actions are placing units
Play for Long - Many levels and difficulties, new releases, endless mode
Flexible Play Modes - Multiplayer with humans or singleplayer with NPCs
NEED TO HAVE
Logic to place/spawn towers
Spawning and pathing for enemies
Varied tower types and enemies
NICE TO HAVE
Resource Farming - Harvest resources (building materials, currency, etc)
Research - Unlock new tower types or abilities through research
Game Loops
Below is a general game loop diagram for this genre. Your game's loops may vary.
Variations of Strategy
Real-Time Strategy (RTS): Players make decisions in real-time, managing resources and armies.
Turn-Based Strategy (TBS): Players take turns making strategic decisions and controlling units.
4X (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate): Empire-building and grand strategy.
Learn to Create It
GAME MAKER TEMPLATE
LOGIC TO EXPLORE
Enemy waves
Gaining resources
Buying towers
Make it More Interesting
Consider ways to add to or change the core structure of this game type to challenge and motivate players differently.
MAIN OBJECTIVE
🛡️ Build enough defense to explore & loot
⚔️ Vs enemies or teams
RAMP OF DIFFICULTY
⚒️ Craft rather than buy
🎲 Randomized patterns
CORE DECISIONS
🌇 Turn based or constant
⛈️ Weather impacts
⚙️ Precise tower variations
PRACTICE: Modify the Life Jumper template to increase the fun:
Tower abilities
Projectile & Raycasting (varied tower presets)
Passive/idle resource generation
Useful Logic
Resource Management logic (sub-genre)
Tutorial Videos
Open the Game Maker Tower Defense Template for logic included in the tutorials below.
View Tower Defense Game Jam entries in the Game Maker Gallery for examples of this genre.
NPC Waves
Basic Tower, Money, Life System
Tower Building System
Wave Counter System
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