Fun, pretty, math-based "defender" game- critique

Community Showcases
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Hi all, I’ve finally gotten to a real “beta” stage on one of my many projects, and now am just finishing things up toward a release… :smile:

I could really use some input, critique, feedback, and just general testing. I know there are things that still need a ratchet here or a nudge there… but overall the game is lookin good!

Gameplay is very simple- click on an incoming asteroid to target it, and then solve the “targeting equation” to fire a missile. Waves get tougher and tougher, and YES the High Scores table works! So please submit your high score (IF you can make it hehe)

Will be releasing free online, and same for standalone Mac and Windows versions. Heck, if anyone is interested (ie, Unity newbs like myself who want to see how everything went together), I might just release the entire project to those interested? Lastly, the major plan is to sell it as a good 'ol 99cent app for iPad…that is, if Unity EVER responds to my license validation request…hint hint guys…it’s been over a month now…

Here is the most recent webplayer [EDIT, new version!]:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/589952/EarthDefenderBuilds/EarthDefense_Gold_1.html

And screenshots!

Main Menu…

Shoot dem Asteroids!

uho…getting bad!

ahhg…Earth is KERPLOOEY!

Hope you enjoy, it’s been fun in the making, time to finish (figure I might as well submit to the Unity challenge- might get some interest and it gives me a solid deadline!)

Thanks all, please don’t pull any punches in your comments :stuck_out_tongue: However, I do appreciate a good “wow, I LOVE it, and my kid loves it too!” :smile:

Credits:
Explosions- http://variancetheory.com/detonator/
Music- "Nukemout" (http://nukemout.newgrounds.com/)
Scripting Help- Roberto Diaz Jr
Global HighScores- http://www.unifycommunity.com/wiki/index.php?title=Server_Side_Highscores
Space Skybox- http://alexcpeterson.com/spacescape
Everything- ME!
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That’s pretty cool, I love games that get your brain going, good job!

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102710 on Exponents…that gets really intense towards the end. What I like best is how you turned a fairly basic math game into something really fun by adding the whole Asteroids-Destroying-Earth concept…having the cannon shoot the asteroids is really satisfying.

Only thing missing (unless I missed it!) is a way to escape back into the Menu during a game…although you can just sit back and let the asteroids blow you up if you want to go back.

Great job!

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Thanks JP!

@IronWarrior- dannng, 102710 on EXPONENTS? I need to update the high scores to show the mode of play…that’s impressive! :smile:

Ah, yes…no escape function…DOH! Funny how the simple stuff passes me by. Can’t see the trees through the forest, lol.

Thanks!

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I really enjoyed it! Graphics are pretty good. The music is definitely enjoyable, which to me can be make or break. I’ve had it on a loop in the background for a good 15 minutes and I haven’t been annoyed by it yet. :wink: I’ll definitely play it again…mostly for the added benefit of the mathematics refresher.
Only question…are the equations randomly generated? I encountered quite a few repeats while playing in a short amount of time, which is fine, but could get old in the long run. If you can tweak it to draw from a wider range of equations, I think that would be a worthwhile change.

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Hey! thanks for commenting :wink:

Yep, the music was made by a friend who is working on more tracks as well- he’s great. Can’t wait to see what else he comes up with for future games! Actually, the current track you heard is not finished…it doesn’t quite loop properly, but I dropped it in early on and havn’t gotten around to swapping it out yet…oops :stuck_out_tongue:

The math equations are definitly random- like everything, they escalate from easy to hard to super tough. technically speaking, each new wave does the following:

minRandomNumber + .25 (ever 4 waves the min random number increases by 1)

maxRandomNumber + 1 (increases each wave by 1)

maxAsteroids + 1

asteroidSpeed * 1.15

asteroidRespawnTime * .85

and one or two other various things…but those are the major ones. So yes, it should be completely random- not sure why it felt repetitive to you? Unless you are playing “exponent” mode, because then the min/max numbers are set to a lock, otherwise they would just be wayyy to big, lol.

Thanks! I finally went through the entire code base in Unity iPhone and fixed all the syntax issues…oi…only to find there is a bug or something that won’t let me build for iPad with the newest release?? I’m still looking into it. SO close!!

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Looks pretty nifty! The only problem I had was that it’s sometimes difficult to see the questions, particularly if asteroid’s orangey-red tail passes through the semi-transparent orangey-red window. You might also find some color-blind people to test it. I’m not color-blind myself, but the orange text on red might be a sticking point.

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hi burnumd-

Yes, this was an issue- was! :smile: I need to update the example here, I fixed up the UI and the asteroid tail particles so you can actually see that equation :wink: Good point on the color blind issue- I dont’ know anyone to test in that capacity, if anyone here does, please point 'em over! :slight_smile:

thanks!

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Nice game, could be a serious game like

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Thanks xandeck! Now if only I could figure out how to get this thing working on iPad…arg.

If anyone can point me to a good step-by-step for dummies, I’d really like to get this built ASAP! Gave up last night…it just was throwing PILES of errors and such. Now, looking through the forums, I see this is a “known issue” that, from what I gather, Unity just isn’t fixing until 3.0?? And I might even need to (somehow) find an older version of xCode just to build it properly?

Help on this would be greatly appreciated!

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yohodahan…

You are the first people here that has my same idea (Spacer)… math questions while playing… but your game looks more mature… congratulations!.. very funny !..

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:slight_smile: glad u like it SpaceMan!

I’ll be posting an update ASAP with the newest build, it’s much improved!

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I find it hard to see the panels clearly due to the transparency, makes it frustrating.

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yep! I fixed this, will be updating very shortly (at work right now)