Project Goals
The main goal of the project is to create a Tower Defense game in 12 weeks that is ecologically themed, and provides a unique product to the market. The aim is to have the game reflect that of the Solarpunk genre.
Project
My name is Sam and I am working on a game called EarthshipTD.
I will be programmer, creator and director for the game.
Abstract
My game will be a Tower Defense game inspired by the art and literary genre of Solarpunk. The game features an Earthship that the player must look after while trying to fend off Oil Monsters sent by Oil Companies. The game also includes satirical aspects such as the use of logos for Oil Companies on the Oil Monsters that attack the Earthship.
Game Title
The game is titled EarthshipTD.
The name is inspired by Earthships, which are “homes built sustainably using a combination of waste materials” (Laban, L. 2024).
Genre
Tower Defense, Construction and Management Simulation, Satire
The Hook
My game will be an ecologically themed Tower Defense game about protecting an Earthship from attacking Oil Monsters sent by Oil Companies frustrated about a new sustainable life in the Earthship.
The Anchor
My game will be a Tower Defense title inspired by games like Plants vs Zombies but will have aspects of social simulation aspect like Tomodachi Life and incorporating sustainability into the fabric of the games design.
The Appeal
The main appeal of the game is an eco-centric Tower Defense game that is blended with the Solarpunk aspects of community and sustainability.
The Fun
I have a prototype that shows off the game and its mechanics. It is listed below.
Based on what came before
The game is primarily inspired by previous titles in the Tower Defense genre like Bloons TD5.
Reference Media
The media references for this project can be found at the following link:
https://sites.wsagames.com/sc18g23-yr3/category/phase-4/polysolartd/project-references
User Experience (UX)
The game will feature a Drag and Drop interface where the players uses an input device like a mouse or a touchscreen to drag things around the screen and drop them to their desired location. This approach works well on mobile devices and is particularly suited to the Tower Defense genre, where it can be found in titles such as Bloons TD5 and Plants vs Zombies.
The Mechanics
The main mechanics will be placing down Plant Towers and upgrading parts of the Earthship.
Gameplay Loop
Win/Fail State
The player wins a round when they successfully build towers that can sufficiently destroy the waves of Oil Monsters that appear in the round. Once the player wins a round, the game saves and enters a prepreation stage. In this stage the player can collect leftover oil from the previous round and convert it into FuturaMat, a sustainable material which can be used for upgrading the rooftop Solar Panels. The Tower Defense phase begins when the player presses the Button on the bottom right of the screen.
The fail state will be when the Oil Monsters destroy the Earthship. The game will then revert to the save following the players last win, allowing the player to adjust their strategy with regards to the Earthship management and Plant Tower formation.
Audience
The game will mainly target a mobile audience, with a PC release to go with it. This is because the Mobile Tower Defense market is strong and both iOS and Android feature touchscreen devices which goes well with the games drag and drop interface.
My game will target adults, in particular the 18-35 age demographic. I chose this age group as it is the domiment age category according to Astute Analytica (2022) and will also better appreicate the satirical aspects of the game as well as more advanced levels requiring greater elements of strategy and the way in which the game engages with the politics of the Solarpunk genre.
I am aiming for each session to be up to 10-20 minutes in length. This makes this it a good fit for a mobile device where, for example, the player can boot up the game on a short public transport journey and play it for that length, compared to a PC game where players typically spend more time per session.
More info can be found on the Audience page.
Competitors
Competitors for the Tower Defense genre on Steam established games in established like Kingdom Rush and Bloons TD but also from games like Plants vs Zombies, but also games from independent developers like Thronefall and Creeper World 3.
Technical Specification
- Software: Unity 6 (or 2022), JetBrains Rider, Freeform
- Hardware: MacBook Air, Steam Deck (for playtesting)
Project Schedule
I am planning to spend 6 weeks on making the core of the game and 6 weeks polishing it.
The full schedule can be found here: https://sites.wsagames.com/sc18g23-yr3/2026/01/03/game-schedule/
Design Appendix
- Blog
- Design Folder
- Sketchbook
- Game Prototype (playable on the web or a executable folder)
Prototype
polySolarTD Prototype by Sam CoxReferences
Astute Analytica (2022). Mobile Tower Defense Games Market Report | 2030. [online] www.astuteanalytica.com. Available at: https://www.astuteanalytica.com/industry-report/mobile-tower-defense-games-market.
Laban, L. (2024). ‘It was a pie-in-the-sky ridiculous idea’: The US homes made from waste materials. [online] Bbc.co.uk. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20241002-the-us-homes-made-from-waste-materials.