The History Of Tower Defense Games
The growth rate of the video game market over the past few years has been phenomenal. The new-found popularity of video games can be attributed both to the rise in people’s disposable income and the exciting scenarios they simulate. Only a few games have made it big by cashing in on the thrill factor and capturing the users’ imagination. With the advent of powerful graphics processors, the recent games are a sight to behold. In spite of this, classical sub-genres like Tower Defense Games have managed to retain a steady fan following. According to gaming lexicon, Tower Defense Games are grouped under the Strategy Games category.
Strategy Of The games
Tower Defense Games boast of a very straight forward gaming strategy. The player is expected to use guard towers to protect a swathe of properties from a series of marauding armies. The skill-level and strength of the opposition forces can be changed via the difficulty settings. A successful defensive strategy involves the optimal use of one’s resources and the ability to multi-task.
History
The Tower Defense sub-genre has churned out a few exceptional games over the past couple of decades. Rampart was released in the year 1990 and has been ported to most of the major gaming consoles. Players are expected to defend a bunch of castles from enemy forces. Age of Empires is another Tower Defense game that has gained a legion of followers. A more recent example is Desktop Tower Defense. The game was released in 2007 and has a very simplistic flash-based PC Design. It has been played over 15 million times till date.
Appeal Of The Genre
Although the games may seem to be fairly basic in strategy, they still demand a certain level of skill and concentration from players. With multiple enemy units launching simulataneous attacks, the user is forced to multi-task and prioritize. In many cases, the user is behooved to protect multiple units with limited resources. This simulated environment helps the user prepare for real-life challenges that require similar skill sets. In fact, the military is known to include strategy games in its training modules.
Future of Tower Defense Games
The genre is in the continuous process of reinventing itself in order to keep users’ interest piqued. The very basic nature of Tower Defense games may make them obsolete for experienced gamers. This has prompted developers to integrate tower defense into more complex games so that it does not have to stand on its own limited albeit strong merits. Games like Monday Night Combat have begun to make their presence felt. These newer versions of tower defense games will be rendered in 3D graphics and be reasonably priced. The game developers will ensure compatibility with all the different gaming platforms to target a wider market.
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