Minimalistic Dota Clone (+ Osmos) by Finn Stokes
The idea of this game was that since DotA-like games (http://www.playdota.com/,
http://blog.dota2.com/, http://na.leagueoflegends.com/, etc.) are always very complex,
it should be possible to strip out most of the complexity, producing a minimalistic
version of the core game. In order to simplify combat, we based it on the gameplay of
Osmos (http://www.hemispheregames.com/osmos/) and added a system to eventually gain
size by taking/dealing damage (replacing levelling and farming).
Installation
---------------
Windows:
Download and run the executable.
Linux/OSX:
Download the source files.
Install Python 2 (http://www.python.org/), Pygame (http://www.pygame.org/), and Twisted (http://twistedmatrix.com/).
Run main.py using python.
Both:
To play, you need two players connected over a network.
Either enter no ip address to host or enter the ip address of the host.
To connect over the internet, you will probably need to forward whichever port you host on.
To play by yourself (doesn't really work very well as then the other player does nothing so there is no challenge), simply open up two copies of the client, one as the server (no ip) and the other connecting to 127.0.0.1 (localhost).
Controls
----------
You are the grey bordered circle, and your base is the large circle with the matching ring. 'Creeps' (simple coloured circles) will spawn periodically and move towards the enemy base.
When any two circles collide, they will 'damage' each other, reducing their radius. Player characters will gradually 'heal' over time, and their maximum size increases as they deal damage.
You may move towards a point by right clicking. Move the screen with the arrow keys, or moving the mouse to the edge of the screen.
To win, destroy the enemy base.
Credits
---------
Finn Stokes
Rory Stokes
Myles Clark
http://blog.dota2.com/, http://na.leagueoflegends.com/, etc.) are always very complex,
it should be possible to strip out most of the complexity, producing a minimalistic
version of the core game. In order to simplify combat, we based it on the gameplay of
Osmos (http://www.hemispheregames.com/osmos/) and added a system to eventually gain
size by taking/dealing damage (replacing levelling and farming).
Installation
---------------
Windows:
Download and run the executable.
Linux/OSX:
Download the source files.
Install Python 2 (http://www.python.org/), Pygame (http://www.pygame.org/), and Twisted (http://twistedmatrix.com/).
Run main.py using python.
Both:
To play, you need two players connected over a network.
Either enter no ip address to host or enter the ip address of the host.
To connect over the internet, you will probably need to forward whichever port you host on.
To play by yourself (doesn't really work very well as then the other player does nothing so there is no challenge), simply open up two copies of the client, one as the server (no ip) and the other connecting to 127.0.0.1 (localhost).
Controls
----------
You are the grey bordered circle, and your base is the large circle with the matching ring. 'Creeps' (simple coloured circles) will spawn periodically and move towards the enemy base.
When any two circles collide, they will 'damage' each other, reducing their radius. Player characters will gradually 'heal' over time, and their maximum size increases as they deal damage.
You may move towards a point by right clicking. Move the screen with the arrow keys, or moving the mouse to the edge of the screen.
To win, destroy the enemy base.
Credits
---------
Finn Stokes
Rory Stokes
Myles Clark
Ratings
| Coolness | 59% | 3 |
| Overall(Jam) | 2.75 | 426 |
| Audio(Jam) | 1.94 | 422 |
| Fun(Jam) | 2.74 | 332 |
| Graphics(Jam) | 2.50 | 453 |
| Humor(Jam) | 2.00 | 300 |
| Innovation(Jam) | 3.14 | 226 |
| Mood(Jam) | 2.37 | 448 |
| Theme(Jam) | 3.35 | 244 |
I'm trying to get some friends to give a shot with me tomorrow and hopefully all works well and I can get you guys some feedback. I'm definitely intrigued by the concept so far though.
I only played through it on my own, but it's definitely a minimalistic MOBA. If you were able to run a public server for people to connect to it'd really simplify trying it out.
- It would be cool if the camera followed you around, I mean, like DoTA games. Without minimap, you don't know where your hero is.
- You can camp the enemy spawn once you are big enough. There's nothing for her to do, except ragequit. The hero spawn should be protected in some way.
- There's no end. I destroyed enemy base and game didn't tell me I won or anything. I closed the server and the other player crashed.
- Sometimes you can go through walls.
This is a nice concept, I particularly like how you replaced money/hp/level with a single stat: size. But there are many issues that make this unenjoyable. And there's the thing it's multiplayer so you need to gather people to play this.
As for sugestions, Jorjon said it all.
I hope you keep developing it, since it can become something REALLY interesting!
- Regarding the camera following the player, I understand you can lose your position easily however we do want for there to be the option to look elsewhere. I'm thinking of adding a function to center the camera at the player when you push/hold space.
- Spawn camping is an issue, thanks for pointing that out. I think the simplest fix is going to be moving the player spawn to inside the base itself.
- The code is theoretically there to end the game, yet it clearly isn't being triggered, so I'll have a look at it.
- In my testing I was once able to glitch into the inside of a wall, but I wasn't able to replicate it. If we continue the project, pathfinding is something I'm very interested in improving.
Would these changes solve your issues?