DEFCON 0 by The White Kiwi
DEFCON is a fun-filled game where you get to enjoy the exhilarating feeling you get when you're about to die.
You are Australia's last hope against a nuclear attack. Disaster is imminent, but it is your job to stall for time so that the citizens of the main cities can escape.
READ FIRST - The game did not crash, you died - Does not work on ultra-wide, probably doesn't work on some other resolutions
Info on itch.io
------------------ How To Play -------------------------------------
The game is a text-based game, all commands are typed in a text field at the top left.
Prompt 1: Choose a base The city that you base in is entirely up to you, if that city is destroyed, so are you !-- Game Over --!
Following Prompts: Missile Incoming When you see a message that says a missile is approaching a city, it is your job to counter it with the "defend" command.
It is noted that you are not going to be able to save everyone, you are only stalling for time. At some point, you are going to have to make a decision on which missiles to let through.
------ < Commands > ------
Write the following without the "" and []
"defend [city]" Type this when a missile is approaching a city, make sure to type in the city that is being targeted.
"status [city]" This lets you know the population of the city, not that useful but may help you decide which cities to let fall.
"spy" This expends a spy to see the next 3 targets for missiles. Note: if it is targeting a city that has already fallen, it will skip it.
------ < Resources > ------
Silos: You have 3 silos located in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. They are put on a 45-second cooldown when you use them to defend.
RADAR: You have 3 RADAR units located in Darwin, Perth and Brisbane. They are needed to see when the next missile will hit the next city.
Spies: You have 3 spies, once you have expended all 3, you will not know what cities the next missiles will target.
Capital: Your capital is located in Canberra, if Canberra falls, your silos cooldowns are increased to 60 seconds.
-------------------- Images ----------------------------------------
| Windows | https://stymphalian-birb.itch.io/defcon-0 |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/50/defcon-0 |
Ratings
| Given | 14🗳️ | 2🗨️ |
Anyway, nice work!
Having to type the commands also means that you could make mistakes and fail defending a city haha, which is a good thing - adds to the challenge I think.
What bugged me a bit is that you don't really get rewarded for anything and you can't replenish anything - can't get extra spies, repair cities, etc. Maybe it's just not the point of the game, but I felt that it was so hopeless that the best course of action would just let everything be destroyed :sweat_smile:
Nice work!
Thanks for the feedback!
Yes, a big part of the game was the hopelessness of it, while it is a good idea to add a reward of some kind, I thought that might take away from a large part of the game - "There is no winning, there is no high score".
Also, it's nice that think the 'choosing cities' part of the game was good because I really wanted the player to feel the morality of letting people die because it helps you survive a little longer.
Thanks for letting me know, I've always had trouble with getting it to work with different resolutions.
Thanks, there's no running away during a nuclear war
Thank you!
I agree, very good comment. I should've had something additional for the player to do since "status" and "spy" do not contribute to the game that much.
Thanks for your comment,
I agree, there are some mechanics missing from this game, there needs to be at least 1 more 'thing' you can do to make this game more engaging.
Next LDJam I will do make sure to make it more complex!
Death being inevitable is intentional btw.
I really like the take on the theme, but - as has already been mentioned - there's maybe not quite enough here. This is a solid concept for a game and a good beginning, but I feel like even one more thing to do would go a long way. Perhaps something to regenerate radar or silos, get more spies, or something like that? It could be really compelling if it was enough to give you some breathing room to hang on a bit longer, and... dare I say it... delay the inevitable.