How I'm Tackling the Development of My Procedurally Generated Tower Defense Game

Creating games has always been a passion of mine, and I’m currently working on an exciting project: a procedurally generated tower defense game. This genre fascinates me, blending strategic planning with engaging gameplay. In this blog post and future posts, I’ll share my journey through the development process and the challenges I face while building this unique game.

Conceptualizing the Game Mechanics

Before I dove into coding, I spent a some time thinking about the game’s mechanics. A key element in tower defense games is the placement of towers to stop waves of enemies. With procedural generation, the layout of levels will change every time a player starts a game.

I need to create algorithms that generate diverse layouts, enemy paths, and tower options. For example, I aim to design at least five distinct types of towers, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. Balancing challenge and player capabilities is crucial. With more designs to come in the future.

Choosing the Right Tools and Technologies

Picking the right tools and technologies is crucial for my game’s development. I chose the Unity game engine due to its versatility and strong community support. Unity is perfect for both 2D and 3D development and will help me implement the procedural generation aspect efficiently.

I’m using C# for scripting, as it is widely supported in game development and the language i have the most experience in.

Designing Procedural Generation Algorithms

The core of my game lies in the procedural generation algorithms. I’m crafting a system that balances randomness and usability. One technique I’m considering is Perlin noise for map generation. This approach can create smooth and natural forms for the game world while preventing a repetitive experience. But i have not yet made a final decision and i am looking into other options aswell as making a custom model.

Art and Aesthetic Choices

Visuals are vital for engaging players. Since this is a tower defense game, developing an appealing art style is essential. I have chosen a vibrant and stylized 3D aesthetic.

I plan to combine handcrafted assets with procedural elements, like random enemy designs, ensuring variety and freshness with each playthrough. This strategy not only keeps gameplay exciting but also builds a unique world for players to explore. To do this i will make modular enimies that when spawned in will randomly choose from a pre determined pool of parts.

AI image of the style / theme I am going for.

Thank you for following along on this exciting adventure! I’ll keep sharing updates and insights, so stay tuned for more.