Ludum Dare #50compo
DEFCON 0
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 ----------------------------------------
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 ----------------------------------------
Tags: #psychological horror
Genres: survival
Comments15
damnscout5 Apr 2022, 01:10
Sorry, does not work on ultrawide. Good luck!
LDJam user 764915 Apr 2022, 01:52
It's interesting that you have to choose which cities to defend because some of them could severely impact your ability to keep playing (example: losing a silo or losing camberra which means a brutal cooldown increase). I like the tactics behind figuring out if a city will survive an attack and whether you should take it so you're able to defend a more important target later.
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!
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!
The White Kiwi5 Apr 2022, 09:54
@conradoclark
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 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.
The White Kiwi5 Apr 2022, 09:54
@damnscout
Thanks for letting me know, I've always had trouble with getting it to work with different resolutions.
Thanks for letting me know, I've always had trouble with getting it to work with different resolutions.
The White Kiwi5 Apr 2022, 09:55
@lighty-the-light
Thanks, there's no running away during a nuclear war
Thanks, there's no running away during a nuclear war
Lighty_the_Light5 Apr 2022, 10:17
TrAceX5 Apr 2022, 12:45
Very good idea, but I feel like it lacks some actual management features - the entire gameplay is mostly just typing "defend". For a jam game, it does offer a nice overall experience.
The White Kiwi5 Apr 2022, 21:51
@tracex
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.
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.
Taximan9816 Apr 2022, 10:59
Surprisingly fun imagining everyone die, some audio might be cool, https://sfxr.me/ is an easy and quick way to make sounds. Still pretty darn good for a text based game. Retro theme was *chefs kiss*
LDJam user 2497056 Apr 2022, 11:00
A solid base considering it was done in a very short time, but more mechanics would definitely increase the depth by a lot.
Shigor8 Apr 2022, 12:37
An interesting concept, but it the end it's just defend everything from start, then defend only important cities, then die. only spies add some more mechanics, but there are only 3, so the gameplay is a bit too simple and the death inevitable.
The White Kiwi10 Apr 2022, 05:17
@shigor
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.
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.
rjhelms12 Apr 2022, 01:52
I also had trouble with resolution - my monitor is 16:10 and it was playable but the command prompt was hidden under the text. One option to make things resolution-independent is to have the game launch in windowed mode at a fixed resolution - 1280x720 is a pretty safe choice.
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.
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.
sacredyouma13 Apr 2022, 03:27
Liked the game concept. The gameplay is already well-built, therefore you should start working on the some other things like main menu screen, music, etc. Nice entry, I look forward to the game!
Anyway, nice work!