Colony Defense released on Xbox Live Indie Games yesterday and we grabbed Dan Weatherman the game's programmer to get some details. Thanks to Dan, and all of Mana Bomb, for taking time to answer some questions for us.
Question: How did the idea for Colony Defense come about?
The base game that turned out to be Colony Defense was thought up one day when Jason Boren (Designer) and I, along with several other friends, were eating Mexican food one fateful day. We got into a pretty serious discussion about what we though would be fun in the tower defense genre that we hadn't seen before. By the end of lunch we had a lot of the high level ideas for Colony Defense down. Having the game take place on the surface of a planet(sphere) was in from the very beginning. If we would have known then how much work this was going to be, I really doubt we would have taken it seriously :) As it was though, ignorance is bliss and we decided if we were going to make a game, we better have a company to make it official. That is how Mana Bomb Games Studio came to be. Armed with a website and a zero dollar budget, we figured we could make whatever we wanted happen!
Question: Could you describe Colony Defense for anyone who hasn’t seen it?
Colony Defense is a 360 degree tower defense game with a lot of arcade action elements. Your mission is to defend your colonies on 34 different planets from invading aliens called the Suona. All the action takes place on the full surface of a 3D planet so you have to be constantly on the move to keep your colonies safe. You have 10 unique, upgradable towers you place along multiple paths, and an orbital ion cannon for when you really need to bring the pain! As you progress, the number of alien spawn points increase along with the number of bases you must defend. Also, the paths the aliens take are varied each level as well. This is not a game where you can set a few towers up and go play WoW on your other screen. It gets HAIRY!
Question: How large was the team that created Colony Defense and how long did it take to develop?
Over it's (long) life, Colony Defense was created by six guys. Jason did design, I did all the programming, some design, and even some art (sorry about that!). We had three other outside artists each lend a hand on various aspects of the game as well; Mark Nunn, Todd Parker, and Dan Moyer. Also, we worked with an awesome sound guy, Daniel Gooding. Looking at my SVN logs, the first check in for this game was in September of 2008. Yeah, it's taken a while :)
Question: When you first set out to make Colony Defense was it always planned to be a tower defense game?
Yeah, it sure was. We had been playing a lot of flash based ones back then and really though that 3D would add some arcade style game play elements that just weren't around at the time. I think it's turned out to be quite fun :)
Question: Looking back on Colony Defense what are the things that you are most proud of?
First and foremost, that we actually FINISHED it. We had pretty much the entire deck stacked against us. I had never programmed a game before, although I have always wanted to. Throw 3D in there (math!?!) and it was one of the biggest challenges I personally have ever had. If it wasn't for all the awesome resources out there for XNA, it never would have happened. There are some super smart and very helpful people that hang out on the XNA creators forums and their posts, along with all the great blogs out there, were the only reason we were able to accomplish what we have.
Question: Was there anything you were hoping to get into Colony Defense that did not make it?
We had originally planned to have 50 levels and a feature for quick "snap to way point" to make navigation a tad easier. If we had put all 50 planets in, not only would we still be working on it, but you could beat Mass Effect 2 in less time than it would take to play Colony Defense! That may be a stretch, but with the 34 planets in right now, your not going to be lacking for content. There is hours and hours of content in the game as it stands. Ultimately, I think we made a very cool tower defense game that is unlike anything else.
Question: Now that Colony Defense has released are you planning another indie game?
PONG! ;) ... Actually we have a lot of great ideas and are currently prototyping a game now to see if WE think it's fun. We are die hard gamers so if it can pass our test, I think there are a lot of folks out there that will enjoy what we come up with as well. Kind of a Robotron, Gears of War, Pitfall, meets Zork with a side of Everquest thing. We'll let you know how that turns out :)
Question: Can you give us some tips or strategies for Colony Defense?
First and foremost, pay attention to the recon reports at the start of each level. They will tell you what types of enemies to expect, so you can plan accordingly. You also have a little over 20 seconds at the start of each level before the enemy transports arrive. Use this time to scout out the whole planet so you can see where all the alien spawn points and your bases are located. Don't forget to use your orbital ion cannon! Also, try to keep your units a distance away from your bases. If something slips through your defenses, you need to have time to react to it. Other than that, upgrade, upgrade, upgrade!
Question: If you could change one thing about Xbox Live Indie Games as a platform what would it be?
Other than showering us all with money, fame, and glory, I think the platform is awesome. We just made a game that now has the potential to reach an audience of millions, and each of those people will have exactly the same experience because their hardware is exactly the same. It's an exciting time to be a developer!
