Paperclip Apocalypse

Inspiration

I wanted a short, readable tower defense game with the harder strategic decisions of a tactics puzzle. The villain is based on the famous AI thought experiment - the paperclip maximizer, an AI that turns everything it touches into paperclips. I love Japanese culture and origami so I created a bizarre dark whimsical world to house this idea.

What it does

You fold origami defenders against rogue AI paperclips. Between waves you spend Paper on "folds" (the origami defenders) across four lanes and five rows; a Lumberjack pays Paper every wave, and the other six folds each answer one enemy type. Enemies that reach the Mill cost a life. Defenders wear as they work and stop until repaired or replaced. The new mechanic is called Refold, you can reuse defenders and transform them into different roles across the game board but at a cost.

How we built it

This was a fun challenge, as although I have a lot of experience building with AI, I never was constrained to such rules as the ones set by this competition.

Challenges we ran into

Honestly, my GDD from the previous competition got me surprisingly far in one shot, but after that the hard part was refining and getting the feel right for the core loop.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Refold can be tricky at first, and once it clicks the whole board opens up. The origami defenders against chrome machines look like nothing else in the genre.

What we learned

Testing showed the tactical-puzzle side is the heart of the loop, more than the tower placement.

What's next for Paperclip Apocalypse

Expand the lineup of folds and enemies with a sharper, more unique origami art style, add satire that mirrors the times we are in, and go deeper on the tactical-puzzle nature of the game.

Built With

• claude
• codex