Stages

Inspiration

i wanted to strip the fluff from the tower defense genre. I made a game based on the Kübler-Ross model of grief as the core framework, meaning the psychology dictates the mechanics rather than just serving as a visual skin. I was inspired by personal experiences as well as the experiences of others dealing with grief and loss

What it does

Stages is a mobile, 2.5D narrative strategy game where players act as a cognitive defense network. Using a strictly fixed budget, players deploy tower types like Stabilizers, Anchors, and Actuators on clean tabletop-style dioramas to defend the mind's core (the Anima) from the Desolatus faction, which seeks to destroy the anima. Each stage of grief introduces distinct environmental modifiers, custom enemies, and boss encounters.

How we built it

The design was done with notebook paper and google docs. Nothing has been built yet, but I look forward to using the next generation of Meta technology to make it in the future!

Challenges we ran into

Coming up with what I felt was a unique idea, as well as how it might look design-wise, took lots of time

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Submitting this design on time!

What we learned

Game design isn't necessarily easier than game development. What's the point of implementing an idea if no time was taken coming up with the idea to begin with?