Project Blackhole

CS 491 Spring 2023 - Phase 2 - Playtest 1 

Our game aims to take the strategy and progressive upgrades of a tower defense and combine it with the chaos of a party game. Control Ophi and feed the blackhole while not disappointing your all-powerful sovereign. 

Blocks to know:

Astral Chest - Store stardust to be used in your...

Cosmic Forge - Use stored stardust to create new...

Towers - Kill enemies and earn stardust to deposit into the ...

Blackhole - Turn in the required amount of stardust to win the level!

Playtesters!

Please try our three levels and give us feedback. Level 0 will teach you how to put your stardust in the blackhole. Level 1 will introduce storing stardust and crafting/upgrading towers. Level 2 is your first real test: a full stage with hazards to deal with. If you fall off, you get respawned! Pressing the blue button in the bottom right starts a wave if possible. When a wave ends, another won't start until you press it (this will change to a short countdown starting after a wave is finished in future builds). All of the values are subject to balance changes. 

(Settings button does nothing at the moment)

Controls:

WASD or Arrow keys to move 

E to interact 

Esc to pause.

Questions:

Does the hectic aspect seem balanced? And if not, what aspects aren't? For example, enemies being too quick/slow, etc.

Is the balance between using stardust for towers and using it to feed the blackhole sufficient?

Do you have any particular ideas for towers?

What different terrain/level topography ideas do you think would be fun and interesting?

Does the flow of the game feel moderately smooth, and in what ways if not?

Is the UI intuitive and understandable? Any comments on adding/removing/clarifying anything to it?

There is currently no elemental effects/immunities implemented, so besides these, what kind of different behaviors might be interesting for enemies?

Did you find any interesting strategies during your gameplay? If so, please let us know what you found, and if not, tell us how we can give you more opportunity to strategize.