Age of Defenders: Post-apocalyptic tower defense game launched for tablets
November 7th, 2011
Age of Defenders is a tower defense game for browser (Win, Linux, Mac), iPad, Android and soon to be launched on BlackBerry PlayBook. The game is built with Flash and ported to tablets with Adobe AIR. It has practice mode and multiplayer mode via RTMP (via Flash Media Server) and RTMFP (P2P). Multiplayer is actually pretty unique as you can really play among different platforms, e.g. from Android to iPad or iPad vs. browser and so on.
Play online: http://ageofdefenders.com
Available in Apple App Store
Available in Android Market
Official trailer:
I had a chance to do a quick interview with Tomáš Botek (Head of development team, Age of Defenders):
Me: What is the main idea behind Age of Defenders?
Tomáš: We wanted to create a mix of tower defense and strategy games, where two people will play against each other, including attacking and other bit and bobs. Also, we wanted to create a web based game, which would be closer to serious gaming. And which could be played repeatedly, not just one time.
Me: Where can I get it or play it now?
Tomáš: The game can be played at www.ageofdefenders.com or can be downloaded from Android market and App Store. Also, it will shortly be available in App World. Age of Defenders runs on all tablets with the resolution of 1024×600 and up.
Me: How long have you been working on the original browser game and how big is the team?
Tomáš: We have started with a web version, which took us approximately 1 year. We are a team of 4 programmers and 3 designers. We have spent a lot of time thinking about the concept of the game.
Me: How many lines of code have you written for Age of Defenders?
Tomáš: Every single part of the game together, including the server-side code has around 110 000 lines of code. There are some libraries, which are not ours (e. g. pathfinding), but all of them are edited, so around 85% of the code is ours.
Me: Why have you chosen Flash/AIR for the development?
Tomáš: We liked the idea that you can play straight from the web browser, without having to download or install anything. That’s why using Flash was our first choice. Web-based gaming will change, will become something a lot more serious and we want to be part of this. Also the fact of building an app in Flash and porting it seamlessly to mobile devices with Adobe AIR later on, has proven how lucky choice it was.
Me: How long did it take to port it from iOS to Android with AIR?
Tomáš: When we had the first tablet version ready (iOS version), all we had to do for the other platforms was to work with the resolutions. The transition from the iOS to Android was very quick, took almost no time.
// Age of Defenders running on iPad, Sony S tablet, Sony P tablet, Windows and Samsung Galaxy Tab
Me: What are your next steps with the game and what features do you plan to add?
Tomáš: The game was just born and has got a long life ahead of it. We are creating a long-term profile with a history of matches, leveling up and match-making, so players who are at the same level could play against each other. We are working on different game modes and a lot more towers and units. At the same time a new singleplayer campaign is on its way, which will be very diverse and interesting. Currently, it is the most deprived part of the game, so we want to change it.
Interview with Chris Scott (Swiz Framework)
July 14th, 2010
Chris Scott (author of Swiz Framework) visited Prague and while here, he did a very nice presentation about Swiz at the Adobe User Group Meeting. We were lucky to have him here and before his UG session, we did a little interview.
Here it is (Watch on Vimeo):