Gem Tower Defense

Gem Tower Defense
Developer(s) Bryan K
Publisher(s) Blizzard Warcraft III, Starcraft II (Computer)
Gem Tower Defense (Flash)
Niugnep Software, LLC (IOS)
Pavlo Timoshkin (Windows)
Platform(s) Mac, Windows, Linux, anything that supports Adobe Flash, iOS
Release date(s) 18 Feb 2007 (Original) (Warcraft III)
Genre(s) Tower defense, Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer, Co-op

Gem Tower Defense is a tower defense video game created by Bryan K. It was released in February 18, 2007 under the tower defense subsection of Blizzard's Warcraft 3 minigames. Since then, several game clients, Flash browser game websites and mobile devices have hosted variants of the game. The game is based upon the strategy, mazing, decision making and chance. The goal of the game is to eliminate computer-controlled enemies that follow a set path to reach the end of a pathway. "Gems" are structures players build to defend their maze. Each Gem is randomly distributed leaving it to chance for a player to acquire the one needed. Gems are placed to form a maze for extending the length each enemy unit travels resulting in an increased attack time of the Gems. The Gem's type or quality determines the damage and use of the structure.

History

The first Gem Tower Defense sprung from Blizzard's Warcraft game client under the name [BK's] Gem TD v1.4 featuring 42 levels, unique combinable buildings, multiplayer gameplay and an open map for players to explore.[1] Under the "Tower Defense" genre, it is also known as Gem TD. It wasn't until June 24, 2007 that the game received its own top downloads, capping at 146,057 in v3.1. It maintained the 42 levels but brought the total towers/structures obtainable to 92 and included bosses which are enemy units with superior health.[2] The concept diversified into a flash adaption/imitation producing a browser playable variant.[3] Multiple replication of the game have popped out from minigame supported multiplayer games and devices such as Dota 2 Reborn, Blizzard's Starcraft 2, Windows and iOS.[4][5][6]

Concept[7][8][9]

Gem Tower Defense is a tower defense game built on planning and chance. The goal of the game is to prevent computer-controlled enemies from reaching the end of a path. Players start by placing 5 random Gems on the map and then choosing one to keep. The Gems are distributed by random with the attributes of type and quality. The type of gem determines what the gem does and the quality represents its strength. The chosen gem has the ability to damage enemy units while the remaining 4 Gems become rocks. Rocks and Gems block enemy units, whereby a row of rocks and Gems form a wall to redirect the enemy. Enemy units enter in groups, known as waves, traveling through checkpoints before reaching the end of the pathway. The checkpoints on the path are alterable by players to give giving Gems more time to attack. The bounty from defeating each wave allows players to purchase Gem upgrades, unlocking possibilities for players to obtain higher quality gems. Additionally, Gems already on the map can be combined into special gems. These special Gems have unique abilities that are used for various waves.

Strategy

The concept of Gem Tower Defense is to efficiently use mazes, Gems, and planning to win the game. Common mazes revolve around the center and utilizes the waypoints to create the longest possible path for enemy units to travel from start to finish.[10] Upgrading Gem chances set opportunities of getting higher tier Gems easier, but may hinder the ability to get special combinations. The highest quality Gems are not a logical choice when lower tier alternatives are needed to make special Gems.[11]

Gameplay

Gem [12]

Gem Tower Defense employs the use of eight basic Gems:

Gem
Amethyst
Aquamarine
Diamond
Emerald
Opal
Ruby
Sapphire
Topaz

Gem Quality

Each Gem has 6 different qualities but only 5 of which can be built, players start with a 100% chance of obtaining the lowest tier gems then move on to unlocking other chance levels:[13]

Quality
Chipped
Chipped
Flawed
Chipped
Flawed
Normal
Chipped
Flawed
Normal
Chipped
Flawed
Normal
Flawless
Chipped
Flawed
Normal
Flawless
Chipped
Flawed
Normal
Flawless
Flawed
Normal
Flawless
Perfect

Upgrading chances increases the odds to attain a higher quality Gem. Each Gem and quality of the Gem will determine the strength and use of it, whereby higher tier Gems are stronger than lower tier ones.

Upgrading and Downgrading

With two of the same Gem's type and quality, a player can then choose to combine a lower tier Gem into the next level. If the player builds four of the same Gem, he or she then gets to skip ahead and upgrade to the following Gem quality.[14] The order of level goes from chipped, flawed, normal, flawless, perfect to great. The great type Gems can only be upgraded into and not obtained through direct construction.[4]

Downgrading Gems of a higher quality to a lower tier is a strategic move to obtain specific gems for combinations of special Gems.[13]

Combination[15]

A player can obtain special structures by merging his or her Gems that are in play:[16]

Combination
Black Opal
Blood Stone
Dark/Enchanted Emerald
Gold
Jade
Malachite
Pink Diamond
Red Crystal
Silver
Star Ruby
Uranium 238
Yellow Sapphire
Paraiba Tourmaline

Enemies[17]

Before each wave of enemy units spawn, the type(s) of enemy unit are announced for the players to prepare. All the units in the same wave will have identical details based upon the tower defense norms:

Boss units appear alone but they have more durability than normal units.

The leftover health from enemy units that reach the end of the map determines the damage to the player's in-game health of 100%.

Maze[9][18]

Gem Tower Defense Maze

Building a maze with Gems and rocks are a key element of the game. The game begins with an empty map with a start, end and 5 to 6 checkpoints (depending on the version of the game), where opposing units maneuver through sequentially. Gems and rocks redirect enemy units by blocking the direct path. Mazing does not affect flying units which comes every 4 rounds and cannot be used to completely block off checkpoints from enemy units.

Starcraft Variant of Gem Tower Defense[19]

In the arcade section of Starcraft II, Gem Tower Defense stands as a tower defense minigame, running under the Blizzard Starcraft client and user interface (UI).[13]

Tower Levels

Tower's base damage are not static. A tower's damage scales with its level which goes up every 10-25 kills, depending on the chosen game difficulty. There are a total of 12 tower levels, each giving a 10% damage increase.

Starcraft Features[4]

Three different modes:

Dota 2 Reborn Variant of Gem Tower Defense[7]

Under Dota 2 Reborn's Custom Games, Gem Tower Defense stands as a developing tower defense game that is playable as single player or multiplayer co-op. The difficulty increases with each additional player. It keeps the concept of having 8 Gems with the same combinations, but it does not include all of the original Gem characteristics.

Gem Quality Levels

Instead of purchasing upgrades to obtain higher tier Gems, Reborn's Gem Tower Defense relies on experience points (XP) to increase the chances of getting better gems. Experience points (XP) is gained from killing the opposing units.

Gold

As tower upgrades are obtained through experience points, the currency (gold) in Reborn's Gem Tower Defense is used to heal/mend in-game health for a chance of 1 to 5% and to downgrade Gems to a lower tier.

Towers and Enemies

The Gems' graphic models are wards while the enemies are couriers which are reused from the actual Dota 2 game. Unlike the traditional waves that include a 4 wave interval of air enemies, the waves are jumbled up into a different sequence. The game randomly spawns elite enemies (more health) in a non-boss wave, giving more gold and experience points (XP).

Hidden Towers

Agate a hidden gem in gem tower defense for Dota 2

Some gems are not displayed on the formula page. The known hidden gems are E6, G6, D6, B6, R6, Y6, Q6, P6 and Slate

E6 - aura unknown
G6 - poison 6, 75 dmg per second
D6 - 250 base dmg
B6 - slow 360ms
R6 - 90 base dmg, full dmg in 700aoe
Y6 - 250 dmg, 3 target firing
Q6 - 40 base dmg, very fast attack
P6 - 20 armor reduction
Agate - 430 base dmg, 5 enemies at same time

References

  1. ↑ "[BK's] Gem TD v1.4 - Warcraft 3 Maps - Epic War.com". www.epicwar.com. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  2. ↑ "[BK's] Gem TD v3.1 - Warcraft 3 Maps - Epic War.com". www.epicwar.com. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  3. ↑ "Gem Tower Defense - Remake of Warcraft Version". GameSpot.
  4. 1 2 3 "Gem Tower Defense Release". StarCraft II. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  5. ↑ "[Game] Gem TD - Windows Central Forums". forums.windowscentral.com. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  6. ↑ "Gem TD". Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  7. 1 2 "Custom Games we play - DOTABUFF - Dota 2 Stats". sr.dotabuff.com. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  8. ↑ "Gem Tower Defense". Gem Tower Defense.
  9. 1 2 "Timewaster for the Weekend – Gem Tower Defense(SC2 and WC3 map)". Shadowed Blade. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  10. ↑ "Creating a Winning Strategy at Tower Defense - seventy-seven: bk edition blog". seventyseven.net. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  11. ↑ "All about DotA allstaR: [BK's] Gem TD". Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  12. ↑ "Basic Gems". Gem Tower Defense.
  13. 1 2 3 "How to Play Gem TD". www.gemtowerdefense.net. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  14. ↑ "GEM TD WARCRAFT TUTORIAL: tutorial". gemtd.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  15. ↑ "WArcraft 3 :". www.apfelkuh.de. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  16. ↑ Holko, Peter. "Gem Tower Defense". Gem Tower Defense.
  17. ↑ "Collection of Tower Defense Features, Ideas, Tips and Review.". Ayumilove. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  18. ↑ "Gem TD tower defense game updated - WMPoweruser". wmpoweruser.com. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  19. ↑ "Advanced Casual Gamer: Intro and Gem TD". Advanced Casual Gamer. 2011-11-29. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
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