Three Moves Ahead 116: Creeps and Towers

Here come the creeps, led by Rob and <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/" target="_blank">Rock, Paper, Shotgun's</a> Quintin Smith! Fortunately, they encounter a maze of discussion and towers of topics. Inspired by first-person tower defender <em>Sanctum </em>and tower attacker <em>Anomaly: Warzone Earth</em>, Quinns and Rob explore how these games change the tower defense formula, and what about that formula needed changing? Are we doing a disservice to a neat mechanic by insisting that it is a genre? Why are we continually drawn in by games we often find shallow and unsatisfying? Is tower defense really about destruction, or is there an under-served creative aspect to these games? A lot of games and pieces come up for discussion here, so brace yourself for a link attack. Quinns' <em>Sanctum </em><a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/04/20/wot-i-think-sanctum/" target="_blank">Wot I Think </a> <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/04/20/wot-i-think-sanctum/" target="_blank"></a> Troy's <a href="http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2011/04/11/anomaly/" target="_blank">reactions</a> to <em>Anomaly: Warzone Earth</em> Rob, two years ago, on <a href="http://www.ugo.com/games/a-defense-of-tower-defense" target="_blank">tower defense games</a> Quinns on <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/04/13/10-reasons-you-need-to-play-ace-of-spades/" target="_blank"><em>Ace of Spades</em></a> 3MA on <a href="http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2009/11/03/three-moves-ahead-episode-37-chris-park-and-ai-war-fleet-command/" target="_blank"><em>AI War</em></a> Rob's "excessively positive" <em>Dungeons </em><a href="http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/218200/dungeons/" target="_blank">review</a> The Verdun game Rob couldn't remember is <em><a href="http://www.thetrench1916.com/" target="_blank">The Trench</a></em> <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/09/29/itll-all-be-over-by-lunchtime-warfare-1917/" target="_blank">Kieron Gillen on Warfare: 1917</a>