How to make a wave shooter
How to make a Space-Invaders-style game with AI
Updated
Quick answer
You sit at the bottom of the screen, and a formation marches down at you, getting faster as you thin it out. Describe your own attackers, your own defender and that rule, and Teleplay builds a wave shooter in about half an hour. Don't name the original in your sentence: its aliens aren't yours to use, and the idea is what you want.
Shooters made on Teleplay
Where the tension comes from
The genre's best idea is backward: the fewer enemies remain, the faster they move. A player who is winning is also running out of time to react, so the last attacker is the most frightening. Put that in your sentence, because a build won't assume it.
| Ingredient | In a sentence | Without it |
|---|---|---|
| A formation | rows of kites that march side to side and step down | Enemies just wander |
| Speed-up | they speed up as their numbers fall | The end of a wave goes flat |
| Cover | crumbling sandbags that shots wear away | Nowhere to think |
| A lose line | you lose if they reach the shore | Only your health matters |
A real prompt from a related genre
This launch game is a scrolling shoot-'em-up rather than a fixed shooter, yet it shows how much a theme and a final boss give you in very few words.
Fly a hand-painted biplane over an autumn archipelago, shoot down clockwork kites and wind-up gulls, and topple the Great Brass Heron.
This prompt made Amberwind
For the classic fixed layout, add the rules from the table: a defender who only moves left and right, and a formation stepping down toward them.
A short route to a good one
1.Pick who is defending what
A lighthouse against sea gulls, a farmer against crows. Something worth protecting gives the lose line meaning.
2.Build with one enemy type
Get the march and the speed-up right before adding others.
3.Add a surprise
A bonus flyer crossing the top of the screen rewards players who look up. Ask for it in the editor.
Questions
Is a fixed shooter different from a shoot-'em-up?
Yes. In a fixed shooter you stay at one edge and the enemies come to you; in a scrolling shoot-'em-up the world moves past. Say which one you want.
Can I use the classic alien shapes?
No. They belong to the original, and Teleplay draws original art. Describe enemies of your own.
Can it have upgrades?
Yes. Ask for pickups that fall from destroyed enemies, or a choice of upgrade between waves.
How do I make a wave harder?
Raise enemy speed or fire rate with the sliders while it runs, or ask the editor for an extra row.