Kickstarter

Players will use tactics and strategy to battle through a riveting campaign mode, challenge themselves in survival mode, and go head-to-head against other players.

• Campaign
• Multiplayer
• Survival Mode
• Different Nations
• Spawn Units
• Build Defenses
• Research Upgrades
• Leveling Up System

What makes Iron Star unique?

The biggest feature in Iron Star that sets it apart from other Tower Defense games is spawning units. 

The player's arsenal of units will have a cost to build, time to build, damage output, range, speed, and health. There will be many different units, but the basic types are Infantry, Tanks, Zeppelins, and Mechs. 

These machines of war have varying effectiveness against each other and the order in which you spawn them will make a massive difference. 

Players must balance the options of spawning units to destroy enemy threats, building defenses to feel more secure, or investing in research to improve their armies or defenses.

Modes

There will be modes of gameplay for all types of players that will introduce a very high level of replay-ability. These modes include campaign, multiplayer, and survival. Campaign will offer players an interesting story as well as long term goals and varying levels. Unlocking new units as they go, players will get tons of rewards for playing the campaign. Multiplayer will pit players head-to-head with each other, as well as a ranking system to know where you stand against the competition. Survival mode will test players to see how long they can survive against waves of enemies with an increasing difficulty curve. Players will also have the option to practice against AI in skirmish type matches.

Nations

Players will get the option to play as different Nations. These Nations include Belgium, Britain, Japan, Russia, Germany, and America. Each nation can be leveled up individually and will have unique units, especially Mechs.

The gameplay in Iron Star is very simple. It consists of choosing to spawn units, construct defenses, or research upgrades. The ultimate goal is to destroy the enemy Headquarters building. The Headquarters or HQ is the building that produces a players units.

Units

Spawning units will place a unit on one of 4 lanes, selected by the player. Units move in a straight line towards the enemy's Headquarters.

The goals of the units are to destroy the enemy HQ. However, other units and buildings will get in their way. When you choose to spawn a unit, you may choose if they have an aggressive or defense attack style. Aggressive units will rush past buildings, only attacking enemy units and the enemy HQ. Defensive units will stop at buildings, such as towers, and attempt to destroy them. They will also attack other units and the enemy HQ, but their focus is mainly on buildings.

Buildings

Spawning and placing buildings will be the defensive part of the game. Players can choose to spend their resources on making units and rushing the enemy, or focusing on improving their base.

Research

Researching upgrades will add a deeper layer to the gameplay. Research will offer no cosmetic changes to units, but will offer them a variety of benefits. Such as increased health or attack.

Tactics

The gameplay of Iron Star is based around the 4 lane system and the rock, paper, scissors hierarchy of the units. Players have the ability to select which lane a unit will spawn in. When units are in range of another, they will attack.

Utilizing the lane system, players have the option to spawn defensive units in front of longer range units. This way, their units in the back can be protected and still do damage. For example, players could spawn a riot shield infantry unit to defend their more fragile infantry rifleman. 

The rock, paper, scissors aspect of the game also adds some strategy into the mix. Infantry units are very effective against air units, such as Zeppelins. Their small frames and quick speed make them difficult targets for these behemoths of the sky. However, Infantry will easily get steamrolled by armor units, such as tanks. Tanks make easy targets for air units and can be demolished quite quickly from above. Mechs are basically good against everything. I mean come one, they're Mechs.

The art style of Iron Star is geared towards a realistic look. The genre is sci-fi with steampunk-influenced designs. We have many creative artists working full-time to make sure the look of the game is spot on.

Concept Art

 3D Art

      

Iron Star is being developed by Black Howler Studios LLC, an indie game developer based in Seattle, WA.

Double Our Fun(ds)!

We're participating in OUYA's #FreeTheGames Fund, created by OUYA to support developers making new and creative console games. OUYA will match your pledge dollar-for-dollar up to your goal amount (and a max of $250,000), so help Iron Star get there and be a great game for everyone! To be eligible for this match, we commit that this game will be an OUYA exclusive for a period of time. To learn more about OUYA, go to www.OUYA.tv. 

Taking advantage of this amazing opportunity from Ouya, we have the ability to double our funds! Help us get there so we can reach even more gamers!

To be eligible for this match, we commit that this game will be an OUYA exclusive for a period of time. Exclusivity is for gaming consoles, the game will still be available through digital download for PC, MAC, and Linux. So no need to worry if you don't have an Ouya console!