Aegis Defenders is a 2D platformer and tower defense game developed by Guts Department. The game originated as a project for USC’s Intermediate Games class and had a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014. It was later picked up by publisher Humble Bundle in 2017 with Japanese publishing support from Kakehashi Games. Aegis Defenders was released on February 8, 2018, on macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
Each level is usually split into exploration and tower defense phases. The exploration phase consists of platforming and puzzle solving. During the tower defense phase, players must protect their base (an important person or object) from waves of approaching enemies. There are 18 levels in the story campaign plus 3 bonus levels featuring crossover characters from other Kickstarter games including Shovel Knight, Lunais from Timespinner, and Derpl Zork from Awesomenauts.
The game was primarily developed by a 3-person team with Bryce Kho as director/writer/artist/designer, his sister Kristen Kho as engineer, and Max Palazzo as producer. Bryce's wife, Lai Xu, co-wrote the script. Max Palazzo and Mike Effenberger assisted Bryce with design and tuning for levels.
Guts Department partnered with Power Up Audio for the music and sound effects. The soundtrack was composed by Riley Koenig. It features 14 original tracks that blend together old-school synth elements with more traditional Japanese RPG orchestral music.
The game was demoed at several conventions including PAX West 2017 Indie Megabooth, Tokyo Game Show 2017, Gamescom 2017, PlayStation Experience 2017, and SXSW 2018. Aegis Defenders released on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows and macOS on February 8, 2018.
|
|