I only had a couple of hours to spend at IndieCade today, and only a couple more that I can spare over the weekend, so I’m reduced to brief experiences with many of the festival’s offerings. One of the most memorable to come out of today was a game called Close Castles, from the maker of Threes. It was quick, smooth, and incredibly fun.
Close Castles is a real-time strategy tower defense, with a very minimal interface and tower selection. In spite of its minimalism, or perhaps because of it, the game possesses a deep level of strategic possibility. From defensive tower placement to custom soldier spawn paths, the flow of a game can change in seconds.
At the moment, it’s designed to be a local multiplayer title only, for two to four players. There was no AI element present, so while there may be one in the future, the only possible way to play this game is with local friends or by playing alone with two controllers. This, I feel, is the game’s only drawback. I love the inclusion of local multiplayer, and I always will, but it comes more and more often as the sole option.
Platforms and a solid release date have yet to be announced. It’s targeted to release in 2015, and will “probably” include some form of single player gameplay (possibly through AI players). You can keep track of its progress here and from Close Castles directly.
