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Hex_Point is the last Matrix Bastion in the sector. This is your assignment, Runner to defend Hex_Point for as long as you can... we are all counting on you.

Hex_Point is a simple tower defense game where incoming enemy waves slowly march forward and attempt to destroy your Data Forts. Power the forts with the appropriate colors for the enemy types, but be careful, you can only power one tower at a time. Survive for 8 rounds and you win the game :)

Thank you for playing Hex_Point. This is my 16th game made for a jam and my 4th for GameDev.TV. I was lucky that I actually had the core idea for this tower defense game before the theme was even announced, specifically the idea of using a power connector to activate towers rather than upgrading them. I had literally started exploring how to make this mechanic work a week before the jam started.

For this jam, I really wanted to make a complete game that simply felt good to play. I spent a ton of time trying to make everything work smoothly. While these systems may not be perfect, I’m happy that I figured out how to:

1. Stop towers from constantly flipping back and forth between the closest enemies.
2. Create larger pickup areas for the connectors so they are less frustrating to grab (although playtesting suggests this might still need a little work).
3. Make enemies stumble slightly so they don’t march in a perfectly relentless line.
4. Add lots of variables to fine tune movement speeds, ammo counts, and other gameplay systems.

I really wanted the gameplay to feel smooth, but this took a long time. Adding so many variables also made balancing quite difficult, so in the end I mostly adjusted only a few key ones. I actually want to try publishing this game on Steam in a few months, so I’ll continue improving it, and those variables may become very useful later.

I also tried doing my own 3D modeling in blender for the first time in this game. The Nexus Core and the turrets are my own designs and creations. They aren’t perfect, but I’m very proud of them.

I love making VFX, and I’m getting quite comfortable with them now, creating almost all of the effects in the game myself. As always, a big thank you to Gabriel Aguiar Prod, and ArmanDoesStuff for their excellent VFX tutorials that I constantly refer back to.

As mentioned, I’ll be continuing to polish and expand this game toward a full Steam release... my first. I hope to evolve it into more of a Balatro-style roguelike experience where, after every round, you gain upgrades and gradually build multiple defensive layers — not just 2 towers, but potentially n² towers that all need to be powered. I was also inspired by Foxhole, specifically its logistics systems, and wanted to create a bit of an analogy to that gameplay style.

So please stay tuned :)

Again, thank you for your time, and thanks to:

• Eltrick
• Fix
• HawkVR
• MontyO
• Void34

for playtesting and advice :}

Update May 29: Fixed the bug where the connector didn't reset