Dot Defender – The Minimalist Game To Entertain Any Casual Gamer

Casual games are an interesting breed.

The green dot you must defend, and the enemy dots you must destroy.

Casual games are an interesting breed. Years ago, these games might never have been on an actual device, except through a flash player on the computer. Now, most of us have at least one casual game on our iPhone, Android, or other handheld device so that we can pass some time without getting very invested, but still entertained. Moon Game created Dot Defender to adhere to this very principle, and is successful in doing so.

Matthew Bleistern, the co-founder of Moon Roof, thought of creating a game for the casual player during his subway commute to work. He noticed and studied what games people would play, how those games were played, and the types of expressions each of these gamers had during his commute. After putting together several notes and finding the combination that seemed to work best, bringing out intense and fulfilling entertainment, Matthew founded Moon Roof with Gary Crowley as his art director and set off to design and develop Dot Defender .

The game is simple, based on reflex and simply tapping the touchscreen. The player starts off with a single green dot in the middle of their screen, this is the dot that they must protect from the approaching enemy dots. There are three kinds of enemy dots, each discernible by the symbol in their center, their color, and the amount of damage and points they inflict and earn. Tapping these enemy dots destroys them, and that’s it for the basic gameplay. There is only one level, and the longer the player is able to defend the dot in the middle, the more intense the gameplay gets. More enemies approach from all around and at faster speeds, testing your ability to focus and react.

There are a few elements created to offer assistance within the game, including power-ups. They appear randomly, but provide different powers to assist in defending your dot. Healing will bring your dot back to full health, while shielding provides a small buffer that adds to the maximum health of your dot until the shield is destroyed. There are also attack power-ups that turn your dot into a swiveling turret for a limited time, or allow you to slash at enemy dots on top of tapping them.

The visuals in Dot Defender are color-coded but otherwise very simple. In fact, besides the title screen and the symbols, everything is simply a dot. This minimalist style is coupled with a lack of a soundtrack or story. It is a little disappointing, but I guess that this is a developer’s choice. Dot Defender is meant to be a game that lets the player focus on each play through easily, and doesn’t necessarily distract others with strange sound effects or music. Most casual gamers tend to play either with their earphones in or with no sound at all, so Moon Games planned their game accordingly.

The game is fairly fun, and easy to learn and get into; I got a high score of 1432 on my first run. Since the game really only focuses on testing the player’s reflexes at every turn, this game is good for casual gamers of all ages. Long and grueling game sessions lead to high scores that players can show and challenge their friends with. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t have anything to hook people with besides being simple and easy to play. Multiple playthroughs show that even though the game gets difficult and forces the player to concentrate, the overall game never truly differs from before. I see myself easily going back to Dot Defender from time to time when I just want something simple to do and pass the time, but never for more than a game or two. This game isn’t really for anyone except casual gamers.

Dot Defender is worth trying out, since it is available on the iTunes App Storefor free. Playing through the game once doesn’t take more than a few minutes, even if it’s a long run. Additional information can be found on the official website.