Tethered Guardian
Tethered Guardian is a GMTK Game Jam 2025 submission using the theme of Loop.
Best Played on Windows and Mac.
You are the lone guardian tethered to a space station, its last defense against endless swarms of enemies.
Trapped in a permanent orbit, you can't chase your foes. Instead, you must master your looping path to line up the perfect shot. Your ship comes with a vital limitation that your weapon is powered directly by the station's core, and safety overrides prevent firing towards it, creating a "dead zone" in your firing arc.
Tighten your orbit, anticipate enemy movements, and survive for the ultimate high score!
Features:
- Unique Orbital Combat: You don't fly freely. Use your fixed loop as a tactical tool.
- Simple Controls, High Skill Ceiling: Use the mouse to aim, shoot, and tighten your orbit. Easy to learn, difficult to master.
Think you're the best?
Drop your game over or stat screen in the comments.
Let's see who the top player is!
Included Assets:
- Background Music: 2018-11-02 by Doctor_Dreamchip
- Background Art: Pixelart space background set II by Helianthus Games
- Sounds Effects:
Download
Install instructions
Unzip the download to a folder and double-click the app to start.
Comments
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I liked it! The Web browser version does get choppy. but the Windows version worked smoothly.
Don't know if you have time for it, but a temporary ability that falls from the top that you have to catch that gives you a temp different kind of shot, like maybe a tri-shot would be cool.
I know in the description you mention that your not able to shoot at your core and it creates a dead zone. but during gameplay it'd be cool if maybe there was a visual indicator when you do accidently shoot in the direction of your core that makes it more clear as in why no bullet is coming out. but I'm not sure what would be the best way to do that without it causing a different kind of confusion.
cuz I was confused at first when I was aiming far away and didn't realize my line of fire intersects the core causing there to be like a gap in the bullets i'm shooting. and I thought it was a bug at first until I realized it's what was talked about in the description.
Yeah, I don't recommend the web version, but provide it as an option for convenience, as its scale is smaller and performance isn't as good.
Yes, my feature list includes elements that would transform this into a more traditional roguelike, such as power-ups every so many rounds, etc. However, time was limited, so we will see where it goes after the jam.
Adding user indicator for when you are pointing at the dead zone is another feature I have on my list that didn't make the cut. However, it is one I may try to get into the game if I can find time tonight or early tomorrow.
I already have a user indicator when the ship cannot shoot because it gets hit by a pulse that disables its weapon. This is an enemy that has a slight chance of appearing later, after wave 5, I think. However, I don't think it would work for pointing at the dead zone, but I have been noodling on it for days.
Thanks for playing and providing feedback. I hope to keep working on it after the jam.
Really fun and challenging game!
Thanks, I really appreciate the comment.