A Review of "Once Upon A Tower"

Recently, I began playing Once Upon a Tower, a game for IOS and Android whose protagonist is a princess. The game is rather simple, however it is an entertaining one. The core loop of Once Upon a Tower, in my opinion, is to smash, fall, and move. The main objective of the game is to get to the bottom of the tower and escape. To do this the player needs to smash blocks underneath them and any enemies they encounter so that they can fall. Some blocks are indestructible however, so the player needs to move to either side as well to continue.

A question which I would like to answer in this review is this: "Does Once Upon a Tower facilitate Meaningful Play?".

The Mechanics

There were a few core mechanics which I could find in the game which I believe are the following. The first three align with the core loop of the game. First is running, which can be done one block at a time. Second is smashing or digging the brown blocks to any of the cardinal directions around the player. Third is falling downwards when there is no obstacle in the way. Another core mechanic which is not a part of the core loop is the dragon. The dragon will occasionally shoot fire across the tower through one of the grates on either side of the tower, and will also fight the princess when she reaches the bottom of the tower.

There are many non-core mechanics in Once Upon a Tower as well. One of these are the mob enemies encountered on the way down the tower; which can be beaten with one hit but can also beat the player in one hit. Another mechanic is the firefly collection system. This mechanic has two purposes, one of providing progress to unlock new characters, and also acting as a currency with which the player can purchase powers. Powers are yet another mechanic in the game and there are a variety of them. As a few examples, the player can purchase or occasionally pick up powerups such as bombs, parachutes, and shields. The fireflies can also give access to another mechanic of the game which is character unlocking and selection where collecting enough will allow the player to unlock random new characters.

Another set of non-core mechanics affects the space of the game. The first of these mechanics is the generation or expansion of the tower as the interior pathway changes each run through. Secondly, birds are generated at random windows down the tower, which the player can scare off by hitting the blocks a single space away. Third, blocks are generated somewhat randomly in different variations, one being the gray indestructible blocks or bar windows on the sides of the tower, and occasionally dotted throughout the centre. The other variation is the two types of brown blocks, the solid breakable ones or the weak crumbling ones. The fourth space affecting mechanic in Once Upon a Tower is the randomly placed trap blocks which come in three variations: spike traps, turrets or fire ball shooting blocks, and piston blocks which push the player into existing blocks to end the run through.

There are a couple other mechanics which can be interacted with. One is the other type of block that is generated, these being the hay carts which the player can use to either drop onto or push into a mob. The other interactive mechanic is an occasional chicken which can be given to the player sometimes at the start of the run, or most of the time through a random block that will either give the player a chicken or one of the power ups. This chicken however serves no true purpose in the game other than being part of achievements and an interesting addition.

There are a few mechanics left, however they don't group well with the other mechanics, and could possibly be considered not a part of the actual game. To list them quickly, these are the score counter, groups of challenges which can be completed in succession, the achievements mentioned previously, in-app purchases and ads which can extend gameplay, and the leaderboard through either Apple's Game Center and probably through the android equivalent.

The Dynamics

There are a some dynamics that players of Once Upon a Tower will engage in while playing. One of these is safe zones, where players will stop in a cubby not visible from side windows to plan out a route. This lets players stay safe from the dragon blowing fire through the tower, and from any enemies such as the spider coming up to attack the player. Another dynamic which is seen in the game is combining power ups to help the player get through tough areas. For example, a player may use a parachute and a shield to get through a long corridor of a few of the turret blocks. A further dynamic in the game is wild flailing, where a player just lashes out with their hammer wildly in the hopes of striking the necessary mobs and blocks to allow them to pass through an area. One final dynamic which I have found in the game is avoidance, where the player just tries to avoid anything which may cause them to fail.

The Answer

Having explored the game, its mechanics, and its dynamics over the last while, I believe that meaningful play is facilitated in Once Upon a Tower. Meaningful play can be seen in the game in how most of the actions a player takes will have effects on the rest of the playthrough. For example, in the case of creating a safe space, if a player destroys the wrong block in the process it could open them up to having an enemy drop onto them or the dragon being able to reach the player with it's fire. Another example of how meaningful play is facilitated in Once Upon a Tower is the collection of fireflies and purchasing of powers between levels where the player can choose the power they want and the game will give it to them if they have enough fireflies. One final example of meaningful play in the game, is how the mobs throughout the tower can collect the fireflies as well and the player can still collect those if they defeat the mob which has collected it. However, if a player pushes a hay cart onto a firefly then that firefly is no longer collectible. This is shown in the pictures below where after having beaten a glowing mob, the firefly value counter in the top right increases from 120 to 180.

The Aesthetics

There are three aesthetics that I believe the game designers were trying to inspire in players, these being fantasy, challenge, and focus. I believe that these aesthetics were chosen for a few reasons. First, I think that fantasy was chosen as an aesthetic because it makes sense for a princess trapped in a tower to be guarded by something not easily defeated and something that inspires action. Secondly, I believe that the developers choose to pursue challenge as an aesthetic for two reasons. The first being that it is a game for mobile devices so it needs to provide a reason for players to keep coming back to it. Secondly, since the game consists of only twelve levels and a final boss fight, there needed to be something that would have players keep the game open and being played for longer. Lastly, I think they chose to have focus as an aesthetic for similar reasons to the challenge aesthetic, this being that increased focus on the game by players could make them more interested in the outcome and wish to try harder.

For the three aesthetics that I mentioned, I do believe that the developers were successful in evoking those emotions. The developers were able to give the game its fantasy feeling in part due to the graphics which are evocative of medieval style, but also through it's soundtrack as both the creatures and functional blocks have unique sounds that probably would be more common in a fantasy setting. They were also able to provide feelings of challenge and focus in the game as there were many obstacles and dangers to avoid in a fast paced setting, and the inclusion of leaderboards and achievements also provide an incentive for the player to challenge themselves and possibly even compete with friends.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Once Upon a Tower is an interesting game which challenges it's players to succeed and finish the built in challenges and achievements. The game provides meaningful gameplay experiences to it's players through its many mechanics and the dynamics available.