Many elements can make up a successful video game, such as an immersive world, a strong storyline, and a stand-out main character. For the latter,Zeldahas the silent but lovable Link, andSuper Mariohas the namesake plumber at the helm. An instantly recognizable protagonist is a powerful thing, and tower defense RPGDwervehas its dwarven warsmith with epic blue hair as its “face.” Dwerve is on a quest to save the fantasy dwarven kingdom from the Witch Queen Vandra and her monstrous minions like trolls.
In a recent interview with Game Rant, one of Half Human Games' co-founders Percy Legendre IV described how the studio came up with the nameDwerveand how the character is “like [their] Mario,” intending to create an immediately recognizable character. Dwerve is certainly placed front and center just like thevideo game heroMario,but creating a recognizable protagonist takes more than just placing them upfront. Legendre explained the name is also a play on the word dwarf, with all the fantasy associations the word dwarf carries. Legendre addedLord of the Ringsalso “heavily influenced” the game, along withZeldathat adds something different to the tower defense genre.
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Zelda and Mario Influenced Character and Game Approach
Dwerveis a mix of turret defense combat and story-based RPG elements, containing features found in both genres but breaks the mold by mixing the two with some unique mechanics, like mobile and stackable turret combination systems. Furthermore,Zelda: A Link to the Pastwas a big inspiration in terms of Half Human Games' approach toDwerve.According to Legendre,
So, A Link To The Past was a big inspiration both in terms of gameplay and art style. Dwerve is a low-res pixel art game obviously inspired by NES and SNES titles. In terms of gameplay, we really wanted a fantasy adventure, like Zelda, but of course, it has tower defense elements, so those are inspired byOrcs Must Die andDungeon Defenders.
It’s easy to see some visual similarities toZeldaandMariowith Dwerve’s top-down, 2d pixel art style, along with elements of gameplay storytelling and exploration in a recently added world map, but mixed withtower defense gamemechanics.
When creatingDwerve, Legendre explained the game was originally designed to appeal to “mid-core” gamers, but while the game does cater to those who want more hardcore, strategy turret mechanics, it also includes those more interested in the story with its various game modes. Therefore, familiarity with turret defense games and mechanics is not a prerequisite to enjoyingDwerve. Players can choose the game’s Story Mode to focus more on the story campaign, with Legendre describingDwerveas having “lots of story and lore” and “world-building.” Alternatively, players can opt for high-strategy gameplay modes like Extreme Mode, which was described as effectively turning the gameplay into a challenging butfun puzzle-based gameexperience. The studio also recently added a new game mode called Classic TD – Classic Tower Defense – which Legendre explained is more in line with a traditional tower defense game experience with a build phase.
Lord of the Rings Influenced the Story, But So Did Dwerve’s Mechanics
Player choice and giving the player options were a big part ofDwerve’s design, which may appeal to fans of RPG systems in RPG games likeZelda. When fighting enemies, players can choose and upgrade a wide variety of turrets and freely move them in the world, with options to experiment with different weapon combinations. In fact, these turrets influenced the plot quite a bit, as although Legendre acknowledged the story is influenced byLord of the Rings,he added that the"core storyline with the plot actually came kind of from the mechanics themselves."
We want a tower defense game where you play as a character, and what should this character build? And okay, if they build towers, it can’t be actual towers because that’s kind of big, right? And then we’re like, alright, we’ll make them turrets. That kind of makes sense…Dwarves. They’re known for crafting. They’re known for building stuff and technology and well, we’ll make you play as a dwarf. And then you come from a dwarf faction. And then what should the enemy faction be, and then it’s like, well, trolls live in mountains. So you know, we kind of just snowballed from there.
When not fighting, players explore the kingdom freely within its world parameters to meet and interact with other characters through traditional storytelling, while choosing which paths to take, similar toimmersive open-world games. Although acknowledging the world ofDwerveis not as fully open world as games likeA Link To The Past,Legendre explained they still wanted the game to “feel open.” Players do have some freedom to explore by freely moving between levels, and Legendre added they can take side paths and even find Easter Eggs, with different rewards for exploration, like “a little extra battle or some extra story.”
Furthermore, in addition to the main story, each level has a key for players to find and a treasure chest to open using puzzle-based mechanics like levers. Overall, it’s clear thatDwerveand its protagonist present something different for players to enjoy with the potential to appeal to many kinds of gamers, such as those fond of RPGs andstory-based video games, while still including those who like more strategic or traditional turret defense mechanics.
Dwerveis available to play on Steam and is coming to Nintendo Switch in Spring 2023. It is currently part of the East Meets West Festival hosted by Curve Games and has 15% off on Steam till May 26, 2025.
