Crownfall

A pixel-art medieval wave-defense incremental game in a single HTML file.

Overview

Crownfall is a top-down medieval incremental wave-defense game. You command a row of heroes on a stone wall while progressively tougher waves attack from the right. Every death is meaningful — bank Research Points and Crowns to permanently upgrade your fortress, unlock new heroes, elements, skills, hazards, and skins. Hundreds of runs of progression by design.

The entire game lives in a single self-contained index.html (~7,500 lines including CSS and JS). HTML5 Canvas with image-rendering: pixelated. Web Audio API generates every sound from scratch — no audio files. localStorage for saves.

▶ Play on GitHub Pages

Key Features

• 6 Hero Classes: Archer, Crossbow, Cannoneer, Mage, Cleric, and Bard.
• 6 Enemy Archetypes: Goblins, Chargers, Shieldbearers, Archers, Healers, and Witches (plus boss variants).
• 8 Weapon Imbuements: Fire, Ice, Poison, Bleed, Knockback, Stun, Holy, Mending, and Hex.
• Deep Progression: Banked Research Points (100+ nodes) and Crowns (late-game power spikes).
• Events & Hazards: 5 special waves (e.g. Blood Moon, Goblin Horde) and 5 deployable field hazards.
• Zero Dependencies: Pure HTML5 Canvas and Web Audio API inside a single HTML file. No build pipeline.

Getting Started / Installation

Because Crownfall is entirely contained within a single file, there are no dependencies to install or build steps to run.

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Real-Fruit-Snacks/Crownfall.git
cd Crownfall

# Open the file directly in your browser
# macOS:
open index.html
# Windows:
start index.html
# Linux:
xdg-open index.html

Or run a tiny static server (recommended for cleaner cache and audio behavior):

python -m http.server 5555
# then visit http://localhost:5555

Usage

Controls:

• Click: Buy slot, hire hero, collect coin, tap-damage enemy.
• 1–4: Cast / arm skill in slot N.
• Q: End run (banks RP, opens research).
• R: Toggle research book.
• M: Mute sound.
• Space: Pause / resume.
• Esc: Close topmost menu / unarm skill / dismiss popup.

Progression Mechanics: Research Points are banked at the end of each run and spent in the Research Book. Crowns drop from bosses and unlock late-game power spikes and 12 hero skin variants.

Architecture / File Structure

Crownfall/
├── index.html              # The complete game (HTML, CSS, JS, Assets)
├── docs/                   # GitHub Pages assets
│   └── assets/             # Logos for the README
├── pack-for-itch.bat       # Script to compress the game for Itch.io distribution
└── README.md               # Project documentation

Technical Stack:

• Render: HTML5 Canvas 2D with image-rendering: pixelated. All art drawn from primitives.
• Audio: Web Audio API (synth-generated SFX and looping medieval ambient). No asset files.
• State: Vanilla JavaScript (no framework, no bundler, no transpiler).
• Saves: localStorage handles research, crowns, stats, achievements, commanders, and settings.
• Chrome: CSS-only chunky pixel-art borders via box-shadow inset.

Contributing

Review the contribution guidelines in CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting pull requests.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.