Galcon
| Company type | Video game series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder | Phil Hassey |
| Products | Real-time strategy games |
| Website | www |
Galcon is a series of real-time strategy games created by Phil Hassey, accessible on platforms including Android, iOS, webOS, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Flash. The gameplay revolves around commanding fleets in space to seize control of opponent planets.
History
The inspiration for the Galcon franchise stems from the 1987 text-based multiplayer title Galactic Conquest by Rick Raddatz, which itself was influenced by Bearbyte Software's Stellar Invasion.
Galcon Classic first appeared on desktop systems in late 2006 as an entry in the Ludum Dare game development competition. It features various single-player options alongside comprehensive multiplayer capabilities.
In July 2008, Galcon was introduced on InstantAction, a browser-based platform developed by GarageGames, marking its initial release with campaign-style gameplay.
By the end of 2008, the iPhone version iGalcon launched, providing one of the earliest authentic multiplayer experiences on that device. It includes several single-player modes with adjustable AI difficulty and supports online multiplayer for up to four participants.
June 2009 brought Galcon Flash, a Flash adaptation closely resembling the iPhone edition. Despite a low launch price and restricted demo access, user registrations remained relatively low.
Following that, Galcon Labs was released in October 2009 as a sequel to iGalcon, adding four new single- and multiplayer game modes and receiving favorable feedback within the series community.
On February 11, 2010, Galcon Fusion was made available for Mac and Windows as a desktop and tablet companion to both Galcon Labs and the original title.
The Kickstarter campaign for Galcon 2 commenced on December 7, 2012; after successful funding, it launched on iOS on February 6, 2014. This version introduced cross-platform multiplayer across phones, tablets, and PCs along with a variety of new gameplay modes.
Gameplay
Players start with between one and three sizable "home planets" and dispatch fleets to capture additional planets. Each planet displays numbers indicating either the ships required for conquest or those currently stationed there. Planets generate ships at speeds proportional to their size. Players determine what portion of ships to send and can alter their course during transit. The primary goal is to eliminate all enemy-held planets.
The ranking system in Galcon 2 is based on the Elo rating system.
Reception
Galcon Classic received favorable critiques and garnered several awards. The iPhone editions were well-reviewed but suffered from limited exposure. The InstantAction release attracted few public reviews yet maintained a strong overall rating. Meanwhile, Galcon Flash had minimal critical attention and modest popularity.
Other offshoots
In 2010, Galcon served as the foundation for the Google AI Challenge, where competitors programmed bots to play a simplified version of the game.
Comparable titles include the free software GNUlactic Konquest from the kdegames collection and the Solarmax series, both inspired by the original Galactic Conquest concept.
By 2018, numerous mobile games emerged as clones of Galcon.