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what is merlion-defense fr?

mhwang-1/merlion-defense — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

0HTMLAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

tl;dr

A browser tower defense game set on real Singapore maps where you fight Asian folklore creatures across 30 levels.

vibe map

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Tower defense game
      Real Singapore maps
      Asian folklore enemies
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      HTML5 Canvas
      Docker
    Use cases
      Casual browser gaming
      Real map game levels
      Canvas game reference
    Audience
      Casual gamers
      Web game developers
    Features
      30 levels
      10 heroes
      Armory upgrades

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

what do people make with this?

VIBE 1

Play a free browser tower defense game themed around real Singapore neighbourhoods and Asian folklore.

VIBE 2

Study how a real world map from OpenStreetMap can be turned into a playable game level.

VIBE 3

Use as a reference project for building a Canvas based game without any external game engine.

what's the stack?

JavaScriptHTML5 CanvasDockerNode.js

how it stacks up fr

mhwang-1/merlion-defense100/rutgers-pbl-dining-2015a15n/a15n_old
Stars0
LanguageHTMLHTMLHTML
Last pushed2015-12-012016-06-18
MaintenanceDormantDormant
Setup difficultyeasyeasyeasy
Complexity2/51/51/5
Audiencegeneralgeneralgeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

how do i run it?

Difficulty · easy time til it works · 5min

Just run docker compose up, or serve the web folder with any static file server.

in plain english

Merlion Defense is a browser based tower defense game inspired by Kingdom Rush, but set entirely in real neighbourhoods of Singapore. Instead of fictional maps, each of its 30 levels is built from actual OpenStreetMap data, so the roads, housing blocks, malls, rivers, and MRT rail lines you defend are the real geography of places like Ang Mo Kio, Changi Village, Tiong Bahru, and Merlion Park, with enemy paths following the real streets and trains animating along the real viaducts. The game is built with plain HTML5 Canvas and JavaScript, with no separate backend server and no build tools required to develop it. It can be run either through Docker Compose, which starts a small web server automatically, or by serving the web folder yourself with any static file server, such as Python's built in one. Levels are grouped into four difficulty tiers that sweep across the island from north to south, each with a boss drawn from South East, South, and East Asian folklore, such as a Naga or the Ox-Head Warden. Every level offers three modes: a standard campaign for up to three stars, a one life Heroic Challenge against elite waves, and a one life Iron Challenge with a restricted set of towers. Players also control a hero character drawn from Singaporean and regional legend, build and upgrade towers with locally flavored names like the Durian Launcher or Hawker Wok, and earn merit points to unlock more towers and heroes in an in game armory. Progress saves automatically in the browser's local storage, with an export and import option for backing up or transferring a save file. The project also includes a small command line tool for regenerating a level's real world map geometry from OpenStreetMap's Overpass API, useful if someone wants to tweak or extend a level. The README does not mention a license, so it is unclear under what terms the code and game may be reused.

prompts (copy fr)

prompt 1
Help me run Merlion Defense locally using Docker Compose.
prompt 2
Explain how the fetch-geo.js tool converts OpenStreetMap data into a game level.
prompt 3
Walk me through the project's file structure, especially how towers, heroes, and levels are defined.
prompt 4
Show me how to add a new tower or hero to the game's data files.

Frequently asked questions

what is merlion-defense fr?

A browser tower defense game set on real Singapore maps where you fight Asian folklore creatures across 30 levels.

What language is merlion-defense written in?

Mainly HTML. The stack also includes JavaScript, HTML5 Canvas, Docker.

How hard is merlion-defense to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is merlion-defense for?

Mainly general.

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