Games Attack of the Giant Crab - Kaiju Simulation

Been working on a Kaiju simulator titled "Attack of the Giant Crab".

Right now the gameplay is mainly about walking around and stomping on buildings, however I am planning on introducing a story based campaign where you must save the environment and fight off an alien invasion.

Trailer:

Screenshots:

 

I set up a steam page as well:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1608090/Attack_of_the_Giant_Crab/?beta=0

 

The game features a grab/throw mode where you are able to grab trees and turn them into explosive missiles of destruction:

 

Small victories: Finally got it so that the crab's legs more or less align with the ground when standing on uneven terrain. Had to write a script that manually rotated one of the joints based on the ground elevation at each foot.

 

I like monster games where you play as a giant creature destroying everything. It makes use of destructive environments.

Looking at your game though, it doesn't really get me exited. The title of the game implies a very narrow scope. I guess I'm not going to be playing as any other creature in this game except a crab .

There's also the issue of playing as a crab. Bipedal monsters can walk down roads more easily than a wide creature. A wide creature has to pretty much knock down buildings every time it moves in a dense city. It looks like the buildings in your game is spread out. Just something to consider though.


It looks like the only thing the crab needs to do to destroy buildings is to walk over them. That might work for small buildings, but I think medium to large buildings should require the players effort to destroy. Or else you don't really get the satisfaction of "punching" buildings down if you know what I mean.

For a game like this, you are going to want to put alot of effort into making your destruction as cool as possible. More than just hitting a building and having it disappear or vaporize in an explosion. You might want to remove the explosions and just have smoke and debris because that's what it would really look like. Save the explosions for actual explosive objects like fuel tanks.

I see you have it on steam. I know its in development but honestly, I cant see it attracting any attention without some serious improvements. I know how its like to work on a game for a long time and to finally release it, only get a few sales before sinking to the bottom of the store page.

You could release it for free though if it isn't a serious project.

 

The thing is, this game is first and foremost a game about being a gigantic crab. When I came up with the idea it wasn't to create a monster game, it was to make a game about being a giant crab. I get that may limit the appeal, but there is a certain vision that I had for this.

FWIW this actually was a free game originally. I got alot of positive feedback when I posted it to itch.io so I figured that I'd make an expanded paid version and see how that it went.

I get that this lacks a certain amount of polish and am doing my best to rectify this within my limitations as a solo developer. Having to punch/pinch large objects is something I've been working on already but as of now it is still a bit janky and doesn't really "feel" right. I'm curious what you think the one or two other biggest improvements that I could make would be?

 

Just the things I mentioned previously.

If your gonna go with crabs, maybe double down on that. What sort of abilities do crabs have that other creatures don't?

The first thing that comes to mind is hardness, and shell shedding. Maybe the crab starts off small and gets progressively bigger as it sheds its shell throughout the game.

Check out this video

How about different types of crabs to choose from. Lobsters have high health and attack. While spider crabs are more fast and agile. Regular crabs are a balance between them.

 

Some screenshots of a new "Industrial Town" level that I put together.

 

this reminds me of an old 8bit game I played, it's a fighting game but the fun part is to mash the building as the characters are all giants xD

 

A video from the game, I've got enemy military vehicles working alot better now:

 

Yeah initial concept feedback all may be good, especially if was for free. But honestly need ask yourself, who is going to pay for 5 min fun?

At the current state game doesn't really offer anything beyond 5 min Gameplay.
What are you proposals for mitigate that? What are you plans to extend playability for next 10, 30, or 60 min?

 

I've added a few things to the mix to keep things interesting. The game keeps track of destruction via the "Destruct-O-Meter" and when the player reaches certain increments then an enemy kaiju will be deployed or you will gain a random power up such as super speed or laser eyes. The levels also have objective based play so in one level you need to end overfishing by destroying certain trawlers and food processing plants. Another you need to help set up wind turbines so that the people have renewable electricity. There is also a storyline that plays out in the interlude between levels.

 

Here is the crab laser in action:

 

I see your getting somewhat negative responses here, but they are truely trying to help you. Ok, so i dont mean this to be insultive or otherwise, but these are the things that i see that stick out:

Landscape: is very bland, theres no hills, or natural look to it, just looks flat, with a few textures. Now i understand the crab has 6 or more legs, and its easier for him to walk on flatland (you should have thought that one out better), and there are ways to correct that, so on uneven terrain, all legs stay fit to ground.

Background: in all the SS's, none have a background like mountains, large hills, meaning a backdrop.

Buildings: are sparse, and spread out too much, and not alot of varying height of buildings. As one poster said, bigger/taller buildings should have to be actively destroyed, as they impede on your progress.

Foliage: sorry but basicly non-existant. The very little you do have are like the buildings, sparse and spread out too much.

Giant Crab: good model, textures aint bad, but does it get hurt or die?. I see weapons firing at it, and building smashing should also do some damage. To me it looks like he cant die, so theres no risk involved.

Gameplay: not really there, all you do is destroy buildings.

roger0 , and others make good points to ponder, and i understand this is a WIP. Its not a bad idea, and at least your progressing, but please take our feedback, do some research, and most of all, get back to work!

 

Here is some footage of the crab facing an enemy crab and enemy chicken:

 

Here's some screenshots from a new level that I put together that's supposed to represent the financial district of a large city. As was suggested in this thread I've tried to incorporate more buildings of larger sizes. The larger buildings will impede the player and can only be destroyed by repeatedly bashing them with the crab's claws.

I've also implemented a system where as you destroy more buildings you get random powerups (health, speed, lasers) that you can store and use when desired.

 

Just finished the final trailer for my release!

 

I am glad that you have added a bit of some more action into it.
Good move.

 

After doing playtesting I've added one final feature to the game before release. Now, if the player is confused as to where they need to go they just need to activate CrabVision to highlight all their objectives:

 

And the game has finally been released

Can't wait to see what kind of feedback it gets. (Hopefully not silence).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1608090/Attack_of_the_Giant_Crab/