[#PROTOSHI] 4 ADVANCED - Chikapu catches you!

Pierre

This is a non-compete entry for the 4th and final week of #PROTOSHI

See VIDEO!

https://youtu.be/U4WEMrENRjs

DOWNLOAD HERE : https://mathbear.itch.io/chikapu-catches-you

Your goal is to explore and survive.
Each time you kill a monster, all the other monsters become stronger so be ready to shoot A LOT!
There is no end to the game. Just press ESC to either restart or quit.

Controls : Typical FPS controls.... WASD, Mouse, LMB(shoot)
and you can adjust the sensitivity with the mouse scroll wheel.

Prototyping journey
I'll be honest, I ran out of time and could not implement either of the themes.
That said, I'm happy with the features that I wanted to prototype.
1. Geometry shader generates and animates fur.
2. Implementing a nice smooth FPS controller with punchy gunplay.



I wanted to do so much more, but it looks like I needed a month instead of a week.
Let me know what you guys think.

Pierre

GODDAMMIT Pierre!
I forgot to add the download link!
Edited the post above and also, here...https://mathbear.itch.io/chikapu-catches-you

Talk about beating the purpose with a stick!

iamdavidnight

Jusis! I jumped a few times playing this. Built up suspense of not knowing where the creatures are. They're building strength and then the silence vs the roars they make when they rush you.
Nice going!

Some suggestions to make it even scarier:
Have some ambiance sounds in the background. - A Music track would lessen the effect.
Drop the ambiance off into silence at points before and encounter and at random to keep people tense.
Give your player a torch cause it's a bit dark. - Maybe have the player choose between holding the torch or guns like in Doom.

Would really dig to see this become a full blown space horror experience!

Pierre

iamdavidnight said:

Jusis! I jumped a few times playing this.

Thanks a lot! Making these creatures appear alive and believable is by far the hardest part in all of this.
But getting the lighting right is also a challenge. A troch should not have been needed, as the internal lighting was supposed to expose the area better, but I failed in that regard. If I get it right it would be another matter, but having a flashlight is a good staple for these types of games and should definitely be an option. I agree.

Thanks for the supportive feedback! It makes the whole ordeal worth it when somebody comes back with a lot of commentary. I only wish I had a narrative reason behind why the creatures become stronger. Perhaps I should have just made them physically and visually more daunting behind the scenes without having to explicitly warn the player about the effect. (Things you think of afterwards huh?)
Thanks again for taking the time to play and comment.

If I were to make a full game from this, I would butcher and redo a lot of it.

• The fur shader is not entirely perfect yet. It freaks out under certain lighting conditions, and it doesn't have any world velocity applied to it (which is a brand new challenge altogether.)
  
• The creature was supposed to have full IK limbs with dynamic foot/claw placement so that it can navigate the environment naturally without using the sticky and awkward nav mesh. I need a whole month to get that working (at least).
  
• I have a lot to still learn about internal lighting but this prototype did grant me a little bit more experience in that regard.
  
• Level design is a terribly tough challenge for me. I have a big mental block when it comes to building out a good level. I need to get more comfortable with that process.
  

ashashza

Oh no, this totally crushes my laptop. It crashes on startup @ 1080p and is terribly sluggish at 720p. Maybe there's too much Chikapu fur for one 1060 to handle?

Looks well terrifying from the vids. Love the akimbo guns!

Pierre

ashashza said:

Oh no, this totally crushes my laptop. It crashes on startup @ 1080p and is terribly sluggish at 720p. Maybe there's too much Chikapu fur for one 1060 to handle?

Sorry about that.
I've built and uploaded a lightweight version.
download Chikapu_Light instead... https://mathbear.itch.io/chikapu-catches-you
This version has No fur geometry, and I've reduced pixel light count.
I think this is what was killing your machine since everything else is pretty basic and lightweight.
Should be much faster now.

(If the game is still sluggish, It might be your quality settings are too high?)
Thanks for taking the time.

VMASTER

This game is pretty spooky XD
I like the fur effects and shader that has been done, the Chikapu is also pretty scary, The lighting really helps. My main suggestion relates to what @iamdavidnight said, which is the sound. I can see this being played with headphones and hearing the Chikapu(s) from all the different angles. Well Done!