New kaiju game from Matt Frank + Simon Strange [Archive]

[Mr. Strange]

Yeah, Kaiju: The Never Ending War

or The Never Ending Monster War

or The Never Ending Kaiju War

I think "Eternal" is better than "Never Ending" - though it loses the acronym obviously.

[ゴジラ]

GKG is from Rebirth of Mothra 3 is not even part of the Godzilla series. I'm pretty sure Toho does not allow Toho monsters outside the Godzilla movies from what I can remember?

Going by that logic, back then Rodan, Varan, Baragon, Mothra, and Gorosaurus wouldn't be apart of the Godzilla series since they all debut in different films.
GKG is still a incarnation/take of their established iconic creation, very much like how GINO (despite the hate from the fandom) is still a incarnation/take of Godzilla. I think the green-light for GKG would still be given since Ghidorah (the character) is still apart of the Godzilla franchise overall despite the incarnation.

[Goji]

Well, Grand King Ghidorah isn't too much of a stretch, since the character of King Ghidorah originally debuted in the Godzilla series. I don't recall Toho ever saying anything about not allowing certain Toho monsters in Godzilla products. Things like the Godzilla Island TV show featured Dogora, as well as other monsters from outside of the Godzilla series.

[Supergeon]

Parrying
An incoming heavy attack should be..
A) Allow the defender to counter into their own heavy attack (Fight Night Round 2 and 3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-cEDUu1pvw viewable at 1:12
B)Allow the defender to pull the enemy into a throw or toss them aside. This was in Godzilla Unleashed, while holding guard and shaking the wii remote an incoming opponent would either be tossed away or do the hotfoot/hurthand animation

Cinematic Moments
Although this is going to be a fighter, the following idea would be really cool. When monsters perform certain actions (most likely synchronized) something would be triggered (achievement, easter egg, unlock) An example of a cinematic moment would be monsters roaring at eachother or taunting from a distance. Throwing an opponent into a oil refinery and blowing it up with a beam (G vs Destoroyah)

A lot of people have enjoyed the video I made of G:U when it launched, Varan vs Baragon. If you watch it it does have the pacing that an actual movie fight would have. Varan (me) wins a beam battle and roars afterwards. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuPJP5GcJRI

If something like this isn't plausible, then making an in game recording and sharing/rating replays would be very cool.

Round Starts
Monster intros have been great in all of the games, especially G:U. An idea I did have would be when a round is over the losing monster stands up brushes themselves off, does a karate pose (G75), something to show frustration from losing. Im proposing that health bars just refill, monster positions are not reset, and the next round begins. Look to Tekken 4-6, the loser is grabbing their back in pain when they lose, pounding the floor in between matches.

I do apologize for the long wordy post, but I have been an idea factory since this project has been announced.
Andddd... discuss.

[skuzzy-punk-kid]

Parrying
An incoming heavy attack should be..
A) Allow the defender to counter into their own heavy attack (Fight Night Round 2 and 3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-cEDUu1pvw viewable at 1:12
B)Allow the defender to pull the enemy into a throw or toss them aside. This was in Godzilla Unleashed, while holding guard and shaking the wii remote an incoming opponent would either be tossed away or do the hotfoot/hurthand animation

Cinematic Moments
Although this is going to be a fighter, the following idea would be really cool. When monsters perform certain actions (most likely synchronized) something would be triggered (achievement, easter egg, unlock) An example of a cinematic moment would be monsters roaring at eachother or taunting from a distance. Throwing an opponent into a oil refinery and blowing it up with a beam (G vs Destoroyah)

A lot of people have enjoyed the video I made of G:U when it launched, Varan vs Baragon. If you watch it it does have the pacing that an actual movie fight would have. Varan (me) wins a beam battle and roars afterwards. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuPJP5GcJRI

If something like this isn't plausible, then making an in game recording and sharing/rating replays would be very cool.

Round Starts
Monster intros have been great in all of the games, especially G:U. An idea I did have would be when a round is over the losing monster stands up brushes themselves off, does a karate pose (G75), something to show frustration from losing. Im proposing that health bars just refill, monster positions are not reset, and the next round begins. Look to Tekken 4-6, the loser is grabbing their back in pain when they lose, pounding the floor in between matches.

I do apologize for the long wordy post, but I have been an idea factory since this project has been announced.
Andddd... discuss.

The pre/post fight segments sound like a good idea; the whole 'not resetting player positions'. I think it would make the fight realistic if the downed monster does a monster-specific animation for getting up in preparation for the second round, while the winning monster simply does a (monster-specific) victory taunt as the fight leads on to the second (third or fourth) round. Supergeon, these are very good ideas; I just wonder if these are too resource-intensive...?

[Supergeon]

With my limited knowledge of how game script works I would say that it probably isn't resource intensive. It would just have to be saying that when monster A's health reaches 0 play animation X, sound Y, at the end of animation reset health to 100. I would say something along the lines of a new monster being streamed into play mid battle (G:U story mode) would be more memory intensive.

[skuzzy-punk-kid]

With my limited knowledge of how game script works I would say that it probably isn't resource intensive. It would just have to be saying that when monster A's health reaches 0 play animation X, sound Y, at the end of animation reset health to 100. I would say something along the lines of a new monster being streamed into play mid battle (G:U story mode) would be more memory intensive.

Tell me more about the 'cinematic moments?'

[20th Century Boy]

I don't quite understand the "multiple releases" thing. Clearly this is going to be one game, not several. Are we talking about expansion packs?

[Supergeon]

As far as how taxing something like that would be on the game engine or what else I meant that to encompass?

I will answer both I guess. I would assume that having determined outcomes from certain actions would have to have a more limited criteria. Example..
-MG75's head coming off after taking a certain amount of damage (Godzilla Battle Legends for TurboGrafx)
-Gigan clipping Mothra's wing off, which would occur if your final melee attack, in the final round would result in a KO
-Godzilla punching Hedorah and randomly doing a hurt hand animation from Hedorah's acidic body
If you dissect each example and find each of the "if and when's" each one would be a variable that the engine would have to account for.

More examples for round transitions
-King Cesar flaring his ears and doing his "angry thing" after losing
-A Mech repositioning itself, clearing exhaust vents
-Godzilla glowing blue as shown when he heals his wounds
-Winged monsters kicking up dust, doing aerial acrobatics
- Ghidorah's heads fighting with one another
- Any monster doing "roar talking" and provoking one another
Please feel free to add your own

[zilla103192]

I was actually thinking about the original poll, and the quickly rejected "card game" concept.

What if the game was a game along the lines of "Godzilla Trading Battle"?

I would like the whole expansion pack idea if that is the kind of game that was being made.

[Supergeon]

A card game could be cool, and it could be very successful. But the main draw to the license in my opinion is the action as opposed to the strategy.

[Mr. Strange]

I don't quite understand the "multiple releases" thing. Clearly this is going to be one game, not several. Are we talking about expansion packs?

This "game" is the framework, upon which several games will be built. However, each game is modular, so you can mix and match content from any of the games together.

For example: game 1 will (hopefully) be a TOHO-based game with a single-player story mode and online battles. Game 2 might be an original monster game with a new single-player story mode. If you own both, you will be able to run either set of monsters through either story, and use either set of monsters in online battles.

Multiple games, one framework. The other advantage of that is that, once the framework & technology is done for the first game, each successive game will cost just a fraction of the original game pricetag. So the first game might run $300,000 - but then the next game will cost just $70,000 or so. Win-win-win.

[zilla103192]

Which is why I like the Trading Battle Idea. Once 2 monsters meet in that game, it enters a fighting mode. But in that game it's more along the lines of Pokemon, with turn based attacks. But if everyone would prefer realtime fighting, that could be possible to.

I just think that this "different franchise packs" idea fits more with a card game style video-game.

[Destroyer]

I personally hate turn-based battles.

[Mr. Strange]

Argh! Had another huge response get eaten by my failing mouse...

In brief: I'm not fond of parrying, or blocking - because that makes people think of fast-paced fighters like Street Fighter. I want to push this as much as possible into the cinematic Kaiju-esque realm.

Cinematic Moments: This is a great direction, because it really distinguishes the game from boxing / wrestling games. I especially like the idea that roaring "counters" another monster's roar...

Round Starts: Playing a "loser" anim at the end of the fight would be triival - we've always had victory anims, so this is just an extension of that. I don't like the idea of starting subsequent rounds in the positions occupied at the end of the first round - inevitably some players would find a way to turn that to their advantage. Resetting positions is an important part of balancing out the start of the battles.

[skuzzy-punk-kid]

As far as how taxing something like that would be on the game engine or what else I meant that to encompass?

I will answer both I guess. I would assume that having determined outcomes from certain actions would have to have a more limited criteria. Example..
-MG75's head coming off after taking a certain amount of damage (Godzilla Battle Legends for TurboGrafx)
-Gigan clipping Mothra's wing off, which would occur if your final melee attack, in the final round would result in a KO
-Godzilla punching Hedorah and randomly doing a hurt hand animation from Hedorah's acidic body
If you dissect each example and find each of the "if and when's" each one would be a variable that the engine would have to account for.

More examples for round transitions
-King Cesar flaring his ears and doing his "angry thing" after losing
-A Mech repositioning itself, clearing exhaust vents
-Godzilla glowing blue as shown when he heals his wounds
-Winged monsters kicking up dust, doing aerial acrobatics
- Ghidorah's heads fighting with one another
- Any monster doing "roar talking" and provoking one another
Please feel free to add your own

I think it would be cool to also add these:
-Gigan doing his little victory dance; adding the [Gigan laughter sound FX], the 3 hammer-claw clap followed by the double stomp as his round 1 victory animation (this was seen in Godzilla vs. Gigan, when Anguirus gets hit by King Ghidorah's gravity beam and gets levelled.
-Gigan having his buzzsaw activating and his eyepiece flashing on and off, indicating his frustration
-Megalon doing his shake and drill-arm clap [insert Megalon laughter sound FX here] as his round 1 victory animation
-SpaceGodzilla should levitate back to his feet (after losing round 1), shattering any crystals that still remain, regaining his health
-If a suitable Kong knock-off can be managed (provided that the name of King Kong cannot be used), a quick chest-beating and 2 Showa Kong grunts as his round 1 victory animation

I'm sure a few more will come to mind later...

[Supergeon]

@Simon
Addressing parrying/blocking
That is true what you bring up about Street Fighter. In Blazblue you can use a sort of "aura burst" to push an enemy back when you are feeling too pressured, this is allowed once per fight and it leaves you vulnerable (more susceptible to damage). What are your thoughts on a "Power Roar" a one time use roar that was more pronounced for use in a "get off my nuts" situation.

Cinematic Moments: Thanks for your comments. Do you have any ideas to develop on this point?

Round Starts: I can see your point on strategic placement and abuse of a feature like this. Do you have any ideas to keep the flow of a matches intensity going?

[Mr. Strange]

Which is why I like the Trading Battle Idea. Once 2 monsters meet in that game, it enters a fighting mode. But in that game it's more along the lines of Pokemon, with turn based attacks. But if everyone would prefer realtime fighting, that could be possible to.

I just think that this "different franchise packs" idea fits more with a card game style video-game.

I seriously considered a Trading Battle Style for the game, but votes were heavy in the "just like the Pipeworks games, but better!" direction. Based upon that initial feedback I negotiated a contract with Pipeworks to license their technology, so the 3D-online-combat technology is in place. That pretty much means our course is set for the moment. I wouldn't be adverse to making a like-branded Kaiju Trading Battle game on mobile phones at some point in the future.

@Supergeon: I don't like the one-time roar in general. It works for some monsters, maybe. But in general forcing someone to "get off me" isn't really a problem in my Kaiju games. Traditional fighters are all about preventing your opponent from taking actions, and I've always hated that. If people don't have ways to prevent you from playing, those "get off me" situations don't really come up.

I had a lot more to say on the cinematic-direction, but my PC ate my post. We'll get to all those things later on, I promise. I do like the idea of eliminating or reducing the importance of health bars - making the fights more of a "how many times can you get back up" affair, instead of "first monster to inflict 500 damage wins"

Is there any chance at all that this entire thing is a scam by someone pretending to be Simon Strange or Kaijusamurai, and that they are planning to take our money? Call me paranoid, but I think it is important to ask this question before we start donating anything. Mr. Strange, my accusation may be wrong, and for that I'm sorry. I just want to make sure I'm donating to the right person first.

I don't mind some health skepticism. Honestly, if you think you can find someone who can impersonate me well enough to have all of these conversations, we should probably hire them!

There isn't an iron-clad way you can convince yourself that this isn't a scam - even if everyone is who we say we are, we could try to just abscond with the money! But I founded my own studio about a year back - Sunstone Games, LLC. And this project would be part of that studio's body of work. The Kickstarter campaign will be tied to that corporate entity (I've already set that up, and verified contact information, bank account info, etc) so if something nefarious does happen, there will be a legal paper trail to a corporation you can follow.

[MechaJahgeezilla]

Monster Unlock System:

I say do it like Forza, get to a certain level, then you get a choice of one monster you can unlock from that level and can purchase the rest of the cars from that level and below, but eventually if you progress enough above a certain level (Say you didn't buy any other monsters, but made it to Level 11) then you would get all the monsters from Level 1

Card Game:

What we could do is that if you get a monster to battle with, then you get that card and can load it to an online computer game that is linked to an account for your game. And, these online computer card game stats are tracked and if you do special tasks, you can unlock a high level monster of your choice.

Title:
Kaiju Onslaught

Menu Screen:
Maybe have footage of Godzilla & any other packs you have installed monsters fighting with just a simple text for each selection spot

[Supergeon]

I can see your point, and that makes me recall what you said in the podcasts (years ago) That you designed G:U's fighting system to allow actions to occur even though you were being attacked (example being the two kids playtesting)

Elaborating on the elimination of health bars, certain attacks or events would have to result in the match ending in this instance? A building collapsing on top of a monster, full-power weapon attack while in a vulnerable state.

Sorry to drag the conversation out, but I feel since there aren't any non disclosure agreements I would seize the opportunity to pick your brain because I have always wanted to!