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

[Grayshot954]

Well at least since this is a kickstarter, those minor problems can be fixed. Mr.Strange is good but even he and his whole team can't foresee every minor problem that might cause some irritation.

[Lenbo]

Come on...Guys, its a videogame. Nothing is going to be picture perfect, or perfect at all. I'm sure they watched a Godzilla film, but whatever comes from the films dont always transfer well into other formats and programming. Plus it could possibly depend on the model, Godzilla 90's in Unleashed looked like the closest thing that we'll ever get to the Heisei Godzilla in terms of design. A walking animation had to be provided for it, and it probably did not look well since the design did not look like it could lean over slighly, or hunch a bit (That's the heisei design for ya). The result made Godzilla 90's in G:U look more like a guy in a somewhat stiff suit whenever walking. (Which is expected when looking at the suit from that era).

That was probably the trade-off, you can have a more accurate looking Godzilla monster, but it probably won't execute well in certain areas in terms of presentation during gameplay.

So your saying because it's a game we shouldn't expect them to improve on it? Even when the lead designer of the game specifically asks for our input on it and stated that this is exactly the kind of thing we have a say in? And this is based on conjecture that maybe the original problem was with the Hesei Godzilla design?

I've heard more than one person now say "it's a video game" in favor of not making things to be more like the movies. In order for it to be a Godzilla game, it has to resemble the Godzilla films. So all this resistance to making them more film-accurate doesn't make much sense to me. Especially in this case where the animation has little to no bearing on gameplay whatsoever. So why not fix it?

And I totally agree that the walking/running animation looked totally goofy in Unleashed and should be changed to be more like his charge-up animation. Godzilla 2000 had the walking/running animation pretty much spot on.

[PopInPicsPresents]

To get back on that walking issue, I uploaded videos of the two walks I talked about:

The bad walk : http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... AmlHw&NR=1

The good walk : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp_KcGAm ... el&list=UL

..they both look pretty terrible..

[Oasis_S]

I've heard more than one person now say "it's a video game" in favor of not making things to be more like the movies. In order for it to be a Godzilla game, it has to resemble the Godzilla films. So all this resistance to making them more film-accurate doesn't make much sense to me. Especially in this case where the animation has little to no bearing on gameplay whatsoever. So why not fix it?

In this case, yeah, making a walking animation more accurate is no big deal since, as you said, it has no effect on the gameplay.


HMMM, I wonder how practical it would be to make Manda. Animating him seems like such a challenge. Monsters' tails followed them pretty well in the other games, but with Manda's long body, I wonder if too much clipping through environmental objects would be a problem. Supposing he would slither along the ground (though I thought he should "swim" through the air), he'd also be so low that most attacks would miss him. Unless he had an "invisible hitbox" extending up to at least Baragon's height. I wonder if that would be confusing for players though. "How did that he me?" Supposing he would "stand up" when facing an opponent, I wonder if the hitbox then would need to change. Such a weird case.

Maybe Manda should just be an item like a lasso to tie up opponents with. Or a garden hose item.

[Godzillakuj94]

Come on...Guys, its a videogame. Nothing is going to be picture perfect, or perfect at all. I'm sure they watched a Godzilla film, but whatever comes from the films dont always transfer well into other formats and programming. Plus it could possibly depend on the model, Godzilla 90's in Unleashed looked like the closest thing that we'll ever get to the Heisei Godzilla in terms of design. A walking animation had to be provided for it, and it probably did not look well since the design did not look like it could lean over slighly, or hunch a bit (That's the heisei design for ya). The result made Godzilla 90's in G:U look more like a guy in a somewhat stiff suit whenever walking. (Which is expected when looking at the suit from that era).

That was probably the trade-off, you can have a more accurate looking Godzilla monster, but it probably won't execute well in certain areas in terms of presentation during gameplay.

So your saying because it's a game we shouldn't expect them to improve on it? Even when the lead designer of the game specifically asks for our input on it and stated that this is exactly the kind of thing we have a say in? And this is based on conjecture that maybe the original problem was with the Hesei Godzilla design?

I've heard more than one person now say "it's a video game" in favor of not making things to be more like the movies. In order for it to be a Godzilla game, it has to resemble the Godzilla films. So all this resistance to making them more film-accurate doesn't make much sense to me. Especially in this case where the animation has little to no bearing on gameplay whatsoever. So why not fix it?

And I totally agree that the walking/running animation looked totally goofy in Unleashed and should be changed to be more like his charge-up animation. Godzilla 2000 had the walking/running animation pretty much spot on.

Thanks for having my back.

[Blackout286]

Come on...Guys, its a videogame. Nothing is going to be picture perfect, or perfect at all. I'm sure they watched a Godzilla film, but whatever comes from the films dont always transfer well into other formats and programming. Plus it could possibly depend on the model, Godzilla 90's in Unleashed looked like the closest thing that we'll ever get to the Heisei Godzilla in terms of design. A walking animation had to be provided for it, and it probably did not look well since the design did not look like it could lean over slighly, or hunch a bit (That's the heisei design for ya). The result made Godzilla 90's in G:U look more like a guy in a somewhat stiff suit whenever walking. (Which is expected when looking at the suit from that era).

That was probably the trade-off, you can have a more accurate looking Godzilla monster, but it probably won't execute well in certain areas in terms of presentation during gameplay.

So your saying because it's a game we shouldn't expect them to improve on it? Even when the lead designer of the game specifically asks for our input on it and stated that this is exactly the kind of thing we have a say in? And this is based on conjecture that maybe the original problem was with the Hesei Godzilla design?

I've heard more than one person now say "it's a video game" in favor of not making things to be more like the movies. In order for it to be a Godzilla game, it has to resemble the Godzilla films. So all this resistance to making them more film-accurate doesn't make much sense to me. Especially in this case where the animation has little to no bearing on gameplay whatsoever. So why not fix it?

And I totally agree that the walking/running animation looked totally goofy in Unleashed and should be changed to be more like his charge-up animation. Godzilla 2000 had the walking/running animation pretty much spot on.

No, I'm saying that since its a game doesn't expect everything to be exactly like or completely accurate like the films. I'm not saying that we can't expect them to improve on it, it can be attempted as many times as possible, but there will most likely not be anything exactly like the films. For it to be a Godzilla game, it has to resemble the Godzilla films? True, but to a degree. That statement does not mean anything depending on the type of game. For example. Godzilla Domination, its a Godzilla fighting/beat em up game, but it rarely stays in line with the films themselves. Exploding Mothra larva? Godzilla jumping extremely high only to spin down and do a monstrous cannon ball drop? Ghidorah using his gravity field to move monsters around and making them slip all over the place? Rodan releasing radioactive mist? All that's needed for a Godzilla game to be just that, a Godzilla game, is Godzilla and the monsters, Tokyo and some citys/places, and making sure that the monsters included have most of their abilities. It doesn't really have to resemble the films. Godzilla The Trading Card Game, Godzilla Domination, Super Godzilla, Godzilla Monsters of Monsters, King of the Monsters, Godzilla, and even Godzilla Battle Legends/Destroy All Monsters all of these games, are Godzilla games. But they barely resemble/or stay in line with the films themselves.

Again, it can be improved on and attempted, but it mostly will not be anything like or exactly like the films.

And yes, I do feel that the Heisei Godzilla design(The Toho Design) in itself, can cause certain implementations to look awkward if in a game The more accurate, the more difficult it would be to make the whole thing look and work properly enough to satisfy most people. (3D-Wise, not 2D)

Godzilla 90's from DAMM, thought not completely accurate, its walking animation was decently well and did not look awkward or stiff during gameplay.


Godzilla 1954 (But mostly based on the 90's model) in G:U, the accurate portion is very good, and with that, it also looks somewhat stiff like a suit and as provided with videos, its walking animation does not look all that pleasant during gameplay.


Now, I'm not saying for things to be completely inaccurate to get the best results. I'm simply saying that the trade-off for being more accurate, in return will make certain implementations look awkward and less satisfying in the overall product. In some way or form.

[SpanishBulldog63]

.HMMM, I wonder how practical it would be to make Manda. Animating him seems like such a challenge. Monsters' tails followed them pretty well in the other games, but with Manda's long body, I wonder if too much clipping through environmental objects would be a problem. Supposing he would slither along the ground (though I thought he should "swim" through the air), he'd also be so low that most attacks would miss him. Unless he had an "invisible hitbox" extending up to at least Baragon's height. I wonder if that would be confusing for players though. "How did that he me?" Supposing he would "stand up" when facing an opponent, I wonder if the hitbox then would need to change. Such a weird case.

I always pictured him standing more like this in-game.


Even though it doesnt capture the whole body,its the best pic i could find as an example.He's on all fours,the long amount of body in-between in a hump.So this could fix the hit-box issue,plus it works with the moveset I made in the Moveset Thread

[Zentenk]

Simple fix, keep his arms at a near 90 degree angle and dont make his arms swing like a human.

One other thing I didn't really like from the looks of G:U was the low gravity jumps. I really do not like those game mechanics and hope it will be more like DAMM/STE.

[Oasis_S]

I... sort of liked the jumps in Unleashed? I guess not particularly the jumping itself, but that you could use all of your usual attacks in the air. That was kind of neat. But come to think of it, that sort of freedom is not very necessary. All your moves on the ground are designed for fighting on the ground, so what's the use in having moves that wouldn't be useful in the air. Because you are not jumping very often, it's fine to have only three moves in the air since the situations you'll be using them in are limited. So there's no use for too many attacks. Having three attacks also just makes it easier to figure out what move you should be using.

SO YEAH, making it like DAMM/STE is better. The jumping ...PROCESS was incredibly slow in Unleashed, wasn't it? I think I can understand why that was necessary, given the control scheme, but it was still kind of aggravating. That's one of the things that annoys me about STE. It felt like it was slowed down significantly from DAMM. When you press a button, you expect something to happen. But many of the moves were so slow to come out, the expectation isn't met and you're left frustrated. Kind of the thing for the jumping in Unleashed.

[Zentenk]

Yes, STE was a bit too slow. I know they are lumbering beasts but it did feel like you were playing in slow motion. I think a speed between DAMM and STE would be optimal.

I don't like the constant beams of Unleashed, jumping/moving while shooting a beam looked awkward.
This is what it reminds me of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Riy91giU4pA

Having a few monsters that can move while shooting a beam makes them unique, like Baragon in STE.

[Oasis_S]

Maybe there should be a way to differentiate between a "weak beam" and a "strong beam?" Using a strong beam has you stand in place, but using a weak beam allows movement? Their durations may be fixed as well. I'm guessing weak beams would last a shorter time than strong beams. A beam in between those two extremes may be necessary. The movement it allows should be more limited and slowed.

But there's the issue of how they work with charging and energy. I was going to say just tapping the button would result in a weak beam, but then that would eliminate projectile weapons. Maybe some monsters would only have either weak OR strong beams? Like Godzilla could keep his fireball, and be left with only a strong beam. Just tossing out ideas. I'm not really sure how to handle charging... FFFF SO NOTHING IS SOLVED.

Oh yeah, one thing that bothers me about STE is when you're charging your energy and the red bar reaches the end, your beam doesn't instantly fire. I think Godzilla does a little hop before firing his beam. Just, y'know, one of those little feedback issues.

[Giga Kaiju]

I hope the animations are done like DAMM or better.
Now that im looking at Unleashed, it does looks awkward.

[Zentenk]

Yes, When I saw Unleashed it looks like they went backwards a few steps. Maybe they wanted to try out a few ideas, nothing wrong with that.

[cipher192]

Please dont make it MP focoused! Put effort into a decent SP, PLEASE!

That being said; id like to have an updated version of godzilla generations on the dreamcast. Ya'know, a game thats more like the movies than a tournament fighter. But at the very least, id just be happy with singleplayer destruction mode. Go into any city, by myself, with the monster of my choosing and F**K some S**T up! Oh! And accurate character models. I liked pipeworks' DAMM and STE but the charcater models for some of the monsters were awful. G90's looked like a t rex! In the GU his spines were too small. So those 2 things will satisfy me.

[PopInPicsPresents]

Please dont make it MP focoused! Put effort into a decent SP, PLEASE!

That being said; id like to have an updated version of godzilla generations on the dreamcast. Ya'know, a game thats more like the movies than a tournament fighter. But at the very least, id just be happy with singleplayer destruction mode. Go into any city, by myself, with the monster of my choosing and F**K some S**T up! Oh! And accurate character models. I liked pipeworks' DAMM and STE but the charcater models for some of the monsters were awful. G90's looked like a t rex! In the GU his spines were too small. So those 2 things will satisfy me.

I'd love a single player Destruction Mode to be brought back.

[Supergeon]

I would really like to see a museum/gallery mode

It would just be a menu option that would bring you to the monster bio (film and game fiction) movie appearances, sound test, 3D model viewer. If it was an original monster you could include the creators name/alias.

I liked the unlockable concept art in the past games too, just taking it a step further. Chris do you think you will be doing your video doc on development that you wanted to do on past projects?

[Oasis_S]

Oooh man. A sound test with all those monster roars? Amazing.

Has that not been brought up before? It's genius, lol.

[Kaiju-King42]

Oooh man. A sound test with all those monster roars? Amazing.

Has that not been brought up before? It's genius, lol.

I think something like that was used in Double Smash.

[Zentenk]

How many movies did Godzilla go around purposely smashing buildings? I'd much rather have large maps like a maze and you have to work your way through to an objective, the more stuff you accidently destroy, the more the military response. Kind of like GTA:

1. Soldiers
2. Helicopters/tanks
3. Jets
4. Super X
5. Mechagodzilla

If you defeat MG and complete the objective you unlock an achievement like "Nothing Works", also if you complete the objective without warning the military it would unlock another achievement like "Undetected".

[Mr. Strange]

Yes, When I saw Unleashed it looks like they went backwards a few steps. Maybe they wanted to try out a few ideas, nothing wrong with that.

I think the animations in G:U were actually much, much better than the animations in the previous games. But that's a hard thing to evaluate individually for end-users, because you don't see animations by themselves - you see an amalgamation of combat, controls, environmental interactions, etc. We also used a multi-threaded animation system in G:U, which meant you were usually watching 5-7 different animations at once. But the individual animations, veiwed on their own, were really strong in G:U. You'll just have to trust me on that point.

Oooh man. A sound test with all those monster roars? Amazing.

Has that not been brought up before? It's genius, lol.

On the PC, you can just browse to the directory with all the .wav files. I think that's way better than a Nintendo-style "sound test".