Critter Bots

Critter Bots Early Development About the Game You are an angry ladybug hero, set on destroying the AI robotic insects that humans have deployed to replace biological insects. Destroy enemies within the time limit, chase a high score, and save the bug world! Gameplay Destroying enemies makes them drop a Flux Cell, which increases your level. Each level-up gives you a token to spend on an upgrade. Grow more powerful by collecting weapons, elemental effects and, of course, Critter Bots. There is more to upgrade and discover, with future additions to come. Weapons Choose from the weapons in the game. Once you have selected four different weapons, no others will be offered. Selecting a weapon you already have upgrades it. • Pincer: Melee weapon that hits enemies in front of you • Locust: Shoots a piercing projectile • Mantis: Melee weapon that swipes • Scorpion: Shoots like a bow, with an explosive tip • Slug: Shoots dual grenades • Snail: Shoots seeking rockets • Spider: Fires from four barrels • Wasp: Fires from dual front barrels • Worm: Fires from wide dual side barrels Weapon Upgrades Upgrade your weapons to deal more damage, fire faster, and more. Collecting the same upgrade again improves that stat further. • Damage: Increases the damage a weapon deals • Fire Rate: Increases fire rate (for melee weapons, increases how often strikes occur) • Weapon Speed: Increases projectile speed (for melee weapons, the speed of strikes) • Size: Increases projectile size (for melee weapons, the damage area) • Critical Hit Chance: Increases the chance of a critical hit (5% by default) • Critical Hit Damage: Increases critical hit damage (50% by default) Elemental Effects When an element is applied to a weapon, that weapon has a percentage chance to spawn an elemental effect on hit. Applying the same element again increases the spawn chance and upgrades the effect itself. • Fire: Chance to spawn fire on hit • Ice: Chance to create a freezing ground effect that slows enemies • Shock: Chance to create a shock bolt that zaps a nearby enemy • Acid: Chance to create an acid cloud that damages enemies inside it • Chaos: Chance to create a vortex that pulls enemies toward its centre Critter Bots Critter Bots are pets that orbit you or roam the ground or air. They are currently earned by completing missions or destroying Scarab Pods (see below). One alone doesn’t do much, but a large group can help you dominate the battle. Critter Bots level up every time you gain 5 levels. • ChillFly: Orbits you and periodically zaps enemy projectiles • ToxiFly: Roams around you and periodically releases an acid cloud • BuzzBee: Orbits you and periodically shocks a nearby enemy • Thermite: Roams around you and periodically throws fire grenades • TickTick: Roams around you and periodically explodes at enemies I intend to add several more that do crazy things beyond simply damaging and protecting. Watch this space! Player Upgrades These upgrades improve your overall abilities. Collecting an upgrade you already have increases its effect. • Fly Cooldown: Decreases the cooldown for flying • Fly Duration: Increases how long you can fly • Dash Cooldown: Decreases the cooldown for dashing • Speed: Increases your movement speed There are more (fly height, dash power, etc.), but they don’t work well in the current version. Enemies The current enemies are basic, with others yet to be modelled and implemented. Many more will be added over time. • Bee: Charges you with its deadly stinger • Rhino Beetle: Charges you with its deadly horns • Ant: Closes its deadly pincers when near you • Dragonfly: Fires projectiles from above • Fly: Releases a toxic acid cloud that damages you • Mother Firefly: A slow-moving, high-health carrier of baby fireflies, which are released when she dies • Baby Fireflies: Revenge-seeking fireflies that attack once the Mother Firefly has been defeated • Spider: A jumping spider that drops a damaging web on the ground Bosses A random boss fight occurs when the timer runs out. • Scorpion: A giant, angry scorpion Missions and Scarab Pods Compass markers guide you to the following: • Missions: Random missions spawn at random locations throughout the game. Completing them rewards you with a large number of points and other prizes. The current missions are simple, but I intend to expand the pool to make every round more dynamic. • Scarab Pods: These roam the map and are essentially mobile chests. Destroying one currently rewards you with a Critter Bot. This Game Has Bugs! The game is in a very early stage of development, with no balancing and several bugs (figuratively and literally!). Think of it as a playground of things I’ve been working on, shoved together in a mess. Please try to look beyond that and help me sculpt it into something great. About the Developer I’m a solo developer who loves playing all types of games and now wants to create them. This is my first game, and it has been one of the greatest challenges of my life. It’s actually my third attempt at the same game! The first two were unfinished 2D versions. My ultimate goal is a physics-based game with a more interesting play style, where I can explore broken gameplay. I started in Game Maker, but it was too pixelated. I then tried Unity with vector-style artwork, but it didn’t feel right and was too limiting for what I was trying to achieve. Now, for the first time, I’ve delved into the realm of 3D to finally create my vision of something exciting and new. I come from an interior architectural CAD background, so I used AI to assist with the coding, as I’m not a coder. I simply want to make a game. All the weapons, the player and the enemies were made by me, as were most of the world props and effects. A few placeholder props will be swapped out later. The game will be continually improved and expanded as the direction narrows down. Your Feedback Matters As the game is in early development, I’m completely open to criticism and ideas. Whether it’s better designs, modes, items, or just about anything else, think of this as a platform where what you suggest could become a reality, no matter how big or small. Telling me “it’s perfect” to protect my feelings would be a lie, and it would only hurt the game. I look forward to ANY criticism, and I hope you enjoy it! Developer Notes This is a basic play loop for now and may change as the game evolves. I’m trying to make a physics-based game because I believe there is great potential for crazy and broken things. Wish list: • More weapons, enemies, bosses (and better boss fights), elemental effects, Critter Bots and world objects (such as toys) • Multiplayer co-op (I have some groundwork in place, but it’s a way off) • More level designs (I have a very cool idea in mind that I can’t wait to try, but it’s a secret!) • Replacement music, which I’ll either make myself or outsource • Improved models • More interactive activities to add a twist to combat • Fun renamed content, such as “B33” instead of Bee or “4NT” instead of Ant. Weapons could become “Scorp-Ion Bow” or “Snail S33ker”, for example (just for inspiration) Built but switched off in this version: • A damaging storm with a safe circle that moves around and closes in over time, as in a classic battle royale. I could use it for a future mode.