Introduction
Welcome to Crab Raid Tactics - a unique blend of a Roguelike Dungeon Crawler and a Combat-Oriented Real Time Strategy.
The idea for this game came to me a long time ago, when I was a Raid Leader in a WoW guild. The boss mechanics there inspired me, and I wanted to make a single-player experience that would capture the feel of leading your squad in battle and helping them overcome boss mechanics while they fool around, struggling to get out of AoE zones.
Crab Raid Tactics has controls of a strategy game. Each unit - a crab - posesses a number of abilities and uses them on cooldown. It is up to the player to position the squad strategically to face the coming challenge.
Speaking of challenges - apart from monsters, each combat encounter contains a number of Arena Events - environmental effects, both beneficial and harmful. Proper positioning and quick reaction is required to get the most out of them and mitigate potential harm - the same way it would work in any MMORPG raid, where every player has to pay attention to their surroundings, avoid incoming damage and use unique encounter mechanics to beat the boss.
Developer
My name is Stefan. Hi! I've been working in gamedev for about 8 years. My trade skill is programming, but I've also been involved in Game Design and Product Management, working on titles of different scale for both PC and Mobile platforms.
I am a Digital Nomad - meaning, I mostly collaborate with other people remotely while travelling from one location to another. As much as it is fun, I am mostly doing it out of necessity - the rules of the modern world make it so I can't stay in one place for long.
I am mostly working on the game alone, but there are people helping me:
All the art for crabs was done by an amazing Derek Souza
Environment is built with objects created by CH Assets and Davis3D
VFX and SFX are made using Vefects' asset packs
Music... Is in production! I'll reveal the name of the composer when the first track is introduced into the game
The game is made with Unreal Engine.
Demo Release
With this update, Crab Raid Tactics Demo goes live on Steam. I am extremely happy to be able to share my progress with everyone and get the game in the hands of players! The game participated in two Feedback Quests already, so the most annoying issues were fixed, but the game is far from done - both in terms of content and polishing. I plan to update it regularly, only including the content I want to be playtested. As soon as enough content is built and all necessary systems are in place, the game will launch in Early Access and get a price tag. For now, it is called a Demo and will remain free.
State of the game
I'll reiterate on it, just to be clear: the current version is meant as a playtest material more that anything else. It is not at all indicative of what the game will become - rather, it is an invitation for those interested in the game or genre to follow the development process and influence whatever would come out of it.
Right now, I am focused on building a Vertical Slice for the game: implementing core systems and providing enough content to playtest them.
Currently, the game offers:
- Several crabs to choose from at the start of the game, each with their own abilities
- Basic enemy types and randomized enemy squad compositions that get more difficult with each encounter
- Levelling system for crabs, Upgrades pool and special Attuned abilities that introduce unique mechanics
- Encounter #8 is a boss fight. The boss has a number of offensive abilities that require player's reaction and quick thinking to mitigate
Feedback & Communication
I would like to make the development process transparent, and I want your feedback and ideas to be a part of it!
That's why the Discord Server is set up and open!
Join it to hear recent news, follow what's happening behind the scenes or just chat with me about game development or some other random stuff!
Stay tuned for more news!
Stefan