Shark RushAI · Claude 3.5

Core Game Loop and Mechanics

Sharkzilla Rampage is a 3D action game where players control a giant shark that grows progressively larger by consuming objects in a coastal city environment.

Moment-to-Moment Gameplay

• Player navigates a massive shark through shallow coastal waters surrounding a city
• Shark can breach onto land temporarily to reach buildings and vehicles
• Consuming objects increases the shark's size and score
• Larger size unlocks ability to consume bigger objects
• Physics-based destruction creates satisfying chaos as buildings crumble
• Time pressure keeps gameplay intense - players must keep eating to maintain momentum

Progression System

• Size Tiers: Shark grows through distinct size stages (Small → Medium → Large → Mega → Colossal)
• Consumable Hierarchy:
  • Tier 1: Fish, swimmers, small boats
  • Tier 2: Cars, lamp posts, small structures
  • Tier 3: Buses, food stalls, medium buildings
  • Tier 4: Large buildings, cranes, bridges
  • Tier 5: Skyscrapers, entire city blocks
• Score Multiplier: Consecutive eating without pause increases score multiplier
• Growth Meter: Visual feedback showing progress to next size tier

Win/Lose Conditions

• Win: Reach "Colossal" size tier and consume the final landmark (city hall or tallest skyscraper)
• Lose: Hunger meter depletes completely (shark must keep eating to survive)
• Time Challenge: Optional mode with countdown timer for speedrun attempts

Engagement Drivers

• Satisfying destruction physics and visual feedback
• Power fantasy of growing from threatening to unstoppable
• Strategic choices about what to eat for optimal growth
• Exploration of the city environment to find high-value targets
• Replayability through different paths and strategies

Starting Scope

The first iteration will focus on delivering a polished, playable core experience:

Must Have (First Iteration)

• Single coastal city map with water and land areas
• Functional shark movement (swimming and land breaching)
• 3 size tiers (Small → Medium → Large) with clear visual growth
• 3 tiers of consumable objects (fish/swimmers, vehicles, small buildings)
• Basic hunger/growth meter system
• Simple score tracking
• Win condition: Reach Large size and consume city hall
• Lose condition: Hunger depletes
• Touch controls (mobile) and keyboard/mouse (desktop)
• Low-poly 3D art style with water effects
• Sound effects for eating, splashing, destruction
• Background music track

Future Iterations

• Additional size tiers (Mega, Colossal)
• More complex city layout with multiple districts
• Special abilities (tail whip, mega bite, tsunami wave)
• Military response (helicopters, boats that fight back)
• Weather effects and day/night cycle
• Multiple city environments
• Leaderboard and challenge modes
• More sophisticated destruction physics
• Particle effects for water splashes and debris

Game Perspective

3D Third-Person - The camera follows behind and slightly above the shark, providing a clear view of the environment and the shark's massive scale. The camera dynamically adjusts height and distance as the shark grows larger.

Camera Behavior

• Follows shark smoothly with slight lag for cinematic feel
• Automatically adjusts distance based on shark size
• Tilts down when shark breaches onto land
• Can be rotated with right joystick (mobile) or mouse (desktop)
• Collision detection prevents camera clipping through buildings

Game World and Level Design

Environment Layout

The game takes place in Coral Bay City, a modern coastal metropolis built along a curved harbor.

Map Structure (approximately 2000x2000 game units):

• Deep Water Zone (30% of map): Open ocean on the outer edges, safe zone for regrouping
• Shallow Harbor (40% of map): Main gameplay area with docks, boats, swimmers
• Coastal Streets (20% of map): Beachfront roads with vehicles and small structures
• City Center (10% of map): Dense urban area with tall buildings (requires larger size to access)

Key Landmarks

1. Starting Area: Open ocean with schools of fish
2. Tourist Beach: Swimmers, beach umbrellas, food stalls
3. Marina District: Yachts, sailboats, docks
4. Boardwalk: Restaurants, shops, lamp posts
5. Coastal Highway: Cars, buses, traffic
6. Downtown: Office buildings, apartments
7. City Hall (Win Objective): Large government building at city center

Consumable Objects (First Iteration)

Tier 1 - Small Shark (Starting Size)

• Fish schools (5-10 points each)
• Swimmers (20 points)
• Beach balls and floaties (5 points)
• Small boats/kayaks (30 points)

Tier 2 - Medium Shark

• All Tier 1 objects
• Cars (50 points)
• Lamp posts (40 points)
• Food stalls (60 points)
• Sailboats (70 points)

Tier 3 - Large Shark

• All previous tiers
• Buses (100 points)
• Small buildings (150 points)
• Docks (120 points)
• City Hall (500 points - WIN)

Environmental Hazards (Future)

• Shallow areas that slow the shark
• Rocky outcrops that damage if hit at speed
• Military response vehicles (future iteration)

Edit Mode Design

Players can customize their rampage experience through the following editable properties:

Shark Properties

• Starting Size: Adjust initial shark size (affects difficulty)
• Growth Rate: How quickly the shark grows per consumed object
• Hunger Drain Rate: How fast the hunger meter depletes
• Movement Speed: Base swimming and land movement speed
• Breach Power: How far onto land the shark can go

Environment Properties

• Object Density: Number of consumable objects in each tier
• City Layout: Toggle different districts on/off
• Water Level: Adjust how much of the city is accessible
• Time Limit: Enable/disable and set countdown timer

Visual Properties

• Shark Skin: Choose from preset color schemes (Great White, Tiger, Hammerhead-inspired)
• Water Color: Adjust ocean color (tropical blue, murky green, deep ocean)
• Time of Day: Sunset, midday, night

Constraints

• Starting size: 0.5x to 2x normal (prevents breaking progression)
• Growth rate: 0.5x to 3x (keeps game balanced)
• Hunger drain: 0.3x to 2x (ensures challenge remains)
• Object density: 0.5x to 2x (prevents empty or overcrowded maps)

Control Design

Genre: 3D Action/Destruction
Camera: Third-person following

Mobile Controls (Touch)

Left Joystick (bottom-left, appears on touch):

• Move shark forward/backward/strafe
• Analog input for speed control
• Dead zone: 15% of radius
• Max radius: 80px
• Base repositions if finger exceeds max radius

Right Joystick (bottom-right, appears on touch):

• Rotate camera around shark
• Horizontal: camera orbit left/right
• Vertical: camera pitch up/down (limited range)
• Same joystick specs as left

Bite Button (bottom-right, above right joystick):

• Large circular button (120x120px)
• Tap to bite/consume nearby objects
• Visual feedback on press

Breach Button (bottom-left, above left joystick):

• Medium circular button (100x100px)
• Tap to launch shark onto land (when in shallow water)
• Cooldown indicator shows when available

Desktop Controls (Keyboard + Mouse)

Movement (WASD or Arrow Keys):

• W/↑: Move forward
• S/↓: Move backward
• A/←: Strafe left
• D/→: Strafe right
• Shift: Sprint (faster movement)

Camera (Mouse with Pointer Lock):

• Mouse movement: Rotate camera around shark
• Horizontal: orbit left/right
• Vertical: pitch up/down (clamped to prevent disorientation)
• Pointer lock engages on first click in game area
• Released when ESC pressed or menu opened

Actions:

• Left Mouse Button: Bite/consume
• Space Bar: Breach onto land
• ESC: Pause menu (releases pointer lock)

Input Handling Details

Touch Management:

• Track touch IDs separately for each joystick
• Ignore touches that start on UI elements
• First touch in left half = movement joystick
• First touch in right half = camera joystick
• Additional touches = button presses

Keyboard State:

• Maintain key state object (keydown/keyup)
• Convert keycodes to lowercase before storing
• Clear all input states on window blur
• Prevent default for all used keys (WASD, arrows, space)

Mouse Look:

• Request pointer lock on game canvas click
• Apply mouse delta to camera rotation
• Sensitivity: 0.002 radians per pixel
• Clamp vertical rotation: -45° to +45°
• Smooth camera movement with lerp (0.1 factor)

Breach Mechanic:

• Only available when in shallow water (depth < shark height)
• Cooldown: 3 seconds
• Visual indicator shows when ready
• Launches shark forward onto land with physics impulse
• Gravity pulls shark back to water after 2-3 seconds

Art Style and Visual Theme

Overall Aesthetic

Low-Poly Realism - A unique blend of simplified geometry with realistic textures and lighting. Think modern mobile games like "Monument Valley" meets "Jaws" - clean geometric shapes that still convey weight, danger, and scale.

Visual Style Guidelines

• Polygon Count: 500-2000 triangles per major object
• Texturing: Flat colors with subtle gradients, no complex UV mapping
• Lighting: Dynamic directional sunlight with soft shadows
• Color Palette:
  • Ocean: Deep blues (#1a5490) to turquoise shallows (#4fb3d4)
  • City: Warm concrete grays (#8c8c8c), white buildings (#e8e8e8)
  • Accents: Bright reds, yellows for vehicles and signs
  • Shark: Classic great white (dark gray top #4a5568, white belly #f0f0f0)

Asset Rendering Strategy

Code-Rendered Elements (Three.js/WebGL):

• Water surface (animated plane with wave shader)
• Basic building blocks (BoxGeometry with materials)
• Simple geometric shapes (spheres for buoys, cylinders for posts)
• Particle effects (splashes, debris)
• UI elements (meters, buttons, score)

Generated Image Assets:

• Shark model (multiple sizes/poses)
• Detailed vehicles (cars, buses, boats)
• Character models (swimmers)
• Landmark buildings (city hall)
• Texture maps for code-rendered geometry
• Environmental details (beach umbrellas, signs)

Scale and Proportion

• Starting Shark: 8 units long (roughly car-sized)
• Medium Shark: 16 units long (bus-sized)
• Large Shark: 32 units long (building-sized)
• Human: 1.8 units tall
• Car: 4 units long
• Small Building: 15 units tall
• City Hall: 40 units tall

Viewing Angles

All assets should be designed for third-person perspective viewing:

• Shark: Side and top-down views most important
• Buildings: All sides visible, focus on front facades
• Vehicles: Side and top views
• Characters: Full 360° visibility

Mood and Atmosphere

• Daytime setting: Bright, clear weather with strong sunlight
• Cinematic feel: Dramatic camera angles during breaches
• Power fantasy: Shark should feel massive and intimidating
• Playful destruction: Despite the chaos, maintain a fun, arcade-like tone
• Water effects: Splashes, foam, and ripples emphasize movement and impact