[Midgame-Studio] Crocodiles comes Ashores

[MidGame-Studio] Crocodiles comes Ashores

Team Name : MidGame-Studio.

Team Members : Nguyen Tuan Minh, Tran Tuan Kiet, Le Phuong Linh, Chau Bao Quyen.

[You should download the Zip file of the game to have better experience, also you should watch all the cutscene]

GAME CREDITS

Development Team

Nguyen Tuan Minh Game Developer · Game Designer UI/UX Design · Cutscenes · Animation · Sound Effects · Visual Effects (VFX)· Music · Map Builder · Enemy Systems · Day/Night Cycle systems · Lighting · Boss Fight · Interactable Object · Floating Object · Core Gameplay Design · Emotes Mechanics

Tran Tuan Kiet Game Developer · Game Designer Player Movement Mechanics · Map Builder · Interact Systems · Push Mechanics · Player Camera · Core Gameplay Design · Throwing Mechanics · Hiding Mechanics

Art & Design Team

Le Phuong Linh Game Artist · 3D Modeller · Game Designer Modelling · Props Modelling · Core Gameplay Design · Story for the Game

Chau Bao Quyen Game Artist · 3D Modeller · Game Designer Characters Modelling · Prop Modelling · Core Gameplay Design · Story for the Game

About The Game

🇬🇧 English

CROCODILE ON THE SHORE

Alone. One river. Three missing costume pieces.

Story

The Mekong Delta, Vietnam, 1900s.

One day, invaders from another world, creatures in the shape of crocodiles, descended upon the river lands. Seeing humans as wasteful, they claimed the right to “liberate” the land for themselves. From the great river they dug canals and carved new waterways, pushing deeper into the villages until the people were driven from their way of life and forced to hide in the forest.

Every year, the village holds the Kỳ Yên festival at the communal house to honor its guardian spirit and pray for peace and prosperity. At its heart is a hát bội opera performed as an offering to the spirit. But in the chaos of escape, the play’s sacred costume was lost, left behind in the old village.

Tí, the troupe’s young lead actor, refuses to sit helplessly like the adults. Alone, he slips out of the shelter and swims through the crocodile-ruled river toward the nipa palm forest, where huts on small islands hold the three missing costume pieces.

Only when the costume is whole again can the festival take place and the gods’ blessing reach the village.

But when he finally faces the crocodiles, what will Tí choose?

How to play

• Leave the shelter: your only safe starting point. On land, crocodiles cannot reach you.
• Cross the river: the water belongs to the crocodiles. Watch, plan your route and evade the eyes lurking beneath the surface.
• Find the huts: follow the nipa palm forest to the small islands where each costume piece is hidden.
• Bring it home: getting there is hard. Getting back is harder.
• Receive the blessing: complete all 3 pieces to gain divine power and face the crocodiles one last time.

Features

• The Vietnamese folk game cá sấu lên bờ (“crocodile on the shore”) reimagined as a river survival adventure
• A turn-of-the-century Mekong Delta setting: canals, nipa palm forests, stilt huts and river islands
• PS1-style low-poly visuals, nostalgic and atmospheric
• A short story with depth, and an ending worth thinking about

Cultural inspiration

• Cá sấu lên bờ: a classic Vietnamese children’s game. One player, the “crocodile”, must stay in the “river”, while the others stand on the “shore” and dare to step into the water without getting caught. Whoever is caught becomes the next crocodile.
• Hát bội: a traditional Vietnamese opera form, closely tied to the spiritual life of southern Vietnam and often performed at village temple ceremonies.
• Kỳ Yên festival: a ceremony held at southern Vietnamese communal houses to thank the spirits and pray for good harvests and peace.
• Thành Hoàng: the guardian spirit of a village, worshipped at its communal house.
• The Cái Răng legend: a local folk tale of crocodiles watching hát bội, which inspired the link between crocodiles and the stage in this game.

About the story

Crocodile on the Shore uses invaders from “another world” as an allegory for the era when Western powers occupied Vietnam and sought to sever its people from their cultural traditions. Alongside armed resistance, preserving one’s roots mattered just as much. Tí’s quest to recover the costume is a journey to hold on to what the invaders tried to cut away, because as long as the roots remain, the people endure.

Controls

• WASD: Move
• Right mouse button: Look around
• E: Interact
• Shift: Run

Info

• Genre: adventure, survival
• Length: about 10–15 minutes
• Platform: Windows / WebGL
• Made by: MidGame-Studio

🇻🇳 Tiếng Việt

CÁ SẤU LÊN BỜ

Một mình. Một dòng sông. Ba mảnh áo tuồng.

Câu chuyện

Miền Tây Nam Bộ, những năm 1900.

Một ngày nọ, những kẻ ngoại lai mang hình dáng cá sấu từ ngoài hành tinh đổ xuống vùng sông nước. Chúng xem con người là kẻ lãng phí tài nguyên, tự cho mình quyền “khai phóng” miền đất này. Từ con sông lớn, bầy cá sấu đào kênh, xẻ rạch, lấn dần vào làng mạc. Con người bị đẩy khỏi nếp sống bản địa, phải trốn vào sâu trong rừng.

Mỗi năm, làng đều mở lễ Kỳ Yên tại đình để tạ ơn Thành Hoàng và cầu cho quốc thái dân an. Linh hồn của lễ hội là vở hát bội diễn dâng thần. Nhưng trong cơn chạy loạn, bộ trang phục quý của vở diễn đã thất lạc, bỏ lại nơi ngôi làng cũ.

Tí, cậu kép chính của gánh hát, quyết không ngồi yên bất lực như những người lớn. Một mình, cậu lẻn ra khỏi nơi trú ẩn, bơi qua dòng sông giờ đã thuộc về bầy cá sấu, hướng về rừng dừa nước, nơi những nhà chòi trên các cù lao còn giữ ba mảnh trang phục bị thiếu.

Chỉ khi bộ áo tuồng được ghép lại trọn vẹn, lễ Kỳ Yên mới có thể diễn ra, và phước lành của thần linh mới đến được với dân làng.

Nhưng khi đứng trước bầy cá sấu, Tí sẽ chọn điều gì?

Cách chơi

• Rời nơi trú ẩn: điểm xuất phát an toàn duy nhất của bạn. Trên bờ, cá sấu không thể chạm tới.
• Băng qua sông: dưới nước là lãnh thổ của cá sấu. Quan sát, tính toán đường đi và tránh né những đôi mắt đang rình rập dưới mặt nước.
• Tìm các nhà chòi: lần theo rừng dừa nước tới những cù lao nhỏ, nơi cất giấu từng mảnh trang phục.
• Mang trang phục trở về: lượt đi đã khó, lượt về còn khó hơn.
• Nhận phước lành: ghép đủ 3 mảnh để nhận sức mạnh thần linh và đối mặt với bầy cá sấu lần cuối.

Điểm nổi bật

• Chuyển thể trò chơi dân gian cá sấu lên bờ thành một chuyến phiêu lưu sinh tồn trên sông nước
• Bối cảnh miền Tây thế kỷ trước: sông rạch, rừng dừa nước, nhà chòi, cù lao
• Đồ họa low-poly mang chất PS1, hoài cổ và đậm không khí
• Câu chuyện ngắn có chiều sâu, với một cái kết để người chơi suy ngẫm

Cảm hứng văn hóa

• Cá sấu lên bờ: trò chơi dân gian quen thuộc của trẻ em Việt Nam. Một người làm “cá sấu” chỉ được ở dưới “sông”, những người còn lại đứng trên “bờ” và tìm cách xuống sông trêu cá sấu mà không bị bắt. Ai bị bắt sẽ phải làm cá sấu.
• Hát bội: loại hình sân khấu truyền thống, gắn liền với đời sống tín ngưỡng của người Nam Bộ, thường được diễn trong các dịp cúng đình.
• Lễ Kỳ Yên: lễ hội tại đình làng Nam Bộ, tạ ơn thần linh và cầu mong mưa thuận gió hòa, quốc thái dân an.
• Thành Hoàng: vị thần bảo hộ của làng, được thờ phụng tại đình.
• Truyền thuyết Cái Răng: câu chuyện dân gian về cá sấu xem hát bội, nguồn cảm hứng cho mối liên hệ giữa cá sấu và sân khấu trong game.

Về câu chuyện

Cá Sấu Lên Bờ mượn hình ảnh những kẻ xâm lược đến từ “thế giới khác” để nói về thời kỳ phương Tây xâm chiếm đất nước, tìm cách tách con người khỏi những giá trị văn hóa truyền thống. Bên cạnh đấu tranh, việc giữ gìn gốc rễ của dân tộc cũng quan trọng không kém. Hành trình đi tìm lại bộ trang phục của Tí là hành trình níu giữ những giá trị mà kẻ xâm lược muốn cắt đứt, bởi gốc rễ còn thì dân tộc còn.

Điều khiển

WASD – Di chuyển

RMB - Nhìn xung quanh

E - Tương tác

Shift - Chạy

Thông tin

• Thể loại: phiêu lưu, sinh tồn
• Thời lượng: khoảng [10-15] phút
• Nền tảng: [Windows / WebGL]
• Thực hiện bởi: [MidGame-Studio]

Theme Interpretation

Official theme

The official theme of the jam is [Folk Games]. Our game is built on the Vietnamese children’s folk game cá sấu lên bờ (“crocodile on the shore”).

How we understand the theme

We did not treat a folk game as a costume to put on a normal game. We treated it as a set of rules that children have played with for generations, and asked: what happens if those rules become the laws of an entire world?

In cá sấu lên bờ, one player is the “crocodile” and may only move in the “river”. Everyone else is safe on the “shore”, but the game only becomes exciting when they choose to step into the water and risk being caught. The tension comes from that voluntary risk, not from the crocodile itself.

We also understand folk games as part of a wider folk culture, tied to the places, stories and rituals of a community. So we connected the game to the culture of the Mekong Delta: the river life, hát bội opera, the Kỳ Yên festival and the Cái Răng folk tale of crocodiles watching hát bội.

How the theme shapes the game

Core rule → core mechanic The folk game’s one rule is the foundation of our gameplay: land is safe, water is dangerous. The crocodiles cannot come ashore, exactly as in the playground version. The shelter and the islands are the “shore”; the river between them is the crocodiles’ territory.

The “dare” → the player’s main decision Just like children who must step into the river to play, the player cannot win by staying safe. Every costume piece lies across the water, so the player must choose when to leave the shore, plan a route and commit. The moment of stepping into the river is the same moment of excitement that defines the folk game.

Level design built around shore and river The map is designed as a giant version of the playground: a safe shelter, a dangerous river and small islands acting as safe “shores” in between. The nipa palm forests and island huts are where the player can catch their breath before the next crossing. Every crossing is a round of cá sấu lên bờ.

Rising risk → the return trip In the folk game, the longer you stay in the water, the more likely you are caught. We reflect this in the structure: reaching an island is hard, but bringing a costume piece back is harder, turning each trip into a rising risk.

Folk culture → goal, story and ending The goal of the game, the three missing pieces of a hát bội costume, comes directly from folk culture. Players are not collecting random items; they are restoring a costume needed for the village’s Kỳ Yên festival. The game’s title also plays on the folk rule: at the end, the boundary between shore and river is finally challenged, and the player faces the crocodiles directly.

Visuals and atmosphere The world is a turn-of-the-century Mekong Delta: canals, nipa palm forests, stilt huts and river islands, rendered in PS1-style low-poly visuals to create a nostalgic feeling that matches the theme of childhood games and memories.

What would change without the theme

• No folk rule, no core loop. Without the “crocodiles can’t come ashore” rule, there is no meaningful difference between land and water. The game would become a generic chase or collect-item game, without the rhythm of “safe, dare, escape” that structures every crossing.
• The map would lose its purpose. The shelter, islands and river are laid out as a playground for cá sấu lên bờ. Without the theme, this layout would be just scenery instead of the rules of play.
• The goal would lose its meaning. The costume pieces, the hát bội performance and the Kỳ Yên festival give the player a cultural reason to take risks. Without them, the objective would be an empty collection task.
• The message would disappear. The story uses the folk game and folk culture to talk about protecting cultural roots. Remove the theme, and the game loses both its gameplay identity and its reason to exist.

In short: the folk game is not decoration in Crocodile on the Shore. It is the rule system that defines where the player can go, what they risk and why they keep going.

How to Play

Controls

• WASD: Move / swim
• Shift: Run
• Right mouse button: Look around
• E: Interact / pick up
• Left mouse button: Throw Object
• TAB: Emotes Board

Goal The village’s hát bội costume was lost when the villagers fled. Find the 3 missing costume pieces in the huts on the islands of the nipa palm forest, and bring them back to the shelter.

Gameplay

• Leave the shelter. It is your only safe starting point.
• Cross the river. Watch the crocodiles, plan your route and swim when the path is clear. On land you are safe. In the water you are prey.
• Reach the island huts. Search them for a costume piece.
• Return home. Getting there is hard. Getting back is harder.
• [If a crocodile catches you, you take damage / are sent back to the shelter.]

Player choices

• Which island to go for first: closer and easier, or farther and more dangerous.
• When to step into the water, and when to wait on the shore.
• [When to throw an object to distract the crocodiles, and when to save it.]

Progression and ending Each costume piece you bring back makes the next trip harder. Once all 3 pieces are restored, Tí receives the blessing of the village’s guardian spirit and faces the crocodiles one last time. [The ending lets Tí choose to spare the crocodiles and send them home rather than destroy them.]

Known limitations :

The Player Animation still not smooth, UI settings some button not working

Crocodile is too aggressive when seen and when you hide inside the barrel. The AI does leave you alone, but it spawns camp in a way where you live; the AI still detect you and chase you.

Modelling characters and clothing pieces took more time than expected. There should be more research into clothing details to enhance cultural aspects.

An Alert like red screen or smth when enemy chasing you and slowly dissolve away when they no longer chase you

Swamp Assets: https://wuzihan-2005.itch.io/low-poly-swamp-asset-pack

Trees Assets: https://quaternius.itch.io/150-lowpoly-nature-models

Grass and Tree Assets: https://amipolygon.itch.io/free-stylized-low-poly-forest-nature-pack

Crocodile Sign Assets: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soubor:Crocodile_warning_sign_02.svg

Morning Song Assets:

NightSong Assets:

Roar Sound Effect Assets: https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/search/dinosaur%20roar/

Hat Boi Sound Effect Assets:

Rain Sound Effect :

Throw Sound Effect :

Swim Sound Effect :

Footsteps Sound Effect :

Collect Item Sound Effect :

Texture:

Bamboo walls1: https://polyhaven.com/a/bamboo_wall_03

Bamboo walls2: https://polyhaven.com/a/bamboo_wall_02

Bamboo walls3: https://polyhaven.com/a/bamboo_wall

Roof: https://polyhaven.com/a/thatch_roof_angled