BEHIND THE SCENES
Design, UI/UX, Art, Code, Sound, Testing, Publishing, Analytics and Live Ops.
Design, UI/UX, Art, Code, Sound, Testing, Publishing, Analytics and Live Ops.
Starting with nothing but an idea from a game jam, our 2-person art team began learning to code in C# and we engineered our own system for a fast paced, high-energy shooter. We eventually brought in an expert coder to help us round out the edges and add some technical polish. After 2 years of open beta development with continued updates based on player feedback, the result is a beloved niche title that has maintained a +90% positive rating on Steam, and likewise very high ratings on mobile.
Here is an overview of level design - starting with the core basics and adding content sequentially in distinct phases. Basic level layout begins with setting the objective. In this case the goal of the level is to win the boss fight, preceded by a series of small skirmishes.
Level construction begins by placing the player and the boss at opposite ends of the playable area and painting a path to the connect them. Grass terrain is brushed onto the tile system and enclosed with trees. These trees already contain colliders which naturally restrict the gauntlet area. The rest of the level is then boxed in, and flood-filled with trees that can be seen within the boundary of the camera view.
The last step is painting in a special overlay of pathfinding information. These red and green tints are invisible during play, but form the core of the highly efficient JPS (Jump Point Search) system which governs friendly and enemy behavior. A quick playtest confirms the initial phase is done.
Props and obstacles are added next. The road adds a sense of continuity and direction to help guide the player toward the boss at the end of the level, and breaking the road up lets us imagine the environment is a bit rough and weathered. Fences create choke points for a series of skirmishes. A small, guarded area will hold a friendly commando for the player to rescue and help in the mission.
A variety of props are added to create obstacles or cover in the middle of a firefight. Many props have a chance to drop health or power-ups when destroyed, so crates, barrels and trees are plentiful. The enemy truck spawns lesser enemies, and a tower adds protection for a rocket launcher wielding baddy that will be added on top.
Another quick playtest confirms everything is working the way it's supposed to, and the final construction phase can begin.
The last part of level construction: adding friends and foes. In this case there is only 1 friendly commando to rescue, who will join the player at about the halfway mark. At around the 3/4 mark, an enemy with a rocket launcher is added on top of the tower.
The rest of the path is lined with peril: knife wielding baddies, grenade lobbers, machine-gunners. Sometimes the enemies are mixed and matched, sometimes they are randomized, and sometimes they are grouped into small packs. This level is mostly small packs of "birds of a feather".
A few alligators are hidden in the swamp for surprise and variety, and a cornucopia of baddies providing backup to the boss is added to increase the difficulty before the final battle. Finally, the level is tested for win and loss conditions to make sure it behaves as expected.
This basic process was repeated for about 2 years as the game went through a multitude of beta versions, with feedback gathered from players and revisions through Early Access until the final launch.