As an intern and later as a working student at Gentlymad Studios, I contributed to the development of Endzone 2 over the course of one year from 2022 to 2023.
My work encompassed multiple areas, including gameplay prototyping, look development, and tool development.
One of my primary responsibilities was the development of the Expedition Prototype during the pre-production phase of Endzone 2. This prototype showcased a new and highly interactive gameplay mode where players explore "Points of Interest" (POIs) within the game's post-apocalyptic world. Unlike the previous game's text-based expedition system, this prototype introduced direct control of settlers, enabling players to solve puzzles and engage with the environment more dynamically.
The development process was highly iterative, involving rapid prototyping, testing, and integrating feedback from both the game design team and playtesters. The project ended in a successful presentation to the publisher, resulting in the integration of the expedition system into the final game design.The gameplay video below shows the exploration of a container port, one of many POIs.
A visual prototype for procedural overgrowth, adjustable to different environmental conditions.
A visual prototype for dynamic building destruction.
The Zone Preview tool simplifies the creation of "zones", areas that can be colonised by the player. Different regions can be painted on the zone (forest, swamp, mountains) and the changes are visible almost instantly in a preview.
My contribution was the creation of a shader to render the zone preview.