Hello everyone! I’m Justin and welcome back to our second production blog for ZIEF! I’m excited to showcase all the progress we’ve been making and share all the work that has been created by our team! ZIEF is a tactical zombie stealth game in which a player is dropped off in an infested zone where they can complete a variety of missions. The main goal of sprint two was to create a prototype for players to experience the game loop.  If you’d like to learn more about the design process you can read our designer Christian’s blog here.

In order to create a successful prototype we prioritized being able to kill the zombies, use guns, explore the level and pick up items. We were able to accomplish all of these goals and create a working prototype to be tested! Using our prototype we were able to collect valuable data on how to improve the game going forward. 

Modeling:

Our modelers have continued to create amazing props, buildings and weapons! To populate our town we’ve made a lot of progress with our modular building pieces. Using the modular buildings we were able to populate a simple layout of the town for the prototype.  While we were able to populate the level with some of the modular buildings they aren’t currently set up in a way that they can be entered. Moving forward we will have the doors set up so that the buildings can be explored by the player and they will take the place of the primitives we are currently using in the prototype. Our prop modelers have been focused on creating the props that will be scattered around the level and help make the world feel like it was lived in before the collapse of society. The prop modelers have been focused on creating the various props that will fill out our first building, the grocery store and the signs that will line the streets of the world. Check out some examples of the work completed by our modeling team down below!

Programming:

The programming team has been working diligently to develop the many systems that will make up the gameplay for ZIEF. During the second sprint we focused on making menus, zombie AI and weapons systems. In ZIEF players will be choosing the loadout of weapons they would like to use before selecting what mission they would like to use. Next we needed the zombie AI to be more dynamic. Stealth will be a major component in ZIEF as players carry more items they will become noisier and alert zombies to their location as they walk around. Our programmers have made a system that creates a radius of sound that alerts zombies when players pick up certain items. Zombies will also be alerted to sound created by players who are carrying a lot of items. We also worked on tying the weapon system together with the zombies so weapons will now kill zombies as players attack them. Below are some examples of the systems created by our programming team!

Level Design:

In order to create a prototype we needed a level in which players could begin trying the various mechanics of the game. Our level designer took the various props created by our modeling team and began the process of laying out a town. Using the annotated maps created during the previous sprint our level designer created blockouts of the various buildings that will make up the town. The buildings have multiple paths so players can either choose to kill zombies or avoid them. There are also yellow items that are scattered around the map so players can begin trying the gather mechanic as they play the game. Our level designer did a fantastic job of giving the playertesters an idea of how the game will work as we make progress in development. Examples of the prototype blockout can be viewed below!

Conclusion:

Our team has been able to complete an amazing amount of work this sprint. Of the 207 points assigned they were able to complete 165 points! During our next sprint we will be working toward creating a new build to showcase more game mechanics and guns. Our team will continue to build the world of ZIEF by creating more props, guns, buildings, levels and systems. Look forward to future posts detailing the post- apocalyptic design and production process of ZIEF!