Hello and welcome back to the production blog 3 for ZIEF! My name is Justin and I’m the producer on the game. Our team has been working very diligently to make a lot of new content for the game. 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. Sprint 3 was focused on creating a larger world than our previous build for the player to explore. If you'd like to know more about the design process you can check out Christian's design blog here.

To accomplish creating a larger and more flushed out world we focused on creating more props for the players to see while exploring. We then incorporated the props to the block out of the world created during our prototype. As the production continues to progress the world of ZIEF will begin to feel more inhabited and resemble a town that has been left to ruin. More mechanics have been added to the game like grenades and ammo pickups. From the feedback we’ve received from our latest build we have data on where the game needs to be refined going forward!

Modeling:

The modeling team for ZIEF has once again created amazing props to populate the world with. As the streets of ZIEF have started looking more flushed out, our focus has been on creating props to fill the various buildings of the world with. The first building our team has been focused on has been creating the props to create a grocery store from which players will be able to find supplies to complete missions. While most of our modeling team has been focused on props for inside buildings we also felt there were a few more props necessary for the roads to feel like they were abandoned. Players explore the world by traversing through the streets of ZIEF but in future builds they will have to navigate around cars. Players will also be able to choose a new gun for their loadouts now that our gun modeler has finished the revolver. We also plan to give more verticality to the world now that we have stairs for the modular sets. Examples of all the work mentioned and more can be seen in the images below. 

Programming:

Our programmers have been very busy adding more mechanics and quality of life features to the game. Sound will be a large component of ZIEF as a means to convey to the player mission elements and enemy locations. Our programmers have created a sound mixer in the game so that we can layer all the sound effects together. With this system completed we will also be able to implement a sound control in the game menus for players to access. In future builds we would like to promote exploration by players so we’ve added a lock and key system to the game. Players through exploration will be able to find a key and open up crates with better items. As a new means to kill the zombies we’ve also added grenades. Grenades can be thrown by players to element groups of zombies at once! Look below to see some of the systems created by our programming team!

Level Design:

It’s important that players are able to explore the level to complete missions but it’s also important that the levels convey to the player the story. Our level designer has been working to create a world that feels like the world was left to ruin. There are a variety of different building layouts so that while players may explore similar types of stores but stores will feel distinctly different. As our modelers have been completing more props our level designer has been going through the level blockout and replacing primitives with the finalized game props. You can see the work created by our level designer down below!

Conclusion:

Sprint 3 has been another amazing sprint in terms of work completed. Of the 268 points assigned our team was able to complete 144. During our next sprint we will be working towards implementing more features into our next build. We will continue to strive and create a world that has fallen to a zombie apocalypse. Look forward to the next production post of ZIEF!