The project shifted studios twice, going through multiple iterations before finally settling down at Dambuster Studios.
Heres what they had to say.
Note: this interview has been condensed and edited for the sake of clarity.
Dan Evans-Lawes:I’m the technical art director.
So I was involved really heavily with the lighting, the gore tech, that sort of thing.
But primarily the gore tech.
That was my baby for the project.
Adam Duckett:I’m the design director of Dambuster Studios.
My role is split between world design, level design and game mechanics.
Dead Island 2 makes really smart use of its environments to tell jokes.
How did that level of environmental detail come about?
So we didn’t want to do sprawling copy-pasted environments with large areas of nothing.
We wanted all our locations to be super detailed.
Once we made that decision, we could really focus on the individual interiors, the individual spaces.
Dan Evans-Lawes:It was also driven by the gameplay because obviously, you’re fighting zombies.
A huge part of what makes Dead Island 2 so addictive to me is the flesh engine.
Its so disgustingly detailed, and that speaks to me as a horror fan.
How long did that take to implement in the game?
Dan Evans-Lawes:It was actually quicker than you’d think.
A fairly final version of it has been in since very early on in the project.
And then we see internal organs inside and they can be destroyed.
That’s been in for what, three years?
Yeah, three and a half years.
It’s got better.
Because early on, you’d hit a zombie and get some damage.
Thats a bit too far, right?
It doesn’t quite work, because wheres its muscles?
Adam Duckett:We’ve got to a really good state now as well.
Theyre locations you might see on a postcard.
Even if you’ve never been to LA, you are going to recognise the locations of the game.
Dambuster came into this project in 2018.
It’s a 100% Dambuster game.
For us, the IP is all about zombies.
It’s about making a zombie game for zombie lovers.
Dan Evans-Lawes:It’s kind of a simple game.
I think it’s a simple pleasure.
Which is what we aim to achieve.
What was your favourite part of working on the game?
Dan Evans-Lawes:I’ve never worked on a zombie game before.
But certainly as a teenager, I absolutely loved zombie movies.
I’ve watched so many.
I mean, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched Return of the Living Dead.
I was like, this game has to be the greatest game out there.
You know, and gory in a fun way.
I think we achieved that, so I’m really proud of that.
Adam Duckett:For me, it’s the combat sandbox.
It’s that kind of combination, that holistic approach to all our features.
That just results in absolute chaos, particularly towards the later end of the game.
But you could also rip out car batteries and throw them.
Those elements are designed in a holistic manner to complement that one aspect.
And I think another good angle is the zombies themselves.
Firemen are immune to the elemental damage, which is another piece of the puzzle.
The shocking walkers and runners which are like electricians will spark electricity.
So yeah, it’s the combination of all these features.
How do you maintain that balance between levity and drama?
Dan Evans-Lawes:I think we’ve always wanted the game to feel fun, and not too heavy.
That was partially down to the gameplay, in terms of how much ridiculous violence you would be inflicting.
That isn’t what we wanted to do.
People are getting killed.
It’s a balance, right?
you’re able to’t be entirely flippant because all this violence is happening.
From the player’s perspective however, we want it to feel fun.
Read more:
Review: Dead Island 2’s wacky story goes to HELL-A in a handbasket
