After the huge success of Star Trek Timelines, it was time to learn what we could contribute to the world of The Walking Dead. We wanted to find a genre that would allow the company to grow, while also staying true to what was unique and loved about our previous titles. Community, Character, Story and Strategy.
The punishing world of The Walking Dead presented a big challenge in terms of gameplay. As a studio we were adamant about being authentic to the source material and creating experiences that transported you into the worlds fans love. So, we introduced game systems where players would create deep connections with the characters and are forced to make difficult decisions for their survival.
My Role
- Creative Director
- Game Director
Project Outcome
I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished creatively and from a product perspective. The game was gorgeous and had players highly invested and engaged early on with an ARPDAU of $1.20+. It had to be shut down prematurely because the studio did not have the marketing funds to properly support it.
The Moment
Before soft launch and technical tests, we launched a friends and family version of the game internally. The response was incredible and the next 2 months was filled with drama as alliances began to form and the intensity of the political drama unfolded. When the people in your studio and their friends get this deep into a game so quickly, you know you’ve created something special.
The Growth Challenge
We weren’t prepared to market a 4X game the way it needed to be in order to grow the game. At the time, the studio was hoping to receive ROI for spending within 2-3 months. However, a 4X game requires a much longer investment to see real growth. Unfortunately, the game was shut down before we could really finish the end game and unfold all our plans because they did not have the resources to market it even though it’s monetization and engagement metrics were through the roof.
”Since the game is no longer available, the most lasting work that I'm proud to show is the unique take on The Walking Dead artistically. We collaborated with Richard Anderson, (Batman: Arkham Knight), to create a new style that could set itself apart from the other games and comics.
Our technical team pushed Unity to it’s limits and created some incredible technology to generate random worlds for the game to play out in. This talk from Unite Austin shows the incredible work they did very well.
Jason Booth is the most talented technical designer and engineer I’ve worked with, and I highly recommend his work to really squeeze all the performance you can out of an engine while creating something that is stunningly beautiful.
