Atomfall | Michael Slape

Atomfall: Wicked Isle DLC Promotional Art

Atomfall: The Red Strain DLC Promotional Art

Project Synopsis:

Fight to survive the quarantine zone.

A survival-action game inspired by real-life events, Atomfall is set five years after the Windscale nuclear disaster in Northern England.

Explore the fictional quarantine zone, scavenge, craft, barter, fight and talk your way through a British countryside setting filled with bizarre characters, mysticism, cults, and rogue government agencies.

Roles:

Game (Systems) Designer

Dates:

Aug 2024 - Present

Tools:

Rebellion Proprietary Tech

Aslan

Jira

Confluence

Perforce

Elastic

Adobe CC

Microsoft Office Suite

Platforms:

Windows

PS4, PS5

Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Overview:

I joined the Atomfall team towards the end of the development of the base game as a Game Designer and remained on the project until both DLCs were complete, marking the end of the project. During my tenure, I was the primary Systems Designer on the project and so inherited ownership and responsibility over the majority of the game's systems. I worked closely with multiple teams, with frequent engagement with the Combat and Narrative designers to ensure systems were meeting stakeholder needs. My duties included overseeing of:

Balancing the Status Effects systems for the player and AI across all difficulties
Balancing environment hazards in conjunction with the Status Effects
Balancing the Bartering system across all difficulties
Balancing the Crafting system and all recipes
Balancing player skills and abilities within the Skills system
Balancing all consumable player items
Implementation and supporting key Accessibility systems, particularly the Audio Aiming System
Loot distribution and balance passes across the entire game and all difficulties
Implementing SD and HD rumbles for PS5 and Xbox controllers
Designing & implementing DLC content
And so much more!

Detailed Project Contributions - Base Game, Pre-Order & Deluxe Editions:

Status Effects

Created bespoke Excel spreadsheet containing all status effects data to help easily plug in and preview the outcome of number changes on player and AI health before implementing them in engine
Balanced and adjusted all debuff status effects applied to the player & AI
Balanced and adjusted all player buff status effects
Worked with the UI lead when adjusting the buff exclusive groups to allow the player to have multiple buffs active at once whilst ensuring it would not be cognitively overwhelming
Balanced all hazards which apply status effects
Adjusted specific Infection spore cloud hazards post-launch to ensure they met Narrative's requirements
All balance work done across all difficulties

Player Skills and Abilities

Implemented initial balancing of Training Stimulant costs for base game Skills
Balanced the effects of base game Skills
Worked with the Combat Designers to balance combat-specific Skills

Economy, Loot and Crafting

Balanced the crafting costs of items
Balanced the effects of consumable items
Balanced the bartering profiles of traders, including their stock, what they restock, what items they value and dislike, and what items they do and don't drop on death
Set up Confluence spaces identifying areas which would make for interesting loot locations throughout the game
Setting up and populating of resource points across the game
Setting up and adjusting loot tables within the Loot Distribution system to populate loot economy
Loot balance passes done across the entirety of the base game for all difficulties
Worked with the Combat Designers to adjust the loot drops from slain AI across all difficulties
Worked with Narrative to set up Pre-Order / Deluxe edition exclusive metal detector skin and recipes
Utilised Elastic to assist with all loot balance pass work pre- and post-launch

Accessibility Systems

Supported the Senior Accessibility Designer with implementing & tracking the progress of key accessibility systems, specifically the Audio Aiming System and Aim Snap System
Ensuring that all game content supports these systems suitably, from environment objects like barrels and tripwires to ensuring weak points on all AI are reflected with absolute precision
Visit https://atomfall.com/accessibility for more details

Controller Vibrations

Implemented controller vibration support for Xbox and PS controllers, including SD and HD rumbles for PS5 controllers
Implemented the vibration support on all in-game hazards, traps, Skills, status effects, crafting actions, and significant AI such as the Robots and Triffids

Implementing the Accessibility systems to ensure all weak points are easily identifiably to players, including on Swarm nests
Supporting the Combat Design team by ensuring AI attacks appropriately affect the player and inflict damage at suitable animation frames
Bug fixing areas of AI pathing to improve quality of NPCs

Miscellaneous

Supported the Narrative team in their text localisation work by creating & maintaining a set of glossary pages to log and track all text used by the entire Game Design team and ensuring Designers contributed entries based on their area of focus
Created & maintained a set of Collectibles pages to track all metal detector caches, lunchboxes, comics and other significant collectible items throughout the base game
Overseeing Designers on additional systems work, such as achievements, and ensuring members are suitably mentored on all systems
Provided thorough QA support for various bugs encountered and ensuring bugs were appropriately assigned for fixes
Provided thorough design-focused feedback on game systems & feel upon joining the project

Detailed Project Contributions - "Wicked Isle" Story Expansion:

Player Skills and Abilities

Designed and implemented "Wicked Isle" DLC Skills, including Training Stimulant costs
Balanced the effects of "Wicked Isle" DLC Skills
Set up tutorial elements as necessary for DLC content and worked with Narrative to ensure messages did not detract from key story moments
Set up the different outlines used by the Attunement skill & pushed for full outline colour picker support for accessibility
Worked with Level Design, Combat Design and Code teams to ensure Attunement didn't reveal hidden AI and disrupt encounters for both "Wicked Isle" and "The Red Strain"
Worked with Narrative to implement desired quest flow to reward certain Wicked Isle DLC Skills
Balanced Training Stimulant costs for Wicked Isle DLC Skills
Balanced the effects of DLC Skills
Worked with the Combat Designers to balance combat-specific Skills

Economy, Loot and Crafting

Set up Wicked Isle DLC exclusive metal detector upgrade, recipes, and detector caches
Designed and implemented "Wicked Isle" DLC items & recipes
Implemented and supported the implementation of loot distribution in the "Wicked Isle" DLC
Balanced the crafting costs of items
Balanced the effects of crafted items
Balanced the bartering profiles of traders, including their stock, what they restock, what items they value and dislike, and what items they do and don't drop on death
Balanced the item drop rates for Infection Samples and Infected Honeycombs after acquiring the Infection Expert skill
Utilised Elastic to assist with all loot balance pass work pre- and post-launch

Miscellaneous

Supported the Narrative team in their text localisation work by creating & maintaining a set of glossary pages to log and track all text used by the entire Game Design team and ensuring Designers contributed entries based on their area of focus
Created & maintained a set of Collectibles pages to track all metal detector caches, lunchboxes, comics and other significant collectible items throughout the DLC
Overseeing Designers on additional systems work, such as achievements, and ensuring members are suitably mentored on all systems
Provided thorough QA support for various bugs encountered and ensuring bugs were appropriately assigned for fixes
Sorted out the initial set up needed for the "Wicked Isle" DLC's in-app purchase checks so Wicked Isle's content would not bleed into the base game unintended

Detailed Project Contributions - "The Red Strain" Story Expansion:

Player Skills and Abilities

Designed and implemented "The Red Strain" DLC Skills, including Training Stimulant costs
Balanced the effects of "The Red Strain" DLC Skills
Set up tutorial elements as necessary for DLC content
Balanced Training Stimulant costs for "The Red Strain" DLC Skills
Balanced the effects of DLC Skills
Worked with the Combat Designers to balance combat-specific Skills
Worked with relevant disciplines to implement & balance the reprogramming feature, ensuring that it functions across all areas of the game

Status Effects

Designed and implemented Contamination ('the Red Strain') related buffs and debuffs
Balanced the effects of Contamination from all sources
Designed and implemented the Mist Bomb's status effect on the player and AI
Balanced the effects of the Mist Bomb's debuff on players and AI

Economy, Loot and Crafting

Designed and implemented "The Red Strain" DLC items & recipes
Balanced the crafting costs of items
Balanced the effects of crafted items
Balanced the item drop rates for the Red Strain Sample

Miscellaneous

Designed and implemented new environmental hazards for use in the DLC
Balanced & bug fixed issues which arose when implementing the reprogramming feature
Improved the sandbox level setups of Contamination pools and clouds to more precisely match player expectations for the range/areas these hazards appear to cover
Prototyped and implemented final versions of the Security Terminal for the Narrative team
Supported the Narrative team in their text localisation work by creating & maintaining a set of glossary pages to log and track all text used by the entire Game Design team and ensuring Designers contributed entries based on their area of focus
Created & maintained a set of Collectibles pages to track all metal detector caches, lunchboxes, comics and other significant collectible items throughout the DLC
Overseeing Designers on additional systems work, such as achievements, and ensuring members are suitably mentored on all systems
Provided thorough QA support for various bugs encountered and ensuring bugs were appropriately assigned for fixes