Matthew M Langer
  Game and Level Designer
  • Home
  • Professional Work
    • Days Gone - Main Game
    • Days Gone - Dead Don't Ride DLC
    • UntitledArenaGame
  • Older Work
    • Solo Projects >
      • Face-Off at the Frozen Throne
      • Spaceport Defense
      • Crystal Mines: Thesis Artifact
      • Phantasmagoria: Gears of War Level
    • Team Projects >
      • From The Ashes
      • Identity
      • Skyscrappers
      • Ethereality
    • Scripting >
      • Blueprint Scripting: A.I. Instructor in From The Ashes
      • Entity Scripting: Boss Battle in Crystal Mines
      • Entity Scripting: Custom Gibs in Crystal Mines
      • Entity Scripting: Melee and Ranged Combat in Crystal Mines
      • Kismet Scripting: Contextual Interaction in Phantasmagoria
      • Kismet Scripting: Stun Gun in Phantasmagoria
      • Lua Scripting: Bat A.I. in Ethereality
  • Resume

Play taxi driver in a race against the clock with #DaysGone’s Dead Don’t Ride Challenge, live now in @BendStudio’s survival epic: https://t.co/MYXedjQ23o pic.twitter.com/wHVRihzYzo

— PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) August 2, 2019
Developer: ​Bend Studio
Website: ​https://bendstudio.com/games/days-gone/
Release Date: August 2, 2019
Role: ​DLC Challenge Designer

Challenge Content - Dead Don't Ride

I took this DLC challenge from paper documentation to final completion.  During the process I was primarily in charge of designing, iterating, implementing and most importantly collaborating with other departments to ship Dead Don't Ride​.
When the studio decided that the follow up DLC content for Days Gone was going in an arcade direction, I decided I wanted to do some a little different to what was already available.  Thinking it would add a humorous twist compared to the main game, I pitched a Taxi Golf Cart challenge.  It was crazy how many people ultimately got involved in what was supposed to be a low development cost weekly challenge, but they really did a lot to take it from a "cool idea" to a fully-realized product.  I had a lot of fun with this and my goal throughout the entire thing was to put a goofy grin on people's faces when they played it.

Special challenges with this DLC included:
Scripting all the necessary systems to get the pickup/dropoff system working
Organizing all the extra assets needed and collaborating with the proper departments to get them in on time
Negotiating a custom soundtrack from local bands (thanks Paul Deakin!)
Removing clutter for the challenge without affecting the main game
Working with engineering and systems design to get a fast, good feeling 4-wheeled vehicle while not tanking game performance
To see my contributions to the main game, check out my work on Days Gone.