Evil Dead: The Game

Survivor and Kandarian Demon Tutorials

I worked on the level design, learning flow, onboarding structure, and gameplay scripting for the Survivor and Kandarian Demon tutorials.

The main challenge was introducing the game’s essential mechanics within a controlled experience without overwhelming the player.

Each tutorial needed to communicate the identity, abilities, objectives, and strategic possibilities of its respective side while preparing players for the less predictable conditions of an online match.

I structured the experience around progressive learning, giving players opportunities to understand and practice each mechanic before introducing additional complexity.

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Castle Kandar

I contributed to Castle Kandar from its earliest design stages.

The location needed to represent the medieval world of Army of Darkness while supporting the mechanics, game modes, navigation requirements, combat scenarios, and systemic content of Evil Dead: The Game.

We began by defining the overall structure through 2D maps and early spatial concepts. The design then evolved according to terrain restrictions, production resources, gameplay testing, and artistic requirements.

I worked closely with Level Art and Concept Art throughout blockout and production, helping balance visual authenticity, gameplay readability, navigation, combat flow, and the needs of the game’s systems.

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Knowby Cabin

I contributed to the recreation of Knowby Cabin, one of the most recognizable locations in the Evil Dead franchise.

The challenge was preserving the identity and proportions of an iconic setting while integrating it into a larger playable environment.

The films provided limited reference material for some of the surrounding areas, which required close collaboration between Design, Art, and Production. We had to infer how the location could extend beyond what audiences had seen on screen while maintaining visual and narrative credibility.

The final location became one of the game’s most atmospheric landmarks, combining recognizable architecture, environmental storytelling, gameplay functionality, and dramatic lighting.

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Caravans Area "Cleaver County"

Cleaver County was one of the first major areas developed for the game and became an important testing ground for many of its systems.

The location went through multiple redesigns as we refined terrain, navigation, combat spaces, item distribution, traversal, landmarks, and the requirements of different game modes.

These iterations helped us understand how the game’s systemic elements interacted across a large multiplayer environment.

Although the area changed substantially throughout production, each version informed the next and contributed to the design principles used across the final game.

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Mission-Authoring System

I worked closely with the Programming team to define a modular mission-authoring system that designers could use directly within Unreal Engine.

The system was structured around triggers, conditions, and actions. Designers could combine these modules to create objectives, events, sequences, encounters, interactions, and mission logic.

This reduced the need for custom programming support for every mission and allowed the Design team to prototype, implement, test, and iterate on content with greater independence.

The framework also expanded the team’s creative possibilities by making existing gameplay features accessible as reusable design components.

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Combat Systems

I contributed to the development of the game’s ranged and melee combat systems from their early stages.

The design needed to support two fundamentally different player experiences: the Survivors, who relied on cooperation, weapons, resources, positioning, and character abilities, and the Kandarian Demon, who manipulated enemies and the environment.

I worked with programmers and other designers to define mechanics, resources, upgrades, weapons, enemy interactions, feedback, and the relationship between ranged and close-quarters combat.

Our goal was to create confrontations that offered tactical variety while remaining readable, responsive, and satisfying for both sides.

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Enemy AI

I designed and supported the development of enemy archetypes with different behaviors, strengths, weaknesses, attacks, and tactical roles.

Each enemy needed to function both as an individual threat and as part of larger encounters influenced by the Kandarian Demon player.

This required balancing autonomous AI behavior with the actions and intentions of the human player controlling the Evil side.

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AI Spawn Director

I designed and prototyped a dynamic system responsible for spawning enemies according to the state of the match.

The system evaluated gameplay conditions and adjusted enemy pressure while preserving the agency of the Kandarian Demon player.

The main challenge was ensuring that the world remained active and threatening without allowing automated systems to overshadow the decisions of the Evil player.

The feature required extensive investigation, prototyping, testing, tuning, and iteration because small changes could significantly affect match pacing, difficulty, and perceived fairness.

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Loot-Distribution System

I designed the loot-distribution system from its initial concept through implementation, iteration, and balancing.

Because each match needed variation, items could not always appear in the same locations. At the same time, randomization could not compromise progression, accessibility, fairness, or the intended gameplay flow.

I developed a grid-based logic that distributed items according to multiple parameters, including:

- Item category
- Rarity
- Gameplay importance
- Location type
- Spatial distribution
- Risk and threat level
- Expected player progression
- Match variety
- Balance between scarcity and accessibility

The system allowed matches to remain unpredictable while protecting the essential structure of the player experience.

The positive reception of the game’s loot distribution and replayability remains one of the aspects of the project I am most proud of.

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Selected Responsibilities

- Level design and blockout
- Combat-system design
- Tutorial and onboarding design
- Gameplay scripting
- Mission-authoring tools
- Enemy and AI design
- AI Spawn Director
- Weapon and progression design
- Loot-system design and balancing
- Multiplayer gameplay flow
- Cross-disciplinary collaboration
- Playtesting and iteration