New World: Nighthaven was New World’s final content update and a massive effort from the entire studio. While working on this content, we had no idea that the end was in sight, so we spent a lot of time and effort on future proofing the game and adding quality of life features for all players, as well as a massive new zone to explore and a huge procedural dungeon called The Catacombs.
What I did:
I designed, scripted, and built the boss arenas for 3 of the 4 main storyline’s boss battles, such as Morgaine, Alexi (Dracula), and the Werewolf Lord Asena.
These all started as simple wireframes and were built to the specifications of the Boss Designer’s wishes, whom I worked closely with while designing the layout and logic of these fight spaces.
Once approved, artists began placing art, while I kept a close watch on metrics and watched out for any potential ‘gotcha’s’ that set decoration might create in the playspace, such as sharp corners, rough ground, or tight areas where the boss could not follow the player. This was an ongoing process all the way to launch.
Additionally, I animated the pillar explosion and the rock fall hazards for the Werewolf lord encounter, building upon the falling ice blocks from Glacial Tarn to do so.
When ready to launch, I took on the job of finalizing the levels for implementation into the open world, tying scripting, localization, and many individual spread sheets into one cohesive plan to bring these playspaces to players around the globe.
Less important, but still worth mentioning- I also provided my voice to several of the enemies in the Raid. We were told we might not receive the budget for voice acting, but the dev team decided we’d rather not have silent characters. The solution- learn to voice act!
Asena Fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fgjwZwlnI0
Morgaine Fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-k68rhFGNU
Alexi Fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVhEhKj7y44