Introduction
During my two and a half years at Evil Empire, I worked on the game Dead Cells as a Gameplay Programmer.
Dead Cells is a 2D side-scrolling action roguelike, originally developed by Motion Twin and released in August 2018. They also developed and released the first DLC for the game, Rise of the Giant, in March 2019.
Evil Empire was then founded by a few Motion Twin members as a means to keep developing updates and DLCs, while the rest of the team moved on to other projects. Artists and programmers were recruited, and together they developed from update 1.3 to 2.4, as well as two DLCs (Bad Seed and Fatal Falls). Around the update 2.4, the Dead Cells team was renewed, with its former members moving on to other projects. This is when I got recruited, first as an internship, then as a long-term contract.
Together with this new team, we developed updates 2.5 to 3.5, as well as the DLCs Queen and the Sea and Return to Castlevania.
Technologies used
You can find below a list of tools and softwares that programmers regularly interacted with throughout development. A lot of them are open-source, which means that we could create forks of the source code and add functionalities specific to Dead Cells if needed.
- Haxe
- Programming language, in which all of the game is coded.
- Heaps.io
- Rendering engine, written in Haxe.
- CastleDB
- Database management software, used for storing almost all of the static data of the game.
- Tiled
- Tile-based level design software, to create the “rooms” used to generate the game’s levels.
- TexturePacker
- Spritesheet generator, used to compile art exports into a single texture.
Updates I worked on
Version 3.5 - The End is Near
Update focused on adding new enemies, mutations and weapons interacting with the curse mechanic.
Version 3.4 - Clean Cut
Two new weapons, a rework to the training room, and the ability to customize the player's head.
DLC - Return to Castlevania
Special crossover DLC with Castlevania, adding emblematic locations, enemies and characters from the iconic game series.
Version 3.2 - Everyone is Here Vol. 2
Second crossover event with new indie games, adding new weapons and outfits inspired by those games.
Version 3.1 - Boss Rush
New alterantive gamemode, the boss rush, in which the player can fight bosses back-to-back.
Version 3.0 - Enter the Panchaku
Balancing update, reworking legendary items to make them more unique.
Version 2.9 - Breaking Barriers
A whole lot of new accessibility options: Assist Mode, visual aids, gameplay settings...
Version 2.8 - Break the Bank
New gameplay revolving around gold: weapons, enemies, mutations and a special biome.
DLC - The Queen and the Sea
The third paid extension for Dead Cells, adding new biomes, new weapons, new enemies, and new bosses.
Version 2.6 - Everyone is Here
Special crossover event with several other indie games, adding new weapons and outfits inspired by those games.
Version 2.5 - Practice Makes Perfect
Update themed around training, with a new training Room, new items to make runs easier, a world map...