Alan Diekfuss

Dec 19 2016

It’s Going To Be An Undead New Year

Hello fellow survivors. (It’s been a long time since I last typed that…)

It’s traditional to close out the year with the phrase, “Happy new year!” Usually we say that speculatively, as in, “Boy I sure do hope we have a happy year next year!” But sometimes we might have a reason to actually believe it will be a happy year next year. For those of us here at Undead Labs, we’re looking at a ton of hard work next year (multiple metric tons of tons, more realistically), some late-night panics, a few “oh my god oh my god” meetings, a sprinkling of bug-count out-to-the-woodshed sessions courtesy of our QA team, and some assorted last-minute design or tech change freak outs. And all that can mean only one thing: we’re driving toward the release of State of Decay 2 next year, and that will make it a very happy year indeed.

Jun 13 2016

A Letter From Jeff

Just a few short moments ago at the Xbox E3 2016 Briefing in Los Angeles, we announced State of Decay 2 to the world.

It’s been a few years since we announced our partnership with Microsoft Studios to start building the future of State of Decay, and we’re thrilled (and a little relieved) to finally be able to talk about it. As a full sequel with much higher ambitions, we had to wait until development was far enough along to speak confidently about what the game will be when it gets into your hands (or maybe, on your hard drive). We’re a development team that enjoys direct, regular interaction with fans of our games, so it’s been hard for us to stay silent about something we’re so excited about, but as of today we can finally tell you that it’s coming.

During that time we’ve had the opportunity to see and hear what millions of you enjoyed about State of Decay. Through Twitch streams, to Twitter, the always-passionate Steam forums, in our own community forums, and — perhaps most of all — through meeting so many of you in person at game conventions and fan events, we’ve heard you clearly. We’ve considered many paths for State of Decay over the past few years, but the overwhelming majority of you said you wanted a bigger, badder, bolder, smoother State of Decay that you could play with your friends.

And so that’s exactly what we’re making.

State of Decay 2 builds upon the unique blend of open-world exploration, third-person action, and survival-fantasy role playing we pioneered in the original State of Decay, and then adds drop-in cooperative multiplayer. The world of State of Decay 2 is larger, more dangerous, and more unpredictable than ever, so if you choose, you can put your survival plan to the test with up to three other players.

Apr 05 2016

Developer Bio: Jonathan Sharp

I first met “Chap” when I first met Peter. The two of them, the Lab’s truly competitive gamers, were doing color commentary for tournaments in our PAX booth. Chap also was an instrumental part of getting our Twitch setup operational and professional looking. In fact, I’d gotten so used to him being the font of all technical wisdom that I forgot he was also a very smart, very experienced designer. I wish I could tell you all exactly what he was doing right now, but that would give away too much about the thing we’re working on. And as I said before…we can’t talk about what we’re working on, so we’re talking about who is doing the work. And on this campaign, this intrepid adventure, here’s Jonathan Sharp’s character sheet for all of you who’ve played D&D. (Get ready to Google Carcharodon carcharias.) He has a much higher creativity score than he gives himself credit for. — Sanya

Designer Character Sheet

by Jonathan Sharp

I grew up as a military brat, and one thing I always had in common with new friends was a love for games. So, after talking with Sanya, we thought it might be fun to write a blog in the form of a video game character. TL;DR: *spoilers* I played a lot of games while growing up. Then I became a game designer.

Info:

Feb 23 2016

Developer Bio: Jesse Dunne

We had an open position for quite a long time before we found Jesse, because the person in the producer role can ruin the team if they aren’t a good fit. They’re the connection holding the entire flying circus together. It was worth the wait to find someone with her dedication, her passion for getting it right and getting it done, and her wicked sense of humor. Here’s how Jesse came to be part of the Lab team. — Sanya

Now Playing

by Jesse Dunne

The SNES

I was ten years old when Great Uncle Jim sent me an SNES for Christmas. I didn’t know anything about video games and, for a kid without cable TV, a console was a miracle. This would be the only console I owned for a long time, but the games are still with me. Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, Street Fighter II, Super Metroid, A Link to the Past, and Krusty’s Fun House are all games I remember vividly. Mom and I played Super Mario World together and sometimes I would catch her playing in the morning when I woke up for school (she worked the night shift). We were both hooked. 20 years later, I still have my SNES. It still fires up; you just gotta blow out the dust.

Feb 02 2016

Developer Bio: Alan Diekfuss

We can’t talk about what we’re doing, so we’re talking about the people doing the work. According to the employee spreadsheet, Alan is a UI artist. I did not actually realize that until I sat down to write this intro, because he defies categorization. He’s logical and methodical enough to be a programmer, he’s got the fast verbal wit of a writer, and an eye like an artist. He’s also tons of fun. I read once that you can get a good feel for a person by looking at what inspires them. Check out Alan’s dev blog entry and see what influences he’s bringing to our unannounced project. — Sanya

Now Playing

by Alan Diekfuss

Instead talking about how I got in games, I wanted to share what inspires me while I make them.

I’m a big movie geek and tend to always have one playing in the background as I work. Most of these I’ve already seen so I can follow along with the audio or catch a glance in my second monitor. Over the years I’ve found that having certain movies playing in the background can introduce new ideas into my designs.

Below are a few of my favorites I’ve played recently: