Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

Responsibilities:

I joined the project right before production phase went into full swing. Redstorm Entertainment served as a co-dev studio to Massive Entertainment, the primary studio, for The Division and The Division 2. Our studio created all PVP content. Specifically the Dark Zone and Conflict game mode (traditional PVP match modes). I had never worked in the Snowdrop engine before, so I spent the first couple of months ramping up very quickly. It is a node graph based visual scripting editor, but without the luxuries of having a material editor or animation timeline for UI. All animations were math node driven in the graphs.

I quickly was tasked with being the owner of UI Technical Art for the Conflict game mode. My supervisor (Jacob Huff), the only other UI Tech Artist took on the Dark Zone responsibilities. I was super eager to get in and contributing, so I really sought after as much work as I could get my hands on. We had a single UI Artist who created comps based on game designs for both PVP teams. This meant often waiting for those to be finalized and approved. Typically in those situations I would consult with the lead game designer and determine the game mode’s UI needs, then start implementing the interfaces and their functionality without any art comps or UX designs. Once comps were approved, I would implement any changes to the visualizations needed. At times there were features that never received them, and my design was used and iterated upon following feedback and reviews. During this process I had to dive into already complex UI systems and node graphs that needed to be levied and piped into to get Conflict up and running as part of The Division 2.

We play tested Conflict bi-weekly as a feature team. During play tests and sprint reviews, I took in all critiques and ideas openly, very excited to elevate the Conflict experience as much as possible. Testing my own work and reviewing colleagues work as needed at all times before submissions. I found I have a keen eye for catching bugs in all aspects of the game, even areas that weren’t part of my feature or disciplines. Our testing team was third party, but in house, and an extremely valuable part of our testing and bug creation process. 

Shipping Conflict was such an exciting experience! Working with the team at Redstorm was one of my greatest professional privileges. I continued to support Conflict post ship, delivering a brand new game mode and supporting live game bugs and new features. 

Eventually, our entire team on The Division moved on to creating a brand new PVP survival experience within The Division 2’s lore, using its engine. We began ripping out parts of the UI we no longer needed, while prototyping and developing new systems to support this new experience eventually named “Heartland.” The project was sadly canceled the week of its scheduled release date. I left the team a year into its development after being offered an exciting new opportunity and chance to get back to developing in Unreal and leveling up a skill set I had put on pause once I switched over to Snowdrop and working on The Division 2.