Game designer and project manager at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Oct 2020 – Feb 2021
Gnawing their way through procedural levels, players face various combat encounters and bosses as a samurai zombie in this survival roguelike. They need to manage their decaying health by devouring corpses, and strategically employ fellow zombies to soften up enemies.
https://itch.io/dont-die-again
Trailer by Nicolas Thomas
| Engine | Team size | Genre | Platform | Release |
| Unity | 8 | Survival rogue-like | PC | February, 2021 |
- Pitched the initial concept, developed and upheld the project vision through the concept and production phases
- Designed and documented all gameplay mechanics in Confluence, such as player control, combat, enemies, and scoring
- Balanced combat encounters to suit the intentionally unforgiving and fast-paced gameplay
- Managed the timely completion of tasks with Jira and Scrumban to produce a representative vertical slice
Core game loop
I achieved the nearly complete implementation of all designed gameplay features by consciously focusing on the core game loop. Restricting it to a few essential features later facilitated a robust, extensively tested balancing and pacing.
Through diverse procedural levels and semi-random encounters, I increased the replay value. The steadily increasing difficulty challenged players of all skill levels and incentivized quick thinking due to the fast pace and deadly enemies.
I bonded my team by collaboratively shaping the game’s setting during the early concept phase. Fueled by mutual appreciation, we approached the realization united and motivated.
As the project manager, I ensured a smooth execution through well-planned sprints, deadlines, and buffers. We strategically utilized the last weeks of production for polish and balancing, concluding on a representative vertical slice timely and without crunch.
| Moritz Renzikowski | Game design & vision, project management |
| Ilya Volkov | Programming |
| Leon Papadopoulos | Environment art |
| Nicolas Thomas | Character art & animation |
| Luca Schmell | Creative & technical producing |
| Marc Paul | Creative & technical producing |
| Finn Kaiser | Sound design |
| Pascal Klebe | Soundtrack |
Moritz Renzikowski 