Shadow Warrior 3
Shadow Warrior 3 is a first-person shooter game developed by Flying Wild Hog and published by Devolver Digital. The sequel to Shadow Warrior 2 (2016), the game released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 1, 2022.
Working on SW3 was a huge fun and a challenge. I always wanted to make a fast paced First Person Shooter and since I still remember playing good 'ol Shadow Warrior classic from 1997 I just couldn't let this chance to pass.
My main responsibility was to take care of four in-game levels and to give close support to other ones where help was needed. I've been closely working with the entire LD team (wonderful people!) and other branches to help make levels as best as they can be.
Levels I was responsible were as follows:
- Motoko's Cave
- Dragon's Nest - Village
- Dragon's Nest - Boss Fight Guardian
- Dragon's Nest - Egg Chase
Besides creating geometry I've also did the scripting on them where needed and this included logic for arenas, events, objectives, etc. I've also did some small detail on Level Art.
Here are some shots from the levels with some small description:
MOTOKO'S CAVE
Motoko's Cave is the third level in the game. Lo Wang seeks some additional help and thus ends up in a place of power ruled by Motoko. From the get go, Motoko's pet Tanuki steals Wang's mask and the begins. It goes through 2/3 of the level and brings us to some unique arenas. On one we get to meet new enemy called 'Grenadier' on another one, we acquire new weapon: Grenade Launcher. On third we get some help from Motoko during the fight on the Thunder Arena. Lastly, we get to know another new enemy, called The Mole.
The pacing of the level starts pretty in a rush as we chase the Tanuki. Intervals from chase, are the arenas where we combat enemies in a setup of various waves. My favorite key part is the Thunder Arena where we fight a horde while thunders bring doom to the enemies -- its a real FX show to see enemy getting hit by a thunder and getting blasted to pieces.
DRAGON'S NEST - VILLAGE
Village is a remote monk monastery area hidden deep in foggy mountains. High above it, overlooking is a huge landmark, a place of pilgrimage - The Guardian's Nest. Wang's objective is to get on top of the Nest to get the mythical egg.
We start at the outskirts of the village, in a dense bamboo forest. After a short hike, we get a new weapon, the Shiruken Spitter and start a small encounter. Afterwards we get inside the village and move through arenas and gaining more ground as we close to the Nest.
One area to notice is a small puzzle zone after the first village arena. The idea for it was to put some interval between constant killing and to add some traversal to the destroyed village.
After getting closer to the Nest, we have some nice vistas overlooking entire village and beyond. I like this take, as we can see the path we moved through just minutes ago and get some scale perspective. It's also a nice reward to have some cool views like that.
DRAGON'S NEST - GUARDIAN
After we get inside the Nest, we will encounter The Guardian aka Ancient Cock -- a boss fight. He has few phases. One, when he shoots at us, jumps and kicks. The second when he splits and gets some new moves but also wants to kill us. The last phase is when he smashes the ground and brings floating rocks above our heads. In this part we need to travers, avoid death-laser rays and finish the boss. Sorry for spoilers regarding the fight phases ;)
This was my very first boss fight done ever. It is different than scripting a wave after wave of enemies that come at you. The boss fight approach has it a little bit differently. Thinking of a one of a kind enemy we gonna fight and how unique the fight can be. Guess it worked pretty well as later a did some support on the last boss in the game - Guardian of the Heart.
DRAGON'S NEST - EGG CHASE
The final act of the Dragon's Nest is the chase after the egg. We go all the way down just to catch it before it breaks. This level is a full-time traversal bonanza. We go down and we go fast. Any obstacles we can destroy we do it, otherwise its an agility test. Tights corners, long jumps and some wall running from time to time.
All Dragon's Nest areas in the walkthrough:
