Crackdown 2
Ruffian Games
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Designer
Project Overview
Shortly before the closure of Midway I joined a number of ex-Wheelman designers at then-startup, Ruffian Games, to work on Crackdown 2. Rather than focusing solely on missions, I worked in a broader design role spanning both game and level design.
Crackdown 2 was another open-world title, but this time with a co-operative offering and a strong focus on unscripted, emergent gameplay.
It was the first AAA project that I worked on from concept through to release, shipping in just over a year with a relatively small team. It was also my introduction to working with a proprietary toolset.
Designer
Ruffian Games (now Rockstar Dundee)
Proprietary
6 July 2010
Xbox 360
Responsibilities
As a designer, I was responsible for the Freak faction and its associated gameplay content. I defined the enemy archetypes, movement abilities, attacks and contextual behaviours, working closely with programmers to develop and iterate on their implementation. I also collaborated with concept art to ensure the different Freak forms reflected their gameplay behaviours.
The level design pipeline was unusual in that designers didn’t directly build world geometry. Instead, my process involved scouting the Pacific City blockout, selecting suitable locations and producing top-down layouts and specifications for the art team.
These locations were then reserved for additional attention during the environment art pass, with the art team building out the spaces based on my layouts and specifications. Once the geometry was implemented, I handled the gameplay setup, testing and iteration using the proprietary tools.
- Designed and implemented all Freak Lairs, associated bosses and Breach missions
- Designed and implemented all Freak Lairs, bosses and Breach missions
- Worked within a feature team from prototyping through to final implementation
- Collaborated closely with art and programming to develop bespoke enemy and level content
- Designed and balanced horde-style encounters for the Deluge DLC
Selected Work
Enemy Faction: The Freaks
I designed the Freak enemy faction, defining its AI archetypes, movement abilities, attacks and contextual behaviours. This included the base Freaks and their variants, through to the more advanced enemy tiers and bosses.
The Reaper was one of the more technically involved archetypes. Its leaping ability allowed it to pursue players vertically through Pacific City, jumping between rooftops and other navigable spaces. Supporting this behaviour required additional navigation functionality, including a dedicated jump graph and extensive manual navmesh setup throughout the world.
Locations: Breaches & Lairs
I designed and implemented all nine Freak Lairs and, where applicable, their associated bosses. I also designed 25 Freak Breach side missions spread throughout Pacific City.
For the Lairs, I worked with the lead level designer to identify which of the original Crackdown’s iconic locations would support the major encounters, while scouting the wider city for locations suitable for the Breaches. I produced annotated screenshots, top-down layouts and written encounter specifications that the art team used to flesh out each location before I completed the gameplay setup and iteration.
Deluge DLC
Following the game’s release, I worked on the Deluge DLC, designing and balancing the structure, enemy waves and pacing of its horde-style encounters within the existing open world.
Game Trailer
Reception
Crackdown 2 debuted at number one on the UK all-formats sales chart. The game was later made backwards compatible and is now available to download for free on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.