About

A large indie game I developed together with Indiana-Jonas over the course of three years and shipped it on PC and Consoles.

As the game designer and (only) programmer I put together a unique climbing system that is easy to pick up, but hard to master. The game has over 20 hours of content and procedural levels which are able to build engaging climbing routes that are almost indistinguishable from handbuilt content.

Game Description

Surmount is a free-flowing, physics-based platforming adventure where you'll experience the joys of mountain climbing. Make your perilous ascent through the various handcrafted and procedurally generated challenges of Mount Om, all the while following a silly story with eccentric folks along the way. Master your own unique style of climbing either alone or with a friend, upgrade and customize your climber to stand a better chance, and maybe just maybe, you'll be the first ever to reach the top!

Features

• An approachable physics based climbing system that is endlessly replayable and not overly punishing
• A mix of handmade levels and large procedurally generated areas to overcome.
• On your way to the top of Mount Om, you'll meet a variety of eccentric characters, all with their own reason to journey to the top.
• Unlock a variety of permanent and equipable items that will boost your stats.
• Be the most fashionable climber out there by customizing your character's look.
• Play alone or tethered to a friend in local co-op.

I built custom tooling that allowed me to draw level designs using simple shapes which would then be generated as rocky surfaces that felt natural and interesting to climb.

This combination of design and generation allowed us to seamlessly blend together chunks to form longer proc-gen routes. But most of all allowed for very quick iteration on level design and responding to feedback from playtests.