{"id":362,"date":"2018-07-28T10:22:19","date_gmt":"2018-07-28T17:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/?page_id=362"},"modified":"2024-12-20T22:40:01","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T06:40:01","slug":"the-long-dark","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/the-long-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"<em>The Long Dark<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Survival Mode<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I acted as Open World Designer on this mode from Winter 2019 through Winter 2020.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"responsive-embed widescreen\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Long Dark - The Bleak Inlet Adventure\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7ODPpneDBNE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Played and captured by Jensen Gaming, includes music composed by Cris Velasco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Showcase:<\/strong> Highlights from Bleak Inlet survival gameplay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"height:60px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">I contributed to foundational concept work and paper designs for the entire region.<br>My implementation responsibilities included bringing Last Resort Cannery from greyblock to release.<br>This level was completed within 3 months by delegating across a team of 4 other designers and environment artists.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/survival-bleak-inlet\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"440\">Read more about level design on Bleak Inlet and <em>The Long Dark: Survival Mode<\/em><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-james-dodge-designer wp-block-embed-james-dodge-designer\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"responsive-embed widescreen\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ILXtc3QEnp\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/survival-bleak-inlet\/\">The Long Dark: Survival Mode<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;&lt;i&gt;The Long Dark: Survival Mode&lt;\/i&gt;&#8221; &#8212; James Dodge \u2014 Designer\" src=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/survival-bleak-inlet\/embed\/#?secret=GGVTj50MSz#?secret=ILXtc3QEnp\" data-secret=\"ILXtc3QEnp\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"story-mode\">Story Mode<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I held two roles on Story Mode \u2014 Technical Narrative Designer and Level Designer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>The Long Dark<\/em>&#8216;s original Kickstarter promise was to tell Will MacKenzie and Astrid Greenwood&#8217;s story of quiet apocalypse. I was brought on as a third designer dedicated to assisting delivery on that promise.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile has-large-font-size\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/wintermute_redux-300x169.png\" alt=\"Console release promo art with no text. Will is standing, facing away, and walking towards a snowy landscape with a wolf on a nearby rock and mountains in the background. He is wearing a red toque. He has a rifle in his handle, held down across his body with the stock end above his right elbow. His backpack is carrying many objects including a hatchet and arrows.\" class=\"wp-image-467 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/wintermute_redux-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/wintermute_redux-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/wintermute_redux-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/wintermute_redux.png 1668w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-x-large-font-size\">Joining less than a year after premiere releases or Episodes 1 and 2, my early tasks were to establish a higher quality bar for cinematic interactions and create non-linear missions.<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Episode 1 and 2 Redux, Episode 3, and Episode 4<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:29%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Ico_GearItem_PostCard_FM_ShortwaveTower.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Ico_GearItem_PostCard_FM_ShortwaveTower.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2069\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Ico_GearItem_PostCard_FM_ShortwaveTower.webp 512w, https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Ico_GearItem_PostCard_FM_ShortwaveTower-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Ico_GearItem_PostCard_FM_ShortwaveTower-150x150.webp 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Follow these links for more details <\/h5>\n\n\n<h3><ul class=\"su-subpages\"><li class=\"page_item page-item-368\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/the-long-dark\/episode-1-redux\/\">Do Not Go Gentle<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-371\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/the-long-dark\/episode-2-redux\/\">Luminance Fugue<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-373\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/the-long-dark\/episode-3\/\">Crossroads Elegy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-438\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/the-long-dark\/episode-4\/\">Fury, Then Silence<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:1%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-large-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>The Light At The End Of All Things<\/summary>\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Notes about Episode 5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">After I left, the final episode for Story Mode saw intermittent development from 2021 through to 2025.<br>Story Mode was originally included in all copies purchased before 2021. New players will find this mode in a separate DLC purchase from 2021 onwards, now titled <em>The Long Dark: WINTERMUTE<\/em>.<br><br>Before Story Mode became DLC, all changes to Survival Mode and Story Mode were deeply interlinked in a single Unity project build pipeline. This required the team to refactor all regions and episodic content with every update, adding significant time costs to the open development practice.<\/h4>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Play original releases for content above using the Time Machine feature<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<nav style=\"background-color: #009688; font-style:normal;font-weight:600;\" class=\"has-text-color has-white-color has-background has-large-font-size is-responsive items-justified-right wp-block-navigation is-horizontal is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-navigation-is-layout-142c69dd wp-block-navigation-is-layout-flex\" aria-label=\"TheLongDark\" \n\t\t data-wp-interactive=\"core\/navigation\" data-wp-context='{\"overlayOpenedBy\":{\"click\":false,\"hover\":false,\"focus\":false},\"type\":\"overlay\",\"roleAttribute\":\"\",\"ariaLabel\":\"Menu\"}'><button aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Open menu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-open\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.openMenuOnClick\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.handleMenuKeydown\"\n\t\t\t><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 7.5h16v1.5H4z\"><\/path><path d=\"M4 15h16v1.5H4z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container\"  id=\"modal-1\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--has-modal-open=\"state.isMenuOpen\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--is-menu-open=\"state.isMenuOpen\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-watch=\"callbacks.initMenu\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.handleMenuKeydown\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--focusout=\"actions.handleMenuFocusout\"\n\t\t\t\ttabindex=\"-1\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-close\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-dialog\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-modal=\"state.ariaModal\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.ariaLabel\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--role=\"state.roleAttribute\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button aria-label=\"Close menu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-close\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.closeMenuOnClick\"\n\t\t\t><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"m13.06 12 6.47-6.47-1.06-1.06L12 10.94 5.53 4.47 4.47 5.53 10.94 12l-6.47 6.47 1.06 1.06L12 13.06l6.47 6.47 1.06-1.06L13.06 12Z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-content\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-watch=\"callbacks.focusFirstElement\"\n\t\t\t id=\"modal-1-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul style=\"background-color: #009688; font-style:normal;font-weight:600;\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__container has-text-color has-white-color has-background has-large-font-size is-responsive items-justified-right wp-block-navigation has-large-font-size\"><li class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.thelongdark.com\/time-capsule\/vigilant-flame\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Vigilant Flame<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.thelongdark.com\/time-capsule\/wintermute-redux\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Wintermute Redux<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.thelongdark.com\/time-capsule\/steadfast-ranger\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Steadfast Ranger<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.thelongdark.com\/time-capsule\/crossroads-elegy\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Crossroads Elegy<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.thelongdark.com\/time-capsule\/errant-pilgrim\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Errant Pilgrim<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.thelongdark.com\/time-capsule\/fearless-navigator\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Fearless Navigator<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.thelongdark.com\/time-capsule\/hesitant-prospect\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Hesitant Prospect<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-large-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.thelongdark.com\/time-capsule\/fury-then-silence\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Fury then Silence<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/nav>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Survival Mode I acted as Open World Designer on this mode from Winter 2019 through Winter 2020. Showcase: Highlights from Bleak Inlet survival gameplay Read more about level design on Bleak Inlet and The Long Dark: Survival Mode Story Mode&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":859,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-362","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362"}],"version-history":[{"count":85,"href":"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2072,"href":"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/362\/revisions\/2072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dodgethis.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}