CASE STUDY 02 · 3D PROTOTYPING

Hellscape — 3D Arcade Shooter

A playable reimagining of classic on-rails arcade shooting, inspired by Space Harrier, set in a distinctive hellish world.

I conceived the gameplay concept and personally created the visual identity, artistic direction and overall look and feel, as well as designing and implementing the playable prototype. Traditional game and scene design were complemented by generative AI-assisted 3D asset creation for enemies and environmental scenery. Approximately 60% of the 3D artwork was AI-generated; I selected, adapted, refined and integrated those assets to produce a coherent playable world.

Creating the World

The goal was not to reproduce an existing arcade game, but to capture the immediacy and readable action of the genre within a striking new setting. Enemy silhouettes, scenery, movement and environmental composition were developed together so that the presentation served the gameplay.

Modernising the Gameplay

I developed and refined the core mechanics, including improvements to aiming, enemy movement and behaviour, and overall responsiveness. These gameplay enhancements were guided by hands-on testing and an emphasis on clarity, pacing and satisfying player control.

AI as a Production Tool

GenAI provided a practical way to explore and produce selected 3D enemies and scenery items, but each asset still required creative evaluation, adjustment and integration. The game design, artistic vision, implementation and quality decisions remained mine.

Prototype status: Playable; public demonstration material in preparation.

Custom Environment and Production Tools

I developed Unity editor utilities for constructing and refining the world, including geometry generation, ground-material presets and zone-specific skies and horizons. The content pipeline also organised enemy and scenery prefabs for efficient iteration.

Gameplay screenshots will be added following the next capture session.

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