​Death Dodgers is our latest addition to Adventure Escape Mysteries! This advanced game explores life-and-death stakes against a bustling city backdrop. 

When Marcus downloads a phone game at the recommendation of a mysterious stranger, he gets more than he bargained for. Over the next five days, he must compete against other players in a series of challenges set up by masked admins. Only one player will remain standing after five days. However, there’s something strange about these admins and the head game master. What’s really going on behind those masks?
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Today, we’re here with Andrew Petersell, the game designer behind Death Dodgers.

This is your first solo game at Haiku! You also worked on Vanishing Act before this one. How does it feel to take the lead on a project?
Very rewarding. It was a ton of work, but it was cool to take on more responsibilities during the development process. For example, the Detective Kate universe was already established when we started working on Vanishing Act, so most of the legwork for story and character development was already done. As the primary designer on this project, it was on me to come up with an entirely new story from whole cloth. This was a challenge for sure, but as a result, I have a much greater sense of ownership over Death Dodgers, and I’m really proud of how it turned out!

Death Dodgers starts because the main character downloads a phone game, which feels pretty self-referential. Does that mean there will be other video game elements in Death Dodgers?
The video game aspects of Death Dodgers certainly play a big part in the story and gameplay. There’s a chapter set in an arcade where we have puzzles based on classic video games like Burger Time and Street Fighter. These were some of my favorite puzzles to design, so I hope you enjoy them!

What was your favorite part to work on in Death Dodgers?
I had fun coming up with the story concept. It’s pretty “out there,” but we were able to explore it thoroughly, especially with the extra context provided by the bonus VIP chapter. I don’t want to say too much, because I think the story works best when you are as unspoiled as possible. Let’s just say that there are some real unexpected turns. I think players are going to have fun uncovering the mystery!

The art style is different than usual, and all the characters have very unique designs! What inspired you to take this direction?
The setting of Death Dodgers is largely based off of New York City, so I wanted the art to feel like something out of that urban environment. Gong Studios took that idea and ran with it. They developed a unique, pseudo-graffiti art style that looks super cool, and totally nails that urban vibe. For me, New York has always been a place full of diverse people and experiences, and I think that really comes through in our character designs. Gong totally knocked it out of the park!

This game is Advanced, which is our hardest level. Do you have any advice for our clever players?
We didn’t set out with the specific goal of making this game harder than usual, but that is where the design ended up taking us. The stakes in this story are rather high, and I think that tension naturally bleeds over into the more challenging gameplay. Here is a bit of general advice for the puzzles in Death Dodgers: most locks require multiple clues to solve. If you think you know the solution after looking at only one clue, chances are you’re missing something. Be vigilant, and study your surroundings carefully!

Any words of wisdom for future game designers?
Make games! There’s no better way to learn how to design games than to just do it! If you’re not a strong programmer, make card games or board games. If you’re not a strong artist, draw stick figures. Every bit of experience is valuable!

Play Death Dodgers in Adventure Escape Mysteries. Purchase the Death Dodgers VIP Bundle to get access to an exclusive bonus chapter, 30 stars, and enough keys to unlock the whole game!