Zero Day

Partner studio: Puny Human

Concept

An objective-driven cooperative cyberpunk looter-shooter and spiritual successor to Dystopia, built around consciousness transfer between bodies and androids as a tactical mechanic, implant-based augmentation, point capture with primary-objective extraction, loot and crafting progression, cosmetics and matchmaking. A dual-layered world set a dark physical city against a bright, glowing cyberspace.

Requirement

The studio's strategic aim was to move from outsourced service work back to original product. That required a fundable pitch: a consolidated visual brand, a coherent art direction distinct from genre convention, and a playable demonstration of the vision — built with engineers, animators and artists rotating off client projects, without a dedicated budget.

Approach

The project was built in Unreal Engine 4 and later migrated to Unreal Engine 5. Art direction moved deliberately away from conventional cyberpunk blue toward an orange palette to differentiate the brand, and the dual-layer world design — the physical city against digital cyberspace — was established as the central visual and mechanical hook.

Concept art covered avatars, weapons, UI and environments, with 2D and 3D mockups feeding a consolidated pitch deck. Development ran with a community-transparent update program.

Delivery scope

• Original IP and game design
• Art direction and visual branding
• Concept art (characters, weapons, UI, environments)
• 3D art and in-engine implementation
• Unreal Engine 4 and 5 development
• Multiplayer, matchmaking and progression systems
• Pitch deck and investor materials
• Community-transparent development program

Results

• Playable art test delivered, demonstrating the visual direction to investors
• 30–60 person-months invested, across an art director, a 3D lead and rotating engineering and animation staff, 2019–2023
• Venture funding sought through Q2 2023; funding was not secured

Engine: Unreal Engine 4 → Unreal Engine 5.