Engine: Unreal Engine 5.4
Genre: Rhythm-based action game
Timeframe: 9 months (December 2024-August 2025)
Team Size: 18 members
INTRODUCTION
Punk Rock Exorcist is a rhythm-based action game currently in development by Engaging Software Products, a team of graduate students at Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA). The game follows Ramona, a high school punk rocker, as she battles to save her girlfriend from the musical demons who have taken over her Catholic school.
I developed two major portions of Punk Rock‘s four-part level flow: the large combat section at the end of level one, and the longer traversal section at the beginning of level two.
LEVEL ONE: THE CHAPEL
The first section of Punk Rock Exorcist I created was the space for the first of two major combat sections: the school chapel.
The chapel moved through several iterations before reaching its final design. Initial concepts were based on smaller chapels, created to match the feel of a Midwestern Catholic school that might have been grand once, but has come upon hard times and limited funding.
As the game evolved, however, the school transformed from a down-on-its-luck school to a much more expensive, grand institute, contrasting the main character’s sense of punk rebellion. To match the new setting and aesthetic, I completely reworked the chapel, transforming it into a much larger, grander venue for the first major combat of the game.
I initially blocked out the chapel using Unreal Engine’s modeling toolkit, then used kitbashed assets to construct the main architecture of the chapel. Key props, such as the altar and the stained glass windows, were custom-built by the art team to fit the blockout.
Throughout development of Punk Rock, the chapel was used as a standard space for mechanical testing and public demos.
LEVEL TWO: THE SCHOOL
Like the chapel, the school itself evolved along with the story. Early in development, I created a series of modular room concepts, including classrooms and more specific spaces like lunchrooms, gymnasiums, and teacher’s lounges, inspired by ’80s public schools.
Creating spaces which felt natural for a high school, but which allowed room for high-energy action sequences and combat zones, was a challenge that led to significant iteration throughout the project.
After determining a set of potential spaces for level events, I settled on a selection of spaces where storytelling and level events could take place: a library, a control room, and a workshop, all leading up to the game’s final boss battle in the school auditorium.
CONCLUSIONS
This project is still in development! (Updated 07/2025)