How locations in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 were created — developer
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It's been over 3 weeks since S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl was released. The game was highly appreciated for its attention to the details of the Exclusion Zone, incredible atmosphere, and preservation of the spirit of the previous parts. The level designers were responsible for recreating familiar locations in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, and they did a difficult but no less interesting job.
Denys Rudyi, former Team Lead of GSC Game World level designers, told about this in an interview with Mezha.
How level designers recreated the map in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
From 2019 to 2023, Denis contributed to the game's development as a Team Lead in the level design group at GSC Game World, playing an integral role from the very beginning of the project.
His work started with the ambitious and complex task of creating a global map. This involved merging the real-world map of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone with locations from the original game series, reimagined within a new storyline.
Initially, Denis developed a general blockout draft of the entire map, meticulously testing and refining its metrics and pathways to ensure a cohesive and engaging player experience.
After several years of working on the game, Denis found himself with a team of level designers, and the workload began to be distributed among all team members. Denis retained responsibility for the Prologue, the Minor Zone region, and his personal favorite, the CAZRI (Research Institute of the Chernobyl Anomalous Zone), which he calls his signature creation.
According to Denis, it was crucial to truly understand the real Zone, to see and feel its atmosphere firsthand.
"The company organized regular trips there. I visited the Zone twice with team members and a few more times on my own, like a stalker," says Rudyi.
There, the team collected references and tried to get to places that could not be found on the Internet. The developer remembers well a visit to the Jupiter plant, where he and his team explored its basements.
Exploring the locations from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, one can only praise the game developers for the work they have done over the years. The resemblance and attention to detail are at a very high level.
As a reminder, on the second day of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 release, one million copies of the game were sold. In addition, on November 21, the largest simultaneous number of players in the game was reached — 117,928 people.
We also wrote that the oldest game developer from Japan played S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and was delighted. He is a fan of the series, but he was still disappointed with some issues in the game.
