Question: What game engine is used for Dead Island 2?

Answer

Dead Island 2, like its predecessor, is a zombie survival horror game. The original Dead Island and its sequel, Dead Island: Riptide, were developed using Techland's Chrome Engine. However, during the development of Dead Island 2, the developers decided to switch to Unreal Engine 4.

Unreal Engine 4 is a powerful and widely used game engine developed by Epic Games. It has been used to develop many games across different genres and platforms due to its high degree of portability and cutting-edge graphics capabilities. By leveraging UE4, developers can take advantage of features such as advanced dynamic lighting, a robust particle system, and extensive tools for animation, among others.

Using Unreal Engine 4 allowed the team behind Dead Island 2 to create more detailed environments, realistic physics, and better animations, which are crucial for creating an immersive atmosphere in a survival horror game. The engine is also known for its ability to handle open-world games, providing a stable foundation for Dead Island 2's vast areas filled with hordes of zombies.

Following are typical steps developers might take when working with this engine:

1. Asset Creation: Modelers and artists create 3D models, textures, and animations for characters, items, and the environment.
2. Level Design: Level designers use Unreal Engine's level editor to build the game maps and gameplay scenarios.
3. Game Logic: Programmers write the game code using C++ and/or the engine's visual scripting language, Blueprint, to define the rules, player interactions, enemy behavior, etc.
4. Lighting and Effects: Artists set up the game's lighting and visual effects to enhance the visual appeal and support the atmosphere.
5. Testing and Iteration: The game is continuously tested and tweaked for performance improvements, bug fixes, and gameplay balancing.

Here's a simple example of what a function might look like in Unreal Engine 4 using C++, defining how a character could take damage:

void AMyCharacter::TakeDamage(float DamageAmount)
{
    Health -= DamageAmount;
    if (Health <= 0)
    {
        Die();
    }
}

And the equivalent logic might be implemented using Blueprints visually without writing explicit code.