MAX KENNEDY
CULT OF THE DEVOURER
Cult of the Devourer is a Survivors-like game showcased at the 2025 Queensland University of Technology Immersive Festival. Players must consume as many enemies as possible to prevent their hunger meter from reaching zero and avoid being defeated in the process.
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The final rendition of Cult of the Devourer ended up delivering a satisfying loop of destroying villagers with unique abilities all the while your player character transformed into a lovecraftian abomination.
Slaughter. Devour. Transcend.
TEAM MEMBERS
Ash Tarsilli (Designer, Artist)
Asher Johnston (Programmer)
Ellan Ngo (Artist)
Mae Rosewarne (Designer)
Max Kennedy (Designer)
Xavier MacKay (Programmer)
DURATION
2 Weeks of pre-production
6 Weeks of development
ENGINE
Unity
CONTRIBUTIONS
Mechanics Design
UI Design
Game Feel + Playtesting
For the pre-production phase of Cult of the Devourer, the team discussed the brief of creating a Survivors-like and how unique themes could create appeal with other audiences not already familiar with the genre. The group was heavily inspired by the cosmic horror genre and the works of H.P Lovecraft and similar creatives which was reflected in the team's mood board. The core mechanic of the game, a continuous depleting hunger meter that drives the player to constantly eat, drew inspiration from the theme, where monsters and old gods in cosmic horror are often motivated by ceaseless hunger and a desire to consume.
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It was also during this time in pre-production that the design team spent a lot of time planning out and paper prototyping the player interactions and the required resources. The results from the paper prototyping also helped establish for the game's required UI elements and screen layout.
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PRE-PRODUCTION
My contribution to the development of Cult of the Devourer revolved around the implementation of the game's UI systems as well as the game feel through balancing to the systems implemented by the team's programmers.
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During a playtesting session, players found it annoying that in order to collect hunger drumsticks they had to sometimes walk into a hoard of enemies, which would result in either a large loss of health or player defeat. Thus an item magnet system was implemented to alleviate some of the risk without completely nullifying the danger that enemies imposed on the player. Balance passes on the radius of the item magnet were extensively conducted in order to prevent a certain playstyle from arising where players could stand still and complete the game without moving.
DEVELOPMENT
Towards the later half of development on Cult of the Devourer my primary focus shifted towards the polishing of existing systems and away from the addition of new systems. With the design and programming team working together, I headed the inclusion of the tutorial for the game based on novice player testers still struggling to interpret the mechanics of the game.
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Additionally, due to how the distribution of enemies in a Survivors-like functions, sometimes players were not finding the health and hunger mechanic UI located in the corner of the screen and were frustrated when they suddenly lost. Inspiration was taken from how League of Legends tackles the same issue, with multiple versions of the same important UI element prevalent on the screen to make sure the player does not miss it. Icons were added next to each of the UI elements to help players distinguish between the resources. Subsequent playtests showed a significant drop in the number of players that were failing due to not locating the UI.
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The final refinement that I helped contribute to the game, which helped bring the game look and feel more inline with the theme of cosmic horror the team was aiming for. Overall this was my favourite small but majorly impactful part of the refinement and polishing process.
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