Life Beyond: Development and art for a AAA metaverse game

Room 8 Group played a crucial role in the development, stabilization, and enhancement of Life Beyond, a sci-fi gaming metaverse developed in Unreal Engine 5.

We improved gameplay, buttressed backend architecture, enhanced UI systems, improved in-game AI, and much more to create a seamless, scalable, and immersive environment that enriched the player experience.

The challenge

Our partner Darewise required the services of a leading game developer with a track record of consistently delivering great games for its partners—and we at Room 8 Group fitted the bill.

Truly fun blockchain games that feel professionally made are still few and far between. Darewise is changing that, and we were eager to lend a hand to make Life Beyond as engaging an experience as possible.

What we did

From developing core gameplay loops to ensuring bulletproof backend architecture, our work on Life Beyond was wide-ranging.

Gameplay Development & Enhancements

• Developed and refined core gameplay systems, including movement, building mechanics, terraforming, flying vehicles, and farming.
• Designed and implemented missions: Phytology, Find and Defend, Corrupted Mutation Samples, Bounty Hunting, and Power Up.
• Expanded and optimized the Gameplay Ability System, ensuring dynamic and responsive player interactions.
• Improved object serialization and optimized game stability.

Combat & Weapons Development

• Implemented new weapon abilities for the Assault Rifle, including Active Reload (with UI integration), Shockwave, Crescent Beam, and the Ultimate Air Strike.
• Enhanced combat mechanics with projectiles, AOE zones, invulnerability/damage immunity systems, and weapon beam effects.

AI Development

• Improved AI movement, ability selection, and aggression systems.
• Developed threat coordination mechanics for different enemy types, including new monster abilities.
• Implemented “on-leash” behaviour for AI-controlled characters, ensuring better control and responsiveness.

UI & UX Development

• Built a comprehensive UI framework using Slate & UMG to support immersive user experiences.
• Refactored and improved map markers for better navigation.
• Designed and implemented the “Community Goals” award system, including UI templates and administration tools.

Backend & Server-Side Development

• Designed scalable system architecture, supporting microservices (analytics, server browser, gateway).
• Developed and optimized client-server communication protocols.
• Implemented matchmaking, session management, and statistics tracking.
• Managed databases (PostgreSQL, SQLite), improving API performance and adding utility tools.

Prototyping & Technical Enhancements

• Built terraforming prototypes using VoxelPlugin.
• Developed interactive NPCs and pets (early-stage prototyping).
• Improved placement mechanics, including sockets preview and slope surface placement.

3C (Character, Camera, Controls) Enhancements

• Implemented Coyote Time mechanics, enhancing jump responsiveness.
• Improved AI root motion support while maintaining navigation mesh compliance.

3D Art

• Helped establish a clear art style with the partner.
• Managed sculpting and texturing of 3D environment assets, such as large organic plants.
• Optimized and modularized assets.
• Helped with rigs and frame-by-frame animations for different creatures.
• Created a range of characters and skins (Developed faces, hairstyles, and skins for male and female characters across different races, and designed alien creatures; we covered the entire pipeline—from modeling to hand‑painted textures and animations).

The outcome

Our contribution to Life Beyond was comprehensive, as we developed a technically robust, engaging, and future-proof game experience. With expertise in Unreal Engine 5, scalable backend systems, and gameplay mechanics, we once again showed we can deliver high-quality, performance-optimized solutions tailored to complex gaming environments.