Last time, we ripped open the medical bag and explained how level design works in Medic: Pacific War. Today, we’re diving deeper into the mind of our level designer for a broader look behind the frontlines.

In this devlog, we explore how the world around you is built to heighten every heartbeat. From lighting and sound to emotional storytelling and performance optimization, this is where level design meets battlefield realism. It's not just about where you fight, but how it feels every step of the way.

Let’s dive in!

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In designing the levels, we aim for consistency and immersion rather than complexity. While players may unlock additional medical tools like tourniquets or advanced medicaments throughout their gameplay, the structure of the levels themselves remains separate from these upgrades. This way, it allows the game to maintain a level sense of realism, imitating how real-world medics must adapt to situations rather than rely on the environment to adapt to their toolkit.

Unlike games that feature supply boxes or scattered resource nodes as part of environmental puzzles or rewards, Medic: Pacific War emphasizes authenticity. We intentionally avoid placing supply drops or medical stations directly into the level design. Instead, the focus is on the core experience of field medicine under pressure, where the challenge stems not from finding resources but from using what’s available effectively.

To elevate the emotional weight and immersion of treating wounded soldiers, we've developed a dialogue system that brings these NPCs to life. Each injured soldier is not just a gameplay element, but a character with a voice, offering comments, personal stories, or reactions as they receive care. This system transforms them from static set pieces into integral parts of the narrative and pacing, weaving emotional threads into the gameplay experience.

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Creating a gripping battlefield experience relies on more than just mechanics. Our team uses a carefully orchestrated blend of sound, visuals, and level design to evoke dread, urgency, and deep immersion.

Ambient sounds like distant artillery, shouted commands or the buzz of flies over debris set a foreboding tone, while the music dynamically escalates tension. Limited visibility through fog, smoke, or obstructive terrain makes players feel vulnerable, heightening their alertness. Dynamic in-level events - paired with UI indicators that highlight nearby threats - make sure that players remain constantly aware of the dangers that surround them.

Lighting, fog, and sound design serve not only as atmospheric elements but also as navigational cues. We use lighting contrast to subtly guide players, drawing their attention to critical paths, interactive objects, or narrative points of interest. Sudden lighting shifts - like a flickering bulb or a complete blackout - can signal impending danger, pushing players to make split-second decisions under stress.

Fog limits sightlines, enhancing the tension of moving through unfamiliar terrain, while spatial audio cues hint at nearby movement or unseen threats. These environmental elements all work in unison to influence player behavior and perception, ensuring a deeply reactive and atmospheric experience.

Among the levels, there’s one particular moment that stands out: the quiet before the storm at the Okinawa camp. Before the chaos of battle begins, players witness a rare slice of life in the camp - soldiers talking, resting, or lost in thought. It’s a subtle but effective contrast to the intensity that follows, and it adds emotional depth to the level. This moment captures the human side of war, grounding the experience and offering players a chance to reflect before they're thrown back into the fray.

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Performance optimization is a crucial part of our development process, especially as we strive to deliver a seamless experience across a wide range of hardware configurations. Our team regularly profiles and benchmarks the game using tools provided by Unreal Engine, such as the Unreal Engine Profiler. This allows us to identify performance bottlenecks, whether in rendering, scripting, or memory usage, and implement targeted optimizations.

From reducing draw calls and optimizing assets to fine-tuning lighting and effects, every change is made with careful attention to maintaining both visual fidelity and gameplay fluidity. These efforts ensure that players can experience the intensity of the battlefield without technical interruptions, regardless of their system specs.

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We have more in store on our official platforms! Join our passionate community of virtual war medics dedicated to saving lives and bringing the troops home!

Medic: Pacific War on Discord

Medic: Pacific War on Reddit

Follow us on our official social media pages to get the latest scoop!

Medic: Pacific War on X

Medic: Pacific War on TikTok

Medic: Pacific War on Instagram

Medic: Pacific War on Facebook

Medic: Pacific War on BlueSky

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281640/Medic_Pacific_War/

We turned the tide of developing Medic: Pacific War a few months ago with our comeback devlog. As we face the inevitable challenges and consequential victories heading into the game’s eventual release later this year, we’re going to talk about our renewed yet familiar approach to making the game we’ve always envisioned it to be.



In this devlog, with intel coming straight from the top brass, our Lead Level Designer, we’ll break down our Level Design method for Medic: Pacific War.

Let’s get right into it, Medics!

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Medic: Pacific War is built with the vision of immersing players as Medics in the historical battlegrounds of World War 2’s Pacific Theatre. Every level highlights the unique challenges Medics faced on the front lines, ensuring every situation presents a high-stakes test of skill and decision-making.

While there are a plethora of great examples of bringing simulated warfare in front of gamers’ screens out there, it doesn’t make it easier for us to balance historical accuracy with engaging gameplay, especially from a very unique perspective. Our design team carefully integrates real-world locations - such as the hospital in Pearl Harbor, the castle in Okinawa, and even Kakazu Ridge - while making sure that these elements enhance the experience rather than hinder it.



To capture the chaos and intensity of war without overwhelming “Medics”, levels are carefully designed around specific parameters and objectives. The active battlefield serves as an immersive backdrop, helping players feel the weight of their role as Medics without removing the fun and engaging element of gameplay.



Carefully placed moments of intensity and brief respites create patterns that imitate the realities of war - scaling chaos with decision-making and moments of calm before the next set of actions begin.



This approach makes every mission feel like they’re more than just blips of battles - it’s a continuous test of survival, adaptation, and tactical planning, where players are thrown head-first into the struggles and triumphs of wartime Medics.

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As expected, designing levels for a medic-focused, war-themed game is by no means an easy feat - one that goes beyond traditional shooter mechanics.

Unlike standard war-themed games where combat is the primary concern in terms of player immersion and gameplay, Medic: Pacific War demands an acute awareness of battlefield conditions that directly affect a player’s ability to rescue and treat the wounded.



This meant designing environments that accommodate mechanics rarely seen in other games, such as dragging a wounded soldier to safety while under fire.

To support core gameplay elements like locating wounded allies, transporting them, and/or administering treatment, level layouts integrate safe zones where players can stabilize casualties. More importantly, covers are strategically placed throughout levels, which can be seen as natural or man-made barriers (e.g., wrecked vehicles, sandbags, debris, etc.), which allow players to move around and through danger while minimizing exposure.



Much like other games, environmental hazards add the much-needed depth, especially with players not having the ability to counter danger sources. Minefields, for example, are obvious threats - but when carrying the injured, they become tactical obstacles. Other variations, such as trenches, foxholes, and fortified positions, provide temporary protection, but adaptability is critical.



Battlefields must feel intense yet strategic, demanding quick thinking and survival instincts. Medic: Pacific War captures the high-stakes pressure medics faced, offering a fresh take on war through level design that challenges players to save lives (rather than counterattack) in the heat of combat.

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Designing dynamic events that impact a player’s experience, like air raids, enemy waves & line-of-fire, grenade paths, and others, requires careful planning. Levels must account for changes before, during, and after the event, ensuring seamless transitions while maintaining immersion. Reconciling multiple elements - like cover, destruction, and objective shifting - adds further complexity to the overall experience.



Approach options vary based on mission structure and narrative needs. Some levels allow multiple paths to reach the wounded, giving players the freedom to navigate dangers, while others funnel players into choke points, increasing tension and forcing immediate and strategic decision-making.



Both approaches serve different gameplay moments, reinforcing our goal to provide an immersive Medic: Pacific War experience in an otherwise familiar gaming wartime setting.

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We’re shaping up Medic: Pacific War to be an intense and immersive experience, bringing the unique challenges of battlefield medics to life with intricate approaches to level design, historical accuracy, and mechanics that demand tactical, non-combative decisions under pressure.

From the way chaos is structured into gameplay to the dangers that force split-second decisions, every aspect of level design is built to heighten immersion while keeping experience balanced, fun and engaging.



But this is just the beginning - there’s still more to uncover about how we craft the environments that define a medic’s role on the battlefield. In the next devlog, we’ll dive even deeper into Level Design - breaking down designing for systems, iteration & testing, immersion & atmosphere, and optimization - delving into how gameplay mechanics tie into level design, how environments evolve through testing, how atmosphere influence player experience and how we refine performance for the best possible gameplay.

For now, our mission continues. We’re pushing forward, refining details, and bringing our grand vision to life. Stay with us, comrade - there’s a lot more to come.

See you in the field, Medics!

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We have more in store on our official platforms! Join our passionate community of virtual war medics dedicated to saving lives and bringing the troops home!




Follow us on our official social media pages to get the latest scoop!

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281640/Medic_Pacific_War/

Two weeks ago, we released our “comeback” devlog, promising full commitment to moving forward. In addition to the positive feedback we received from our community, some raised questions about the game and its development.

To address our community’s floating questions, we’re setting up a Questions and Answers session! Take a look at the event details below:






To participate in Pulse Tap - Medic: Pacific War Q&A event, you must first be a member of the official Medic: Pacific War Discord server. From the starting date and time of the Q&A event, you will be able to view and send messages to the #pulse-tap-qa channel on Discord. You should be able to send your questions at this time.

Note that you can only include your questions in a single message. We have slow mode enabled on the channel, which will prevent you from sending messages other than your set of questions. This is done as a precaution to avoid spam and for more effective communication between the users and the developers.


On Answer Day, all the questions sent on the #pulse-tap-qa channel will be responded to with answers on thread replies. This will ensure that all questions are answered and organized, minimizing confusion.

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Our recent devlog talks about everything we’ve managed to develop so far, our focus change to realism, the all-new Arena Mode, and changes to our community and social media platforms.

Missed the “comeback” devlog? Click on the image below to read through our most recent update!

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We have more in store on our official platforms! Join our passionate community of virtual war medics dedicated to saving lives and bringing the troops home!




Follow us on our official social media pages to get the latest scoop!

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281640/Medic_Pacific_War/

It’s been almost eight months since we held our first-ever developer stream, and we know that you have been asking the same question ever since - “What now?”

It’s been a long while since we started working on Medic: Pacific War, and we know there have been multiple pauses throughout the years.



Now - this Devlog - is the beginning of the new era. We’re coming in hot with the full commitment of rolling forward. No more stopovers. We will be dropping bombs like zeroes under the morning sun.

We made you wait long enough. It’s now or never!

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Medic: Pacific War began as a passion project aimed at making the role of a World War II Medic engaging while staying true to its historical roots. While this made sense from the start, the deeper we went into development, the more we realized we needed a more realistic approach. After all, we named the game after the impressive work done by the World War II Medical Corps.

With this in mind, we have now gravitated towards making Medic: Pacific War more “realistic,” moving away from the more “arcade” style we initially leaned towards.




Upgrading to a more advanced and powerful game engine is a no-brainer. After all, everyone involved in the project and the community wants an immersive experience like no other. Immediately, the change to Unreal Engine 5 allowed us to improve every aesthetic aspect of the game, from the graphics to the sound effects.

Thanks to UE5’s Nanite, we can showcase the beauty of our environments at an unprecedented level. Battlefields are now rendered precisely how we wanted them to be - representing the war’s destructive effect on the environment.



The battlefield is filled with different light sources, and UE5’s Lumen has allowed us to make them appear more realistic than ever before. Whether you’re inside a war tunnel lit only by small, flickering ceiling lamps, or getting flashed by shots coming from the zeroes in the sky, light sources bounce off realistically.



The move to Unreal Engine 5 has also allowed us to scale our game’s graphical options for more modern setups, allowing us to use the latest graphical techniques in video games, such as DLSS, XLSS, and more. This will allow for a much wider range of compatibility with different gaming setups.



Considering this, moving towards a newer engine is an almost gargantuan task for a game already built from a previous iteration. While the most noticeable improvements are already in our development build, we’re continuously working on maximizing the potential of Unreal Engine 5 towards Medic: Pacific War. We can’t wait to share more about this!




Moving around the battlefield with a heavy bag of medical supplies wasn’t supposed to be as easy as moving around every day. Plus, the dangers of the battlefield made it harder to take each step forward. Such is the mindset we embody moving forward whilst making Medic: Pacific War lean towards realism.



We’ve updated the in-game animations to better represent the hardship the ground troops went through during the Second World War. Whether you’re trying to get from one cover to another, or you’re trying to sprint toward a wounded ally, the animations will convey how moving for the sake of your survival should look like.




Most video game characters tend to have automatic health regeneration as one of the aspects of having a plot armor. However, what it gains from making games more fun and engaging comes the failure to provide more immersion to the players.

When we say we wanted players to experience a more realistic “Medic: Pacific War”, we meant it so far as to remove the “auto-regen” mechanic and require them to heal themselves using the same inventory for healing the wounded.



Apart from this, we’re now allowing enemy damage to affect the wounded while they are being transported by the player. This represents a challenge for players to encourage further strategy when moving around the map and securing wounded to medical sites—besides being more realistic.

We’ve also made progress with a new game mode that we are extremely excited to share with you:




For the hardcore medics out there - we’re adding an “Arena” mode! This yet-to-be-officialy-named mode combines the familiar setting of an “endless” mode with the unique Medic: Pacific War twist.

There's no time limit in this “arena” mode - but you only have a single life. You’ll also receive progression factors like skill points to improve your gameplay and survival chances.



To improve variation, we’ve developed several “events” that are set to occur between “waves,” which will significantly impact your choices moving forward, like ambushes or bombardments that will hinder you from using similar paths from point A to point B, or destruction of specific areas which will slow you down as you find another way towards a goal.



We saw this as a fitting mode to add to the game due to how the core mechanics work and are loved by the people. We can’t wait to see everyone’s take and gameplay on this unique Medic: Pacific War twist to the already familiar mode.

We’re committed to keeping you updated as Medic: Pacific War continues to steadily evolve. Your feedback is very valuable to us - the more discussions and engagement around the game, the better we can make it. So don’t hesitate to talk about the game and what you expect from it on our community platforms - we promise you - it helps a ton!

Speaking of community platforms, we’re leveling up on everything else, even outside the game.

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Trying to balance full-time game development and community management proved to be a challenging task for us. So, we decided to bring someone else to focus on the community side of things while we continue working on the game.



As a move towards finally coming back for good, we’ve brought in a new community manager - nicknamed Strakchy - for our Discord, Reddit, and other community platforms. He will be focused on maintaining focus and engagement about the game, making and handling events, and growing the community.

With a new person handling the community overall, we can now focus more on making Medic: Pacific War reach its full potential. We can’t wait for our new CM to build our community to greater heights and show you what we can achieve with our full attention on Medic: Pacific War development!

You will see more of his work in future devlogs and news posts on Steam, Discord, Reddit, and other platforms.

Together with having a new Community Manager means having changes to our home base - our Discord!




To match the new community management stuff above, we’ve also overhauled our official Discord server to make it focused on one thing - the game itself.

One of the main changes is the server name change—from Hypnotic Ants Studio to Medic: Pacific War. You will also see structural changes to the categories and channels that we and the new CM planned to better suit the game’s community. For those still interested in our other games, we have maintained some channels for familiarity.

Speaking of channels, we’ve added some where you can discuss and engage focused topics with fellow medics, such as:

• #History-talk, where you can discuss historical events and everything related to WW2.
  
• #Medical-talk, where the main topic is the art and science of medical treatment.
  
• #Media, where you can share your Medic: Pacific War-related stuff (e.g. memes, videos, images, cosplays, art, and more)

There are also changes to the roles, rules, info channels, FAQs, and more. Check out what the renewed Discord server looks like now!



We’ve also built a new base on Reddit! Finally, a Medic: Pacific War subreddit to call home.




Finally, we have an official subreddit for Medic: Pacific War. This is going to be a place for those who’d rather stay on Reddit than anywhere else. Our subreddit will host official announcements, exclusive Reddit events for the game, and so much more, so make sure you subscribe!



Our new community manager will also handle our subreddit using an official Medic: Pacific War Reddit account. Overall, you should see more of Medic: Pacific War on Reddit since we plan to lurk on relevant subreddits so that everyone can get to know us. Again, subscribe so you don’t miss anything on our sub!

Speaking of a brand-new community platform, we’re upping our social media game, to say the least.




To ensure you feel confident that we’re back for good, we’ve also brought in a new Social Media Manager! k00L—who will also be present on our Discord—will manage all social media content from now on, delivering news and content made especially for our—wait for it—new social media pages!

Exclusives on social media, like events, content, and stuff will be posted regularly - so make sure you follow us so you don’t miss out!

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We have more in store on our official platforms! Join our passionate community of virtual war medics dedicated to saving lives and bringing the troops home!




Follow us on our official social media pages to get the latest scoop!

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281640/Medic_Pacific_War/

Welcome, warriors! 🎮

We apologize for the extended period without updates from our developers.
However, we’re back now and ready to share behind-the-scenes insights into the making of Medic: Pacific War.

Get ready for an exciting live stream from the game Medic: Pacific War! As an American field Medic on the Pacific front, you are the last hope for wounded comrades. Your decisions will impact the outcome of battles, but not all choices will be easy. Moral dilemmas, tough decisions, and the fight for survival await. Join us to explore behind-the-scenes details, discuss the community survey, and answer viewer questions!



📅 Date: Friday, 16 August, 18:00 UTC Check your TimeZone
🔴 Platform: Youtube, Twich, Tiktok (Links soon)
🎙️ Host: Medic: Pacific War developers
🔍 Agenda:
Survey Discussion: Talk about the questions we asked the community and the results we obtained.
Q&A with Viewers: Have questions? We’re happy to answer them!
Production Insights: Discover the secrets of game development and the inspirations driving Medic: Pacific War’s world.
Gameplay: See what it’s like to be a Medic on the war front. Expect emotions, challenges, and unexpected situations!

Join our stream to uncover the world of Medic: Pacific War and experience what it’s like to be a true hero during wartime. 💪🩺

If you need additional information or have other questions, feel free to ask! 🤗

Dear Players,

We deeply regret the prolonged silence and the unexpected delay in our game's production. Your input is invaluable to us, and we invite you to participate in a survey that will help shape the game's future. Your feedback is essential in aligning the game with your expectations and preferences.

As the Alpha version is currently under closed access, some survey questions may reference experiences not available to all. Please feel free to skip any questions that do not apply to you.

We apologize for the wait and are working on new ways to keep you updated and involved. More information will be forthcoming.


Survey link: https://forms.office.com/e/1t5Q6QvRCX


Join us on our Discord server for a closer look at the game's development: https://discord.gg/8T3CKYR4Qs


With sincere apologies,
The Hypnotic Ants Team
hello@hypnoticants.com

The wounded need you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiy-qnAIzTQ&t=3s

Game Operators, PID Games, & Hypnotic Ants will fight together in 2023, as announced during the PID Games Conference. Survive the horror of the Pacific Front where bombs fall from the sky and rifle bullets cut the air.



Make sure to wishlist the game to get the latest news about the game!

The short story has just fallen on the news: before going to war, you’ll have to connect yourself on Twitch. Something’s coming on the 22nd of December, at 20.00 CET. If you want some updates about the game, you should come to say hi on the Twitch channel below.

https://www.twitch.tv/pidgameslive

Want to be sure you don’t miss it? Start to follow us today on Twitch! And, of course, don’t forget to wishlist the game to get the latest news!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281640/Medic_Pacific_War/

Today, we would like to introduce the newest member to our team, Senior Game Writer and novelist, Genese Davis! Quite a few months ago, we noticed that the writing for our game, although passionate, required improvements. We decided to speak with Genese, hoping she’d be up for writing a compelling narrative for Medic: Pacific War, and to our delight, her answer was yes. Thanks to her dedication, already the game is getting progressively better every day!

As a Senior Writer for companies such as Warner Brothers Games, and a Lead Writer for entertainment media such as Mattel, Inc., Genese has garnered a unique expertise in story creation and development. Whether building from the ground up or connecting together an existing narrative, writing exceptional, experiential-focused stories is her specialty.

You can read more about Genese on her website - http://genesedavis.com/about!

Find more of Genese’s game writing in these titles:

• Omensight
  
• Ary and the Secret of Seasons
  
• Override 2: Super Mech League
  
• Rustler
  
• Hogwarts Legacy

We have asked Genese Davis to share a few words with our community. Here’s her message:
We are incredibly happy to have Genese Davis on our team. We are certain that, thanks to her passion and talent, Medic: Pacific War will tell a great, captivating story.

Best regards,
Hypnotic Ants Team

How are you doing? Hopefully everything is going great for you!
During the talks while hard working on Medic: Pacific War we have got an idea to make a first contest here on the discord! Work continues and goes in the right direction but sadly we cannot show or tell you much about it yet... but let's get to the main topic!

We noticed that our discord lacks emoticons that are essential part of communities at discord servers! So the idea of the contest is quite simple – make some emoticons oriented on Medics for us! For the winner (or winners? who knows... it all depends on you!) we will provide a brand fresh new steam key to Medic: Pacific War!

More details on our Discord (#announcements channel):
https://discord.gg/rnHPftZJHX

Best regards,
Hypnotic Ants Team