Introduction to Hunting Clash

Launching in 2020, Hunting Clash is one of our newer products. It is the sports game follow-up to our previous hit, Fishing Clash, and currently, it has over 70 million downloads. The game still has a lot of room to grow, with the team constantly developing new features and content.

“What excites me the most about the future of Hunting Clash is our relentless pursuit of innovation and boundary-pushing. Whether we’re integrating a new gameplay element to see how it fits, or implementing quality-of-life improvements to gauge player reactions, testing is at the heart of our exploration. It not only uncovers new opportunities, but also leads to unexpected discoveries along the way. Sometimes, we find ourselves in a place that’s completely different from where we initially intended, which is beneficial both for us, and our players. It refines our intuition and deepens our understanding of players’ preferences. To achieve this, the team needs to maintain a focused collaborative effort centered on exploration and discovery. When developing any new feature, we experiment with various aspects — be it visual design, game economy balance, UX etc., or a combination of them all — to ensure we deliver the best possible experience for our players,” says Kuba Noganowicz, Product Owner of Hunting Clash.

The Hunting Clash team comprises over 60 people working on the game across 6 smaller departments: two Dev Squads, a GFX Team, LiveOps, Analytics, and a Support Team.

Dev Squad: The Core Gameplay Architects

The Dev Squad is responsible for Hunting Clash’s core gameplay. They cover three main types of activities: developing new features, iterating A/B tests, and making technical improvements, including bug fixing.

The Dev Squad works as one big team, but they are divided into smaller squads to facilitate the work. What’s important is that these divisions are not rigid, but change depending on the task. What doesn’t change is that the work on each new function includes a game designer, UI/UX specialist, developer, tester, LiveOps designer, and, of course, a producer.

“I collaborate with the entire team during the design stage to integrate technical considerations seamlessly. Towards the end of development, I actively participate in playtests to gather feedback and iterate the technical aspects to make sure we deliver high-quality features that perform well, with an appealing UI/UX experience for the player. This is possible due to our supportive and collaborative work culture that encourages open communication and feedback,” shares Dawid Kaluża, Senior Frontend Developer.

The team simultaneously works on bigger and smaller features because, while they want to improve the game with big updates, they have to keep in mind that our players can’t wait that long for new entertainment!

The design of the architecture needs to be flexible, so LiveOps can change things on the go and make our game a bit different for players every time they enter Hunting Clash.

“What I value the most is the possibility of building a highly motivated team of IT individuals who are dedicated to transforming our Game Server into a delivery platform to create and/or adapt new features for the ever-changing needs of our players. Having the possibility to scale up the team to meet our business requirements and invest time into reliable and stable solutions is a sign of trust from the company. We can innovate, have a guarantee that our technical solutions are capable of supporting much higher player traffic, and create comprehensive features in a short amount of time,” says Damian Dudek, Expert Backend Developer.

An important role in the production process is played by UI/UX designers. They’re responsible for creating a user flow in conjunction with the game designers, which allows the team to see what an idea should look like and create designs and prototypes for further development based on that.

“I strongly believe that a well-designed user interface can improve the overall gaming experience, making it more intuitive, engaging, and enjoyable for players. This is why their feedback is invaluable to UI/UX designers, as it provides insight into how users perceive and interact with the interface. This can highlight areas for improvement, identify usability issues, and suggest new features or improvements. On this basis, we are able to attract existing but also new players and keep them engaged by providing easy access to basic functions, information and control.

Therefore, for me, what players think is very important, and I always try to carefully consider it throughout the development cycle,” shares Joanna Cybińska, Junior UI/UX Designer.

LiveOps: The Engagement Crafters

The LiveOps Team includes LiveOps designers, testers, and 2D graphic designers who create live events for HC players.

Their job is to invent and add new content to the game so that players can find something new in Hunting Clash every day. They design the player experience and try to make it as good as possible so that players will want to return to the game.

“As a LiveOps Team, our primary goal is to provide gamers with a constantly evolving, dynamic world that always offers new challenges and rewards. Over the past few months, we have focused on introducing new elements to the game that not only breathe new life into hunts, but also provide more opportunities for exploration and fun,” says Paulina Kondras, Lead Producer.

“In addition to the main hunting mode, we are also introducing new mini-games that players can explore and play during breaks between standard hunts. These side games offer a different form of entertainment, encouraging players to experiment with different play styles and skills. Recently, we’ve introduced a contractual gameplay mode, where players are required to hunt specific animal specimens. In return, we offer the possibility of endless gameplay and the pursuit of successive contracts to earn more rewards. In the near future, we also plan to introduce new diversions for players, giving them the opportunity to complete tasks to acquire specific trophies during gameplay, such as antlers. This will certainly enrich the player experience,” adds Paulina.

GFX Team: Visualizing the Hunt

The GFX department is the art department of Hunting Clash. It comprises concept artists, level artists, environment and character artists, 3D artists and animators, a technical artist and a content designer. Thanks to this creative team, new locations, animals, and weapons are constantly added to the game, as well as many tiny elements that make it all the more eye-catching.

The GFX Team crafts an entire experience, so that our virtual hunters and huntresses feel as though they’re exploring real-world locations. To do that, the team balances data with creativity and feedback, in order to create the perfect mix for players to enjoy.

“A feedback-driven approach gives artists the opportunity to share their perceptions and to learn from the others’ perspectives. This helps the team to grow from within. Our learning budgets enable each team member to gain additional expertise. Furthermore, regular wildlife trips strengthen the team’s bond and nurture creativity,” shares Christoph Simon, Senior Animator at Hunting Clash.

As realism is important in our game, research is a prerequisite for each location. When the concept artists know the final shape of the location they want to achieve, it’s time to start refining the sketch by adding more depth and believability. Each and every location is unique to its region, with specific shapes, vegetation, and terrain.

Based on that concept, 3D graphic designers create the location. This way, the panorama is filled with elements such as trees, stones, and paths.

In addition, they also create weather phenomena and various times of day for the hunting ground –which Hunting Clash players have named as some of the more subtle features they enjoy. That’s why each location has such memorable settings, from dramatic winter sunsets to aurora borealis.

“Our team of highly specialized and super-talented artists loves diving into new challenges and experimenting with fresh ideas! We value open discussions, where everyone can freely share their thoughts and ideas at any time. Despite the limitations of mobile platforms, we take pride in consistently delivering top-notch quality,” says Agata Semenowicz, Producer.

To bring life to the location, animals and weapons must look similar to their original counterparts, which is why they need to be carefully sculpted in 3D.

“We undertake research to recreate the varied wildlife players come across in our game, seeking to understand rather than to copy, since it can be hard to find good animal references for many species,” adds Christoph.

Finally, the level artists put the location together in the in-game engine. The location is then tested and used by the LiveOps Team to create a narrative event that will drive players toward their new hunting ground.

Beretta Collaboration: Connecting With the Best in Sport

Hunting Clash took an innovative leap by seamlessly integrating Beretta products into the virtual world. Beretta, a brand synonymous with quality and innovation since 1526, brings centuries of expertise to the collaboration, elevating the gaming experience by infusing it with the authenticity of real-world adventure.

“Before diving into development with Beretta, we first clarified what both sides needed. It was super important to get expectations and limitations straight. For Beretta, shining a spotlight on their gear was key. With that in mind, we sketched out our first designs. But we wanted to go beyond just showcasing Beretta products like it’s just another ad. We aimed to let players really use these guns and clothes in the game. That’s how we came up with the ‘contracts’ game mode,” says Michał Kopeć, Product Manager.

“The whole team knocked it out of the park. The devs pulled off the creation of a new game mode super fast. Our graphics folks made the Beretta gear look amazing in-game, and the LiveOps Team got our players hooked with some cool events. All in all, this collaboration was a blast and really showed off what we can do, even with a few bumps in the road,” adds Michał.

As one of our main products, Hunting Clash still offers great opportunities both for players, and those working on it. Become a part of this amazing adventure today and join the team in creating beautiful locations and amazingly accurate animal designs!