Zero Warning: Burnt Out
About the Game
Welcome to the world of Zero Warning, a dystopian future where firefighters are a private service. You play as Eddie, who along with teammate Kieren responds to a call of a missing boy in a burning train. When it is revealed the boy's family cannot pay, Eddie decides to head in alone against Kieren's wishes.
Spot-the-difference anomaly horror. Take a good look around the train car, if everything seems normal, follow the green arrows. If anything seems strange, follow the red arrows. Guess correctly enough times to get to the center of the train, and complete the rescue.
Release Date: April 2026
Platforms: PC, Steam
Developers: Ian Durra, Justin Bretter
Original Soundtrack: Chase Parker
Executive Script Consultant: Vivien Mao
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Backstory
Zero Warning: Burnt Out is the first game I've built with a commercial audience in mind. Targeting the Steam platform, I felt the best way for me to learn was to get my hands dirty, and learn by doing. I made many mistakes along the way, as I was simultaneously learning the craft of game development, and the Godot engine. The end-product is a true labour of love, and I'm proud of what I accomplished.
Friends In the Game
My friends were incredibly supportive of my goal of becoming a game developer, and this game would not be possible without them. Justin Bretter, an established video editor, lent his creative vision to the project and was instrumental in constructing the world building and artistic direction of the game. Vivien Mao, a talented producer and Forbes 30 under 30 recipient, is the creative force behind the dialogue, and helped me push my own writing to a much higher level. Chase Parker provided an incredible original score and sound effects. Overall this was a team effort, and the game is better for it.
Trailers
Screenshots
Special Effects
I pushed myself to learn Godot's particle system in order to create elements of disaster horror. I created emissive maps using Krita to add the sparkling dots of flame, and then added particle effects with a shader for the fire itself. Finally adding a smoke texture particle effect on top of the flame to complete the effect.
Code Architecture
In the Anomaly horror genre, a defining feature is a seamlessly looping level design. In order to power the looping levels, I designed a custom data structure analogous to a tunnel. The tunnel can fit only a fixed number of cars, and if a car enters from the right, a car needs to exit from the left and vice versa. This data structure successfully powered my looping level design in the game. In designing the data structure I used pen and paper to look at permutations and edge cases, and then implemented the results in code.
BlueSky Developer Community
Early in the development process I made a Bluesky account and started asking technical questions with hashtags like #godot, #gamedev, and #beginner. Going through this process, I connected with talented developers of all different walks of life who lended their expertise to my development journey. I am incredibly thankful to the individuals who answered my technical questions, as well as provided moral support during development. Below are some early development screenshots I posted to bluesky.
