Description
How does a three-person Fortnite studio get trusted with PAYDAY?
Leo Linderoth from OceanWave Games joins me to talk about the pitch, the UEFN build, and what players taught his team after launch.
Leo was planning to study dentistry before Fortnite OG pulled him back into the game. He had no game development background. He started learning design and modeling, built games with friends, and eventually pitched Starbreeze on a roguelike take on PAYDAY.
That became Heist Escape Roguelike: PAYDAY Experience, OceanWave's official collaboration with Starbreeze. Leo is the studio's Creative Director, and we get into the decisions behind the team's Fortnite game.
Working with the IP was only part of it. The game still had to make sense to Fortnite players, run well, and give people a reason to come back.
We talk through:
- How a conversation with Starbreeze turned into a PAYDAY pitch, and the creative freedom OceanWave had.
- Why Leo pushed for a name that told players what they were actually getting: a heist escape roguelike.
- How the team used data layers to load and unload heists instead of keeping every level active.
- What they tracked after a player died: did that player buy an upgrade, try another heist, or leave?
- The rooms where players died twice and quit, and why that gave the team something specific to investigate.
- Why trying to chase every trend stretched a three-person studio too thin.
We also get into Samurai Tycoon, Mafia Tycoon, the time spent testing a tycoon economy, and Leo's approach to purchases that speed up progress while keeping the same rewards earnable through play.
One thing I really liked in this conversation was how Leo talked about Discover. His starting point is to look at his own game's performance, thumbnail, and retention. If you're building in UEFN, there's a lot here to compare with how you're testing your own game.
Follow Leo and OceanWave:
Leo on X: https://x.com/stackUGC
Leo on LinkedIn: https://se.linkedin.com/in/leo-linderoth-1640b1392
OceanWave Games / OCWG: https://x.com/OceanwaveStudio
OceanWave's games: https://www.fortnite.com/@ocwg
Games from the conversation:
Heist Escape Roguelike: PAYDAY Experience
https://www.fortnite.com/@ocwg/8105-9005-4478
Island code: 8105-9005-4478
Mafia Tycoon: https://www.fortnite.com/@ocwg/5593-9896-0397
More Creative Juice:
Watch the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeEdFBJesf6Ruqlpktj13hOdTdA7UHRQS
Listen and follow: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2464294
UEFN Community Awards: https://www.uefncommunityawards.com/
If this helped you think differently about your game, subscribe and share it with another creator.
Don't hate, create
Subscribe to my channel: https://bit.ly/3pv1V2q
Follow my Twitter: https://twitter.com/ImmatureGamerX
Follow my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/immature_Gamer
Join my Discord: https://discord.gg/PecfY77
Contact: xximmaturegamerxx@gmail.com