DEADHERRING
A former grim reaper turned detective has some unfinished business in this snowed over post apocalyptic world.
About this project
DEADHERRING is a 2.5D RPG project directed by my friend Luke and co-directed by me. It is a passion project that Luke has wanted to create for a long time and we have been working on it since the summer of 2025. I have created lots of concept art for the characters and the UI, as well as some art assets for the game itself such as models, textures, and animations.
The game revolves around Til Nerman, a retired grim reaper who now works as a detective. All life on Earth has been wiped out mysteriously and all that is left are the dreams of humanity that have come to life as strange beings known as "Etches", and they have rebuilt the world with the remains of civilization. The main gameplay revolves around a unique interrogation battle system that allows players to gain info from the enemies they defeat.
Environment Concepts
Concept sketches for Limboro, the main setting of DEADHERRING. Limboro is a small port town and is a very religious place where the inhabitants believe that the world was created by a god with many limbs, hence the name. The town has a very "rebuilt" feel to it, as some places are barely touched up/renovated.
Character Concepts
Concept sketches for Lillian, a supporting character for the game. She acts basically as a messenger for Til and is seen throughout the game quite frequently. I wanted to give her a very friendly look to contrast with Til's edgier appearance to show their contrast as characters and also make her very expressive to create some memorable moments when she appears.
Concepts for Morrie, the first party member that joins Til. She's a hologram who has been stuck in a computer for centuries and has occupied herself with the remains of the internet. Her design is supposed to be similar yet different to Til's, using a green and black color scheme instead of red and black as well as having a similar eye shape while also leaning into the hologram/tech aspect of her.
UI Concepts
Various menu and battle UI concept sketches.
Game Art
A placeholder animation I made as a test in Adobe Animate for an idle and movement state. Luke colored it in and imported it into Unreal Engine to see if we liked the feel of a hand-drawn look.
Various textures I painted in Photoshop for the models and environment. I wanted to give it a "semi realistic" look to them while also making them stylized.