How an Indie Studio Created a Sequel of a Driving Platformer Game

Stunt Paradise 2 is described as "more speed, more explosions, more madness." How did you define the core design goals for the sequel, especially compared to the first Stunt Paradise?

One of the biggest changes in Stunt Paradise 2 is the scale of the levels. The first game was fast-paced and action-packed, but most tracks were relatively short. For the sequel, we redesigned the levels from scratch to give players much more room to build speed, experiment with stunts, and experience larger set pieces.

We wanted every run to stay exciting while introducing more variety. That's why we added new mechanics such as lasers, moving buzzsaws, dynamic platforms, and different types of explosives. Many levels also feature unique scripted moments. For example, one track launches the player out of a cargo plane mid-flight, while another takes place on a frozen lake where the ice collapses beneath the car, revealing an underground cave.

For players looking for an extra challenge, we also introduced Trials Mode. These are short but demanding levels focused entirely on precision driving, timing, and mastering the game's mechanics.

Physics seems central to the game's identity, with players jumping across gaps, flipping through the air, smashing through obstacles, and dealing with traps like lasers, buzzsaws, mines, and explosives. How did you approach building a physics system that feels chaotic and fun, but still fair and readable?

Physics is the foundation of Stunt Paradise 2, so one of our biggest goals was to rebuild the driving system. In the first game, we relied on several technical workarounds to keep the vehicle stable, including invisible boundaries that subtly guided the car along the road. That approach worked, but it limited what we could do with level design.

For the sequel, we replaced it with a spline-based movement system that gives us much more freedom while keeping the controls predictable. We also improved steering, acceleration, body lean during cornering, and completely redesigned the engine audio to better communicate the weight and power of each vehicle.

We also wanted crashes to be entertaining instead of frustrating. That's why we added a stunt driver with ragdoll physics inside every vehicle. During heavy impacts, the driver can be launched through the windshield, turning failure into a memorable moment that often makes players laugh before immediately trying again.

What engine is Stunt Paradise 2 built in, and why was that the right choice for this kind of arcade stunt-driving game?

Stunt Paradise 2 is being developed in Unity. Our team has worked with the engine for many years, so it fits both our workflow and our technical goals. While engines like Unreal Engine make it easier to achieve photorealistic visuals, Unity offers the flexibility and cross-platform support that are much more important for our project.

Our current focus is delivering a polished release on PC and consoles, but Unity also gives us the option to bring the game to mobile devices and web platforms in the future without rebuilding the project from scratch.

Can you walk us through the vehicle handling model? How much of the car behavior is physics-driven versus manually tuned for a more arcade-style feel?

The game uses NVIDIA PhysX through Unity, so most aspects of vehicle behavior are driven by real-time physics simulation. Suspension, gravity, torque, collisions, and traction all work together to create a driving model that feels responsive and believable.

At the same time, this is an arcade game rather than a simulator. We intentionally exaggerate certain mechanics to make the gameplay more exciting. Explosive barrels can launch your car high into the air, nitro provides dramatic bursts of acceleration, and many obstacles are designed to create memorable stunt opportunities.

The key objective was making the physics predictable rather than realistic. Players should always understand why something happened. If they approach a jump with the correct speed and timing, the outcome should be consistent every time. That predictability is essential because the entire level design is built around player skill instead of randomness.

The Steam page mentions a wide variety of cars for different playstyles. How do you differentiate vehicles in terms of weight, acceleration, rotation, grip, suspension, and mid-air control without making the game feel too simulation-heavy?

There will be around 10 distinct vehicles in the final version of the game. Initially, we planned to give each vehicle radically different handling characteristics, such as weight, grip, and acceleration. However, during development, we realized that for our type of game, this was actually a disadvantage, as our levels are built around precise timing, carefully tuned jumps, and obstacle sequences.

Any significant change to a car's physics completely changed how a level played. Instead, we embraced a more traditional arcade approach, where a fair, skill-based challenge comes first. All vehicles share roughly the same baseline physics and feature identical, highly responsive mid-air rotation controls. Vehicle variety is, above all, a matter of personal style and visual expression.

Players always know that success depends on mastering the track rather than choosing an "overpowered" vehicle. To give players even more freedom of expression, we added a customization system that lets them paint their cars and personalize their appearance.

Level design seems tightly connected to physics and timing. What does your process look like for designing a track, testing jumps and hazards, and making sure a stunt is challenging without feeling random?

Designing levels is probably the most time-consuming part of the project. There isn't a reliable way to automate the process, so every jump, obstacle, and timing sequence has to be tested repeatedly by hand. One example is a level where the player jumps over the ocean while a giant shark leaps out of the water. The player has only a brief moment to rotate the car and avoid the attack. Making that sequence feel fair required extensive playtesting and careful adjustment of both the shark's timing and the jump itself.

One of the most valuable parts of development has been showing the game at public events. As developers, we naturally become very familiar with our own levels, but new players immediately reveal problems that we no longer notice. After every event, we return with pages of feedback and continue refining the tracks until every failure feels understandable. If the player crashes, they should immediately know what they could do differently on the next attempt.

Stunt Paradise 2 is also being positioned as a major visual upgrade, with more detailed environments, flashy effects, modern shaders, explosions, crashes, and improved graphics. What does your art pipeline look like from early level blockout to final in-game assets?

The visual quality of Stunt Paradise 2 has improved significantly compared to the first game. We use modern shaders, particle effects, and improved lighting to make every crash, explosion, and stunt feel more impactful while maintaining the colorful arcade style of the series.

Our workflow always begins with the overall theme of the level. Once we've decided on the environment — whether it's a desert, forest, snowy mountains, or something else — we create a simple blockout using placeholder assets from the Unity Asset Store. This allows us to focus entirely on gameplay, testing vehicle speed, jumps, and obstacle placement before investing time in final art. One design principle we follow is avoiding continuous obstacle spam.

We deliberately leave quieter sections between major hazards, giving players space to build speed, drift, or simply enjoy the environment before introducing another large gameplay moment. Once the gameplay has been fully tested and refined, we replace the temporary assets with final models, complete the environment, add lighting, visual effects, and all of the small details that bring the level to life.

What software and tools does the team use for modeling, texturing, environment art, VFX, vehicle assets, shaders, and final engine implementation?

Unity is the center of our production pipeline. It's where we assemble the game, implement gameplay systems, build levels, and handle lighting and optimization. For 3D modeling and vehicle optimization, we primarily use Blender. Photoshop is our main tool for textures, UI, promotional artwork, and other 2D assets.

Audio also became much more important in the sequel. Since we rebuilt both the engine sounds and environmental audio, we spend a lot of time editing and balancing sound effects using tools such as GoldWave to ensure they support the gameplay without becoming distracting.

Outside of development, we also create all of our own trailers and gameplay videos. For that, we use VEGAS Pro, which has been our primary video editing tool for many years.

Oleksii Netrebenko, Game Developer

Interview conducted by David Jagneaux