FLOOR ZERO: ZOMBIE ROGUELIKE

DESCEND. SURVIVE. REBIRTH.

A cooperative zombie survival roguelike that pushes players to their limits. Navigate through randomly generated floors of terror, where survival is never guaranteed and death is just the beginning of your next attempt. Built for the modern gaming generation that craves authentic challenge and progression through meaningful cooperation. Floor Zero is designed as a showcase of UEFN’s most cutting-edge systems — leveraging Scene Graph for modular, randomized floor design that feels handcrafted yet infinitely scalable. It proves what’s possible today, while being future-proofed for what’s coming next.

Cooperative Survival

Team up with friends in a relentless fight for survival. Communication and coordination are your only weapons against the undead hordes.

Infinite Replayability

Built in UEFN with random floor generation. Every descent into darkness brings new challenges, layouts, and terrifying encounters.

Unforgiving Stakes

Every choice matters. Every resource counts. One wrong move could mean the difference between salvation and becoming another victim of Floor Zero.

The Concept

Players start on a rooftop base camp of a doomed skyscraper. From there, the only way out is down. Each floor of the tower is randomly generated, filled with escalating threats, brutal encounters, and unpredictable modifiers that force players to adapt on the fly. The elevator never goes back up — survival depends on making the right choices at the right time. After each floor, players earn powerful cards, loot, or risky shortcuts that shape their run. Every descent tells a new story of survival, cooperation, and inevitable sacrifice.

Prototype Video

Key Features

Elevator Hub

A safe checkpoint between chaos. Customize your personal elevator with cosmetics and modifiers, prepare for the next descent, or face rare malfunctions that trigger horror-like side events.

Card & Boon System

Each run is shaped by the cards you collect — buffs, elemental perks, NPC favors, or utility upgrades. Build synergies on the fly and adapt to whatever the RNG throws at you.

Randomized Floors

Every descent is unique. Floors randomize layouts, zombie spawns, and modifiers. Rare events and elevator malfunctions break routine and keep players on edge.

Persistent Progression

Unlock faster leveling, permanent NPC allies, elevator and base camp cosmetics, and rebirth-exclusive upgrades. Progression fuels replayability without trivializing challenge.

Risk vs. Reward

After clearing the building, either escape with your rewards or descend into even deadlier sub-levels. The deeper you go, the greater the prizes — and the higher the stakes.

Co-op Scaling

Survive solo or in squads. Difficulty scales with player count, while solo runs remain balanced. Cooperative trading of cards, chips, and loot adds layers of strategy.

Built for the Future of UEFN

Scene Graph

We’re using the latest of UEFN's tools — Scene Graph’s prefab system to build modular, randomized floors that can be duplicated, iterated, and remixed for infinite variety. This ensures that every run feels handcrafted while remaining endlessly scalable.

Persona Device

NPCs in the rooftop base camp and within floors will come to life with natural voice, memory, and distinct personalities. Survivors rescued mid-run can remember player choices, adding immersion and narrative depth.

Custom Items & Inventories

We’re laying the foundation for unique loot systems, consumables, and progression items beyond standard Battle Royale gear. Every card, modifier, or rare consumable will feel like a custom creation designed specifically for roguelike runs.

Custom Weapons

With Epic’s upcoming support for creator-made weapons, we’ll design firearms and melee gear from the ground up. Weapons can evolve dynamically within a run — gaining new firing modes, elemental properties, or unique mechanics tied to the card/boon system.


Dynamic NPCs & Boss Encounters

Dynamic NPC Survivors

Players will encounter unique NPCs throughout the tower. Some can be rescued to join the rooftop base camp, unlocking shops, buffs, or quests.

Persona Device Integration

When released, NPCs will utilize the new Persona Device to deliver natural, voiced dialogue that reacts to player actions and run state. This gives survivors and quest-givers true personality.

Dialogue & Cinematics

We will combine the Dialogue Device with short in-game cinematics to immerse players in story moments — like elevator malfunctions, survivor rescues, or boss introductions.

Custom Boss Encounters

Bosses will feature bespoke mechanics powered by Verse: attack patterns, unique VFX, special arena modifiers, and animation-driven abilities (charges, slams, ranged attacks).

Current Maps vs. Floor Zero

Currently Popular Maps

  • Minimal or no survival mechanics
  • Bare minimum roguelike elements
  • No random floor/level generation
  • Repetitive gameplay loops
  • Lack of meaningful rewards/progression

Floor Zero: Zombie Roguelike

  • Deep survival mechanics and smart AI systems
  • Full roguelike systems and gameplay director
  • Randomized floor generation
  • Fresh gameplay each run with unique challenges
  • Persistent progression + meaningful rewards across hundreds of runs, rebirths, and personalization

Meet the Team: Puzzler Creations

Riley Longman

Game Designer & Producer

Riley specializes in game design, level design, and production. With a background in Quantum Builds and later Gamefam, he has led the design and structure of complex UEFN projects, focusing on player progression, worldbuilding, and replayable systems. Riley brings a strong design-first perspective to every project, ensuring gameplay feels both innovative and accessible.

Damian Sotelo

Technical Designer & Producer

Damian is an expert in Verse scripting, systems design, and creative direction. Having produced large-scale UEFN projects at Quantum Builds and Gamefam, he excels at building advanced gameplay systems, progression mechanics, and technical frameworks that bring ambitious designs to life. Damian bridges the gap between creative vision and technical execution.

Our Track Record

Deadpines: Zombie Survival

25M+ plays, award-winning survival experience, and official A24 "Talk To Me" integration. Known for long play sessions (55 min avg.), proving our ability to design deeply engaging systems.

Branded Collaborations

Delivered high-profile projects for major partners, including Doctor Who, Samsung, Epic Games (Fortnitemares, Legends Landing), and Twitch Rivals. Demonstrates trust from leading global brands.

Massive Player Reach

Over 250M total plays across our portfolio of Fortnite Creative maps. Multiple Featured and Limited Time Mode (LTM) placements, ensuring both visibility and broad audience impact.

Proven Experience at Scale

Producers at Gamefam, leading Fortnite Creative projects from concept to live operation. Strong background in managing complex builds, progression systems, and branded activations.





What's New In 2026?

Our team recently developed the official SpongeBob SquarePants roguelike experience using Unreal Editor for Fortnite, created in collaboration with Paramount as part of Epic’s mobile-first UEFN initiative.

The project required designing a full roguelike progression system, scalable enemy encounters, and mobile-optimized gameplay within Fortnite’s ecosystem. Through this work we gained deep experience pushing UEFN’s technical limits while delivering a polished, recognizable IP experience to a massive global audience.

This project demonstrates our ability to build ambitious, high-quality Unreal experiences and deliver them in collaboration with major partners.

We also have an amazing new character artist, animator, who made all of our SpongeBob enemies and characters.

Twitter

Fortnite Developers on Twitter / X

Plankton has unleashed his mind control technology on Bikini Bottom and it’s up to you to stop him from decoding the Krabby Patty formula! Dive into action in SpongeBob Roguelike from @FnPuzzler and dismantle the machinations of Plankton and Karen: https://t.co/74GWnOoCkq pic.twitter.com/Kw0yLXnaHh— Fortnite Developers (@FNCreate) February 13, 2026

Giving Back to the UEFN Community

As part of Floor Zero's development, we plan to give back to the UEFN creator community by publishing regular Dev Logs. These updates will share technical insights, Verse code snippets, and lessons learned from building a large-scale roguelike system in Fortnite.

By making our development process transparent, we aim to help other creators learn how to use Epic's latest tools — like Scene Graph, Persona Device, and Custom Weapons — in their own projects.

Giving Back to the UEFN Community

As part of the development of our SpongeBob SquarePants roguelike built in UEFN, we also focused on giving back to the creator community. We published a detailed case study documenting our design process and technical solutions, along with publicly released Verse snippets and example device setups used in the project. By sharing these practical resources, we aim to help other creators learn from real production workflows, accelerate their own development, and further expand what is possible within the Unreal Editor for Fortnite ecosystem.

Epic Developer Community Forums

SpongeBob Roguelike: A Deep Dive into Custom Projectiles with Scene Graph

We are Puzzler Creations, a two person game dev studio run out of Ontario, Canada that has built games since 2013. Our latest UEFN project is SpongeBob Roguelike, a mobile-first action roguelike where Plankton has unleashed mind-controlled citizens and robots across Bikini Bottom while Karen works to decode the stolen Krabby Patty formula. Players dodge attacks, collect SpongeBob-themed upgrade cards, and try to push deeper into progressively harder chapters and boss stages. When the request f

Building a Thriving Community with Epic's Tools

Epic's Creator Communities Feature

Epic is introducing "Creator Communities" — new official forums where creators can share updates, events, and request feedback, visible from Island Pages, Creator Pages, Discover, and Island Lobbies.

Floor Zero will fully leverage this system.

Our Community Plan

  • Create regular posts and updates using the new Creator Communities tools (screenshots, dev logs, "question of the week", etc.)
  • Drive our Discord/players toward following our Creator Page so they see updates directly in Fortnite
  • Use feedback requests via forums/community posts to inform balance, new cards, modifiers, cosmetic design
  • Hire community manager to moderate & engage, ensure players feel heard
  • Use notifications to alert followers of new content, events, sales — increasing retention and engagement

By integrating with Epic's Creator Communities, Floor Zero will not just build a game; we'll build a lasting community where players are involved in the game's growth and evolution.

Community & Engagement

Dedicated Community

Over 1,200+ Discord members are already eagerly awaiting our next zombie game, demonstrating strong social proof and an active fanbase.

Engaging Features

Our plans include exciting features like highscores, thrilling speedruns, and innovative community-designed floors to foster continuous player interaction.

Endless Replayability

Robust systems such as rebirth mechanics, persistent upgrades, and comprehensive achievements ensure our players remain captivated for the long term.

Limbo 3D

Providing high-quality 3D assets and modeling support to bring unique environments, props, and characters to life inside Floor Zero. Limbo is local to the UEFN Community.

Moisty Media

Specializing in trailers, promotional videos, and ad campaigns to showcase Floor Zero across social media and reach new players. Moisty Media specializes in UEFN video content.

Discord Moderator

Dedicated community support through moderation, engagement, and event management to foster a safe, thriving player community. We have worked with several already and would re-hire.

Take This

We will donate a percentage of Floor Zero’s future earnings to Take This, a mental health nonprofit dedicated to supporting gamers and reducing stigma.

Future Monetization Opportunities

Epic's New Monetization System (Dec 2025 Update)

Creators will soon be able to sell in-game items directly in Fortnite Creative/UEFN maps:

  • Items can include durable (persistent) cosmetics and consumables, sold for V-Bucks
  • First year: creators receive ~74% revenue share on item sales
  • Engagement Payouts will continue alongside sales, doubling sustainability for top maps

How Floor Zero Will Use It

  • Cosmetic-Only Focus: All purchasable items in Floor Zero will be cosmetic or aesthetic enhancements — never pay-to-win
  • Examples: Elevator Skins (visual themes), Base Camp Decorations (banners, lighting, props), Cosmetic Card Variants (alternate artwork, holographic effects)
  • Player First Philosophy: Purchases will not affect gameplay balance; instead, they will enrich immersion and personalization
  • Sustainable Growth: Monetization supports continued content expansions, community events, and ongoing map polish — ensuring Floor Zero thrives long after launch

Budget Breakdown – $125,000

Developer Salaries (Main Allocation)

Riley (Game Design, Level Design, Production) → $50,000
Focus on game systems, level layouts, design direction, and production.

Damian (Verse, Systems Design, Technical Direction) → $50,000
Focus on coding, progression systems, AI, and technical implementation.

Supporting Costs (Remaining $25,000)

  • Asset Packs & 3D Modeling → $5,000
    High-quality environment packs, custom props, and character models.
  • Card Artwork & UI Design → $4,000
    Bespoke card illustrations, icons, and user interface polish.
  • Community Moderator → $3,000
    Moderation and player engagement support for Discord and social channels.
  • Marketing & Promotion → $13,000
    Trailer production, promotional artwork, and targeted ads on TikTok/Instagram.

Development Timeline (6 Months)

1

Phase 1 (Months 1–2): Core Systems & Prototype

Build foundational gameplay systems: elevator progression, floor generation, and basic zombie AI. Develop the core loop with rewards/boons and persistent progression framework. Deliver an internal prototype showcasing the unique roguelike elevator concept.

2

Phase 2 (Months 3–4): Base Camp & Feature Expansion

Design the rooftop base camp hub with NPC interactions, customization, and player progression systems. Integrate the card & boon system with early card pools and modifiers. Add cooperative scaling for solo/squad play and refine replayability mechanics.

3

Phase 3 (Months 5–6): Content, Polish & Launch

Expand content with new enemy types, card varieties, and elevator malfunctions. Implement community features: highscores, achievements, and rebirth system. Final polish pass, balancing, and production of launch trailer/marketing assets. Soft-launch with targeted testing → public launch.

Descend With Us

Floor Zero: Zombie Roguelike offers a unique roguelike survival experience within Fortnite, showcasing UEFN's potential and delivering a flagship experience for millions.

Made with