Deep Field Games design director Geoff Keene recently shared insights into his personal gaming habits and future studio plans during a recent interview.
The conversation, featured in PC Gamer's Disk Cleanup column, provides a window into the life of a developer managing a co-op survival hit.
Keene revealed he has logged over 1,100 hours in PUBG while outlining a content roadmap scheduled through 2026.
He also discussed his history with Sandswept Studios and previous projects like Unfortunate Spacemen.
Abiotic Factor recently secured Best Co-op honors in PC Gamer's 2025 Game of the Year awards.
The survival simulation allows players to act as scientists exploring a massive underground research facility.
Keene confirmed that the studio is preparing a new roadmap to maintain player engagement well into the next year, including planned DLC.
He also mentioned that Deep Field was founded on making cool co-op things after developing previous titles like Unfortunate Spacemen.
The design director cited the battle royale genre as a direct influence on extraction shooters.
Keene noted that PUBG provided a foundational experience for his team, particularly during the snow map era.
He described those sessions as having a PvE feel where players explored and looted while competing against real opponents.
This genre evolution directly led to the current state of the extraction genre.
The art director and Keene bonded over this specific gameplay loop during early development.
Deep Field Games also draws inspiration from the emerging title Arc Raiders.
Keene praised the game for understanding the importance of atmosphere over pure mechanics.
He stated that he would want to create a similar vibe if he were designing an extraction shooter himself, despite criticizing some of its AI voices.
He values the world-building aspect more than specific weapon mechanics.
Keene plays it every Saturday with his partner and a friend.
Regarding game design philosophy, Keene expressed a preference for visible human imperfections.
He prefers seeing the seams in a product rather than an overly polished commodity.
This approach allows players to recognize the effort behind specific asset placement and level design choices.
He compared this sentiment to his experience with Dying Light, noting that smoother tutorialization sometimes makes a game feel less engaging.
On a personal level, the director relies on Warcraft 2 to manage work-related stress.
He suggested that many in the industry boot up the classic Blizzard title instead of seeking therapy.
The nostalgic sound and visuals provide a comforting break from modern development cycles.
He noted that he recently booted the game to relax after a stressful week with work.
Keene maintains a specific workflow using ShareX for his desktop organization.
He uses the tool for over a decade to capture screen rectangles and share visual assets with colleagues.
His desktop setup remains tidy, with icons sorted in a left-aligned column on his primary monitor.
He avoids random positions for icons because it bothers him too much.
Looking forward, the studio plans to continue updating Abiotic Factor with DLC and story threads.
Keene emphasized that the team enjoys working on the project due to its fun factor.
The roadmap ensures that the community will have new content to explore throughout 2026.
He stated that they have a bunch of stuff they want to do with the title.
