Deep Dive: How Slime Rancher 2's snow particle interaction system got players ready for winter

gamedeveloper.com:

Game Developer Deep Dives are an ongoing series with the goal of shedding light on specific design, art, or technical features within a video game in order to show how seemingly simple, fundamental design decisions aren't really that simple at all.

Earlier installments cover topics such as lessons learned from ten years of development with Ingress engineering director Michael Romero, how legendary Dwarf Fortress programmer Tarn Adams updated the game for its official Steam release, and how architect and solo developer Jack Strait made an entire horror game in PowerPoint.

In this edition, Monomi Park tech artist Edward del Villar dissects the techniques they used to develop the particle behaviors that enhance the finer details of the new snowy Powderfall Bluffs location in Slime Rancher 2. 

We're thrilled about the recent release of a major update in our game in early access Slime Rancher 2, called Song of the Sabers. It introduces players to our latest creation, Powderfall Bluffs, a new snow-covered zone surrounded by a massive half-melted ice dome that has quickly become a fan favorite.

One of the most exciting features of this new area is the ability for players to interact with snow in various ways. We've put a lot of effort into creating a sense of immersion by allowing players to traverse deep snow, catch falling snowflakes, and engage in playful snowball fights with the slimes.

In this technical deep dive, we'd like to share our approach to achieving the snow interaction feature. By delving into the nuts and bolts of our system, we can help players understand how this exciting new feature was brought to life.

In Powderfall Bluffs, we wanted players to feel fully immersed in the snowy environment, so we made sure that