MAXCONTROL – Between Control and Chaos
Art Direction & Worldbuilding by Philipp Nikodem
Title: MAXCONTROL
Role: Art Director
Studio: Eierkop Games
Engine: CryEngine
Genre: RTS / FPS Hybrid
Status: Steam Early Access (Discontinued)
Timeline: 2015–2019
Role: Art Director
Studio: Eierkop Games
Engine: CryEngine
Genre: RTS / FPS Hybrid
Status: Steam Early Access (Discontinued)
Timeline: 2015–2019
"It wasn’t just about building a game. It was about building a world we believed in — and learning what it takes to get there."
Concept Art & Mood
Early world-building explorations and stylistic studies to define the tone of MAXCONTROL.
Lighting, color, and shape language were all part of the emotional palette.
Environment Design & Modularity
Creating levels that worked from both RTS and FPS perspectives was one of our biggest challenges.
Top-down readability had to coexist with immersive detail.
Every layout choice balanced tactical function with storytelling.
UI/UX & Visual Systems
With two genres in one, UI had to be intuitive yet powerful.
Technical Art & CryEngine Workflow
CryEngine gave us the visual fidelity we wanted — but demanded high-level optimization.
Team Culture & Development Process
A small team with big dreams. Every member wore multiple hats — mine included.
As Art Director, I also worked on map dressing, marketing visuals, and trailer edits.
Team meetings blurred into all-night sprints. Indie development in its purest form.
Creativity was constant — even when resources weren’t.
We launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring MAXCONTROL to life with the support of players who believed in our vision.
Running the campaign taught us how to pitch clearly, engage openly, and deal with both enthusiasm and skepticism. It was also where I learned the emotional side of game marketing — how much it means when strangers back your dream with their hard-earned money.
The campaign didn’t worked out in the end. But it mattered.
It sparked a small movement. It built momentum. It gave us the fuel to start building — and helped us get noticed by potential investors.
The World of MAXCONTROL
MAXCONTROL took place in a fractured near-future — one shaped by resource collapse, privatized warfare, and the complete erosion of democracy.
After the Global Asset War, the world was no longer divided by nations, but by corporate territories, each with its own ideology, infrastructure, and military-industrial identity.
The Player’s Role
You weren’t a hero. You were a commander in a broken system, trying to control a slice of chaos.
Players could build, fight, and switch between ground-level and tactical command, but they were never the savior — just another part of the machine.
Players could build, fight, and switch between ground-level and tactical command, but they were never the savior — just another part of the machine.
The Pivot
Not every project makes it to 1.0. Ours didn’t. But that’s not the full story.
Despite early traction and player support, we hit a wall. The ambition was there — but so were the limits of time, energy, and funding.
We made the decision to wind down MAXCONTROL with dignity and transparency.
We made the decision to wind down MAXCONTROL with dignity and transparency.
What I Learned
MAXCONTROL didn’t change the industry — but it changed me.
This project taught me more than any book, course, or client work ever could.
It taught me how to build pipelines, manage scope, lead vision, and recover from burnout. It taught me to take risks. To listen. To finish things — even when that means letting them go.
It taught me how to build pipelines, manage scope, lead vision, and recover from burnout. It taught me to take risks. To listen. To finish things — even when that means letting them go.
Thanks for reading!
This project will always be close to my heart. If you're working on something daring, ambitious, or just full of soul — I’d love to hear from you.
And Thanks to all the amazing people I had the opportunity to work with on this project!
And Thanks to all the amazing people I had the opportunity to work with on this project!
