Samsun, the GTA-esque title currently turning heads as the brainchild of Just Cause veterans, has just dropped a fresh developer diary. This time, they are pulling back the curtain on the design and development of Tyndalston, the game’s sprawling virtual playground.

Beyond the visceral weight of vehicles or the brutal crunch of melee combat, this latest blog post digs into the artistry that gives this city its pulse. Piotr Kupsc, the concept artist behind Samsun, insists that Tyndalston isn't just a backdrop—it is a breathing, living character in its own right.

Kupsc admits the real struggle was finding that sweet spot between visual fidelity and tight gameplay. The team wanted a city that players could navigate subconsciously, keeping the flow of exploration, driving, and combat intuitive. To achieve this, they leaned heavily on 'grey-boxing'—building stripped-back prototypes to test the scale and feel of the world before committing to the heavy lifting. By prioritising a modular building system, they ensured that if an area felt narratively hollow or just plain clunky, they could rework it without throwing months of work down the drain.

The team also started by anchoring the city with key landmarks and road networks, turning what began as anonymous grey blocks into spaces the team actually felt attached to. By collaborating closely with the narrative team, they mapped out the island’s major hubs based on how a real city might actually function, ironing out any engine-side discrepancies through iterative design sessions.

If Tyndalston feels hauntingly familiar, that is by design. The team drew heavy inspiration from 1990s Northeastern US cities like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, specifically capturing how these urban spaces evolve over time—where a once-thriving park might become a highway, or a beautiful district might hide a history of urban decay.

For Kupsc, that 'it’s alive' feeling didn't strike in a single eureka moment. Instead, it was an iterative process. It grew from a blocky, empty grid to a textured landscape populated by NPCs, layered with lighting, atmospheric audio, and world simulation. He notes that the real magic happens when you try something erratic in-game and the world reacts naturally, creating a sense of immersion that makes you feel like you have truly stepped into the boots of a Tyndalston resident.

The team plans to keep the updates rolling with more dev diaries covering everything from concept art to vehicle and character design in the coming weeks. As for when you can actually get your hands on Samsun? The release date remains TBC.