How a fan-designed “Bicycle Shotgun” made it into Metro: Last Light

“It will be scandalous if 4A Games doesn’t immediately release it as free DLC for the game…”

These were the words that sparked the idea, appearing as they did alongside the winning submission to a ‘Metro: Last Light Design a Weapon‘ competition that had been arranged by a New Zealand website, GamePlanet.co.nz.

The winner was Alexandre Bannwarth, a first year design student at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His entry was the clear stand out – a revolving, multi- barrelled shotgun made from old bicycle parts. It was expertly designed, beautifully presented, but crucially it looked like it might actually work…

The hand-made weapons in Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light were designed by 4A Games’ co-founder and Creative Director, Andrew ‘Prof’ Prokhorov – a self-confessed gun enthusiast with a background in engineering. All of Prof’s designs, from the stubborn, overheating ‘Bastard’ to the pneumatic ‘Tihar’ are based on sound mechanical principles, and could conceivably function in the real world.

Alexandre’s Multi Barrelled Bicycle Shotgun represented a new, meticulously detailed blueprint for exactly this kind of weapon.

Prof loved it. He agreed it was mechanically sound, and technically possible. Incredibly, it looked like we could make this happen…

We contacted Alexandre, who agreed to let us use the design (and was understandably thrilled that his work might actually appear in the game). He provided extensive notes on his design to assist the studio…
“While designing a weapon for the Gameplanet competition I tried to stay in the spirit of the Metro setting and create a simple but efficient weapon that could be manufactured and operated with minimal training, with as few machined parts as possible and made mostly out of easily scavenged elements,” wrote Alexandre.

“While contemplating where the basic parts for a firearm could be salvaged from (barrel, frame, trigger, stock etc.) the bicycle ended up being a perfect fit. The frame itself could realistically be sawed and welded back together to form a basic firearm, the hollow cylindrical bars of older bicycles could be used as barrels, or any metal pipe of the right size. The brake handles could be turned into a rudimentary trigger and the seat might offer some sort of recoil absorption.”

In total, it took 4A about 200 man hours to get the weapon into the game.

Our original hope had been to release the weapon as a free, stand-alone piece of DLC – it would then appear throughout the single player campaign, either carried by certain enemies and/or available to purchase at the various trading posts along the way. Unfortunately, 4A weren’t able to work this into the campaign without a lot of additional effort, and we just didn’t have the time to do this.

Instead, we were able to add the weapon to the ‘Shooting Gallery’ and ‘AI Arena’ components of the Developer Pack DLC – a gun range/challenge arena where every weapon, in every configuration is available to test.

The weapon also appears in the ‘Chronicles Pack’ DLC (available from today) – featuring three original solo missions, the Chronicles Pack invites players to step into the shoes of some of Metro: Last Light’s enduring characters in gripping plotlines that run parallel to Artyom’s story.

Discover how Anna, the unflinching Polis Sniper, tried and failed to rescue Artyom from the Reich forces in the ruined botanical gardens. Put the irrepressible Pavel’s deadly skills and ingenuity to the test as he attempts to escape the Bandit Lair beneath Venice. And guide Khan and Ulman through the forgotten, haunted tunnels of Polyanka in a chilling supernatural tale that reveals a dark secret from Khan’s mysterious past …

4A Games would like to thank Alexandre for his contribution, and wish him all the best as he pursues his career in the world of design.