Darkness Within: The Dark Lineage Developer’s Diary: Part 3 by Onur Samli – Article
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Hi everyone and welcome to the Darkness Within 2: The Dark Lineage developer diary part 3! This will be the last part since we’re very close to completing the game. We have had some minor delays but overall we’re pleased with our tempo, with the first release planned in May 2010. Anyway, after this final diary I’ll prefer to leave the last words to you, dear gamers. In the second part, I mentioned that we would talk about the game worlds in detail and point out some other interesting things about the game; so here we go! As an ex-detective you’ll find yourself alone in most places. This was the main situation in the first installment as well, however in the “Dark Lineage” there are places with people, like an inn. This was intentionally done to prevent the player from losing the mood of the game. A big part of the game world is dark and depressive; chatting with random people in other places probably would change the feel of the game drastically.
However, if you listen carefully you can hear that your whole environment is alive and that you’re not alone! Do you hear strange noises? Where may they be coming from? Did you do something to wake up unknown things? They may be watching you! I believe players of the first game already know what we’re talking about here… The most obvious asset of the worlds in Dark Lineage is detail. Since the new engine allows you to freely roam in the game world, you should pay a lot of attention to your surroundings. If you don’t it’s likely you could miss a clue, a visual detail or even a secret! So it’s strongly advised to think outside of the box; this is not your typical “find the hotspots on the screen” adventure game. You should be walking and looking around at the same time. Also try to use the new features, like pushing/pulling objects, jumping and crouching. As I mentioned in the first chapter, the game results screens will return. The contents of the screens are almost the same (Documents Found, Clues Found, Secrets Found, Easter Eggs Found…etc) but with one big difference: the Ending. Because The Dark Lineage has 2 different endings. The Items you’ve picked up and choices you’ve made during the game will affect the ending. Both endings are possible from the start, but one is slightly harder to get during your first run-through. Also, the scoring system “out of ten stars” is kept. But this time your score is mostly affected by clues, unlike the first game where your score was affected by secrets. This is because in the first game clues were a necessity to progress in the game, but in Dark Lineage, they are only there to tell the story in detail.
The last couple of weeks, we meticulously worked on some of the most exciting and replay-factor-increasing features of the game: Secrets and Easter Eggs. As you may be already familiar with these features; a “secret” in Darkness Within is something that tells the unknown side of the story and adds much to the depth. An “Easter Egg” is something we added to increase the enjoyment of the game and is something not related to the storyline. So I should warn you; there are more Secrets and Easter Eggs in The Dark Lineage compared to the first game. You will immediately notice that some of the secrets are just sitting in front of you while others are hidden very well. If you come across a locked door and can’t find the key anywhere, and you start thinking that your business with that place is over, think again! You may find a way to open that door sooner or later. It might be a good idea to check the places you’ve been before again, or at least think about it later on in the game. I’m sure that even if you are not an experienced adventure gamer, with little effort you will discover a couple of secrets. And don’t worry if you missed some of them, you can find the rest in the second run for the other ending! I hope you’ve enjoyed the last part of my diary. We’ve had so much fun creating Darkness Within 2: The Dark Lineage. And we are so happy that we can finally share it with you. Please stay tuned for the release! If you have any questions or wish to know more about the game, I invite you to join our forum at http://www.zoetrope-interactive.com/forum/category-view.asp. Thanks for reading! |
