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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!

Developer’s
Diary Part 1 | Developer’s
Diary Part 2