KickStarter There Is No Light - Dark Fantasy Subterranean Souls-Like Action RPG

[luj1]

>"Souls-Like"
>it's not even 3rd person 3D

What the fuck is the meaning of that term even when most of the games that use it aren't anything like Dark Souls

What is an rpg?

story driven combat simulation with character elements

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

My life is souls-like.

 

[HoboForEternity]

i played the demo, it was decent. still feel like it's missing something tho.

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1132980/view/3320858336372515553

Combat system of There is No Light Pt.I!
Greetings!

In today's update we'll explain about the game's combat system for every weapon and its skill set. We divided this update in two parts, with Omen and Superbia, Mendacium and Avarice will come next, follow the updates!

The key feature of the “There Is No Light” combat system lies in the dynamic gameplay with quick weapon changes. After killing each of the main bosses, the player receives a new weapon. Proper use of all 4 weapons and their combination on the fly opens up a huge number of opportunities and combat situations, and the lack of pauses when changing weapons keeps the dynamics and fast pace of battles.

Rage System

Each weapon has its own unique playstyle and skill set. To use skills, the hero needs to accumulate a rage gauge, which is filled by damaging enemies or environment. The Rage system encourages an aggressive playstyle, as you can only use abilities when you are attacking enemies, or when you are on the verge of death. Holing up is not an option.

Omen

A versatile sword that is available from the start. The only weapon in the game that doesn't break. Omen skills are able to stun enemies for a short period of time. Omen also has 4 interchangeable blades that allow you to play more aggressively or with a bias towards healing.

Rebound
Press the “Ability” button after using any Omen skill to jump in the opposite direction.

Lightning Cut
While dashing, press the "Ability" button to fly through the nearest enemy, dealing lightning damage to them.

Phantom Dash
When performing a second dash during an enemy attack, the Hero instantly moves to the end point of the dash.

Energy Wave
Hold the "Ability" button to charge and release a wave of energy.

Superbia

Gloves aimed at a fast fighting style. They are capable of inflicting maximum damage per unit of time, but after that they overheat and become inaccessible to attacks. Thanks to the skill that increases mobility, the hero gains the ability to quickly move across the battlefield from target to target.

Crushing Blow
When using the Superbia ability, a buff is applied to movement speed and attack.

Dash Acceleration
Superbia's attack and movement speed buff also increases dash speed.

Fast Pace
While using Superbia, the hero gains an additional dash.

Stun
The combo's final attack deals 2 damage, as well as grants the ability to detonate Mendacium bombs on enemies and interrupt enemies' yellow attacks.

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1132980/view/3410931420159120703

Combat system of There is No Light Pt. II!
Greetings!

In today's update we'll explain about the game's combat system for every weapon and its skill set. We divided this update in two parts, with Omen and Superbia in the first part, Mendacium and Avarice in this second part.
Mendacium
A massive sword that outperforms any weapon in your arsenal. It is also the most versatile of all weapons, allowing you to use it in different ways, depending on the situation.
Mendacium's normal attacks place bombs on enemies that can be detonated by any ability of any weapon.

It has the strongest ability of all, which deals massive damage around it and knocks enemies back. In conjunction with the installed bombs, it is capable of inflicting the maximum possible damage.

An alternative way to use Mendacium is to throw it at enemies. After throwing the sword away, you can hit it with other weapons several times, which, if your reflexes are quick enough, will significantly increase the damage you deal to the target. And when you learn a certain ability, you will be able to detonate planted bombs on enemies.

Avarice

A living shield that is great for players who like to parry attacks. On a successful parry, the hero gains a charge that enhances any next ability of any weapon.

Great for fighting bosses or small groups of enemies. Avarice's passive abilities allow you to push enemies around you, heal on a successful parry, or use health packs instantly.

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1132980/view/3399674324104969638

Environment Design of There is No Light
Greetings! Our today's update is dedicated to our unique approach to environment and character design. This update is divided into two parts, so follow for more!

Art Direction

Initially, we thought that pixel art was easier to make. But over time and with the arrival of new artists to the team, we have realized it was a mistake that most developers make nowadays. The production of modern pixel art is no simpler and cheaper than the production of any other art.

When developing sprites, we do not use a pre-defined color palette, but if the asset that needs to be drawn has a material similar to an existing one, we either use the same colors or something close in tone and shade.

The most important thing about There Is No Light art is variety and freedom. We have more than 15 locations, which are divided into 4 directions that have their own unique styles, moods, and gameplay. Each sprite goes through several iterations until it matches the gameplay or environment it is in.

When designing bosses and mobs, we are also trying to create as much variety as possible. At one point, you may encounter Frontier's insane but amusing cannibals.

At the same time, at the other end of the dungeon, you will stumble upon a convoy with grotesque entities capturing lost people.

Level Design

Each level is based on its lore. Before designing the environment and characters, we create a lore document for each location that describes what is happening here.

When the lore document is ready, we draw a rough level layout that gives us an idea about the geometry and the surroundings of certain mobs. At this stage, we also distribute lore areas and create special level features that must be used when making the level in the game engine. Such a workflow, combined with a lore document, helps artists better understand the environment at the very initial stage of its production and reduce the amount of unnecessary art they will produce.

Next, the level is passed on to the artists to draw the first, roughest version of the environment, mobs, and characters. At this stage, we check how the assets work together, whether they are easy to read and do not blend with each other. Then we create the first blockout of the level in the game engine and test the behavior of mobs.

After that, the level goes through many iterations, in which the narrative and sound are added, and the tempo of the level is formed. The final level is always very different from its original draft. After achieving the required result, we let somebody outside the development team play the level in order to get feedback.

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1132980/view/3252182704447678209

Environment Design of There is No Light
Greetings! Our today's update is dedicated to our unique approach to environment and character design. This update is divided into two parts, here is the first part of the update.

Working on 2D Environments

When creating an environment, we use a large number of references. This is especially true for the subway, Central Station, technical and office premises. Locations that should resemble real-life places require special attention, as they should form a connection with our world.

Each location has its own color palette that helps determine what emotion the player is supposed to feel there. This is achieved through the placement of light sources, accentuation, and sound effects. We also use post-effects to help stylize the picture for the mood we need.

We follow the rules of “real” pixel art, putting each dot manually, but not limiting ourselves to a number of colors. Likewise, graphics do not follow the “only pixel” rule. Many shadows and lights in the game are gradients created in Photoshop and then turned into light sources by the engine.

SFX

All sounds without exception are created specifically for the game, so there is no difficulty in "synchronizing" the sound with the picture. The sound designer is given the necessary animation to get the timing right and the gameplay video to understand how it all looks in the game. And, of course, some lore is provided in order to understand what feelings the sound should evoke in a given situation. Voice actors are sometimes involved as well so that the characters and monsters in the game could have their own voices and individuality. Basically, all of the above applies to the background noises and ambiance of the location.

The required sound is created by layering many different sounds, editing them, and applying various effects. The screenshot above shows the sound for the opening of a large metal gate. More than twenty-five different sounds are involved here: various scraping of iron, the clanking of gears, creaks, crunches, rumble, and much more.

 

[Late Bloomer]

Souls-like overstayed its welcome as a selling point a good long time ago. I do like the atmosphere of this one. I'll keep an eye on it. Maybe the screenshaking will be a toggle.

 

[Harthwain]

>"Souls-Like"
>it's not even 3rd person 3D

What the fuck is the meaning of that term even when most of the games that use it aren't anything like Dark Souls

Just because it doesn't share the perspective or the visuals doesn't mean it ain't "Souls-like".

Look up EITR:


In terms of atmosphere or combat it's pretty much like Dark Souls. Hence the applied term: "Souls-like".

 

[cyborgboy95]

There is No Light is coming out Sept. 19! Pre-Purchase now!
There is No Light is coming out Sept. 19, 2022 on Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, Humble Bundle Store

Our brand-new release date trailer on IGN

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1132980/view/3395173894692710701

Two days until release! Designing enemies and bosses!
Greetings!

Our team wants to remind you that only two days left until There is No Light's PC release!

We're also happy to announce that we'll release two bundles with other wonderful games!

The first one is with Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous: for those who enjoy dark & atmospheric RPG games.

The second one with Skul: The Hero Slayer and for those who value serious challenge.

In today's update, we'd like to lift the curtain a bit more regarding the early stages of development of There is No Light, the design of its enemies and bosses and how they evolved over the years.

As strange as it may seem, the most redesigned thing in the game was the common tunnel dog. We changed its appearance and animations about 3-4 times.

The swordsman from Path Of Sorrow also underwent numerous changes.

A few more enemies from the game have been changed for the final version.

During development, we had to cut enemies from the game that either didn't work well or simply had no place in the game world. These two guys never made it to release:

Don't forget to add the game to your wishlist or pre-order it with a big discount and a unique bonus!

 

[cyborgboy95]