Mortal Darkness (Interview)

 



1. WHAT WAS THE FIRST GAME THAT YOU PLAYED THAT MADE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH GAMING?

That’s actually a really tough question because it was 30 years ago! My father introduced me to computers from a young age and showed me a few dos games(before color monitors) and it sparked some interest. That interest grew ever since. Its all my parents fault!


2. HOW DID YOU GET INTO GAME DEVELOPMENT?

I remember me and some friends where in my bedroom and we were playing demos from a demo disk. I was watching my friend play Sid Meiers Antietam! I suddenly had the thought of, “Why just play games when I can make them myself?” Sounds cliché but its true. I got so excited that when they left I went to my dad and asked if I could go on the internet to do research. From then on I downloaded articles on gamedev topics and browsed websites like gamedev.net and flicode.com on almost a daily basis. I loved it! And I especially loved reading interviews of game designers. It was exciting times in game development. I was 12 years old at the time.


3. WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE NAME DARK FACTION GAMES?

Not much. I actually wanted to call the studio Red Faction but I figured It might get confusing and I could even get into some legal trouble surrounding that name. FYI I loved the Red Faction FPS games. The “Dark” comes from the first game I ever released on android called “Dark Project”. It has since been removed from the store.




 


4. WHAT GAMES HAVE YOU CREATED BEFORE THE ONE YOU ARE WORKING ON NOW?

The game I created before this can be found on the Steam store called “The Spirit”. It was a passion project for me, where my imagination went wild. A small RPG game that I am extremely proud of.

Before that I released numerous small games on the google play store under different names. This was how I practised the fundamentals of game development but probably my most important one was “Dark Project”. I am now using all the knowledge of RPG game development from the last RPG game and have been working on Mortal Darkness for more than a year now.

 


5. TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE NAME MORTAL DARKNESS?

When I start a project, I log every single name and variation of said name that I can think of. Darkness has overcome the land in this game. But this darkness can be killed. Hence Mortal Darkness.





6. WHAT ENGINE ARE YOU USING AND WHY?

I have made numerous attempts in my studies over the years to create a game engine with some success. However, in about 2012 I decided to give Unity3D a try and found it was quite easy to do some really otherwise hard things. My knowledge of the engine is at a point where I feel that making a change now would probably do me more harm. However, I feel like all the engines available online(Unity, Unreal, Lumberyard, Godot) all have great value to an Indie developer. I have nothing against them though, I’m just sticking with Unity and ignoring all the smack talk! 😉


7. WHERE DOES MORTAL DARKNESS TAKES PLACE?

The game takes place in a fantasy land. You have been summoned as by Ilidan, the town elder to investigate an attack on a small farming village. You discover that there is much more to these attacks and there is something more sinister at play. You will soon find out who the protagonist is and the story will slowly unfold.

 

8. WHO IS THE PROTAGONIST IN THE GAME?
The protagonist is a Female Orc Witchdoctor called Girra. She is searching for specific runes mentioned in a prophecy that would allow her to ascend and become even more powerful so she can take her place on the black throne. Her tribe fears he for her abilities that she has. She controls them using this fear. Her goal is to bring death and turmoil over the land and take control of everything.




 

9. ARE THERE ANY CLASSES TO CHOOSE FROM IN THE GAME?

In the demo there are 2 classes to choose from. A Orc and a Barbarian. Both are brutal and useful in tanking. They can also cast spells.

In the full game, There will be 2 ranged classes. A witchdoctor that can use the darker elements of magic in the world and the archer would be ideal for long ranged weapons. All warriors can wield any weapon, however, your class would give you a small advantage using certain weapons.


10. WHAT TYPE OF WEAPONS CAN YOU USE IN THE GAME?

There are over 50 weapons currently in the game. Anything from low grade axes and bludgeons all the way to demonic and angelic spears shields and maces.


11. TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE WAYS YOU CAN LEVEL UP IN THE GAME?

Completing quests and killing enemies are the obvious ways to level up in the game by gaining experience. But your skill tree will also need to be levelled up. Every time you level up you will be awarded skill and stat points that can be allocated. Stat points will increase your character stats and skillpoints will allow you to unlock more spells that you can cast. The skill tree will be a mixture of deadly or protective spells as well as stat multipliers when equipped.


12. DOES MORTAL DARKNESS HAVE SIDE MISSIONS? IF SO TELL US SOME OF THE THINGS YOU CAN DO IT WITHIN THE SIDE MISSIONS.

Mortal Darkness will have the usual RPG type side missions. Help X, collect Y. You might just need to expore a little bit further off the path sometimes if you want to meet those NPC’s. You will always be rewarded for your efforts though in some way.


13. WILL THERE BE ANY DLC IN THE GAME? 

Undecided but probably not. The game will ship complete.






14. WHY SHOULD PEOPLE WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME ON DAY ONE? 

There will absolutely be a discount on the game when purchased in the first week. And begin the journey with me on the life cycle and further development of the game. You should join my social medias and lets build a lasting community together. Take a look at what a solo dev is capable of.

 

15. WHEN WILL MORTAL DARKNESS RELEASE AND WHAT PLATFORMS WILL IT BE ON? 

Currently, Mortal Darkness will only be for the PC.


16. WHERE CAN THEY FIND YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA? 

You can find all of my work and ponderings on social media at the following places.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/darkfactionza
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darkfactiongames

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkfactionza/

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