Light Within the Darkness

Seth Berrier

Menomonie, Wisconsin

10 0

Light Within the Darkness is an immersive horror experience, inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, that pushes the envelope of 2D game design. Investigate a mansion overrun by monsters and complete the ritual to close the portal from the other plane. ...learn more

Project status: Published/In Market

Game Development

Groups
2020 Intel University Games Showcase

Intel Technologies
Intel Integrated Graphics, Other

Docs/PDFs [1]Code Samples [1]Links [4]

Overview / Usage

Light Within the Darkness is an immersive horror experience that pushes the envelope of 2D game design. The game is heavily inspired by the horror works of H.P. Lovecraft, and the player plays as someone investigating a Victorian mansion overrun by otherworldly monsters. The player must navigate the mansion and complete the ritual to close the portal allowing the monsters into this plane. With trusty flashlight in hand, the player must avoid looking at the monsters, as they are so horrible, they will cause the player to go insane. Follow the clues, avoid the monsters, escape the mansion.

The game employs a spherical projection grid to create the illusion of three-dimensional space, while still functioning as a two-dimensional game. The use of Wii remotes creates a novel and immersive gameplay experience.

Methodology / Approach

The game was developed by students in a classroom environment as a semester long project. A team of 5 students (3 artists and 2 programmers) worked closely to pitch, concept, design, and implement the game.

Agile programming practices were used throughout the class combined with scrum management.

Two week sprints were planned and executed by the students with guidance and feedback from the instructor.
Sprint milestones (including Alpha and Beta) were projected and planned in advance.
In accordance with agile practices, students were encouraged to prototype ideas and to iterate tightly to achieve quite and effective refinement of gameplay and the asset pipeline.
The beta version of the game was presented in December of 2019 at our university games expo.

Technologies Used

Programming libraries and tools employed

Node.js with Babel and Webpack
Git via Github
Modern, object oriented ES6
Phaser 3 game library
Visual Studio Code with ESLint integration

A unique 3d to 2d pipeline with overpainting was used for asset generation:

3d environments were roughed out in Maya and rendered using a 360deg panoramic camera
The panoramic images were over-painted by hand in a pixel art style
Monsters were also modeled and animated in Maya and overpainted after being rendered to sprites