Hi everyone, and welcome to my third Dev Log.

Today it will be a lengthy one, as I will delve into multiple aspects of both development and changes I have made to my Patreon page, as well as other new additions. Lastly, I will answer the question of "Where is the 6th LI?".

Also enjoy a Render featuring Sasha, Anna, Tiffany, Lena and Aria together.

3 Extra Tiers added to my Patreon

Maybe you have noticed already, but I have added 3 new Tiers to my Patreon: The Dream Walker, The Academist, and The Guide.

To give back to the amazing community that has grown, I've structured three new tiers to grant deeper access to my renders, sneak peaks, and commissions. Also because I believe that anyone who is actually supporting me should get something in return.

Itch Page is live

I have also managed to put together an Itch page for The Darkness Within. This move was both a necessity for me to gain visibility, and to further prove my seriousness in wanting to make a game I truly care about.

For those interested: https://misherumaxis.itch.io/the-darkness-within.

Now finally to the actual development.

Development

In the last 2 weeks I have started to gain speed in my pacing. Rendering scenes is starting to feel more natural and easy. I am still slow, as the time I have is very little. But I am moving forward, and I must say the renders are starting to look really nice. Furthermore, I am loving the process so far.

Currently I am finishing up one important scene that occurs in the prologue. Without spoiling much, it's a scene that will help the MC find purpose in his otherwise lonely path in life.

While doing that I had to ask myself many times what type of style I want to go for when capturing scenes that may feel ordinary. And I am pretty happy with the style I chose. For those interested, I am heavily putting focus on the presence of light, and how it can manipulate a scene to feel warm and comfortable, or cold and isolating. It's very effective and I love it, but it also is extremely time consuming.

Now that I am done with writing how actually the development is going, I wanted to also share a bit of what one can expect while playing The Darkness Within, as I haven't shared too much yet. It doesn't contain any spoiler, instead it should read as a "why is MisheruMaxis making this game".

What am I creating?

The Darkness Within is a story that happened to come to me during a time I felt detached from my own creativity. I have always been a very creative person, always finding a way to create worlds with a pen and paper, or whatever was available to me. As an example, I used to write short stories during high-school, as well as drawing, or making music. Somehow this started to fade in the last years.

Then finally, on a cold night, a litten candle and a warm herbal tea, the flow of consciousness hit me. Very hard. For weeks I couldn't stop writing, reading, re-writing. During that time I managed to piece together major pieces of the story.

So what can I expect when playing The Darkness Within?

To embark in a story that will be rich, at times painful, at times scary. A game that may bring tears, or let you fall in love with some of the characters. It's a story of hope, healing, and one full of adventures. It's a story where each character has a rich backstory, a reason for them to exist in that world. No one is just there, instead they all have distinctive goals, maybe to not be lonely anymore, or to feel appreciated, or to feel part of something.

The player can expect a story where strength isn't just given to anyone. Instead is built upon decisions made during one's path. So expect a story where decisions do influence outcomes.

Finally, an important note, is to not expect too much branching. Sadly time is limited, and the quality I am aiming for is already very high. Adding too many branches would mean adding additional content that I wouldn't be able to sustain in the long run.

Last but not least, a question that is important I answer now.

Where is the 6th LI?

The 6th LI will appear during the story. I will not share much information about her, as she is probably the character that holds the most Lore in the game currently. Even sharing her name, or a render of her would spoiler too much.

Hence, expect her to appear during the game. She is one figure I am very passionate about.

I know this can be a different take on LI introduction, but I couldn't introduce her without spoiling what actually happens too much of the game.

That is all for today's Dev Log. I will start sharing the 4K SFW and NSFW this month.

— MisheruMaxis