Hi everyone, and welcome to my fifth dev log.

Before I begin, I have managed to request The Darkness Within to appear on GameStoryLog. Would love if you showed some love over there! Ok let's continue with actual development

The last 2 weeks have been very rewarding, as I managed to cover almost all the scenes of the Prologue! I also took some time to give the MC a final, polished remodel. If you've worked with HS2, you know that getting a male to look great takes effort. But I'm finally happy with how he looks like now. Seeing him fit perfectly into the world makes re-rendering those early scenes totally worth it.

Right now, I’m focused on a major milestone: the MC’s first encounter with a LI (Love Interest) and his first glimpse into the Realm of Darkness. This is a massive turning point for the story, so I’m having a lot of fun playing with the atmosphere. I’m really diving into the expressions and cinematic lighting to make sure the gravity of this moment hits home.

To give the development a number, I am currently sitting at 210 renders. Yes, I am slower than other Devs, and I know it. But my circumstances also don't allow for much faster development.

While doing it, I managed to finish up a side LI that I will introduce today as well. I wasn't actually planning on introducing her at all. But I got the inspiration to do the render above, and couldn't stop myself from sharing her.

Side LI Introduction: Meet Lily

Lily is smart, extremely smart. She manages to find solutions where there seem to be none. She is funny, outgoing, and knows how to get what she wants. While she shares to the world her smile, her past tells a different story. Through tough experiences and finding herself in bad situations, she learned that life shines brighter there, where one stays true to themselves.

I wish I could share more, but that would enter spoiler territory. Though I will add that she will be avoidable as side LI, whilst keeping her base role in The Darkness Within intact. That will be your choice. She will appear in the first Chapter, but her role will become more important later on.

Here a close-up of her:

Finally, I wanted to update all on how I am planning the actual release (no date).

How is The Darkness Within going to be released?

The first release is going to be called Ch. 1 (Chapter 1). It will include both the prologue and the first chapter. I will have testers play through the Prologue first, when that is done, to make sure the flow is right, and adjust what needs adjustment. Then I will publicly releas Ch. 1 once that is done as well. I prefer it that way, because it makes more sense for you to actually understand what the story is about, and the Prologue serves as Introduction to the MC and the world.

But that's it for today's Dev Log. I hope you like Lily as much as I do.

—MisheruMaxis