Post em português aqui.

This is the first of many posts about the development of the game itself. Information regarding the game design, technical articles, and concept art. Much of the information present in the game design document as well we will talking about the obstacles and solutions that are facing for during the development of the project. Today we speak of the HUD (actually the new HUD game). 

One of the more striking of the Light of the Darkness is how the visual elements reinforce the concept of dialectics in the universe. Everything from the look of the characters, colors, symbols, architecture, follows this goal. This approach also has a great impact on the HUD, as well as game menus that will be described later. In Light of the Darkness, menus and HUD has "skins" depending on the different world in which the game is going. We have then a Dark HUD and Light HUD, each appropriate to the visual world that the player is exploring. 

The first versions of HUD were made even before the coding work of the game (in the pre-production). Early versions have explored this approach "light / dark" that I quoted above. We will see below how was the first solution of The Light of the Darkness HUD:

Variations of both are only aesthetic, because they both follow the same layout and has the same features. The look of the Light HUD is inspired by Greek architecture while the dark HUD in Gothic/Medieval architecture. Earlier I this version, the indicators of peripheral essence (HP) and mystical essence (MP) do not had a very traditional approach. Both would be shown through spheres that become smaller as both attributes diminished. The colors follow issues relating to the characteristics of the universe. Essence of Light had blue colors and dark essence had red color in that world. Thus, the mystical essence of Sephius would change color depending on the world he was. The peripheral essence keep the color yellow as is the color of the natural essence of Sephius. HUD also had slots for weapon 1 item and 1 spell.

This spheres approach eventually did not work when put into practice. This is a good example of how the game design document needs to be molded. We can´t just planning 100% of the game before actually start to produce it. Many things in theory end up not working well in practice or simply need adjustments that are only possible to identifying after that is implemented and tested. The spheres was not very practical in view the amount of essences of the player and so we ended up using numeric values ​​with them, which ended up making the sense of the use of the spheres of energy lost completely.

Another issue that ended up being meaningless was the weapon slot as the game eventually evolved into a gameplay where you use only one weapon. The spells became the element of variation of attacks in the game. Soon there was no sense in slot weapon. Additionally, during development the game design the game evolved into a gameplay that spells now have a larger role, with combinations of spells and interactions with the environment. The items also have a more important role. For this reason, have only one slot for each turned out to be insufficient, especially in the case of spells that could now be combined.

With these changes and learning, we had to develop a new HUD, with another approach and appropriate elements coming into what the gameplay eventually evolved. Lets see below how it went:

In the new version, the indicators of peripheral and mystical essence came to be shown with bars instead of spheres of energy. This form simply works better. The use of gemstones as visual support gives a good idea of ​​their relationship as a source of origin of essences (the deep essence is the origin other kinds of essences and it comes in solid form as crystals). An additional indicator shield was also added for another a change in the gameplay of the game. Previous, the shield could be used without any restriction and we realize that it eliminated a little of the challenge and the requirement for strategic use in the game. Then the shield now has a usage limit, related to the amount of damage that it needs to absorb. It works a bit like the stamina in games such as Demons Souls / Elder Scrolls.

The presence of two slots for spells makes it clearer to player to approach of the use of compounds spells. In this new approach to the use of spells (which happened at some stage of development) brought the need for other elements to HUD, not only that related to bar attributes / items / spells. Another major factor was we was making, previous, a game to be played with mouse / keyboard and can later see the possibility of the support for gamepad which is the best way to play these kind of games. In the old HUD, the selection of spells and items were made by clicking the mouse on the selected slot and symbols / items appear when you click into these slots. This obviously does not work with a gamepad.

Thus, it required a new kind of selection of items and spells, as shown below:

Other elements of the HUD do not have to be discussed in great detail, but are present. Others visual indicators needed in the game is : Indicator of item collected, indicator of new spell learned, new level, region explored; damage from the enemies, enemies attribute. These indicators are simple, without ornamentation, with the goal of being direct and functional. In the dark world has a black decal and in the light world a white decal. These indicators can see below:

Type of Damage:Green is negative damage(regenerative), yellow is critical damage, white is normal damage. 

Collection of items and attributes of enemies.

Other indicators: 

Well, that's it for now. This week we will send the first version of the Game Design Document for the supporters who supported with $ 30.00 or more (Brazilians only for wile)! The document is now quite extensive and it will be possible to have a good idea of ​​the complexity of the game, it´s features and mechanics.

Until next time!

Texto em português aqui

One of the cooler reward offered during the campaign funds on kickstart was the possibility of having a name displayed inside the game, on tombstones throughout the scenario. A reward somehow "sinister", so to speak, but is cool any way. As the game will still take a while to be released, we prepared this hot site with the final image of the tombstones, where supporters can check how they memorial will be the final game.

The tombstones have names written in sansico, but turns into normal alphabet when the player comes close to the tombstones. A simulation of this effect can also be seen in the hot site. If you is a  $50 backer you will see your name there somewhere!

For those who supported with higher values ​​($150 or more), the names will appear on statues (with backer face). A hot site with the statues will also be produced.

To see the names of the "legendaries"  visit the link below or click on the image:

http://www.thelightofthedarkness.com/lapides/

You also wants your name on the tombstones? Go to the project blog (http://www.thelightofthedarkness.com/blog/) and click on the "apoie o projeto!" in the sidebar of the blog and support with $50 or more. Recalling that there are several other nice rewards for those who support the project.

Stay tuned for more news soon!

Texto em Português aqui

The Brazilian school of game development, Seven Games, joins to the list of partners in the development of The Light of the Darkness. Seven is supporting the project giving physical space, software, equipment and developers to work on the project. The Seven Games has a system of supervised training, where students have the chance to work on real projects in the market, helping in the students training as well as the projects supported by the school. For Epifânica, is also a pleasure to share the knowledge gained in the developing of this project with students at the school. Knowledge that can be very helpful to then when working on other projects in near future.

Seven's support is very welcome and should have a positive impact on the project, as has happened with others supports as the Virtue Games, Instant Games, ESPM, Zeger Studio and from others professionals, designers and enthusiasts. The Light of the Darkness project has been a very collaborative project and is important to remember the importance of this kind of way in the indie development scene in Brazil. It's a win-win scenario. It´s good for the projects and people involved, especially because experience that is being learned and is being shared with everyone. Recalling that one of the major problems in Brazil is also a lack of knowhow.

Stay tuned for more news!

To learn more about the Seven Games:http://www.sevengame.com.br/

Texto em português aqui.

One of the most most commented aspects of the Project The Light of the Darkness, was the existence of fictional language called Sansico. As already mentioned, The Light of the Darkness is a fantasy universe that takes place in a world very different from ours. Everything from biology, physics and cultures are different than we have here in our real world. This has an impact also in the language spoken by the creatures in the universe and consequently in the game.

There were two main reasons for the decision to use the native language of Sansico in the voice acting in the game. The first and main reason is a about concept. Since the goal is to strengthen the unprecedented nature and of the universe, the speech of the characters in they original language was a major factor. This makes the content more compelling and immersive as well as make it more convincing. The other reason was about technical issue, as the The Light of the Darkness is a "international" project, not for only Brazilians, as does the nature of the global gaming market. So, in our case, a version of the game in English is mandatory and essential to others outside of Brazil enjoy the project. But with that, technical problems arise, since from the beginning we decided for the existence of in-game voice acting and the two languages (Portuguese and English) ​​has proved problematic for the project due to logistical and financial issues. For this reason, the sansico was a perfect fit, because we can have a single voice acting for all the languages ​​that the game can be translated.

About Sansico, we had a very large amount of questions about it. Like, for example, how is the translation process, if the sansico is just a "inverted Portuguese", the origin of language in the universe and so on. On the technical side is important to note that sansico is not a inverted Portuguese! On the other hand, the sansico is not yet a fully developed real language like Elvish in The Lord of the Rings. The sansico, at the moment, is a middle ground. The goal in the voice acting results, as the written of the language, is to be some thing believable. This can not be archived with improvised texts, there must have real words, real pronounce and so on. Even without understanding what a person says, we can recognize the patterns of language, can recognize repeated words and so on. Therefore the development of sansico has needed a bit of work.

About the history,  the sansico language was a very old language in the universe. A language of an extinct culture called Sansios. The Sansios was another creatures very different from the creatures seen during the ages of   The Light of the Darkness history.They lived at a time when world was not divided between Light and Darkness. It was a culture that preceded the white and black cultures seen so far. The sansico had four dialects: The Ancient Sansico, the Pegahmo  Sansico , the  Black Sansico and  the White Sansico  . The Ancient Sansico was the original Sansico language. Pegahmo Sansico  was a variant of an ancient subculture. Sansico white and black dialects are what we see so far.

The differences between white and black sansico were seen in the alphabet which was quite different each other, but there was differences in pronunciation too. This difference in pronunciation was not big, it would be something like the Portuguese of Brazil and Portugal. Black and white creatures could be understood when speaking each other, as well Brazilians can understand the Portuguese(Portugal) speak.

There were some unique aspects in relation to both languages ​​and their writing, for example, in sansico white, the letter "U" was considered a letter associated with darkness and thus considered a "inferior vowel ". In this writing, the U is always misaligned down, showing this inferiority. Black sansico did the same, however with the letter "A", which was associated with light, a inferior element to the dark creatures. This vowel was so misaligned down in sansico black.

Below see pictures of the two alphabets (click on images to enlarge):

Note that the numbering in the two cultures was also different from the used by us humans. In human culture, we always using a base of 10. This comes from the number of fingers we have in hands. Because in the past was with the hands that we counted numbers, and as we only have 10 fingers, we had to restart counting when the number was greater than 10. This defined our base of 10 for numeric symbols. In the white world, the creatures had four fingers on each hand and not 5 as we have, so they only count up to 8 and their numbering is base of 8. Dark creatures had only three fingers on each hand, which led to a number in base of 6. Thus, it is important to note that the count of time and things were quite different than what we do. If we were to count 37 years for example, it´s 45 in Light years and 101 in dark years. 1980 was equivalent to 3674 in white numbering and   13,100 in black numbering. The sansicos digits functioned in a way reminiscent of Roman numerals. There were only symbols for the number 0, the number 1, the number associated with one hand (half the base) as well as numbers of 2 hands, and multiplications related to this digits. The sansicos  numbers represented somewhat elementary operations. The number 2 was represented by 1+1, 3 by 1 +1 +1. The 7 (white numbers) by 4 +1 +1 +1 and so on. Numbers on the left is multiplications. So 20 was represented by (1+1) * 10, 6000 (white numbers) by (4 +1 +1) * 1000. It seems a bit complex and it is. But the numbering Sansico was emerged through a natural counting processes for them, which were different from those that resulted in our way of counting.

The Sansico fonts (which were given as rewards for $25 backers or more) are inspired by old typographies. The white   alphabet in Roman typography and the black alphabet in Gothic typography. For those who knows some thing about typography, will realize that   light symbols have  horizontal emphasis and are more "stable" while black symbols have oblique emphasis and has a look less "stable". These characteristics reinforce the concept of the dialectic of the universe. The Ancient and   Pegahmo  sansicos  still need to be "discovered" by our team of researchers of the ancient texts ... So, it should take a while to figure out how they were like ...

The font white sansico was developed by me Fernando Rabello, the font black sansico was developed by Magno Laureano, both based on a system of symbols sketched by Daniel Mafra.

Finally, as we announced before. We put online the Sansico Translator! The application is able to translate texts and words in Portuguese to sansico white or black. It's pretty simple, just write the text and paste click translate! If one wants to be able to read the text (and test your pronunciation in sansico) can click on "muda" to see the translated text in the Latin alphabet. The inverse translation is only partially working now, but it is possible to be able to understand a text sansico doing the reverse process by the translator.

The translator was developed by Leonardo Kasperavicius from the Instant Games Company. We special thank him for supporting the project and without his collaboration we would not have the translator.

Unfortunate, the Sansico Translator only work for Portuguese texts. So, if you want to translate some thing in English or other language you need to translate to Portuguese fist  (use google translator for example).

One thing that is important to note is that the sansico present in translator is a sansico  "2.0". A more correct version than what we hear in the trailers so far. So, some differences can be found if people try to do the translate the same texts of the trailer. New voiceovers are being prepared with the latest version of sansico anyway.

The link to access the translator is:

http://www.thelightofthedarkness.com/tradutor/tradutorsansico.htm

"Farom Ares wo Dosprese... Ares wo Procinceote... Ares wo Gaerrus... On mehhe mondu coitohca cerrimpode o docedanto, ontruvuhmes namu navo are...   U Are wu Pab o wu Oscahridue..."

Texto em português aqui.

Hello!

It´s quite some time without updates. We understand the concern of those who are supporting the project and from today we will have constant updates at our blog and here at Kickstarter.

The long period was because the waiting for transfer of resources from Kickstarter. We waiting a little longer than expected and with a few additional bureaucratic processes.

During this time, however, we already been working on the project and we will post updates next week. We are doing this update also to provide the first rewards! See below how the processes will be going from now on:

• All supporters will receive by mail a package of wallpapers (reward of $ 1 up). The wallpapers contains several versions with aspect ratios including for iPhones. There are 15 wallpapers for all supporters!

• Everyone who supported with amount ​​above $ 5 will receive the digital package with concept art and illustrations of the project. The package contains nearly 90 images of characters, environments, creatures, some assets and concepts of the game and more!

• We provide the fonts Sansico Black and White in the coming days, along with a Sansico translator! That's right! The translator is a plus that will be put on the blog and we're seeing the possibility of including it on Facebook. The translator was developed with the participation of the Instant Games (www.instantgames.com.br), programmed by Leonardo Kasperavičius. Now everyone can write their own texts and those who receive Sansico fonts, may use the written and fonts and the program they like. You can use the translator, for example, to swear your boss ... write secret messages ... or practice your sansico speaking . Unfortunately,  the process of translation for the Sansico only works from the Portuguese for now. An English translation can be thought of in the future. People in other countries can use google translator to translate text to Portuguese before use the Sansico Translator.

• We updated the credits with the list of names of supporters (who supported with values ​​above $ 25), as well as logos and links of supporters who supported with $ 300 or more. Later these names and logos are the ingame menu of the game. You can see the list here and credits here.

• We are producing a hot site with the tombstones of supporters who supported with $ 50 or more. These supporters could anticipate how their names will appear later in the game in this tombstones.

• Physical rewards (postcards, posters, map), will begin to be sent within two weeks. We will send a survey in the next few days to take addresses from these supporters. The survey also ask for that the sponsor what image wanted for postcard picture or poster of a several number of images that we will display on our blog in a few days.

• About GDD there are two options that we will discuss with supporters ($30).  As DDD is a dynamic document that is changing as development, supporters can choose to receive this material versions, or only the final version, complete it will be ready at the end of game development. Other materials for the development will be sent during the months of development.

• On the soundtrack of the game, it will be available on the game's release next year. We will show some pieces of some songs during the month. There will be 7  songs for the first episode. The songs will be available digitally for those who supported with $ 15 or more. The names of the songs will be going: "Ages Between Light and Darkness" (main theme), "The Awake" (Start Menu), "Land of Oblivion" (Gameplay), "The Phenomenal Battle " (sub boss) "Despise, Hate and Power" (cutscene), "The Epic Epiphany" ("final boss"), "Catharsis" (end cutscene).

• About the statues (our favorite reward!), We will send guide to supporters (who supported with $ 150 or more) on how to submit your photo to produce the illustrations for the game. Just as we are doing with the tombstones. The statues will also be on a hot site for supporters could see the result.

• Video spots of the logos for $400 supporters will be made in the coming months. The video spots will be available digitally for those supporters who can use as you wish.

• About the game's release, many have asked, our predictions is 5 to 6 months what make the game  be releasing on March or April. Before that we are thinking about the possibility of providing beta versions for all supporters (since only one of all selected this option).

• For those who missed the opportunity to support and receive the rewards, we are reopening the possibility of supporting via Paypal. For support simply click on the "Apoie o projeto" bottom in the sidebar of the game blog . This option also applies to supporters who had problems with payments in Kickstarter and was eventually excluded from the backer´s list.

Once again we greatly thank everyone who supported and still supporting the project. This movement is what make possible the further development of the project! We are all together on this journey.

We're back with more news soon!

• Brasileiros, vejam o texto em português aqui.

18 hours before the end of our campaign in Kickstarter, The Light of the Darkness project has reach the mark of $22,000 of pledges required for the project to be funded. Campaign finished , Kickstarter finally confirmed the funding success with $22,264 of pledges and now begins the process for receiving the funds, rewards preparation and resumption of work on the development of the game.  

It was a hard work taking care of this campaign. It was the first game developed in Brazil to try crowd funding initiative and, because of that, we can say it was a huge challenge. We are very happy to know that what we are doing now will definitely help other productions in Brazil. The repercussion the project had in Brazil and other countries led many people to learn what crowd funding is and the valuable importance this tool may have in the near future for Brazilian projects. We hope very much that this first initiative encourages the public to also support other projects and be more receptive to what is developed in Brazil, where there are many talented people who deserve a chance to develop surprising things. 

During the campaign, The Light of the Darkness had a great attention on the Internet. More than 20,000 people visited our site/blog, we had more than 60,000 views on YouTube, more than 70 sites/blogs talked about the project, with some very cool articles like these ones:  Arkade , Gizmodo, Siliconera, Nerd Age, Destructoid, Game TV, Meio Bit, Tudo no Pote, Jovem Nerd, Game Vício, Unlock, Girls of War  and many, many others. Not only big sites and blogs, but also many small blogs and forums was very supportive too. 

The campaign also generated many other opportunities, some of them we will announce soon, others we have already announced, like the partnership with Brazilian dubbing studio  Zeger for additional voice-overs for the game, the partnership with composer Josh Whelchel for original songs and the beginning of the development for the iPhone version. Other opportunities may come in the near future, give us some positive vibes!

Not only companies and sites helped us, but many people too. We had a lot of proposals for collaborations during the campaign. We had many important collaborations like the English revisions for the poorly translated texts (something that had a lot of rightly criticism, unfortunately). We greatly thank Rogério Torres, Marwin Bravin and Daniel Inhauser for their valuable reviews on the site and campaign material. Everyone who came into contact with interest to collaborate with the project will be contacted. That kind of support has been fundamental to the project and we hope to continue counting on people like us that are enthusiastic about making this work deeper and deeper. 

Anyway, there is many people to thank yet and we will thank in the mean time. We still have to finish a game! We will work hard as retribution for the support from backers.

As you can see, The Light of the Darkness is an ambitious project (taking into account it's a Brazilian project) and that effort has involved the participation of many people and this does not stop here. This game is our first step. We have passed through another battle, but the journey is still far ahead from here. Stay tuned for more news on the game soon!

• Português

Estamos realmente na reta final agora ainda faltando cerca de $8000 para atingirmos a meta mínima. Será difícil, nós sabemos, mas com a ajuda de vocês é possível! Vejam abaixo o que podem fazer para ajudar:

- Convençam outras pessoas a apoiar o projeto:

Convencer pessoas próximas é, muitas vezes, mais eficiente do que convencer pessoas estranhas. Se as pessoas perceberem como você está entusiasmado com o projeto podem se tornar apoiadores junto com você. Fale com seus amigos, parentes, conhecidos, todos que podem vir a se interessar pelo projeto! Divulgue novamente em suas redes, sites e onde mais for possível!

- Aumentem seus apoios se for possível:

É possível aumentar o apoio no Kickstarter facilmente. Lembrem-se que agora também oferecemos a trilha sonora para apoios acima de $15. Para aqueles que apoiaram com $5 e possam aumentar o valor, isso pode ajudar bastante a chegamos na meta.

- Entrem em contato com sites grandes para que eles noticiem sobre a campanha:

Cobertura da mídia sempre é fundamental para esse tipo de campanha. Se conseguirmos mais cobertura com matérias em sites grandes, isso fara uma enorme diferença aqui. Entrem em contato com sites grandes e peçam para eles noticiarem sobre o projeto. Mostrem para eles que é um assunto importante e de grande repercussão.

- Procurem por patrocinadores:

Durante 1 mês de campanha o projeto recebeu mais de 20.000 visitantes no site/blog, cerca de 60.000 acessos no youtube, foram mais de 70 sites/blogs que noticiaram sobre o projeto. O alcance do projeto tem sido bastante grande o que torna um ótimo negócio para patrocinadores. A publicidade gerada com uma associação com o projeto se torna um retorno bastante seguro para cursos de games, revistas e outras empresas ligadas com esse mercado.  Para quem estuda, trabalha ou tem contato com empresas que possam patrocinar o projeto, falem sobre essa grande oportunidade!

Vamos lá gente. Estamos na reta final!

• English

We are really at the homestretch now, still lacking about $8000 to reach the minimum goal. It will be hard, we know, but with your help it is really possible! See below what you can do to help:

- Persuade others to support the project:

Convincing people close to you is often more efficient than convince strangers. If people see how you excited about the project can become a backer with you. Talk to your friends, relatives, acquaintances, all who may be interested in the project! Share again in your networks, sites and wherever else possible!

- Increase your pledge if possible:

You can increase the support in Kickstarter easily. Remember now we also offer the soundtrack for pledges over $15. For those who have backed with $5 and can increase it, this can help greatly in our goal.

- Get in touch with large sites to which they report about the campaign:

Media coverage is always essential for this type of campaign. If we get more coverage with news in large sites, this will make a huge difference here. Come in contact with large sites and ask them for news about the project. Show them that is an important issue with huge repercussions.

- Look for sponsors:

During one month of campaigning the project received more than 20,000 visitors on the website / blog, about 60,000 views on YouTube, more than 70 sites/blogs reported about the project. The advertising reach of the project is fairly large what makes a good deal for sponsors. The publicity generated by an association with the project gets the return quite safe. For those who study, work or have contact with companies that can sponsor the project, talk about this good opportunity!

Lets go on. We are at the homestretch !

• Português

O projeto A Luz da Escuridão acaba de ganhar mais um reforço importante. A Zeger Studio, um excelente, estúdio de dublagem brasileiro, está se tornando parceira da equipe Epifânica no projeto. A Zeger Studio vai produzir dublagens adicionais que o jogo estava precisando, assim como a redublagem de alguns personagens que não ficaram muito boas. 

A Zeger Studio é a primeira empresa brasileira especializada em localização do áudio de games estrangeiros para o nosso bom português nativo. Eles realizam todos os tipos de serviços em áudio, desde dublagem como: direção artística, escalação de elenco, sound design e mixagem. 

O estúdio também trabalha com dubladores de bastante renome, como Ricardo Schnetzer, conhecido por dublar estrelas como Nicholas Cage, Tom Criuse e Richard Gere e Mauro Ramos conhecido por dublar Shrek. 

Para ver uma amostra do trabalho da Zeger Studio com a dublagem de games segue o vídeo do trailer do Uncharted 3:

http://wwwstatic.megavideo.com/mv_player3.swf?image=http://img3.megavideo.com/98b7a956cd2a171b62f5998c1800456a.jpg&v=ZW8WJ8MN

Infelizmente, essa dublagem de Uncharted acabou não se tornando a oficial, mas se vocês curtiram mais do que a divulgada pela Sony podem ajudar o estúdio visitando o fórum da Nauthy Dog e pedindo a troca da dublagem: http://forums.naughtydog.com/t5/General-Discussion/Naughty-Dog-Rejected-Brazillian-dub-and-chose-a-Miami-Studio-do/td-p/459775

Voltando ao Luz da Escuridão, os planos quanto a dublagem é ter o jogo em 3 idiomas: Sansico (que será o padrão), Português e inglês que serão opcionais para quem realmente quiser jogar o jogo ouvindo seu próprio idioma. 

Para as dublagens em inglês entretanto, ainda precisamos de algum tipo de parceria com dubladores estrangeiros, caso contrário a versão estrangeira ficará apenas com o idioma sansico. 

• English

The Light of the Darkness  project just got an other important support. The Zeger Studio, an excellent dubbing studio from Brazil, is becoming an Epifânica´s partner in the project. Zeger Studio will produce additional dubbing work that the game needed.

Zeger Studio is the first Brazilian company specialized in localization of game audio for native Portuguese. They perform all types of audio services, from voice acting as art direction, casting, sound design and mixing. The studio also works with a lot of famous Brazilian voice actors.

You can see a sample of the Zeger Studio work here:

http://wwwstatic.megavideo.com/mv_player3.swf?image=http://img3.megavideo.com/98b7a956cd2a171b62f5998c1800456a.jpg&v=ZW8WJ8MN

The plans about the dubbing is to have the game on three languages: Sansico (which is the default), Portuguese and English as optional languages for those who really want to play the game hearing your native language.

For English dubbing however, still need some kind of partnership with voice actors or dubbing studios, otherwise the English version will only have sansico the language. So if you know some studio that could be interested in the project, spread the word!

• Português

Música tema original do game A Luz da Escuridão, composta pelo músico americano Josh Whelchel. Josh tem trabalhado em muitos títulos independentes lá fora, tendo ficado bastante entusiasmado em compor músicas para o Luz da Escuridão. Para saber mais sobre o trabalho do Josh visitem seu website: http://www.jwmusic.org/

Ter musicas originais era algo que o projeto vinha precisando muito. Infelizmente anteriormente não foi possível que o projeto tivessem composições originais. Este é a primeira de outras composições que serão produzidas para o game.

Por isso, a partir de hoje, estamos oferendo a trilha sonora original para todos os apoiadores que investirem acima de $15. As outras músicas começarão a serem compostas assim que a campanha terminar e serão disponibilizadas digitalmente.

Gostaram? Então não percam tempo e apoiem o projeto no Kickstarter! Quem apoiou com $5 pode aumentar o apoio para receber a trilha sonora também!

• 
  English:

The original theme song for The Light of Darkness game, composed by musician Josh Whelchel, who has worked on several indie titles, including The Spirit Engine 2 and the recently announced Scrolls from Mojang. 

Josh is excited to be a part of the Light of the Darkness team and is excited to share his music with you! To find more about Josh's work visit his website: http://www.jwmusic.org/ 

Original songs were one of the project`s greatest needs. Unfortunately it was not possible to have original compositions for the game before. This is the first of other compositions that will be produced for the game. 

So, starting today, we are offering the game original soundtrack for all backers who pledge over $ 15. The other songs will be made ​​once the campaign ends and will be available digitally.

Did you like? So lets go and back the project on Kickstarter! Backers who supported with $ 5 can increase the pledge to get the soundtrack too!

Português

Há duas semanas decidimos começar o desenvolvimento de uma versão do Luz da Escuridão para iphone. Vejam os primeiros testes no vídeo abaixo:

Quem apoiar com $5 ou mais no Kickstarter pode garantir além da cópia pra PC a versão para Iphone!

Lembrando que este vídeo mostra apenas os primeiros testes, ainda faltando efeitos e muitas outras coisas.

Por enquanto não podemos dar detalhes das diferenças que irá existir entre esta versão e a versão para PC. O que podemos dizer é que a versão para iphone irá ter algumas diferenças no gameplay e nos gráficos a fim de se adequar melhor a essa plataforma. Será um jogo mais simples do que a visto no PC. Esperem mais informações em breve.

• English:

A couple weeks ago we decided to start an iphone version of The Light of the Darkness. You can see the early tests below: 

Backers who pledge with $5 or more can get the iPhone version as well!

Remember that this video shows only the first tests, it's still missing effects and many other things.

We can not give details about the differences between this version and PC version yet. What we can say is that the iPhone version will have differences in gameplay and graphics in order to better adapt to this platform. It will be a simpler game than what you will see on the PC. Wait for more information soon.

obs.: português abaixo

• English

We have reached the first half of the campaign. It has been amazing to see all the attention the project has received. So far, 50 sites and 60 blogs / forums around the world have mentioned the game and more will do. The trailer has reached almost 50 thousand views in youtube.

But life is not a bed of roses. Our campaign reached 35%, but we should be at around 50%. We still have a long way to go. So, we need your help.

See below some actions that can greatly help the project:

- You can increase your pledges. Kickstart allows backers to manage the pleadges any time. For example, who supported with $ 5.00 can increase the pledge and receive more rewards. The rewards are cumulative.

- Talking to friends, colleagues and people in your circle of relationship can be quite effective in bringing more backers. If you have not convinced anyone yet, insist. If you have, try to convince more people. This is a great help.

- Share the project in your social networks, emails, twitter, facebook and whatever else is possible. If you have already done this, continue doing it. This type of campaign requires a very constant effort to keep people remembering and supporting.

- Send e-mails to gaming sites, magazines and other vehicles asking them to talk about the game. The support of the sites is very important for this type of campaign.

- If you work or have access to a company related to games, talk about the opportunity to have in-game advertising for rewards above $400. Epifânica team also produces a video spot for logos, and enables to link the company's website in the game menu, blog and website.

Soon I'll be with new updates about the project like the version for iPhone, an official soundtrack and info about our team.

Lets get going. We are doing our part. Everyone can do a bit. Together we can make something really cool happen!

Here are some links with news about the game:

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/08/07/introducing-castlevania-inspired-indie-side-scroller-the-light-of-darkness/

http://www.destructoid.com/the-light-of-the-darkness-looks-promising-208496.phtml

http://www.vandal.net/noticia/59035/the-light-of-darkness-un-juego-independiente-con-inspiracion-en-castlevania/

http://nerd-age.com/the-light-of-the-darkness-preview/

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• Português:

Chegamos a metade da campanha. Tem sido gratificante toda a repercussão que o projeto tem recebido. Até o momento, foram 50 sites e mais de 60 blogs/foruns pelo mundo em que falaram sobre o jogo. O trailer se aproxima dos 50mil acessos e mais notícias e matérias vão sair.

Mas nem tudo são flores. Nossa arrecadação passou dos 35%, mas deveríamos estar na casa dos 50%. Ainda temos um longo caminho pela frente por isso pedimos a ajuda de vocês. 

Segue abaixo, ações que podem ajudar muito:

- É possível aumentar suas apostas. O Kickstarter permite que o apoiador gerencie eu apoio a qualquer momento. Por exemplo, quem apoiou com $5.00 pode aumentar sua aposta e receber mais recompensas. As recompensas são acumulativas.

- Falar com amigos, colegas e pessoas do seu círculo de relacionamento pode ser bastante eficiente em trazer mais apoiadores. Caso não tenham convencido ninguém, insistam. Caso tenham, tentem convencer mais pessoas. Isso é uma grande ajuda para o projeto.

- Divulguem o projeto em suas redes sociais, emails, twitter, facebook e o que mais for possível. Caso já tenham feito isso, continuem fazendo. Esse tipo de campanha exige muito uma repercussão constante para manter as pessoas se lembrando e apoiando.

- Enviem emails para sites de games, revistas e outros veículos pedindo matérias sobre o jogo. O suporte dos sites é importantíssimo para esse tipo de campanha.

- Se trabalham ou tem acesso a alguma empresa ligada a games, falem da oportunidade de ter publicidade dentro do jogo para recompensas acima de $400. A Epifânica inclusive produz uma vinheta animada de sua logo, além de permitir o link do site da empresa no menu do jogo, blog e site.

Em breve estarei com novas atualizações sobre o projeto, como a versão para Iphone, possível trilha sonora oficial e infos sobre nossa equipe.

Vamos lá gente, nós estamos fazendo a nossa parte. Cada um pode fazer a sua. Juntos podemos fazer algo muito bacana acontecer!

Abaixo alguns links de sites que noticiaram sobre o projeto:

http://www.arkade.com.br/jogos/the-light-of-the-darkness-pc/

http://www.gizmodo.com.br/conteudo/jogo-brasileiro-promissor-precisa-de-sua-ajuda/

http://jovemnerd.ig.com.br/jovem-nerd-news/games/game-brasileiro-a-luz-da-escuridao-continua-em-producao/

http://www.destructoid.com/the-light-of-the-darkness-looks-promising-208496.phtml

Obs.: Texto em português aqui

Now it`s time to talk a litte about the story of the game. As you already know, The Light of the Darkness is a project of a universe and the game is based on this universe. So, there are a lot of stories, characters, descriptions and so on. The content presented in the game is only a part of everything this universe has.

Here are the stories of some Characters. The ones that appear in the game. There are other characters mentioned in the texts, whom we could talk about in the future. In the universe of The Light of the Darkness, every character is the protagonist/hero of his own story. All of them have their own motivations and reasons for their actions. Its a huge web of events, that have in Sephius` history a kind of a spine.

This is the first part of the LotD universe. We will talk about specifics aspects of this universe in the future, so people will understand how these aspects affect the lives of the characters in the story.

•  There is a link to the character image and voice act below the texts.

 
CHRISTINES: DAUGHTER OF SUPREMACY

For over 600 white years of supremacy, Persímonus had only generated man Childs. Like his many brothers, his sons were born with the fate of a shorter life, and none of them brought in him any feelings whatsoever.

But Christines, besides being the only Persímonus´s daughter, was also the only female with the possible fate of becoming sovereign. When young, Christines inherited the essence of her mother, Chrystah, and this powerful essence prolonged her life far beyond her deceased brothers. Cristines was powerful, brave and self confident. Her strong personality made her transpose laws, rules and gave the opportunity to develop her powers even further.

Venturing into the vastness of the dark world searching for responses for the death of her mother, Christines discovered more and more mysteries. Over the decades, tired of finding anything, Christines began to put herself in more and more danger. Being saved by Sephius, Christines saw in his heroic acts an irresistible opportunity to find the truth. Understanding and depositing more trust into the strange hybrid criature, Christines began to realize all the harm her father seemed to represent.

Strangely, Persímonus seemed to have extraordinary zeal for Cristines, and several times he was heard saying that would never accept another such important loss. With the mysterious absences of Persímonus from Halugarde, Christines began to rule more and more that world of light. But Christines had not the power nor the knowledge of her father. Her naive heroic government brought the wrath of the Lords of Light and increased the tension between her and Persímonus.

When Christines discovered that Persímonus feared Sephius´s existence, and tried to protect the hybrid creature, then she finally discovered the truth about what Persímonus really felt for her. 

Click here to see the full image of this character

Click here to hear a voice sample

MENDRIARK: THE DARK ESSENCE PRESERVER

Supreme and mysterious, the entity Mendriark was known, to many, as the God of Darkness. The search for Mendriark was something a few tried and very few succeeded. Also called Zohgradah ("sacred" in the black Sansico dialect) Mendriark lived in an extremely dangerous and inhospitable place. Only the uhtäcrothus (powerful leaders of the autocracy) ventured on these lands in search for its gloomy wisdom. Despite his immense power, Mendriark was bound to eternal obligation to preserve the essence of darkness.

This was his only purpose, but by having contact with the hybrid creature Sephius, for some reason, Mendriark began to question this obligation ...

Click here to see the full image of this character

Click here to hear a voice sample

LAISAN: THE POWER OF ETERNITY

The power of a creature comes from its own essence. The essence of an individual is subsequently transferred to others after death. The power of the essence prolongs life and, when highly concentrated, avoids aging.

Laisan possessed a combination of curse and gift. In her childhood, adverse events forced her to receive one of the most powerful essences. Tatian, an old mystic, many times said: "Never transfer a deep essence to a child." This statement was always interpreted as meaning the lack of young people`s experience to handle great power. However, Tatian's words had another meaning: Tatian was referring to a condition she called the eternal childhood.

Laisan, with her huge concentration of essence, had the same symptoms of the most powerful creatures: the absence of aging. Many years passed, but Laisan did not change. She had a woman`s mind, she had wisdom and knowledge, but the body of a simple child. The condition Laisan carried pushed her away from a series of ordinary experiences that could have made her live an emotionally stable life.

When Laisan met Sephius, he was just a baby without wings, common and normal. Raised by Yulos, Laisan lived in the same beautiful village where Sephius was raised. Thirty years have passed and Laisan saw Sephius grow. Sephius made her feel normal and they became very close. Having him deep in her heart, Laisan was the first to discover that Sephius was quite different from what he appeared to be, but she kept silent about her visions.

When, for the first time, she saw the face of that hybrid creature who claimed to be the same Sephius she was raised with, Laisan realized her visions were very real ...

Click here to see the full image of this character

NÔMEGAH: DESPISE, HATE AND POWER

Nomegah was a visceral creature. From the far and dusted lands of Nykebah, Nomegah was just another being with no future and doomed to have a short life. However, his despise for the world and its systems did emerge in his mind a great genius and obsession for power. Nômegah had a rare intelligence and an incredible survival instinct. Engaging in a journey of struggles and assassinations, the essence of Nomegah only increased, prolonging his life and making him stronger. After passing hundreds of years wandering alone as a criminal, Nomegah eventually became one of the most adept of the mystic process.

But even having achieved such power, Nômegah realized he still had a hole in his soul. When he met Akma, a trouble minded mystique from most distant lands, Nomegah finally had a son named Atlos. Tired of his violent journey, Nômegah returned to his homeland and devoted only to creating his child. A few years after his return, Nykebah was attacked by white creatures, led by a disturbed warrior named Apartus. In the terrible attack, Athlos had been violently killed.

Holding the dead body of his son, Nômegah´s hatred had no limit and he did what no one could imagine. He desecrated the body of his son, using his essence to forge a powerful weapon, which contained Athlos´s soul and skull. In the extension of this scepter, Nomegah crafted ancient Sansico words on the metal. Words that just a few could read and in which he sealed all his sorrow. Rumors said that the forging of the Nomegah´s scepter made Akma crazy, and she disappeared.

With mind wrapped in hate, Nomegah traveled to Noprótone, where he submitted himself to the uhtäcrothus Reizenhart, the autocrat of Darkness. Instead of killing Nomegah by his crimes, Reizenhart appointed him as a general and allowed Nomegah to assemble an army in order to fulfill his revenge and eventually stop the attacks in the dark lands.

With his sinister scepter, Nomegah was able to create dense clouds, which could cover large areas of the lighted lands. With such a powerful advantage, Nomegah and his army travelled to the world of light, moving towards an event that changed both worlds forever...

Click here to see the full image of this character

Click here to hear a voice sample

OSTONO ERED: THE FALLEN MIGHTY

Legendary and mighty, Ostono Ered was one of the most amazing white heroes that ever existed. His enormous development and discipline have made his anatomy perfect, and he was an icon of beauty and strength. Ostono Ered was the being with the largest wingspan ever seen and could reach huge speed in flight with his powerful and beautiful wings. Seeing him fly was something impressive and, with his strength, he won many battles and fame.

Ostono Ered was noble and wise, but those virtues could not save him from ruin. Ostono Ered was the right arm and friend of the uhtäcrothus Sythomas, father and predecessor of Persímonus. When he realize his friend was falling into a fatal ambush, planned by the dark creatures, he threw himself into a suicidal attempt to save Sythomas. Ostono Ered climbed high up the Persanic mountains, but, arriving late, he decided to give his own essence to keep Sythomas, who was mortally wounded, alive.

Hours later, weakened, Ostono Ered saw Persímonus and his men coming to them. His relief turned to horror when he realized that Persímonus had not come to save his father. Persímonus actually wanted to take his place. Trying to prevent Persímonus from taking his friend`s life, Ostono Ered was cowardly beaten and mutilated. Almost unconscious, he felt his body being thrown off a cliff and disappeared into the fog of the high mountains.

Ostono Ered stayed for days at the bottom of the cliff and lost most of his essence. He was very close to death when he was found by the Beuryos, a white lineage who lived in those mountains. No one else was aware of his survival and he was pronounced dead. It took years to recover from injuries. His power had been completely lost and he had no more strength to fight or even to raise his great wings, which now dragged on the floor when he walked. Ostono Ered never flew again and decided to live alone in the mountains, with the Beuryos.

Traveling to these same mountains, Sephius found the legendary Ostono Ered alive. He tried to convince him to come back and help fighting Pesímonus , but Ostono Ered found himself unable to fight. Only when he discovered that his son Apartus was the right arm of his malfeasant, Ostono Ered discovered two new sources of power vying for space in his mind ... love for his son and hatred for Persímonus ...

Click here to see the full image of this character

Click here to hear a voice sample

PERSÍMONUS: THE WEARY AUTOCRAT

Persímonus was bitter. As the son of Uhtäcrothus Sythomas (autocrat of Light), Persímonus was born with the fate of a short life, as well as his many dead brothers. Persímonus despised his father's promiscuity and selfishness. For hundreds of years, Sythomas had never shared his powerful essence with any of his sons, whom, consequently, had an ordinary life expectancy. Persímonus feared death and, above all, he wanted to live more than his father.

A few years after the War of Thaylanths, the fragile alliance between blacks and whites had broke, and the world was again in a great persanic war driven by prejudice and unnecessary hatred. Persímonus, already old and close to death, still did not know much about the world, but before this great conflict, an unique opportunity was introduced to him. Being contacted by a mysterious entity, Persímonus had its help in a big conspiracy against his own father. Allying himself with blacks and with that entity, Sythomas´s terrible fate had been sealed.

With the death of Sythomas in the Persanic War, Persímonus received the essence from his father and became the Uhtäcrothus ahd Zhul (Autocrat of Light). By creating deception surrounding the death of his father, Persímonus had support and strength to ensure its sovereignty definitively.

However, with the essence of Sythomas, Persímonus uncovered most of the world`s mysteries. The same mysteries he regretted to find out. Persímonus perceived that being Uhtäcrothus demands terrible consequences and, with the death of his father, all the weight was now on his shoulders. Over the years Persímonus lived with this great power until he began to wonder why he feared death and saw himself in a life psychologically impossible to sustain.

Persímonus already had a tired mind when he had to sacrifice his only true love. Along with many other sacrifices, Persímonus needed to lose Chrysta to preserve the stablishment. The events surrounding Chrysta´s death remained shrouded by many mysteries and made Persímonus more and more estranged from his only daughter.

A few years before Sephius´s appearance, Persímonus began to absent more and more from Halugarde and there were some rumors about conspiracies. He was losing more and more support from the Lords of Light and others politic forces. When Persímonus declared the definitive end of the war against black creatures, Apartus, his main general and friend, became furious and started his own crusade against the dark creatures.

Persímonus´s mental condition was deplorable, which would eventually create a very dangerous situation for the black and white worlds ...

Click here to see the full image of this character

Click here to hear a sample voice

REIZENHART: THE SINISTER ASCENSION

Reizenhart was cold, ruthless and absolutist. He was ambitious, practical and did whatever was necessary to maintain his autocracy unshaken.

But, in the past, Reizenhart was just a son of an Uhtäcrothus. Landros, Reizenhart´s father, was the living creature with the highest density of essence that ever existed in the dark world. This power guaranteed his autocracy. Reizenhart, as son of Landros, had the right to inherit his essence if Landros died. A right that, one day, could allow Reizenhart to become an Uhtäcrothus.

In the age when Reizenhart´s was young, politics in the dark world was confrontational, filled with traitors and opportunists. Landros was able to deal with this difficult situation and, even more, with attacks by Thaylanths and creatures from the white world. Although Landros was wise and powerful, his fall was not something that could not be considered.

Through an expected betrayal, Landros was finally murdered . The traitor Jenetz quickly stole the essence of Landros, becoming the new autocrat of darkness. Reizenhart then exiled himself from Noprótone to avoid being killed and began living on marginal land with his mind wrapped in desires of revenge and death. Throwing himself on a journey of murder and hunts, Reizenhart acquired a lot of power, which culminated when he, in the Red Dew Zone, forged twin swords called Syanmenesses. The folklore said that the two blades were indestructible and their cutting cauterized wounds like fire. With the swords, Reizenhart returned to Noprótone, where he fought and, surprisingly, murdered the Uhtäcrothus Jenetz. Reizenhart absorbed the essence of the mighty fallen Uhtäcrothus and, in the event, Reizenhart became undeniably sovereign. The power of Reizenhart became somewhat higher that, even carrying such powerful weapons, never again was he seen wielding them. However, the myth around the Syamenesses remained strong, creating a cloud of fear around him.

Upon taking power, Reizenhart promoted a carnage, killing all the Dark Lineage Lords and many other political figures. The Council of Lords has become a political facade and Reizenhart became a real absolute autocrat.

Nobody knew, however, how Reizenhart had gotten so much power to be able to subjugate the powerful Jenetz. Although many were able to rise huge powers in heroic/assassins journeys, it was highly unusual for individuals to develop such powerful essences to actually threaten an Uhtäcrothus. It was obvious, for many, that Reizenhart had not risen only by himself. The Red Dew Zone seemed to be a key to unlock this mystery. But Reizenhart had become such sinister figure that no one ever dared trying to find those answers. And that would only come to change when Sephius appeared in that world ...

Click here to see the full image of this character

Click here to hear a voice sample

SEPHIUS: THE LIGHT OF THE DARKNESS

For 30 years, Sephius lived an ordinary life in a calm village called River of Dreams. Away from the big cities and conflicts, Sephius was not prepared to deal with the world.

At the request of Menian, Sephius decided to travel to Curdel in search for answers about his origin. Shortly after he left, his village was attacked by dark creatures leaded by a powerful mystic called Nomegah.

It took months of fear and terror after the attack, when there were some rumors of a strange being with no face around the village. By showing himself as the only hybrid being that ever existed, the creature claimed to be Sephius. The villagers, frightened, drived away the creature, but Tatian, Sephius's adoptive mother, decided to go after Menian to find out what happened with his son, since she had had no further news of them since they left.

Over time it became clear that the creature was really Sephius, and he had to look for the answers by himsefl. By carring the essences of Light and Darkness, Sephius was not accepted by either sides and this made his life and journey extremely difficult.

When Sephius finally found the black army who attacked his village, he turned his attention to Nomegah. Sephius believed his change should be some making of the mystic black creature. During his pursuit, Laisan, Sephius´s childhood friend, died as a result of Nomegah`s mad acts. By continuing his search for answers and revenge, Sephius was attracted by Nomegah to the Zone of Oblivion, a dangerous mystique region that only a few knew. In an upcoming epic battle, one of them could come to die and be forgotten.

But Sephius was the Light of the Darkness and, by bleeding his strange essence, would come to awaken Nomegah`s memories that would change both worlds forever.

Click here to see the full image of this character

Click here to hear a voice sample

THANATHOPOS: THE LIGHT ESSENCE PRESERVER

Supreme and mysterious, Thanathopos was, to many, the God of Light. The preservation of the essences of Light relied on its ability to control their power. Thanathopos` immense knowledge and power had the price of imprisoning itself in this eternal obligation. The World of Light, however, was not a balanced place at all . Corruption and inequality, greed of creatures for power, behaved against the task. Thanathopos feared as it realized that this strange world could not actually sustain itself and, inevitably, would collapse.

Thanathopos talked to a few, but an Uhtäcrothus called Sythomas, he vented all its lack of hope. Sythomas meant to Thanathopos everything that it thought would destroy that world, but Sythomas seemed not only to understand the world's problems, but also carried knowledge that was unknown to Thanathopos and it felt compelled to discover.

With the death of Sythomas, Thanathopos became a violent entity , killing all those who looked for him for whatever reason. Not even by seeing Sephius, Thanathopos seemed to be interested in the mysterious creature. But when Thanathopos touched his essence, Sephius started to have its unconditional attention. Thanathopos realized the importance of Sephius but was still ignorant of his true purpose.

Click here to see the full image of this character

Click here to hear a voice sample

That is it for wile. Soon there is more!

Game Features:

The Light of the Darkness is a sidescroller, with elements of action, RPG, platform, exploration and story. Inspired by games like Castlevania, Odin Sphere, and other sidescrollers as ActRaiser. The game is still in development but, has five main features so far:

- "Metroidan" Exploration:

The player have some degree of freedom to explore the environment. There is no "level 1" then "level 2" then "level 3" and so on, but one big environment to be explored. The player can go forth and go back. Choose one way or the others. The need to reexplore the environment is constant as the player acquires new skills that will allow him to explore areas that were previously unreachable. The world is full of mysteries, dangers and challenges.

To explore the environment the player have a range of skills including flying and gliding, pushing things, spells and many items to solve puzzles.

Click here (HD version) and see a example of the level design in the game in HD:

- Evolution based on absorption of essence:

The Light of Darkness is a game based on attributes. These attributes determine a range of skills that is used in the exploration and combat. Evolution of these attributes are done every time Sephius absorbs the essence creatures or structures in the environment like gems.

In the universe of The Light of Darkness, creatures have no blood or flesh, but a vital energy called essence. The essence carries virtually all aspects of a creature, even some memory, knowledge and strength. Sephius can also absorb different types of essences needed for his health and mystical abilities evolution. The types of essences are:

In the universe of The Light of Darkness, creatures have no blood or flesh, but a vital energy called essence. The essence carried virtually all of a creature, even some memory, knowledge and strength. Sephius also can absorb different types of essences needed for health and his mystical abilities evolution. The types of essences are:

• - Peripheral Essence: In gaseous form, determines the health of Sephius.
  
• - Mystic Essence: In liquefied form, allows the player to perform spells and allows to learn new spells.
  
• - Deep Essence: In solid form, determines Sephius attributes such as strength, endurance, efficiency and quantity of peripheral and mystical essences.
  
• - Temperate Essences: In gaseous form, temporarily modifies Sephius´s status.
  

Creatures and entities Sephius faces also have features based on attributes. The relationship between Sephius´s attributes and creature's attributes determines values like damages, critical damages and so on.  

- Use of spells in combat and puzzles:

There is a big role for spells in the The Light of the Darkness, not only in combat but also in the exploration. Like attributes, spells are acquired by absorbing essences. Each type of creature allows Sephius to develop a specific type of spells. Essences of rare creatures can grant more powerful spells or abilities.  

The use of spells also influences the appearance of entities in specific places of the environment. For example, an excessive use of fire spells can stimulate the emergence of fire entities. This way the player needs to be more cautious when casting spells, especially in combat, as the game gets more challenging. 

Another very important element of the game is the combination of spells. In the game there are weak spells (almost instant cast projectiles), and strong spells (higher damage and area spells are generally slower to be casted). Strong spells are executed through the combination of weak spells. For example, the combination of a breath (air) spell and a fire spell creates a blast of fire. A breath (air) spell air and ice produces a blizzard. Light with ice creates a crystal that can illuminate the scene. Some combinations may not result in anything useful, while others may even result in damage to the player as with the mix of water and lightning. During the game, player has to try these combinations to find what they generally results. There is a whole arsenal of spells that can be developed, with exciting combinations to be discovered as the player progress through the game. 

In combat, spells must be used wisely. Each type of creature has different resistances and weaknesses. Some obvious as do not cast ice spell in ice entity, but some are less intuitive.  

The spells are also very important in the exploration and in the overcoming of obstacles on the way. Spells have many forms of interactions with environment. You can, for example, freeze water, solidify lava, illuminate dark places, move objects, destroy structures and create platforms. 

- Combat:

There are three basic elements involved in the combat in the game: physical attack (sword), mystical attack (spells) and defense (shield). Light of the Darkness have many kinds of creatures. Each creature has its own weak points. Some of them are more vulnerable to spells, others more vulnerable to physical attacks. 

The mechanics of physical attacks is simplified for a better flow of gameplay. By default, Sephius has a sequence of three basic attacks (being the last one the strongest) and a special sequence with 5 attacks that can be performed by focusing the sword for a few seconds. There are also special attacks as a "rising strike" and a "slash", which are executed with simple button combinations.  

Player can use a shield against creatures who use projectiles or spells and against normal physical attacks. The shield have a level of resilience and may be destroyed if overused.  

- History:

As the universe of The Light of the Darkness goes beyond the game, the story is very important to enrich the game experience. Voiced dialogues and cut scenes provide context for the events in the game giving a deeper emotional feeling. 

In menus, the player may know more about the universe, the creatures and characters that appear on the game. Each item, spell and creature have its own history and relationship to other events in the universe. In the website there will be available more histories that will complement what the player sees in the game.

We are also open for feedbacks, ideas, or anything people would like to see improved or added to the game. 

We are trying to produce a video, showing some of these features. We will update here in the future.