Darkest Place
Designer · Programmer · Artist · Composer · Built in Unity
Overview
Darkest Place is a first-person dungeon crawler where players explore a mysterious maze-like dungeon, collect weapons, and face off in turn-based battles. Exploration takes place in a 3D environment with stylized 2D sprites, blending a dark atmosphere with classic RPG charm.
Battles are quirky and unconventional, featuring bizarre and humorous enemies. Instead of relying solely on combat, players can talk their way out of fights by choosing the right sequence of actions to pacify enemies. Some encounters require experimentation, memory, and empathy rather than brute force.
Gameplay
- Explore a sprawling, first-person 3D dungeon filled with secrets, paths, and surprises.
- Engage in turn-based battles with oddball enemies using either traditional attacks or pacifist dialogue options.
- Collect and swap out different weapons, each with unique advantages in battle.
- Memorize and test combinations of social actions to calm or defeat enemies without violence.
- Balance exploration with resource management as you uncover deeper levels of the dungeon.
Design Highlights
Darkest Place was designed to play with tone, mixing eerie dungeon exploration with absurd and whimsical enemy interactions. The contrast between gloomy environments and silly monsters creates a sense of intrigue.
For the soundtrack, I aimed to make the dungeon music eerie and unsettling, while the battle music is fun, upbeat, and bombastic.
This solo project was developed entirely by me in Unity. I created the code, pixel art, animations, UI, and original music. The core systems include a first-person movement controller, turn-based battle system, branching dialogue mechanics, and dynamic state transitions based on player choices.
One encounter features Skullion, a giggling plant creature. Telling him a joke gets a small chuckle, but he asks if you’ve got anything better. Try again with a second, funnier joke and he bursts into laughter, toppling over and revealing his weak spot on his underside. At that point, using Pet tickles him and instantly ends the battle. Attempting to pet him too early just makes him uncomfortable but offers a hint about where his weak spot is. Watering him boosts his attack, and questioning him gets nothing but indifference. Each step rewards persistence and observation.