24.02.2026, 20:38
hey guys,
I am Sabbas (aka vlzvl), developer of "The Darkness Below",
I was informed by Stefan (Hamartia) about this site and to come here showing my game that was fully released recently
The game is pretty traditional, typical first person grid based dungeon crawler and was fully in development for about ~8 years.
I am also the guy behind the game's engine, which is also a traditional game engine of the past that I started developing since 1999 (Jolt3D!).
That's why my game might sometimes look and feel kinda raw. I am kinda against modern techniques, modern engines and modern ideas, focused on the basics.
I also developed a RULEBOOK.pdf especially for the game (90+ pages), which might look like D&D 5E at times but focused more on crpgs rather pen&paper modules.
Finally, the game has its own editor to deal with all levels but still not yet friendly enough to give along with the game
I also have tons of screenshots if that's allowed too (didn't see any buttons to add any image)
Regarding a few questions
* yes, I do plan translating the game, mostly requests for japanese, italian, french and german language. Definitely on the plan, but kinda lower priority as the game is still missing a few RPG elements, which also involve updating my own RULEBOOK
* there wont be any english dub or any other language, except perhaps the intro that I plan to convert the text there to english dub as I feel it will be even more immersive. So, everything will be text. Game really has tons of text
* the game is fully turn-based (no phase based though), both in movement and in combat. Its pretty similar to M&M 3-5 but also EOB/LOL stylistically, so not special combat screens, you always stay where you are and the monsters can get around you as easily and hitting you all together, especially on open areas. However, its not that tactical as I wanted it to be fast-paced so it has already tons of keyboard shortcuts
* the game is freely accessible once you get out of the first phase which can take you a few hours. It gets more open as you progress on main quest and you can easily kill yourself if you get this far
* no solo playthrough or playing through subgroups, although as said to Stefan, the game is quite flexible. I liked the idea of solo playthrough and this works the same as subgroups, definitely a thing that I have it noted down for later
* there are lots of cutscenes, events, puzzles and tons of lore. I wanted the game to look and play like a D&D module but on the first part, I can only do this much which I feel is enough already
I would love your opinions.
Thanks,
Savvas
I am Sabbas (aka vlzvl), developer of "The Darkness Below",
I was informed by Stefan (Hamartia) about this site and to come here showing my game that was fully released recently
The game is pretty traditional, typical first person grid based dungeon crawler and was fully in development for about ~8 years.
I am also the guy behind the game's engine, which is also a traditional game engine of the past that I started developing since 1999 (Jolt3D!).
That's why my game might sometimes look and feel kinda raw. I am kinda against modern techniques, modern engines and modern ideas, focused on the basics.
I also developed a RULEBOOK.pdf especially for the game (90+ pages), which might look like D&D 5E at times but focused more on crpgs rather pen&paper modules.
Finally, the game has its own editor to deal with all levels but still not yet friendly enough to give along with the game
I also have tons of screenshots if that's allowed too (didn't see any buttons to add any image)
Regarding a few questions
* yes, I do plan translating the game, mostly requests for japanese, italian, french and german language. Definitely on the plan, but kinda lower priority as the game is still missing a few RPG elements, which also involve updating my own RULEBOOK
* there wont be any english dub or any other language, except perhaps the intro that I plan to convert the text there to english dub as I feel it will be even more immersive. So, everything will be text. Game really has tons of text
* the game is fully turn-based (no phase based though), both in movement and in combat. Its pretty similar to M&M 3-5 but also EOB/LOL stylistically, so not special combat screens, you always stay where you are and the monsters can get around you as easily and hitting you all together, especially on open areas. However, its not that tactical as I wanted it to be fast-paced so it has already tons of keyboard shortcuts
* the game is freely accessible once you get out of the first phase which can take you a few hours. It gets more open as you progress on main quest and you can easily kill yourself if you get this far
* no solo playthrough or playing through subgroups, although as said to Stefan, the game is quite flexible. I liked the idea of solo playthrough and this works the same as subgroups, definitely a thing that I have it noted down for later
* there are lots of cutscenes, events, puzzles and tons of lore. I wanted the game to look and play like a D&D module but on the first part, I can only do this much which I feel is enough already
I would love your opinions.
Thanks,
Savvas