Darkness Revealed (Last Dive) - An underwater platformer thriller

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NEW UPDATE: Project Last Dive is now officially called Darkness Revealed! Learn all about it here!

NEW REEL: Our brand new reel is out, get to know us a little better! Watch it here!

NEWS UPDATE: We were featured in a Rock Paper Shotgun article! Check it out here!

DARKNESS REVEALED

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Darkness Revealed is Pixel Cows’ current project. It is a pixel art platformer thriller about a man who finds himself stranded at the bottom of the ocean.

Dave is trapped and all alone, with only his diving suit separating him from the bone crushing water pressure and mysterious sea creatures around. As he explores his surroundings in search for a way back to the surface, he realizes how little he knows about this sea…

Main features:

-Follow Dave in a mysterious journey as he uncovers secrets from his past life and the unknown sea

-Explore the majesty of the seas, from lively coral reefs to otherwordly underwater ruins

-Master the unique gameplay of Dave’s heavy diving suit and expand it with new items, such as the jetpack and the hookshot

-Face huge sea creatures in epic boss battles, explore the unknown depths and discover what lies beneath the surface

How far into development is it?

Darkness Revealed is currently approaching the end of its Alpha 1 phase. Right now, we’re focusing on having a playable demo with the game’s intro and the first act. The purpose of this demo is to validate mechanics, game pacing, story elements, level design, and many other aspects. We’re also working on creating a trailer as well as the game’s logo, to further promote Darkness Revealed and it’s strong points.

The game is planned to release on Windows and Mac in mid 2017.

Want to know all about Darkness Revealed?

If you liked what you’ve seen here and want to know more about the game, make sure to check out our website and main social networks. The game is still in development and we’re very open to opinions, so stop by and give us a shout sometime!

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Hope you enjoyed getting to know Darkness Revealed! We will be updating this page as the game progresses.

Thanks for stopping by!

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I read this post with interest and thought this is a really cool idea, about being stuck on the bottom of the sea, feeling helpless and having to survive the natural elements… kinda uncomfortable feeling of dread and helplessness.

After seeing the conveyor belts I felt less intrigued, kinda like - oh another platformer that puts generic game elements into the game - because the game feels more ‘gamey’ with the standard elements added.
A similar feeling that I get when I see a player running through the jungle collecting big gamerific glowing coins, fruit and standard shaped shiny gems.

The conveyor platforms feel really out of place. It’d be really cool if instead of the standard ‘gamey’ conveyor platform there was something related to the environment of the game - maybe a jagged sea cliff outcropping that causes a natural underwater current that pushes the character - just like the conveyor platform, but more aesthetically matching the game environment.

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Hi theANMATOR2b! Thank you for taking interest in Last Dive. The feeling of danger and having the ocean’s natural oppression being a constant menace is definitely among our main concerns. And I can personally assure you we will always be worried with keeping a semi realistic environment so that this is what the player feels as well.

As for the conveyer belt, I completely understand your disappointment, it is a platformer though, and we need cool mechanics to keep the level design and gameplay interesting. However, what I didn’t make it clear is that all the art shown in the GIFs is temporary at this point. And I assure you we will be changing it to something that “makes sense” underwater. I am the guy in the team that is constantly bothering the other devs for logical explanations for things we put in game, ie.: we have a hookshot mechanic, which im pushing to be changed to a harpoon; coins are pearls, and so on. So I guarantee, it won’t be a conveyer belt for a too long now.

Thanks for the VERY useful feedback though, i’m happy to see other people worried about the things i’ve been pushing hard for :slight_smile: And please comeback frequently with more opinions like those! I’ll be updating regularly and answering everything! Cya around!

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UPDATE 1

For those of you that don’t know, Last Dive was originally a game made in 48 hours for Ludum Dare, which had the theme: Beneath the surface. The game was very polished by the end of the competition and won 3rd place overall. Since then, we’ve been thinking about remaking it with the goal of expanding the original’s gameplay and executing the vision we always had for it.

Our first steps towards that goal was to remake the original game in Unity, since the first one was made in Multimedia Fusion 2. Once that was done, we started working on things that would expand on the original gameplay: new mechanics, enemies, traps, environments, etc…

One of the first things we did was smoothing Dave’s (the main character) basic movements. We made him a bit more agile and added new mechanics to make him feel more responsive and less clunky. Even though the game is set underwater and we intend on maintaining the oppressive controls because it adds to the game’s atmosphere, we don’t want his movement to feel frustrating.

We also intend on having people trying to speed run the game, so in that direction, we added a trick, that if timed right, can make Dave sprint across the ocean’s floor.

One of our main feedbacks after Ludum Dare was that you could only get trough some of the game’s trap if you had positioned yourself very precisely, and that was hard since Dave could only jump. So now, we added a walking mechanic for fine tuning before a big jump or trap. The game’s main moving around tool is still meant to be his jumps, but the slow walk helps a LOT with preparing for challenges.

And at last, we gave Dave an underwater jetpack that will move him slowly and hold him in the air for a couple seconds. It’s meant to help you get to that platform which you aaaalmost reached with your long jump! It’s also very useful for last minute saves or just to make sure you get through a bunch of spikes safely.

That’s it for today guys, let us know what you think! Next update i’ll be posting lots of new enemies we added to the game.

Thanks for stopping by :slight_smile:

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…what is he doing to that red creature in the last gif?

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He’s peeing on it obviously! Hahahahah just kidding, on our initial tests of the jetpack, the particles were released downwards, so it looks a bit funny XD But we’ve changed it already. You’ll see in future updates

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Maybe he can (visually) always use the underwater jetpack to make those regular jumps to visually explain his ability to be able to defy the burden of weight being underwater. This would not drain any of the jetpacks reserve power, only be a visual representation of him propelling himself up from the depths.
For the extra boost (planned jetpack use) he can tap into a booster reserve which allows him to get that extra distance to reach higher platforms.
Just a thought. :wink:

You mentioned revising most of the graphics, are you keeping with pixel art and just increasing the resolution of everything?

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Yup, that’s the plan! We’re working on his particle system in this week’s build or the next. So both his long and high jumps will have some kind of propulsion animation. But the reserve power will only be drained when he stays in the air for a while.

As for the graphics, we are indeed sticking to pixel art. Some of the graphics will be completely redone, others will just have its resolution increased and minor tweaks and we’re working on adding normal maps to everything to make a sweet lighting system. A bit like what’s in the picture in the first post. :wink:

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UPDATE 2

Hello everyone!

As I mentioned on the previous update, today i’ll be posting some of the basic enemies we recreated for the new version of Last Dive. These aren’t supposed to be a big challenge on their own, but together with other mechanics, they’ll surely help us make some interesting level design.

Before we start, remember that the graphics and models shown below are temporary and will most likely change, so please don’t be too harsh on it XD

First of all, I’d like to show the moray, which waits for you to get close to attack. If you’re quick enough and time it right, you can even jump over it before it attacks.

Next, is the blowfish, its a pretty simple enemy, but we managed to program a lot of different movement patterns for it. The blowfish is a great enemy for teaching the game’s basic controls and later on, combined with other mechanics, will help us make some of our most menacing challenges.


Lastly, to wrap up our basic enemies, I’d like to show you the eel. The eel follows a certain movement pattern predetermined by us. In our map editor, we’re able to set how many eels are coming out of a spawn point, how fast they move, and the intervals between one spawn and the next. This is great for breaking patterns and creating really unpredictable enemies, or at least making movement that’s a lot harder to read than most movement patterns.

That’s it for today guys, thank for stopping by and please feel free to leave your feedback!
Cya! :slight_smile:

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UPDATE 3

Hello everyone!

Today we’ll be focusing on interaction, animation and interface elements that we’ve implemented in the game.

The first thing you’ll notice is that Dave has 3 HP, which will allow us to design more challenging traps, while lowering player’s frustration. We also added a death animation and “game over” screen to go along with it.

We also added minor and major checkpoints. You’ll respawn at minor checkpoints if you fall into a hole. If you lose your 3 hearts, however, you’ll return to the latest major checkpoint. This is an important game balancing decision that will give us much more control over the game pacing, which is essential for a satisfactory level design.

Another aspect that ties directly into level design is exploration. We feel Last Dive’s otherwordly setting calls for self-motivated exploration, but the original game was way too linear and didn’t reward it in any way. In the new Last Dive, players will discover lots of interesting stuff by keeping their eyes open and searching for secrets. One little step in that regard is the addition of collectible coins, which will allow you to buy god knows what!

As always, please remember that all art is still temporary.
That’s it for today folks, thanks for stopping by!

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UPDATE 4

Hello everyone!

After we finished porting a completely reworked version of Last Dive’s original gameplay into the Lotus Engine (our own engine built on Unity), we started playing with some less passive enemies. Different from the ones previously shown, these guys have a bigger brain. They won’t follow a predetermined movement pattern, instead, they will move according to the player’s position. So let’s see what they are.

Holy crab, what is that thing?
The tiny but persevering crab is one of them - the little bastard will follow you around trying to pinch you to death. He may be a bit slow, but he’s determined, so don’t fool around!

Fast and furious
The second enemy i’d like to show is a variation of the blowfish (it will most likely be changed to a piranha or something like it later on). This guy will be sleeping peacefully on the game screen… that is, until you get close enough! It then wakes up and furiously swims in the player’s direction. Gotta be fast to dodge it!

Shark attack
And lastly we made a sharklike creature which follows you around the screen and attacks when the time is right. Don’t think its over after it attacks! It will continuously stay after you while you’re in the same screen as he is.

Thanks for stopping by guys! Hope you liked today’s post!
On the next update, ill be sharing some environmental traps which will really help us make some cool levels.

Cya around

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A 2-3 frame animation of the crab snapping his claws when the player runs into him would be a nice little addition.

Piranhas are fresh water fishes. :stuck_out_tongue: Angler fish are pretty menacing.

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Yup! These graphics aren’t final, only used for testing. We’ll add attack animation to the crab for sure.

Haha you’re right! And angler fish does seem like a great sub, it also fits the abyssal creature category Thank you for this :slight_smile:

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UPDATE 5

Hello everyone!

Like I mentioned in our last update, with enough enemy types in place for the time being, we shifted focus to environmental traps and other things that would affect the way Dave moves around the levels, challenging players to plan their next moves carefully. Sum that with the bunch of enemies already in place, and we’re in for a bunch of level design possibilities!

Breaking (sea)Bed…
Ok… that was a bad joke… So everyone knows what a breaking platform is, but ours is different! When you land on it, it cracks, but it only falls apart when you leave it. This isn’t about moving fast; it’s about moving carefully. You gotta plan your moves really well with this one. There’s no coming back, so make sure you know what you’re doing before hitting that jump key!

Pointy Corals
The thing grows over the floor and walls and is very lethal. You gotta master your jumping and jetpack skills to move around it. Some levels will have tons of these, but we’re a bit forgiving, so you can hit it once or twice before you’re done.

That’s it for today guys, next update i’ll post some more traps and level interactions!
Thanks for stopping by and have a nice weekend

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UPDATE 6

Hello everyone!

Continuing on the last update’s subject, today i’d like to show a couple more environmental interactions that will affect the way you play and how we build levels.

Spitting Anemones!
This little beast isn’t really an enemy but can sure as hell spit you into sticky situations (and sometimes get you to cool secret spots too)! The anemone will suck you in when you touch it, so be prepared for anything before you get too close. The anemone is designed to test your timing skills and your ability to predict movement patterns. Gotta pay attention on this one!

PS.: For other Nintendo fans out there: yes, we did get the idea from the almighty Donkey Kong Country, to this day one of the greatest platformers ever made! We always wanted to explore and expand on that mechanic. Last Dive has a lot of challenges that focus on timing and cadence, and the anemone also contributes in that direction.

Conveyor Belts that totally make sense in the ocean
We love how this trap affects gameplay and we’ll work hard to make it fit our semi-realistic setting. This isn’t the final art for it, we’ll most likely change to a water current stream or something! Because of the time pressure, moving through a sequence of treadmills and other timing-based traps is kinda like a dance of perfectly executed movements. You’ll have to be quick on your feet and plan your next jump as fast as you can, or you might falling deep into the abyssal sea…

That’s it for today guys! On the next update i’ll be showing one of the most exciting features we’ve included in the game! We’re really excited to announce this one because it will change dramatically how Dave moves around and how we build our levels.

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!

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UPDATE 7

Hello, everyone!

As I mentioned on the previous update, today i’d like to show one of the coolest features we added to Last Dive!

Hook away!

The hookshot was one of those risky ideas that we thought could either really enhance the game and bring a world of possibilities, or could just not work at all and have to be tossed away. We’re strong believers that you can’t avoid risks if you wanna create a game that has personality, so we went all in. Admittedly it didn’t work perfectly at first. The hookshot’s shooting direction isn’t controlled by the player. When you press the key, it tries to find if there is something "hookable"in it’s reach. It’s somewhat complex behavior led to all kinds of bugs that took us a while to fix, but after a couple weeks of iteration it turned out quite fun! Regular ceilings and ‘hookshot blocks’ were only the beginning - things started to get really interesting as we coded compatible (even if not realistic) interactions with other level elements. We’ll shut up for now as we don’t want to spoil all the surprises, but you can check some of the craziest uses of the hookshot in the gifs below!

As always, the art used is temporary. We might end up switching the hookshot to something more in context with our underwater theme, like a harpoon.

Thank you for stopping by and let us know if you have any other suggestion that might work better!

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The hook shot should add interesting gameplay elements to the game.
Can you explain what design decisions you considered, for and against when thinking about incorporating a hook shot mechanic?
The one visual anomaly I see is the lack in feeling like the character is underwater when the hook shot is attached. This is from the increased speed in the character swing.

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Sure thing! I think it has to do with two distinct things:

  1. Our desire to avoid having the player feel too constrained after playing for a while (in the original Last Dive, Dave’s hallmark timing-based charged jump matched well with the game’s atmosphere, but felt too sluggish and kinda boring by the end of that 30 minutes experience).

  2. Allowing for a certain type of challenge that we feel as being compatible with the base movement mechanics. When we decided to remake Last Dive as a full-fledged game, expanding the gameplay in a way that felt coherent to the rest of the game’s pacing was considered a top priority (instead of, say, simply making Mario enemies / mechanics in slow motion). We think Last Dive’s gameplay has a certain flavour that revolves around timing and carefully planning your moves (instead of, say, reflex or frantic action). The hookshot (as well as the conveyor belts and ice platforms) allow us to expand on that idea by creating sequences of platforms and challenges that end up requiring an almost coreographed sequence of movements, like “ok, I’ll jump on that breaking tile, jump the fish that will charge when I land and, since the breaking tile will be gone after that, instantly hook below that conveyor belt, and then swing my way into safety”. Once you figure out how to tackle the challenge, it’s a matter of staying calm and executing with precision. We really wanted to allow this “chain of challenges” kind of level design :slight_smile:

And yeah, thanks for the feedback, we’re totally with you on the weirdness of Dave moving unrealistically fast when swinging! We are planning an alpha build soon enough where we will focus on mood and realism as much as we’ve been focusing on simply figuring out mechanics - and then either we’ll find some visual reason for that, or we’ll have to slow it down until if feels appropriately heavy. I’m betting we’ll end up needing a bit of both…

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Idea: Anlger fish. from afar all you see is a shiny gold coin but once you’re close enough for your light to iluminate, it reviels an Angler fish with big sharp teeth that snap at you.

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That’s a pretty good idea! We’ve been considering switching one of our current enemies to a angler fish model. But your idea is very cool for a completely new enemy. Im gonna take it to the team! Thanks for the suggestion :slight_smile: