DARK GAIA'S PROFILE

I have... But it's approval is pending as of now.

Sorry for the inconveniance, but I posted the required audio file under downloads.

Important! This game is stand alone. It does not require the RPG Maker VX RTP to be installed. Newest Version: Full Version 1.6



Dare you face the secrets of The Complex?

Overview:

Hi all. It's me, Dark Gaia. I've always been a fan of survival horror games and horror in general, and because of the relative ease of making one and the small gameplay spans (little more than a few hours) these types of games contain, I thought I'd pay a tribute and craft one of my own on the side in between bursts of work on my main project Legionwood. I will tell you that I believe in this game I have so far captured the essense and gameplay of a survival horror game, and have crafted a truly frightening atmosphere, complete with a cryptic, mysterious story (which is connected to Legionwood in a small way, you'll see) and of course, a few genuine scares in the tradition of RRR's own Lurking Under Life. So, please, sit back, read this thread and tell me your thoughts, and then download the game, and experience the horror that awaits you.


The Story:

When humanity is no more, and you are the lone survivor of a worldwide catastrophy, what will you do?

The Complex... At one point, it was obviously some sort of bustling, busy epicentre of human activity, the nerve center of all sorts of scientific endevours and the military stronghold of an entire armed force. This can be evidenced by the sheer complexity of the place...
Buildings sprawling over each other, subterranian levels, airfields, hangars, vast underground laboratories...
But then again, if it ever was those things, it surely isn't now. SOMETHING happened there long ago, and now The Complex is abandoned, crumbling, and eerily silent, it's inhabitants seemingly vanished into nothing in the blink of an eye.

It seems like The Complex is just... no longer there. It's never been heard from since that day when... whatever went wrong went wrong, and nobody who has set out looking for it has ever returned. No maps seem to mark it's location anymore, and not even GPS surveilance can sight anything in the endless expanse of forest it once called it's home.

Some have even gone so far as saying the place doesn't exist.

There's some sort of secret behind that place... And what happened there. The Complex holds many such surprises, and a treasure trove of mysteries too. But it also holds a strangling atmosphere of terror, and a horrific fate which has changed it into a world of dread and danger.

You have just opened your eyes from a long period of unconsciousness, finding yourself sprawled on the cracked stone floor of one of The Complex's many abandoned rooms. Remembering only your name, you must now set out into the darkness that has infested this place, and discover who you are, why you are there, and what terrible catastrophy turned the once bustling Complex into what you are about to experience.

The Complex. Once it was bustling, important. Now, it is empty, the hive of evil and secrets. Dare you brave the horrors it holds?


Game Concept:

One Night is the tale of humanity's end. It is a story of the aftermath, of a doomsday humankind brought upon itself, and the unfortunate consequence of meddling with the foundations of space. With One Night, I have been influenced by movies such as I Am Legned. 28 Days Later and games such as Half Life, in which the characters explore the ruins of a once functioning society, trying to pick up the pieces in a world where humanity has been taken out of existence. I want you to feel the sorrow and the intrigue of exploring environments that were once the epicenters of human existence, but now are dull, empty and lonely. I want you to try to find out what has happened, and why you are left. And I want you to get scared of the bleak, lifeless reality you have found yourself in. Will you be compelled to discover the secrets this world holds? Are you ready to try and fathom how such a terrible calamity has occured?
One Night's The Complex setting is the amalgamation of all my inspirations rolled into one. It is dark, empty, atmospheric, foreboding, and filled with the horrific remnants of an unknown tragedy. I really hope the player will "feel" something as they go about unlocking it's secrets.

One Night conforms to basic fundamentals of survival horror gameplay. You know the deal: explore environments, get scared, read clues, find items, solve puzzles and follow the story. There are enemies out there stalking you too, and these creatures are smart. They can track you, follow you from room to room, communicate and set traps. They want you dead. In order to increase the atmosphere of One Night, I have taken away your ability to fight the monsters. You can find self defense items such as Stun Guns, but in the end, your ultimate strategy is to run, hide or capture. If a monster catches you, you will sustain a wound, and after you sustain three wounds, you're dead! It's that simple! In your efforts to survive around these mysterious and bizzare creatures, you'll need to utilize the many items you find in your explorations of The Complex to defend yourself, such as:

Stun Guns:
Stun Guns are self defense weapons. A Stun Gun, once found, will remain in your inventory until you get captured by a monster, in which case it will stun the monster and prevent you sustaining a wound. The monster will remain stunned for about fifteen seconds.

Knives:
Knives are another type of self defense weapon. Knives remain in your inventory until you get caught by a monster, in which case your character sticks the knife into the monster, making it let go and preventing you from sustaining a wound. The monster is not stunned however.

Syringes:
These rare syringes (there's only about 3 in the game) are filled with a special solution that was designed to counter the monsters by The Complex's now long dead inhabitants. If you are caught by an enemy, your character will stab the enemy with the syringe, permanently killing the enemy and preventing you from sustaining a wound.

First Aid Packs
These fairly hard to find packs are filled with potent freeze preserved medical supplies. You can carry as many as you want, and using one at any time will heal any wounds you may have recieved.


The Monsters:

Many monsters await you in The Complex and will relentlessly plague you in One Night. Each one has a different behaviour, and each one will require it's own different tactic. Can you brave the fear and discover the origin of these predators?

Bandaged Head

This mysterious, humanoid figure of unknown origin shuffles around the empty corridors slowly, like a zombie, making eerie, rasping breaths as it goes along. Although it doesn't seem to want to actively hunt you, it will attack you and even chase you if you intrude onto it's area. Most Bandaged Heads seem to appear in groups. If one starts to chase you, they all will. Even though they are slow and seemingly stupid, don't let them overwhelm you or trap you into a corner!

Faceless

Highly intimidating, this seemingly faceless humanoid prowls the darkest areas of The Complex, where he awaits any and all unlucky enough to still be alive. He moves incredible fast for someone of his height, and once aware of your presence, will track you relentlessly, until you are dead, a prospect not so hard to imagine due to his proficiency with his sythe.
The Faceless monster is one of a kind. He will be a recurring enemy in the game, chasing you throughout The Complex until the conclusion. The concept is based on the Nemesis monster from Resident Evil 3 and the Pyramid Head of Silent Hill 2, both of them portraying the same game mechanics.

Seeker

A huge beast of towering hight, yet frighteningly agile at the same time, the Seeker hunts in groups through The Complex for living prey. It doesn't have a preference what it hunts, but once you enter it's hunting ground, you're fair game. Seekers are fast, running as fast as you can, and are smart too, working together with their pack mates to head you off, trap you, or ambush you. You certainly can run, but the best option is to hide... And the Seekers will find you eventually, it's in their nature. You'll need a firm head on your shoulders to keep one step ahead of these viscious hunters.

Changed One

What horrors the Changed Ones must have faced... Obviously there weren't always unnatural abominations like One Night's other nightmarish foes, for their features are distinctly human, and they wear tattered uniforms of The Complex personal, plus, the spine chilling screams they cry out as they endlessly walk The Complex sound far too much like human screams of agony.
Whatever happened in The Complex long ago has warped these poor souls... Now they eternally walk the emptyness of The Complex, looking for any of their colleagues who may still be alive after all this time, to "change" them too. That means Changed Ones actively search for you. They may work alone, but they are very intelligent, they track you from room to room, and they don't give up.


Game Features:

1. An expansive, atmospheric survival horror experience, the first of it's kind ever seen on the RPG Maker VX engine.

2. A complex, twisting and intriguing story of science, despair and death, dealing with the mechanics of time and the philospophies of other worlds and connected to Legionwood in a small way too!

3. A streamlined, Silent Hill style menu system designed to cater to the survival horror genre, featuring item managment, map managment and clue logging.

4. A repetoire of custom graphics and a soundtrack composed mostly of custom (and exclusive) tracks and sounds add together to create a truly frightening, immersive atmosphere, complete with genuine and terrifying jump out scares!

5. Completely captures the gameplay style of the survival horror genre. Explore the game's 6 eerie environments, find keys, maps, items and clues, read cryptic books and reports to work out the story, solve puzzles, avoid terrifying creatures and try to find your way to the game's conclusion.

6. Face dynamic, totally unscripted enemies who work in packs, follow you from room to room, communicate and set traps and ambushes for you. How will you survive!?

7. A collection of custom scripts by renowned scripters used to enhance the game, such as Asdren's Puzzle Game Menu, Moon's Real Time Lighting and Shadows, Syvkal's Dynamic Lighting, the innovative Stealth Detection System and more!

8. Every aspect of the game is designed and extensively researched to invoke a feeling of unsettlment in the player. The graphics, sights, sounds, enemies, plot details and puzzles, every part is designed to shake you up inside, providing a truly disturbing adventure.

9. Multiple endings await you. The choices you make as you travel The Complex will have their consequences, and ultimately may effect the game's conclusion! Will you survive, or forever be trapped in the confines of The Complex?

10. Unlock bonus content when you complete the game, such as addicting minigames and bonus scenarios. The content you unlock is dependant on the ending you recieve! Get both endings to unlock everything!

Screenshots:

Download:

Official Desktop Wallpaper:(800x600)

Full Version Download:70MB Installer

Official Walkthrough Thread:On RRR

The full download includes the installer for the game, plus the readme file. This game has around 3 hours of gameplay in it. Time may vary depending on your skill. All files required to run the game are included.


Special Thanks/Last Notes:

Firstly, I'd like to thank DM dotto for the custom graphics and Newgrounds Audio Portal for the custom music and ambient sounds. I'd like to also thank The Man and Min Chan, whose Lurking Under Life and Ravenwood Horror games proved an invaluable inspiration on how to present and craft a scary game in RPG Maker. Finally, I'd like to thank RRR for hosting and supporting this game, and Ark Reaver and Team Gaia for providing gameplay ideas and volunteering to be beta testers.

Hey everyone! Just me with an update on the changes I have made to Legionwood thus far. Also, the Upperthorne Catacomb map in Legionwood has come 2nd in the 4th RPG Revolution Mapping Contest! (See here: http://www.rpgrevolution.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23842)

. Current game progress has hit 30%
. The font has been changed from the stylized Fontlero to a new variation of Times New Roman which is easier to read.
. The lag has been cut in half. 3 Anti Lag scripts have been utilized, plus all unnessary events have been removed. All those "This barrel is empty" events are gone.
. Important things to examine and people to talk to are marked with a special symbol above them. This makes it easier to speed through the game if you don't want to spend hours searching and talking.
. The dialogue has been streamlined. The pauses in the text are now cut in half, and the dialogue is shorter to get through in some cases.
. The player is now able to rest in their house in Upperthorne, rather than going to the Inn.
. The intro has been redone. Rather than the crap about your name being the definition of courage and a scrolling map, you get a shorter, but more interesting cut scene that gets you right into the game.
. The encounter rate has been made lower, but as a result, the enemies are slightly harder and drop more experience points.
. A new save system is implemented, which displays where the game was saved, your party status, money, date and play time.
. A new skill advancment system via KGC's APAttribute Assignment script has been put in. Now, as well as gaining your normal level up bonuses, you will gain some AP upon level up, which can be spent on additional stat increases, or hit rate, evade rate or critical rate increases as well. This means you are now fully able to customize which skills and stats your characters have, enabling you to mould the character to fit the style of fighting you use them for. You can now craft skilled magic users or powerful warriors!

Phew! And that's it for now! Stay tuned for more updates or the full version. With my moderator position on RRR, I don't get active so much, so please bear with me.

Unfortunately the game is around 15% done. I'm intending it to match the gameplay time of a commercial game. Anyway, gald you enjoyed it. Keep an eye out for the full version!