There will be more data and proper atribution here (original author, steam link, original post date, etc) real soon, I promise. This is just like a technical test to see if they're coming in ok at all.
When the Light Dies » Project Update 1: Concept and Inspiration
Welcome to the world of When the Light Dies!
Don’t let the darkness take over as When the Light Dies arrives on Steam later this year! Step into the wilderness and fight what lurks in the shadows while keeping your hunger and sanity at bay.
Survive or go insane trying … they are coming for you.
Check out the announcement trailer below:
Read our developer/publisher interview with Harrison, Lead Producer here at PQube, and Hugo, game designer and project manager at Electric Monkeys, to get a sneak peek of what to expect when the game launches in late 2023.
What inspired PQube to pursue creating our own games?
Harrison: When the Light Dies happened as a result of a lot of lucky coincidences. We had the idea for a project of our own and wanted to work with people we have enjoyed collaborating with in the past. Fortunately, Electric Monkeys were looking to create a game just like that, a project with an agile development cycle and a short gameplay loop. At the same time, we all got caught in the Vampire Survivors hype and quickly got inspired by other survivors-likes such as 20 Minutes Till Dawn, and Soulstone Survivors. We soon realised we wanted to add to this genre and create a fun game of our own which would provide something new and different for fans of survivors-likes at a low price point.
What was the concept/inspiration for the game?
Hugo: It took a while for the game to take shape. We were obviously directly inspired by the incredible games of the genre, but we were reluctant to add to the ever-increasing – and almost identical – Survivors clones hitting the market. It was important for us to make something unique that’s a little more friction-based featuring more stats, abilities, and certain survival elements.
Harrison: Funnily enough, When the Light Dies started out as more of a cyberpunk shooter with tongue-in-cheek sci-fi multiverse themes, but we quickly scrapped that idea when I came across the book(s). I got the idea for the new setting while reading Dan Simmons’ The Terror and Michael Palin’s Erebus which both tell the tale of John Franklin’s lost expedition to discover the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. I loved the idea of putting our character in a similar position, to have them stranded in this place of perpetual darkness and for them to have to battle with the elements all while being hunted by … this thing (which may or may not be real).
Who are the developers and why did we pick them to work with on this project?
Hugo: Electric Monkeys is a young game studio located in São Paulo, Brazil. We started our journey by winning two public notices that allowed us to develop our first two games: Gravity Heroes and Gravitational.
Recently we formed a 3-member team that worked on Gravity Heroes to work on our next production: When the Light Dies. Josiel (a.k.a. Zyel) is the lead developer creating technical solutions and creating all the systems in the game. Liferson is our lead pixel artist creating awesome sprites and animations in a beautiful pixel art style. I take on the roles of game designer, and project manager, and I am the co-creator of Electric Monkeys.
Harrison: We have previously worked with Electric Monkeys on Gravity Heroes and had good fun collaborating on the game, so we wanted to continue this relationship! Luckily, we happened to have the idea for a similar project at the same time, and we just knew the guys would be amazing at it. We were right!
What is the creative process like?
Harrison: We are having the best time working with the guys on When the Light Dies. The small size of their team, their eagerness, and their creativity allow for a super-fast development cycle. During development, we generally meet somewhere in the middle, meaning we will make suggestions for the theme, character/monster designs, and setting and Electric Monkeys will put it into practice – we like to let them go wild and what they come up with is usually even better than what we pitched.
Keep up to date with When the Light Dies and wishlist the game on Steam now!
PQube & Electric Monkeys