2K Games Enters The Darkness

Starbreeze Studios, the creators of the critically acclaimed The Chronicles of Riddick™: Escape from Butcher Bay for Xbox®, are working on a next-generation game that ties into a film. The Darkness game is based on the Top Cow comic book, which is also being turned into a new movie. Several members of the development team talk about what gamers can expect from the new game.

Mikael Säker, story and game designer, said the new game opens with Jackie Estacado's twenty-first birthday party. That party happens to be the night that Estacado becomes the new Darkness vessel.

"With The Darkness we have a comic that
translates quite beautifully into a video game."

"From there we follow Jackie through his struggle within the Franchetti family and with the Darkness that he carries, both in a physical and psychological sense," said Säker. "The Darkness mythology is rather huge so we've chosen specific elements we feel are most true to the core spirit of the comic."

The new game is based on the Resurrection comic book by Paul Jenkins. Säker said comic fans will meet characters like Jenny, Butcher, and Sarah. He added that Darklings will wreak havoc and Estacado's Darkness powers will be stunning. Even fans of the comic will find quite a few twists, turns and surpriseswaiting for them.

Unleash The Darkness
"The game story does not require prior knowledge about the comic," said Säker. "We start from the beginning and take the player on one heck of a ride through the New York Mafia and Darkness world. I believe that the game has very unique and strong game play, and our story is a serious treatment of a young man's struggle with evil, power, and love."

Säker said the narrative aspect of the game has been a focal point for the team and they're trying to push the envelope in quite a few areas.

"The Darkness entity itself is cool and is a source for many interesting and thrilling things you will see in the game," said Säker."The Resurrection story has some really strong dramatic moments that we have kept and tried to deliver as efficiently as possible. There are also a number of fun characters and villains in the comic which all come beautifully to life in the game. Oh,and we have Darklings! Darklings are fun comic relief in the comic book.And Ireally think that everyone who plays the game will fall in love with those mischievous little nasty (and fun) buggers."

From Comic to Game
Säker said that a hero like Jackie Estacado is really nice to work with from a gameplay perspective. The team created game mechanics out of his Darknesspowers. Other powers, like the voice of the Darkness entity, have been used for narrative effect.

"We have been working quite freely within the Darkness mythology and we have been fortunate enough to have Paul Jenkins on board for the game," said Säker. "So it has really been a thrilling and creative ride … in the end, all I can say is that I believe that with The Darkness we have a comic that translates quite beautifully into a video game."

The Darkness is a first-person shooter game that revolves around action/adventure gameplay. Jackie Estacado is a very talented hitman, so guns will play a big part of the game. But Jens Andersson, lead designer, said the game is much more than a brainless shooter with Darkness elements strapped on.

"In The Darkness, we're doing something we
call VoCap, where we simultaneously record
both voice and full facial and body motion
capture for every line in the game."

"The adventure aspects of the game give you many more choices and different ways to proceed through the game," said Andersson. "It is a more open-ended game where you will be able to go back into previously visited areas to complete side missions."

A New Take on the Mob
The Darkness gameplay separates itself from other shooters because of the Darkness powers. The team has spent a lot of effort designing Darkness powers that complement the gunplay, rather than replace it.

"The Darkness powers in combat are used more to cause havoc to your surroundings and destroy the cover over your enemies than to directly kill them," said Andersson. "You'll also find and collect Darkling companions that are scattered throughout the game that will help Jackie in his quest to take back control over his life."

The team is utilizing next-generation technology to create a realistic world inhabited by believable characters. Andersson said there are many of examples where they've tried to take this to the next level with rendering, sound, animation, and lighting.

"One thing that worked really well in our previous game, Chronicles of Riddick, was that each character had a unique model and voice which directly gave them a sense of personality," said Andersson. "To take this further in The Darkness, we're doing something we call VoCap, where we simultaneously  record both voice and full facial and body motion capture for every line in the game. This gives a tremendous improvement of the believability of the characters in the game."

Article by John Gaudiosi