MALIZ

darkAngel

darkAngel is a game development project prototyped in Adobe Animate. It is a story-driven horror game that drops players into a static environment where they can examine and select objects. Hints are given on examining items to help guide the player into making choices. The ending of the story is dependent on those choices. Below is a playthrough of the working prototype for the game in .swf format, recorded with OBS. It has an introduction to the game.

Prototypes

This working prototype is 1920 x 720, coded with ActionScript 3.0. The finished version will include the ability to select, keep, and change items, a timer, and a button to press when the user is ready to attempt an escape.
An initial prototype with a zoom effect when examining items. It unfortunately didn’t integrate well with the code, but if possible to, a future version may bring this effect back. The heartbeat sound effect in the interface is the same as in the video above (downloaded from Freesound.org, created by .name).

Graphics

Graphics for darkAngel are a composite of bitmap-traced images and drawings created in Adobe Animate. The image on the left shows an example of the bitmap traced imagery (meant to be the town of Greenmeadow, original sourced from Adobe Stock “Road Trip, Silverton Colorado Views” by Pat). The more complex background images used this method. The image on the right is an example of graphics made in Adobe Animate and was used for simpler elements.

Concept Work

The graphics for the game itself were a combination of drawings in Adobe Animate and bitmap-traced images from Adobe Stock. All animation was done in Adobe Animate. Below are studies of characters and elements from the game.

Open Spaces

Sam

The protagonist of the game. Her fate will be determined by the player’s actions. Drawn in Photoshop.

Shore with Blue Sea

The “Angels”

An anatomical study of the titular creatures. Covered in eyes they typically keep closed and possessing a hideous mouth in their middle, they have gradually been hunting Greenmeadow’s residents. Drawn in Photoshop.

The "angels" have been known to embrace their victims in order to pull them closer to their mouths. Their sharp claws and wiry arms then hold the unfortunate person in place while the mouth begins to chew... Also, the "angels" typically keep their eyes closed. This, factored in with darkness and distance, can make them resemble the typical concept of an angel. It is to anyone's guess how they fly and move so easily without any eyes open.

Open Spaces

A Cryptic Sequence

An animation drawn in Adobe Animate. This is a close-up of the repeating sequence on Sam’s living room TV. It has played over and over again since the town of Greenmeadow lost contact with the outside world, potentially hinting about the cause of all the terror.