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DARQ tells the story of Lloyd, a boy who becomes aware of the fact that he is dreaming. To Lloyd's misfortune, the dream quickly turns into a nightmare and all attempts to wake up end in failure. While exploring the darkest corners of his subconscious, Lloyd learns how to survive the nightmare by bending the laws of physics and manipulating the fluid fabric of the dream world.
In DARQ, sound plays a very important role. There are sections of the game that take place in absolute darkness and in order to navigate the environment, Lloyd has to rely on the location of sounds.
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Psychological horror game about lucid dreaming.
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Unique artstyle combining 2d and 3d graphics.
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Shining-like pacing, relying on a slow build and creepy atmosphere rather than gore and violence.
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Music written by Hollywood film composer Wlad Marhulets.
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Puzzles that involve bending the laws of physics (walking on walls and ceilings, levitating), manipulating the dream world (creating items, spawning doors and entire locations), collecting and using found objects, and avoiding enemies.
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Emphasis on sound - some parts of the game involve navigating the environment in complete darkness, which makes the player rely heavily on the location of sounds.
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Randomly generated elements of the gameplay (enemy spawn locations, objects, some locations). No walkthrough is the same.
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Lots of interactive objects and characters that will unfold the story and help Lloyd find answers about the meaning of his journey.
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Dynamic dream world - in DARQ, visiting a room for the second time might yield a surprising result. You might find that some details have changed, or maybe even the entire room got replaced with a new one.
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Multiple endings, depending on the choices you make throughout your journey.
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The game is designed to be a moving artistic experience. The art style of DARQ is a juxtaposition of opposites: it combines 3d locations with 2d hand-drawn characters, beauty with horror, elegance with roughness...The beauty element becomes the means of seduction, inviting the player to enter the world of Lloyd's nightmare.
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We're very particular about the use of light in our game - both as a part of the overall aesthetics, as well as the main component of the gameplay. Light and shadow are almost the main character in DARQ. The game builds tension based on the uncertainty of not knowing what to expect when switching the flashlight on and off.
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Lloyd is up against much stronger enemies; he has no chance of winning in an open confrontation. Instead, he has to rely on stealth and careful planning to avoid getting detected.
In addition to hearing, most enemies posses good sight. That's why sneaking by would often require switching the flashlight off. When the light is off, it becomes crucial to listen closely to the sounds made by enemies. Faster and more irregular breathing indicates higher level of alertness, and therefore higher possibility of being detected.
In DARQ, there will be numerous jump scares, however we're doing our best not to make them cheesy or conventional. A jump scare will never occur for the sake of an easy scare. It will always result from the story.
Enemies differ from one another in a variety of ways. Some of them are scared of light, others are attracted to it. There are monsters who are blind or have their eyes covered (see the picture above). Every encounter with a monster in DARQ requires a different strategy.
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WLAD MARHULETS - Producer / Music ComposerHi, I'm Wlad - the founder of
Unfold Games and the producer of DARQ. I'm also a
five time ASCAP Award winning film composer. I'm fortunate to have worked with Marco Beltrami on such films as
Hitman: Agent 47, starring Rupert Friend and Zachary Quinto
, The Giver,starring Meryl Streep
, November Man, starring Pierce Brosnan, and others. DARQ is my dream project to work on, both as a producer and a composer.
DAMIAN MARHULETS - Co-Producer / ProgrammerHey, my name is Damian.
I'm a co-producer of DARQ and a programmer. I'm also the founder of
Marhulets Agency. We represent innovative multimedia projects, such as this game. Our activities encompass direction and production of pioneering video games, animation and artistic interactive audiovisual projects.
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We are aiming at PC and MAC release on Steam (currently on Greenlight!). If we surpass our goal by $10.000, we will be able to afford preparing iOS and Android releases (see "Stretch Goals").
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The exact release date is to be announced, but we are hoping to release DARQ on STEAM later in 2016. There are multiple factors that come into play, one of which being how much we manage to raise. Surpassing our goal will allow us to expand our team, which will speed up the process. In the meantime,
please vote for us on STEAM GREENLIGHT!
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We set our goal at $20.000, which the amount that will allow us to hire an additional programmer for the period of 5-6 months, as well as to hire voice actors who will add life to our characters. If we don't meet our goal, the game will be finished, but the development process will take much longer than expected and we won't be able to add voice over (which is an important part of the concept).
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We will also need to purchase a license of Unity PRO Engine to take full advantage of the graphic capabilities it has to offer. ![]()
- IF WE RAISE MORE THAN $40.000,
we're going to expand our team by adding additional programmers, artists, and level designers to significantly shorten the development time.
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Pledging to our campaign is not only about money. As a backer,
you will become a part of the exciting journey of building a unique video game with revolutionary features. We want you to actively
participate in the process DARQ development,
share your ideas and give us feedback. By pledging,
you become an integral part of this game, and your name will forever stay in the game credits.
You can choose between the following perks:
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$5 LLOYD'S BEST FRIEND!
Your name in the credits + Backer's Updates!![]()
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$10 EARLY-BIRD DREAMER!
Digital download of the game ($14.99 value!) + everything above
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$15 DREAMER WITH DARQ DESKTOP!
Digital download of Concept Art HD Wallpapers not available anywhere else! + everything above
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$20 MUSIC DREAMER!
Digital download of DARQ Soundtrack by 5-time ASCAP Award winning composer Wlad Marhulets + everything above
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$35 ALPHA DREAMER!
Access to Alpha version of DARQ - play it before anywhere else gets to! Also, your name will forever appear on our official website DarqGame.com + everything above
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$50 DREAM GURU!
Access to our private development forum where you will be able to contribute your ideas & see behind-the-scenes screenshots and photos & stay in touch with the developers + everything above
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$70 WELL-DRESSED DREAMER!
DARQ t-shirt (S, M, L, XL) + everything above
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$120 DARQ POSTER!
DARQ Concept art poster + everything above
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$170 SIGNED DARQ POSTER!
Signed DARQ poster with a personalized message + everything above
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$350 DREAM PAINTING - only 10 available!
One of the paintings found in the game will be a stylized portrait of...YOU! + everything above
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$500 MONSTER DREAMER - only 4 available!
Based on your photo, we will create an in-game monster with unique attributes that looks like you! + everything in $170 tier.
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$1000 DARQ CO-PRODUCER
You get a co-producer credit and get to actively participate in making the game. You'll stay in touch with the developers via email and share your ideas. Your name will be prominently displayed on our website and in our presskit, which gives you a chance to get exposure in press, news, game reviews, etc. It's a great way to get your name out there + everything in $170 tier.
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Thank you for taking the time to reading this! Please, help us make this game a reality by becoming a backer and sharing this page on your social media!
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