BrightSeeker News

So, for this month I was originally planing to write a Feature Breakdown about enemies and bosses and combat, but given the current situation with the war IRL, I really don't feel like writing about that... Instead, I decided to introduce you to the world where the game takes place, while avoiding spoilers of course!


In the game you will explore three major locations. The Below. The Dark Pit. And The Bright City.

Each of these locations is divided into several smaller levels and sub-locations (around 20 locations all together). I would like to stress out that the game is NOT open world and the progression is very much linear. That being said there are many secrets and hidden locations, so there will still be plenty to explore :)


The Below - The birthplace of civilizations.


This is the starting location of the game. A place where the Seeker (player character) has fled after all of his kind (including his loved one) were slaughtered by the war-machines. It is an ancient place, now devoid of almost all life. The only things left by the civilized life are ruins, broken statues, and dozens of gigantic mechanical towers...

Why is it called "The Below"? As the civilizations evolved, they kept building on top of the old structures ("To get closer to their gods"), so this place is now underneath all of the other structures, mainly under the Bright City (I'll get to that in a moment). The world is basically a large vertical structure (rather than a planet). Sort of inspired by Asgard, in the sense that it is a place/city "floating" in the cosmos. Also, the gods and mythology are more prominent here than in the later locations.

The Below is the largest area you (as the player) will explore and, since it is the most ancient location, it also contains the most secrets of all the environments in the game.


The Last Bastion


A once prosperous city in The Below, which used to be a part of a mighty kingdom. Now, it is the only place in The Below where some people still live, but it has been corrupted and is reminiscent of some dystopian/cyberpunk city. In the game this location will serve as one of the main HUBs, where the player will be able to upgrade their abilities, refill lost health and take a break from the fight.


The Dark Pit


Without going into spoilers, this is a part of the world which has been corrupted by "chaotic entities" (demons). It is a dark and dangerous place...

The Bright City


...is a very much different place from the other locations, it is more like the insides of a computer. It's filled with technology and holograms and of course machines that are trying to kill you...

It's a mega-structure build on top of the world. It has been constructed to house all the inhabitants of the world by the "Mecha Ascendancy" (can't say more about them right now). It was supposed to be the pinnacle of technological progress... Without going into spoiler territory, I can say only that things didn't work out as planed...


I hope you found this interesting in some way and I'm sorry that I can't go into more detail, but I can't spoil the game for you :D However, if you would like to learn more about this world you can play a FREE DEMO right NOW! Just join our Discord server or sign up here and I'll send you a download link!


Anyway, stay safe everyone and let's hope this whole mess will be resolved as soon as possible :/
Take care, talk to you soon. - Zak (the developer)

Hi there, welcome to another Feature Breakdown! This time we'e going to look at how you can enhance your three basic abilities using MODs and The Ability Forge!

What is The Forge?
It's a special interactable object which can be found in various locations, usually before a boss fight or when you enter a new location for the first time.
interacting with The Forge

The forge can be used to upgrade your basic abilities, however to do so you will need MOD Slots. You will be able to obtain 5 MOD Slots throughout the game. One can be bought in a shop (which is usually located in the same area as The Forge), the other 4 are dropped by bosses (2) and mini-bosses (also 2).
MOD Slot pickup

After obtaining these MOD Slots you will be able to activate MODs in The Forge.

If you activate a MOD it will use one or more MOD Slots (depends on how powerful the MOD is). You can always return to The Forge and deactivate the MOD which will free up the used MOD Slot(s). This means that you can change your MODs any time you visit the forge. For example, you may use your MODs to upgrade your ranged attack but then you decide that you prefer melee, so you return to The Forge, deactivate your ranged MODs and use them instead to upgrade the melee attack. Some MODs are locked until you reach a certain point in the game.
selecting and deselecting MODs in The Forge changes used MOD Slots

One other thing is that the MODs (in most cases) influence all the abilities of a certain type (melee/ranged/shield). This means that if you activate the "Split Projectiles" MOD, all of your projectiles will split on impact, even those fired by Special Abilities.
firing projectiles with "Split Projectiles" MOD

That will be all for this Feature Breakdown! If you have any questions be sure to leave them in the comments or join the community on our Discord server :) Stay safe! Bye!

Hi! Welcome to the second Feature Breakdown! This time we're going to look at Special Abilities, where to get them and how they work!

Before we get to them we need to explain one more thing, the SPARK.

What is SPARK?
Basically, it is a form of energy or life force found in all living things. In the world of BrightSeeker it's being harvested and used to power all the machines as well. (Can't say more, so I don't spoil anything :D)

From the gameplay perspective, the SPARK is used for summoning a protective shield (see Blocking from FB #01) and for activating Special Abilities (I'll get to those in a sec).
Using shield is depleting SPARK

You can activate Special Abilities if you have enough SPARK (the icon turns yellow)

SPARK can be refilled by killing enemies and/or breaking boxes and other objects in the world.
Killing enemy refills some SPARK

One more way to get SPARK is by deflecting enemy projectiles with your shield. However, killing enemies will refill much more than anything else.
Deflecting projectiles with shield refills some SPARK

Special Abilities (or SA)
SAs are powerful attacks which you will acquire after defeating bosses (more about them in the future).
Using SA depletes SPARK

For example "Shade Fire" will be unlocked after you defeat the first boss and interact with a special station located at the exit from the boss arena.
Unlocking new SA

When you unlock new SA you will enter a "Golden" area where you can try it out with unlimited SPARK. In any other location you will need to refill your SPARK before you can activate Special Abilities.
SPARK is automatically restored in the "Golden" area

While SA is active your other attacks will be locked. You will still be able to teleport.
After you unlock more SAs you will be able to switch between them easily with one button, even during fights. This will allow you to combine them with other attacks and SAs.
Using SA "Shade Fire" in combat

I won't show you any other SA, so I don't spoil them for you. You'll just have to play the game and acquire them yourself :)

Speaking of playing the game yourself... Did you know you can join our Discord server and play a free demo right now?
https://discord.gg/X5N9wghrS4

Or if Discord isn't your thing, you can sign up right here and I'll send you the demo via email :)
--->http://www.zakroutil.com/join
That will be all for this Breakdown. If you have any questions be sure to leave a comment or come and ask me on the Discord :)
Stay tuned for the next one and have a happy New Year!

Welcome to the very first feature breakdown of BrightSeeker! In these breakdowns I will be introducing various mechanics and other aspects of the game.

Let's start from the beginning (literally)! Right from the start of the game, player will have access to the 3 main combat mechanics — shooting, slashing and blocking.

Shooting
It is quite simple! When using keyboard just point and click to shoot projectiles from your staff, if you click/shoot while hovering over an enemy, they will be highlighted and the projectile will lock onto them. Locked projectiles will follow their targets even if they are moving. Otherwise, it will travel in a straight line until it hits something or someone. When using gamepad, enemies will be highlighted based on where the player character is facing. Projectiles will always lock onto highlighted enemies and actively seek to damage them. (I will talk about how damage works in a future breakdown)
shooting with cursor shooting with gamepad

Slashing
You will be able to perform melee attacks using your staff right from the start, however the staff deals only half the damage that a sword (which you will acquire later in the game) would do.
Melee attacks take some time to perform, but they deal damage to multiple targets in an area in front of the player. It works the same way with keyboard and gamepad.
melee damaging two targets

Blocking
By holding appropriate key/button you will summon a protective shield in front of you. This shield will deflect any incoming enemy projectiles. If you activate the shield right before the projectile hits you, it will be deflected (this can later be upgraded to deflect the projectile at the enemy who shot it, but more on that in the future…) While blocking, you will continuously lose SPARK (I will explain what SPARK is later, for now think about it as something like mana or energy)
blocking with shield deflecting with shield

When you successfully deflect, you will regain some of the SPARK back. Also, while blocking your movement speed will be greatly reduced, however you will still be able to teleport while blocking, speaking of which…

A dashing bonus!
Teleport/Dash is a crucial part of BrightSeeker! This ability speaks pretty much for itself, it gets you from point A to point B in a fraction of a second and has almost zero cooldown! It is perfect for avoiding hostile projectiles and because you can dash through enemies (on the request of the Discord community) it is perfect for avoiding getting swarmed by them! So get your fingers ready, you will be using this one a lot!
avoiding projectiles with teleport/dash dashing/teleporting through enemies

That will be all for this breakdown!
Thanks for reading! Make sure to wishlist and follow BrightSeeker so you don't miss the next Feature Breakdown where I will talk about the SPARK and Special Abilities!

I'm super excited to announce that new early build of BrightSeeker is live NOW!
Join our discord server to play it for FREE!

https://discord.gg/X5N9wghrS4
Or sing-up here: http://www.zakroutil.com/join

In this build I focused on making the combat feel smoother and made some changes to the level order for better pacing. (among other things)

Here's the list of all the changes:

v0.0.0.9 Changes:
- Reduced teleport cooldown from 1.3 to 1.0s
- Changed ranged attack animation speed + projectiles spawn almost instantly after the animation
begins
- Added particles to staff when firing projectile
- Items in shop can be purchased only once (except for refills)
- Added purchasable mod slot to the shop
- Added Location names
- Made some adjustments to range attack SFX
- Increased player projectile speed
- Added Key mapping
- Settings are accessible from main menu
- Changed map order
- New secret thing in the "Harbour" map