{"author_link":"\/users\/hindbodes","author_name":"Hindbodes","author_uid":"hindbodes","comments":[],"epoch":1543379959,"event":"LD43","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":124916,"likes":5,"metadata":{"p_key":"122494","p_author":"Hindbodes","p_authorkey":"1073227","p_urlkey":"338548","p_title":"A note on the \"Darkness is your friend\" theme.","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD43","p_time":"1543379959","p_likes":"5","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1073227","us_name":"Hindbodes","us_username":"hindbodes","event_start":"1543536000","event_key":"71","event_name":"LD 43"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD43","removed_author":false},"_superparent":120415,"_trust":1,"author":73227,"body":"I have a bit of insight into \"Darkness is your friend\" that might make it seem a bit less frustrating than it does currently. I'm not gonna try to change the way anybody thinks or say that it's a *\"Great\"* theme, and I certainly understand why people don't look fondly at it, but just so we're covering all bases and know everything we should...  \nThe theme doesn't necessarily force a specific game mechanic. If it said \"stay in darkness to survive\" or \"you can only move when inside darkness\" then yes, instant minus 1 from me. Thankfully, however, there's a subtle underside to it. If darkness is your \"friend\", so to speak, what does that limit your gameplay to? At face value, probably a lot, but since we're talking about what your friends are and not what your style of movement or abilities are, there is a lot of room for making connections that weren't originally there. Example:  \n\"**Darkness** (uncountable noun, easy to take non-literally) **is your** (for the player, the character, or *all* characters?) **friend** (reinterpretable noun, part of many different proverbs, can mean a reverse-hindrance to gameplay but very easily to a literal friend with NPC or story-based significance)\"  \n**A sentient refraction of missing light is your companion and ally**  \n**Jump from platform to platform and use the shroud of darkness as solid bridges and weapon\/defense methods**\n\nThis is why the theme may be just a bit misunderstood. It sounds like something about a weird puzzle mechanic where you gotta avoid light, but logically there are a lot of possible scenarios where it's not. It could be anything ranging from a survival game about being a pillbug that thrives in damp, dim areas of soil under a plant, to a branching-decisions story game about how you're being assisted by the forces of darkness and literally Satan himself. Darkness itself is such a poetically broad word, as well, that you could quite feasibly end up with a game about depression, or a perfect excuse to make a really grimdark story.\n\nSo yeah, I'm not gonna tell you how to vote, but I think everyone should know that DIYF isn't narrow, it's actually quite open.","comments":9,"comments-timestamp":"2018-11-29T21:59:21Z","created":"2018-11-28T04:20:49Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":124916,"love":5,"love-timestamp":"2018-11-28T12:18:52Z","meta":[],"modified":"2018-11-29T21:59:21Z","name":"A note on the \"Darkness is your friend\" theme.","node-timestamp":"2018-11-28T04:40:14Z","parent":122191,"parents":[1,5,9,120415,122191],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/terrifying-rocket-zest\/a-note-on-the-darkness-is-your-friend-theme","published":"2018-11-28T04:39:19Z","scope":"public","slug":"a-note-on-the-darkness-is-your-friend-theme","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":365924},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"124916","n_urlkey":"338548","n_parent":"122191","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/terrifying-rocket-zest\/a-note-on-the-darkness-is-your-friend-theme","n_slug":"a-note-on-the-darkness-is-your-f","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"73227","n_created":"1543378849","n_modified":"1543528761","n_version":"365924","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/43\/terrifying-rocket-zest\/a-note-on-the-darkness-is-your-friend-theme","text":"I have a bit of insight into \"Darkness is your friend\" that might make it seem a bit less frustrating than it does currently. I'm not gonna try to change the way anybody thinks or say that it's a *\"Great\"* theme, and I certainly understand why people don't look fondly at it, but just so we're covering all bases and know everything we should...  \nThe theme doesn't necessarily force a specific game mechanic. If it said \"stay in darkness to survive\" or \"you can only move when inside darkness\" then yes, instant minus 1 from me. Thankfully, however, there's a subtle underside to it. If darkness is your \"friend\", so to speak, what does that limit your gameplay to? At face value, probably a lot, but since we're talking about what your friends are and not what your style of movement or abilities are, there is a lot of room for making connections that weren't originally there. Example:  \n\"**Darkness** (uncountable noun, easy to take non-literally) **is your** (for the player, the character, or *all* characters?) **friend** (reinterpretable noun, part of many different proverbs, can mean a reverse-hindrance to gameplay but very easily to a literal friend with NPC or story-based significance)\"  \n**A sentient refraction of missing light is your companion and ally**  \n**Jump from platform to platform and use the shroud of darkness as solid bridges and weapon\/defense methods**\n\nThis is why the theme may be just a bit misunderstood. It sounds like something about a weird puzzle mechanic where you gotta avoid light, but logically there are a lot of possible scenarios where it's not. It could be anything ranging from a survival game about being a pillbug that thrives in damp, dim areas of soil under a plant, to a branching-decisions story game about how you're being assisted by the forces of darkness and literally Satan himself. Darkness itself is such a poetically broad word, as well, that you could quite feasibly end up with a game about depression, or a perfect excuse to make a really grimdark story.\n\nSo yeah, I'm not gonna tell you how to vote, but I think everyone should know that DIYF isn't narrow, it's actually quite open.","title":"A note on the \"Darkness is your friend\" theme.","wayback_source":[]}