Hello Stalkers!
In last week’s report we talked about the weather in Chernobylite. You can read about why the game has four weather conditions and how they affect the "decor" of the Zone and the overall atmosphere in the post below:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1016800/view/3199255277322232884
But as we mentioned, there is another weather phenomenon in the game just as important: the dark Chernobylite Storm.
The Chernobylite Storm occurs when a player remains at a given level long enough. In an instant, the sky darkens, lightning starts striking the ground, creating flames in these places. The Chernobylite storm is not only an unusual atmospheric phenomenon, but above all a warning - here comes the Black Stalker, in all his glory. He moves from place to place, wielding a powerful weapon that can cause considerable damage. He has one goal: to get rid of the player.
Okay, everyone knows that. But no one really knows what the story is behind the Chernobylite storm. Why did it arise, how did its concept change, and how does it relate to the Black Stalker? We will answer all these questions today.
From the design side, we set ourselves two goals: to make the player feel the Black Stalker's breath on his neck all the time and to emphasize that the only place that is truly safe is the base. In general, the idea was for our nemesis to be constantly present in the gameplay and for the player to reasonably manage the phases of the day.
At the very beginning of designing the game, we placed a watch in the upper right corner that counted down the time until the appearance of the Black Stalker. Also, this character was very powerful to make the encounter with him suitably traumatic. Unfortunately, this design choice was very poorly received by the players, because it only gave the feeling of a "time limit", after which the antagonist appears and murders the player. Among the critics, there were a lot of supporters of slow exploration for whom this solution was unacceptable. One thing is worth emphasizing here: it was not a time limit. It was a feature that was not fully understood.
Therefore, we decided to modify it a bit. We weakened the Black Stalker and threw the watch away in favor of something more immersive - that is, a brewing Chernobylite Storm. Its occurrence can be predicted by observing the sky, and even slowed down with a special device built on a map. Everyone liked this solution much more because it was unique and visually attractive. The Black Stalker, on the other hand, could be defeated, escaped, or heavily delayed.
WARNING SPOILERS
But the question is, what does the storm have to do with the Black Stalker? Well, you have to remember that Black Stalker was treated with chernobylite, so he can only move freely between places where its concentration is high - i.e. a power plant and a storm. Such conclusions could be reached by collecting information about the Black Stalker. It is thanks to them that you can understand how the Chernobylite world works.
Chernobylite nominated for Digital Dragons awards
We are extremely proud to announce that our game - Chernobylite has been nominated for four Digital Dragons awards this year:
- Best Polish Game
- Best Polish Game Design
- Best Polish Game Art
- Best Polish Game soundtrack
Thank you for the recognition and nominations. The award ceremony will be part of the Digital Dragons conference this Monday, May 16th! Wish us luck and keep your fingers crossed!
Meme contest
We have a contest for you where you can win game keys and an Autumn Dread Pack on PC, PS4 / PS5 or Xbox One / Series. Details can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Hurry up. We are waiting for your applications by Sunday.
That's it for today!
Take care, Stalkers!
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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1016800/Chernobylite/