Darkness Rises was originally conceived as a single-player narrative game where every choice made by the player would affect the routes available, opening or closing possible outcomes.
On the surface, the story followed a ship captain’s attempt to merge his human crew members with an ancient alien power — and the devastating consequences of that choice. Beneath that, the project explored greed, the cost of progress, the meaning of true strength, and the idea that love and power can co-exist - the main adversary often being the human perception of what controlling them means.
Depending on the player’s choices, the character could reach a true merging — or become the cause of emotional and physical devastation, both for themselves and the rest of the crew.
ELIRIS | CREATURES & PROSTHETICS
Eliris takeover - Thumbnail sketches
Eliris is the first character to be taken by the alien power. These thumbnails explore how that force would slowly creep across his body and merge with his skin.
I wanted to avoid a traditional zombie or diseased look. The power needed to feel elegant, ancient, and intelligent — something sentient that grew through the body almost like fractals. It was not meant to look random or rotten, but structured and alive.
Eliris’ impatience to wield the power costs him. Instead of becoming a true vessel, he is slowly overtaken by it. By the time you reach the end, the power is completely in control of the host and the character disappears, strengthening the whole current, who then goes off in search of a new host…
Eliris and Starvia - mood sketches
Early mood sketches for Eliris and Starvia, exploring possible uniform shapes, facial markings, and character attitude.
Eliris was designed with a more aggressive, unstable energy — already showing signs of the alien power moving through, shaping itself to the host’s attitude. Starvia was approached as a calmer counterpoint: sharper, more contained, and still visibly herself…at least for a while longer.
Eliris - marketing render
For this marketing-style image, I chose Eliris in his fully taken-over state. I wanted the power to feel beautiful, intelligent, and dangerous — less like corruption, and more like something ancient using the body as a vessel.
The silver surface was developed as a liquid-metal colour direction, almost like mercury moving as skin.
STARVIA | CREATURES & PROSTHETICS
Starvia takeover - Thumbnail sketches
Starvia is the female character the player can choose to follow through the game. She serves as the ship’s medical officer and originally chooses to become a vessel out of love for Lieutenant Eliris.
As the player’s choices unfold, she can become the anchor that saves him — or the chaotic force that pushes him further into madness. I liked the idea that the lines through which the power emerges would reflect each character’s nature. Where Eliris’ markings are straight and unbending, Starvia’s follow a more emotional path, shaped by the softness and fractures of her romantic heart.
These thumbnails explore a selection of stages as the power takes hold and she gradually gives way to her own madness.
VAEDRIX & NOX | CREATURES
Vaedrix - evolution sketches
Before the story narrowed to human characters as the only possible vessels, Vaedrix had his own playable route. He was an alien crew member working in security, but before that, he had been a gentle scholar changed by tragedy.
He joins the crew carrying a private grief, and first takes the power not as a weapon, but as a way to disappear. Depending on the player’s choices, his path could become one of healing and release — or collapse into rage.
As with Eliris and Starvia, I wanted the power to gather around the character’s deepest wound. Vaedrix refuses to look directly at the true source of his pain, so the transformation begins around the eyes: the place where grief, denial, and anger are hardest to hide.
These sketches explore changes in his expression, scarring, and overall presence after the tragedy. The final version pushes him further into a state where he cannot let go, disappearing into rage and all-consuming anger.
Captain Nox - character sketches
Because the playable characters were closer to human proportions, I wanted Captain Nox to feel physically different from the start. These sketches explore his body shape, scale, and how the ship’s uniform might fit around a much taller, more unusual frame.
As the captain, Nox is the one who first suggests the idea of merging with the alien power, curious to see how it could serve his own interests. He towers over the crew and carries the kind of authority that does not expect to be questioned.
EXPLORE MORE PRODUCTIONS
