A Bahraini software developer has launched a dark fantasy, two-dimensional (2D) video game, that he single-handedly created after working on it for more than a decade.
Titled Reflection of Demon, the web-based horror game begins with apocalyptic event, in which demons suddenly appear and threaten the lives of those who survived the cataclysm.
Set on a small island named Quadrain, the story follows a 17-year-old boy named Leo as he navigates end-of-time hardships, leaving his hometown to explore the hellscape the world has now become.
The game’s creator, Ahmed Mahdi, designed the role-playing game (RPG) to be accessible for all. Instead of limiting it to a gaming console, it can be played online on web browsers, including on mobile phones.
Although he was inspired by classic games of his childhood like Pokémon, Doom, Prince of Persia and Digimon World, he took a darker approach that ‘deals with taboos’ and ‘may cross some lines.’
He even chose the launch date of June 6, which can be written as “2026/6/6” to resemble the infamous ‘number of the beast’.
“As the demons appear, many people lean towards ending their own lives, those who continue surviving feel the weight of aimlessly continuing to survive,” Mr Mahdi said.
In the game, after the catastrophic event of Judgement Day, it becomes so unbearably difficult to live. However, the protagonist Leo chooses to ‘defy inevitable death’.
The harshness of the fictional world is reflected in the mechanics of the game itself and could even be challenging to traverse.
“It’s turn-based game designed so each player progresses at their own pace, with easy controls and minimal user interface (UI),” the father-of-two explained. “The target audience is hardcore players, which means that small mistakes can be unforgiving. Players could feel the weight of every decision.”
He was influenced not only by games of his childhood, but also real-world occurrences. The story’s universe drew from Bahrain’s culture and traditions.
“I have been playing video games as young as I can remember,” he recalled. “I wanted to make a game based on the ideas that I have gathered by playing all these different games: a game that doesn’t exist yet, but one that I think would be enjoyable to play.
“My inspiration came from a mix of things like Attack on Titan, Doom, the events in Gaza, and my own religious beliefs.”
“In a way, it’s similar to how the author of The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins, got the idea for her story while switching between entertainment TV channels and news coverage of the Iraq War.”
Creating Reflection of Demon was an arduous, decade-long journey for Mr Mahdi, a project whose scope kept getting wider and more challenging.
He began crafting the game’s ideas since at least 2013, and started coding it in earnest in 2017. “Since I knew I had many ideas to implement for this one game, I knew that I would need years to build it,” he explained. “So, I needed to pick a platform that’s going to live for many years and there’s nothing better than the web for that. Since I’m a PHP developer, I picked that as the base programming language for the game.
“A big challenge was scope creep, which is when you keep adding more ideas and features until the project becomes impossible to complete. Thankfully, I was able to release the game!”
Rather than moving on to a new project, the creator told the GDN that he will be working on expanding and updating the game for years to come. He plans to apply to game awards and further promote it.
n The game can be purchased for just BD3.66 ($9.66) on www.reflectionofdemon.com
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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