Oracles and Betrayals Part One
over 9 years ago – Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 09:20:47 AM

When the investigators first came to Kadath, they received a vision of a man intent on helping them defeat the terrors rampant in the mining facility. Little did they know that one of their only allies would turn into one of their greatest threats. This is The Oracle’s Betrayal, an expansion for Deep Madness. And here’s an in-depth look at this incredible add-on!

666K – A SPECIAL STRETCH GOAL

So, with a game of this nature and Halloween coming up, some might wonder if we’re going to have any sort of special stretch goal for when we hit $666,000. The answer is, we probably wouldn’t have brought it up if we didn’t! So, when we hit that most diabolical of numbers, a very special guest will be joining The Oracle’s Betrayal: the new investigator Dr. Clarence Branom, the psychologist!

After he has been unlocked, he will appear in every The Oracle's Betrayal expansion box.

DR. CLARENCE BRANOM – THE PSYCHOLOGIST

Dr. Branom has always had a taste for the bizarre and the extreme. Perhaps that’s why he has committed a great deal of his professional career to the study of serial killers and the criminally insane. He finds their aberrations and deviations from the norms of accepted society to be fascinating. And he often contemplates what the world would be like if these warped people were the accepted norms, and sanity was shunned as madness. What would happen then?

Dr. Branom was hired years ago by the Leng Corporation, and his projects were quickly buried from prying eyes under miles of red tape and redactions. He became a ghost in the Corporation. A folk tale employees whispered about over their lunch breaks. But all that time Branom was experimenting. He was studying. And he was unraveling human brains.

Branom pioneered a variety of cutting edge techniques and observations in his studies of the human brain, facts that might not have come to light for years without his complete lack of scruples or oversight. His subjects would vanish once they fell under his care, their lives scrubbed from existence. As such, Branom was free to study them as he saw fit, employing techniques from long-term sensory deprivation to waterboarding to hallucinogenic drugs. But then he met William. And everything changed.

VICTIM

You stare in horror as the poor creature stutters toward you. It writhes and staggers as it approaches, its body twitching in torment. Its head is missing, but somehow it still stands. Somehow it still feels. Somehow it’s still coming.

It reaches toward you, as if begging you to help it. A lump rises up your throat. You know you can’t let it live. But this could just as easily have been you.

You hesitate and the man reaches you, feeling his way up to your shoulder. Its other hand feels for your chest, and then they both slowly creep toward your throat.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper. And then you open fire.

Maybe it was a mercy killing. Maybe it was self-defense. But then why do you feel so dirty?

Victim is the tortured husk of a person that has fallen under William’s domination. William has reaped their consciousness, and now their anguished bodies dance to William’s whims.  

When an investigator encounters Victim, she has to kill it in order to survive. But there is something so pitiable about it that when the investigator does pull the trigger she must fight an overwhelming wave of guilt. It’s like she just murdered someone who needed her help. Because of this, every time an investigator kills a Victim they must roll dice to test whether or not they have been cursed. If only she had thought of another way. . .

COLLECTOR

The man in the deep-sea diving helmet turns to look at you, and you realize you can’t see anything but a strange glow through any of the openings in the helmet. The man, dressed in what seems a strange combination of a diving suit and a doctor’s smock, raises a pair of pliers that are almost as big as he is as he slowly begins to advance.

“Stay where you are,” you warn. He gives you no heed.  

There’s a sound to your right. Looking over, you see another diver with a monstrous pair of scissors approaching. Something grinds on the floor directly behind you, and you wheel around to see a third diver who is slowly dragging his instrument across the floor.

“Get back! I’m warning you!” you shout. They continue on, undaunted. You shoot one in the head, and the shot ricochets off the metal helmet.  

You hear the squeal of metal on metal behind you. Spinning around you see a fourth man, his instrument raised to the level of your neck. He brings the handles together for one quick, forceful snip, and you stare with detached shock as you tumble past your body to the floor.

Collector serves a dual role for William as both a bodyguard and a harvester. No one knows whether they have heads or not under their helmets. However, regardless of this, they act with an eerie singleness of mind.  

It is that unity which is their greatest threat to investigators. It’s not that they share a common goal - it’s more like they share a common mind. When a Collector attacks or is killed by an investigator, the other Collectors on the board gain additional opportunities for action. So the more Collectors there are in the field, the more dangerous each individual Collector becomes. The moral of the story? Don’t stick your neck out when Collectors are about.

DISSECTED

You awake with a start. Wait. How did you wake at all?  

Looking down, you see that you have been changed. Drastically. You are naked, for one, and every muscle in your body is mutated, bulging, torn apart and reassembled. Talons and spines have pierced through the skin all over your body, and your right hand is completely gone - replaced instead with what looks like a saw made of flesh and bone. You open your mouth to scream, and your entire face splits down the middle.

You see your friends entering the room directly across from you. You cry out to them and stagger toward them, desperate to escape this nightmare. But the closer you get, the more something else takes over. It’s as if there is someone in your head who is not you. Kill them all, that voice says. Bring their fragments to me.  

You emit a deep, guttural snarl as you break into a sprint. Raising your newly attached saw arm, you begin to cut.

In a sense, Dissected are William’s self-portrait. They represent William's own journey through self-mutilation in his search for eternal life. Their gaping faces, too, are meant to symbolize an open mind, just as William seeks to offer to the world.  

When a Dissected takes the greatest damage is when they are most dangerous. As they are hurt they have the ability to leech life from the investigators around them. In a sense this, too, is a reflection of their creator. After all, if William would go to such extreme lengths mutilating his own body to gain immortality, why would he ever hesitate to mutilate someone else?  

TO BE CONTINUED  

In our next update we’re going to take one more look at The Oracle’s Betrayal. And this time we’re going to peer into the corrupted mind behind it all: William himself. (We might even have another surprise or two up our sleeves as well.) Stay tuned!

If you're interested in purchasing this expansion, please click the "Manage Your Pledge" button on this page and simply increase your pledge amount. We'll sort out what your extra money is going towards via our Pledge Manage sent to you after the campaign ends.

Diving Into the Drift
over 9 years ago – Wed, Oct 26, 2016 at 07:27:55 AM

SOPHIE BRIGMAN – THE DIVER

Sophie grew up with water in her veins. At least that’s what her mother and father always said. Her parents were deep sea biologists, and under their loving guidance she was swimming laps before she could read. The ocean called to her from the time she could walk. Tide pools and ocean waves were her playground. But then one day her parents and their teammates didn’t come home from a deep sea expedition. Their submersible was never found.

Sophie fell into a foster family where she spent the rest of her childhood. They weren’t one of the foster horror stories people hear about, though: they were a caring family that took her to church, helped her to heal from her pain, and treated her like one of their own. Because of this, despite the tragedies of her past, Sophie grew up to be an optimistic and confident young woman.

One thing that did change during her teenage years, though, was her affection for the ocean. Even stepping foot on a beach sent her into a panic attack, as if the waves were poising to sweep over her and crush the life from her as it had done her parents. It wasn’t until she was in her twenties that she determined to conquer her fear. She started in swimming pools, then she moved to rivers, then lakes, and, at last, her old friend turned nemesis, the ocean itself. Slowly her old love reawakened in her heart, and before she completely knew what was happening she had become a professional diver. There were undoubtedly wonders waiting to be discovered under the ocean. And, though she would never admit it even to herself, somewhere deep down she hoped that her parents were waiting there for her, too.

DRIFTER

“I can’t go any further.”  

You slump over against the wall, resting your head on the metal.  

“It’s too much. It’s all too much.”  

There’s a porthole to your left. You look through it vacuously, beyond exhaustion.  

He is there, in the waves. He beckons to you.  

“I see you. I see you.”  

His tentacles gesture in the current, his tattered robes drifting around his writhing form. 

You know exactly what he desires. And he is not one to which you would say no. “The airlock? Where is it?”  

He shows you.

Stumbling over to the chamber, you close the pressure hatch behind you. Brushing aside the dive suits, you cycle the airlock and go out to meet your king.

Drifter floats through Kadath, fading in and out of existence. He targets the exhausted investigators. He targets those whose sanity is hanging on by a thread. And then he attacks. With each wound he inflicts, he also brings further exhaustion. And once he has completely exhausted an investigator, he automatically gives him the gift of madness. Drifter is nothing if not benevolent, after all. The only problem is, his idea of benevolence will quite literally drive you mad. 

Unbound is Unlocked!
over 9 years ago – Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 12:23:43 PM

We still have six days to go until Halloween, but guess who’s getting a treat early? You got it: you guys! You’ve been sharing Deep Madness, you’ve been telling your friends, you’ve been jumping on board yourself, and now we have officially reached 5,000 early bird and investigator backers! This of course means that Unbound is officially unlocked for every backer, adding another Epic Monster to your rewards for free!

Thank you so much to every one of our incredible backers. Because of you guys we have thus far unlocked 29 stretch goals with a total number of 142 miniatures included per pledge, all for only $100!  

Dennis Zarnowski is already hard at work sculpting Unbound, because we were pretty confident you guys were going to nail this. So here are some work-in-progress photos of how this big nasty is shaping up.  

Remember, we now support Spanish, French, and German language add-ons if you’re interested in playing Deep Madness in a language besides English, and we will also provide Italian translation as a free printable PDF. We furthermore just unveiled the art book, and have several other awesome expansions and add-ons available in addition to the core game pledge.    

There’s a ton more stretch goals to unlock, so continue to share this game with your friends, let us know via “Manage Your Pledge” if you want any of the extras by adding their amounts to your total, and keep spreading the word! Let’s see how far we can take this thing!  

And, once again: thank you for making this project such a stunning success. You are incredible!

PAINTING IN SHADES OF HORROR
over 9 years ago – Mon, Oct 24, 2016 at 08:18:42 PM

ART BOOK

Today we are pleased to offer a new optional buy. Many have asked for it, so here it is: the much-anticipated Art Book! To make a great game, we had to have great art. Without the fantastic artwork from our brilliant team of artists, we might have some interesting mechanics, but that’s about it. The art for Deep Madness is what has given it a (disturbing) life of its own, immersing us in the game and burning the horror and madness it contains right into our retinas. So without further ado, let’s introduce the artists that have brought Deep Madness to life!

CHANG YUAN

Chang Yuan currently lives in Beijing, and has developed a reputation as a renowned concept artist. He has been in the game and movie industry for over 10 years, creating concept art for Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera, Holy King, STAR CORE, and more. In Deep Madness, Chang Yuan designed the twisted and abstract images of the monsters, pioneering a unique interpretation of chaos and madness. His work on Deep Madness is very different from what one might consider the norm for concept art – and it is all the more horrific and beautiful for it.

To view more work by Chang Yuan, check out his pages on ArtStation and Facebook, as well as his website.

STEFAN KOPIŃSKI

The incredible fantasy- and science fiction-themed work of Stefan Kopiński, a digital illustrator and concept artist, has brought a myriad of fantasy worlds to life. Stefan Kopiński worked for 5 years at Games Workshop’s Production and Design Studios in Nottingham, and since 2005 he’s worked as a freelancer in the video games industry helping game developers bring their amazing ideas to life. He has created stunning artwork for companies like Sega, THQ, Capcom Europe and Focus Home Interactive, to name a few. Stefan helped us create many of our scenarios with his amazing artistic talent.

To view more work by Stefan Kopiński, please check out his pages on ArtStation  and Facebook, as well as his website.

D.ROCK-ART STUDIO AND NWA STUDIO

These two are world-renowned art studio veterans who have collaborated with big game companies such as NCSOFT, Games Workshop, Game Loft, Tencent Games, and more. They helped to create the concept art for our investigators, monsters, and items. You can check out more of their work at www.artstation.com/artist/drockart and www.artstation.com/artwork/nwa, respectively. 

Our art book is going to be about 100 pages long with hard cover, including over 200 images as well as stories set in the world of Deep Madness.

If you're interested in purchasing this art book (and who wouldn’t be, really? Have you seen some of the artists we have working on this?), just click the "Manage Your Pledge" button on the Deep Madness Kickstarter page. After this, click “Change Your Pledge”, then add the amount for this add-on to your total and click “Continue”. We'll sort out what your extra money is going towards after the campaign has closed and we've sent out our Pledge Manager. 

The following is one of the stories that will be featured in the art book, offering you a peek into the early days of the Kadath deep sea mining facility, and of the world of Deep Madness. Enjoy!

JOURNEY TO KADATH

The beam of Judy’s flashlight landed on Dr. Cohen’s face as he cowered in the corner, rocking slowly back and forth. The entire mining facility shook, knocking Judy into a wall.  

“Dr. Cohen?” she said, her voice trembling. “What’s going on? Where is everybody?”

“It’s the sphere,” Cohen said. “The sphere. The sphere –”  

“What about the sphere?” Judy said. “Norman, what’s happening? You’re frightening me!” 

Cohen began to sob. “That’s the problem!” And then he shrieked. 

Judy scowled and turned around. Her mind couldn’t accept what stood before her. It had no certain form, apart from whipping tentacles and vicious teeth. It looked – it looked like it had just stepped out of her worst nightmare.

“It’s our fears, Judy! It made them real!” 

Their screams were abruptly silenced, and the only sounds that remained were a terrible wet chewing and the soft grinding of a flashlight rolling on the metal floor. 

Dr. Norman Cohen stared in awe as the ocean unveiled its wonders before him. Strange, beautiful creatures flitted in an out of view, giving him only a glimpse before vanishing back into the unknown abyss. The ocean had always fascinated him. So many sought their alien entities in outer space, but he had always been much more consumed by what lay downward rather than upward.

“We are now beginning final descent to the Kadath deep sea facility, Dr. Cohen,” the pilot, David, said, glancing back at Cohen with a small smile.

“Wonderful news, David!” Cohen said.

“It is my pleasure,” David replied. “Now, if you would please take your seat and secure your safety harness.”

Cohen complied. Then he returned his gaze to the wide viewport as the water brightened and a majestic underwater metropolis unfolded before him, its myriad lights piercing into the mysterious dark blue expanse that lay draped around it like a limitless quilt. “It’s beautiful,” he said.

“It does have its own charms to be sure,” David replied. “And I must say, the staff are ecstatic to have you join them. Your work on Project Heavy Miner was inspired, as have been your other vast accomplishments.”

“Thank you, David,” Cohen said. “That means a great deal.”

David offered his small smile again, then said, “We are now beginning docking procedures.” The submersible glided smoothly up to the airlock and gently settled into position. There was a hiss as the facility and submersible sealed to each other and equalized pressure, then the submersible hatch began cycling.

“We have arrived, Doctor,” David said. “Thank you for riding Leng Transport.”  

Cohen laughed. “It’s the only way to travel. Have a safe trip back, David.”  

Collecting his sparse possessions, Cohen stepped through the hatch and into Kadath.

Upon leaving the airlock, Cohen was greeted by a lean, smartly dressed woman with long auburn hair pulled up into a bun. “Dr. Cohen I presume?” she said, extending a hand with a warm smile. “My name is Judy Blake. A pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“The pleasure is mine, Ms. Blake,” Cohen said. “And please, call me Norman.”  

“Only if you will call me Judy,” she said with a wink. “Now, let’s get you settled.”  

The two set out down the corridor. “And of course the Corporation laid out the terms before your arrival?” Judy asked. “Minimum one-year commitment, strict NDA’s, all that?”  

“Of course,” Cohen said. “I doubt I would have ever gotten down here if I hadn’t already proven myself to be discrete.”  

Judy laughed. “True.”  

A Heavy Miner walked down the corridor in his massive metal exo-suit, his gaze trained on the ground. Looking up, the man’s eyes snapped wide and he stopped breathing.  

“Why, Mr. Ryan!” Cohen exclaimed. “How wonderful to see you again! How is the suit working out?”  

“Dr. Cohen,” Charles Ryan said slowly. “I. . . didn’t hear you were coming.”  

“Yes, and we are so pleased to have his talents made available to us here at the facility,” Judy said quickly. “Charles, I believe I heard there was a possible malfunction on one of the communication arrays.”  

“Just heading there now,” Charles said. Then he turned his attention back to Cohen, his face tightening behind the thick glass of his mining suit. “I’ll see you again, Doc.”

Cohen smiled. “Undoubtedly.”  

“Now then, let’s get you to your room,” Judy said, turning right down another corridor.

“Ms. Blake!” a voice cried, stopping them in their tracks. Judy stepped backward to peer at the approaching man.  

“Yes, Mr. Reynolds?” she said. “One of the deep sea teams just returned, Ma’am,” Reynolds said. “They found something in the fissure. I think you’re going to want to take a look at it right away.”  

“What is it?”  

“It’s. . . It looks like a sphere, Ma’am. It’s a perfect globe. And it’s. . .”  

“Yes? What is it, Mr. Reynolds?” Judy said.  

“It’s started to glow.” Cocking her eyebrow, Judy glanced back at Cohen. “I’m sorry, Doctor, but would you mind a detour before we went to your quarters?”  

Cohen grinned. “By all means! This sounds absolutely fascinating. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Madness Spreads through Words!! (Revised)
over 9 years ago – Mon, Oct 24, 2016 at 02:10:42 AM

Hi Investigators, We are happy to announce that the Spanish, French, and German translation packs have been unlocked. They will be offered as optional buys, the translation for core-box and all unlocked stretch goals is $10 and for each big expansion is $5.   

The core box and expansions will still contain English components, the translation packs include all the components with text translated and printed. We will hire professional translators to ensure the quality of the translations. If you have friends that are waiting for the language add-on, please share the good news with them.  

If you don't want to purchase the translation packs, we are also providing free printable PDF files for these components. You will find them in later updates. Please stay tune. 

The multi-language survey will remain open. You can still vote for your languages:    

https://goo.gl/forms/3o1BEcsp516PBFIl2     

Thanks again for your continued support!