Dark and Darker update plunges the game into negative Steam reviews, director blames his "inconsistent decisions and shallow responses to feedback" and says "we're not particularly good at developing games" by chasing "successful formulas"

Dark and Darker's director has been sharing his thoughts on the current state of Ironmace's PvPvE game, taking blame for some of its issues while outlining a plan for improvements going forward.

It's a bit of an understatement to say that Dark and Darker has had a rather rough ride these last few years. From being pulled from Steam thanks to its legal battle with Nexon, to more recently being removed from the Epic Games Store, now its recent reviews on Steam (where it eventually became playable in free-to-play form) are mostly negative. You can understand why the devs would be keen to address this, but that in itself hasn't gone down brilliantly across the board.

As flagged on Reddit, the official Dark and Darker Discord server is full of messages from the game's director, "SDF," acknowledging concerns about the PvEvP adventure, but some of them aren't exactly helping quell matters. In a recent series of messages, SDF talks about "my thoughts on the current state of the game and the direction we are heading."

SDF explains that "when we design a game, we fundamentally do not chase after currently successful formulas or create games specifically for target audiences we don't fully understand – just because that audience is large." Why? He explains: "The simple and honest reason is that we're not particularly good at developing games in that way." This really doesn't instill confidence.

The director says that although the game began with the idea of "targeting players with preferences similar to mine," many more people ended up being interested in it. However, this influenced Ironmace to stray from the original vision for Dark and Darker, with a new "focus toward trying to meet the growing demands reflected in the feedback we were receiving."

After giving some examples, SDF continues: "My inconsistent decisions and shallow responses to feedback from various types of players have led to the current state of the game, and I now believe that this outcome is not ideal. That was entirely my mistake, and I will not repeat it again. From now on, I will move forward with clear focus toward the final vision we have for the game. This does not mean that I will stop listening to player feedback. Rather, it means that I want to stay true to the direction we're aiming for, filtering feedback through that lens without being easily swayed."

Basically, SDF says, Ironmace plans to "move away from the current model where investing time makes a player's character increasingly powerful, and instead shift toward a model where players become increasingly wealthy." This, he hopes, will still give players who invest a lot of time into the game an advantage, without making others "feel completely hopeless when facing them."

Although SDF is "generally satisfied with where things are now," there are changes coming, which might offer some reassurance to all of those who are far from pleased about Dark and Darker's current state. Planned changes include a "mastery system" that can give you extra buffs based on your proficiency with weapons and armor, alterations to item acquisition, and more.

"It saddens me to hear claims that we're intentionally ruining the game," SDF says, before later doubling down on Ironmace's commitment to improve Dark and Darker. Specifically, he says, the "three key areas" to focus on involve "improving the experience for solo players, strengthening the meaning and satisfaction of looting in the current setup, and properly tuning the combat system so that players can always maintain a sense of hope for victory, regardless of the situation."

SDF ends his recent string of messages with an apology. "I sincerely apologize to those who have experienced inconvenience due to my extreme approach to problem-solving," he writes. "Please understand that our ultimate goal is to create a comfortable and enjoyable environment for all players who love this game."

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