The science fiction genre has always been a source for creativity to flourish. Dangling just beyond our reach, the idea of bizarre space anomalies and strange new life forms hangs within the realms of the great void of space, and it’s through this mysterious veil that we cast our focus. For every story involving verdant new worlds or highly civilized lifeforms, there will in turn be the tales of the infinite emptiness of space and the malignant creatures that want nothing more than to invade your body.

The Swapper sits firmly on the latter of the two options mentioned above, with its emphasis on maintaining an aura of confusion and unease acting as a backdrop for the puzzling elements that drive the gameplay. You play as a stranded survivor on the Theseus, a once functional spacecraft that has since fallen into disrepair. With the crew unexplainably missing, you’re expected to discover just what has happened whilst looking for a way off the ship.

The game is heavily focused on the mechanics of the ‘Swapper’, a peculiar device gained near the start of the game that allows the user to create clones of themselves at both short and long range distances. What’s more, they are then able to swap their own consciousness between the active clones, so long as they have a clear line of sight to them. You can only have a maximum of five instances of yourself active at any given moment, including your original self, and many of the game’s puzzles derive from this restriction, forcing you to think logically about where you place your clones when trying to complete each obstacle.

To complicate matters, the game slowly introduces several other obstacles to restrict progress even further, by way of coloured lights. The blue lights allow you to fire your swapping beam through them but restrict any chance of spawning a clone inside the field of light. The red beam has the opposite effect where clones can be spawned, but no swapping beam can pass this field. While it may seem odd that a superior piece of technology that’s able to produce matter out of nothing can’t penetrate the altered hue of a beam of light, the mechanics behind this are sound. Each puzzle requires you to approach the situation of what you can and can’t do with a logical mindset, and whilst the way at first may seem unclear, stopping and analysing the options that are available to you will eventually yield the right answer.

One such puzzle greeted me with a room full of vibrant colours. A mixture of blues and reds cast liberally against a large portion of the chamber, with a few seemingly meaningless pockets of unlit space to fill in the rest of the area. A large chasm spanned the gap between me and the shiny token I had to acquire, and any attempts made to clear the gap by jumping were met with a swift and undignified death. After a few minutes of repeated dying and head scratching, the way became clear. In order for me to pass the challenge I had to create several clones inside the empty spaces and carefully manoeuvre them in sync as they traversed the areas I could not reach, triggering the necessary pressure plates scattered around and deactivating the lights that blocked me from swapping over the gap. There’s an odd sense of satisfaction that comes with completing a puzzle room, and it comes as a stark contrast against the otherwise bleak atmosphere of the derelict spacecraft.

Along with the puzzle-driven progression, the game features a large portion of the derelict ship for you to explore. Similar to that of a Metroidvania, the world is spread across a flat 2D canvas, and you’re expected to navigate throughout in your search for the various puzzle rooms. Fortunately, backtracking through previous areas of the ship isn’t very difficult as there are plenty of teleportation devices that allow you to fast travel between key points on the ship, helping you go back to any rooms you may have passed on previously.

By just focusing on the puzzles, you’re likely to miss out of the underlying story that surrounds the game, which is a shame as there’s a narrative hiding under the surface that makes for interesting reading. By exploring the expansive halls of the ship, the tone of the game becomes much darker than it first seems. There’s an eerie presence that lingers throughout, and as you clear more of the game’s puzzles, it becomes clear that the story is as morbid as the gloomy visuals of the game lead you to believe, with topics of ethical practises sitting at the forefront of the narrative.

Since The Swapper started life as a PC title, it was always going to be a challenge to see just how a controller could handle the dual input of movement and aiming. Since your cursor is always relevant to your player’s character, it was perfectly suited to that of a keyboard and mouse. Movements that required quick reactions we’re easily achievable with the freedom afforded to the PC control scheme. On the PS4, the controls are tied to the twin thumbsticks, with the clone creation and swap ability tied to the trigger buttons accordingly. I never had any issues playing with the default settings, but for those who do the game features the option to let you adjust the sensitivity of your aiming reticule, which should help those with issues acclimating to the controller layout.

As far as console ports go, The Swapper is a solid entry to the PS4’s indie catalogue. The game remains true to the PC version, excelling in deliverance of a compelling and atmospheric sci-fi horror story. The puzzles are well paced and engaging yet rarely stray past a high level of difficulty, meaning you’re unlikely to be stuck on the same puzzle for days on end. Top that off with an intuitive set of controls well suited for the console and it’s easy to see why The Swapper got ported to begin with. Those of you who’ve already completed the game might not have much reason to play through again, but for newcomers this is definitely one to pick up.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ 

What does this score mean?

This game was reviewed using a copy provided by the developer for that purpose.

This review is based on experiences from the PS4 version of the game.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Survivalist is an isometric 3D sandbox RPG zombie survival game, with great emphasis on the survival aspect. You begin the game as Joe Wheeler who has been hiding in an underground bunker in an attempt to avoid the spreading zombie virus. Supplies have run out after a year, thus you must venture out and procure food and water in order to keep on living. Simple enough, until you realize that there are zombies running around and civilized life is all but wiped out. What follows next is your daily struggle in the search for food and supplies in order to keep you alive and safe from the hazards of a devastated, zombie-infested, gang-ridden land. This being an open-world game, you are free to roam anywhere you please in the search for more supplies. The further you stray from the safety of your bunker though, the more dangers lurk around every corner.

Survivalist focuses on a more realistic tone to the genre than most games do. While you do have the usual gunning and scavenging aspect as seen in similar games such as DayZ, the core mechanic of Survivalist focuses on community and humanity as a whole. When exploring Survivalist’s desert wasteland setting, you will often come upon other survivors of the zombie uprising. Each encounter can easily shape the outcome of your playthrough as every person you meet has their own personality, relationships, and personal goals and needs. Your actions upon meeting this person can easily determine whether they are a friend or foe, and they will remember your choice as well. Rob a passerby early in the game and later on in your next meeting they will remember your face with a seething look of hatred pointed your way and possibly the barrel of a gun as well. Begin friendly trades with a well-armed group and they will welcome you happily to their camp for further use and trade. The amount of work put into the AI to simulate a living and thriving community among the NPCs was simply amazing to see. The fact that I can slowly work my way into the good graces of a community by buttering up one or two members and see the results of my goodwill spread among the rest of the members left me amazed.

Speaking of community, it is not solely limited to pre-established NPC clans. The option is there to build your own community as well. With enough supplies, manpower and skills, you can build your very own fortress to house yourself and any friends you make on your travels. One key member you will come across very early in the game is a woman named Alice who is a diabetic and requires a daily dose of insulin in order to keep her alive. With her among your group, not only do you need the basic necessities but you also need to procure a regular supply of her medication. In a world devasted by a zombie plague, modern medication such as insulin does not come readily available, with the few caches coming in at a steep price. Do you keep her with you and attempt to save what humanity is left, or do you simply abandon her, leaving her to a grim fate?

In my playthrough, I decided to let her tag along with me and did the best of my abilities to keep her regularly supplied with her much-needed medication. I will have to admit that this hit a lot closer to home than I was expecting from a game. I come from a high-risk group of people for diabetes and my family does have a history of the condition. The fact that I got a small glimpse of what I may have to resort to if the collapse of civilization actually occurred, left me in contemplative silence. Not many games I have played have managed to evoke a feeling like this from me, it is both humbling and frightening when I think about it.

The gameplay itself is broken down into familiar action-rpg style mechanics. You have skills ranging from fitness, guns, farming, and construction. Each one can be leveled up by using that particular skill, with successive levels adding more benefits for your continual survival. More fitness for example can allow you to run further and carry heavier loads; better gun skills will allow you to aim more accurately, taking down zombies with ease. The zombies, while not as deadly as the human threats you may come across, are no pushovers themselves. Zombies in Survivalist come in various strengths which have been thoughtfully color coded as virus strains. The virus strains infecting the undead hosts range from a mildly annoying green, stronger blues, dangerous reds, and a rumored instant-death white. With skills you can manage each one with various difficulty, greens offering the least amount of danger and whites the most. Thankfully all the viruses save for the white strain can be combated with syringes called antigens in order to cure yourself of viral bites. These of course will further add to your list of much needed supplies. Getting bit by a zombie will mean death if the required antigen isn’t applied soon, so always carry a syringe or two while out scavenging.

I have to say I love this game. It’s a robust game filled with moral and physical obstacles while giving a grand look on the narrative of humanity and the choices we make. The graphics, while not the best looking, did the job well of playing out a world devoid of modern civilization. Abandoned towns looked eerie and foreboding, the game’s day/night cycle made you welcome the sun. Zombies looked grotesque and dead as they should; the interface offering multiple views and providing vital info when needed. The music in game added the appropriate amount of atmosphere, some more than others I might add. Having an easy, synthesized guitar track guide you along as you explore the vast desert inexplicably changing to a strange electronica tempo just felt jarring. Thankfully the majority of them fit right in and it didn’t distract me too much from the immersion of the game.

The game is so close to being perfect, it has all the aspects I ever wanted in a survival game as well as adding in zombies and a well-defined “living world”. The sheer depth it offers with the narrative separates itself from the other similarly-themed games. With it’s glowing gameplay and mechanics I do see a rather major problem coming up during the endgame, that problem being a gentle downhill slope into repetitiveness. In my playthough one of my endgame goals was to have at least one survivor with maxed out skills. Once you form a basic community and you have people cordoned off and specialized to do certain work, you begin using those members solely for their best skill and rarely anything else. I had one member who was the main builder of the group while I was a skilled marksman and scavenger. I would need to grind construction skills with useless buildings and dwindling supplies just to be able to “win”. Thankfully I have yet to experience this part of the game, perhaps it may not be as bad as I think when I eventually do get to that point. Either way this is a cause of concern for me as using timesinks in order to win does not seem enjoyable in the least.

Despite that, I think that Survivalist is great beyond all expectations and it has become my favorite game among all the titles being offered on XBLIG. It is nearly perfect and it outshines any other title I have played with the survival-horror-sim aspect. If you want a great survival game for a low price, get Survivalist as soon as you can. I guarantee it will keep you busy for hours. While it may not be as eye-opening to others as it was to me, I assure it will give you much food for thought.

Simply amazing.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ 

What does this score mean?

This game was reviewed using a copy provided by the developer for that purpose.

Other reviews:

Survivalist on theXBLIG

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Over the past few years horror has been making great strides in the gaming community. With releases like Amnesia: The Dark Descent - which made a huge impression on the survival horror genre – it is no surprise that many others wish to make their own mark in the community. One of the more newly announced titles is Monstrum, a game by Team Junkfish and created in the Unity engine.

Monstrum sets you aboard an abandoned derelict ship filled with traps, environmental hazards, and another “passenger” who is not exactly friendly. From there you must find an escape route among the vast, dark, and claustrophobia-inducing confines of the ship’s procedurally generated corridors. Be sure not to meander too long because your fellow passenger is out to get you, and you have no way of fighting back. Run, hide, and use distractions and your wits in order to survive your pursuer’s relentless onslaught.

The ship generates a new layout each playthrough.

Monstrum incorporates permadeath, so if you unfortunately come to your untimely demise, you have to start over again with a brand new ship, new layout, and possibly a new hunter hot on your tail. With three unique monsters, each with their own behavior and hunting techniques, one method of escape or distraction may work on one hunter, but not on the others, forcing you to adapt your escape and survival strategy.

Does that not intrigue you enough? Perhaps the inclusion of Oculus Rift support would heighten your interest. Now you can experience the grit, claustrophobia, and terror first-hand as you attempt to flee your doom.

Monstrum is set to release in late Q3 2014 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. If you love horror games with a roguelike procedurally generated map, Monstrum is the title to look out for. With native Oculus Rift support planned, a unique map generated each playthrough, and three different hunters to chase you down, it seems like a no-brainer for any survival horror junkie.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Newly revealed psychological horror title, Narcosis, is being shown off this week during the mass game developer gathering that is GDC. To accompany the official announcement, a host of screenshots and some background information have begun to trickle out from the studio.

Narcosis will be set at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. As you awake to the aftermath of a catastrophic incident that has left you stranded on the ocean floor, you’ll have to rely on your flashlight, flares, and a knife, as you fight your way across hostile waters in search of a way back to the surface.

Maintaining your oxygen levels will also play into your fight for survival in a dramatic way. Lack of oxygen will cause you to lose grip of your sanity, slowly distorting your vision, hearing, and even your perception of time. If that wasn’t bad enough, each time you encounter something dangerous or distressing, your stress levels will rise, causing you to consume oxygen at a faster rate.

Little else is known about this ambitious project, other than that it is penned for a 2015 release date. Until then, I guess you’ll have to make do with this moody ocean floor scene.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

There’s always been a sweet spot in the indie ‘scene’ for horror games. With titles like Amnesia and Outlast proving the genre is very much alive and up for grabs for those willing to weave tension and terror into the mix. Blinding Dark – a ‘First Person tactical Horror game’ from solo developer Radu Ungureanu – is aiming to keep the spirit of indie horror alive.

Blinding Dark will throw you into the darkness of an abandoned manor, filled to the brim with cultists, demons and apparitions. Unfortunately for you, amnesia has taken your memories, so don’t expect to know who you are or how you managed to end up in such an unfortunate predicament.

Not wanting to give anything away, Radu was tentatively offering me small bits of information behind the game’s story, revealing that “the main character is a psychic investigator. His passion made him re-discover the ancient and occult ritual of scrying (gazing into the past and future and also, on rare occasions, opening portals to other planes of existence). This discovery brought him the unwanted attention of a religious sect that was protecting the secret of these kinds of rituals. Things go bad and our character finds himself in this place, which seems to be an abandoned manor.”

Radu was unwilling to give away more on the story surrounding the game, but did admit that he was heavily inspired by Clive Barker’s Undying, drawing heavy influences from the works for the story and lore in the game.

What pointy teeth you have…

This isn’t a game about delivering pleasant baskets of cookies to the ghastly inhabitants though, and as awesome as that idea sounds the game will most definitely require you to defend yourself from the denizens of this mad house. Things won’t be quite as simple as swinging an axe in every direction though, as each monster comes with its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Radu explains that “The monsters have physical constitution, ethereal constitution or a mix of the two. Based on this, they will be susceptible/immune to certain weapons and items. For example, the Spiked Horror is a demon, so it has high physical constitution, thus it will be susceptible to damage from revolver and axe. While the Spiritform is a spirit and it has ethereal constitution, thus it is susceptible only to damage from the Egyptian Trap (a special trap that can only detect and damage spirits).”

This concept is what makes the combat mechanics stand out for me. The idea of making things more ‘realistic’ is far from groundbreaking when you think about it, but by restricting the player to this ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ combat system you’re much more likely to take things slower and be more afraid of your encounters.

All he wants is a hug.

Even death isn’t the end of your troubles in Blinding Dark. In fact, it’s only just the beginning of your problems. As Radu explains, “In Blinding Dark, as all the pain and hatred piles up each time the player dies at some point all of this negative energy will transform into a demonic form of the player himself. A doppelganger if you wish. For this entity, the only purpose is to liberate itself from the continuous torture that consumes it and the only way to do that is to kill the one from which it originates, which is the player.  How the player manages to escape this new enemy is up to him to find out.”

It’s hard to resist thinking about what you will have to do in order to kill your ghostly twin, and as usual Radu was very secretive of the inner workings behind the game. It’s clear there’s more to the game than it would seem at first glance, and you can expect even more secrets to be hiding in the recesses of the manor.

Because the game is in such an early stage of development, Radu plans to release a free demo in the next month or so, containing a small demo area that showcases the combat and overall ‘feel’ of how the game is played. There are also plans to launch a surprisingly small Kickstarter campaign in February in which he hopes to raise $4000 to cover the costs of resources. A March/April window has also been earmarked for a tentative release date of the first of the six acts that make up the full game, with the rest of the acts to launch sequentially afterwards for PC, Mac and Linux.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

The game will follow Paul Prospero, an occult detective with the ability to peer into the final moments of a murder victim’s life. After receiving a cryptic letter asking for help from a boy named Ethan Carter, Paul soon discovers there is more than meets the eye to this case, as Ethan has since gone missing and a string of murders is plaguing the community of Red Creek Valley.

Described as “a weird piece of horror fiction”, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter will focus is on “atmosphere, mood, and the essential humanity of our characters”. There will be no combat in the game, and the entire experience will take place from a first person perspective. The player must use both supernatural and normal detective techniques to solve the riddles surrounding Ethan’s disappearance.

Along with the new screenshots, the developers also launched a short prequel comic strip, providing a small insight into Paul’s past, as well as what may be waiting for him in Red Creek Valley. You can check out the comic here.

The Astronauts is comprised of 8 members, founded by the ex-owners of People Can Fly of Painkiller and Bulletstorm fame. More information on the game and the team behind can be found on their official site here.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is slated for release on PC, but as yet no release date has been announced. Next gen releases on PS4 and Xbox One are also being considered.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

The ongoing development of this game is unique, even when compared to other crowdfunded point-and-clicks. The episodic adventure began with a Kickstarter campaign that raised about $7,400 from 285 backers. This funded the first episode of the game which can be enjoyed free of charge on the game’s official website. The second episode then began its crowdfunding initiative, this time straight from the game’s web page as opposed to somewhere like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Once an episode is fully funded, developed, and becomes playable, the episode before it transitions to free to play. Assuming this intriguing model continues to find success for The Game Kitchen, the process will repeat until at least four episodes complete development.

But enough talk of funding and development, what about the game itself? We start with a simple and very disturbing prologue that instantly draws you in and forces you to wonder what in the hell is going on. Without ruining too much, I will say that things begin masterfully. I knew immediately that The Last Door would be a cut above the average web browser-based game and closer to the type of storytelling found in horror adventures like Amnesia: The Dark Descent. The unnerving tone is heightened by an impressive fully orchestrated soundtrack, something I did not expect from such a low budget title. Like Amnesia, the strange story unfolds slowly by exploring and finding letters and clues left in the mysterious house you find yourself in.

The mechanics of the game don’t break any new ground for the genre, but they do their job. Just as you might expect, the player uses the mouse to click around and explore the game’s surroundings. When the cursor hovers over something of interest, it turns into a magnifying glass. Whenever an item can be picked up for use later, the cursor turns into a hand. To use these items, simply click on the one from the inventory you want to use, and then click on the part of the game world you wish to use it on. Again, no surprises here, not that everything in the game needs to surprise its audience. One point of minor annoyance, though, is that whenever an item can be picked up you must first examine it (magnifying glass), and then pick it up (hand). When I first began playing I quickly got stuck because I had examined everything I could find, but didn’t know that I could click certain items again to pick them up. Since there doesn’t appear to be a reason to not nab anything you can, examining and picking up collectable items could be completed in one click, but they aren’t. Again, a very minor problem, but it did cause some headaches for me early on.

The game sports a low-res style that some will find endearing and others off-putting. Personally, I enjoy the sharp contrast of the spooky tone, haunting music, and flat, blurry, blocky visuals. It feels endearingly nostalgic while not feeling overly retro. I imagine the simple look of the game was a necessary choice given the limited budget and small number of developers, but the game does a wonderful job of flourishing within the confines of the style. At first glance things seem primitive, but after spending just a few minutes with the game it becomes apparent that the game’s sensibilities are much more modern than one might expect. I suppose the look of the game might detract from the creepiness for some, but it didn’t for me. I enjoyed more than my fair share of genuinely chilling moments while playing through the released episodes.

In some ways, the appeal of The Last Door is incredibly niche. After all, it’s an old school style point-and-click adventure horror game that you play in a web browser. However, if you hear that string of descriptive words and aren’t immediately turned off, I highly recommend giving it a shot. It’s a brilliantly-crafted, disturbing mystery that deserves to be experienced. The first chapter is free to play, so why not try it out? You won’t regret it.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Chapters one and two of The Last Door are available from the game’s official website, and chapter three is currently in development. That’s something you can help along, if you’re interested in that kind of thing.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Grimind is a 2D platformer developed by Paweł Mogiła, and is his first game using the new Szamanengine engine. After watching the gameplay trailer I am eager to get my hands on the finished product.

Players control an anonymous hero who is confronted by unexplained enemies as he explores. The game’s intent is to place the player into an unfamiliar and very creepy environment where traversing through levels becomes not only a matter of figuring out what is going on, but discovering who the character is as well. Like all 2D platformers, the objective consists of traversing through stages of various difficulties and tackling new challenges as you progress.

Grimind takes place within an unmapped cave system in which light is scarce and terror is high.  Paweł creates the spooky ambiance of the game by creating very dark gameplay in which manipulation of light can cause effects that range from revealing unseen pits, to repelling hostile creatures. Grimind makes an emphasis on game physics throughout the environment and factors such as friction and buoyancy are fun to interact with and require some mastering in order to progress throughout the game. The sounds of the game bring the eeriness full circle. Random rattles and knocks lend a sense of uneasiness and angst amongst players throughout the experience. The background music can be considered hypnotic, but effectively adds an apprehensive nature to the gameplay.

Paweł has kept a consistent and informative blog for his game. The blog not only offers updates concerning the game, but also provides an in-depth look at the creative process for the making of Grimind. In addition, the blog allows players to download an alpha version of the game. I encourage everyone to check out the alpha version of Grimind before the finished product is available. The official website for Grimind has been finalized as well. While no official release date has been announced for Grimind, it is projected to be available sometime at the end of 2012 and will be available for PC, Mac and Linux.

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

In our latest interview, The Indie Mine talks with author Michelle Barclay. Barclay recently published her first novel, the horror story Morrigan’s Shadows. In the interview we discuss her genesis as a writer, what inspired her novel, and some of the valuable lessons that all new writers must learn. I hope you all enjoy.

Michelle, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. You’ve had quite the interesting journey to becoming a writer including leaving high school early, becoming a cook, and moving from coast to coast to coast. When did you know you wanted to be a writer, and what made you finally make that leap?

I knew I wanted to become a writer around the age of ten. I always enjoyed school assignments that involved writing and I was an avid reader. My mother is a poet and I have several writers in my family, so I think it was hardwired into me. However, what made me start writing for the fun of it was my little sister Mindy. We shared a room when I was that age and she used to con me into making up stories for her every night at bedtime. She particularly loved ghost stories and witch stories, so I told a lot of them. Finally, I sat at our desk and started writing them. I think the first written one was called “The Witch’s Hand,” though she might remember a different title.

I finally made the leap to becoming a writer when I got sick about five years ago. I got some awful bug while on vacation that hung around for a few months. I couldn’t keep up with the cooking and was bored at home, so I started writing. I eventually found my niche and found ways to make it a career and I have not stopped since.

In your day-to-day life you write non-fiction, mostly involving history. How does the fictional writing process compare to that?

Writing non-fiction is a careful process. You want to make it your own and include your observations, but you always want to adhere to the facts and find good sources for those facts. You spend most of your time reading. Only a small fraction of what I do is actually writing. I’m always learning and finding the most interesting information for my readers and clients.

Most fiction writing requires very little research, so I am doing much less reading to prepare for a novel. It is also very personal. It is like writing your daydreams on paper and showing them to other people. With non-fiction, I can put what I have out there and discuss the contents of it from an outsider perspective. With fiction, everything about it is me. Everything that happened in that piece first happened in my mind. I guess that is the best way I can describe it.

Which do you prefer and why?

That is a tough question. Each has its own pros and cons. However, if I had to choose between the two, I would choose fiction. Non-fiction is informative and what I write can be helpful, but fiction gives people an escape. If one person reads a novel I have written and finds it engrossing, I have given that one person a story to get lost in and given them enjoyment for however long it took them to read it. Because I cherish the countless novels that have done that for me, but remember only a handful of non-fiction books as providing that, I have to go with fiction.

Well let’s talk about your first fictional novel, Morrigan’s Shadows, which recently made its debut. How would you describe this horror novel?

I would describe it as a horror novel that uses elements of mythology and dreams to allow reality to shift for the protagonist Morrigan. It has themes of romance, loneliness, horror, fear and friendship.

You mentioned earlier about how fictional writing is about the author. What part(s) of Morrigan’s Shadows are you?

Well, the idea for the novel came from my love of writing unreal landscapes into existence. I used to write blurbs about settings that I never made into stories. I would just create oddities. There were no characters, just places that l felt were the characters. In addition, since I was a child, I have had very vivid, seemingly long dreams. At least one of the nightmare sequences in Morrigan’s Shadows takes place in a setting that I frequently revisit in my own dreams. Also, I chose to make Morrigan a chef because I could easily relate to a main character who spends all of her time in a kitchen. It made her more real to me and more like a friend.

I feel like most artists and creative types are hoping to reach their audience by creating a particular connection often through introducing a lesson learned or by evoking a particular emotion. What do you hope your readers get out of Morrigan’s Shadows?

Well, I think the most base emotions I strive to evoke are those associated with fear. If I can get one person to leave the light on just a bit longer, I have done my job. It would be nice for people to be as fascinated by the landscapes in Morrigan’s Shadows as I am, as well.

What was the experience like getting your first fictional novel out there for the world to see?

Oh, it was terrifying. Having people read my fiction to me is like being naked. I actually never intended to publish it. It was just something I wanted to write. Then, someone very dear to me begged me to let him read it for several months. When I finally did, he urged me to publish it and so I went through that process. Now that I have, I am very happy that I did. Even if only one person likes it, I should give him or her the chance to read it, I think.

Well now that you’ve overcome that fear, what else do you feel like you’ve learned from the process that you think will help with future projects?

I put aside Morrigan’s Shadows for six months after the rough draft before I even re-read it. I think that was a good move and I will do that with every novel from here on. It is good to get a fresh perspective before editing and then again before publishing. As for the publishing process, I learned that it can be fun and will go into in the future with more enthusiasm.

I noticed that you’ve already started work on your next novel. Are you ready to reveal any info about it or are the details a secret?

Well, this novel is going to delve into the story of another character that I am excited to write more about. It is going off in quite a different direction, but it is a necessary path to take for this series. I will likely have more to say about it once I am closer to publishing. I am not very good at keeping secrets and if someone is excited to know, I will be excited to tease them with little details, so stay tuned.

Are there any specific authors out there that you feel inspire you as a writer?

Well, I have to go a little cliche here and say Stephen King, firstly. His work ethic is very inspiring. I would love to be as prolific as King some day. Another is Ray Bradbury. To me, Fahrenheit 451 is among the creepiest novels ever written. The feeling of suspense, of seeing a character sneak novels like one would hide away a dirty secret was very thought provoking. I would love to be able to evoke such feelings in a reader. Lastly, Harper Lee. She wrote one novel. One single novel that burned her name into American literature forever. She did not have to write a lot. She just wrote the best. Also, Atticus Finch is my favorite character of all time.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

You are going to have to get to the promoting, editing, slashing, burning and sharing part eventually, but do not rush it. It all starts with writing. Sit down and write. Do not think about where the words are going to end up while you write them. That would be like a midwife stressing about a child’s college fund while bringing it into the world. Focus on your story. Worry about the rest once you have one.

I want to close today by asking is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers who might be interested in checking out Morrigan’s Shadows?

Thank you for checking it out. I enjoyed writing it and hope you enjoy reading it. I do wish it will make you squirm a little at least once.

Readers interested in checking out Morrigan’s Shadows can find it available in paperback or Kindle versions on Amazon, or through CreateSpace.

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

A Vampire Novel with Actual Bite!

As the modern world establishes itself and pushes the supernatural into the shadows, the supernatural fights back.

The Darkening Dream is a chilling new dark fantasy novel by Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter. The book has received rave reviews and is on sale for only 99 cents on Amazon Kindle from June 25th-29th! Download your copy here.

In addition, Andy is doing a big giveaway, including a $100 gift certificate to Amazon, signed copies of his books, video games, posters, and more!

The Darkening Dream Rafflecopter Giveaway
Tweet, like, follow, share, blog and grab a copy of his book to enter.

Get your 99 cent copy of The Darkening Dream today on Amazon only.

Long-time readers of dark historical fantasy (Tim Powers, Guy Gavriel Kay, Katherine Kurtz) will appreciate the weaving together of mythology, occult, and religion, while younger readers and fans of HBO dramas (True Blood, Carnivàle) or urban fantasy (Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher) will be drawn to the twisted imagination, graphic action, and romantic tension.

About The Darkening Dream

Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.

1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand.

With the help of Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?

No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be her very soul.

The Reviews Are In

“A vampire novel with actual bite.” ~The Kirkus Reviews

“A gorgeously creepy, strangely humorous, and sincerely terrifying tale.” ~Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Mr. Gavin has brought something refreshingly new to a genre now suffused with poorly-concealed bodice-rippers which have more in common with Fabio than Bram Stoker: depth. His big baddies are scary, not romantic interests, and the added religious lore is complex and engaging. Don’t expect another Twilight — the story can get downright creepy, so be prepared for a return to the old horror sensibilities of supernatural fiction.” ~Amazon Review

“With Mr. Gavin’s video-game pedigree, I was expecting something aimed squarely at the 18-25 year old fanboy contingent; what I got in The Darkening Dream was something wholly unexpected: A period novel with a female protagonist, a crash-course on Judaism in the colonial years, and multi-layered series of plot arcs featuring a crazy cast of natural and supernatural characters populating turn of the century America.” ~Amazon Review

“…A perfect blend of mystery, magic and myth. A grown-up Grimm’s fairy tale… emphasis on grim.” ~Amazon Review

Read the first two sample chapters here.

Get your 99 cent copy of The Darkening Dream today on Amazon only.

About the Author

Andy Gavin is an unstoppable storyteller who studied for his Ph.D. at M.I.T. and founded video game developer Naughty Dog, Inc. at the age of fifteen, serving as co-president for two decades. There he created, produced, and directed over a dozen video games, including the award winning and best selling Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter franchises, selling over 40 million units worldwide. He sleeps little, reads novels and histories, watches media obsessively, travels, and of course, writes. Find out more here.

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.