Did you include your Game Design Document as a Google Drive link?
Uhh..... This was a requirement?!

Seriously... did you include your Game Design Document?
276 images. 50 pages. 37.4 BILLION pixels... You're god$%# right we did!

Is your game set to Public so we can see it?
Yes

Tell us about your game!
(In case of issues on behalf of Itch.io, here is a link to our official gdd lcoated on google docs as per the game jam rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_t6mZ4JqEqZuehC3jJ8VT8pJpigDpKb2L0HQpV9Tgtg/edit?usp=sharing)

(Several features were not fully realized or were broken and had to be scrapped due to time constraints. We had a fully fledged crafting system that broke, and as well as an inventory system. We lost our whole first week of progress and had to rebuild the game entirely due to an error in UE4. We almost gave up, but we realized we are not quitters.

Hellshade, known to the locals as Helheim, (ᚻᛖᛚᚻᛖᛁᛘ) was once teaming with life but now has its vitality drained by the darkness. Before the era of darkness that currently decimates this world, there was a so-called "god" who ruled this land. He was a creature of light, but at some point, he shattered, scattering into pieces. This god was just the physical vessel that was provided for the safekeeping of this planet's life force energy, meaning that each piece was a different soul, and those souls had to adapt to take the physical form of fireflies to survive. 

Not all of the light escaped. The darkness, known as the Myrksnák, (ᛘᛁᚱᚳᛋᚾÁᚳ | Meaning Dark Parasite Growth) took hold of the land and its life, embedding its claws and teeth deeply into the world’s foundation and corrupting it from within. The Myrksnák ensnares creatures in darkness, trapping their souls—represented by a single firefly—inside them. You awaken in this realm with no memory of your past or how you arrived, only knowing that the world desperately needs saving.

We plan to implement a jar system as our throwables system that allows for the capture of fireflies. The jars are affected by magic and have the capability of holding different elemental effects inside of them. Base jars allow the fireflies to be released, fight for you, and then wander back to one of their groups. Different variations of fireflies will exist. Despite perishing from elemental effects, they willingly sacrifice themselves and allow you to apply them, understanding your mission to save the world and its inhabitants. This system will enhance the morality aspect and deepen the lore of the Ljóswispa. (ᛚᛄÓᛋᚹᛁᛋᛈᚪ | Meaning Light Wisp)

There is a cult known as the Helstjörnu Seiðrband (ᚻᛖᛚᛋᛏᛄᛡᚱᚾᚢ ᛋᛖᛁᚦᚱᛒᚪᚾᛞ | Meaning The Helstar Fellowship) that worships the Norse god Hel (ᚻᛖᛚ) and practices Norse magic using alchemy and runes under the guidance of celestial influences. Their opposing group (which my dumb*ss forgot to include in our GDD) is known as Sólverja Ráð. (ᛋÓᛚᚠᛖᚱᛄᚪ ᚱÁᚦ | Meaning the Council of the Sun Defenders)

Ásgeir Gildr (Áᛋᚷᛖᛁᚱ ᚷᛁᛚᛞᚱ) and Hákon Gildr (ᚻÁᚳᚩᚾ ᚷᛁᛚᛞᚱ) are a pair of brothers inspired by Cain and Abel. Ásgeir is an ex-cultist turned merchant who doesn't accept your coin, instead, he demands you make a sacrifice to purchase his wares. Hákon is still a member of the cult, most likely doing shady things behind the scenes.

You possess a magical book known as a Rúnaskjár (ᚠᚱᛖᛁᛄᚪᛒᛇᚾᚳ) or a Rune Screen that contains special pages for crafting, (Freyjabænk | ᚠᚱᛖᛁᛄᚪᛒᛇᚾᚳ | Meaning Freyja's Bench) storage, (Allviðakista | ᚪᛚᛚᚠᛁᚦᚪᚳᛁᛋᛏᚪ | Meaning All-Storing Chest) knowledge, (Heimsvitaskrá | ᚻᛖᛁᛘᛋᚠᛁᛏᚪᛋᚳᚱÁ | Meaning Scroll of World Knowledge) status, (Lífsvísar | ᛚÍᚠᛋᚠÍᛋᚪᚱ| Meaning Life Indicators) and in-game settings. (Leiðarsteinn | ᛚᛖᛁᚦᚪᚱᛋᛏᛖᛁᚾᚾ | Meaning "Guide Stone." It was named this way to retain some immersion)

The light system is only implemented with our lighter at the moment, but we have plans to add a lantern, a flashlight, and a zippo-like lighter that all have different upgrade stages.

There will be plenty of other weapons and systems that are not currently implemented. We envision a two-hand system that allows for using your light in combination with your weapons, limiting the viability of the lighting devices and allowing for a more involved combat system. There will be puzzles. There will be realistic physics and survival elements. We plan to include several melee options, a handful of guns, and a ton of spells and other magic!

Much of the story is based on the stories of Baldur, with your brother Hodr having a place in flashback scenes. The story also draws heavy inspiration from Norse folklore and mythology, as well as other religions and mythos. The story of Baldur is played upon and modernized a bit, with other family members appearing in flashbacks and adding more depth to your story. Hellshade is a dark and twisted version of the real world, Ljosheim.

This is the introduction scene as we envision it:

"You awaken to find yourself in a realm cloaked in pure darkness. You find yourself immersed in a cramped, damp space with absolutely no visibility. As you explore your surroundings, your hands encounter the coarse texture of the surface beneath you, reminiscent of wood and dirt. Even in the absence of light, the realization hits you like a freight train: you lie within a coffin. Retrieving a lighter from your pocket, you ignite it briefly to confirm your suspicions, swiftly extinguishing it to conserve precious oxygen. With determined yet controlled movements and breaths, you begin to strike the ceiling, hoping the soil above is loose enough to yield. You burst through the lid of the wooden coffin, instantly enveloped by the earth's embrace. Turning your head, you steal a deep breath before digging with all your strength until, at last, you emerge. Gasping for air and letting out a triumphant scream, you revel in newfound freedom, though your surroundings remain obscured in darkness. As you steady yourself and navigate the room, your lighter flickers to life, casting feeble illumination. You can barely see ahead of yourself as the flame shimmies from side to side, yet your invaluable fuel is depleting fast. The ground begins to shake with such intensity that you lose your balance, falling back to the firma you so eagerly left behind. You hear distant sounds of absolute horror. As you scramble for safety, you realize you have no idea how you ended up in this wretched place. Amidst the chaos, one immutable truth persists: you face a blank canvas of the past, and the circumstances of your arrival in this infernal realm shroud themselves in enigmatic shadows. Nevertheless, amidst the uncertainty, your undeniable reality endures: you are alive. To reveal the truths of your past, you must journey through the ominous depths of this Hellshade, repelling the relentless clutch this darkness has upon you and this world."

In a world full of darkness, you are the brightest light. To restore this land, you must purify it from its corruption. Along the way, you may uncover the truth of your past.

Controls:

BasicMovement - "WSAD"

Consume item - "I"

Crafting/Alchemy - "C" (Removed due to game breaking bugs)

Interaction - "E"

I̶n̶v̶e̶n̶t̶o̶r̶y̶ ̶-̶ ̶"̶T̶A̶B̶"̶ ̶(̶H̶o̶t̶k̶e̶y̶s̶ ̶1̶-̶9̶ ̶+̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶o̶l̶l̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶e̶l̶ ̶n̶a̶v̶i̶g̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶)̶ (removed because of gamebreaking errors)

Lighter - Hold "F" to gas, and then press "RMB" to ignite.

Sprint - "̶S̶h̶i̶f̶t̶"̶ (this was switched with "Q" due to complications with using shift in the browser)

Extra Notes
Hellshade is a passion project that will expand far beyond the limitations of Pirate Jam 15.