DT GAME (PT HORROR PROTOTYPE / SEQUEL)

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This game is currently a proof-of-concept prototype. It was developed as an experimental project to test atmospheric horror mechanics and modern thematic blending. Please be aware that this project is in an unfinished state and will likely not be completed or updated in the future.

Also, because of the size limit of itch.io, some files are currently missing. I have requested a rise in file upload size but will also upload some files elsewhere. Please keep checking back over the next week or two

About the Game

Welcome to Doom-Scrolling Trauma (also known in early development as Darkness Test or Dank Trauma), a first-person psychological horror adventure built in Unreal Engine 5. Designed as a 15 to 20-minute concentrated dose of dread, this prototype serves as a spiritual successor to the legendary P.T., capturing its suffocating tone and looping structure, while injecting a completely unique, surreal twist: the horrors of modern internet culture and digital addiction.

In this experience, you are trapped in a shifting, repetitive cycle of seemingly mundane hallways and rooms that slowly degrade into nightmarish reflections of online rot. The game relies heavily on atmosphere, tension, and a dark, grunge-inspired ambient soundtrack mixed with unnerving real-world audio, ensuring you never feel safe.

Core Gameplay & The Looping Nightmare

The foundational experience is designed as an immersive walking simulator. There are no complex puzzles or immediate fail states in your initial run; the goal is simply to press forward, observe, and survive the psychological warfare the environment wages against you.

As you progress through the looping corridors, you will encounter varying mechanics designed to test your nerves:

• Sensory Deprivation: Plunge into a pitch-black hallway where your only means of sight is the erratic, blinding flash of a camera, illuminating horrors in the dark.
• The Silent Stalker: Navigate a completely soundless void where a mysterious, illuminated entity slowly stalks you through the dark; your only escape is to find the exit before the light reaches you.
• Claustrophobic Terror: Squeeze through oppressively tight crawlspaces in a room where every piece of furniture is draped in white sheets, obscuring what might be hiding underneath.
• The Weeping Anomaly: Enter a repeating corridor blocked by a stationary creature. To survive, you must keep your eyes locked on it and walk backward until you successfully exit the loop.

Thematic Elements: The "Doom-Scroll"

Unlike traditional gothic or survival horror, Doom-Scrolling Trauma weaponizes the absurdity and isolation of the internet. You will stumble into surreal, thematic rooms, such as a dark bedroom filled with motionless people illuminated only by the sickly glow of their phone screens—a literal manifestation of "doom-scrolling". The game intentionally walks a razor-thin line between genuine, heart-pounding terror and sudden, jarring internet humor to keep players entirely off-balance.

Potential Concepts & Unfinished Ideas

Because this project is a prototype, many grand visions and mechanics were brainstormed but remain as potential concepts or experimental ideas:

• The "New Game Plus" Lethality System: The grand vision for the game was a dual-layered experience. Your first playthrough would be a strictly narrative "walking simulator" where you cannot die. However, completing the game would unlock a New Game Plus mode that breaks the rules, introducing real threats, lethal enemies, and actual fail states to environments you previously thought were safe.
• Meme Chases & Meta-Scares: We conceptualized a frantic chase sequence where the player is pursued by an AI through a maze of cardboard cutouts featuring internet memes.
• Fourth-Wall Breaking Glitches: Inspired by Batman: Arkham Asylum, there were plans to include sequences where the game's camera glitches wildly, simulating a fake system crash or corrupting the player's UI.
• The "Bite of 87" Fake-Out: A conceptualized joke ending involving the screen cutting to pitch black, accompanied by a deafening snapping sound and a distorted voice screaming, "Was that the bite of 87?!". (Would have probs got markiplier to do it because funny)...
• Esoteric Environments: Breaking away from the domestic hallway setting, ideas were pitched to transition the player into wildly different locations, such as an invisible maze located on the ceiling with roaming enemies, or suddenly dropping the player into an abandoned temple where they must collect glowing orbs to progress.
• Advanced Accessibility: A fully functioning Color-Blind mode was heavily researched, though the technical and performance complexities of rendering it in Unreal Engine 5 pushed it to the "potential features" backlog.