Switch to Enabled - "Alone in the Dark fix" and restart emulator.
Genre: Action
Perspective: 3rd-person
Visual: Cinematic camera
Gameplay: Puzzle elements, Survival Horror
Setting: Interwar
Narrative: Horror
Published by: Interplay Productions
Developed by: Infogrames Europe SA
Released: 1994
Platforms: 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, DOS
The events of Alone in the Dark unfold in America in the 1920s. The story begins with a tragic incident: the famous artist Jeremy Hartwood committed suicide by hanging himself in his luxurious mansion "Derceto". It is rumored that in the last months of his life, Hartwood suffered from insomnia, and spent the night reading all sorts of old books. And they say that the mansion is inhabited by evil spirits, and sometimes at night in the windows the light itself lights up. Now we have to penetrate into Derseto and find out what really happened there.
At the beginning of the game, you can choose the main character. We can play either Detective Edward Carnby or a girl named Emily Hartwood. Each of them has its own reason to visit the eerie mansion. Detective Carnby received a job from one of the local collectors - he needs to explore the mansion and find out if there is any valuable antiques. Emily Hartwood is the niece of the artist who lived in Derceto. Her task is to find out what made Jeremy Hartwood commit suicide.
The idea of choosing a character is quite interesting - but, unfortunately, our choice does not affect anything except the appearance of the protagonist. Scenarios for both characters are absolutely identical - and even endings are no different. The creators of the game in the interview confess that Emily was added only for marketing purposes. It was believed that if the game will be a female character, it will expand the potential audience and increase sales (more girls will buy the game).
The concept of Alone in the Dark is in many respects similar to the two earlier horror games - Dr. Chaos and Sweet Home. We explore an old abandoned mansion, fight monsters, look for useful items, solve puzzles and read scraps scattered around the rooms. But the game mechanics here is different. AitD is an action-adventure game with a very innovative engine for its time, combining elements of 2D and 3D graphics.
Models of the protagonist and monsters are made in polygonal 3D-graphics, and all the action takes place against a background of static 2D background pictures with fixed camera angles. Alone in the Dark became the first horror game using such mechanics (later this idea will be borrowed by developers of Resident Evil).
Such a system has its pros and cons.
The main advantage is that the 3Dity of the characters allows you to show them from any angle and from any angle - so the developers can freely use the "cinematic" camera angles. And if the characters were 2D - then you would need to draw for each hero and monster a lot of sprites from different sides and with varying degrees of approximation (as in the Team Innocent). Either it would have to abandon the camera's various camera angles altogether-and make the usual side view in all scenes (as in Clock Tower and Dark Seed).
But, as you know, beauty requires sacrifice. The use of cinematic angles and 3D models has led to some undesirable consequences:
1) 3D graphics in those days was very primitive, so the model was not so hot. Characters with yellow squares instead of eyes look worse than monsters. And monsters are very abstract - sometimes it's even hard to understand what they are (for example, the first monster looks like a walking wolf, or a chicken with a big head).
2) With each change of the background, the game "hangs" for 1-2 seconds.
Surely these shortcomings will make the eyes of modern gamers, but in my opinion they do not really spoil the game. In the process of progressing, you gradually get used to modelers and stop paying attention to suspensions.
But what's hard to get used to is the design of the backgrounds. It turned out to be rather ambiguous. Some backgrounds (attic, underground cave) are drawn classically and realistically. But with the design of the rooms of the mansion, the artists were clearly skulking. In many rooms, the walls are simply a bare rectangular rectangle.
One gets the impression that the artists were too lazy to draw wallpaper, windows, paintings, as well as other details - and they decided to paint all the walls with "filling" in a quick way. And, oh God, what colors they chose! Acid-green, blue and pink walls in the horror-game look quite too wild and ridiculous. Because of this infernal design, some of the rooms of Derceto do not look gloomy, but somehow. a cartoon-cartoon.
Another significant drawback of developers is the lack of comments on interior subjects. When you try to inspect all the tables, beds, tables, toilets and other utensils - the main character will answer you only two dull phrases - "nothing important" and "no water". And nothing more intelligible you can not achieve from him. This is sad. With the example of Silent Hill and Resident Evil, we well know how text comments help to "revitalize" the surrounding world and provide food for thought. And then - the infinite nothing important ... nothing important ... nothing important ...
But despite this, the process of researching the mansion was still quite interesting. A big plus of the game is freedom. Nobody takes us by the handle. We can wander around the mansion and inspect the rooms in any order, looking for hidden objects and solving puzzles. Moreover, the size of the mansion is quite impressive. Derseto consists of three floors, an attic, a wine cellar, and plus we can visit a huge underground cave.
In the accursed mansion, the danger lies in wait for us from all sides. Sex can fall underfoot. A monster can jump out of the window suddenly. Even pictures can attack us! From the first minutes, developers subtly hint to the player: any object is a potential source of danger. Admittedly, this is a fairly effective tactic of intimidation. After a few deaths, you begin to wonder involuntarily - is it worth approaching another strange object, or is there some hidden catch?
An important role in the gameplay is the idea of survival and saving supplies. For the whole game we will be able to find only 2-3 lechilki and a couple dozens of cartridges. And on this our modest supplies are limited. If we spend everything at the beginning of the game - then at the end we will find ourselves in a difficult situation. Do we have enough health and ammunition to get to the final? Such troubling thoughts will constantly torment the player in the process of passing. Therefore, limiting resources helps make the game more tense.
In addition to saving health and ammo, we also need to save space in inventory. Pockets of the main character are not rubber - they will not be able to put everything in them at once. So we have to periodically throw out unnecessary things to release inventory. Most likely the developers did it in the name of "realism." But, in truth, the limitation of inventory does not bring anything good in the game - and the need to unload pockets only annoys. Fortunately, the restriction is not too harsh. A hero can carry around 10-15 things.
Another curious feature of the gameplay is the ability to avoid collisions with enemies. In Alone in the Dark, only 3 or 4 bouts are "mandatory". From all other enemies you can either run away, or defeat them with the help of cunning. For example, at the very beginning of the game we are attacked by a monster, jumping into the mansion through the window. But if we barricade the window in time, pushing the closet to it - that monster will not be able to get to us. Very interesting idea.
The puzzles in AitD are based on the principle of "use the right object in the right place." At the beginning of the game, the puzzles are completely solvable on their own - but towards the end you will most likely have to either look in the passage, or use the miraculous method of scientific tyke. Also it should be taken into account that the game can be easily "screwed up". A clear example: to solve a certain puzzle you need two mirrors. But if you accidentally break them - the riddle will be impossible to solve. As a result, you will find yourself in a desperate situation, and the game will have to start anew.
There are no dialogues in Alone in the Dark. The plot is revealed exclusively through diaries and notes. In the game you can find about 15 different documents - they are all quite voluminous and have several pages of text. Carefully reading these notes, we will gradually learn the history of the mansion and its inhabitants, which goes back several centuries. Of course, now the script AitD is no surprise - but by the standards of its time the game could boast one of the best stories among the horror games.
Above the scenario AitD the Frenchman Hubert Chardot worked. He is a great admirer of Lovecraft, and this greatly affected the game: here you can find references to Cthulhu, Shub-Niggurat, Abdul Alhazred, and many other references to Lovecraftian myths. An interesting fact: in the old interviews of 1991, the developers said that the game was to be called "Call of Cthulhu: In the Dark". But then there was some overlay with copyright, and they had to change the name.
The soundtrack in AitD is not bad, but the musical design suffers from technical limitations. The original version for PC came out on floppy disks - that's why all the music is crammed into the MIDI format and sounds somehow unintelligible. But the later version for the console Panasonic 3DO uses music in full CD-quality - the soundtrack sounds much better there.
But the sound effects in all versions are great. Especially a lot of attention the developers paid to the sounds of the steps of the main character - they turned out to be very realistic. And, for different types of surface, different sounds of steps are provided (a great rarity for the games of that time). In addition, in the process of wandering through the mansion, we will occasionally hear various screeching and howling. These sounds are sometimes distributed by themselves, randomly - and help to create an atmosphere.
Outcome
In Alone in the Dark there are a lot of "roughness" and minor flaws. Realizing this, even the creator of the game (Frederick Raynal) in the final stages of development began to fear that people would laugh at his brainchild. But, fortunately, his fears were in vain. The fascinating process of exploring the mansion and interesting history made people forget about the drawbacks of the game - in the end, "Alone in the Dark" became a successful project, earned the love of many fans, and also played a very important role in the development of horror games.
Walkthrough
A fascinating walk through the dark rooms of the enchanted home. You have to pass ten or three rooms and transitions, and countless ghosts and other evil spirits are trying to impede the investigation you undertook ... Playing old tested games, do not forget to download new games of 2011 for free!
Animated intro will help you to understand the location of the premises, which you will have to pass first. The proposed walkthrough is based on the following order of the house: an attic-storeroom - a corridor on the top floor - a room - a dressing room - a bedroom - a bathroom - an upper lobby - a lower entrance hall - a living room - a corridor ^ - a bathroom - a dark bedroom - an anteroom - a terrace - kitchen - dining room - smoking room - corridor with paintings - bedroom Jeremy - library - secret room-cabinet Jeremy - pirate room - dance hall - bottomless pit - cave - podpol-tunnel - cave with stone with olbami - a large cave with planks - pirate chest - a dark stable - the end of the cave - cellar.
In the attic, standing behind the cabinet, move it (point "push") to the window. It is necessary to have time before the appearance of the monster. Now go to the chest and move it ("push") to the hatch, which is near the piano. This will prevent the ghost. Open the chest ("open / search") and take the gun (the "take" item). Now go to the closet, which you have blocked the window, and, opening it, take an ancient Indian rug. Next, go to the table, take the oil lamp and go to the pantry. Passage - in the corner to the right of the window.
In the pantry, take a bow in the corner on the side of the rack. Now go deep and find ("open / search") a can of oil. Take it and use it (the "use" item). The lamp will be filled with oil, the message of what you read on the screen. Go through the door on the right. In the corridor on the top floor, go to the first door to the left of your hero. Do not go further along the corridor - you will fall and die.
When you are in the room, in the left far from the entrance corner open the office and take the key. By using this key, open the chest in the corner behind the door and get an old cavalry saber.
Now open the door and fight with the zombies. Saber after use will be broken. To finish off the ghost, you can use a gun. (For shooting, fighting, etc., selecting an action or object, press A and the arrow of the joystick.) Now leave the room and go through the door opposite. This is a dressing room. Immediately turn around and fight with the zombie that will appear from the corridor, or shoot at it. Exit through the door near the window. In the bedroom, go to the bedside table to the left of the bed and take the vase. Fight or shoot a monster that jumps into the room through the window. Break the vase (the "throw" item) and get the key, which you can open the dressing table with a teddy bear on it. Take two small mirrors. Now through the door to the side of the bed you leave the room in the corridor.
In the bathroom (the entrance is opposite the door from which you left) open the cabinet and take the first aid kit, open it, take out the flask and drink the contents - you will gain health. Throw away ("throw" or "drop / put") all unnecessary: a first aid kit, a flask, keys from the chest and dressing table, an empty canister. Now leave the room and open the door at the end of the corridor. Hang on each of the two statues in the opposite corners of the upper vestibule on the mirror. However, avoid contact with flying monsters - they will smash your mirrors. Go down into the lower lobby. Do not touch the armor here. Enter the door to the right of the stairs.
You will find yourself in the living room. Do not touch the ghost sitting in the chair. Take the gramophone standing on the table, find a box in the cabinet to the right of the ghost and take the cartridges. Charge them with a gun and take a matchbox from the mantelpiece. Now leave the room and go to the second door on the other side of the stairs (the first is the one opposite to which you are at once). Run into the bathroom and take the jug next to the locker. Do not pay attention to the monster in the bathroom, it can not be killed. Open the locker and take the first aid kit, run out of the bathroom and drink the contents of the flask.
Now go further, enter the door - and you will find yourself in the dark. Using the matchbox light the oil lamp and take from the table a large statuette. Then leave the room and throw out the lamp. Return to the lower vestibule and break up the armor, throwing (the "throw" point) in them with a statuette. The statuette will remain there, take the sword. In a dark space, you can leave the gramophone. In the corner on the other side of the stairs there are two doors. Enter the right, the left will be locked.
On the terrace behind the statue, look for three arrows. Take them and, to avoid encountering the falling spiders, quickly leave the terrace. They will not crawl out of the terrace. Now go to the door on the other side of the stairs next to the narrow corridor. Enter the nearest brown door. On the wall of the kitchen hangs the key to the cellar. Take it. In the boxes, find a box of cakes and refresh yourself - this is necessary for your shaky health. Empty box, first-aid kit, empty flask You no longer need-throw them away. In the closet near the table, find and take a knife. Enter the second brown door near the door of the usual size. Enter the closet and run back out as quickly as possible. To finish off the Zombies, use the knife. Now again, go into the closet, find a pile of coal in the corner and take a box of shoes. Get the revolver out of it. In the other corner, take a can of oil, fill the lamp. Go to the barrel of water, fill (point "use") jug. Again throw out all unnecessary: empty canister and box, knife. Return from the closet to the kitchen and take from the stove a pot of soup. You leave through the door of usual sizes (next to the closet) and open the door in a small corridor.
In the dining room, avoiding a wandering zombie, approach the table from the right end and put a pot of soup. Wait until the ghost settles, calming down, and exit through the door next to the large closet. (The door you entered is locked.) You enter the smoking room. Cigarette smoke harms you. Go quickly to the other side of the table, taking a lighter at the same time, and use a jug of water to fill the burning ashtray. Open the double door, which is not locked, and exit into the hall. Go back to the white staircase in the front lobby and go up. Return to the corridor with the dark room where you took the statuette, and go further along the corridor. Open the door.
In the corridor with pictures, go to the first picture (a man with an ax) and cover it with an Indian rug (drop / put). Now you do not fear an ax. To protect yourself from the arrows of an Indian, use the bow and arrows. Then go through the door at the far end of the hall.
From the table in Jeremy's bedroom take a fake book. Push aside (point "push") the grandfather clock. In the groove in the wall behind them you will find the key to Jeremy's office. Take it, leave the room and enter the double door.
Use the oil lamp. Put it on the middle of the floor and quickly run along the corridor to the upper left corner of the screen. Go to the library to the right until in the wall from the books you notice the notch. Entering the small passage and examining the books next to the notch, your hero will be able to find a secret mechanism. With the help of a fake book, open the secret room and quickly enter it. The monster that chases you can only be killed by a special dagger with a curved blade that you will find in the secret room on the bookshelf. Here, take a talisman from the shelf. Take an oil lamp from the floor and open the double doors. Now you are in the lower vestibule. Go down the stairs through the dark passage and take the gramophone. Use the silver key to open the door next door to the terrace. Continue down the large hall and enter the smoking room again. You will open the double doors with a key.
You are in Jeremy's office. Hang an old cavalry saber for armor in the wall. If the saber was broken - put the wreckage. From the bookcase in the corner, take the plate. Exit and return to the hall, passing through the room for smoking.
In the room, kill the pirate with a sword and take the key from the dance hall from the deceased. With this key you will open the double door. In the ballroom go to the corner and put on the gramophone (it should be you) record. This - "Dance of death." The ghost will dance. Do not let him touch you. From the mantelpiece, take the key from the pirate chest, then return to Jeremy's office. Go down the stairs to the first floor.
Run along the collapsing bridge. Then walk along the tunnel until a giant worm appears. Escape from it through the tunnel until you can turn right into another tunnel. In the cave, fight with a monster waiting for you or shoot at it. Continue down the tunnel until a giant worm appears again. Then run back to the turn to the right, go there and fight with the monster. Turn right into the tunnel, dug by a worm. If the worm is still there, repeat your actions until it clears.
In the subfield, walk along the wooden flooring to a light stripe. This strip jump over - otherwise it will fail under you. Or avoid the monster in the water, or you have to kill it. Climb to the ledge. Fight with a running monster or shoot at it. Continue down the tunnel. Stop in the aisle and shoot the flying monster. Jump from the post to the post. When the image on the screen changes, go into the passage on the right. Go through the tunnel to the fork, and then turn right. Go right side. Jump through the light boards to the dark ones. Light boards fall through. However, you do not have to deal with unreliable boards if you go along a path marked with swords and skulls. But on this way you are trapped by some buzzing insect - again problems ...
You need to reach the right side. Jump, climb on poles, avoid nasty insects or shoot them. Go to the pirate chest. Open it with a key and take the gem. Put (point "push") stone. Enter the dark passage and walk along the corridor. Get down on the ledge and keep moving forward.
In a dark stable, use an oil lamp. Iditol to the left, then turn down and go, while movement is possible. Now turn right and go to the stone door with a hole in it. To open this door, use a gem. Enter and apply the item "open / search".
Trying to avoid the fireballs spewed by the monster in the water, run up to the altar stone in front of the tree. Take the hook. Standing in front of the altar, put on it a talisman - shelling
The fireballs will stop. To light an oil lamp, apply the lighter. Throw the lamp in the tree. Then run to the right of the cave and climb the stone plateau. To open the door from the stone, use the hook. Turn left and return to the stable - now it's not difficult. Turn right here and use the hook to open the other door. Turning to the left, you return to the dungeon. Walk along the wooden floor and go up to the aisle on the other side. Turn to the right and follow straight through the tunnel "until you come to a small dark passage. Go there. To get to the basement, you should get a wine barrel. Go around the shelves of wine and go up the stairs. You will find yourself in the front lobby. Get down into the big hall and open the double doors.