|
A survival horror game called “Alone in the dark” was designed by Infogrames in 1992. For “Alone in the dark” became a serial game and several sequels of this game have been made. Capcom game, “Sweet home” and “Alone in the Dark” were among the first games relating to horror which proved to be a benchmark for other survival horror games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill.
Story and Gameplay
In 1924, a renowned artist who owned the Louisiana mansion Derceto, named Jeremy Hartwood hanged himself. As Derceto is haunted due to an evil force, no one is too surprised though his death seems to be suspicious. The police deal with the case quickly and close it and soon people forget about it. The player can either play as a private investigator, Edward Carnby who is assigned the task of finding a piano to give to an antiques dealer – or Jeremy’s niece, Emily Hartwood, who also wants to search for a piano as Emily thinks that a note has been left by Jeremy in the secret drawer which gives reasons for him committing suicide. Then the player enters the house, either as Carnby or Hartwood, for the investigation of the case. The doors suddenly slam shut as the player goes inside the mansion. The player cautiously moves towards the attic where the action starts.
As soon as the player starts controlling the character, the first attack is made by the monsters. The player has to return back to the house, while he fights off several enemies in the form of creatures and other evil forces inside the mansion, such as large numbered zombies as well as many monsters and also some booby-traps, to solve the case of suicide of Jeremy Hartwood and search his way out of the mansion.
The documents which you find in this game eventually reveal the fact that this mansion was constructed by a pirate who was known as Ezechiel Pregzt, and there are caverns below this mansion used for dark rituals. The aim of these occult doings was that his fortunes should be increased and his life should be prolonged unnaturally. After being shot, Pregzt’s original body was incarcerated and Union soldiers burned down Derceto in the times of the American Civil War. Still, the ghost of Pregzt ghost continued to live within his dead body, and the servants placed his body within a tree trunk in the tunnels below Derceto mansion. For regenerating himself, he needs a living person. Jeremy Hartwood hanged himself to avoid being used by Pregzt; that’s why Pregzt turns his attention towards the player now.
However, combat is not the main thing in the gameplay. For example, there are only a dozen of slave zombies throughout the entire game and a number of enemies can be killed by solving a specific puzzle instead of fighting. Exploration and puzzle-solving, and searching the house for clues plays an important role in the gameplay. The player gets to know the story through a series of books and notes which are found in the game.
|
