Dracula: Origin
Encyclopedia
Dracula: Origin is a point-and-click
adventure game
for the PC
based on the novel Dracula
by Bram Stoker
. Released by Frogwares
in 2008, it follows the company's catalogue of action-adventure games such as the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
series.
The game follows Professor Abraham Van Helsing as the protagonist through a unique take on origin of Dracula. His adventures span several locations, such as London, Egypt, Austria and Transylvania, through various puzzles and logic problems, individually interacting with over 40 characters.
At first a zealot of Christendom, Voivod
Dracula
forsakes his faith at the loss of his unrequited love, who opts to commit suicide rather than give in to him. As his embitterment boils, Dracula begins to delve heavily into Satanic practice. Unsatisfied with mortality, he drinks the blood of a rival in a pact with the Devil, placing upon him the curse that transforms him into the first vampire. In exchange for immortal powers, Dracula becomes a servant of Satan, bent on the destruction of humanity, finding his only solace in feeding upon human blood and seeking revenge for his lover's death, for which he guiltily feels party to being unable to save her.
Upon learning of an antediluvian
manuscript detailing a strange rite alleged to return souls from the dead, Dracula seeks to revive his former lover's soul. When Johnathan Harker, a disciple of Van Helsing, sets out to combat the terror of Dracula's power, he sends a letter to his professor details Dracula's intention regarding the manuscript and his plan to resurrect his lover's soul into the body of a young woman, Johnathan's fiancée Mina Murray
, chosen for her remarkable resemblance to his lover's former appearance. Johnathan's letter arrives but Johnathan does not return, implying that he already succumbs to Dracula's power.
Professor Abraham Van Helsing
, the protagonist, embarks to defeat Dracula before he finds the manuscript and abducts the body of Mina, traveling throughout Europe to do so. He begins with a London cemetery he believes Dracula to be occupying, and his adventures take him to the streets and tombs of Cairo
, the salons of Vienna’s aristocracy and a Rococo library that leads him on the trail to secretive damned monastery to stop the evil plots being concocted therein. The vampire hunter then finds his way to Transylvania at last, to the famous castle of Dracula to complete his task.
The game also features a progressive help system, providing players stuck on particular puzzles with increasingly detailed clues to help them advance.
Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a famous Dutch teacher at the University of Medicine in London. Known more for his involvement in supernatural study and vampire hunting, he bravely takes it upon himself to ending the terror of Dracula.
Mina Murray is Jonathan Harker’s fiancée, and a student and friend of Professor Van Helsing. Pure and good, she embodies the essence of Dracula's lost love, succumbing to his power and doomed to be stripped of her soul for her bodily vessel.
Dr. Seward
A young doctor, and another contact and friend of Van Helsing. He aids Mina at her sickbed, striving to free her from the demonic grip of Dracula that has weakened her so.
Herodote, a priest and healer in Cairo, Egypt. Possesses the knowledge, but, due to his old age, not the ability required to release the curse Dracula has put upon Mina.
Jada, a beautiful but deadly disciple of Dracula, devoted to serving and protecting her master.
Igor is Dracula’s coachman in Transylvania. Of demonic-will and ill-intent, he is another devotee of Dracula, sharing his contempt for humans, and carrier-out of Dracula's menial, dirty bidding.
commented that "what it lacks in logic, it more than makes up for in mood and atmosphere." IT Reviews called it a "good-looking, entertaining and frequently challenging adventure game." Game Revolution, however, felt it was "rushed out the door."
The plot of the game sends players to the Queen of Vampires who emerges from the ashes of history, seeking to destroy the world of humans and rule over its ruins. Count Dracula awakens, weakened and stripped of his powers after years of healing from his last battle with Dr. Van Helsing. He cannot face his evil rival, the Queen on his own… To save the world, an uneasy alliance must be formed between the Prince of Darkness and his eternal enemy, Van Helsing.
Gameplay is designed for 6 hours + bonus content. The game features over 40 locations, easy and hard modes, challenging puzzles, optional tutorial, interactive map, achievements, etc. During the game player encounters assassins of the Queen of Vampires getting the choice of either biting them and turning them into vampires or sparing them. These certain actions will have consequences as who will accompany Dracula during the bonus gameplay; it also influences the overall ending of the game depending on Dracula's previous behavior.
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
based on the novel Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
by Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
. Released by Frogwares
Frogwares
Frogwares is an independent adventure game development studio, having branches in Ukraine, Ireland and France. Its president is Waël Amr.It is best known for its ongoing Sherlock Holmes series of adventure computer games starring Sherlock Holmes and Dr...
in 2008, it follows the company's catalogue of action-adventure games such as the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series is a series of adventure games, developed by the independent game development studio Frogwares, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's famous work The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, featuring the famous detective and his companion Dr. John H. Watson. To date, five...
series.
The game follows Professor Abraham Van Helsing as the protagonist through a unique take on origin of Dracula. His adventures span several locations, such as London, Egypt, Austria and Transylvania, through various puzzles and logic problems, individually interacting with over 40 characters.
Plot
The plot follows the story of Bram Stoker's Dracula, with some variation in characters and plot detail.At first a zealot of Christendom, Voivod
Voivodeship
Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....
Dracula
Count Dracula
Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
forsakes his faith at the loss of his unrequited love, who opts to commit suicide rather than give in to him. As his embitterment boils, Dracula begins to delve heavily into Satanic practice. Unsatisfied with mortality, he drinks the blood of a rival in a pact with the Devil, placing upon him the curse that transforms him into the first vampire. In exchange for immortal powers, Dracula becomes a servant of Satan, bent on the destruction of humanity, finding his only solace in feeding upon human blood and seeking revenge for his lover's death, for which he guiltily feels party to being unable to save her.
Upon learning of an antediluvian
Antediluvian
The antediluvian period meaning "before the deluge" is the period referred to in the Bible between the Creation of the Earth and the Deluge . The narrative takes up chapters 1-6 of Genesis...
manuscript detailing a strange rite alleged to return souls from the dead, Dracula seeks to revive his former lover's soul. When Johnathan Harker, a disciple of Van Helsing, sets out to combat the terror of Dracula's power, he sends a letter to his professor details Dracula's intention regarding the manuscript and his plan to resurrect his lover's soul into the body of a young woman, Johnathan's fiancée Mina Murray
Mina Harker
Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker is a fictional character in Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel Dracula.- In the novel :She begins the story as Miss Mina Murray, a young school mistress who is engaged to Jonathan Harker, and best friends with Lucy Westenra...
, chosen for her remarkable resemblance to his lover's former appearance. Johnathan's letter arrives but Johnathan does not return, implying that he already succumbs to Dracula's power.
Professor Abraham Van Helsing
Abraham Van Helsing
Professor Abraham van Helsing is a protagonist from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula.Van Helsing is a Dutch doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "M.D., D.Ph., D.Litt., etc." The character is best known as a...
, the protagonist, embarks to defeat Dracula before he finds the manuscript and abducts the body of Mina, traveling throughout Europe to do so. He begins with a London cemetery he believes Dracula to be occupying, and his adventures take him to the streets and tombs of Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, the salons of Vienna’s aristocracy and a Rococo library that leads him on the trail to secretive damned monastery to stop the evil plots being concocted therein. The vampire hunter then finds his way to Transylvania at last, to the famous castle of Dracula to complete his task.
Gameplay
The game is played through the first-person eyes of Van Helsing, in a point-a-click style. Using collected objects and puzzles, the player advances through the story interacting with various characters to find their way through the adventure.The game also features a progressive help system, providing players stuck on particular puzzles with increasingly detailed clues to help them advance.
Characters
Count Dracula, the antagonist, is a young, attractive, religious vampire, rendered immortal by a pact with Satanic forces. Mourning the loss and suffering the abandonment of his suicidal former love, Dracula has become godless and heartless; powerful, but pitiful, and seeks retribution for his pain against the human race.Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a famous Dutch teacher at the University of Medicine in London. Known more for his involvement in supernatural study and vampire hunting, he bravely takes it upon himself to ending the terror of Dracula.
Mina Murray is Jonathan Harker’s fiancée, and a student and friend of Professor Van Helsing. Pure and good, she embodies the essence of Dracula's lost love, succumbing to his power and doomed to be stripped of her soul for her bodily vessel.
Dr. Seward
John Seward
John Seward, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.-In the novel:Seward is the administrator of an insane asylum not far from Count Dracula's first English home, Carfax. Throughout the novel, Seward conducts ambitious interviews with one of his patients,...
A young doctor, and another contact and friend of Van Helsing. He aids Mina at her sickbed, striving to free her from the demonic grip of Dracula that has weakened her so.
Herodote, a priest and healer in Cairo, Egypt. Possesses the knowledge, but, due to his old age, not the ability required to release the curse Dracula has put upon Mina.
Jada, a beautiful but deadly disciple of Dracula, devoted to serving and protecting her master.
Igor is Dracula’s coachman in Transylvania. Of demonic-will and ill-intent, he is another devotee of Dracula, sharing his contempt for humans, and carrier-out of Dracula's menial, dirty bidding.
Reception
The game received generally positive reviews on Metacritic. PC FormatPC Format
PC Format is a computer magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and licensed to other publishers in countries around the world. In publication since 1991, it is part of Future Publishing's Format series of magazines that include articles about games, entertainment and how to...
commented that "what it lacks in logic, it more than makes up for in mood and atmosphere." IT Reviews called it a "good-looking, entertaining and frequently challenging adventure game." Game Revolution, however, felt it was "rushed out the door."
Sequel
On November 23rd, 2009, Frogwares stated that the company was working on a sequel.Dracula: Love Kills, Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure, was released in June 2011.The plot of the game sends players to the Queen of Vampires who emerges from the ashes of history, seeking to destroy the world of humans and rule over its ruins. Count Dracula awakens, weakened and stripped of his powers after years of healing from his last battle with Dr. Van Helsing. He cannot face his evil rival, the Queen on his own… To save the world, an uneasy alliance must be formed between the Prince of Darkness and his eternal enemy, Van Helsing.
Gameplay is designed for 6 hours + bonus content. The game features over 40 locations, easy and hard modes, challenging puzzles, optional tutorial, interactive map, achievements, etc. During the game player encounters assassins of the Queen of Vampires getting the choice of either biting them and turning them into vampires or sparing them. These certain actions will have consequences as who will accompany Dracula during the bonus gameplay; it also influences the overall ending of the game depending on Dracula's previous behavior.