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Heart of Darkness (game)
Encyclopedia
Heart of Darkness is a 1998
video game by Amazing Studio and released by Interplay
for Microsoft Windows
-based PC
s and the PlayStation. A Game Boy Advance
port was announced in 2001 but never released. It is the first game to have its score recorded by an orchestra
though because of delays, it was not the first to be released with a full orchestral soundtrack. The game places players in the role of a child named Andy as he attempts to rescue his dog that has been kidnapped by creatures known as The Dark Souls. The game has about half an hour of storytelling cinematic sequences, thousands of 2D animated frames, and uses pre-rendered background scenery.
. One day, Andy and Whiskey head for the park. A solar eclipse
occurs while they're there. During the eclipse, Whiskey is taken away by an unseen creature. Andy then rushes to his treehouse, where he keeps his inventions, and jumps inside a spaceship to find Whiskey. He takes off and finds himself in the Darklands, which is a portion of the Heart of Darkness. Inhabited by creatures of the night and ruled over by an evil sorcerer that's known as the Master of Darkness, the Darklands are extremely dangerous. Andy must find it in himself in order to rescue Whiskey and find a way home.
Upon crashing, Andy finds himself in a canyon on the outskirts of the Darklands. Here, his gun is eaten by a giant monster. Andy manages to escape into the swamps, only to run into more danger while unarmed. Meanwhile, the Master of Darkness is abusing his servant when a winged shadow arrives with a sack that has Whiskey in it.
Angered by the mistake (the shadow was supposed to capture Andy), the Master of Darkness kills the shadow and takes his anger out on his servant by throwing him at a spiked wall. However, the monster that swallowed Andy's gun appears, accidentally saving the servant, and explains Andy being in the Darklands.
The Master of Darkness then orders his minions to search the Darklands for him. Deep in the swamp, Andy saves a winged creature that's named Amigo that starts to carry him to his home island, but is dazed by a fireball that was thrown from a winged shadow and drops Andy into a lake. At the bottom of the lake, Andy comes across a magic rock that grants him the power to manipulate plants and destroy enemies.
After resurfacing, Andy is rescued once again by Amigo, who takes Andy back to his home and introduces him to his people. Andy wins their approval by creating an apple tree for them. The Amigos then agree to hide Andy in their village, but the shadows attack and destroy the village when night falls. However, Andy manages to slip away. After reuniting with the Amigos, Andy witnesses an Amigo fall to the evil ground, and becomes a winged shadow within contact. Andy convinces the Amigos to obtain the magic rock's power and wage war on the Master of Darkness.
With their newfound powers the Amigos help Andy slip into the Master of Darkness's lair. While in there, Andy is captured and thrown into a cell with Whiskey, but manages to escape and free Whiskey. Meanwhile, the Master of Darkness's minions have found the magic rock and bring it to the Master, who destroys it, thus draining Andy and the Amigos' powers. Unarmed once again, Andy can only run from the shadows.
While fleeing, he accidentally falls into a hole and lands on top of the giant monster, who promptly swallows Andy whole. However, he is able to escape by obtaining his gun from the monster's stomach and blasting him in half from within. He then encounters the servant and forces him to help defeat the Master of Darkness and find Whiskey. The servant tells Andy that the only way to defeat the Master of Darkness is to drop the completed magic rock into the dark portal. Andy then searches for the fragments of the rock in order to reform it. He manages to obtain all but one piece, which is laying on the bridge near the portal. While Andy is fighting his way to the bridge, the servant betrays Andy by kicking Whiskey into the portal.
After fighting countless shadows and dodging several fire blasts that are thrown by the Master of Darkness, Andy makes it to the bridge and obtains the final piece. The Amigos then tie up the servant and lower the rock onto the bridge, crushing the servant in the process. Ignoring the Master of Darkness's claim that everyone will be killed if he does so, Andy connects the final piece of rock, which then falls into the portal, which begins destroying the castle and the platform that the Master of Darkness floats on. He then falls into the portal, but manages to take Andy with him.
They find themselves in the main area of the Heart of Darkness, where they battle. Andy wins the fight and then hears the sound of a door opening, only to see red eyes approaching. He prepares to strike, but lights come on from Andy's mother, revealing that the eyes are Whiskey, and they are in Andy's tree house...the whole thing was in Andy's imagination. Andy's mother calls them to dinner. After being kissed goodnight by his mother, Andy taunts Whiskey's fear of the dark a bit and then turns the nightlight off, revealing that he has conquered his fear of the dark thanks to his make-believe journey. The scene then shows the Amigos finding the wreckage of Andy's ship, with the servant also there tied up, being harassed, revealing that Andy's adventure was not imaginary.
, which is another Eric Chahi
cinematic platformer. Andy has the ability to run, jump, walk, climb and do the salto somersault, which lets him hang longer in the air. In addition to this, he can attack or defend by using either a plasma cannon or by throwing magic
energy, depending on which section of the game is being played - although in some sections, he is not able to fight at all. The magic energy can be used to grow or destroy trees, and either weapon can be used in numerous ways. Andy can also climb up rocks, swim underwater and perform several other actions.
The game is linear
, the player spends the game completing puzzles, timing movements, or simply moving in order to get to the next screen. Backtracking to previous screens is rarely required.
The game is notable for the number of disturbing ways that Andy can be killed, as with all cinematic platformers. While the deaths of the game's enemies are for the most part visually cartoon-like, Andy himself can be crushed, incinerated, drowned, fall to his death, have his spine broken, or get eaten alive in unnervingly graphic detail. Despite this, the game still retains an E rating. Reviewers often postulates that the high difficulty of the game prevented the testers from giving an accurate ESRB rating due to the inability to advance to any levels of the game past the beginning.
As an extra gimmick the game came with a pair of red/green 3D glasses so certain scenes could be viewed in 3D.
and Atari
. Atari had plans to put the game on the Atari Jaguar CD
instead of the PlayStation.
The game was released to generally good reviews. The most common complaints were the short length of the game and the low resolution. However, the game managed to sell one and a half million copies.
Amazing Studio nonetheless went bankrupt after the release and ideas for their next game got turned into the film Kaena: The Prophecy
instead.
1998 in video gaming
-Events:*Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards...
video game by Amazing Studio and released by Interplay
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...
for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
-based 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...
s and the PlayStation. A Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
port was announced in 2001 but never released. It is the first game to have its score recorded by an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
though because of delays, it was not the first to be released with a full orchestral soundtrack. The game places players in the role of a child named Andy as he attempts to rescue his dog that has been kidnapped by creatures known as The Dark Souls. The game has about half an hour of storytelling cinematic sequences, thousands of 2D animated frames, and uses pre-rendered background scenery.
Plot
The game follows Andy, a child who hates his abusive teacher, loves his dog Whiskey, and has NyctophobiaNyctophobia
Nyctophobia is a phobia characterized by a severe fear of the darkness. It is triggered by the brain’s disfigured perception of what would or could happen when in a dark environment....
. One day, Andy and Whiskey head for the park. A solar eclipse
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...
occurs while they're there. During the eclipse, Whiskey is taken away by an unseen creature. Andy then rushes to his treehouse, where he keeps his inventions, and jumps inside a spaceship to find Whiskey. He takes off and finds himself in the Darklands, which is a portion of the Heart of Darkness. Inhabited by creatures of the night and ruled over by an evil sorcerer that's known as the Master of Darkness, the Darklands are extremely dangerous. Andy must find it in himself in order to rescue Whiskey and find a way home.
Upon crashing, Andy finds himself in a canyon on the outskirts of the Darklands. Here, his gun is eaten by a giant monster. Andy manages to escape into the swamps, only to run into more danger while unarmed. Meanwhile, the Master of Darkness is abusing his servant when a winged shadow arrives with a sack that has Whiskey in it.
Angered by the mistake (the shadow was supposed to capture Andy), the Master of Darkness kills the shadow and takes his anger out on his servant by throwing him at a spiked wall. However, the monster that swallowed Andy's gun appears, accidentally saving the servant, and explains Andy being in the Darklands.
The Master of Darkness then orders his minions to search the Darklands for him. Deep in the swamp, Andy saves a winged creature that's named Amigo that starts to carry him to his home island, but is dazed by a fireball that was thrown from a winged shadow and drops Andy into a lake. At the bottom of the lake, Andy comes across a magic rock that grants him the power to manipulate plants and destroy enemies.
After resurfacing, Andy is rescued once again by Amigo, who takes Andy back to his home and introduces him to his people. Andy wins their approval by creating an apple tree for them. The Amigos then agree to hide Andy in their village, but the shadows attack and destroy the village when night falls. However, Andy manages to slip away. After reuniting with the Amigos, Andy witnesses an Amigo fall to the evil ground, and becomes a winged shadow within contact. Andy convinces the Amigos to obtain the magic rock's power and wage war on the Master of Darkness.
With their newfound powers the Amigos help Andy slip into the Master of Darkness's lair. While in there, Andy is captured and thrown into a cell with Whiskey, but manages to escape and free Whiskey. Meanwhile, the Master of Darkness's minions have found the magic rock and bring it to the Master, who destroys it, thus draining Andy and the Amigos' powers. Unarmed once again, Andy can only run from the shadows.
While fleeing, he accidentally falls into a hole and lands on top of the giant monster, who promptly swallows Andy whole. However, he is able to escape by obtaining his gun from the monster's stomach and blasting him in half from within. He then encounters the servant and forces him to help defeat the Master of Darkness and find Whiskey. The servant tells Andy that the only way to defeat the Master of Darkness is to drop the completed magic rock into the dark portal. Andy then searches for the fragments of the rock in order to reform it. He manages to obtain all but one piece, which is laying on the bridge near the portal. While Andy is fighting his way to the bridge, the servant betrays Andy by kicking Whiskey into the portal.
After fighting countless shadows and dodging several fire blasts that are thrown by the Master of Darkness, Andy makes it to the bridge and obtains the final piece. The Amigos then tie up the servant and lower the rock onto the bridge, crushing the servant in the process. Ignoring the Master of Darkness's claim that everyone will be killed if he does so, Andy connects the final piece of rock, which then falls into the portal, which begins destroying the castle and the platform that the Master of Darkness floats on. He then falls into the portal, but manages to take Andy with him.
They find themselves in the main area of the Heart of Darkness, where they battle. Andy wins the fight and then hears the sound of a door opening, only to see red eyes approaching. He prepares to strike, but lights come on from Andy's mother, revealing that the eyes are Whiskey, and they are in Andy's tree house...the whole thing was in Andy's imagination. Andy's mother calls them to dinner. After being kissed goodnight by his mother, Andy taunts Whiskey's fear of the dark a bit and then turns the nightlight off, revealing that he has conquered his fear of the dark thanks to his make-believe journey. The scene then shows the Amigos finding the wreckage of Andy's ship, with the servant also there tied up, being harassed, revealing that Andy's adventure was not imaginary.
Gameplay
Heart of Darkness is a cinematic platformer that's in the vein of developer predecessor Another WorldAnother World (video game)
Another World, also known as Out of This World in North America and Outer World in Japan, is a 1991 cinematic platformer designed and developed by Eric Chahi...
, which is another Eric Chahi
Eric Chahi
Éric Chahi is a French computer game designer best known as the creator of Another World .- Career :Éric Chahi started programming on Oric Atmos and Amstrad during 1983 for the company Loriciels...
cinematic platformer. Andy has the ability to run, jump, walk, climb and do the salto somersault, which lets him hang longer in the air. In addition to this, he can attack or defend by using either a plasma cannon or by throwing magic
Magic (gaming)
Some role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the paranormal sense. These rules simulate the effects that magic would have within the game context, according to how the game designer intended the magic to be portrayed...
energy, depending on which section of the game is being played - although in some sections, he is not able to fight at all. The magic energy can be used to grow or destroy trees, and either weapon can be used in numerous ways. Andy can also climb up rocks, swim underwater and perform several other actions.
The game is linear
Linearity (computer and video games)
A video game with nonlinear gameplay presents players with challenges that can be completed in a number of different sequences. Each player sees only some of the challenges possible, and the same challenges may be played in a different order. A video game with linear gameplay will confront a player...
, the player spends the game completing puzzles, timing movements, or simply moving in order to get to the next screen. Backtracking to previous screens is rarely required.
The game is notable for the number of disturbing ways that Andy can be killed, as with all cinematic platformers. While the deaths of the game's enemies are for the most part visually cartoon-like, Andy himself can be crushed, incinerated, drowned, fall to his death, have his spine broken, or get eaten alive in unnervingly graphic detail. Despite this, the game still retains an E rating. Reviewers often postulates that the high difficulty of the game prevented the testers from giving an accurate ESRB rating due to the inability to advance to any levels of the game past the beginning.
As an extra gimmick the game came with a pair of red/green 3D glasses so certain scenes could be viewed in 3D.
Development and reception
Heart of Darkness took six years to develop. These years were spent creating the game's musical score, the graphics, and the FMV sequences. There was a bidding war to distribute the game which Interplay won. Other bidding companies included SegaSega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
and Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
. Atari had plans to put the game on the Atari Jaguar CD
Atari Jaguar CD
The Atari Jaguar CD or Jag CD is a CD-ROM peripheral for the Atari Jaguar video game console.Late in the life span of the company, Atari released this long-promised CD-ROM unit. The unit hit shelves on September 11, 1995 and retailed for $149.95. The device sat atop the Jaguar console, snapping...
instead of the PlayStation.
The game was released to generally good reviews. The most common complaints were the short length of the game and the low resolution. However, the game managed to sell one and a half million copies.
Amazing Studio nonetheless went bankrupt after the release and ideas for their next game got turned into the film Kaena: The Prophecy
Kaena: The Prophecy
Kaena: The Prophecy is a 2003 French-Canadian computer-generated fantasy movie. The United States release of the film is distributed by Sony Pictures and features the voices of Kirsten Dunst, Richard Harris, Anjelica Huston, Keith David and Ciara Janson.The idea originally started out as a...
instead.
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