Penumbra: Overture
Encyclopedia
Penumbra: Overture is the first in a series of episodic
first-person adventure games developed by Swedish
developer Frictional Games
. It was originally intended as the first episode of a trilogy
. With the announcement of the second episode, Penumbra: Black Plague
, it was stated that the second game would be the final chapter. However, an expansion has been released since then: Penumbra: Requiem
, technically giving the series a third chapter.
and adventure
. The use of Newton Game Dynamics
emphasizes physics-based puzzles as well as physics-based combat
. The game also takes advantage of advanced artificial intelligence to respond realistically to noises and light, creating stealth-based gameplay. There are no firearms in the game, so during combat the player is limited to improvised melee fighting with a hammer
or pickaxe
, or throwing objects at attacking creatures. The game is designed to emphasize stealth and avoidance over direct conflict. For example, Philip can close doors behind him to temporarily hold off attacking enemies.
The game's main focus is on exploration and classic adventure game object interaction: examining and collecting objects and using them to solve puzzles. These mostly involve finding keys or other objects that can either be used by themselves or in combination with each other to solve certain problems. In addition to these standard inventory based puzzles, Overture also offers several physics based puzzles where certain objects must be moved or manipulated in real time. Environmental objects such as door
s, desk drawers, and switch
es on machinery must be opened or manipulated using realistic movements mirroring their use in the real world, and certain obstructions can only be cleared by utilizing certain objects in a specific way; for example, in order to solve one of the games puzzles a player may choose to stack boxes and barrels in such a manner as to allow for the player to be able to leap past an obstacle, such as an electrical fence, or to reach a certain area normally too high to reach.
Essential to puzzle solving is the ability to read written notes scattered around the mine by its previous inhabitants, which often offer clues or solutions as to how to get past a certain area, as well as providing plot exposition and character development. The player also has access to a notebook
where important information is recorded and the players goals and objectives are recorded.
. The harsh cold forces him to take shelter in an abandoned mine. Unfortunately, the mine's entrance collapses as he enters it, and he is forced to move deeper inside. Within the mine, Philip discovers diary extracts written by a scientist of some sort, who was alone and gradually resorted to eating cave-dwelling spiders as an alternative food source as his supplies diminished.
The unknown person also describes discovering a psychoactive toxin in the spiders and deduced that, after eight months of consuming them in the mine, it was beginning to have an effect on him, physically. Philip also begins receiving radio messages from Tom "Red" Redwood, a man driven insane by cabin fever
. Red promises that if he is found, he will give Philip answers. The game follows Philip as he descends deeper into the mines in search of Red while unravelling the secrets of the mine's previous and current inhabitants.
Philip quickly discovers that the mine is inhabited by an ecosystem
of abnormally large and hostile animals: dogs, giant spiders, and gargantuan earthworms among others. Abandoned outposts and various scattered papers found throughout the mine indicate that a secret society is studying some unusual phenomena inside the mines.
Following clues and solving various puzzles, Philip eventually comes to an area deep within the mine where Red is waiting for him. Red waits inside an incinerator where he begs Philip to kill him. With no other option, Philip activates the incinerator and amongst Red's remains, he finds items he needs to progress into a new area of the mine which is identified as "The Shelter". Once inside, Philip notices what appears to be a human watching him. Philip approaches the figure, but the lighting is suddenly extinguished and Philip is knocked out and dragged away.
meant to demonstrate the capabilities of the company's HPL Engine
.
The developers admitted to making significant modifications of the original engine to accommodate the 3D graphics in this game, "The engine is built from an engine created when making a thesis job which resulted in the platform game Energetic. Before moving into the 3rd dimension I made some cleanup of the engine (which was quite rushed in some places) and started to add a base for 3D rendering. I would not say that the original 2D engine was modified to add 3D, but rather a 3D layer was added so all of the 2D stuff is still there. It is still possible to make a 2D tile game using our engine."
While not initially intended to be a commercial product, Penumbra was received exceedingly well, and Frictional decided to develop it into a full-length game.
, and the boxed release in the United States
was shipped to retailers on May 8, 2007. On May 25, 2007, the full version for Linux was released on the Frictional Games store.
In addition, the game became available on GameTap
on October 4, 2007. On January 10, 2008, the full version for Mac OS X was released on the Frictional Games forum for PowerPC and Intel architectures. On March 6, 2009, Paradox Interactive
released Penumbra Overture in a collection pack along with Penumbra: Black Plague
and Penumbra: Requiem
. The game became available via Steam on March 7, 2009.
Overture was released as part of the Humble Indie Bundle
, and when the Bundle made more than $1 million, Overture's source code was released as open source. Frictional Games also hosts a dedicated forum on their website where people can discuss the code and any projects based around it.
score of 73, a MobyGames
rank of 74, and a GameRankings rank of 73.74%, as well as an average rating of four stars on the The Linux Game Tome
and average of four and a half stars at JeuxLinux.
While the game received mostly favorable reviews, it was criticized on a number of fronts, especially for its rather crude combat system and sometimes confusing or poorly implemented story elements, causing Eurogamer
to comment that the game would "do better if it relied on its own inherent spookiness rather than trying to create artificial atmosphere by banging on about a character we don't have any real reason to care about, something about his dad, destiny and miners writing stupidly long notes to themselves about their imminent horrible deaths." It did however praise the character of Red, stating that he was "the most compelling element of the narrative, and wonderfully acted." GameSpot
in its review commented on the combat by saying that fights are often "so frenetic that it's almost impossible to control your movements" and that "it would have been much more sensible for the camera to lock on and move with enemies." It did however note that it did help differentiate Overture from more action oriented titles, saying that the "end result of the difficult combat is that you feel like an average Joe who wants to avoid zombie dogs with glowing eyes, not a video game superman out to stack dead canines like cordwood."
Despite these apparent flaws, the game was praised for its unsettling and creepy atmosphere, with Adrenaline Vault
deciding that "every element in the game is geared to set a dark, scary mood. On occasion, you’ll feel helpless, overwhelmed, guilty and frightened. I think this is helped, rather than hindered, by the developer’s choice to keep physical fights intermittent and less gory and bloody than in many other horror games. The result is a sense of depressing solitude, with the disturbing knowledge that you’re not alone." The games approach to puzzle solving was also generally well received, with Worth Playing stating that "the control scheme adds an interesting touch to the game and helps with the immersion", although GameZone in their review of the game complained that "sometimes having to interact with things in this way lead to problems, as in when necessary actions were hard to accomplish." And while the games production values were lower than some of the other titles released around the same time, Adventure Gamers
noted that for "an independent project from a team of four people, the game looks great, besides a few shoddy textures", and saying that the game's sound effects "help set the mood" and are "realistic and jarring".
Many of the criticisms directed at Overture were taken into consideration during the development of the next episode Penumbra: Black Plague
. These changes included the removal of dogs and other combat related enemies, as well as moving away somewhat from a reliance on written notes. The combat system was also dropped entirely and the physics system somewhat reworked, leading the game to be even more stealth based than its predecessor. Black Plague received slightly more positive reviews from critics, and its design was for the most part mirrored with only a few additions by Frictional's critically acclaimed 2010
successor to the series Amnesia: The Dark Descent
.
Episodic games
An episodic video game is a video game of a shorter length that is commercially released as an installment to a continuous and larger series. Episodic games differ from conventional video games in that they often contain less content but are developed on a more frequent basis.Such a series may or...
first-person adventure games developed by Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
developer Frictional Games
Frictional Games
Frictional Games is an independent video game company located in Helsingborg, Sweden. The developer comprises a small core team and is led by Thomas Grip and Jens Nilsson. Certain key roles such as Music and Narrative Design are performed by external staff like Mikko Tarmia and Tom Jubert,...
. It was originally intended as the first episode of a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
. With the announcement of the second episode, Penumbra: Black Plague
Penumbra: Black Plague
Penumbra: Black Plague is the second installment of the Penumbra series of episodic computer games developed by Swedish developer Frictional Games. The story continues from the previous episode, Penumbra: Overture, showing the protagonist Philip moving away from the abandoned mine setting of the...
, it was stated that the second game would be the final chapter. However, an expansion has been released since then: Penumbra: Requiem
Penumbra: Requiem
Penumbra: Requiem is an expansion pack to the game Penumbra: Black Plague by Frictional Games.- Gameplay :Like the previous games, Requiem is an exploration-based adventure game that takes place from a first-person perspective and final installment of the main series...
, technically giving the series a third chapter.
Gameplay
Although Frictional Games describes Penumbra: Overture as a first-person adventure, the game blends the genres of survival horror, first-person shooterFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
and adventure
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,...
. The use of Newton Game Dynamics
Newton Game Dynamics
Newton Game Dynamics is an open source physics engine for realistically simulating rigid bodies in games and other real-time applications. Its solver is deterministic and not based on traditional LCP or iterative methods....
emphasizes physics-based puzzles as well as physics-based combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
. The game also takes advantage of advanced artificial intelligence to respond realistically to noises and light, creating stealth-based gameplay. There are no firearms in the game, so during combat the player is limited to improvised melee fighting with a hammer
Hammer
A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...
or pickaxe
Pickaxe
A pickaxe or pick is a hand tool with a hard head attached perpendicular to the handle.Some people make the distinction that a pickaxe has a head with a pointed end and a flat end, and a pick has both ends pointed, or only one end; but most people use the words to mean the same thing.The head is...
, or throwing objects at attacking creatures. The game is designed to emphasize stealth and avoidance over direct conflict. For example, Philip can close doors behind him to temporarily hold off attacking enemies.
The game's main focus is on exploration and classic adventure game object interaction: examining and collecting objects and using them to solve puzzles. These mostly involve finding keys or other objects that can either be used by themselves or in combination with each other to solve certain problems. In addition to these standard inventory based puzzles, Overture also offers several physics based puzzles where certain objects must be moved or manipulated in real time. Environmental objects such as door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
s, desk drawers, and switch
Switch
In electronics, a switch is an electrical component that can break an electrical circuit, interrupting the current or diverting it from one conductor to another....
es on machinery must be opened or manipulated using realistic movements mirroring their use in the real world, and certain obstructions can only be cleared by utilizing certain objects in a specific way; for example, in order to solve one of the games puzzles a player may choose to stack boxes and barrels in such a manner as to allow for the player to be able to leap past an obstacle, such as an electrical fence, or to reach a certain area normally too high to reach.
Essential to puzzle solving is the ability to read written notes scattered around the mine by its previous inhabitants, which often offer clues or solutions as to how to get past a certain area, as well as providing plot exposition and character development. The player also has access to a notebook
Notebook
A notebook is a book or binder composed of pages of notes, often ruled, made out of paper, used for purposes including recording notes or memoranda, writing, drawing, and scrapbooking....
where important information is recorded and the players goals and objectives are recorded.
Story
Set in the year 2000, Penumbra: Overture follows the story of Philip, a thirty-year-old physicist whose mother recently died. After receiving a mysterious letter from his supposedly dead father, Philip follows a series of clues that lead to him to a mysterious location in uninhabited northern GreenlandGreenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. The harsh cold forces him to take shelter in an abandoned mine. Unfortunately, the mine's entrance collapses as he enters it, and he is forced to move deeper inside. Within the mine, Philip discovers diary extracts written by a scientist of some sort, who was alone and gradually resorted to eating cave-dwelling spiders as an alternative food source as his supplies diminished.
The unknown person also describes discovering a psychoactive toxin in the spiders and deduced that, after eight months of consuming them in the mine, it was beginning to have an effect on him, physically. Philip also begins receiving radio messages from Tom "Red" Redwood, a man driven insane by cabin fever
Cabin fever
Cabin fever is an idiomatic term for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group is isolated and/or shut in a small space, with nothing to do, for an extended period...
. Red promises that if he is found, he will give Philip answers. The game follows Philip as he descends deeper into the mines in search of Red while unravelling the secrets of the mine's previous and current inhabitants.
Philip quickly discovers that the mine is inhabited by an ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
of abnormally large and hostile animals: dogs, giant spiders, and gargantuan earthworms among others. Abandoned outposts and various scattered papers found throughout the mine indicate that a secret society is studying some unusual phenomena inside the mines.
Following clues and solving various puzzles, Philip eventually comes to an area deep within the mine where Red is waiting for him. Red waits inside an incinerator where he begs Philip to kill him. With no other option, Philip activates the incinerator and amongst Red's remains, he finds items he needs to progress into a new area of the mine which is identified as "The Shelter". Once inside, Philip notices what appears to be a human watching him. Philip approaches the figure, but the lighting is suddenly extinguished and Philip is knocked out and dragged away.
Development
Tech demo
Penumbra: Overture is based on Frictional Games' earlier game Penumbra, a short tech demoTechnology demo
A tech demo is a prototype, rough example or an otherwise incomplete version of a product, put together with the primary purpose of showcasing the idea, performance, method or the features of the product...
meant to demonstrate the capabilities of the company's HPL Engine
HPL Engine
The HPL Engine is a 3D game engine created by Frictional Games. The engine, named after the initials of horror author H. P. Lovecraft, was started in 2004, as a thesis job for a 2D platform game "Energetic", released in 2005. The functionality for 3D games was added later, which culminated in...
.
The developers admitted to making significant modifications of the original engine to accommodate the 3D graphics in this game, "The engine is built from an engine created when making a thesis job which resulted in the platform game Energetic. Before moving into the 3rd dimension I made some cleanup of the engine (which was quite rushed in some places) and started to add a base for 3D rendering. I would not say that the original 2D engine was modified to add 3D, but rather a 3D layer was added so all of the 2D stuff is still there. It is still possible to make a 2D tile game using our engine."
While not initially intended to be a commercial product, Penumbra was received exceedingly well, and Frictional decided to develop it into a full-length game.
Release
The first episode of Penumbra was released on March 30, 2007, through various online distribution websites. The game was simultaneously released in a boxed edition in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and the boxed release in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was shipped to retailers on May 8, 2007. On May 25, 2007, the full version for Linux was released on the Frictional Games store.
In addition, the game became available on GameTap
GameTap
GameTap is an American online video game service established by Turner Broadcasting System . Dubbed by TBS as a "first of its kind broadband gaming network", the service provides users with classic arcade video games and game-related video content...
on October 4, 2007. On January 10, 2008, the full version for Mac OS X was released on the Frictional Games forum for PowerPC and Intel architectures. On March 6, 2009, Paradox Interactive
Paradox Interactive
-External links:*...
released Penumbra Overture in a collection pack along with Penumbra: Black Plague
Penumbra: Black Plague
Penumbra: Black Plague is the second installment of the Penumbra series of episodic computer games developed by Swedish developer Frictional Games. The story continues from the previous episode, Penumbra: Overture, showing the protagonist Philip moving away from the abandoned mine setting of the...
and Penumbra: Requiem
Penumbra: Requiem
Penumbra: Requiem is an expansion pack to the game Penumbra: Black Plague by Frictional Games.- Gameplay :Like the previous games, Requiem is an exploration-based adventure game that takes place from a first-person perspective and final installment of the main series...
. The game became available via Steam on March 7, 2009.
Overture was released as part of the Humble Indie Bundle
Humble Indie Bundle
The Humble Indie Bundles or Humble Bundles are a series of game bundles, that are sold and distributed online at a price determined by the purchaser. The games are multi-platform, DRM-free, and independently developed, and buyers can set the revenue split between the developers, charities and...
, and when the Bundle made more than $1 million, Overture's source code was released as open source. Frictional Games also hosts a dedicated forum on their website where people can discuss the code and any projects based around it.
Reception
, the game has a MetaCriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score of 73, a MobyGames
MobyGames
-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
rank of 74, and a GameRankings rank of 73.74%, as well as an average rating of four stars on the The Linux Game Tome
The Linux Game Tome
The Linux Game Tome is a website which provides a comprehensive list of games for Linux.- History :The site was started by Tessa Lau in 1995...
and average of four and a half stars at JeuxLinux.
While the game received mostly favorable reviews, it was criticized on a number of fronts, especially for its rather crude combat system and sometimes confusing or poorly implemented story elements, causing Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
to comment that the game would "do better if it relied on its own inherent spookiness rather than trying to create artificial atmosphere by banging on about a character we don't have any real reason to care about, something about his dad, destiny and miners writing stupidly long notes to themselves about their imminent horrible deaths." It did however praise the character of Red, stating that he was "the most compelling element of the narrative, and wonderfully acted." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
in its review commented on the combat by saying that fights are often "so frenetic that it's almost impossible to control your movements" and that "it would have been much more sensible for the camera to lock on and move with enemies." It did however note that it did help differentiate Overture from more action oriented titles, saying that the "end result of the difficult combat is that you feel like an average Joe who wants to avoid zombie dogs with glowing eyes, not a video game superman out to stack dead canines like cordwood."
Despite these apparent flaws, the game was praised for its unsettling and creepy atmosphere, with Adrenaline Vault
Adrenaline Vault
The Adrenaline Vault was launched November 1, 1995 by gaming entrepreneur Angel Munoz. The site provides PC, console game and hardware news, previews and reviews. Once a large commercial website, Avault is now published primarily by a team of volunteers....
deciding that "every element in the game is geared to set a dark, scary mood. On occasion, you’ll feel helpless, overwhelmed, guilty and frightened. I think this is helped, rather than hindered, by the developer’s choice to keep physical fights intermittent and less gory and bloody than in many other horror games. The result is a sense of depressing solitude, with the disturbing knowledge that you’re not alone." The games approach to puzzle solving was also generally well received, with Worth Playing stating that "the control scheme adds an interesting touch to the game and helps with the immersion", although GameZone in their review of the game complained that "sometimes having to interact with things in this way lead to problems, as in when necessary actions were hard to accomplish." And while the games production values were lower than some of the other titles released around the same time, Adventure Gamers
Adventure Gamers
Adventure Gamers is a computer game website created in 1998 dedicated to the genre of adventure games. It publishes reviews and previews of adventure games, as well as opinion articles and interviews with game designers....
noted that for "an independent project from a team of four people, the game looks great, besides a few shoddy textures", and saying that the game's sound effects "help set the mood" and are "realistic and jarring".
Many of the criticisms directed at Overture were taken into consideration during the development of the next episode Penumbra: Black Plague
Penumbra: Black Plague
Penumbra: Black Plague is the second installment of the Penumbra series of episodic computer games developed by Swedish developer Frictional Games. The story continues from the previous episode, Penumbra: Overture, showing the protagonist Philip moving away from the abandoned mine setting of the...
. These changes included the removal of dogs and other combat related enemies, as well as moving away somewhat from a reliance on written notes. The combat system was also dropped entirely and the physics system somewhat reworked, leading the game to be even more stealth based than its predecessor. Black Plague received slightly more positive reviews from critics, and its design was for the most part mirrored with only a few additions by Frictional's critically acclaimed 2010
2010 in video gaming
The year 2010 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games, including several new titles.-Events:-Game releases:List of games scheduled for release in 2010 in North America....
successor to the series Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a survival horror video game by Frictional Games, who previously developed the Penumbra series. Released for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms, the game features an unarmed protagonist exploring a dark and foreboding castle, while avoiding monsters and other...
.