Shivers (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Shivers is a single-player horror
-themed PC
adventure game
, released on CD-ROM
by Sierra On-line on September 30, 1995.
- Professor Windlenot's Museum of the Strange and Unusual.
Once the player enters the museum through a secret underground entrance, he quickly realizes that something is not right with it. He soon finds the body of Professor Windlenot, famous archaeologist and museum curator, who has been dead for 15 years. The professor has also drawn the symbol of the "Ixupi" in the sand where he lay. The player is also attacked by an Ixupi as he crosses the underground lake of the museum. When the player reaches the other side, there is a strange pot on the ground. The player opens the pot, and out comes the ghost of Professor Windlenot, who tells the player to leave the museum immediately because the Ixupi are so evil and powerful, that he himself was killed by an Ixupi, and tells the player that in order to capture an Ixupi the pot and the talisman must be together and used head on.
The player must then investigate every part of the museum in order to collect pots and talismans that will capture the 10 Ixupis still haunting the museum.
which is rather difficult to complete).
The manual for the game has answers to some early puzzles secretly scattered throughout the pages along with some cryptic quotes that may point to answers for other puzzles.
and Ultimatte. The game is notable for its impressive 74 minutes of special effects, background music and other audio. The game's Twilight Zone
-style voicework creates a familiar voice commenting on the player's success or failure as he or she navigates the game.
Unlike other Sierra games which were (with the exception of Phantasmagoria) considered safe for almost all ages, Shivers contains locations and situations designed to shock the player - for example, if one stands in the wrong place for too long or touches a deadly object, the game may come to an abrupt and premature end. However, it is very simple to start off from the moment in which one made a fatal mistake, so some may consider it entertaining to lead to the untimely death of the protagonist.
Playing in first-person perspective, the game is remarkably similar in style to the Virgin Interactive
/Trilobyte
production, the popular 7th Guest
, which introduced this style of gaming. Specifically, the numerous complex puzzles tied into the 7th Guest audience, which contributed in part to its popularity.
, which used the same idea and style, but is set in a desert ghost town
.
Easter Eggs found in the game:
Moving Shadows
In some frames of the game, a shadow will sometimes move off screen.
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
-themed 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...
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,...
, released on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
by Sierra On-line on September 30, 1995.
Plot
The Player steps into the shoes of a teenager who is dared by his friends to spend the night in the grounds of a haunted museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
- Professor Windlenot's Museum of the Strange and Unusual.
Once the player enters the museum through a secret underground entrance, he quickly realizes that something is not right with it. He soon finds the body of Professor Windlenot, famous archaeologist and museum curator, who has been dead for 15 years. The professor has also drawn the symbol of the "Ixupi" in the sand where he lay. The player is also attacked by an Ixupi as he crosses the underground lake of the museum. When the player reaches the other side, there is a strange pot on the ground. The player opens the pot, and out comes the ghost of Professor Windlenot, who tells the player to leave the museum immediately because the Ixupi are so evil and powerful, that he himself was killed by an Ixupi, and tells the player that in order to capture an Ixupi the pot and the talisman must be together and used head on.
The player must then investigate every part of the museum in order to collect pots and talismans that will capture the 10 Ixupis still haunting the museum.
Puzzles
The puzzles range from simple (such as realizing that to find each elemental spirit, you have to go to an object or location connected with of the appropriate element), to entertaining (e.g. piecing together information from different areas to solve a puzzle), to relatively difficult (e.g. one of the puzzles is the classic peg solitairePeg solitaire
Peg solitaire is a board game for one player involving movement of pegs on a board with holes. Some sets use marbles in a board with indentations. The game is known simply as Solitaire in the United Kingdom where the card games are called Patience...
which is rather difficult to complete).
The manual for the game has answers to some early puzzles secretly scattered throughout the pages along with some cryptic quotes that may point to answers for other puzzles.
Graphics
The game was created using scans of watercolors - some 2500 of them - touched up in Photoshop, along with 3D Studio Max3D Studio Max
Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio MAX, is for making 3D animations. It was developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capabilities, a flexible plugin architecture and can be used on the Microsoft Windows platform. It's frequently used by video game developers, TV...
and Ultimatte. The game is notable for its impressive 74 minutes of special effects, background music and other audio. The game's Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
-style voicework creates a familiar voice commenting on the player's success or failure as he or she navigates the game.
Unlike other Sierra games which were (with the exception of Phantasmagoria) considered safe for almost all ages, Shivers contains locations and situations designed to shock the player - for example, if one stands in the wrong place for too long or touches a deadly object, the game may come to an abrupt and premature end. However, it is very simple to start off from the moment in which one made a fatal mistake, so some may consider it entertaining to lead to the untimely death of the protagonist.
Playing in first-person perspective, the game is remarkably similar in style to the Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
/Trilobyte
Trilobyte
Trilobyte is a computer game developer founded in December 1990 by Graeme Devine and Rob Landeros. They are well known in the computer game industry for The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour games, and to a lesser extent for Clandestiny and other titles.- Logo :The official company logo consists of a...
production, the popular 7th Guest
The 7th Guest
The 7th Guest, produced by Trilobyte and released by Virgin Games in 1993, is an FMV-based puzzle video game. It was one of the first computer video games to be released only on CD-ROM. The 7th Guest is a horror story told from the unfolding perspective of the player, as an amnesiac...
, which introduced this style of gaming. Specifically, the numerous complex puzzles tied into the 7th Guest audience, which contributed in part to its popularity.
Sequel
Shivers was followed in 1997 by Shivers II: Harvest of SoulsShivers 2
Shivers II: Harvest of Souls is a horror-themed point-and-click PC adventure game, released in 1997 by Sierra On-Line.-Gameplay:The game was innovative in that there was a series of rock music videos by the fictional band Trip Cyclone, which provided the player with hints to solving the game's...
, which used the same idea and style, but is set in a desert ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
.
Easter Eggs
- The solution to the Funeral Rites door puzzle (rolling ball puzzle) in the Tombs and Curses room is actually one of the images that comes with Sierra Print ArtistSierra Print ArtistSierra Print Artist is a computer program from Sierra Home . The software allows the user to make cards, calendars, stationery and other assorted crafts and then print them with their printer. The current version is 23.- History :The program was originally developed by Pixellite Group in the early...
4.0, it is titled EGYPTBKGD.JPG.
Easter Eggs found in the game:
- When going in the underground entrance to the museum you have to flip the circuit breaker on to continue going in the tunnel. If you flip the circuit breaker to "ON", turn to your right and click the bulb 4 times you should hear the message, "Ouch, that's hot."
- When in Man's Inhumanity to ManMan's inhumanity to manThe phrase "Man's inhumanity to man" is first documented in my balls]] poem called Man was made to mourn: A Dirge in 1784. It is possible that Burns reworded a similar quote from Samuel von Pufendorf who in 1673 wrote, "More inhumanity has been done by man himself than any other of nature's...
Room you should see an area with a pitcher and a glass on a table with a skeleton in a cage next to it. If you click the pitcher, glass and the skeleton's hand (in that order) you should hear the message, "I feel yo' pain."
- When in Man's Inhumanity to Man Room you will see an executioner standing next to the block with a man in it. If you click the executioner's lips 4 times AFTER you've found missing Page 17 and released the guillotine, you should hear the message, "Sometimes I just feel like losing my head."
- When in Man's Inhumanity to Man Room, after solving the gallows puzzle, click the hung man's nipple and you should hear the message, "I'm not dead yet."
- When in the croping room click on all of the boxes then go to the hitch click it and you will hear whispering.
- When in the Shaman's room, if you click the Shaman's head on the skull, you will hear the message, "I like Chinese food."
- When in the Inventions room, go to the box next to the door to the planetarium. Open it, then close it. Then open it again. You should hear the message, "Is a-right? Is a-right."
Moving Shadows
In some frames of the game, a shadow will sometimes move off screen.
- In the spiral staircase (going up to the clock tower), about three frames up, a shadow on the right wall will move.
- At certain times in the Projection Room, if you go all the way down the short hallway of films and turn around, a shadow will appear on the door. This is presumably the shadow of the Metal Ixupi, as some film reels near this area act as a Possessed Area.
Footnotes
- Near the end of the game, the player falls through a trap door, and a male scream is audible.