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Dark Fall, published by The Adventure Company, is a static image adventure / puzzle game, much like the famous Myst series of titles. The game is set in England, and most of the gameplay takes place in an abandoned hotel. The interactive portion of the game starts with an invisible companion (young Mr. Pike) giving you some helpful guidance and offering future help if necessary. Here is an excerpt from The Adventure Company website:
’Returning from work you listen to a frightened and cryptic voice message from your brother, a talented architect redeveloping the old Dowerton station in Dorset, England. Boarding a train to meet him, you travel to Dowerton alone, wondering what adventure you may be embarking on...
When you arrive, the train is empty and the station is deserted. You begin to explore - the train tunnels, the station, the adjoining hotel, and the grounds - and discover that although no one is there, you are not alone. Finding artifacts, ancient documents and a valuable journal, you realize that the area holds a history of disappearances and hauntings (sic) dating back centuries.’
Without giving too much away, the majority of the game is spent collecting various symbols and clues to solve the mystery of the disappearances, while uncovering some rather disturbing information that develops the plot.
Static image games such as Myst are generally famous for the level of detail in the images portrayed as the computer does not have to render the images real time. The graphics in Dark Fall are somewhat less detailed than I expect in a static image game, but the limitations may be imposed by the engine used to create the game. The game is programmed using Macromedia Director, and as a result the images are dithered in most instances. Dithering occurs when the colour 'depth’ is reduced and gradual transition between colours becomes more emphasized because of the dot pattern associated with dithering. Now that all the techno-babble is out of the way, what you will find is that some scenes are not nearly as rich or immersive as they could have been. The art in the game gives a 'dark’ feel to the title, and the images are gritty, which adds to the realism. The puzzles are well detailed, and the limited animations are seamlessly integrated into the interface.
As most people are aware, what makes a suspense movie work is the sound. Next time you are sitting down to watch a thriller, turn on the subtitles and mute the show. You’ll find that the suspense is completely destroyed and the movie will become very plain very fast. Sound plays a vital role in creating a mood or an atmosphere, and computer games are no different. Dark Fall excels in the sound effect department, creating a somber, suspenseful mood without being over the top. There is a constant stream of aural information being thrown at the player, and some of it is vital to solving the puzzles. In one scene, with the various wind effects and moody feel, a telephone starts ringing. When you pick it up, you are treated to unintelligible whispering layered with some other sound effects. It is very effective at elevating your heart rate. The whole game is laced with these effects.
The effects are not at all overbearing, as is the case in some other games where half an hour of gameplay leaves you screaming for painkillers. The effects are also very realistic, and hard to localize in the sound stage created by the game. I was playing the game late at night with headphones on, and at one point I heard a single dog bark. I took off the headphones because I had no idea if the sound was in-game or not.
An important part of the game is the voice-over work. Many hints and clues are given by invisible participants in the game, and the play back is clear and well done. All the speakers have an English accent, and provide guidance throughout.
Subtitles are available by pressing 'F1' for those people who may be hearing impaired, however subtitles never catch the effects or the noises that are so vital to the playing experience.
The interface, as expected from a static image adventure / puzzle game, is limited by nature. There are no complicated controls, everything is strictly point and click. The icon changes when your pointer is over something of interest or when you can move somewhere. When zoomed in on something, there is some manipulation allowed (rearranging a torn note to be able to read a message). One small beef I had about the interface, and again this appears to be a limitation of the engine, is that if you open a drawer or something on a zoomed screen you have to close it before the game will let you 'zoom out’. This issue also can be seen in the 'states’ of objects - the game has no memory as to how something was left. If you rearrange the torn note, zoom out and back in again, the note will be back to the pile of scraps.
One feature notably missing from the game is any journaling or mapping ability. Be prepared with a pad of paper and a pen because the information comes fast and furious. It was frustrating sometimes not being able to add information to a journal, especially some of the diagrams necessary to complete some puzzles.
The gameplay in Dark Fall is satisfying, and The Adventure Company claims approximately 25 hours of gameplay from the title. The puzzles start out with some simple cryptography and common sense and move into more complicated realms. Also, for many of the puzzles there is little likelihood of 'guessing’ your way through it. There are hints strewn about the hotel that will give you the solutions to the puzzles, if you know where you are looking and paying attention.
After playing the game for a couple of hours one night, I found the game engaging enough that that I was drawn into it and curious to find out more. One of the primary failings of adventure / puzzle games is the player losing interest and abandoning the game after a short time. The game doles out information quickly enough to keep people interested, and keeps the atmosphere sufficiently tense to satisfy most people who would be interested in playing this style of game.
Conclusion:
Obviously puzzle / adventure games are not for everyone, but for an MSRP of $19.99, those people that play these styles of games will get excellent value out of this title. This is not a ground-breaking title that will sell millions, but it really isn’t targeted at the mainstream audience. The graphic issues are quickly forgotten as you delve more and more deeply into the mystery of Dark Fall. People who enjoy puzzle / adventure style games are always on the look-out for new titles, as the replay value on these linear games is virtually nil. The drawbacks in this title have more to do with the engine used then the actual game, as Director appears to have no real 'state’ memory. The benefits in using Director is that a small team was able to put together a satisfying game with low development costs, which have been transferred to the consumer. In an age of sky-rocketing development and game costs, where an average title costs $50, it is refreshing to see someone come to the market with a reasonably priced title.
