Darkmere
Encyclopedia
Darkmere - The Nightmare's Begun is an Action Adventure
computer game developed by Zero Hour Software and published by Core Design Ltd.
in 1993
. It is Zero Hour's only title to date. Core Design went on to publish a less-well received pseudo-sequel to Darkmere in 1994
called Dragonstone, on Amiga
and Amiga CD32
.
s and dragon
s, who slew or took away many villagers. The quest begins in "the village" (which is never named), and requires the player to perform quests in order to escape its walls. Later levels see Ebryn travelling through forests and the lair of the orcs on his way to find Malthar the Mage
, whom he hopes will help banish the Darkmere.
Programming by Paul A. Hodgson, Andrew J. Buchanan and Stewart Gilray.
Level interlude graphics by Richard Fox.
Music and sound effects by Martin Iveson, who later went on to score Tomb Raider
.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
computer game developed by Zero Hour Software and published by Core Design Ltd.
Core Design
Core Design was a British video game studio best known today for creating the popular Tomb Raider series.-History:Based in the city of Derby, England, Core Design was set up in 1988 by Chris Shrigley, Andy Green, Rob Toone, Terry Lloyd, Simon Phipps, Dave Pridmore, Jeremy Heath-Smith and Greg Holmes...
in 1993
1993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
. It is Zero Hour's only title to date. Core Design went on to publish a less-well received pseudo-sequel to Darkmere in 1994
1994 in video gaming
-Events:*Nintendo calls this year "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".*Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened by Hiroshi Yamauchi and effectively ends Mattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia.*"Project...
called Dragonstone, on Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and Amiga CD32
Amiga CD32
The Amiga CD32, styled "CD32" , was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based video game console released in western Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London, United Kingdom on 16 July 1993, and was released in September of the same year...
.
Story
The player takes the role of Prince Ebryn, son of King Gildorn, as he attempts to solve the mystery of the "Darkmere", a literal darkness that has descended on the kingdom bringing with it monsters such as orcOrc
An orc is one of a race of mythical human-like creatures, generally described as fierce and combative, with grotesque features and often black, grey or greenish skin. This mythology has its origins in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien....
s and dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s, who slew or took away many villagers. The quest begins in "the village" (which is never named), and requires the player to perform quests in order to escape its walls. Later levels see Ebryn travelling through forests and the lair of the orcs on his way to find Malthar the Mage
Mage
Mage may refer to:*Magi, a tribe from ancient Media of Iran*Mage, Burma*Magician , a practitioner of paranormal magic*Magician , a practitioner of magic as portrayed in works of fiction...
, whom he hopes will help banish the Darkmere.
Reception
- Some reviewers criticised what they saw as a "generic fantasy settingFantasyFantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
" and the predominantly menu-driven interface which would slow down greatly when a large number of items were in the player's inventory. - Darkmere was almost universally praised for the quality of its graphicsGraphicsGraphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
, artwork and animation, despite some original animation frames having been cut from the released game due to memory and floppy diskFloppy diskA floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
space limitations. The atmosphere of the game, with its dark and gloomy levels was also seen as a highlight.
Credits
Graphics and game design by Mark K. Jones, also known for his graphical work on Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.Programming by Paul A. Hodgson, Andrew J. Buchanan and Stewart Gilray.
Level interlude graphics by Richard Fox.
Music and sound effects by Martin Iveson, who later went on to score Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, with MS-DOS and PlayStation versions following shortly thereafter...
.
External links
- The Dragon's Eyrie site of designer and graphics artist Mark K. Jones