Alone in the Dark
1992 · Survival Horror · PC/DOS
Overview
Alone in the Dark (1992) is Infogrames' Lovecraft-inspired haunted-house game, often called the first 3D survival horror game, whose polygon characters and fixed cameras Resident Evil later adopted.
Deep Dive
The player chooses Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood and explores Derceto, a haunted 1920s Louisiana mansion, in a story drawn from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Three-dimensional characters of around 250 polygons each move over hand-drawn backgrounds, seen from fixed camera angles chosen to build tension. Inventory is limited by weight, and parts of the mansion can be tackled in different orders.
Developer Story
Frédérick Raynal directed the game at Infogrames, with Bruno Bonnell producing, Hubert Chardot writing and Philippe Vachey composing. It was released for MS-DOS in Europe in 1992 and in the US in 1993, and it had sold 2.5 million copies by January 2000.
Did You Know?
- Shinji Mikami adopted its fixed-camera approach for Resident Evil (1996).
- Working titles included In the Dark, Screams in the Dark and The Evil Fear.
Sources & further reading
- Alone in the Dark (1992 video game) — Wikipedia
