Dark Fall
Encyclopedia
Dark Fall is a British
first-person horror
-adventure game
which was independently released on June 4, 2002 by XXv Productions. It was released worldwide (and re-released in the UK) by The Adventure Company
in 2003 with the title Dark Fall: The Journal. The game has developed a small cult following
. A sequel titled Dark Fall II: Lights Out
was released in March 2004. Dark Fall: Lost Souls
was released in late 2009.
interface to move the player around and manipulate the environment. The player has a basic inventory which — due to the game's puzzle-based nature — only ever holds a few items. The player spends most of the game solving the numerous puzzles (such as translating an encrypted
message, or opening a puzzle box
) to find a myriad of symbols, the use for which eventually becomes apparent.
Contrary to a lot of modern adventure games, Dark Fall does not keep note of any information or clues to puzzles that the player comes across during the game, effectively forcing the player to keep track of every puzzle or detail themselves.
Tom Oliver : A soldier from the 17th century during the English Civil War
, who was betrayed by his friend Will and taken by the dark fall while he was in the cellar of the Dowerton Inn. He was—-according to game texts-—a devout Protestant
.
Timothy Pike : An 11-year old boy who was captured by the dark fall while playing in the train tunnels, being the second mentioned disappearance. He leads you to the station, explains the set-up, and helps you several times during the game.
The simultaneous disappearance of the next six are the cause of the closing of the hotel and station.
George Crabtree : Mysterious owner of the hotel. Upon his disappearance, he was suspected of having murdered the others and then fled the scene. Oldest sibling of his family (he was in his sixties), and a gifted photographer.
Edith Penfold : Hostess of the station hotel, who enjoys music.
Betty Penfold : Daughter of Edith Penfold, who played the piano and trumpet. Hates "common" music, and played for the guests at the inn the night of their disappearance. Had a liking for Thomas Callum, a local boy.
Matilda Fly : An actress who was laughed out of the Empire Theatre
. Spent her final days at the Dowerton train station.
Gloria Grable : A mysterious character who spent some time at the station hotel and supposedly drove a sports car, which can be found in the nearby barn.
Andrew Verney : An amateur astronomer, with a gentle, inquisitive nature, despite his penchant for red wine. He had apparently been a guest at the inn regularly for some years.
Thomas Callum : Not one of the vocal spirits, but he can be spoken to through the Ouija board
. A local farm boy who loved Betty Penfold, the daughter of the hostess of Dowerton Inn, he also was one of the people who was consumed by the dark fall. But to the outside world, his was just a mysterious disappearance, for he was not known to be in the hotel—-and certainly not as a paying guest.
Arther : George Crabtree's closest friend. Unlike the others, he died a natural death, killed in World War II
; a romantic sort. He had a bad relationship with his father, and so took refuge at the Dowerton Inn.
Polly White : A university student who had been working on a project for school studying hauntings. She enjoys working with the computers.
Nigel Danvers : Also a university student, and a classmate of Polly's. He is familiar with photography and enjoys Chinese food.
Pete Crowhurst : "Your" (the player-character's) older brother who has made a name for himself in the architecture
field. He seems to eschew the idea of hauntings or spirits until the events of the game.
The Player : The player's character. Your last name would also be Crowhurst (assuming you share a name with your brother). You tend to leave your morning coffee lying about. You have an aloof relationship with your brother, but still care for his well-being.
Several other characters are mentioned, but do not have much gameplay connections. Constable Harold Perch was on the scene near the time of the disappearances incognito, but he couldn't have been Andrew Verney. There is a journal kept by a previous researcher in the 1980s mentioned, and he is also said to have disappeared.
episode "The Railway Station" and Boakes's own exploration of an isolated, abandoned train station in Dorset
in January 2000.
The game was originally published independently by XXv Productions in 2002 in DVD
keep case
-style packaging designed by Jonathan Boakes. The disk contained instructions, a making of, and a hint and solutions guide. All of this was removed for the game's 2003 release by The Adventure Company.
Boakes originally self-produced the game, and handed it out to friends and family. He stopped doing this when he signed a deal with The Adventure Company to distribute the game. It soon became successful worldwide. Only 2,000 of the first "handmade" copies still exist.
Late March 2009 Darkling Room began publishing a special "Pins & Needles" Limited Edition, containing Dark Fall I and II, hint and solution guides for each game, and a collection of ghost stories.
gave the game four out of five stars and said: "This game's perpetually unnerving ambience, interesting puzzles, and unique ghost story may very well help you forgive its graphical flaws." and closed her review with "The only thing missing from this eerie game's box is a change of underwear." While Scott Osborne of GameSpot
gave the game a 6.4 "Fair" rating and criticized the low graphical and sound quality and claimed "the game puts too much emphasis on puzzle solving, and some of the puzzles, while quite interesting because of their intricate detail and diversity, can be too obscure and perplexing. It's also a shame that the game so often relies on the old adventure-game cliché of telling its story through clues offered by written materials--materials written by and about absent characters. Poring over note after note, journal entry after journal entry, and computer file after computer file can get tiresome in a hurry." The game received an aggregate score of 68% on Metacritic
.
United 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...
first-person horror
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...
-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,...
which was independently released on June 4, 2002 by XXv Productions. It was released worldwide (and re-released in the UK) by The Adventure Company
The Adventure Company
The Adventure Company, is a publishing label of Nordic Games. It is formally a division of DreamCatcher Interactive but was sold to Nordic Games in 2011 following DreamCatcher's parent JoWooD Entertainment being sold after entering administration.-History:...
in 2003 with the title Dark Fall: The Journal. The game has developed a small cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
. A sequel titled Dark Fall II: Lights Out
Dark Fall II: Lights Out
Dark Fall II: Lights Out is a sequel to the game Dark Fall. A third Dark Fall game, Lost Souls, was released in late 2009....
was released in March 2004. Dark Fall: Lost Souls
Dark Fall: Lost Souls
Dark Fall: Lost Souls is a British first-person horror-adventure game. It is a sequel to the first Dark Fall game. It was released as a digital download on 4 December 2009 and as a boxed version on 11 December 2009.- Plot :...
was released in late 2009.
Plot
The game opens with the player listening to the messages on their answering machine. One of the messages is from the player's brother, who's currently working on a redevelopment portfolio for his company. He pleads for the player to come to the old Dowerton train station in Dorset because something is very wrong. The player travels by train to Dowerton to help their brother, only to find out that he, as well as two other people, have disappeared in the past few hours. The player then discovers that the station has had a dark history, and that this isn't the first time people have vanished.Gameplay
Dark Fall uses a simple point-and-clickPoint-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
interface to move the player around and manipulate the environment. The player has a basic inventory which — due to the game's puzzle-based nature — only ever holds a few items. The player spends most of the game solving the numerous puzzles (such as translating an encrypted
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
message, or opening a puzzle box
Puzzle box
A puzzle box is a box that can only be opened through some obscure or complicated series of manipulations. Some puzzle boxes may require only a simple squeeze in the right spot, whereas others may require the subtle movement of several small parts, to open the box...
) to find a myriad of symbols, the use for which eventually becomes apparent.
Contrary to a lot of modern adventure games, Dark Fall does not keep note of any information or clues to puzzles that the player comes across during the game, effectively forcing the player to keep track of every puzzle or detail themselves.
Characters
These are the main characters and their backgrounds, in order of disappearance:Tom Oliver : A soldier from the 17th century during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, who was betrayed by his friend Will and taken by the dark fall while he was in the cellar of the Dowerton Inn. He was—-according to game texts-—a devout Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
.
Timothy Pike : An 11-year old boy who was captured by the dark fall while playing in the train tunnels, being the second mentioned disappearance. He leads you to the station, explains the set-up, and helps you several times during the game.
The simultaneous disappearance of the next six are the cause of the closing of the hotel and station.
George Crabtree : Mysterious owner of the hotel. Upon his disappearance, he was suspected of having murdered the others and then fled the scene. Oldest sibling of his family (he was in his sixties), and a gifted photographer.
Edith Penfold : Hostess of the station hotel, who enjoys music.
Betty Penfold : Daughter of Edith Penfold, who played the piano and trumpet. Hates "common" music, and played for the guests at the inn the night of their disappearance. Had a liking for Thomas Callum, a local boy.
Matilda Fly : An actress who was laughed out of the Empire Theatre
Empire Theatre (New York City)
The Empire Theatre in New York City was a prominent Broadway theatre in the first half of the twentieth century. It opened in 1893 with a performance of The Girl I Left Behind Me by David Belasco. The Empire continued to present both original plays and revivals until 1953. Its final show, in May...
. Spent her final days at the Dowerton train station.
Gloria Grable : A mysterious character who spent some time at the station hotel and supposedly drove a sports car, which can be found in the nearby barn.
Andrew Verney : An amateur astronomer, with a gentle, inquisitive nature, despite his penchant for red wine. He had apparently been a guest at the inn regularly for some years.
Thomas Callum : Not one of the vocal spirits, but he can be spoken to through the Ouija board
Ouija
The Ouija board also known as a spirit/fire key board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" and "goodbye", and other symbols and words are sometimes also added to help personalize the board...
. A local farm boy who loved Betty Penfold, the daughter of the hostess of Dowerton Inn, he also was one of the people who was consumed by the dark fall. But to the outside world, his was just a mysterious disappearance, for he was not known to be in the hotel—-and certainly not as a paying guest.
Arther : George Crabtree's closest friend. Unlike the others, he died a natural death, killed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; a romantic sort. He had a bad relationship with his father, and so took refuge at the Dowerton Inn.
Polly White : A university student who had been working on a project for school studying hauntings. She enjoys working with the computers.
Nigel Danvers : Also a university student, and a classmate of Polly's. He is familiar with photography and enjoys Chinese food.
Pete Crowhurst : "Your" (the player-character's) older brother who has made a name for himself in the architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
field. He seems to eschew the idea of hauntings or spirits until the events of the game.
The Player : The player's character. Your last name would also be Crowhurst (assuming you share a name with your brother). You tend to leave your morning coffee lying about. You have an aloof relationship with your brother, but still care for his well-being.
Several other characters are mentioned, but do not have much gameplay connections. Constable Harold Perch was on the scene near the time of the disappearances incognito, but he couldn't have been Andrew Verney. There is a journal kept by a previous researcher in the 1980s mentioned, and he is also said to have disappeared.
Developmental History
Dark Fall was designed by Jonathan Boakes who based it on his own short story of the same name. The story was influenced heavily by the Sapphire & SteelSapphire & Steel
Sapphire & Steel is a British television science-fiction fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. Hammond who conceived the programme under the working title The...
episode "The Railway Station" and Boakes's own exploration of an isolated, abandoned train station in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
in January 2000.
The game was originally published independently by XXv Productions in 2002 in DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
keep case
Keep case
A keep case or poly-box is a type of DVD packaging. From the well-known brand Amaray, this type of case is often called Amaray case, creating a genericized trademark and ambiguities about the real manufacturer of the case....
-style packaging designed by Jonathan Boakes. The disk contained instructions, a making of, and a hint and solutions guide. All of this was removed for the game's 2003 release by The Adventure Company.
Boakes originally self-produced the game, and handed it out to friends and family. He stopped doing this when he signed a deal with The Adventure Company to distribute the game. It soon became successful worldwide. Only 2,000 of the first "handmade" copies still exist.
Late March 2009 Darkling Room began publishing a special "Pins & Needles" Limited Edition, containing Dark Fall I and II, hint and solution guides for each game, and a collection of ghost stories.
Reception
The game received mixed reviews upon its general release in 2003. For example, Denice Cook of Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
gave the game four out of five stars and said: "This game's perpetually unnerving ambience, interesting puzzles, and unique ghost story may very well help you forgive its graphical flaws." and closed her review with "The only thing missing from this eerie game's box is a change of underwear." While Scott Osborne of 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...
gave the game a 6.4 "Fair" rating and criticized the low graphical and sound quality and claimed "the game puts too much emphasis on puzzle solving, and some of the puzzles, while quite interesting because of their intricate detail and diversity, can be too obscure and perplexing. It's also a shame that the game so often relies on the old adventure-game cliché of telling its story through clues offered by written materials--materials written by and about absent characters. Poring over note after note, journal entry after journal entry, and computer file after computer file can get tiresome in a hurry." The game received an aggregate score of 68% on Metacritic
Metacritic
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,...
.