The Daedalus Encounter
Encyclopedia
The Daedalus Encounter is a computer game from 1995. It is an adventure
/puzzle game from the short-lived subgenre of interactive movie
s. It was distributed by Virgin Interactive
, and was released for the IBM PC compatible
, Apple Macintosh, and 3DO
.
who fought in an interstellar war: Casey (the player character
), Ari (Tia Carrere
) and Zack (Christian Bocher). The game opens, and the story begins, just as Casey has been brought back to life by his partners. After being in a horrible space accident, Casey's body was all but destroyed, and he is now only a brain
grafted in a life-support system on their spaceship. The player can interact with the world through a small remote controlled flying probe, which is launched from the ship shortly after the start of the game. In this new form, Casey possesses limited ability to interact with his environment, his only way to communicate being through a yes/no interface and by emitting light pulses. Upon awakening, Casey finds out that the war is over and that Ari and Zack have become pirates on board their ship, the Artemis, stealing salvage from the war to survive. During a salvage mission, the trio crash into and are stranded on a derelict alien spacecraft
, which is on a collision course with the Sun
. It is up to Casey to help his partners and explore the mystery of the Daedalus spaceship.
In order to save themselves, the trio must explore the huge alien ship and solve a large number of mind puzzles, such as connecting colored laser-beams with mirrors, unlock a door with rotating shapes, playing an advanced form of connect-the-dots with a computer interface, and one combat sequence, battling aliens called Krin. The puzzles are mixed with acting sequences from Carrere and Bocher, whose interaction with the player creates some light-hearted comedy. Numerous alternate scenes and clips were filmed and edited into game play. The alternate scenes appear depending on the player’s choice of game play.
During the exploration of the alien ship, Ari and Zack enter a Central Hub containing six doors in the shape of hexagons. They explore areas of the ship behind each door but do not find any navigational controls. However, Casey finds six purple orbs (one in each of the six areas behind the six doors). The orbs cause the beam of blue light and fountain of white lights in the middle of the Central Hub to fade away as a diver
’s suit shaped device with a cannon
on top of it appears. Ari and Zack insert the orbs into it, Casey brings part of an alien’s hand from the ship’s Sick Bay
(which is behind one of the Central Hub doors) and places it on the device. It activates an elevator
which takes Ari, Zack and Casey up and out of the Central Hub.
The alien ship approaches the Sun and temperature inside starts to rapidly increase. Outside, the remaining Krin flee the ship, but some of them are destroyed in the heat. The elevator brings Ari, Zack and Casey into a control room where the device (which the orbs where inserted into) vanishes, revealing a fish
-shaped shell
. Ari and Zack notice a live alien and Casey goes over to communicate with it. It is noteworthy that three endings were filmed: One where the alien ship reaches the Sun and the Artemis burns and explodes in the heat. The second ending involved the alien not responding to Casey and Zack shoots it with his laser gun. The alien knocks Zack aside and attacks Ari. Ari kills the alien and the shell hatches into the Queen alien. Ari kills it and Casey changes the course of the ship, steering it away from the Sun. Ari assumes that Zack is dead and cries over his body, telling Casey that he was wrong about there being no such thing as a hopeless situation. The third ending involved the alien responding to Casey and as the alien ship reaches the Sun, a force field
appears around the Artemis and protects it from the intense heat. The fish-shaped shell turns out to be an egg
, which hatches into a giant red alien Queen
. The live alien, Ari, Zack and Casey bow to it.
In a voice over, Ari explains that the force field created by the creatures which called themselves "Seddy" protected them and the ship from the Sun’s intense heat. The Krin either fled or were destroyed and the new Queen possessed "race memory" which improved Casey’s translation
abilities, answered many of Ari’s and Zack’s questions and repaired the Artemis. Zack receives a transmission
from the Daedalus, wishing them a safe voyage and may their paths cross again. Zack tells Casey that he was right about there being "no such thing as a hopeless situation" and tries to convince Ari to join him on the mattress
in the station room. Ari says nothing, and Zack murmurs, "Oh never mind," as the Artemis speeds off into outer space.
and developed by Mechadeus.
Lead Product Analysts were Mick Love and Stacey Mendoza. Chris Archer was Assistant Producer. Jim Getz was in charge of Quality Assurance. David Maxey was the Director. The screenplay was written by Mark Giambruno and Ned Miller. Deirdre O'Malley and John Evershed were the Executive Producers.
Anne Sandkuhler was Producer of game design, along with associate producers David Felton and Melissa Kangeter.
The live action Director was Scott Ewers, with Larry Lauter as Assistant Director and Anne Sandkuhler as Producer. The live action segments were taped on location on Cinerent Stage A in San Francisco.
, Macintosh, and PC
. In the 3DO version, the video is full-screen; in the other two versions, the video is in a window inside of an organic interface (but you can hit the spacebar to play the video in fullscreen mode in the Windows and Macintosh Versions). The PC version has quite a few bugs that have never been worked out. While the game wasn't a huge hit on Windows
, it is still fondly remembered by some Macintosh gaming fans, as it was a part of the multimedia package that was included with the Macintosh Performa
at the time.
gave the game a "B+" and said "It seems that most CD-ROM producers still haven't figured out how to combine compelling interactive elements with slick movie-style visuals and storytelling.", noting a cinematic scene at the beginning of the game that must be started all over again if the player makes a slight mistake. The magazine said "the game's high-tech scenery and foreboding scenario are engrossing enough to lead you through stretches during which you have nothing to do but watch." The magazine said the influences of the game were obvious, mentioning the Alien
series, Babylon 5
, and The 7th Guest
. The magazine said that Tia Carrere
would be the game's main selling point, and said "Carrere does fine in her multimedia debut. But the role's been so underwritten, it could have been played by virtually anyone." The magazine said the game "has its share of flubbed dialogue and inane plot developments" and some shifts in point of view exaggerate "the uneasy mix of movie and game elements." Entertainment Weekly
also said "This game's true attraction is its genuinely creepy sci-fi-movie sequences, displayed with astonishing sharpness."
Reviewing the Windows version of the game, Adrian Carmody of Quandary gave the game 2 stars out of 5, and called it a big improvement over Critical Path
— with better acting and "more intelligent gameplay." Carmody said that logic puzzles are the "mainstay of the game." Carmody said if players enjoyed the game Entombed they would likely enjoy The Daedalus Encounter, due to the similar gameplay element where every door is locked with a puzzle that must be solved before a player can go on. Carmody wrote, "The puzzles range from the dreadfully simple to the nightmarishly difficult", but said luckily there is a hint system. Carmody described the graphics as "superb", praised the acting, and said the dialogue "is clear and neither tacky nor simplistic." One drawback Carmoedy noted is the ability to save games, which can be done only at the start of major puzzles but "The difficulty lies in identifying a major puzzle." Carmody also said the fact that a player can't save puzzles out of order was a problem, saying "Basically if you miss puzzles, restart the game from scratch as you'll never, or at least you will be unlikely to, get to a position where you can successfully save again." Ironically, the game also involves a number of points when it can end.
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,...
/puzzle game from the short-lived subgenre of interactive movie
Interactive movie
An interactive movie is a video game that features highly cinematic presentation and heavy use of scripting, often through the use of full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage.-Philosophy:...
s. It was distributed by 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...
, and was released for the IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
, Apple Macintosh, and 3DO
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
.
Plot
The game follows a trio of space marinesSpace Marines
Space Marines is a science fiction miniatures wargame created by A. Mark Ratner. There were two editions. The first was published by FanTac Games and the second by Fantasy Games Unlimited . Both versions include artwork by David C. Sutherland III.The FanTac version of the game included conversion...
who fought in an interstellar war: Casey (the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
), Ari (Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
) and Zack (Christian Bocher). The game opens, and the story begins, just as Casey has been brought back to life by his partners. After being in a horrible space accident, Casey's body was all but destroyed, and he is now only a brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
grafted in a life-support system on their spaceship. The player can interact with the world through a small remote controlled flying probe, which is launched from the ship shortly after the start of the game. In this new form, Casey possesses limited ability to interact with his environment, his only way to communicate being through a yes/no interface and by emitting light pulses. Upon awakening, Casey finds out that the war is over and that Ari and Zack have become pirates on board their ship, the Artemis, stealing salvage from the war to survive. During a salvage mission, the trio crash into and are stranded on a derelict alien spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
, which is on a collision course with the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. It is up to Casey to help his partners and explore the mystery of the Daedalus spaceship.
In order to save themselves, the trio must explore the huge alien ship and solve a large number of mind puzzles, such as connecting colored laser-beams with mirrors, unlock a door with rotating shapes, playing an advanced form of connect-the-dots with a computer interface, and one combat sequence, battling aliens called Krin. The puzzles are mixed with acting sequences from Carrere and Bocher, whose interaction with the player creates some light-hearted comedy. Numerous alternate scenes and clips were filmed and edited into game play. The alternate scenes appear depending on the player’s choice of game play.
During the exploration of the alien ship, Ari and Zack enter a Central Hub containing six doors in the shape of hexagons. They explore areas of the ship behind each door but do not find any navigational controls. However, Casey finds six purple orbs (one in each of the six areas behind the six doors). The orbs cause the beam of blue light and fountain of white lights in the middle of the Central Hub to fade away as a diver
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
’s suit shaped device with a cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
on top of it appears. Ari and Zack insert the orbs into it, Casey brings part of an alien’s hand from the ship’s Sick Bay
Sick bay
A sick bay is a compartment in a ship used for medical purposes — the ship's hospital.The sick bay will contain the ship's medicine chest which may be divided into separate cabinets such as a refrigerator for medicines which require cold storage and a locked cabinet for controlled substances...
(which is behind one of the Central Hub doors) and places it on the device. It activates an elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
which takes Ari, Zack and Casey up and out of the Central Hub.
The alien ship approaches the Sun and temperature inside starts to rapidly increase. Outside, the remaining Krin flee the ship, but some of them are destroyed in the heat. The elevator brings Ari, Zack and Casey into a control room where the device (which the orbs where inserted into) vanishes, revealing a fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
-shaped shell
Exoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
. Ari and Zack notice a live alien and Casey goes over to communicate with it. It is noteworthy that three endings were filmed: One where the alien ship reaches the Sun and the Artemis burns and explodes in the heat. The second ending involved the alien not responding to Casey and Zack shoots it with his laser gun. The alien knocks Zack aside and attacks Ari. Ari kills the alien and the shell hatches into the Queen alien. Ari kills it and Casey changes the course of the ship, steering it away from the Sun. Ari assumes that Zack is dead and cries over his body, telling Casey that he was wrong about there being no such thing as a hopeless situation. The third ending involved the alien responding to Casey and as the alien ship reaches the Sun, a force field
Force field
A force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...
appears around the Artemis and protects it from the intense heat. The fish-shaped shell turns out to be an egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
, which hatches into a giant red alien Queen
Eusociality
Eusociality is a term used for the highest level of social organization in a hierarchical classification....
. The live alien, Ari, Zack and Casey bow to it.
In a voice over, Ari explains that the force field created by the creatures which called themselves "Seddy" protected them and the ship from the Sun’s intense heat. The Krin either fled or were destroyed and the new Queen possessed "race memory" which improved Casey’s translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
abilities, answered many of Ari’s and Zack’s questions and repaired the Artemis. Zack receives a transmission
Transmission (telecommunications)
Transmission, in telecommunications, is the process of sending, propagating and receiving an analogue or digital information signal over a physical point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission medium, either wired, optical fiber or wireless...
from the Daedalus, wishing them a safe voyage and may their paths cross again. Zack tells Casey that he was right about there being "no such thing as a hopeless situation" and tries to convince Ari to join him on the mattress
Mattress
A mattress is a manufactured product to sleep or lie on, consisting of resilient materials and covered with an outer fabric or ticking. In the developed world it is typically part of a bed set and is placed upon a foundation....
in the station room. Ari says nothing, and Zack murmurs, "Oh never mind," as the Artemis speeds off into outer space.
Production
The game was published by Virgin InteractiveVirgin 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...
and developed by Mechadeus.
Lead Product Analysts were Mick Love and Stacey Mendoza. Chris Archer was Assistant Producer. Jim Getz was in charge of Quality Assurance. David Maxey was the Director. The screenplay was written by Mark Giambruno and Ned Miller. Deirdre O'Malley and John Evershed were the Executive Producers.
Anne Sandkuhler was Producer of game design, along with associate producers David Felton and Melissa Kangeter.
The live action Director was Scott Ewers, with Larry Lauter as Assistant Director and Anne Sandkuhler as Producer. The live action segments were taped on location on Cinerent Stage A in San Francisco.
Platforms
The game is available for the 3DO3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
, Macintosh, and 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...
. In the 3DO version, the video is full-screen; in the other two versions, the video is in a window inside of an organic interface (but you can hit the spacebar to play the video in fullscreen mode in the Windows and Macintosh Versions). The PC version has quite a few bugs that have never been worked out. While the game wasn't a huge hit on Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, it is still fondly remembered by some Macintosh gaming fans, as it was a part of the multimedia package that was included with the Macintosh Performa
Macintosh Performa
The Macintosh Performa series was Apple Computer's consumer product family of Apple Macintosh personal computers sold through department stores and mass-market retailers from 1992 until 1997, when it was superseded by the Power Macintosh 5x00 series...
at the time.
Critical reception
In 1995, Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the game a "B+" and said "It seems that most CD-ROM producers still haven't figured out how to combine compelling interactive elements with slick movie-style visuals and storytelling.", noting a cinematic scene at the beginning of the game that must be started all over again if the player makes a slight mistake. The magazine said "the game's high-tech scenery and foreboding scenario are engrossing enough to lead you through stretches during which you have nothing to do but watch." The magazine said the influences of the game were obvious, mentioning the Alien
Alien (film series)
The Alien film series is a science fiction horror film franchise, focusing on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley and her battle with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien"...
series, Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
, and The 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...
. The magazine said that Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
would be the game's main selling point, and said "Carrere does fine in her multimedia debut. But the role's been so underwritten, it could have been played by virtually anyone." The magazine said the game "has its share of flubbed dialogue and inane plot developments" and some shifts in point of view exaggerate "the uneasy mix of movie and game elements." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
also said "This game's true attraction is its genuinely creepy sci-fi-movie sequences, displayed with astonishing sharpness."
Reviewing the Windows version of the game, Adrian Carmody of Quandary gave the game 2 stars out of 5, and called it a big improvement over Critical Path
Critical Path (video game)
Critical Path is a post-apocalyptic full motion adventure video game developed by Mechadeus and published by Media Vision Technology. Critical Path was one of earliest games to be released on CD-ROM, and featured real time video which made it appear to be graphically superior to most games of its...
— with better acting and "more intelligent gameplay." Carmody said that logic puzzles are the "mainstay of the game." Carmody said if players enjoyed the game Entombed they would likely enjoy The Daedalus Encounter, due to the similar gameplay element where every door is locked with a puzzle that must be solved before a player can go on. Carmody wrote, "The puzzles range from the dreadfully simple to the nightmarishly difficult", but said luckily there is a hint system. Carmody described the graphics as "superb", praised the acting, and said the dialogue "is clear and neither tacky nor simplistic." One drawback Carmoedy noted is the ability to save games, which can be done only at the start of major puzzles but "The difficulty lies in identifying a major puzzle." Carmody also said the fact that a player can't save puzzles out of order was a problem, saying "Basically if you miss puzzles, restart the game from scratch as you'll never, or at least you will be unlikely to, get to a position where you can successfully save again." Ironically, the game also involves a number of points when it can end.
External links
- The Daedalus Encounter at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- The Daedalus Encounter at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...