Darkseed was developed and published by Cyberdreams (developers of Darkseed II and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream) and released in 1992 for the Amiga, Amiga CD32, IBM Compatible, and the Macintosh as a single player adventure game based upon the artwork of H.R. Giger (better know as the artist behind the works in the movie Alien for which he won an Oscar in 1980). Though this game is categorized as an adventure type game, I would more accurately describe it as a horror/science fiction-suspense role-playing game based upon its relative lack of action and emphasis on plot, storyline, and requirement of methodical exploration to gather clues and evidence to solve a horrific alien mystery.
A similar game in fact released the same year entitled Alone in the Dark (developed by Infogrames, published by Interplay and designed by Frederick Raynal) share a few general themes and a certain ambiance.
Game Play: You are cast as Mike Dawson, a science fiction writer (and also one of the developers oddly enough), that has just purchased into a fine Victorian house in the small town of Woodland Hills, California. Unbeknownst to him, Mike is about to have some serious problems in his new home, which commence with his irresistible urge to wander into the master bedroom and fall asleep. From this point, Mike has a nagging headache and a time limit of three (3) days in which to solve the insidious mystery that his new home
is concealing. Explore the surroundings and interact with the environment to gather clues and tools in uncovering and eventually solving this grand mystery; however make haste as time is quickly running out. Save often, as the occasional hang-up is not unheard of, and locate one of many walk-throughs available if you manage to get stuck or need assistance. The artwork as well as the feel, the interaction between player character and his environment, and the storyline/plot development has definitely earned this game a place in my game hall of fame archive.
Graphics: As required by H.R. Giger, this game was engineered to utilize what was considered High Resolution at the time –640x480, and given the era, produced stunning results.
Interface: Point and click mousing, a joystick/game pad, as well as hotkeys (typical of the time frame from which this game was created) are the options for controls which allow you to interact as Mike with your surrounding environment.
