In 1987, Infocom came out with what I believe to be the first
Lovecraftian-related computer game, THE LURKING HORROR, an
interactive fiction adventure.
While not directly Lovecraftian, it does certainly contain elements
of his work, including its setting at a college, G.U.E. Tech, its
"Miskatonic University" where computers are study along with magic.
One look at the games' general map and you know the location is based
on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Within the game
itself, certain setting further show this, the dome one must climb
and the endless tunnels under the campus. And, yes, there really are
that many, and even more, tunnels under MIT. I've been down there
are few times and it is a maze of levels upon levels all underground.
(Once I walked by a pipeline with the notice on it: DANGER!
RADIOACTIVE WASTE!)
Of course, MIT as G.U.E. was in part the perfect place for THE
LURKING HORROR, given its New England location, and the fact the
game's creator went to MIT and Infocom was located in Cambridge,
Massachusetts (where MIT is).
Depending on your computer, some versions of the game came with
occasional sound during special moments: a creepy chatting, the sound
of scurrying rats, and so on.
I never did actually finish the game when I first go it; I don't
remember why. Still, I had ordered the "InvisiClues" hint book for
it (that also had hints for Infocom's STATIONFALL, which I never
owned). So given this year, I decided I would finally finish playing
THE LURKING HORROR from start to finish.
And play I did. What funny it was to enter scenes I recalled from 20
years before -- especially that very weird and menacing janitor
waxing the hallway. And then there were all the new parts of the
game I had never played before. I had stopped playing in 1987 about
half-way through.
Yes, I used the hint book at times. "InvisiClues" was basically a
book with hint sections that were blank, but would as you choose
reveal the information you needed as you choose. You did this by
using the special yellow marker that came with the book, marking over
the empty lines that would then show the clues you needed.
Being the organizer I was, when I first started playing in 1987 I
wrote in ink the text of the clues I had revealed. But much to my
surprise and pleasure, the special marker had NOT dried out and still
worked to show the clues I had never looked at before! A marker that
STILL worked after 20 years!
Again, being organized as I am, I wrote down all the new clues I
revealed (in a different color ink, just to show my play in 1987 and
my play in 2007) and then after I finished the game, all the clues
and information in THE LURKING HORROR section of the hint book.
The next Lovecraftian computer came that followed THE LURKING HORROR
was another interactive fiction game, THE HOUND OF SHADOWS, by a
different company. It was originally to have been officially
approved by Chaosium, which later withdrew this before it was
released. THE HOUND OF SHADOWS -- (depending on your computer system)
would occasionally show images on your screen -- was a truly
Lovecraftian game in its content and play and had one of the most
sneaky and nasty endings to win the game. This game had been
designed so that the same characters and skills gained during it
would have been able to carry over to another game in the series --
but no other games followed.
Next came the original ALONE IN THE DARK, and except for some
independently-made games, interactive fiction was left behind in
Lovecraftian computer gaming.
The game was great fun to play and I am glad I finally finished it.
THE LURKING HORROR can still be found for download at various
abandonware websites if you want to look for it. Depending on the
version, you might need an emulator to play it on your current
computer. For Lovecraftian fans, and especially the gaming ones, I
would say with THE LURKING HORROR it is well-worth visiting the past.
-- Franklin Hummel in Boston, Massachusetts
--
* Show Your Miskatonic University Gay Pride! *
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Buy T-****rts, Sweat****rts, Buttons & Postcards at:
http://www.cafepress.com/gay_miskatonic
|
