Game news 4 years before Resident Evil, this French video game revolutionized the way we play, against all odds

Game news 4 years before Resident Evil, this French video game revolutionized the way we play, against all odds

A before and an after

“Everything changed the first time a journalist came to the studio to see the game”. In the pages of “Alone in the Dark files: Investigation into the origins of survival horror” by Nicolas Deneschau published by Third éditions, Frédérick Raynal recounts the day when the first journalists were able to see for the very first time the horrific game he was working on in the Infogrames premises. “It was Dany Boolauck from Tilt” he adds, “and he literally fell out of his chair when the game guy backed away during the demonstration. He was wide-eyed and just said, ‘Oh, f***!’”. Alone in the Dark is a new genre of adventure game, featuring action with fixed cameras reminiscent of the best horror films of the 1980s.

While the artists who have been working in the shadows for more than a year and a half discover the reactions of a captivated press, Bruno Bonnell, the big boss of Infogrames at that time, rubs his hands. He knows that despite his almost constant disagreement over the creative direction, and after a complicated development that took too long for his liking, this horror game presented to Generation 4, Tilt and Joystick will sell like hot cakes.

And that’s what happens. When Alone in the Dark was released in October 1992, it immediately became Infogrames’ biggest hit.. The game enjoyed both critical and commercial acclaim that was unprecedented for the French group. Magazines give it very good marks, like 97% at Génération 4 or 19/20 at Tilt, describing it as “a monument” And “one of the most notable games of its generation”, as Nicolas Deneschau relates. Frédérick Raynal, Franck de Girolami, Yaël Barroz, Jean-Marc Torroella, Didier Chanfray… it’s a liberation for the small team of enthusiasts who spent sleepless nights on this project. While he only saw the flaws in his creation during the last weeks of development, Raynal finally realizes that his choices are the right ones, even though they would have seemed paradoxical in the early 1990s.

Investigation in the Darkness

The story of the creation of Alone in the Dark is one of twists and turns, doubts, disobedience, stubbornness and, of course, moments of joy. In his book which goes into detail about the creation of the Infogrames horror game (and then its sequels), Nicolas Deneschau leads a fascinating investigation which plunges us not only into the sometimes tortured minds of the creators of Alone in the Dark, but also and above all into a bygone era when everything was still to be created, developed, discovered.. He also emphasizes the way in which the managers of the companies of that time were prepared to take many low blows to achieve their ends. Even if it means lying to young workers who have barely left school, or paying very late. The book also puts in the spotlight certain names relatively forgotten in the Alone adventure, such as Franck Manzetti, the artist who made the plans for the mansion (among others) and who imagined several elements of the game design.

Despite everything that has already been said about Alone in the Dark, the book provides new information and delves into different points related to game design. But by Frédérick Raynal’s own admission, Alone in the Dark was just supposed to be “than a game of monsters and zombies”, where the player had the mission to escape from a house full of traps. “That’s all” he confides.

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Feelings above all

It is this desire to make something simple, cinematic, immediately understandable for anyone who looks at it, which will push Frédéric Raynal to opt for radical choices. in total opposition to the video game successes of the time. About ten months before the release of the title, in January 1992, the famous creator had to curb the enthusiasm of his bosses. In fact, the management of Infogrames told him that it would be necessary to integrate the Call of Cthulhu Chaosium license into the game, in order to honor a contract signed by Bruno Bonnell. Raynal, for his part, even if he appreciates the atmosphere and the bestiary of the role-playing game, is not a fan of character sheets and dice rolls. “I found it much too complicated with its fifty characteristics that made me scream” he says in the book. “I immediately put a stop to everything we were asked to implement. Characteristics, mental health, all that is of no interest in Alone” he says. Even within his team, the designer struggles to impose simplicity.

The revelation, even if it is not described as such by the author, perhaps came from a role-playing game with a somewhat original game master. The latter actually suggested that Frédérick Raynal abandon the books, character sheets and dice for a hassle-free game. What if going straight to the point was the best way to scare? Very early in the production of the software, Raynal opted for an absence of HUD, which was extremely rare in 1992. “In Alone in the Dark, no indication breaks the feeling of immersion. The main screen is entirely dedicated to player immersion” specifies Nicolas Deneschau. To display an interface element – ​​and thus see the inventory or the actions that can be carried out – you must actually press the “Entrance”. This lack of information causes stress in addition to forcing the player to concentrate on the essential: the sensations. Survival horror will continue to use and abuse this visual idea, whether it is Resident Evil (1996) or Dead Space (2008).

The mechanics of fear

Immersing a player in a virtual world without an interface visible on the screen is good. Incorporating rules that make him uncomfortable is better! Frédérick Raynal knows well that it will be difficult to scare players with the technology of the early 1990s. Of course, being able to move characters in 3D in pre-rendered settings was new, but the colors remained garish, and the models were simple in their modeling, although Alone was graphically impressive in 1992. The designer therefore opts for mechanics that will become the standard for future survival horror : little ammunition, jumpscares, going back and forth to places infested with enemies, and puzzles (the solutions to which can be found by reading books).

Frédérick Raynal also allows himself a lugubrious joke by adding totally unpredictable instantaneous deaths, at least during the first attempt. “What’s funny is that among the few rules that existed at the time in game design, there were: ‘you don’t have a death that you can avoid. In a video game, if something threatens the player, you have to offer them something to do to avoid it. And I wanted to do the complete opposite of the only rule that existed” laughs Frédérick Raynal in Nicolas Deneschau’s book. This is why the main character can die in the first corridor of the game, when the ground suddenly collapses, or the player can see his character die if he has the audacity to read… a cursed book! What the creator wants to impose is the idea that danger can arise at any moment, even when the hero is moving, which contrasts completely with the successful adventure/Point’n Click games of the time..

If you want to extend your discovery behind the scenes of Alone in the Dark, the book “The Alone in the Dark Files: Investigation into the origins of survival horror” is available from Third Editions. It can be ordered by here.