The 1990s were a pivotal time in game development history. While much of the video game industry can trace its roots back to the late 1970s and early 80s, video games remained pretty primitive up until the 1990s. With the advent of the SNES, Sega Genesis, and much more powerful PCs, the gaming industry saw the rise of countless titles that would go on to influence even the latest releases, with games like Doom, Pokemon, Super Mario 64, and Street Fighter 2 all going to popularize or create their respective genres. In 1992, Alone in the Dark did the same for the survival horror genre.
The first horror game to use 3D polygonal character models, pasted onto pre-rendered backgrounds, Alone in the Dark paved the way for future survival horror titles, directly influencing beloved franchises like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Just a few days ago, THQ Nordic announced that the first Alone in the Dark game is being rebooted, and while its story is being tweaked, and the gameplay is being overhauled, the game's iconic Derceto Manor setting is remaining at the dark heart of the experience.
Alone in the Dark's Derceto Manor
Named after the Syrian goddess of fertility, Alone in the Dark's Derceto Manor was built in 1818, originally designed to be a home for a rich adventurer by the name of Elijah Pickford. However, Pickford was not all he seemed. While on the surface Pickford was simply an arrogant, extravagant explorer, the man was actually known by another title: pirate lord Ezechiel Pregzt.
In the early 1700s, a century before Derceto Manor was constructed, Pregzt had been the captain of the ship Astarte, also named after the same Syrian goddess. After accruing an unfathomable amount of wealth, Pregzt turned his attention to the greatest prize of all: immortality. Along with a portion of his crew, Pregzt used the Necronomicon to access the power of the occult and achieve immortality.
With his ship nestled at the base of the cliff, Pregzt, now masquerading as Pickford, constructed Derceto Manor on the top of the landmass. Though the three-story mansion looked unassuming upon first glance, it hid a series of claustrophobic underground tunnels. During the American Civil War in the early 1800s, a squad of Union soldiers passed by the Manor. In an attempt to harvest their souls, Pregzt invited the soldiers inside and proceeded to poison them. However, the soldiers' captain proved to be too strong, and after a brief tussle, shot Pregzt. The soldiers then set Derceto Manor on fire, and Pregzt was left to burn inside.
But Pregzt's otherworldly powers hadn't failed him just yet. As his mortal body burned, Pregzt's soul was transferred into the Manor's grounds, eventually getting stuck in a tree. Over the next 100 years, Pregzt attempted to possess anyone who dared enter Derceto Manor's grounds, but failed to do so. These attempts wouldn't go unnoticed, though, and Derceto Manor quickly garnered a reputation for being haunted.
Toward the end of the 1800s, a man named Howard Hartwood purchased the land that encompassed Derceto Manor, and in an attempt to find Pregzt's hidden treasure, rebuilt the mansion following the original blueprints. Seeing the Manor fully rebuilt, Pregzt attempted to find a mortal body once more, and began haunting the mansion. In the early 1920s, Pregzt tried to possess Howard Hartwood's son, Jeremy Hartwood, who now owned the Manor. To avoid being possessed, Jeremy Hartwood committed suicide. Eventually, this leads private detective Edward Carnby to investigate the Manor, where he'll find specters and monsters aplenty.
Alone in the Dark is currently in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.