“The
knowledge must be passed from one to another…
My faith is torn, yet I know what I must do.”
i
History of any sort has long
been an interest of mine. And there’s certainly enough to discover in
recorded history to keep any enthusiast satisfied. But one can’t help
wondering: what of that which came before? Before the written word, what
was there? Myths? Legends? Barbarians? Monsters?
Menhirs
ii ?
Magic? I’ve always been of a mind that “legends” have their basis in fact.
And if this is true; what of myths, monsters and the rest? Is it possible
that they can also have some share within that basis? These questions give
rise to multiple possibilities for storytelling and Adventure Gaming.
Now, there have been many
adventure games that deal with various ages of ancient history – even some
that touch on prehistory (Beyond Atlantis and The Omega Stone are just
two that spring to mind here). So what makes Barrow Hill so different?
I think it is because the game evokes an era where very little is really
known; and that which is unknown is truly fascinating. But there is
something else…the elements of organic atmosphere, horror and mysticism of
such a remote time and place, while the game is played in the present.
This is one theme that hasn’t been beaten to death yet. So how does Barrow
Hill fare with this subject? Let’s have a look.
Independent Developer Matthew
Clark and his small production company Shadow Tor Studios have approached
the adventure game Barrow Hill much like a theatrical production. No doubt
research was done, a preliminary treatment was written; plot laid out,
storyboarded and scripted, on-location filming done, music scored and full
postproduction maintained. This work of interactive media makes it easy to
see what can be accomplished using a combination of theatrical knowledge
and a talented crew.
It is also evident that Mr.
Clark’s first attempt at a “classic” point and click adventure did not
miss its mark. From the opening title screen, the simple words “Barrow
Hill,” the deep tolling bells, and the undercurrent of a pounding
heartbeat forewarn the gamer of what may lie ahead. As the primary Menu
comes into view, menacing tones of stringed instruments play, delicately
shimmering in their asymmetrical and strident sounds, building emotions of
intensity for the unknown dread of what is to come. The soft, hallowing
whispers, almost inaudible, are ancient chants that lick to light the
flickering candle’s fire. We hear the lyric of the flame like voices of
the ancient ones on the wind. This imagery calls to mind a night in an
antediluvian forest. A time before written knowledge…a forgotten time; a
dark age of man when the forces of nature and “the old ones” ruled their
world with the “charm of making.”
The Story
“Anál nathrach, orth’ bháis’s
bethad, do chél dénmha”
iii
The storyline is simple at
first. We play the part of a traveler…a night traveler. The black and
white film holds a subjective view and we find that we are driving our way
along a two-lane highway somewhere in the Cornish countryside as night
encroaches upon us. The musical interludes of the local radio station BHR
are our only attendant. As Emma Harry, the radio announcer for BHR drones
on, we are informed that it is fifteen minutes to eight. We are also
invited to stay tuned to Emma as she will be our companion “till late past
the witching hour.” (Oh well, now that’s a comfort, isn’t it.)
We turn off onto a desolate
wooded road. It is here that the malaise begins to creep up the nape of my
neck. The insistent undercurrents of violins parallels my unease as I
listen to the sounds of the moving car, the dissonant underscore and watch
the moody images of nocturnal flora and fauna rushing by. Emma Harry
reminds us that it is the night of the Autumnal Equinox, an important date
in the Pagan Calendar, and we have twelve hours of darkness to look
forward to. “So, like Alice, we’re off down the rabbit hole…” she quips.
Suddenly, there is some sort of loud crash as if we’ve driven through
something. Followed by complete darkness.
In the void of night we can
hear the car’s motor trying to turn over, but it’s no use. The car door
opens and closes in the pitch-blackness as we enter into the game’s
universe For some strange reason, the car’s lights have come on at the
instant the car’s door is shut. Like Dorothy when she lands in OZ, our
world is now viewed in color. The only movement is a single oak leaf as it
twirls solemnly past us toward the ground. And in front of us appears a
familiar object that adventure gamers the world over have come to know and
trust: “the little white gloved pointed hand” icon.
As we adjust our eyes to the
illumination given off by the car’s headlights we decide to inspect the
car for damage and find that there is none. So what the heck did we hit
then? We can make out a single-lane road and a signpost up ahead. If we
turn around and cast our gaze to where we came from, we can see two
Menhirs shimmering in the moonlight – like sentries at an outpost, one on
each side of the narrow road. We walk toward them to have a closer look,
hmmm…no damage to either of them. Our trusty white gloved hand bids
us to carefully click on the area between the two sentinels that guard our
path to freedom, and then just as we click…something disturbingly abnormal
happens and we realize…we have either just crossed over into a colorized
version of a “Twilight Zone” episode…or we are alone in this adventure and
it is up to us to find a way out.
The Twilight Zone – That is exactly
what kept running through my mind as I played through Barrow Hill. This
isn’t meant in any derogatory way, mind you, I’ve always liked the
Twilight Zone. Rod Serling meets Merlin. Now, even though there is no
reference to Mr. Serling and you don’t in anyway meet up with Merlin, this
is how the ominous and moody atmosphere for the game played out for me. A
dark and mysterious setting, a place known as a “Barrow” – an ancient
burial place, guarded by a ring of Standing Stones. Legends of a time lost
to the ages, when people believed in mother earth and its magic. A time of
Pagans, when the Land was revered above all else. An age when the balance
of nature was appeased for man’s survival.
The
Art Work:
“The land is alive.
I feel its heart pounding ever stronger”
iv
Barrow
Hill offers much in its varied visuals which, though different in texture,
seem to meld together in blended harmony. The opening cutscene juxtaposes
grainy black and white film (denoting reality), with the ethereal
jewel-toned colors of the game’s universe, as if they were swabbed from an
artist’s palette. These rich hues of phthalo blues and greens - vermilions
- ochre - and sap green…are used to paint us into the game world and offer
us an interesting willing suspension of disbelief while we are there. They
are almost dreamlike in their presentation, which is odd as the experts
all say we dream in black and white. I, for one have never agreed with
this. There are also some fairly beguiling interludes of time-lapse
filmingv
(executed by Jonathan Boakes) and blue screen photographyvi
(by both Brian Clark and Emma Harry) sprinkled into the mix.
Many of the film sequences shot and edited by Mr. Clark and his
development team show a judicious use of jump cutsvii and subjective cameraviii
techniques that add to Barrow Hill’s stylized film sequences. All of these
visual elements proved to work quite well for me in the finished product
of Barrow Hill.
While this is his first “full
production” adventure game, Mr. Clark is no stranger to the genre. A quick
glance at his website gives us much information about how Barrow Hill was
created (quite fascinating reading, actually). His style and his
use of color, its various shades and values lend a decided depth to the
prerendered nodes of Barrow Hill. Interesting, as the entire game takes
place at night. There is a certain claustrophobic feel as one wanders
through the dark woods…alone. Yet the familiar use of a single lamplight
may offer some comfort for those adventurers who fear the dark recesses of
an ancient forest. I thought it clever on another level, as it allows one
to see only what Mr. Clark wants us to see…until it is too late, that is.
Still, lamplight or no, there is that pervasively oppressive feeling that
things are not quite right on this particular autumn night.
I found the look of one of the characters you meet, Ben
Kendal (visually played by Richard Clark), strangely intriguing. His
movements are not natural human characterizations…but rather,
stylized…frenetic…the embodiment of human terror pushed to the brink of
insanity. On the other hand, while the voice of Emma Harry is heard quite
smoothly over the airwaves or on the cell phone, her presentation via
video was believably fragmented. This is exactly how my own “video phone”
seems to work -- a series of still pictures, totally out of sync with the
audio. Any different and it would have destroyed the illusion for me.
The Sounds
“That which sleeps must not be woken”
ix
The Foleyx, which was done by Matt Clark, Brian Clark and Jonathan Boakes is
absolutely magnetic.
The soundscapes were natural and rang true for me at every
bend. There were times I was so certain that I was being followed that I
developed the habit of turning to the right and left to see if I could
catch something…and unfortunately for my virtual persona…I did, more times
then I care to mention here. The musical theme and “event score” written
by Jan Kavan is rapaciously predatory, and did its best to keep me alert
and skittish during much of the adventure. I constantly had the uncanny
feeling of being watched…followed and, on more than one occasion, pursued.
But by what? There were also some musical interludes which did provide
solace, such as the dactylic harp one may hear (when you know how to
unlock it) at the St. Anneke’s sacred well or in the swamp. I found
the rest of the musical arrangements by Mr. Clark appropriate for Barrow
Hill, and felt they successfully added to the mysterious aura of the
piece.
The
voice work was appealing, with some of the talentxi
taking on more than one role.
. It featured Emma
Harry as the indomitable “Emma Harry” of BHR: “On Top of The World.” Also
Jonathan Boakes, who shows off a decided range of characterizations, from
the voice of the absolutely terrified Ben Kendal to some of the radio
advertisements. These adverts had me in tears (especially that little old
lady from Celtic Corner). Richard Clark was quite portentous as the
mysterious “Offerings” vocalization, yet also showed much variety in the
adverts as well. And at long last, we had Matt Clark himself, who was the
voice of that famed archaeologist, Professor Conrad Morse.
Game Play
“It is
my burden and my burden alone”ii
The technical side of things
is indeed a breeze. Installation of the game is fairly quick, the DVD need
not be present in the drive once it is installed and extra programs need
not be closed down in order for the game to run. There are no invasive
copy protection programs on the DVD, and saved games can be transferred
from one system to another. Yes, you heard me correctly; this adventure is
produced solely on DVD, so those of you who have yet to upgrade your
systems to a DVD-ROM drive may want to consider this if you decide to play
Barrow Hill. The resolution for this adventure looks the best at what it
was designed for, which is 800X600 screen resolution and 32-bit color. It
will play in 1024X768 screen resolution, but I did notice pixelation
during a few sequences and the occasional hang now and then.
The Main
Menu holds a separate Options page where an “explanation” of inventory
items may be turned either on for additional help, or off. There is an
adequate help screen, which describes those basic functions of the cursor
and an explanation of the “split” inventory (which, by the way, disappears
from view during game play only to reappear as you pass your cursor over
the top or bottom as need be). There is a “Resume game after saving”
option, which may also be activated. During game play, all one need to do
is move one’s cursor to the top of the screen and click on “MENU.” It is
at this main menu that nine saves are possible, more than adequate in my
estimation although I’m sure that there will be those who will disagree.
However, if more saves are desired, it is easy enough to go to the Barrow
Hill game folder on your hard drive and copy your saved games to a
separate folder, and then go back to the adventure and overwrite the
original saves.
If I haven’t
mentioned it before, this is a point and click adventure. It is also a
“first-person-prerendered-slideshow–story-driven-logical-inventory-puzzle-based”
game. Oh yes, I found it to be fairly nonlinear as well. Both in game play
and in theory. I’m not aware of the ESRB for Barrow Hill, but I will say
that while there is a decided mysterious and menacing atmosphere to the
game (along with a few scares) – there is nothing in my mind that would
constitute a rating of anything but an “E” for everyone.
While you
cannot die in this game, I felt on one or two occasions as though I had …
but only briefly, and I was allowed to continue. This brings me to one of
the issues I had with Barrow Hill. My logic told me that I should have
died. Now, I know that many adventure gamers get very nervous when they
hear that one may “die” in a game. But when the inherent nature of an
adventure calls for it, then the developer should follow through and
either let the gamer die on screen or offer a “second chance” screen of
some sort. Without going into the actual instances within Barrow Hill, I
hoped that this would have happened…hopefully in Matt Clark’s next
creation it will.
Be that as
it may, there is a lot to do in this game, much to read, and several
gadgets to work before you accomplish your goal. You will discover these
as the game progresses. For the most part the puzzles are organic, meaning
that they are intuitive within the workings of the storyline. A large part
of the puzzles are inventory based, a few are mechanical, and others are a
combination of both with a choice to be made near the end of the adventure
in order to trigger one of the two endings. The level of difficulty for
this adventure, I would place at “medium,” as the solutions to the various
riddles and conundrums are there right in front of you -- all you need do
is look, listen and read.
There are a
number of red herrings, one in particular which had me caught up in its
red tape for well over an hour until I realized what an idiot I was. Will
I tell you where it is? Nope, not on your life, why should I be the only
fool? I especially liked the fact that each time you begin a new game,
some of the solutions for a few of the puzzles changed. Take things in a
different order and the paths for certain events will change as well. I
would have liked to have seen more of this, as this seems to be one of Mr.
Clark’s strengths; and maybe as Shadow Tor gains its momentum, I will. One
may only hope.
Conclusion
“This is
not the Devil’s work
…it is the work of the Knowing”
xiii
So, was there
anything that I would have asked Shadow Tor to do differently in Barrow
Hill? Yes, allowing the player to actually die at certain points during
the adventure, as previously mentioned. There were also a number of red
herrings which I secretly would have loved to have been real puzzles…but
one can’t have everything now can one? Another issue has to do with
one
telling video sequence which would have had greater effect if it had been
permanently placed later in the game or if the last quarter of its subject
had either been more obscured or deleted entirely.
Did Barrow
Hill meet most of my expectations…and if it did, was it worth the wait?
Gee, let’s see:
A fascinating
interactive screenplay, which poses thematic questions of what and
where, while allowing the gamer to formulate his or her theories as
to why. Game play that is approximately seventy five to eighty
percent nonlinear. Puzzles and conundrums, which are organic and
integrated within the plot. A few red herrings sprinkled around for fun.
Interesting and varied graphics, besides the well balanced prerendered
slide show format. Incredibly moody and atmospheric soundscapes, with a
musical theme and an underscore that holds a strong emphasis toward
primordial acuity. A pacing that keeps the gamer on guard and
apprehensive. Hints, which can be culled from what the gamer sees, hears
or reads. A reasonable length of game play (my first go-round was
approximately nineteen hours spread over four days). Easy installation and
interface and trouble-free game play.
My answer to
the above question would be “absolutely.” I was quite impressed with this
first offering from Shadow Tor Studios, and look forward to those
mysteries which lie ahead, yet to come to light. Matt Clark has a true eye
for mood and atmosphere, which shines through this adventure like the
mystical quartz Menhirs that speak to their own legends as they glisten
beneath the moonlight in the crisp night air of Autumn.
…inferno
Grade A-
Recommended System
Requirements:
OS: Windows® ME/2000/XP
CPU: Pentium® III 450 MHz or Better Processor
RAM: 128 MB RAM (256 MB Recommended)
DVD-ROM
Video: SVGA Graphics Card or better with 32-Bit
Color (32-Bit Color at 800x600)
Sound: DirectX® 9 Compatible Sound Card
Minimum System Requirements:
OS: Windows® 98/se
CPU: Pentium® III 450 MHz or Better Processor
RAM: 128 MB RAM (256 MB Recommended)
DVD-ROM
Video: SVGA Graphics Card or better with 32-Bit
Color (32-Bit Color at 800x600)
Sound: DirectX® 9 Compatible Sound Card
5.1 surround sound card
Played on:
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 2002 w/SP 1
Pentium 4 CPU 2.00GHz
512MB DDR Memory
Directx9c
Video: 64MBNVIDIA GeForce 2 MX/MX 400 AGP
Driver version:
6.14.0010.7801
Sound: Creative SB Live
i
Le Grimoire du Puits Sacré - Source: Barrow Hill. Author - Unknown.
ii
Menhir: French, from Breton:
men, stone (from Middle Breton) +
hir, long (from
Middle Breton).
Also known as “long-stone”
or “Standing Stone” – dating from the end of the Neolithic Age or
beginning of the Bronze Age.
iii
The Charm of Making in Old Gaelic – translated to Modern English by
Michael Everson
“Serpent's breath
charm of death and
Life, thy omen of making.”
Corrupted by John Boorman
in the epic film – Excalibur.
iv
Le Grimoire du Puits Sacré - Source: Barrow Hill. Author - Unknown.
v
Special effects technique in which a series of images are taken at
some preset interval and then played back at a much higher rate giving
the illusion that time is passing more quickly.
viSpecial
effects technique in which motion picture scenes are shot against a
blue background and then superimposed on other scenes. In adventure
games, many of the FMV sequences utilizes this effect.
vii
Special effects technique by which a cut in film editing breaks
continuity in time. This produces a startling effect as the smooth
movement of the film appears to jump from one position to another
during the cut. This can be used very effectively in montage sequences
to evoke the emotion of the viewer.
viii
A camera shot or film style that provides the audience with the
specific vision or perspective of a character in the film. This is
also know as “First Person” point of view for the gamer.
ix
Le Grimoire du Puits Sacré - Source: Barrow Hill. Author - Unknown.
x
Foley: a technical
process by which sounds are created or altered for use in a film,
video, or other electronically produced work. So named after
Jack
Foley (1891-1967),
pioneering sound effects editor at Universal Studios in the 1930s.
xi
"Talent" is a theatrical/film industry term for anyone appearing
on-camera or voice acting for animation.
xiiLe
Grimoire du Puits Sacré - Source: Barrow Hill. Author - Unknown.
xiii
Le Grimoire du Puits Sacré - Source: Barrow Hill. Author - Unknown.
design copyright ©
2006
GameBoomers
Group
