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''Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem'' is a Psychological Horror Video Game originally planned for the Nintendo 64 but later released exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube , and largely inspired by (but not directly adapting) the works of H.P. Lovecraft . Developed by Canadian Developer Silicon Knights , it was released on June 24 , 2002 and Published by Nintendo . PLOT SYNOPSIS The plot of the game revolves around protagonist Alexandra Roivas , who is investigating the mysterious murder of her grandfather Edward Roivas. While exploring his Rhode Island mansion, she discovers a Secret Room containing, among other odd items, a tome bound with human skin. When she reads this book, ''The Tome Of Eternal Darkness '', she experiences a scene in the life of Pious Augustus , a respected Roman Centurion in 26 BC . Pious is lead by mysterious voices to an underground temple, where he chooses one of three mysterious artifacts. The artifact transforms him into an Undead Warlock , the Lich e, and makes him slave to of one of three Ancients , powerful godlike beings whose “Essences” are incarnated as the artifacts. As the plot unfolds, it becomes clear that Pious is attempting to summon his Ancient into this reality, while the powerful fourth “Corpse God” Mantorok is bound on Earth already, helpless to stop it. As the player discovers more chapters of the Tome, Alex finds herself reliving the experiences of several (player-controlled) individuals who have crossed paths with Pious or other servants of the Ancients over the centuries, and as a result come in contact with the ''Tome'' itself. While many of these individuals meet a sinister fate, their cooperation ultimately gathers the Essences of the three remaining Ancients in the mansion. Alexandra’s own ancestors discover the long-deserted City of Ehn’gha beneath the family mansion, and powerful magickal machinery inside. Alexandra powers up this mechanism with the Ancients’ essences, and summons a rival Ancient to fight Pious’s. While the two Ancients fight, Alexandra engages in combat with Pious with the aid of the spirits of his victims, ultimately destroying his Ancient’s essence. It loses the fight above as Alexandra kills Pious. Then, realizing that the Roivases and their allies have just brought another powerful ancient into the world, Edward’s spirit quickly sends the other Ancient back where it came from. He expresses pride in his granddaughter before he disappears. After completing the game under all three alignments, it is revealed that all three ancients have been destroyed — “All at once, separate and simultaneous, for the universe is made of many timestreams, many possibilities, all in harmonious synchronicity.” Because he was bound, and not powerful enough to stop Pious Augustus himself, Mantorok manipulated the Roivas family, and other chosen ones, into completing the work for him. He orchestrates the deaths of all three ancients, in separate timestreams, and then connects them all, resulting in the annihilation of all three alignments. In the end, only the corpse god Mantorok is still alive, festering somewhere in his hidden tomb, plotting. GAMEPLAY Structure Alexandra’s part of the game, at the mansion in 2000 , forms the hub. The player finds the book, and Pious’s story, first. Then Alex finds the first Chapter Page, leading the player on to the next section of the game as a different character. This character’s story provides plot exposition, and once complete, the player as Alexandra has knowledge, an object, or an ability which allows her to find the next Chapter Page, highlighting another character, and so on. This cycle of new Gameplay sections, leading to new abilities, leading to new gameplay sections, was first pioneered by '' Metroid '', but ''Eternal Darkness'' was lauded for its application of the idea to a narrative with a variety of settings and time periods. Alignments The player chooses which of the three essences Pious attempts to claim at the start of the game. This determines which of the three Ancients he is aligned with, and subsequently which enemies dominate. The alignments have a Rock, Paper, Scissors relationship, which is important in the player’s consideration of his or her own magick use. The Ancients are members of a species that existed before other life emerged from the primordial ooze. The relentless movement of ice and the continental drift and other “inscrutable” reasons bound the Ancients deep beneath the planet’s surface, biding their time, waiting until the moment was right to return. The surviving Ancients are:
Magick Unlike most games in the survival horror genre, ''Eternal Darkness'' offers magical powers for healing, solving puzzles, and experimenting in combat. For example, it is possible for player characters to summon (and, if they wish, directly control) monsters like those they are fighting. This is achieved by a fairly intuitive system of “ Rune s” for the components of the spell and 3-, 5-, or 7-point “Circles of Power” which allow the runes to be scribed. To cast a spell, an alignment rune (fueling the spell with the power of one of the 4 Ancients– though Mantorok’s rune is well hidden), a “verb” or effect rune (describing the action of the spell) and a “noun” or target rune must be used. For example, the spell for recovering health consists of the alignment rune for Chattur’gha, the rune for “absorb” (Narokath), and the rune for “self” (Santak). As more runes are discovered, more combinations are possible, although not all have an effect. With a larger Circle of Power, “power” (Pargon) runes may be added to spells to increase the intensity of the spell. Runes and Circles gathered during a chapter are stored in the ''Tome'' and available in all subsequent chapters, as well as the present day. More runes and spells are detailed in the “ Runes ” and “ Spells ” sections below. Sanity effects The game’s standout concept (recently patented by Nintendo ) is the “sanity meter”, a green bar on screen which is depleted under various conditions, generally when the character is seen by an enemy. It can also be restored under various conditions, such as performing a “finishing move” on an enemy. If the bar remains depleted, increasingly bizarre effects occur. Though some of these affect the character as hallucinations or muscle control issues, and others break the Fourth Wall , being aimed at the player directly, all are temporary.These may include simulated displays with messages apparently produced by the TV or the GameCube; this does not affect gameplay unless the player misconstrues them as actual technical malfunctions and turns off his or her system, thereby losing all progress since his or her last save. One effect which is consistently used is a skewed camera angle accompanied by whispers, cries, and other strange noises. The lower the sanity meter, the more skewed the camera angle and the louder the sound effects. There are many different sanity effects, and it is possible to complete the game without seeing any of them. Therefore, they will not all be listed in order to avoid spoiling the surprise. A few more commonplace examples include:
Some sanity effects are character specific, relating to the individual’s experience or fears. PLAYABLE CHARACTERS See Also: List of characters from Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem The player controls the following characters in the years noted next to their names.
Note that the above list is in strict chronological order. Disregarding Alex’s actions at the beginning and between chapters, and the return of other characters during the final battle, the player controls the characters and experiences their struggles against the Eternal Darkness in the following order: # Pious Augustus #Ellia #Anthony #Karim #Maximillian Roivas #Edwin Lindsey #Paul Luther #Roberto Bianchi #Peter Jacob #Edward Roivas #Michael Edwards # Alexandra Roivas The action is divided between four principal locations. Though the game skips back and forth through time, chapters concerning each individual site are in respective chronological order.
CREATURES & ENEMIES ''Eternal Darkness'' boasts a variety of enemy creatures, each of which belongs to one of the three alignments (the only exception being the generic Mantorok Zombie). It should be noted that Chattur’gha creatures can generally deal and sustain more damage than the others. By comparison, Xel’lotath creatures are weaker but tend to take away large amounts of sanity, while Ulyaoth creatures may use and/or drain (more) magick. Maximillian Roivas can perform an autopsy on each creature in his chapter, which is saved in the ''Tome''. Trapper: Trappers are small, blind, Scorpion -like creatures that walk around and listen for nearby movement. When aggravated, a trapper will scream loudly, wiggle its tail, and eventually glow. If the aggravator moves too swiftly the Trapper will release energy and transport him or her to the Trapper Dimension. The Trapper dies shortly afterward. Trappers have no damaging attacks, and the Trapper Dimension contains few enemies as well as at least one guaranteed regenerative zone; for these reasons, alerting a Trapper can be a strategic move. They come in each of the three primary alignments, which dictates the alignment of the monsters in the Trapper Dimension when the player is trapped there. Xel’lotath Trappers have no heads. Zombie: The Zombies in Eternal Darkness are not as mindless as those in other games or films. They seem able to feel pain and to notice events around them (such as other zombies being killed.) Decapitation will disable but not kill a Zombie, and most will continue to attack blindly after losing their heads. More than anything, decapitation appears to annoy them.
Horror: Horrors are large masses of pure muscle whose sole purpose is to devour anything that comes near them. They strike victims with their large claws and also have a long distance magickal attack that drains the element signified by the color of the electricity that surrounds them. As a rule, Horrors are instantly killed if their three heads (eyes on Xel’lotath Horrors) are destroyed. Counterintuitively, the most viable strategy is to charge straight at them with a melee weapon and strike the heads until the creature dies. The only innate differences between the three are the usual extra damage and hulking size and higher damage of Chattur’gha Horrors, the magick drain from Ulayoth Horrors, and the sanity toll from engaging Xel’lotath horrors. Generally, Horrors are hulking humanoids with strong legs, massive arms and a very wide torso/shoulder area. Their heads aren’t set atop their torsos but are in the middle. Chattur’gha Horrors are red, with rocklike skin and lizardlike heads. Ulyaoth Horrors are very dark blue, with several lighter-blue translucent sections and smooth, eyeless heads (though they are apparently capable of sight- Maximillian Roivas reports being able to “feel” their gaze.) Xel’lotath Horrors appear covered in sickly green chitin and have no heads, but rather three eyes, the lids of which are “festooned with tiny, hook-like teeth.” Bonethief: A smallish mantis-like creature that possesses people, forcing them to attack the player. After the host takes sufficient damage or is decapitated, it bursts out from inside to attack head-on, a sight which takes a tremendous toll on the player’s sanity. Bonethieves are instantly killed by cutting off their heads, with the exception of Xel’lotath Bonethieves, which have none. Bonethieves must be eliminated immediately, by any means possible, as they will of course try to possess the player’s vacant body. If a Bonethief succeeds in possessing the player, the player effectively dies, and the world falls to the Eternal Darkness. Bonethieves are best engaged at close range, as they occasionally dodge bullets, unless the player is using a spell to become invisible. A Bonethief possesses a person by burrowing into his or her chest cavity. The precise method of control is unrevealed, as is the means by which the creature (about two and a half feet tall) fits itself inside. Rather than heads, Xel’lotath Bonethieves have three tiny orbs of green light that spin over their bodies. Reaper/Gatekeeper: Similar in appearance to a combination of scorpion, human, and bat. A reaper’s presence is signified by red, blue, or green mist on the floor. They attack the player with a sting, which causes momentary immobilization and drains health, magick, or sanity, then summon creatures for the player to fight. They can’t be attacked from the front until they open their wings, which only happens if the player is close enough. Their wings can actually be targetted, but this has no effect. Reapers are unique in that, for some reason, they are most efficiently destroyed by targetting their torsos, not their heads, and that they drain sanity just by being in the same room as the player for as long as they are alive. Lesser Guardian: Each of the Ancients (except Mantorok) have their own guardians which inhabit the Ruined City of Ehn’gha underneath the Roivas Mansion. They use spells to attack and defend themselves and have the ability to take the form of a glowing orb that can move quickly to anywhere. The only significant difference between these creatures is in their appearance and the alignment of their spells:
Vampire: This beast drains the life of Edward Roivas’s servants. Upon taking enough damage it returns to the cellar to heal itself by drawing energy from an enchanted headstone. In order to kill this creature, the player must destroy the stone. It can become invisible at will, but is thwarted by the Reveal Invisible spell. Those slain by the beast rise as hostile undead immediately afterward. This creature appears only once in the game, during Edward’s chapter. Black Guardian (Greater Guardian): This is a gigantic creature that inhabits a secret chamber underneath Oublie Cathedral and guards one of the three artifacts the player must collect, killing all who approach, including the Franciscan monk Paul Luther. Later, as Peter Jacob, the player ends up fighting it as a Boss . The Chattur’gha version is a wormlike beast with lobster claws and a long, sticky tongue. The Ulyaoth version has three legs attached to a central orb, which holds a smaller orb beneath it via tentacles. The Xel’lotath version is dark green (almost black) and appears as an oversized, spindly humanaoid form with four arms and a floating Xel’lotah Rune in place of a head. RUNES Though they are called “ Runes ” by the game (probably due to the term’s association with mystery and magic), these symbols do not form an alphabet, but rather a vocabulary. As such, they would be more accurately termed Glyph s or especially Sigil a. Alignments
Verbs
Nouns
Other
SPELLS Spells are created using one alignment rune, one verb rune, one noun rune, and Pargon runes to fill out the Circle of Power. In order to create spells of a certain level (3, 5, or 7), the appropriate Circle of Power must first be obtained from Oublie Cathedral (in Anthony’s, Paul Luther’s, and Peter Jacob’s chapters, respectively). In order to create a specific spell, all runes used in that spell must have been obtained (it is not necessary to obtain the codices or the spell scroll). When the player has acquired the runes, codices, and spell scroll for a particular spell, its lowest-level version will automatically be learned. Higher-level versions must be created in the “New Spell” menu. Sometimes a higher-level spell is required in order to achieve the desired effect. The necessary level is usually, but not always, denoted nearby in some way. Each character is only be able to create and cast spells after acquiring the ''Tome of Eternal Darkness''. Some spells are only for specific situations (such as Reveal Invisible or Dispel Magick), while some (like Magick Pool or Recover) are extremely useful at all times. When casting, if a character moves or is attacked before the spell is complete, magick will be drained but the spell will fail. Some characters possess an item which can cast a low-level spell when used, for example:
ETERNAL DARKNESS FILMS In and July 4 , 2002 . The grand prize winner was decided by a panel of judges that consisted of writers, directors, game developers, and marketing executives. A second viewer’s choice award was decided by online voters. The grand prize winner of the contest was Patrick Daughter, for the film ''Unloved''. The viewer’s choice award went to the film ''Cutting Room Floor'' by Tyler Spangler and Michael Cioni. Other videos featured on the official website included:
The films were not directly based on the ''Eternal Darkness'' characters or storyline, but inspired by the psychological horror themes in the game. TRIVIA
VOICE ACTORS
RESOURCES The video game ''Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem'' was consulted in the writing of this article, as well as its Instruction Booklet and the Official Player’s Guide from '' Nintendo Power ''. EXTERNAL LINKS
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