A Dark Room
| A Dark Room | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | doublespeak games |
| Publisher(s) | doublespeak games |
| Designer(s) | Michael Townsend, Amir Rajan (iOS) |
| Platform(s) |
|
| Release date(s) | 2013 |
| Genre(s) | Online text-based role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
A Dark Room is a role-playing text-based game originally published in 2013 on the web by Doublespeak Games, then was released in the App Store for iOS devices in 2014. That same year, a prequel entitled The Ensign, which provided more insight into the world and its characters, was released on iOS.
Production
The game began as a "collaboration between two men who worked together without having ever met in person". It was "originally created by Michael Townsend in May of 2013", then Amir Rajan "asked for permission to adapt the game for iPhones and iPads". It was meant "to run in Web browsers and meant to be left running in an open window throughout the day".[1] Amir ported the game to iOS using the RubyMotion mobile toolchain.[2]
Townsend says, "I originally wrote A Dark Room to tell its story entirely through environmental cues—no exposition, no dialogue, nothing."[1]
Gameplay
The game starts out with the player waking up after an unspecified event with the ability to stoke fire. He interacts with a stranger, and eventually starts to acquire resources, attract others into his growing village, and begins to explore external worlds. The New Yorker said, "What follows is a strange hybrid, part mystery story and part smartphone productivity software...the game evokes the simplest text-based computer games of the nineteen-seventies while stimulating a very modern impulse to constantly check and recheck one’s phone. It’s like a puzzle composed of deconstructed to-do lists."[1] The site added, "You can begin to see a structure emerge from the fragments, but where that structure will lead you remains impossible to predict, and so the compulsion to keep pressing little word buttons grows stronger."[1]
Critical reception
TouchArcade gave the game a rating of 4 out of 5, writing, "It's a strange little thing, to be sure, but I'd definitely recommend A Dark Room to people who appreciate off-beat RPGs, fans of experience-driven games, or really anyone looking for something a little bit different from usual."[3] Slide to Play rated it 3 out of 4, commenting, "It may not seem like much at first, but if you stick around long enough, it’s easy to fall under A Dark Room’' 's spell."[4] 148Apps gave the game 3 out of 5, writing, "A Dark Room may have plenty of longevity and may be genuinely intriguing, but its interface feels undeveloped in its iOS iteration."[5]
The New Yorker explained, "When A Dark Room was first released on iPhone, at the end of 2013, the game was listed in a number of Best of the Year lists, including those published by Forbes, Paste, and the gaming site, Giant Bomb."[1] The app "rocketed to the most-downloaded spot in the App Store’s games section in April and stayed there throughout the month".[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Thomsen, Michael. "A Dark Room: The Best-Selling Game That No One Can Explain". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
- ↑ "RubyMotion Success Story: A Dark Room". RubyMotion Blog. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
- ↑ http://toucharcade.com/2014/06/03/a-dark-room-review/
- ↑ http://www.slidetoplay.com/review/a-dark-room-review/
- ↑ http://www.148apps.com/reviews/dark-room-review/