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Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy

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Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy
Developer(s)Tribal Dreams
Publisher(s)Interplay Entertainment
Director(s)David Riordan
Producer(s)Brian F. Christian
Designer(s)Cliff Johnson
Programmer(s)Eric Whelpley
Artist(s)Todd J. Camasta
Wes Burian
Gil Bruvel
Writer(s)Kenneth Melville
David Riordan
Composer(s)Steve Gutheinz
Kenneth Melville
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s)Point-and-click adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy, also known as simply Of Light and Darkness, is a first-person point-and-click adventure video game developed by Tribal Dreams and published by Interplay Entertainment in 1998.

Plot and gameplay

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Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy is a point-and-click adventure game.[3] The player's goal in the game is to prevent a global apocalypse by redeeming the cursed spirits that are attempting to start various possible disasters. Once all possible disasters are prevented, by redeeming all the spirits, the player must defeat the dark lord Gar Hob.

Development

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The game was published by Interplay Entertainment and developed by Tribal Dreams. The game featured art by Gil Bruvel, an award-winning artist.[4] Of Light and Darkness ran on the EDEN engine, developed by Heartland Enterprises.[3] The game was displayed at the 1996 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June. Its visuals were created by Gil Bruvel, a surrealist fine artist from France.[5] It also appeared at E3 1997.[6]

Actors Lolita Davidovich and James Woods did voice lines and motion capture for the game. Davidovich played the character Angel Gemini while Woods played the role of Gar Hob.[7]

Release

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Before its original release, retailers such as Costco announced they would be refusing to carry the game due to its box art. Made by Bruvel, it featured the character Angel Gemini nude in a fetal position. Interplay's Vice President of sales Kim Motika criticized the decision, finding it hard to comprehend retailers selling games like Tomb Raider and claiming Of Light and Darkness's box art is too provocative. Members of Interplay did, however, say that their ad campaign could have turned off family oriented chains.[8][9][10] In December 2016, the game was re-released on GOG.com.[11]

Reception

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The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[12] Next Generation said of the game, "Imagine combining the realtime elements of The Last Express and the graphic style of Zork Nemesis with the play mechanics of Myst. It's an intriguing idea, but not one that will keep anyone sitting in front of a computer for more than a day or two."[20] Aaron Curtiss from Los Angeles Times praised the visuals, calling "The Village of the Damned" area "a psychotic Disneyland".[23]

The game was a major commercial flop.[24]

In 2012, Complex called the ending of the game one of the worst endings for a video game.[25]

References

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  1. ^ GameSpot staff (April 1, 1998). "New Releases". GameSpot. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on September 30, 2000. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  2. ^ "News for April 1, 1998". Online Gaming Review. April 1, 1998. Archived from the original on December 4, 2000. Retrieved December 6, 2019. April 1, 1998: Several new games will be hitting stores today: ...Of Light & Darkness from Interplay.
  3. ^ a b Hudak, Chris (May 1, 1996). "Of Light and Darkness Preview [date mislabeled as "March 2, 2004"]". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on December 29, 2004. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Hudak, Chris (January 1, 1997). "Light Shines Darkly". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  5. ^ CGSP staff (1996). "E3 Adventure & Role Playing Games (Page 16)". The Adventure Vault. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on June 15, 1997. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  6. ^ CGSP staff (1997). "E3 Coverage (Day 3)". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
  7. ^ Ocampo, James (1998). "Woods and Davidovich finish work for Interplay". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on January 21, 2004.
  8. ^ Dunkin, Alan (February 23, 1998). "Of Light and Darkness Box Too Provocative for Some [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000"]". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on February 20, 1999. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  9. ^ Huffstutter, P.J. (February 23, 1998). "No Risque Business". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  10. ^ "The Man Who Knows". PC Zone. No. 63. Dennis Publishing. May 1998. p. 28. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  11. ^ Estrada, Marcus (December 29, 2016). "Obscure Adventure 'Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy' Released on GOG". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  13. ^ Dembo, Arinn (May 7, 1998). "Of Light and Darkness". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  14. ^ Altman, John (April 24, 1998). "Of Light and Darkness". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on December 28, 2004.
  15. ^ Wilson, Johnny R. (June 1998). "Apocalypse Tao (Of Light & Darkness: The Prophecy Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 167. Ziff Davis. pp. 202–3. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 1, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  16. ^ James, Bonnie (April 28, 1998). "Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on May 21, 1998. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  17. ^ Bergren, Paul (June 1998). "Of Light and Darkness". Game Informer. No. 62. FuncoLand.
  18. ^ Hubble, Calvin (July 1998). "Of Light and Darkness - PC Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on February 20, 2004. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  19. ^ Smith, Steve (April 27, 1998). "Of Light and Darkness Review [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"]". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on January 4, 2005. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy". Next Generation. No. 43. Imagine Media. July 1998. p. 116. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  21. ^ "Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy". PC Gamer. Vol. 5, no. 8. Imagine Media. August 1998. p. 140. Archived from the original on March 6, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  22. ^ Sharpe, Pete (July 1998). "Of Light & Darkness [sic]". PC PowerPlay. No. 26. Next Media Pty Ltd. p. 92. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  23. ^ Curtiss, Aaron (September 7, 1998). "'Light and Darkness' Is Ultimately Brilliant". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  24. ^ Gornstein, Leslie (December 10, 1998). "Violence Not Wanted: Can't We Play Nice?". Orange County Register. Digital First Media. p. C01.
  25. ^ Rougeau, Michael (February 21, 2012). "The 50 Worst Video Game Endings". Complex. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
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