Pieces Interactive’sAlone in the Darkis taking players back to where it all began with the series debut: Derceto Manor. In the original game, it was a luxurious manor belonging to Jeremy Hartwood, but this reimagining makes it a mental health facility. One thing that remains the same, however, is the Lovecraftian horrors haunting its halls.Derceto Manor is a case of the environment being a character, and the developers took pains to ensure that its design was grounded in believability.
Speaking with Game Rant,Alone in the Darkcreative director Mikael Hedberg, among others, went into detail about how the team approached this unique setting, viewing Derceto Manor as a large puzzle waiting for players to solve and striving to deliver an environment that leverages the distinct architecture found around New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou.
The Devs Wanted Alone in the Dark’s Derceto Manor to Feel Like a Real Haunted House
An expansive manor is an ideal setting fora survival horror gameas its various wings, halls, and floors offer a natural flow of puzzle-like progression throughout its architectural layers. That said,Alone in the Dark’s developers wanted to ensure that none of the manor’s contents felt arbitrary; rather, they were to be grounded in reality. In a way, this can make things all the more unsettling once they deviate from the norm in spectacular Lovecraftian fashion. Hedberg explained how important maintaining this atmosphere was to the team.
Preserving that feeling of a “haunted house” was very important for us. Essentially, we wanted the whole house to feel like a puzzle. That meant that the player would be looking for keys, gradually opening up the house step by step, exploring new areas, and meeting new residents. From a puzzle design perspective, we tried to get the player to be sucked deeper and deeper into the house by gradually opening up new areas, unlocking new clues and objects.
The environment may shift in unusual ways as players explore, bringing to mindgames likeControlandThe Stanley Parablewhere seemingly ordinary office spaces turn out to be quite the opposite upon a second look. While this potentially poses an added navigational challenge, it also keeps the tension high as players are taught to expect the unexpected. Such tension is the foundation of the survivor horror genre thatAlone in the Darkpioneered years ago, and grounding it, as Hedberg explained, helps maintain that vision.
It was also important to us that the house felt “grounded," so every object you’d find would have a reason to be there since it’s connected to the place and the people living there. Navigating around the house is also a challenge since rooms and areas might shift and transform unexpectedly. And also, as the evening in Derceto Manor progresses, the atmosphere will change to something way more dark and sinister…
Alone in the Dark’s Derceto Manor Feels Authentic to the Period and Location
Hedberg cited the neo-noir horror filmAngel Heartstarring Robert De Niro as an early inspiration, which seems to be a perfect reference point for a horror game also taking place in Louisiana. Both the architecture and the geography of the Deep South contrast strongly with more typical European and New England settings frequentlyfound in Lovecraftian horror, giving this environment as a character an identity all its own. As art director Rikard Ryberg explained,
An early influence we had was the movie Angel Heart. It has this southern gothic tone which I think you can still sense in the final game. A lot of work went into redefining the Derceto both in terms of the architecture and the interior design and themes. For this, we have always kept the original game close at heart and I tried to add and emphasize a quirkiness without it starting to look or feel absurd or out of place.
For the exterior, we looked a lot at the Italianate and Greek revival architectural styles. The exterior gets a lot of inspiration from the old, now demolished, Belle Grove plantation. Moreover, we have a few key locations that are influenced by New Orleans with surroundings.
The developers, of course, looked closely atthe original 1992Alone in the Dark’s rendition of Derceto Manor, but it’s intentionally not a one-to-one translation. Hedberg asserts that this is more of a reimagining rather than a complete remake, and Pieces Interactive has plenty of its own unique ideas in store for players.
Alone in the Dark
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Alone in the Dark weaves a chilling tapestry of psychological horror and Southern Gothic charm, reimagining the iconic game that set the benchmark for the genre. We invite you to join us on a journey into madness, where each encounter could be your last. With each step you take closer to unravelling Derceto’s mystery, the eyes that watch from the darkness grow hungrier.Every bullet means the difference between survival and an unthinkable end. The next door you unlock could lead to a nightmarish realm offering nothing but slashing claws, grasping tentacles, and frayed sanity. Journey to interbellum Louisiana, where an era of decadence hides a darker tale - of escape from past traumas and an intolerant society, into the waiting grasp of something darker, something that has patiently lurked for impossible eons.This is Alone in the Dark as you’ve never seen it - a skillfully-woven narrative of Southern Gothic elegance and eldritch madness that pays homage to its legendary origins while taking the next step forward in survival horror storytelling.
