Lighthouse: The Dark Being

Lighthouse: The Dark Being

PC Cover art
Developer(s) Sierra On-Line
Publisher(s) Sierra On-Line
Platform(s) PC (MS-DOS, Windows), Mac OS
Release date(s) 1996
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Lighthouse: The Dark Being is an adventure game developed and released by Sierra On-Line.

Gameplay

The game is a first person adventure with a point and click interface. It is played very similarly to the popular Myst series.

Plot

The Player starts the game in their new cottage on the Oregon coast. According to the Player's diary, he or she (the character's gender is never explicitly defined) is a struggling writer who has just moved in, and recently met their eccentric next door neighbor, Dr. Jeremiah Krick, and his daughter Amanda, who live in a nearby lighthouse. Glancing out of the window, the Player sees the lighthouse struck by lightning and then begin to glow strangely. On the Player's answering machine, Dr. Krick has left a frantic message begging the player to come over to his house and watch Amanda.

Upon arriving at Dr. Krick's house, the player discovers the front door locked, darkness inside, and silence. After turning on the power and entering, the Player finds Amanda in her crib, alone. Once the Player has explored the house, a snap is heard, and Amanda begins crying. When the Player enters her room, the "Dark Being", described in Dr. Krick's journal, takes Amanda, and jumps through a portal. At this point, the Player can either follow him through or use Dr. Krick's laboratory to construct their own portal. Either way, the Player ends up on a rocky beach in a parallel world. Krick's notes on this make reference to the real physical concept of Godel's universe.

As the Player explores six different locations in the parallel world, the goal becomes clear. They must build an "Ionizing Cannon," whose 7 pieces are scattered between the different locations. Then the player must use this cannon to capture the Dark Being, and save Dr. Krick and Amanda.

Characters

Main

Minor

Reception

Lighthouse received mediocre reviews, averaging a 67% on Game Rankings. Critics praised the game for being beautifully detailed, but objected to the vague and obscure puzzles.[1]

Similarity to Myst

The game was conceived expressly as a "Myst clone"; lead designer Jon Bock later recalled that 'Ken Williams called me into his office one day, pulled out a copy of Myst and said; "Can you do this?" I said yes, and the game went into development.'[2]

Similarities to the Myst franchise include:

Notes

References

External links

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