Alone in the Dark Becomes TV Drama News

Alone in the Dark, the game that launched the survival/horror genre whilst Resident Evil was just a glint in Shinji Mikami's eye, is set to grab centre stage again this year with the appearance of Alone in the Dark for the Xbox 360 later in the year.

With scant details to go by Atari today surprised us ahead of its E3 debut with confirmation that the game will follow an episodic structure. Currently in design at Eden Games, Alone in the Dark takes inspiration from the presentation style and structure of a number of acclaimed and globally popular TV action dramas. Citing the fact that 10+ hour games often loose narrative intensity as they progress, Atari and Eden believe the TV-season format delivers a more sustained pace and high level of intensity, all of which is key to delivering the future vision of Alone in the Dark.

Each episode will consist of 30-40 minutes of gameplay, which caters to both the player who has hours to devote and the one who only wants a quick TV style fix. Talking specifically about the format, Eden Games has revealed that every time a saved game is launched, the episode will begin with a video summary of the previous episode to quickly bring the player up to speed, removing the need to remember what they were up to and immersing them back into the story promptly. Every episode will culminate in a nail-biting cliff-hanger ending to continually entice players, and whenever the game is ended a video trailer of the next episode will play to ensure they're left wanting more.

Further details have clarified that the game will not necessarily employ a download service similar to SiN Episodes, but instead feature a narrative closer akin to Quantic Dreams excellent adventure, Fahrenheit. Atari have confirmed that players will not need to pay for additional episodes of the game, which suggests the game will feature in its entirety but broken down into a structure similar to TV dramas.

"Our new format for Alone in the Dark greatly enhances the pace and tension, keeping players permanently hooked into the engrossing story surrounding the mysteries of Central Park and beyond," said David Nadal, Game Director, Eden Games. "You barely have time to breathe before the next cliffhanger hits you..."

Alone in the Dark is slated for a release on the Xbox 360 and PC (no talk of the PS3 yet) in 2007; expect more information to become available shortly...