DreadOut

Last updated

DreadOut
Dreadout header.jpg
Developer(s) Digital Happiness
Publisher(s) Digital Happiness
Director(s) Vadi Vanadi
Producer(s) Rachmad Imron
Sukmadi Rafiuddin
Dai Daks
Designer(s) Rendy Basuki
Composer(s) Adhit Android
KOIL
Series DreadOut
Engine Unity
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Linux, OS X [1]
ReleaseWindows
15 May 2014 [2]
Linux, OS X
20 August 2014 [3]
Genre(s) Survival horror
Mode(s) Single-player

DreadOut is a survival horror video game from independent developer Digital Happiness for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and OS X. A port for PlayStation 4 was announced but never released. [4] [5] The story is about a group of high school students in Indonesia who come across an old abandoned town. There they are confronted with ghosts and paranormal activities, and one of the students, the protagonist Linda, begins to uncover the secrets of the town and its surrounding area. A sequel, titled DreadOut 2, released for Microsoft Windows in February 2020 and was subsequently ported to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in July 2022. [6] A Nintendo Switch port of the sequel was for a January 2024 release. [7]

Contents

Gameplay

DreadOut is a third-person horror game that uses mechanics similar to those found in the Fatal Frame series. The player uses modern gadgets, such as her smartphone and a digital camera, to interact with (or fend off) various kinds of Indonesian mythical ghosts and to help her solve various puzzles. When Linda dies in the game, she awakens in Limbo, depicted as darkness surrounded by candles with a bright light in the distance. By running towards the light, Linda will come back to life. [8] However, subsequent deaths will push the light further and further away from Linda, unless she manages to find three mystical items to keep the light closer to her.

The game features both third and first-person control schemes, with the player navigating environments with a standard over-the-shoulder perspective. If the player decides to use their digital camera to photograph something, they enter a first-person perspective to see through Linda's equipped camera. Any ghosts that are photographed or interacted with in any way will be recorded in a "Ghostpedia" in Linda's notebook. Linda can also find articles and journal entries that describe much of the game's backstory. A preview video showed a tablet version of the game, where the player controls Linda via the touch screen. [9]

Plot

When a group of senior high school students go astray from their vacation trip in Indonesia, they discover an old deserted town. They soon realize that something sinister is about to happen. Linda Meilinda realises something mystical is happening to her. She gains a spiritual power that could save her and her friends from the unknown. [10] [11] [12]

Development

Indonesian developer Digital Happiness worked on the game using a team of around 20 people. [13] After releasing a demo, they sought a crowd sourcing campaign via Indiegogo. [14] The campaign asked for US$25,000 and ended with US$29,067. They needed crowd sourcing since the game industry in Indonesia is small and focuses mostly on social or mobile games and were unable to find funding. Digital Happiness founder Rachmad Imron stated: "We have a lot of good human resources but most of them went abroad because there's no game industry in Indonesia, but we hope this will change soon." [13]

Reception

DreadOut received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [15]

Film adaptation

In 2018, Indonesian production company GoodHouse announced a film adaption of Dreadout. The film was released in Indonesia on 3 January 2019. [18] The film is directed by Kimo Stamboel. The film cast included Caitlin Halderman, Jefri Nichol, Marsha Aruan, Ciccio Manassero, Susan Sameh, and Irsyadillah.

Related Research Articles

Fatal Frame, titled Zero in Japan and Project Zero in Europe and Australia, is a Japanese survival horror video game series that was created, published and developed by Koei Tecmo. Debuting in 2001 with the first entry in the series for the PlayStation 2, the series consists of five main entries. The series is set in 1980s Japan, with each entry focusing on a location beset by hostile supernatural events. In each scenario, the characters involved in the present investigation use Camera Obscura, objects created by Dr. Kunihiko Asou that can capture and pacify spirits. The series draws on staple elements of Japanese horror, and is noted for its frequent use of female protagonists.

<i>Fatal Frame</i> (video game) 2001 video game

Fatal Frame is a survival horror video game developed by Tecmo for the PlayStation 2. The first installment in the Fatal Frame / Project Zero series, it was released in 2001 in Japan and 2002 in North America and Europe. An enhanced port for the Xbox was released in 2002 in North America and 2003 in Japan and Europe. The game was published for both systems by Tecmo in Japan and North America. In Europe, the PlayStation 2 version was published by Wanadoo, and the Xbox version by Microsoft. It was re-released in North America on the PlayStation Network in 2013.

<i>Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly</i> 2003 video game

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is a Japanese survival horror video game developed and published by Tecmo in 2003 for the PlayStation 2. It is the second installment in the Fatal Frame series, and features an independent story with little relation to the first title. The story follows twin sisters Mio and Mayu Amakura as they explore an abandoned village and experience encounters with the paranormal. Their lives quickly become threatened when the village spirits begin to possess Mayu and target them as sacrifices for an ancient ritual. Players must use a camera with powers of exorcism to defeat enemies and uncover the secrets of the village.

<i>Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse</i> 2008 video game

Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a survival horror video game developed by Tecmo, Nintendo SPD and Grasshopper Manufacture. The fourth installment in the Fatal Frame series and the first on a Nintendo console, it was released in 2008 by Nintendo for the Wii in Japan. A remaster for eighth and ninth generation consoles and Windows published by Koei Tecmo was released worldwide in 2023.

<i>The Blair Witch Project</i> 1999 horror film by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez

The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written, directed, and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. It is a fictional story of three student filmmakers—Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard—who hike into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland, in 1994 to film a documentary about a local myth known as the Blair Witch. The three disappear, but their equipment and footage are discovered a year later. The purportedly "found footage" is the movie the viewer sees.

In Indonesian mythology, a sundel bolong, is a mythical ghost from the archipelago which is a woman with beautiful long black hair and a long white dress. The myth is closely linked to prostitutes, meaning a "prostitute with a hole in her", in reference to the large hole which is said to appear in her back.

<i>Lollipop Chainsaw</i> 2012 video game

Lollipop Chainsaw is a 2012 action-adventure hack-and-slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture. A collaboration between game designer Goichi Suda and filmmaker James Gunn, the game was published in Japan by Kadokawa Games and internationally by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

<i>Paranormal Activity</i> (film series) American supernatural horror film series

Paranormal Activity is an American supernatural horror franchise consisting of seven films and additional media. Created by Oren Peli, the original film premiered in 2007 and was widely released in 2009.

Tango Gameworks is a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. Founded in March 2010 by Shinji Mikami, previously of Capcom, the company was acquired by ZeniMax Media in October that year after suffering financial issues.

Bloober Team S.A. is a Polish video game developer based in Kraków. Founded in November 2008 by Piotr Babieno and Piotr Bielatowicz, the company is best known for developing horror games such as Layers of Fear (2016), Observer (2017), Blair Witch (2019), and The Medium (2021). In January 2018, Bloober Team received the Paszport Polityki award in the "Digital Culture" category. It owns third-party publisher Feardemic.

<i>Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast</i> 2012 American horror film

Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast is a 2012 American horror film written and directed by Sam Qualiana, and produced by Richard Chizmar, Marc Makowski, and Greg Lamberson. The film stars Qualiana alongside Michael O'Hare, Kathy Murphy, C. J. Qualiana, Jackey Hall and Andrew Elias. The film follows the residents of a small town who are terrorized by a prehistoric man-eating shark that can swim through snow.

<i>A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night</i> 2014 film by Ana Lily Amirpour

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a 2014 Persian-language American Western horror film written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour. Promoted as "The first Iranian vampire Western", it stars Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Mozhan Marnò, Marshall Manesh, and Dominic Rains. It was financed in part by a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.

<i>Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water</i> 2014 video game

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a survival horror video game developed by Koei Tecmo. The fifth main entry in the Fatal Frame series, it was originally published by Nintendo for the Wii U in Japan in September 2014 and worldwide in October 2015. A remaster for eighth and ninth generation consoles and Windows, this time published by Koei Tecmo, was released worldwide in October 2021.

<i>Ghost of a Tale</i> 2016 video game

Ghost of a Tale is an independent action role-playing stealth game developed primarily by game designer and DreamWorks and Universal Pictures veteran Lionel "Seith" Gallat. The title was funded by a successful Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign which ran from April–May 2013, raising €48,700. An early version was released in 2016 on Windows PCs and the Xbox One as part of Microsoft's ID@Xbox indie developer program. The final PC version was released on March 13, 2018. On February 16, 2019, it was announced that the release date of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions would be March 12, 2019. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch on October 8, 2020. A version for Amazon Luna was released on October 20, 2020.

<i>Terrifier</i> 2016 film by Damien Leone

Terrifier is a 2016 American independent slasher film written and directed by Damien Leone. The film stars Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidi, David Howard Thornton, and Catherine Corcoran. The plot centers on partygoer Tara Heyes (Kanell) and her sister Victoria (Scaffidi), who become targets of the enigmatic serial killer known only as Art the Clown (Thornton) on Halloween night.

<i>Resident Evil 2</i> (2019 video game) Video game remake

Resident Evil 2 is a 2019 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. A remake of the 1998 game Resident Evil 2, it was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in January 2019 and for Amazon Luna, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch in 2022. Versions for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS are scheduled to be released in December 2024. Players control the rookie police officer Leon S. Kennedy and the college student Claire Redfield as they attempt to escape Raccoon City during a zombie outbreak.

In the video game industry, 2021 saw the release of many new titles. The numerous delays in software and hardware releases due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted development schedules, leading to several games being delayed into 2022 or even postponed indefinitely. Additionally, computer and console hardware were impacted by the combined effects of a semiconductor shortage and a rising growth of bitcoin mining that strained the supply of critical components.

<i>Carrion</i> (video game) 2020 video game

Carrion is a horror video game developed by Phobia Game Studio and published by Devolver Digital. Described as a "reverse-horror game", the game allows players to control a tentacled monster whose objective is to make its way through a facility, stalking and killing humans in its path.

Indonesian horror are the films of the horror genre produced by the Indonesian film industry. Often inspired by local folklore and religious elements, Indonesian horror films have been produced in the country since the 1960s. After a hiatus during the Suharto era in the 1990s, when censorship affected production, Indonesian horror films continued being produced following Reformasi in 1998.

References

  1. ↑ "Interview with the creators of DreadOut". SurvivalHorrorOnline.com. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Lee, Alice (5 May 2014). "Horror Game Dreadout Gets Release Date". VirtualCrunch. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "Indonesian voice, 32 bit, mac, linux, steam os now available". Twitter. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "Indie Horror Title "DreadOut" Breathes Life Into the Genre". All That's Epic. 3 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  5. ↑ http://thegamesdb.net/search/?string=dreadout&function=Search%5B%5D
  6. ↑ "DreadOut 2 coming to Xbox Series and Xbox One on July 15, PS5 and PS4 on July 20". Gematsu. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "DreadOut 2 coming to Switch on January 18, 2024". Gematsu. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Another take on horror:DreadOut". BeefJack. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  9. ↑ "Dreadout – Eye On". LupoEntertainment. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  10. ↑ "[Indie Horror Spotlight] 'DreadOut' Has A Very Persistent Mosquito". Bloody Disgusting. 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  11. ↑ "Experience The Indonesian Horror". DreadOut. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2013. When a group of high school students stray from their vacation trip, they discover an old deserted town. They begin to realize that something sinister is happening as soon as they enter the town. Linda, as the main protagonist, feels the stirrings of a strange and mystical power within herself. This spiritual power just might be the only way to save herself and her friends from an unknown evil.
    Linda has lots of modern gadgets at her disposal[,] including smartphones, digital cameras, and digital video cameras. With these instruments[,] she can interact with and capture the various kinds of unique South[e]ast Asian [g]hosts and also solve the many varied puzzles of the deserted town[.]
  12. ↑ "Linda Meilinda". DreadOut. 10 February 2013. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  13. 1 2 "Indonesia May Be Developing the Next Great Horror Game". May 2014. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  14. ↑ "Highly Anticipated Indonesian Horror Game DreadOut Seeks Help on Indiegogo and Steam". sg.finance.yahoo.com. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  15. 1 2 "DreadOut for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Review: DreadOut – Act 1 ‹ Hardcore Gamer". 28 May 2014. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  17. ↑ Kollar, Philip (21 May 2014). "DreadOut review: old ghosts". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  18. ↑ "Coming soon in January, 'DreadOut' longs for global fame". The Jakarta Post. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.