Friday, January 20, 2012

Case Study No. 0185: Sue

Let's Play Darkseed for DOS Part 24
3:16
We all want to touch some librarians.
Tags: let's play LP point and click H.R.Giger window washer retro gaming alien lovecraft dark seed darkseed mike dawson horror game nineties phantasmagoria cyberdreams.
Added: 2 years ago
From: Nopperabou
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[Mike Dawson walks up to the Woodland Hills Public Library]
NARRATOR: An old library. A venerable repository of knowledge, it guards its bounty behind a handsomely decorated structure.
[Dawson enters the library, where a young female librarian is sitting at the desk stamping books]
NARRATOR: This room reminds you of your study, full of leather bound books.
[he looks at the bookshelf]
NARRATOR: You don't see anything worth reading here.
[the player places the "Take" cursor over the librarian]
NARRATOR: That would be very impolite, the sort of thing your former coworker Larry would've tried to do!
[Dawson attempts to speak with the librarian]
NARRATOR: An extremely beautiful woman. She doesn't seem to notice you staring at her.
[Dawson attempts to take some books on the table]
NARRATOR: These books are not available for checking out yet.
[he tries to hand the librarian a bottle of scotch from his inventory]
NARRATOR: The librarian doesn't drink!
[he picks up something in front of the desk]
NARRATOR: You pick up the bobby pin.
[he hands her a library card that he found in his mansion]
LIBRARIAN: This card really should be kept with the book. You'll find that one in aisle C. It's the one with the green cover.
[he heads to the backroom, with shelves labelled "A", "B", "C", and "D"]
NARRATOR: A very quiet part of the library. You could hear a pin drop.
[he looks at the "A" shelf]
NARRATOR: The rows of books in the library stacks all look pretty much the same.
[he looks at the "C" shelf]
NARRATOR: You pick up the book and pull out the piece of paper.
[he examines the piece of paper, which reads "I know that I am doomed, but I hope that someone will find this and solve the mystery that baffled me. I had a light moment the other night when old man Tuttle grabbed the key to my clock and swallowed it. What a joker! Then the old guy had a stroke only a week later. I can retrieve the key if I have the guts. Pressing left, above, right will get me in. Another--"]
[he leaves and heads to another section of the library, with shelves of books and a microfilm reader on the table in the middle of the room]
NARRATOR: This dark room looks like it is seldom used.
[he walks up to the table]
NARRATOR: An old teak desk. It's seen better days. You touch the desk.
[he looks at one of the shelves]
NARRATOR: Books, books, and more books. You see nothing of interest.
[he looks at the microfilm reader]
NARRATOR: A reader for viewing microfiche films.

[...]

[Dawson is in his bedroom, when the telephone rings]
DAWSON: Hello?
LIBRARIAN: [over the phone] Hello Mike. This is Sue at the library. We have a book on hold for you, so please drop by sometime.
[he hangs up and heads back to the library, where the librarian is wating for him]
LIBRARIAN: Hi, Mike. Here's the book that was put on hold for you.
[he examines a passage in the book, which reads "When one feels compelled to explore new worlds and surrounds, it is time to look homeward for life's rewards" ... however, the image suddenly changes to read "Tune into the right station to hear from a concerned friend"]

[...]

[Dawson has transported to the Dark World version of Woodland Hills, and is standing in front of the alien version of the library]
NARRATOR: Every fiber of your existence tells you not to go in there. However, nothing ventured ...
[he uses the invisibility ring to get past the alien guard, and enters the structure]
NARRATOR: You're in the great archive chamber. Many of the ancients' secrets are available here, for those who know how to access them.
[he walks up to a large screen on the opposite wall]
NARRATOR: You turn on the access screen.
[the image of an (apparently female) alien appears on the screen]
NARRATOR: You see the keeper of the scrolls.
KEEPER: Greetings, Michael. I've been sending you messages over the radio. The ancients have implanted an alien embryo into your brain. If born, this creature will destroy you and all of mankind. You must find the Ancients' power source and destroy it. Also, the police in your world are under the control of the Ancients. Avoid them at all costs. Hurry, and good luck.
NARRATOR: The Keeper of the Scrolls has given you something.

[...]

[Dawson returns to the library, where the scroll given to him by the Keeper in the Dark World has transformed into a microfiche card]
NARRATOR: You turn on the reader.
[he selects the card from his inventory]
NARRATOR: Holding microfiche card. You stick the film in the viewer. You turn on the lamp.
[he views the resulting screen, which reads "Better Homes & Cellars. Home security ... Many readers have sent in ideas regarding storage of valuables in the home. One of these ideas involves hollowing out the area beneath a flagstone in your cellar and concealing objects such as jewelry and even cash. This is an ingenious idea and definitely worth looking into. --Ryan Ketchum"]
NARRATOR: You turn off the lamp.

[...]

[Dawson has defeated the Ancients and returned to his home, when there's a knock at the door ... He opens it to find the librarian]
LIBRARIAN: I'm not really sure why I'm here, but I just felt drawn to you. I know it sounds strange, but what's even more strange is that I found these pills in my purse. It's a prescription filled in your name for relief of severe headaches.
[her face suddenly morphs into an image of the Keeper of the Scrolls, then changes back]
DAWSON: I'm just beginning to understand ...

---

From imbd.com:

"Dark Seed" (1992)

Writer Mike Dawson has recently purchased an old victorian house located in a strangely quiet small town, but his seclusion is disturbed by a re-occuring nightmare of aliens boring holes into his brain. His nightmares turn into a horrifying reality when a deliveryman delivers the missing piece to the broken living room mirror, opening a portal into a macabre alternate dimension.

Mike Dawson - Himself (voice)
John Krause - Delbert / Postman (voice)
Paul Drzeweicki - Policeman (voice)
Heidi Marendi - Librarian (voice)

---

From gamesover.com:

Exit the store and continue right until you reach the library. Enter the library. On the floor in front of the librarian's desk is a hairpin. Pick it up. Give the library card to the librarian. She will tell you to put it back in the book. Go through the upper left door and enter aisle "C." Point at the large green book on the bottom row. You will obtain a piece of paper. Look at the paper. Exit the library and go to the left until you go past your house onto a path.

[...]

Return to the house. The phone will be ringing. Go to the master bedroom and answer the phone. You will be told that there is a book waiting for you at the library. Go to the library and point at the librarian. She will give you a book which you will look at to get a message (the message tips you off that you may sometimes get some information by listening to the car radio which you can do on Day 2 and 3 if you wish). Exit the library and return to the house.

[...]

Go right until you reach the Dark World library which is guarded by an alien guard. Use the invisibility ring to get past the guard. Enter the Dark World library and point at the console (not the screen). A figure will appear on the screen. Talk to the figure and she will provide you with some information and give you a microfilm. Exit the Dark World library and go left until you reach the Dark World house. Enter the house, go right to the cocoon room, and back through the mirror to the normal world. Go upstairs and point at the bed to go to sleep.

[...]

Go into the bathroom and point at the medicine cabinet for a headache tablet and take a shower. Go downstairs to the lobby, exit the house, and go right until you reach the library. Enter the library. Go through the right door. Point at the microfilm viewer to light it and use the microfilm on the viewer. Read the message then turn off the viewer.

[...]

Return to the house via the rope. Go to the living room and through the mirror to the Dark World. Exit the Dark World house. The small door to the left of the main door is the entrance to a spaceship. Enter the spaceship and use the gloves to operate the lever on the left side of the main console. This starts the spaceship's engine. Exit the spaceship. The spaceship will take off and you will be returned to the normal world. With the ship gone, the mirror is now de-energized and the portal to the Dark World is closed. Use the hammer to break the mirror. The librarian will arrive at the front door with an item for you and the game ends.

---

From game-nostalgia.com:

For some reason there are only three close-ups in the game, one of Dawson in the intro, one of the librarian and one of her counterpart in the Dark World, the Keeper of the Scrolls (The Keeper is modeled after Li Toblar). In the end sequence the librarian visits Dawson and for a moment her face changes into the one of the Keeper. It is suggested in this end sequence that the librarian will become friends with Dawson and I wonder whether she was related to one of the members of the design team (or that she was a member of the team herself). Or are we looking at a picture of Li Tobler?

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