<s>
Darkmere	B-Application
:	O
The	O
Nightmare	O
's	O
Begun	O
is	O
an	O
action-adventure	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Zero	O
Hour	O
Software	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Core	O
Design	O
in	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darkmere	B-Application
was	O
first	O
being	O
developed	O
by	O
Arcane	O
Developments	O
,	O
but	O
due	O
to	O
repeated	O
delays	O
and	O
the	O
project	O
becoming	O
too	O
ambitious	O
,	O
development	O
was	O
moved	O
in-house	O
at	O
Core	O
Design	O
and	O
the	O
code	O
was	O
"	O
virtually	O
rewritten	O
from	O
scratch.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Core	O
Design	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
publish	O
a	O
sequel	O
to	O
Darkmere	B-Application
that	O
same	O
year	O
called	O
Dragonstone	B-Application
,	O
on	O
Amiga	B-Device
and	O
Amiga	B-Device
CD32	I-Device
,	O
which	O
failed	O
to	O
match	O
the	O
critical	O
approval	O
of	O
its	O
predecessor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
plague	O
of	O
orcs	O
,	O
brigands	O
and	O
dragons	O
swarmed	O
the	O
kingdom	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
cloud	O
of	O
darkness	O
called	O
the	O
"	O
Darkmere	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mark	O
Jones	O
had	O
come	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
Darkmere	B-Application
since	O
he	O
worked	O
at	O
Ocean	O
Software	O
and	O
was	O
keen	O
on	O
isometric	O
perspective	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Core	O
Design	O
called	O
Darkmere	B-Application
's	O
release	O
"	O
very	O
late	O
indeed	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
Core	O
's	O
managing	O
director	O
Jeremy	O
Smith	O
explaining	O
that	O
"[Darkmere]	O
was	O
started	O
by	O
one	O
programmer	O
who	O
managed	O
to	O
get	O
about	O
40%	O
of	O
the	O
main	O
code	O
written	O
before	O
realising	O
that	O
the	O
original	O
design	O
was	O
way	O
too	O
ambitious	O
for	O
the	O
hardware	O
he	O
was	O
using	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Smith	O
purports	O
that	O
"[Darkmere]	O
is	O
a	O
game	O
which	O
achieves	O
90%	O
of	O
what	O
we	O
initially	O
expected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Time	O
restrictions	O
were	O
imposed	O
on	O
Darkmere	B-Application
's	O
development	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
a	O
1992	O
interview	O
prior	O
to	O
a	O
developer	O
change	O
and	O
subsequent	O
re-writing	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
Darkmere	B-Application
designer	O
Mark	O
Jones	O
stated	O
that	O
despite	O
the	O
time	O
restrictions	O
,	O
"[Darkmere]	O
has	O
all	O
turned	O
out	O
exactly	O
as	O
I	O
'd	O
planned	O
it	O
,	O
although	O
I	O
would	O
have	O
originally	O
liked	O
longer	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
One	O
interviewed	O
Mark	O
Jones	O
,	O
Darkmere	B-Application
's	O
designer	O
,	O
for	O
information	O
regarding	O
its	O
development	O
in	O
a	O
pre-release	O
interview	O
prior	O
to	O
Arcane	O
Developments	O
 '	O
dismissal	O
from	O
the	O
project	O
in	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
this	O
interview	O
,	O
Darkmere	B-Application
's	O
concept	O
was	O
"	O
floating	O
around	O
for	O
a	O
couple	O
of	O
years	O
"	O
before	O
its	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jones	O
cited	O
The	B-Application
Hobbit	I-Application
as	O
an	O
inspiration	O
for	O
Darkmere	B-Application
,	O
further	O
exemplified	O
by	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
taverns	O
being	O
named	O
the	O
"	O
Tolk	O
Inn	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
protagonist	O
's	O
sword	O
glowing	O
in	O
the	O
presence	O
of	O
orcs	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
Sting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darkmere	B-Application
's	O
puzzlesolving	O
and	O
gameplay	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
"	O
interactive	O
"	O
according	O
to	O
Jones	O
,	O
who	O
explains	O
that	O
"	O
Darkmere	B-Application
can	O
be	O
played	O
in	O
two	O
ways	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
emphasis	O
either	O
on	O
traditional	O
adventuring	O
or	O
combat	O
...	O
missions	O
often	O
do	O
n't	O
turn	O
out	O
to	O
be	O
straightforward	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
this	O
mesh	O
of	O
sub-plots	O
that	O
will	O
make	O
Darkmere	B-Application
a	O
joy	O
to	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jones	O
criticized	O
dice-roll	O
mechanics	O
in	O
RPGs	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
''	O
Darkmere	B-Application
relies	O
on	O
proper	O
fighting	O
moves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arcane	O
Developments	O
,	O
Darkmere	B-Application
's	O
former	O
developer	O
,	O
stated	O
that	O
sound	O
is	O
an	O
'	O
often	O
overlooked	O
aspect	O
of	O
games	O
 '	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
Darkmere	B-Application
was	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
stated	O
to	O
have	O
100	O
kilobytes	O
of	O
sampled	O
sound	O
in	O
each	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digitized	O
speech	O
was	O
planned	O
,	O
but	O
Jones	O
expressed	O
that	O
"	O
there	O
was	O
just	O
no	O
memory	O
left	O
for	O
speech	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
stated	O
that	O
Darkmere	B-Application
's	O
sound	O
effects	O
"	O
should	O
spook	O
the	O
player	O
and	O
really	O
draw	O
them	O
into	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
,	O
coupled	O
with	O
the	O
actual	O
gameplay	O
,	O
make	O
it	O
far	O
more	O
realistic	O
than	O
similar	O
games	O
we	O
've	O
seen.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Arcane	O
Developments	O
described	O
Darkmere	B-Application
as	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
Cadaver	B-Application
was	O
n't	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Steve	O
Iles	O
,	O
Darkmere	B-Application
's	O
producer	O
,	O
stated	O
that	O
Darkmere	B-Application
is	O
more	O
involved	O
than	O
Cadaver	B-Application
,	O
being	O
more	O
"	O
visually	O
exciting	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
having	O
more	O
interaction	O
with	O
characters	O
and	O
more	O
combat-based	O
action	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
One	O
gave	O
Darkmere	B-Application
an	O
overall	O
score	O
of	O
82%	O
,	O
praising	O
the	O
"	O
atmospheric	O
"	O
sound	O
effects	O
 '	O
volume	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
distance	O
to	O
the	O
source	O
of	O
the	O
sound	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
art	O
style	O
,	O
saying	O
"[Darkmere]	O
oozes	O
style	O
and	O
the	O
quest	O
is	O
large	O
enough	O
to	O
keep	O
even	O
the	O
most	O
experienced	O
adventurer	O
occupied	O
for	O
several	O
weeks	O
...	O
if	O
you	O
're	O
even	O
moderately	O
interested	O
in	O
adventuring	O
then	O
you	O
ca	O
n't	O
do	O
much	O
better.	O
"	O
</s>
