Jump to content

Dark Side of the Moon: A Sci-Fi Adventure

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dark Side of the Moon:
A Sci-Fi Adventure
Developer(s)SouthPeak Interactive
Publisher(s)SouthPeak Interactive
Director(s)Edward Bowen
Writer(s)Lee Sheldon
Mark L. Barrett
EngineVideo Reality
Platform(s)Windows 95/98
Release
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single player

Dark Side of the Moon is a 1998 graphic adventure game developed and published by SouthPeak Interactive.

Gameplay

[edit]

Plot

[edit]

Dark Side of the Moon follows the story of Jake Wright, who inherits the mineral rights to the planet Luna Crysta after his uncle dies suspiciously.[2]

Development

[edit]

The game was developed and published by SouthPeak Interactive. The game is powered with SouthPeak Interactive's Video Reality engine, which had previously appeared in Temüjin. Dark Side of the Moon was led by Lee Sheldon, who had previously developed the adventure game Ripley's Believe It or Not!: The Riddle of Master Lu. While he had been involved in Temüjin, Sheldon was dissatisfied with the project.[3] Dark Side of the Moon utilizes full-motion video footage of live actors, but the game's backgrounds are almost entirely pre-rendered.[4] According to art director Paul Graham, the game required "500,000 hours of rendering", which was carried out by a render farm of 220 computers.[1]

In September 1998, SouthPeak partnered with Activision to distribute three games, including Dark Side of the Moon, outside United States and Canada.[5]

Reception

[edit]

The game received average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[6] Next Generation said of the game, "It's not bad for an adventure game with FMV, but that really isn't saying much."[11]

Dark Side of the Moon was a finalist for the AIAS' "PC Adventure Game of the Year" during the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, which was ultimately given to Grim Fandango.[16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "SouthPeak's Dark Side". NextGen. Imagine Media. November 11, 1998. Archived from the original on October 6, 1999. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Sones, Benjamin E. (December 23, 1998). "Dark Side of the Moon". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on March 24, 2005. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  3. ^ Sengstack, Jeff (February 12, 1998). "Dark Side of the Moon Preview [date mislabeled as "February 27, 2004"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 23, 1998. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  4. ^ Yans, Cindy (1997). "Dark Side of the Moon (First Look)". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on March 24, 2005.
  5. ^ IGN staff (September 21, 1998). "Activision Allies with South Peak". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 14, 2000. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Dark Side of the Moon for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Fournier, Heidi (May 20, 2002). "Dark Side of the Moon review". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  8. ^ Woods, Nick. "Dark Side of the Moon - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  9. ^ Poole, Stephen (January 7, 1999). "Dark Side of the Moon Review [date mislabeled as "May 1, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 8, 2004. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  10. ^ "Dark Side of the Moon". GameStar (in German). Webedia. March 1999.
  11. ^ a b "Dark Side of the Moon". Next Generation. No. 51. Imagine Media. March 1999. p. 92. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Trotter, William R. (May 1999). "Dark Side of the Moon". PC Gamer. Vol. 6, no. 5. Imagine Media. p. 113a. Archived from the original on October 14, 1999. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  13. ^ "Dark Side of the Moon". PC Games (in German). Computec. February 1999.
  14. ^ Wildgoose, David (May 1999). "Dark Side of the Moon". PC PowerPlay. No. 36. Next Media Pty Ltd. p. 88. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  15. ^ Grant, Jules (December 21, 1998). "Dark Side of the Moon". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001.
  16. ^ "Second Interactive Achievement Awards: Personal Computer". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on November 4, 1999. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
[edit]