The Plot

Many years ago, the army of dark forces crossed the border of the Land of Winds. Most of the population were killed. Others escaped to the northern lands.

Among the escapees was a girl named Jane. She gave birth to a son, Alexander, and told him the sad story. And when he became an adult, he went to the native land to free his country.

Main Menu

After loading, you may choose from the following options:

1. Keyboard
2. Sinclair
3. Kempston
4. Cursor

F. M - Fire, SPACE - Map

Press the specified key to select a menu item.
Keys 1-4 choose control type.
The keys QAOP + M + Space are defined for the keyboard.

Pressing F swaps the functions of keys M and Space (fire/map). If using a joystick, you will probably want to ensure that the
SPACE bar shows the map.

After the choice of controls, press FIRE to begin game.

Warning: You cannot change controls after this point.

How To Play

The Dark consists of a prologue and nine levels.

Your objective on each level apart from levels 4 and 9 is to reach the exit. On level 4 you must find and kill all enemies. On level 9 you must destroy all of the eggs of the dark forces.

The main character is attacked by the dark forces throughout. Some can be killed, but some are immortal. Never look at the Hovering Death!

You have two attempts to clear a level. If you fail a second time, you must complete the previous level again.

You may refer to the map of each level by pressing the Map key. All objects on the map, including enemies, are shown as dots. The blinking dot shows the player's position. Orientation can be determined by a compass: top of the map is the North. The exit is also marked on the map, if it exists.

Game process stops during display of the map, therefore the map can be used as a pause.

Game Indicators

Health - The main indicator; total loss of health leads to death.
Armour - While you have it, health is not depleted as rapidly.
Ammo (bullets) - While you have them, you can use firearms instead of a trident.

The maximum value of each indicator is 99.

Each level begins with value of armour and health of 80 units. Bullets remain from the previous level.

To the right of the game window, collected keys are displayed, and, on the last level - the number of eggs destroyed.

Collectable Objects

Green boxes with a yellow cover ... 50 bullets
Bright yellow boxes ... 50 units of Armour
Heart ... 50 units of Health
Keys of two colors, light-blue and white ... For the corresponding doors
Pair keys with the image of a hand ... For opening the yellow door

Tips

When firing at enemies, move back to avoid collision with them. Even when using the trident, there is a "magic" distance whereby you will strike the enemy but out of reach of him.

It isn't obligatory to kill enemies if there is an opportunity to leave them. These tactics will become necessary on the last levels where there are many immortal enemies.

Game Credits

© 1997 Oleg Origin
© 2016 Oleg Origin

Oleg Origin: Story, Graphics, Code

All rights reserved
www.olegorigin.org