DreadOut

DreadOut is an indie survival horror video game developed by Digital Happiness for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux. A port for PlayStation 4 was announced but never released.[3][4] 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.

DreadOut
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
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux[1]
Release
  • WW: May 15, 2014[2]
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

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.[5] 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 recent preview video shows a tablet version of the game, where the player controls Linda via the touch screen.[6]

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.[7][8][9]

Development

Indonesian developer Digital Happiness worked on the game using a team of around 20 people.[10] After releasing a demo, they sought a crowd sourcing campaign via Indiegogo.[11] The campaign asked for $25,000 USD in ending with $29,067 USD. 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."[10]

Reception

DreadOut received mixed reviews from critics, who pointed out its clichéd storyline, and the poor execution of its dialogue and cutscenes. It received an average score of 51.50% on GameRankings[12] and a weighted score of 56/100 on Metacritic.[13]

Eurogamer Italy gave it a 7/10.[15] Eurogamer Germany gave it a 3/10.[16] Hardcoregamer gave it a 2/5.[17]

Yahoo News gave it a 7.8 score.[18][19]

Film adaptation

In 2018, Indonesian production company GoodHouse announced a film adaption of Dreadout. The film was released in Indonesia on January 3, 2019.[20]

References
  1. "Interview with the creators of DreadOut". SurvivalHorrorOnline.com. 2013-05-29. Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
  2. Lee, Alice (2014-05-05). "Horror Game Dreadout Gets Release Date". VirtualCrunch. Archived from the original on 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  3. "Indie Horror Title "DreadOut" Breathes Life Into the Genre". All That’s Epic. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  4. http://thegamesdb.net/search/?string=dreadout&function=Search%5B%5D
  5. "Another take on horror:DreadOut". BeefJack. Archived from the original on 2016-08-25. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  6. "Dreadout – Eye On". LupoEntertainment. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  7. "[Indie Horror Spotlight] 'DreadOut' Has A Very Persistent Mosquito". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  8. "Experience The Indonesian Horror". DreadOut. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2013-12-27. 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[.]
  9. "Linda Meilinda". DreadOut. 2013-02-10. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  10. "Indonesia May Be Developing the Next Great Horror Game". Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  11. "Highly Anticipated Indonesian Horror Game DreadOut Seeks Help on Indiegogo and Steam". sg.finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  12. "DreadOut for PC". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2014-05-24. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  13. "DreadOut for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2014-05-18. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  14. Kollar, Philip (21 May 2014). "DreadOut review: old ghosts". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  15. Cucchiarelli, Daniele (2014-08-12). "DreadOut: fantasmi dal passato - review". Eurogamer.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  16. Balg, Björn (2014-05-26). "DreadOut - Test". Eurogamer.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2017-06-12. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  17. "Review: DreadOut – Act 1 ‹ Hardcore Gamer". web.archive.org. 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  18. "DreadOut review: I'm terrified of this Indonesian indie horror game". web.archive.org. 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  19. "DreadOut review: I'm terrified of Indonesia now". sg.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  20. Post, The Jakarta. "Coming soon in January, 'DreadOut' longs for global fame". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
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