History VideoGame / Darkseed

** He has to use DarkWorld gadgets to win ''carnival games''. To be fair, the Wheel of Fortune might have been rigged, but there's still no excuse for the shooting gallery and the ring toss.

* InsurmountableWaistHighFence: While not a physical barrier, nearly a third of ''Dark Seed II'''s gameplay is driven by Mike Dawson being unable to legitimately win simple carnival games, forcing him to find ways of cheating at all of them.

*** To be fair though, both of these games are also [[http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-07-2012/rigged-carnival-games.html pretty notorious]] for being rigged, moreso than the Wheel of Fortune game, so Mike might not actually be at fault for this.

*** To be fair though, both of these games are also [[http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-07-2012/rigged-carnival-games.html pretty notorious]] for being rigged, moreso than the Wheel of Fortune game, so mike not

* StopPokingMe: In ''Dark Seed II'', repeatedly talking to characters without advancing the plot will cause them to get annoyed with you.

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Paul]] in Dark Seed II.

* AlmostDeadGuy: [[spoiler:In Dark Seed II, Paul gives tons of exposition as he dies.]]
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:Occurs in Dark Seed II]].

* ClassicalAntihero: In Dark Seed II, Mike Dawson becomes one; a whiny, cowardly manchild, whom nobody (in-universe) seems to like.
* ConvenientComa: In ''Dark Seed II'', Jimmy Gardner gets put into a coma when Jack punches him.]]

* CrapsackWorld: Dark Seed II. [[spoiler: Both of the worlds.]]

* CutsceneBoss [[spoiler:In Dark Seed II, the Behemoth is killed by Mike in an extremely flashy cutscene.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: Dark Seed, despite its dark art, was not that ''dark'' and had a HappyEnding, where good defeats evil. Dark Seed II, on the other hand... [[spoiler:not only killed humans off, unlike its predecessor, but had a high death count and a total DownerEnding.]]

* DerangedAnimation: The digitized characters in Dark Seed II.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Attempted in Dark Seed II: Jack only appears every now and then to talk or help out and then leaves as abruptly as he showed up. [[spoiler:The only time he interacts with the other characters is when he punches out Jimmy, which only Slim and Mike witnessed and the former claims it was actually ''Mike'' who punched him. Later on this indicates him as the Shapeshifter as several characters tell Mike about the Shapeshifter's ability to temporarily come into the Regular world.]]
** [[spoiler: Mike's first nightmare in Dark Seed II ends with him seeing a reflection of himself turning into the Shapeshifter. And then later you realize that everyone in the game's regular world has a Dark World counterpart - except for Mike himself... and Jack.]]

*** [[spoiler:Or the events of the first Dark Seed actually ''did'' happen, but he lost his mind after the traumatic events of the first game.]]

* InsurmountableWaistHighFence: While not a physical barrier, nearly a third of Dark Seed II's gameplay is driven by Mike Dawson being unable to legitimately win simple carnival games, forcing him to find ways of cheating at all of them.

* LoserProtagonist: In Dark Seed II, almost everyone hates Mike Dawson, and a large portion of his quest is ''figuring out how to cheat at carnival games.'' He never even had enough sense to [[spoiler:attempt to open a closet that he believed to be locked in his room before he gets a flashback vision revealing that his mother had been lying to him about it the entire time.]]

* NonIronicClown: The clown at the entrance to the carnival in Dark Seed II, though grouchy, doesn't seem to be evil or creepy in any way. This is in contrast to the rest of the carnival itself, which prominently features Giger art in the attractions.

* SequelEscalation: Dark Seed was a simple little game that you could complete in about an hour, [[GuideDangIt if you knew exactly what to do]]. Dark Seed II on the other hand...
* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Dark Seed II ends with Jack ominously implying that the Ancients will make a third attempt to conquer the world. An especially odd example because by that point the Ancients are ''all dead''.]]

* SleepsWithEveryoneButYou: By the end of Dark Seed II, Mike discovers [[spoiler: almost everyone in town had been getting some from [[ReallyGetsAround Rita]]... except for [[ButtMonkey Mike himself.]]]]

* PortalPicture: Averted; There are paintings on the wall similar to the dark world, but the object used for teleportation is a mirror.

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Paul]] in Darkseed 2.

* AlmostDeadGuy: [[spoiler:In Darkseed 2, Paul gives tons of exposition as he dies.]]
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:Occurs in Darkseed 2]].

* ClassicalAntihero: In Darkseed 2, Mike Dawson becomes one; a whiny, cowardly manchild, whom nobody (in-universe) seems to like.
* ConvenientComa: In ''Darkseed 2'', Jimmy Gardner gets put into a coma when Jack punches him.]]
* CorruptHick: The sheriff in ''Darkseed 2''.

* CrapsackWorld: Darkseed 2. [[spoiler: Both of the worlds.]]

* CutsceneBoss [[spoiler:In Darkseed 2, the Behemoth is killed by Mike in an extremely flashy cutscene.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: Darkseed 1, despite its dark art, was not that ''dark'' and had a HappyEnding, where good defeats evil. Darkseed 2, on the other hand... [[spoiler:not only killed humans off, unlike its predecessor, but had a high death count and a total DownerEnding.]]

* DerangedAnimation: The digitized characters in Darkseed 2.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Attempted in Darkseed 2: Jack only appears every now and then to talk or help out and then leaves as abruptly as he showed up. [[spoiler:The only time he interacts with the other characters is when he punches out Jimmy, which only Slim and Mike witnessed and the former claims it was actually ''Mike'' who punched him. Later on this indicates him as the Shapeshifter as several characters tell Mike about the Shapeshifter's ability to temporarily come into the Regular world.]]
** [[spoiler: Mike's first nightmare in Darkseed 2 ends with him seeing a reflection of himself turning into the Shapeshifter. And then later you realize that everyone in the game's regular world has a Dark World counterpart - except for Mike himself... and Jack.]]
* GainaxEnding: Whoever can explain coherently ''what the '''fuck''' happened'' in ''Dark Seed 2'''s ending, step right up.

*** [[spoiler:Or the events of the first Darkseed actually ''did'' happen, but he lost his mind after the traumatic events of the first game.]]

* InsurmountableWaistHighFence: While not a physical barrier, nearly a third of Dark Seed 2's gameplay is driven by Mike Dawson being unable to legitimately win simple carnival games, forcing him to find ways of cheating at all of them.

* LoserProtagonist: In Darkseed 2, almost everyone hates Mike Dawson, and a large portion of his quest is ''figuring out how to cheat at carnival games.'' He never even had enough sense to [[spoiler:attempt to open a closet that he believed to be locked in his room before he gets a flashback vision revealing that his mother had been lying to him about it the entire time.]]

* NonIronicClown: The clown at the entrance to the carnival in Darkseed 2, though grouchy, doesn't seem to be evil or creepy in any way. This is in contrast to the rest of the carnival itself, which prominently features Giger art in the attractions.

* SequelEscalation: Darkseed 1 was a simple little game that you could complete in about an hour, [[GuideDangIt if you knew exactly what to do]]. Darkseed 2 on the other hand...
* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Darkseed 2 ends with Jack ominously implying that the Ancients will make a third attempt to conquer the world. An especially odd example because by that point the Ancients are ''all dead''.]]

* SleepsWithEveryoneButYou: By the end of Darkseed 2, Mike discovers [[spoiler: almost everyone in town had been getting some from [[ReallyGetsAround Rita]]... except for [[ButtMonkey Mike himself.]]]]
* StopPokingMe: In ''Darkseed 2'', repeatedly talking to characters without advancing the plot will cause them to get annoyed with you.
* TheScrappy: In universe; almost everyone in ''Darkseed 2'' hates Mike Dawson. [[invoked]]

* AffablyEvil:[[spoiler:Paul]] in Darkseed 2.

* DeathIsDramatic: [[spoiler:In Darkseed 2, Paul gives tons of exposition as he dies.]]

* WhamShot: ''Darkseed 2'' tries to invoke one: [[spoiler:[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxGJXsgB65A This will explain everything.]]]] It actually explains absolutely nothing, ''raises further questions,'' and serves as a lead-in to a lengthy InfoDump of a monologue. If anything, the failed WhamShot is so hilariously nonsensical and unexpected it may actually ''distract'' the player from the dialog.

* WhamLine: In ''Darkseed 2:'' [[spoiler:[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxGJXsgB65A This will explain everything.]]]]

A PointAndClick horror AdventureGame created by Cyberdreams (the same people that brought you the MindScrew known as ''VideoGame/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'') and released in 1992, ''Dark Seed'' is based on artwork created by Creator/HRGiger. The main plot is that of a man named Mike Dawson, a namesake and look-alike of the game's own lead designer, who has moved into a fancy estate in a small town. He soon finds out that it's not all it's cracked up to be, and he ends up trying to save the world in three days from a race of evil aliens called the Ancients. Oh yeah, did we mention he has an alien embryo in his head?

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Darkseed 2 ends with Jack ominously implying that the Ancients will make a third attempt to conquer the world. An especially odd example because by that point, Mike and the Ancients are (apparently) ''all dead''.]]

* [[spoiler:ConvenientComa: In ''Darkseed 2'', Jimmy Gardner gets put into a coma when Jack punches him.]]

* [[spoiler:CruelTwistEnding]]: In the sequel.

* WrongfulAccusationInsurance: While trying to prove that he didn't murder Rita, Mike commits: multiple counts of trespassing, breaking and entering, petty theft, vandalism, destruction of property, falsely reporting a crime, obstruction of justice, assault and battery, assault on an FBI agent, and [[spoiler:murder (admittedly, that was in self defense).]]

The game also received a much more elaborate sequel three years later, where Mike Dawson moves back to his hometown of [[DeepSouth Crowley, Texas]] to clear up a mystery surrounding the murder of a girl he once dated. In the absence of the real-life Mike Dawson, this project was helmed by Raymond Benson, who wrote the script and later went on to write ''Literature/JamesBond'' novels, as well as novelizations of ''SplinterCell'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''.

* GuideDangIt / UnwinnableByDesign: No thanks to extreme amounts of FakeDifficulty. Good luck figuring out how to SolveTheSoupCans without consulting GameFAQs.
* HalfTruth: In the ending [[spoiler: While you are playing as Jack he mentions that the Therapist said Mike suffered from multiple personality disorder. Jack is actually snarking at the remark since he is Mike's Darkworld counterpart.]]

* NoExportForYou: The Sega Saturn and Playstation ports of the games were only released in Japan. The first game still has English voices so it's slightly playable if you're a veteran, but the sequel is dubbed in Japanese making it much more difficult.
* NonIronicClown: The clown at the entrance to the carnival in Darkseed 2, though grouchy, doesn't seem to be evil or creepy in any way. This is in contrast to the rest of the carnival itself, which promintely features Giger art in the attractions.
* NoSympathy: In the sequel, ''no one'' seems to care about Mike's problems. Pretty much everyone treats him poorly, insults him, provokes him and impedes his efforts to solve the murder. Mike's own mother is remarkably hard on someone who has serious psychological issues and who is the prime suspect for the murder of his friend. Notably, the only person who seems to treat Mike with any genuine respect is Jack [[spoiler: who actually the Shapeshifter and is manipulating Mike.]]

* TheOtherDarrin: Mike Dawson is portrayed in the sequel by Chris Gilbert. Apart from the wardrobe, there's almost no similarity between the two.

The game also received a much more elaborate sequel three years later, where Mike Dawson moves back to his hometown to clear up a mystery surrounding the murder of a girl he once dated. In the absence of the real-life Mike Dawson, this project was helmed by Raymond Benson, who wrote the script and later went on to write ''Literature/JamesBond'' novels, as well as novelizations of ''SplinterCell'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''.

-->--'''Mike Dawson''', ''Dark Seed''

The game also received a much more elaborate sequel three years later, where Mike Dawson moves back to his hometown to clear up a mystery surrounding the murder of a girl he once dated. In the absence of the real-life Mike Dawson, this project was helmed by Raymond Benson, who wrote the script and later went on to write JamesBond novels, as well as novelizations of ''SplinterCell'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''.

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Darkseed 2 ends with Jack ominously implying that the Ancients will make a third attempt to conquer the world. An especially odd example because by that point, ''Mike Dawson and the Ancients are, apparently, all dead''.]]

** In the second game, you can never get [[spoiler:the clown's medicine. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption He dies off screen before you can do anything about it]].]]

* DullSurprise: Mike, from the first game, who sounds just as nonchalant wandering around a DarkWorld as he does washing up in the morning. Lots of people in the second game.

* NoSympathy: In the sequel, ''no one'' seems to care about Mike. Pretty much everyone treats him poorly, insults him, provokes him and impedes his efforts to solve the murder. Mike's own mother is remarkably hard on someone who has serious psychological issues and who is the prime suspect for the murder of his friend. Notably, the only person who seems to treat Mike with any genuine respect is Jack [[spoiler: who actually the Shapeshifter and is manipulating Mike.]]

* NoSympathy: In the sequel, ''no one'' likes Mike. Pretty much everyone treats him like shit, insult him, provoke him, and impede his efforts to solve the murder. Mike's mother is remarkably hard on someone who has serious psychological issues and who is the prime suspect for the murder of his friend, not to mention that said person is ''her son''. Notably, the only person who seems to treat Mike with any genuine respect is Jack [[spoiler: who actually the Shapeshifter and is manipulating Mike.]]

* NoSympathy: In the sequel, Mike's mother is remarkably hard on someone who has serious psychological issues and who is the prime suspect for the murder of his friend.

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Darkseed 2 ends with Jack ominously implying that the Ancients will make a third attempt to conquer the world. An especially nonsensical example because by that point, ''Mike Dawson and the Ancients are all dead''.]]

* UnwinnableByDesign: Unless you follow a very specific (and in most cases [[MoonLogicPuzzle non-sensical]]) set of directions, there are ways to lock yourself out of winning both games.