Michael's Paper

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem is a brilliant title created under the guidance of Denis Dyack and is a vanguard for player involvement. The game’s protagonist, the attractive but not over-the-top sexy, Alexandra Roivas, is a graduate student in Washington studying the cutting edge of mathematics. Not only is she well designed and believable aesthetically, she is also brilliantly acted (as is the rest of the cast). The narrative depicts an eternal struggle: primal, timeless forces battling for supremacy, and vying for resurgence from an ethereal plane. Obviously having done their research, the various epochs come to life in glorious Gamecube-caliber graphics and sound: the Romans speak Latin, the Carolingians speak French, and the spells sound arcane. This title has high production values, a large amount of violence, and arcane references all of which led to very little controversy. Video game controversy can be linked to the marketing efforts and budget of the publishing company. The more money that is spent on promoting a product, the longer it is cast under the public eye, and the more likely it s to be met with hostility from soi-disant progressive groups in our society. This title “flew in under the radar” as they say, and was able to avoid any ill-deserved, negative attention. Also, controversy can be avoided with well-developed, realistic characters, and an original narrative that includes mature content for more reasons than just having mature content.

Despite its obvious violent content, pseudo-satanic/ “heathen” narrative, and the inclusion of several multinational conflicts (Roman expansion, Crusades, the Great War, and Operation Desert Storm) this game has attracted very little controversy. Also, the game itself includes very little controversial content. The character design itself does much to dispel notions that games have to sexist, racist, and reach a heretofore-unseen pinnacle in virtual violence to be successful. All 13 chosen-ones, the protagonists of the game’s chapters, are believable, each coming with their own set of weaknesses, mental clarity, and emotional baggage. Much of the gameplay focuses on each character’s perpetually slipping state of mental insecurity. Alex’s ancestor, Dr. Maximillian Roivas is even committed for having murdered four of his servants he believed possessed. The characters range from the nimble Cambodian slave, Ellia, the somewhat tumescent Maximillian Roivas who can run for about 14 seconds, to the incredibly fit, African-Canadian industrial firefighter, Michael.

The underwhelming amount of racist content in this game is truly staggering. The characters could have easily been poster models for the stereotyping of cultures. All the characters are portrayed wearing their traditional garb and speaking in accents, depending on their respective mother tongue. Michael, the only black person in the game, defies the logic we are used to seeing in black characters: he is not from New York, does not speak in the vernacular commonly heard on TV, and does have a job that includes wielding firearms or “freestylin.” Dyack and team have obviously not labored through the same abstruse calculations usually used to generate characters’ personalities.

The portrayal of women in Eternal Darkness was, and is still, well received by women in the gaming community. Wynne of Womengamers.com wrote,

Alexandra Roivas from Eternal Darkness is one of the strongest choices I could imagine. Driven, passionate, and courageous, this gladius-wielding magic-slinging college student somehow manages to kick ass without ever showing scads of cleavage or leg. While there are a lot of interesting characters in "Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem" (which, alone, was worth the price of my Gamecube), she stands out as the one who took all the pieces collected by the others and finally completed their work.

Truly a generous accolade for an inspired female character that managed to place in over 50% of the top 5 female characters lists on Womengamers.com, ranking high among her peers such as Alyx Vance (Half Life) and Jennifer Tate (Primal).

Eternal Darkness is game that does things well: portrays realistic characters, pays homage to the fathers of psychological thrillers, Lovecraft and Poe, and provides deep, nuanced gameplay that immerses the player in another world. This is a recherché offering in the Gamecube’s lugubrious library, and shining example of how to successfully portray potentially controversial material. This begs the question, “is sex and violence truly a sine qua non of the “mature” gaming experience?”

There was once a time when I could not see beyond the veil of reality. To see those who dwell beyond. I was once a fool.


-Alexandra Roivas