Ooze: Creepy Nites
I got interested in this game because I read somewhere that in its (improved) English version, through special EGA programming tricks the game was able to use all 64 colors. That's one of those things you read on the Internet that are simply not true. I doubt it's even possible.
Ooze: Creepy Nites is interactive fiction with added graphics, pretty much like a book with illustrations. The pictures don't have any function in gameplay, they just add to the atmosphere or destroy your illusions, depending on how well they are made. This type of game was especially popular on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, and it was often preferred on 8-bit machines over pure IF, since they could display text in 40 columns only but had fairly decent graphic capabilities. It was the design principle of the Magnetic Scrolls games. Zork Zero is a different kind of game, since here the graphics are fully integrated into gameplay. But I digress.
For Ooze: Creepy Nites there were obviously two different sets of graphics. A simpler one for the Commodore 64 (this version is nearly forgotten, I couldn't find an actual screenshot), and a more detailed one for the Amiga and Atari. The DOS version used the Commodore 64 graphics. They were pixel-doubled for display under hi-res EGA mode, but taking into account the different aspect ratios, every fifth row was not doubled. Why were they not simply displayed in lo-res mode? Probably to get the full EGA palette, as in Blue Angel 69.
In the DOS version, the graphics were used only if the game was started with OOZE G, thus ensuring playability on text-only displays. When played in graphics mode, there is a short alert whenever an illustation is available, and it can be called with the command DIA, the German word for slide. Some of the illustrations are excellent, though not always very accurate; the one at the top of this page is supposed to show a rocking chair.
Ooze: Creepy Nites is one of the few adventure titles by German
developer Attic Entertainment (who at that period used the name
Dragonware Games), better known for RPGs, mainly
the Realms of Arcania trilogy, and it is the brainchild of Guido Henkel
and Hans-Jürgen Brändle. The original subtitle is
Als die Geister mürbe wurden,
which could very
roughly be translated with unnerving the ghosts
and indicates
a certain tongue-in-cheek approach.
Guido Henkel would later be one of the producers of Planescape: Torment, while Hans-Jürgen Brändle moved to Blue Byte and became project leader of the fourth edition of The Settlers.
Another horror adventure game is Dark Seed, but unlike Ooze: Creepy Nites it's a fully graphic point and click game, with some insane pixel-hunting. Then there is Alone in the Dark, which however has a strong action element and may not appeal to hard-core adventure fans.
