A wide variety of adventure games, in happily increasing numbers, are released each year. Many find their way into a publisher's hands during production, while others are indie games that are less polished and offered as freeware downloads.

In between these extremes falls a select group. These are commercially viable games, with well-written storylines and attractive graphics, but created independently, start to finish. They have limited budgets and only exist due to the extraordinary talent and tenacity of those that design and build them. Like indie-produced films, they offer a first look at the next wave of adventure game developers. Some of them, in the years to come, may dominate our imaginations and gaming hours. One of the first and most successful of these games was a supernatural thriller called Dark Fall, created by Jonathan Boakes. It showed that if you possess eclectic skills, are driven by a solid design concept, and have little need for sleep, you can single-handedly develop a game that creates a popular market for itself.

Proving this was not an isolated phenomenon, along comes a new development team, Nucleosys. And who are these guys? Well, they are a two-man studio based in Argentina, comprised of Agustin Cordes and Alejandro Graziani. Their first game could have been based in the mountains and high plains of their native land. Instead, inspired by the likes of Hammer Films and H.P. Lovecraft, they have chosen to take gamers into a classic English tale of a man stranded in an old house, all alone and yet with odd sounds skittering along the hallways. How did this dark vision translate into a game? Easy enough to find out. Let’s travel along the dark and wayward minds of Nucleosys as Adventure Gamers takes you on an inside tour of Scratches.

Sinister histories, lonely places, and what lies in wait

Scratches is described by its developers as a first-person horror/mystery adventure game with a point & click interface. The story behind this game is a classic and (on its surface) simple tale. A man buys a house, hoping he has found the place of his dreams. Of course the house has a history — what old estate doesn’t? But as darkness grows, suddenly the odd noises and creeping shadows take on a more sinister meaning. Then the rain begins to fall, the road washes out, and he is now alone and unreachable. And though he does not know it, the clock is ticking. He will have only three days before events and discoveries bring his dreams of an idyllic life in the country to an end.

Your alter ego in this game is one Michael Arthate, a writer, who appropriately specializes in horror-tinged tales. He is flush with ego and cash from the hit sales of his debut novel, “Vanishing Town.” Since he has always had a passion for old Victorian homes, he is now rich enough to indulge himself. The perfect house will keep away the aggravations of the outside world and provide inspirational flavor to his work. He feels the pressure to prove he is more than a one-book wonder, needing to get that next book out fast. And who knows — the right setting may well provide the perfect inspiration.

Stroll Around the Grounds

The house is large and impressive, but neglect has allowed decay to take over. Why does it sit so empty, where are its caretakers, and what caused its residents to abandon it so completely? Originally, it had been the ancestral home of the Blackwood family. However, the house was abandoned by the family and all subsequent purchasers. Whispered tales of madness, unexplained disappearances, and worse — a horrific murder haunt the history of this place. To the twisted musings of our writer, Mr. Arthate, this sounds oddly ideal for his purposes. But things are rarely what we think and sometimes worse than we can imagine...

As you make your way around the estate, you will encounter a large number of distinct settings. The house itself is quite large, with multiple levels, including a basement and attic. Much of the gameplay will occur here, though not exclusively by any means. Outside the house, you will come across the greenhouse. Though its glassed-in walls should offer a ray of sunshine, moss and years of grime have taken their toll. Further along is the Blackwood family crypt. It has been here as long as anyone can recall, and may even pre-date the manor house itself. Although bleak and forbidding, the presence of candles and opulent windows creates a pattern of light and shadows that makes this one of the more serene places on the estate.

The look of Scratches is unique. The colors and contours are softened, and a careful examination of the in-game environments gives the impression of wandering through an old tinted photo or perhaps a long forgotten film. This bleak perspective was chosen to reflect the suspense and horror central to this game. Not that this will be a static world, as animated effects, such as leaves rustling, rain falling and even the odd burst of lightning make the game feel more dynamic. To address concerns that the visuals may appear too dark on some systems, there will be a customized gamma correction feature built into the in-game menus.

As you pass through the house and grounds, bits and pieces about those who had been here before will be discovered. Some of these revelations will occur after solving a major puzzle, while others are presented in notes, books, or other less tangible methods. This process of discovery is optional in some instances, as not all information will factor into the outcome. Some are there to supply more depth to the underlying story. For those who wonder if they might have missed some fact or interesting tidbit along the way, you will be happy to hear that at the end of your game, you will learn the number of available clues you might have missed during your game, which greatly enhances the title’s replay value.