Heart of Darkness (video game)
| Video game fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name | Heart of Darkness |
| Abbreviation(s) | HoD/HOD |
| Developer(s) | Amazing Studio: Eric Chahi and Frederic Savoir |
| Release date | 1992-1998 |
| External link(s) | Wikipedia Heart of Darkness Website |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Heart of Darkness is a cinematic platformer video game for PC and Playstation consoles. Production took half a decade to complete and was intended for an audience of age 7 and older.
Canon
The game is about a little boy named Andy who after his dog is kidnapped by voracious shadow monsters travels to another planet to rescue him. Andy makes friends with the only friendly native species and overthrows the planet's tyrant leader in the process, traveling across the varrying biomes of the hostile alien world over the course of the story.
Main Characters
- Andy - the protagonist. A daydreaming redhead with a love for inventing
- Whisky - Andy's black and white spotted dog
- Amigo - one of the silly comic relief aliens that Andy befriends and helps in the game
- The Master of Darkness - A shadowy overlord that somewhat resembles Andy's teacher
- The Vicious Servant - the slimy pink henchman of the Master.
Some of the minor characters and monsters have their own names, for more see the character sheets from the Heart of Darkness website.
Fandom
The Heart of Darkness fandom is small, uneventful, and most of the active members know each other at least by username. Primarily on DeviantART and Tumblr, the majority of fan creations are fanart, with a tiny amount of fanfiction. More people casually show an interest in the game rather than have an active role in any sort of fandom. Still, the game is often referred to as a 'cult classic' and the fandom even though small, is quite dedicated. A few active fandom members include Finsterhund; cosplayer and in charge of bringing back and maintaining the old official website. As well as Shynox; an artist who is responsible for the most Heart of Darkness fanart posted online by a single person. There are also albums of fan-music such as Vicious Servant created by Achondar and Shadow Hunters created by Glutterhulk.
Common Tropes
- The game is known for its surprisingly brutal death scenes, and the fandom often mirrors this. Gore and vore are frequent topics in fanart and fanfiction.
- Grimdark subject matter in general is common place in the Heart of Darkness fandom. Dark imagery and all it entails being a favorite.
- Character Deaths
Fanon
The ending of Heart of Darkness was written to be deliberately ambiguous so that players could come to their own conclusion about the game. This allows fans to come up with theories about the plot and lore. In particular, whether or not it was all "Just a Dream."
Following the theory that the game is all in Andy's imagination would imply that everything he experienced in the Darkland was make-believe, and the Master of Darkness is nothing more than a villification of his teacher, whilst the theory that it wasn't a dream means Andy experienced everything in the game, and that the similarities between Andy's teacher and the Master of Darkness could have multiple different meanings.
- The theory that it isn't just a dream is the most popular of the two theories, and most fan content depicting events after the game follows this.
- The game never goes into detail about why the Master of Darkness wanted to abduct Andy in the first place, also allowing fans to construct their own theories.
Archives & Fan Links
- Heart of Darkness fanfics at FFN
- Heart of Darkness fanworks at AO3