Costis doesn't remember how he got here. He doesn't know why the world keeps changing around him. And he certainly doesn't know the man in black who seems to be following him. But every little boy knows when it is time to explore, and so he will. For better or worse... Blackwood Prologue is an interactive art adventure by Blake Mann, that takes you inside the mind of a kid who just might be seeing his future in his dreams. Move Costis with the [WASD] or [arrow] keys, and click the pieces of dialogue to advance the story. There are also 6 hidden orbs to be unlocked by performing certain actions.
It's kind of hard to judge Blackwood Prologue as is. Certainly it has a marvelous atmosphere, and moments that manage to be both evocative and unsettling. However, like its inspiration Coma, there's more symbolism and eeriness than plot which makes it lean heavily to the "art" side of the "interactive art" descriptor. Certainly we have seen works that use the premise of dream logic as a crutch for vague or half-developed ideas. However, as the title states, the game is a prologue, and presumably the foreshadowing will pay off in the full Blackwood title the author currently has in development. For now though, Blackwood Prologue is an immersive, sometimes scary walk through a beautiful dreamscape, and hey, maybe that's enough.
Walkthrough Guide
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I, personally, found this game to be quite enjoyable and look forward to a finished product.
Blackwood Prologue Walkthrough
Start
You start out under a tree. From here, go right until you see your parents, as you are unable to go left at this point. Once you complete the exchange with your parents, go left and you will see a spider burrowing into the ground and leaving an orb behind. Grab it. Follow the screens to the right until you reach the old man sitting against the rock who then asks you to retrieve his cane in the panel you were just in. Once you get it and go back to the old man, his panel is replaced with that of a wooden fence.
Go left as the path is blocked until you reach what seems to be a dead end. Jump over the edge and to the ground. From here you can go right or left. Going left takes you to the other side of the wooden fence you were just at and going right takes you to the end of the current stage.
Bedroom
You are now in your room. Before you head to the kitchen to grab the glass of water, you should see a painting of yourself in your room. Stand under it, facing the same direction the painting is facing then jump. This will produce another strange orb. Once you've grabbed it, head right and get water from the kitchen.
Lighthouse
You are now on a stone path. From here, you can go either right or left. I advise you go left first which will take you through a few repeating panels before taking you to an ending path with another orb. Once you've grabbed it, make your way to the right to finish this section. You'll reach a panel that has you fall from one path to another. Before continuing, go left into the cave under the path you just fell from for another orb. Continue onward (right) and you will eventually reach a lighthouse. If you try to leave, a man in black will approach you and give you a couple options. I have only selected "No" to the first question and have obtained the second set of options. From here, it doesn't seem to matter where you go first.
Valley
Continue right from the docks until you reach a man hammering some poles into the ground. He'll ask if you can help dig some hols for some flowers. The only option here is to accept and go find a shovel.
Quarry
Now that you've gone to the quarry, things have taken a turn for the monochromatic. Continue right from the docks and you'll see a mirror. This mirror doesn't seem quite right... Continue onward until you reach what appears to be a man in prison garb and ask you borrow his shovel. Go back to the valley and select No when it asks you to dig holes for flowers then Yes for treasure hunting. This will yield another orb. Move out of that panel with the tree then back and dig the holes for the flowers. Once dug, go back to the construction worker and he'll hand you a bag of seeds, which can now be planted. Once planted, go back to the construction man then he'll allow you to have his other hammer.
Quarry (again)
With the hammer in hand, head back to the quarry. Ignore the mirror for now then give the shovel back to the implied inmate. He will give you another orb. Go back to the previous screen and smash the mirror. Go back to the docks (I tried multiple ways to get past the mirror, including button presses and mouse clicks and am not entirely sure which one(s) worked) and head back to the valley.
Valley
Now that you're back at the valley, you can see how your hard work's paid off! Continue onward and the man in black will come for you again.
Congratulations, you've beaten Blackwood Prologue!
Posted by: Steven Sills
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July 27, 2012 4:37 AM