Dark Seed (DOS)

To do:

Hopefully have a better recording of unused music.
Search TOSTEXT.BIN in a text editor like notepad++ for unused text.
Also probably of interest are non-English versions with different dubs and even a Korean version with a modified title screen.

Dark Seed has you play as Mike Dawson, an advertising mogul turned science-fiction writer who has just moved into a new house. Too bad he had a nightmare that leaves him with a monster headache and three days to solve the mystery behind it.

The game is most well-known for its high res (for 1992) graphics and using art by Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger, best known for his work on the Alien franchise.

Unused Text#

TOSTEXT.BIN#

Within TOSTEXT.BIN is all the text for the game, however, there remains some text left unused.

The game doesn't let you examine the staircase, so the following strings are unused:

A stairway to the first floor of the house.

A stairway to the second floor of the house.

There is no situation where the stairs break, so the following strings are left unused:

I really should repair these stairs soon, before I break my neck on them.

I don't think I want to take any more chances on these stairs until I repair them.

You don't have enough rope to make a hanging bridge.

Prying the planks from the stairs won't make them safer.

I wish I had some nails to fix the stairs with.

Termites are not the problem.

The game usually doesn't give you any description when Fido (the Dark World dog) mauls Mike to death, so this line is left unused:

Fido takes a chunk of your head.

The following line of text is used to describe Fido. However, since the game won't let you examine the dog, the following line is left unused:

Compared to this creature, Delbert's dog looks tiny. Not to mention a lot more friendly.

The following lines describe the Drekketh guard (the creature outside the alien archive, spelled Dreketh in the floppy version of the text); the game doesn't let you examine the creature, so these lines are also unused:

You see a grotesque creature, which once might have passed for human, but no longer.

The Drekketh guard does not have any hands left to shake with. Nor would he want to if he did.

The following lines of text are supposed to be used with the alien in the Dark World police station lobby, but since Mike gets shot within the instant you enter when he's on-screen, the lines are left unused:

That would be very considerate, if the alien could read!

Floppy	CD
The alien has no use for money.	What use would an alien have with money?

Earth time is irrelevant to aliens.

The following lines of text refer to a turbo lift. However, there is no turbo lift within the final game.

You take the turbo lift up.

You take the turbo lift going down.

Unused Music#

Within the game is an unused variant of the music used within the Normal World house, appropriately titled 'HOUSE.SIT. This file contains a melody to the track which is heard in later ports of the game.

Revisional Differences#

Dark Seed was also released for DOS in CD format, which features music awkwardly rearranged into MIDI format, some voiceovers from the original floppy release re-recorded with different voice actors (with the occasional leftover from the floppy release still in place; for example, Sargo and the Keeper of the Scrolls still have their floppy voiceovers in the CD version), a lot of new voiceovers, and digitized sound effects (as opposed to the floppy release's FM-synthesized sounds), however one sound that has been omitted in the transition to optical media is the sound of Mike's footsteps, rendering Mike's walking silent.

The voiceover changes carry over to every other CD release, with the most complete re-recorded versions being the Macintosh and Saturn ones, where Sargo and the Keeper have been re-dubbed.

Text#

The CD version rewrites much of the narration from third-person to first-person, but the way it's done is quite awkward. These text changes carry over to the CD versions on other platforms, such as the Macintosh and Amiga CD32 releases.

Floppy	CD
You'll short the phone with scotch.	I'd better be careful or I'll short the phone with scotch.

Floppy	CD
Don't leave crumbs on the carpet.	I shouldn't leave crumbs on the carpet.

Floppy	CD
No bugs in the carpet.	Well, there are no bugs in the carpet.

Floppy	CD
Drinking while showering can be dangerous.	I shouldn't drink while showering. It can be dangerous.

Floppy	CD
You see the old trenchcoat. Wouldn't be caught dead in that thing.	Here's an old trenchcoat. I wouldn't be caught dead in that thing.

Floppy	CD
The wooden planks creak under your feet.	Those wooden planks creak a lot.

Floppy	CD
The entrance to your house must have seen countless guests come and go, but it's just you now.	The entrance to this house must have seen countless guests come and go, but it's just me now.

Floppy	CD
A chilly draft blows through this decrepit living room.	That's a chilly draft blowing through this decrepit old living room.

Floppy	CD
Gothic artwork. Not your style, `but it came with the house.`	Gothic artwork. Certainly not my `style, but it came with the house.`

Floppy	CD
You touch the artwork. Looks old and, `yep, feels old too, and not even a hidden safe behind it.`	The artwork looks old and `feels old too, and not even a hidden safe behind it.`

Floppy	CD
If you drop the hairpin, you'll lose it.	If I drop the hairpin, I'll lose it for sure.

Floppy	CD
Don't put that there. You may step on it.	I better not put that there. I may step on it.

Floppy	CD
You wouldn't want to eat anything coming `from this kitchen until the cleaning lady has disinfected it!`	I better not eat anything coming from `this kitchen until the cleaning lady has disinfected it!`

Floppy	CD
The stove hisses ever silently. The faint `smell of gas tells you the pilot light is out.`	This stove is hissing, and there's a faint smell of gas here. I bet the pilot light is out.

Floppy	CD
Solitary drops of water rhythmically tapping `on the rusty sink remind you that time is quickly passing.`	The sound of water dripping on that rusty old sink reminds me of how fast time is passing.

Floppy	CD
The leather bound books remind you of your extensive collection still in storage. A comforting, yet unsettling feeling.	These leather bound books remind me of my book collection still in storage. That's kind of unsettling.

Floppy	CD
An attic full of useless items left over from the previous owner. Some of the windows look like they need to have the glass replaced.	This attic is full of useless items left over from the previous owner. Some of the windows need to have the glass replaced.

Floppy	CD
A majestic view of town from up here. But the wooden railing looks as though it has seen better days!	What a tremendous view of the town from up here. But the wooden railing looks as though it has seen better days!

Floppy	CD
Outside, a calm surrounds the neighborhood. Your house seems somehow, out of time, a relic of a dark past, or perhaps a dark future.	It's a calm neighborhood out there. My house seems somehow out of time, a relic of a dark past or perhaps a dark future.

Floppy	CD
Still another package has arrived for you.	Well, here's another package for me.

Floppy	CD
You're relieved to see there are no pictures of anyone you know here.	At least there aren't any pictures of anyone I know here.

Floppy	CD
A quaint general store with a little bit of everything for day to day existence.	What a quaint general store with a little bit of everything for day to day existence.

Floppy	CD
You look at the fountain and suddenly feel very thirsty.	Looking at the fountain makes me very thirsty.

Floppy	CD
That would be very impolite, the sort of thing your former co-worker Larry would've tried to do!	That would be very impolite, the sort of thing my former co-worker Larry would have tried to do!

Floppy	CD
Not a good place to stash the blue prints.	Probably not a good place to stash the blueprints.

Floppy	CD
A very quiet part of the library. You could hear a pin drop.	Sure is quiet here. You could hear a pin drop.

Floppy	CD
Are you trying to "pay" your respects?	What am I doing, trying to "pay" my respects?

Floppy	CD
You see a ramp which leads to a raised platform. From the machinery, a low hum pulses and vibrates, setting your teeth on edge.	There's a ramp that leads to a raised platform. That machinery hum sets my teeth on edge.

Floppy	CD
A sharp, cold wind runs through your bones. A low hum emanates from the machinery, setting your teeth on edge.	I feel like a cold wind just ran through my bones. That machinery hum sets my teeth on edge.

Floppy	CD
You see the unfortunate victims of the lifeforce leech.	Look at those poor, unfortunate victims of that life force leech.

Floppy	CD
Don't touch them! Your lifeforce will be drained!	Better not touch them! They could very well drain my life force.

Floppy	CD
Every fiber of your existence tells you not to go in there. However, nothing ventured...	All my gut feelings tell me not to go in there. However, nothing ventured...

Floppy	CD
A smell reminiscent of a hospital waiting room permeates the air. Perhaps it would be safer to return home now.	It smells like a hospital waiting room here. Perhaps it would be safer to return home now.

Text changes also go beyond just switching third-person to first-person narration; some third-person narration was changed considerably.

Floppy	CD
You see the lumps close up.	There's a lot of lumps when you look close up.

Floppy	CD
Molly Santini, a rich spinstress who somehow managed to take it all with her.	Molly Santini, a rich spinster who somehow managed to take it all with her.

Floppy	CD
Strange alien smells assualt your senses, rising from the half-dead creatures encased in their glassine prisons.	Strange alien smells are rising from the half-dead creatures encased in these glassine prisons.

Regional Differences#

Dark Seed was released and re-dubbed (the few lines voiced in the floppy version) into Spanish, French, German, Chinese and Korean, with graphical changes on signage and texts within to accommodate these languages.

Opening Sequence#

A splash screen for "Dong Seo Game Channel" shows up on game load up on the Korean version before the game itself does. "Dong Seo Game Channel" is an alternative name for Dong Seo Interactive, who did the translation work for the Korean build of this game, but as for the visuals of the splash screen itself, well...

The Korean version has a (rather crudely) reanimated and redrawn title screen to fit the Korean characters, and the version info text shows up before the title finishes forming.

English

Korean

English	Korean

v · t · e The Dark Seed series
DOS	Dark Seed
PlayStation	Dark Seed • Dark Seed II
Sega Saturn	Dark Seed II