Following on from my preview last year, I’m fortunate to be able to review Derek, the sequel to Nacah. The creator, Cheyenne Wolford, kindly allowed me to play the game at various stages while he was developing it. I have seen it grow from a very interesting concept to the full-fledged game it has become on final release. Throughout this process, I provided him with honest reflections about all the game’s components and friends and family have provided him with inspiration and other ideas. The development of the game is covered in “The Making of Derek”, a movie included on the game disk alone worth buying the game for. Cheyenne is casual, yet compelling, as he tells the tale of Derek. Like Nacah, the game was a struggle from the get go. Those familiar with Nacah know that Cheyenne lives on a property that does not have electricity except that provided by his many generators. The filming is very high quality and a joy for all of its 10 (!) minutes.

This game is far superior graphically to Nacah. It may be cliché, but the first thought I had on viewing this demo was Riven. What makes this so fascinating, though, is that this game looks like Riven but was designed by one person. There is always a sense of wonderment on entering any new area. There are subtle effects such as shadows, rippling water, and ambient noises that complete the feeling of immersion in another world.

As with Nacah, the game is played from a first person perspective and is mouse driven. Inventory items are easier to recognize than those in Nacah are and feature two new enhancements: they are well labeled and can be examined using the magnifying glass.

The game is no longer just static background, now it has real time effects most notably in water shimmering. QuickTime cutscenes still have a pixellated quality but are far better than Nacah. The game has some characters, with which there is interaction, and even a choice or two. The acting inspired chuckles and grimacing in me and if some of the actors aren’t reading their lines, I’ll eat my hat. Sound quality is notably poorer in the spoken parts than that in the rest of the game. I hope subtitles are added. Another quirk was that if music was playing at the same time as voice-overs, the lines didn’t play. I emailed Cheyenne about this, and apparently this did not occur on other test computers.

Although far from having a thoroughly developed story, the story is no less developed than that in Myst,Riven, or any other games of this ilk. Primarily, the game is a series of puzzles that bring the player one step to the end of the game. In the islands of Derek, the Matteh are a people living without God. They had their Bible taken from them by the Dalaq, a dominating force. But there is another people, the Qadas, who hold a copy of the Bible in the Matteh language. Your goal is to recover the guidance of the Bible to a people who have been without their faith for some generations. This is a huge step over the complete lack of story evident in Nacah. There is a definite goal and events in the game make sense when considered within this storyline.

All the puzzles are once again solved through clues that can be gained from reading indicated Scripture passages. There is a greater maturity to the puzzles than in Nacah, such that trial and error is not enough to solve them in many cases. Some of the puzzles are not particularly well integrated into the story. I wondered continually why these puzzles were even there. However, where there was a clear goal, such as opening a door, making an elevator work, or getting someone’s attention, the puzzles made perfect sense. Most puzzles are solved relatively quickly by consulting indicated verses of scripture. Several go beyond this and require some consideration of the passages. There is great potential for more complex puzzles in future games.

Sound effects are sparse but when evident, the experience is enhanced with ambient animal noises, water, and footsteps. The music is again a credit to Cheyenne, with many different moods being evoked through the use of different instruments.

I thoroughly enjoyed this game and intend to keep my copy to be enjoyed again in future. The colorful worlds are imaginative and absorb the player into the quest. I was enchanted by the mix of Rivenesque visuals and sound effects. This game will be loved by Myst-philes and others who have played Celtica, Rhem, T’alvi, and other so called “Myst-clones”. But, they will be intrigued because Derek goes beyond merely being a clone through the introduction of Christian philosophy and puzzle solving. Every player will reflect afterwards that Cheyenne has achieved so much through his own efforts.

Unusual for me, I award this game an A-, it is truly a gem in the independent game world and is certainly the best Christian game that I know of. This is definitely a “keeper” for me rather than a “play and give away-er”…

July 22, 2003

Finally, after waiting for Cheyenne to finish up the changes recommended by others and me to his game, this review can see the light! Cheyenne tells me the new version of the game features updates including, “the problem with the audio [that I alone experienced] may be fixed and an update to a new version of Adventure Maker. The subtitle dialogs turned out great”. He tells me that the system specifications are a 300 MHz processor running WIN 95 or later, 170 MB hard drive space, 6X CD-ROM, a mouse, and a sound card. There certainly aren’t many modern gamers who could not meet these criteria.

I have included very few screenshots in my review because I wanted to do justice to the new engine’s capabilities. For screenshots from the previous version ofDerek (the one I reviewed), see the Derek Preview. For more recent screenshots, be sure to check out the newly updated and reorganized Virtue Games website.

The game’s official website is www.virtuegames.com and can be purchased online from Cheyenne for US $25.00.

Although I wrote a Derek Walkthrough, I recommend you read it when you’ve finished your quest, as the story I’ve written is just my interpretation of the events in this mystical place. I look forward to returning there when I receive the new version of the game.