Representatives of Nintendo’s North American offices have filed a trademark for use of the mark ‘Eternal Darkness’ in relation to video games, and downloadable video games.
Eternal Darkness, for those unfamiliar, was a title (subtitled Sanity’s Requiem) developed by Silicon Knights which launched on the Gamecube. The game featured a dark, lovecraftian plot which was steered by artifacts and the people who had come into contact with them throughout the ages, from ancient Roman soldiers through 19th century explorers to (at time of launch) the modern day protagonist.
Alongside a health bar, characters also had a magic bar which was depleted as runes were combined into spells, and a sanity bar which when low would cause visual effects to mess with the game – save screens to say they are deleting all progress, character’s heads to fall off, a channel number to appear in the top corner as though somebody had changed the channel, etc.
The rune/word system is rarely celebrated -normally overshadowed by the sanity effects- however it should be, because words representing health, sanity, and mana could be swapped out in spells; and enemies -depending on the god you chose at the start- would be more effective against certain bars.
Nintendo securing the trademark might not mean anything, it could just be an attempt to ensure that the game’s legacy remains intact. That said, it would be nice to have a digital version of the game available, or even a sequel, and it is hard not to lean towards speculation what with the rapidly approaching Switch event, which is happening on January 12th.
Leaning towards the digital version of the title; several sources confirmed to Eurogamer last month that the Switch would be getting at least three Gamecube games, which were already ready for deployment.
Source, US Patent and Trademark Office, via Gamerant
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