最开始设计的时候，我希望《黑暗纪元》能具备一些“特质”，通过采用某些来自那个还充满了幻想迷雾的时代里的要素，使得奇幻元素显得更为“真实”，而不是用那老一套的，乏善可陈的巫师、牧师和吟游诗人的设定。同时，我希望我的游戏设计能够尽可能地提供一种深入历史的洞见，让人身临其境。想一下，当你在绞尽脑汁平衡策略要素和有趣的细节时，为什么要放着那些充足的，极具乐趣的史料不用，而去自己胡编乱造呢？

At the very start, I wanted the Darklands' ‘hook’ to be that it would use some beliefs from the era to “justify” fantastical elements, rather than trotting out the usual bog-standard wizards, clerics, bards, etc. Where possible, I like my game designs to provide an insight into history – a ‘you are there’ feeling. When searching for tactical trade-offs and interesting details, why goof around conjuring up stuff when there is plenty of interesting historical material to use?

Arnold Hendrick,
《黑暗纪元》首席设计师

Arnold Hendrick,
Darklands' lead designer

除了独特的设定和角色系统，《黑暗纪元》的 CYOA 系统也十分出色。手绘画面完美地呈现了地点、对话和事件，同时，游戏基于你的属性或技能设置了大量的选择分支，自由度高得惊人。所有这些画面都带有生动的描述，精心撰写，强化了游戏的角色扮演要素。

不管你是想在没钱交税的情况下决定如何进入一座城镇，还是在森林中跟不受欢迎的土匪打交道，甚或是与精明的银行家讨论贷款事宜，游戏都设置了多种结果和结局，当然，很多结局都不是那么令人满意。《黑暗纪元》中的挑战和奖励是并存的，你的选择有时候会不可避免地引出一些不太理想的结局，比如为了逃出生天而钻进下水道，或是向一群邪恶生物投降，结果发现自己的一个同伴吃掉了，以示惩罚。

Besides the unique setting and character system, Darklands also shines in its Choose Your Own Adventure gameplay. Locations, dialogues and events are all explored primarily through illustrated screens offering multiple choices based on your stats/skills and a surprising amount of free will. These screens are all expertly written, with vivid descriptions that enhance the role-playing aspect of the game.

Whether you're deciding how to enter a town when you don't have the money to pay the tax, deal with an unwelcome bandit visit in the forest, or discuss a loan with a shrewd banker, the game often allows for multiple outcomes and consequences, many of which do not end well. Darklands is as challenging as it is rewarding, and your choices inevitably lead to undesirable scenarios such as crawling through sewers to escape a landscape of horrors, or surrendering to a vicious pack of creatures only to see one of your companions devoured as a penalty.

Hendrick 曾经提到有制作《黑暗纪元》续作的可能，同样打算基于历史时期进行制作，如百年战争（Hundred Years' War）、蔷薇战争（the War of the Roses）或是穿刺公弗拉德（Vlad the Impaler）等，但是令人遗憾的是，这些想法未能实现。

Hendrick hinted at the possibility of creating sequels for Darklands, set in historical eras such as the Hundred Years' War, the War of the Roses or featuring Vlad the Impaler but, sadly, those were never realised.

你的探索过程往往会被快节奏的 45 度俯视角战斗打断，由带有暂停的实时战斗^[1] 方式呈现——在当时，这两个都是非常新奇的概念。通常情况下，在战斗开始前，玩家可以为自己的队伍施加神圣之力，或是投掷炼金药水从而得以逃跑。然而，如果没有合适的装备和配置，这些遭遇战可能会极为难缠，甚至会让你被强盗洗劫得只剩藏在鞋子里的几分钱。

尽管有着这些值得一提的系统设计和精心制作的背景设定，由于大量的游戏 bug 和崩溃，《黑暗纪元》在发行时仅仅得到了褒贬不一的评价。

不过就算这样，这款游戏仍然经久不衰，并被认为是有史以来最为优秀的 RPG 之一。游戏极为充实的内容和取材范围也影响了 Bethesda 的《上古卷轴》（The Elder Scrolls）系列，另外，其实时-暂停战斗系统也影响了由 Infinity 引擎制作的游戏系列^[2] 。

Interrupting your explorations are fast-paced isometric battles, fought through a real-time-with-pause combat – both innovative concepts at the time. These are usually prefaced with an opportunity to put some divine power on your side or toss an alchemical potion into the fray for a chance to escape. Without the right equipment these encounters can be brutal, leading to bandits robbing you of everything but a few pfennigs hidden in your boot.

Despite all these notable systems and a carefully crafted setting, the release of Darklands was met with a mixed reception, mostly due to an unwieldy amount of bugs and a tendency to crash.

The game endured, however, and has retroactively been labelled one of the best RPGs of all time, with a content-filled scale and scope that would influence games like Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls series and the real-time-with-pause combat in the Infinity Engine games.

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¹ 译者注：指类似《博德之门》系列，可以随时暂停安排战术，而战斗是实时进行的战斗表现方式。
² 译者注：即《博德之门》系列采用的游戏引擎。