The game was first released for the 3DO, and was later ported to the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and MS-DOS. D is a 1995 horror-themed interactive movie and adventure game developed by Warp and directed by Kenji Eno.

The Story Behind D

When the game was finished, he submitted a "clean" version (i.e. without the violent and disturbing story content) for approval. Eno and Warp were still relatively unknown in the industry, and D would be their first major title. Since the adventure gameplay was largely finished before the story began to take fruition, flashbacks were added to detail the plot.

There were three phases to Ds development: the adventure game structure, the story creation, and finally violence was added. The PlayStation release of D was set to be published by Acclaim and manufactured by Sony. Eno was heavily inspired by Polarware's Transylvania adventure game series and he believes D would have never been created if it were not for playing those games.

How D Plays

While attempting to find her father, she experiences a series of flashbacks of her mother being stabbed to death. With his death, the realm created by his mind fades and is replaced by the normal surroundings of the hospital. GamePro staff ranked it the third best 3DO game for their 1995 Editors' Choice Awards.

Richter Harris, director of the Los Angeles National Hospital, has gone on a mass murdering spree and barricaded himself in the hospital. Ultimately, Laura finds her father residing at the peak tower of the castle. On his way to the manufacturer, he switched the clean version with his master version containing the more disturbing content.

Why Players Still Load It Up

They highly praised the storyline and intelligently designed puzzles, and described it as "scary enough to make you an insomniac." GamePro staff gave positive reviews for both the Saturn and PlayStation versions, recommending it to those looking for a horror experience. A Next Generation reviewer gave the same praises for the scary storyline and graphics, and also said the puzzles "are just challenging enough to satisfy and yet not so difficult as to impede your progress for very long." However, he felt the slow character movement and lack of longevity kept the game from being truly exceptional. Alex Wawro of Gamasutra believed that D is worth studying as an early example of horror game design.

Staff at Core Gamers called D a benchmark for horror adventure games and one of the first console games with a mature-themed atmosphere. Next Generation reviewed the 3DO version first as an import, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "This is without a doubt the most heavily atmospheric and creepy title to date for the 3DO - or for that matter, any home system." Their review of the domestic release said the graphics were astounding and enhanced the player's involvement in the creepy storyline. Staff at Game Informer were more critical in their review of the Saturn version.

D — Frequently Asked Questions