is a 1994
survival horror
Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...
-
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
video game developed by
Riverhillsoft
was a Japanese video game manufacturer in operation from 1982 to 2004. The studio focused in the 1980s developing games for Japanese home computers, in the 1990s shifted to console game development, and in the 2000s to mobile games. They also pub ...
and published in Japan by
Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...
for the
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also referred to as simply 3DO, is a home video game console developed by The 3DO Company. Conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO was not a console manufactured by the company ...
. The player takes on the role of Adams Adler, a newspaper reporter investigating a mansion for clues to the whereabouts of the eponymous Hauzer, a famed archeologist who has mysteriously disappeared. The game tasks the player with navigating the large mansion by collecting useful items, solving various puzzles, and avoiding deadly traps.
''Doctor Hauzer'' has stark graphical and gameplay similarities with early titles in the
Infogrames
Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. Bec ...
survival horror series ''
Alone in the Dark'', which feature
3D polygonal characters and objects set against fixed,
pre-rendered
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputting or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of footage that was previously rendered on different equipment (typic ...
backgrounds. However, ''Doctor Hauzer'' is the first of this genre to include fully 3D environments that the player can explore while freely swapping between
third-person,
first-person, and
top-down
Top-down may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* " Top Down", a 2007 song by Swizz Beatz
* "Top Down", a song by Lil Yachty from ''Lil Boat 3''
* "Top Down", a song by Fifth Harmony from ''Reflection'' Science
* Top-down reading, is a part of ...
perspectives. These characteristics were carried over into Riverhillsoft's next game, ''
OverBlood''.
In spite of the game's single region-exclusivity, ''Doctor Hauzer'' has been reviewed by several publications outside Japan and has been met with an overall average critical reception. It has enjoyed positive commentary for its sound design and achievement of 3D graphics on a
home console
A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...
. The game garnered mostly favorable opinions regarding its gameplay and the player's ability to change camera views, though reviewers widely disapproved of its short length and slow
frame rate
Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ca ...
. Like ''Alone in the Dark'', ''Doctor Hauzer'' has been viewed by some sources as a notable step in the early evolution of the survival horror genre. The game has never been officially released outside Japan, although
fan translations exist.
Gameplay
''Doctor Hauzer'' is a
survival horror
Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...
-
adventure game
An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...
in which the objective is to explore a large mansion in search of clues leading to the missing, titular character. All the game's environments and their elements are fully rendered in
3D with the default viewpoint being a
third-person perspective
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...
at fixed camera angles that adjust according to the player's position in a room. Every self-contained room is separated by the others with a door, staircase, or similar pathway that acts as a
loading screen
A loading screen is a screen shown by a computer program, very often a video game, while the program is loading (moving program data from the disk to RAM) or initializing.
In early video games, the loading screen was also a chance for graphic ar ...
between them.
The game utilizes
tank controls
Tank controls are a control system used in Video game, video games whereby players control movement relative to the position of the player character, rather than the perspective of the Virtual camera system, game camera.
Mechanism
In a game w ...
, whereby pushing up or down on the controller's
directional pad
A D-pad (short for directional pad or digital pad; officially referred to by Nintendo as a +Control Pad) is a flat, usually thumb-operated, often digital, four-way directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern vi ...
moves the
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
forward or backward relative to the direction he faces and pushing left or right rotates him. Additional controller inputs let the player run while moving, leap forward, investigate the scenery, push or pull heavy objects like furniture, pick up important items, and access an inventory of collected items. This inventory consists of a notebook for
saving
Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. Methods of saving include putting money aside in, for example, a deposit account, a pension account, an investment fund, or as cash. Saving also involves reducing expenditures, such as recur ...
the player's progress, a map, keys for unlocking doors, and items for solving various puzzles necessary to advance through the house. Some items can be combined by selecting them one after the other, such as a candelabra and lighter that will illuminate a dark passage.
Other items for working out puzzles include weapons like a knife and a gun. However, the mansion in ''Doctor Hauzer'' features no combat or enemies and instead relies upon numerous traps and obstacles that can cause the player an instant
game over.
These include floor pits in numerous areas, a room filled with swinging blades on pendulums, and a hallway containing a large, rolling boulder.
The player can freely switch to
first-person and
top-down
Top-down may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* " Top Down", a 2007 song by Swizz Beatz
* "Top Down", a song by Lil Yachty from ''Lil Boat 3''
* "Top Down", a song by Fifth Harmony from ''Reflection'' Science
* Top-down reading, is a part of ...
(overhead) camera perspectives at any time.
These views have situational advantages over one another. For example, the first-person mode is useful for investigating objects and puzzle clues up close, while the overhead mode is better for surveying room layouts and jumping over floor gaps.
Plot
The backstory of ''Doctor Hauzer'' is explained during the game's prologue, expounded through its protagonist. Set in 1952, it follows Adams Adler, a young reporter for the ''Boston Science Monitor'' newspaper. Adler has built his decade-long career around covering stories about Dr. Hauzer, an eccentric
archeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...
for
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
, world-famous for his scientific discoveries. Hauzer suddenly vanishes from the public eye and Adler tracks his last known location to a secluded, oceanside mansion. Adler quickly learns that the house is riddled with perilous traps, locked doors, and secret passageways. Also strewn throughout the mansion are journal entries detailing recent events. Having the home built over the excavation site, Hauzer and his two assistants unearthed a stone
lithograph
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
relating to the
cherub
A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...
im, biblical beings tasked by God with protecting the
Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
. Hauzer's devoted wife, who accompanied him, eventually died from illness while he was preoccupied with his work. Hauzer's obsession with the cryptic tablet steadily grew, leading to his belief that if he was able to decipher its meaning and communicate with the cherubim, they would lead him into paradise where he could partake from the
tree of life
The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...
and gain immortality. Hauzer's increasing insanity caused him to
sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
his assistants in the name of the cherubim and his final diary entry implies that members of law enforcement and university faculty would also potentially fall victim to his paranoia.
Adler makes his way through the property and has a brief encounter with the ghostly figure of Dr. Hauzer, then eventually comes across and pockets a photograph of Hauzer's wife. He descends deeper into the excavation area, his journey culminating in a minecart ride to the location of the lithograph. There Adler again meets Hauzer's spirit, which then merges with the stone artifact to become a large, humanoid face. Hauzer states that he has achieved the divinity he sought through the cherubim and now only wishes to reunite with his deceased wife. Angered by Adler's presence, the spirit becomes malevolent and begins emitting an endless barrage of fireballs at the journalist in an attempt to kill him. Adler desperately makes his way forward and tosses the photograph of Hauzer's wife at the entity, causing a large explosion. The dig site becomes unstable and Adler narrowly escapes on the minecart as the mansion and its surrounding foundation fall into the abyss below. During the game's epilogue, Adler states he wishes not to publish his findings for fear the public would dismiss them as fiction and admits he himself was in disbelief that the events actually occurred.
Development
![3DO-FZ1-Console-Set](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/3DO-FZ1-Console-Set.jpg)
''Doctor Hauzer'' was developed by a small team at
Riverhillsoft
was a Japanese video game manufacturer in operation from 1982 to 2004. The studio focused in the 1980s developing games for Japanese home computers, in the 1990s shifted to console game development, and in the 2000s to mobile games. They also pub ...
, a Japanese company better known for its ''
J.B. Harold Murder Club
''J.B. Harold Murder Club'', known as ''J.B. Harold no Jikenbo #1: Murder Club'' in Japan, is a 1986 murder mystery adventure game, developed by Riverhillsoft and released for the NEC PC-9801, NEC PC-98, MSX, MS-DOS, NEC TurboGrafx-CD (TurboDuo) ...
'' series of murder mystery
adventure game
An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...
s.
Only a few staff members are known and are merely listed in the game's opening cinematic. ''Doctor Hauzer'' was
directed
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
by Kenichiro Hayashi and
produced by Kazuhiro Okazaki. Toshiaki Kawasaki and Kotaro Mitoma were the game's
computer graphics
Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
and polygon
designers
A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans.
In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...
respectively. A music composer for ''Doctor Hauzer'' is not credited, though Ken Inaoka is listed as having created its sound effects. The game was
programmed by
Akihiro Hino
(born July 20, 1968) is a Japanese video game designer and businessman. Starting his career as a programmer in the 1990s, he later took on roles in writing, design, directing and producing. He founded Level-5 (company), Level-5 in 1998, where he ...
and Masahiro Noda. This is one of the earliest works for Hino, who went on to head the developer
Level-5.
Reflecting on the start of his career, Hino explained that as he joined Riverhillsoft the video game market was stepping up its advancement from
2D to
3D graphics, particularly in the United States. The young designer, wanting to make a name for himself at the company, intensely researched the budding technology and experimented on higher-end
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
s capable of producing 3D programs at the time.
Hino felt that with the release of the
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also referred to as simply 3DO, is a home video game console developed by The 3DO Company. Conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO was not a console manufactured by the company ...
the era of 3D gaming had officially begun and ''Doctor Hauzer'' was subsequently developed for the platform.
The game became the first fully 3D survival horror game.
It is often recognized for its narrative, graphical, and gameplay similarities to the
Infogrames
Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. Bec ...
series ''
Alone in the Dark'', though the two differ in certain ways. Whereas ''Alone in the Dark'' focuses more on horror and earlier titles feature 3D polygonal characters and objects set against
pre-rendered
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputting or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of footage that was previously rendered on different equipment (typic ...
backgrounds, ''Doctor Hauzer'' centers more on adventure and has
texture-mapped
Texture mapping is a method for mapping a texture on a computer-generated graphic. Texture here can be high frequency detail, surface texture, or color.
History
The original technique was pioneered by Edwin Catmull in 1974.
Texture mappi ...
, polygonal environments that can be explored with multiple camera perspectives.
Reception
Upon its release in Japan, ''Doctor Hauzer'' was evaluated by the staff of ''
Weekly Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...
'' alongside many other 3DO titles that immediately followed the console's launch in the region the month prior. Three of the magazine's four contributors included the game as a top recommendation for new 3DO owners.
Though ''Doctor Hauzer'' was never officially localized outside of Japan, it has earned critical commentary from several
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
French language media outlets and accrued an overall average reception.
The game has been universally compared to the successful ''
Alone in the Dark'' series, so much so that members of the press often referred to it as being directly inspired by or a
clone of those games.
''
Next Generation'' viewed ''Doctor Hauzer'' as largely derivative of ''Alone in the Dark'', but admitted to not finding it as atmospheric, challenging, or detailed. However, the magazine ultimately recommended the game and that it was still "worth a look."
''
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' repeated this comment, considering ''Doctor Hauzer'' "polished and slick" and stating it was not a bad thing it had "more than a passing resemblance" to the "groundbreaking" ''Alone in the Dark''.
Mark Patterson of ''
Computer and Video Games
''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
'' was much more negative, recounting all aspects of Riverhillsoft's effort as blatant
plagiarism
Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
of ''Alone in the Dark'' and proclaiming ''Doctor Hauzer'' as "a miserable copy."
Alternatively, ''
GameFan
''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising. and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and import video games. It was notable for its ex ...
'' editor-in-chief
Dave Halverson
Dave Halverson is an American video game journalist who has been the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of ''GameFan'' (where he wrote reviews as E. Storm, Skid and Takahara), ''Gamers' Republic'', ''Play'', and currently the new versions of ...
suggested that its presentation coupled with its user control allowed for an interactive, cinematic experience favoring ''
Out of this World''.
The use of fully rendered 3D graphics in ''Doctor Hauzer'' has been met with general praise. While ''Famitsu'' felt the visual offerings on the 3DO were inferior to competing hardware in 1994, the staff recognized that the polygonal graphics and multiple camera perspectives in ''Doctor Hauzer'' helped to distinguish it.
Halverson hailed the game's aesthetic as a revolutionary prelude to the real-time graphical capabilities of the
fifth-generation video game consoles, witnessed primarily in
PC game
A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...
s at the time.
Halverson, along with other ''GameFan'' staff, applauded the game's 3D models and virtual environments as "brilliant," "awesome", "outstanding," and "a breakthrough effort for a
home console
A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...
."
''Edge'' labeled the graphics "fantastic" and was impressed that the game world was constructed entirely using "superbly detailed texture-mapped polygons" that allowed for more camera viewpoints and an improvement over the look of ''Alone in the Dark''.
''
Retro Gamer
''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...
'' reflected on ''Doctor Hauzer'' as "much more" than an ''Alone in the Dark'' clone, citing that it likely demonstrated the 3D graphical prowess of the 3DO better than any other release for the console.
Patterson adversely denoted "a few bits of texture mapping" as its only technical advantage over that franchise, and surmised, "Even when there's nothing moving the game isn't that good to look at."
The game's audio was also a high point for reviewers. ''Edge'' felt the music outdid its visual presentation, declaring, "From the familiar-sounding intro tune to the actual ingame score, ''Doctor Hauzer'' is a musical delight."
Halverson described the soundtrack as "excellent, setting the spooky mood perfectly."
Tom Massey of ''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' asserted ''Doctor Hauzer'' as "one of the 3DO's more intriguing exclusives" because of its originality and sound design.
Opinions regarding the core adventure gameplay of ''Doctor Hauzer'' have been somewhat varied but mostly favorable. ''Edge'' found a linear structure to solving puzzles that range from simple to very obscure and allow the player to steadily traverse the game's mansion setting.
The magazine later characterized the puzzles as more complex yet less rewarding than those in ''Alone in the Dark'', while ''Retro Gamer'' assessed its puzzles as lacking "the subtle genius" of ''
Resident Evil
''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' in the wake of the latter's release.
The gameplay polarized two of ''Famitsu''s reviewers; while one was thrilled by exploration and discovery within the mansion, the other was largely put off by the instant deaths associated with some of its unforeseen traps.
''Next Generation'', ''Edge'', and Halverson all positively noted the player's ability to swap camera modes in ''Doctor Hauzer'' as helpful or even essential in completing the game.
Patterson contrarily saw no value in changing to the first-person perspective and only recognized the top-down view as useful for checking a room's contents, also concluding that there were too few obstacles or action to qualify it as either an adventure or an
arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
.
The game's short length and slow
frame rate
Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ca ...
have been largely criticized. ''Edge'' declared that working out puzzles and advancing in ''Doctor Hauzer'' does not last long enough and that having a larger house to explore or more characters with which to interact would make the game "an essential purchase." The publication partially blamed the playing time on the ease of saving one's progress, but admitted that starting the game over upon dying would be an even greater drawback.
Halverson considered the short playtime the game's sole weakness, but that this was remedied through its
replay value
Replay may refer to:
* Replay (sports), a replayed match between two sport teams Technology
* Game replay, a recording of a game session.
* Instant replay, in motion pictures and television, a showing again of part of a film
* Replay Professional, ...
.
Patterson condemned ''Doctor Hauzer'' for having "incredibly sluggish" movement which "slaughters the gameplay."
''Edge'' specified its lack of speed a major fault as well, but justified it as a result of its "graphical splendor" and that it did not detract much from the experience due to its lack of combat, few instances of having to run away, and leisurely pace for solving puzzles.
Massey mentioned in 2015 that the game was likely to be deemed slow by more modern game standards.
Legacy
Riverhillsoft's next release following ''Doctor Hauzer'' was a horror game for the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
titled ''
OverBlood''.
Like ''Doctor Hauzer'', this game was completely rendered in 3D and featured the same choice of first-person, third-person, and top-down camera perspectives.
A few publications have viewed the flat, shaded polygons in ''Doctor Hauzer'' as an early example of
cel shading
Cel shading or toon shading is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make 3-D computer graphics appear to be flat by using less shading color instead of a shade gradient or tints and shades. A cel shader is often used to mimic th ...
, a computer graphics technique found more prominently in the decade following its release. A 2014 article by Lucas Sullivan of ''
GamesRadar+
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
'' called ''Doctor Hauzer'' a "prototype for the cel-shading aesthetic" and that it merely lacked the thick, black outlines attributed to this style. A 2016 issue of ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' claimed, "If ''
Jet Set Radio
(originally released in North America as ''Jet Grind Radio'') is a 2000 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. The player controls a member of a youth gang, the GGs, as they use inline skates to traverse Tok ...
'' marked the hot, explosive puberty of cel-shaded graphics, then this 3DO game was its slithering birth."
Some sources have treated ''Doctor Hauzer'' as a notable step in the evolution of survival horror leading up to the landmark 1996 debut of ''Resident Evil'' by
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
, which popularized and helped better define the genre. Allistair Pinsof of ''
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
' ...
'' mentioned ''Doctor Hauzer'' as a "little-known pioneer of survival horror."
''
The Escapist'' contributor Liz Finnegan wrote that, alongside contemporaries like ''
Alone in the Dark'', ''
Clock Tower
Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...
'', and ''
D'', ''Doctor Hauzer'' helped establish many of the tropes and gameplay elements that paved the way for ''Resident Evil''.
Video game historian Carl Therrien of the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
wrote that both ''Doctor Hauzer'' and ''Alone in the Dark'' "influenced the look and pacing of ''Resident Evil'' to a great extent." In a 2013 ''
Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' magazine interview, ''
Silent Hill
is a horror anthology media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four video games in the series, ''Silent Hill'', '' Silent Hill 2'', ''Silent Hill 3'' and '' ...
'' and ''
Siren
Siren or sirens may refer to:
Common meanings
* Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies
* Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology
Places
* Siren (town), Wisconsin
* Siren, Wisc ...
'' creator
Keiichiro Toyama
is a Japanese video game director and designer, best known as the creator of the ''Silent Hill'', ''Siren'' and ''Gravity Rush'' franchises.
Biography
Toyama was born in 1970 in Miyazaki Prefecture, and studied art in Tokyo Zokei University. ...
credited ''Doctor Hauzer'' for sparking his interest in developing horror games.
Although ''Doctor Hauzer'' was not officially released outside Japan, fan translations exist.
Notes
References
External links
''Doctor Hauzer''at
MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Hauzer
1990s horror video games
1994 video games
3DO Interactive Multiplayer games
3DO Interactive Multiplayer-only games
Fictional archaeologists
First-person adventure games
Japan-exclusive video games
Riverhillsoft games
Single-player video games
Top-down video games
Video games developed in Japan
Video games set in 1952