official Dear Esther

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Dear Esther



Official Site:
 

www.dear-esther.com

Platform:

PC

Release Date:

February 14, 2012

About:

?A deserted island? a lost man? memories of a fatal crash? a book written by a dying explorer.?

Dear Esther is a ghost story, told using first-person gaming technologies. Rather than traditional game-play the focus here is on exploration, uncovering the mystery of the island, of who you are and why you are here. Fragments of story are randomly uncovered when exploring the various locations of the island, making every each journey a unique experience. Dear Esther features a stunning, specially commissioned soundtrack from Jessica Curry.
Forget the normal rules of play; if nothing seems real here, it?s because it may just be all a delusion. What is the significance of the aerial ? What happened on the motorway ? is the island real or imagined ? who is Esther and why has she chosen to summon you here? The answers are out there, on the lost beach and the tunnels under the island. Or then again, they may just not be, after all?


 

History:

Built in the Source engine and originally released in 2008 as a mod for Half Life 2, Dear Esther quickly established itself as an award-winning, critically acclaimed experimental first-person game. It abandons all traditional game play, leaving only a rich world soaked in atmosphere, and an abstract, poetic story to explore.
In 2009, it was picked up by a professional game artist, Robert Briscoe, for a complete overhaul of the visuals and level design, in the hopes that it would be able to overcome it?s early shortcomings as a mod and be able to fulfil its true potential.
In late 2010 it became clear the overhaul had become something much more, and with Valve and the community?s support the project was granted a license to make Dear Esther a completely independent release, and allowing everyone the opportunity to get a chance to experience the game for themselves!

Videos:

 

 

[Lingwo]

Interesting story, not worth the high price for probably about an hours playtime.

[Dotdot]

gonna get this come pay day looks unmissable

[Vice]

Got enough quote boxes there big boy? :rofl:

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I was going to create an official thread for this game so you beat me this time. :p

The game has a high Metascore of 80 and a user score of 8.3. For awhile, I didn't know what kind of game it was. I learned recently that it's a 3D story which is something I'm willing to try.

[Scorpian8867]

I don't understand why people keep saying that it's not worth it because it only lasts for an hour or two. Since when was approximate playtime the only deciding factor of its value? Yes, it's short. It's also incredibly well written, beautifully designed, and overall very unique. As far as I'm concerned, those factors alone are enough to override its short length and justify it's price.

[Emn1ty]

I don't understand why people keep saying that it's not worth it because it only lasts for an hour or two. Since when was approximate playtime the only deciding factor of its value? Yes, it's short. It's also incredibly well written, beautifully designed, and overall very unique. As far as I'm concerned, those factors alone are enough to override its short length and justify it's price.

Another reason I felt it wasn't worth it is because you have no active participation in the storytelling other than walking around and initiating monologues. This game places you in a world and the only thing you can do is move through it. You can't pick anything up, you can't sprint, you can't stray from the path and you can't even die. The game is the definition of linear, short and while the story is great you have no real influence on it. I can't really even call it a game because it lacks any real interactive qualities and at the times it matters the game takes control away from the player anyways.

I'd almost equate it to an environment tech demo. It was certainly not worth $10 IMO, probably more in the $5-$8 range.

PS: The environment design in the game was brilliant. The level design was poor. Too many paths that lead nowhere and revealed nothing and took minutes to traverse (1-2m to be exact).

[Dotdot]

Another reason I felt it wasn't worth it is because you have no active participation in the storytelling other than walking around and initiating monologues. This game places you in a world and the only thing you can do is move through it. You can't pick anything up, you can't sprint, you can't stray from the path and you can't even die. The game is the definition of linear, short and while the story is great you have no real influence on it. I can't really even call it a game because it lacks any real interactive qualities and at the times it matters the game takes control away from the player anyways.

I'd almost equate it to an environment tech demo. It was certainly not worth $10 IMO, probably more in the $5-$8 range.

PS: The environment design in the game was brilliant. The level design was poor. Too many paths that lead nowhere and revealed nothing and took minutes to traverse (1-2m to be exact).

God seriously, its ?7. The minimum wage is ?6 or so an hour. I dont think its totally unreasonable. For an hour or 2`s decent story and gorgeous visuals its about the same asking price as a movie. Totally justified if you ask me.

[Emn1ty]

God seriously, its ?7. The minimum wage is ?6 or so an hour. I dont think its totally unreasonable. For an hour or 2`s decent story and gorgeous visuals its about the same asking price as a movie. Totally justified if you ask me.

Its the equivalent of buying a movie that is an audiobook. The point is basically it isn't what its been presented as: a game. Its more like a walk through some movie set with a guy talking to you about events you should be experiencing first hand (Spoiler:

such as how the guy constantly talks about how he broke his femur and eventually the infection from the injury spread across his body

). Not once does it actually give any visuals. You just keep moving at the same semi-slow pace while he talks about it. The art is fantastic but it could just as easily been a short graphic novel that was less than $5.

[MillionVoltss]

A interesting story, the best source visuals to date on ' Any ' source engine game and top sound and music.

Its half price at the mo, You plod around an island exploring and the storm evolves in narration form, you simply wasd and mouse look, no other interaction.

Don't watch / read any reviews as the sets are amazing and would be spoiled knowing already.

Its is only 1 - 2 hours long but a worthy addition to your steam catalog.

http://www.thechineseroom.co.uk/PinchbeckStorytelling08.pdf more info behind it.

[neoadorable]

Yeah been meaning to play it again one of these days, a really awesome game or experience