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Dear Esther |OT|

E

etiolate

Banned
BlazingDarkness said:
Not sure why you'd think that'd be unlikely, all things considered. The stuff you touch on about the fall from grace and the road to Damascus I agree with, but the whole thing plays out more like an internal monologue, the narration is Paul's inner thoughts as he comes to terms with what happened, while wandering this 'island' which is scattered with mementos surrounding the incident. I see it all as a creation of his mind as he comes to terms with what he has done, and ultimately is granted freedom from the guilt
Click to expand...

Are they inner thoughts or words from those letters to Esther?

They way they are written does not read like thoughts. Some read that way, but others include the narrator doing things already done. All the stuff about his injured leg is a voice from the past.
 
J

jett

D-Member
KingK said:
I asked this earlier, but I never got a reply. I'm wondering if my laptop can run this game. My processor and RAM are fine, but my graphics chip is a shitty Mobile Intel 4 series express chipset family.

I can run Civ 5 somewhat decently on low settings, so would this game be more, or less demanding than that?
Click to expand...

I can say for sure, but it will probably run, it's just Source.
 
B

BlazingDarkness

Member
etiolate said:
Are they inner thoughts or words from those letters to Esther?

They way they are written does not read like thoughts. Some read that way, but others include the narrator doing things already done. All the stuff about his injured leg is a voice from the past.
Click to expand...

They're a combination of letters he wrote to her in the past and his inner thoughts reflecting on them, amongst other things

I'd say the time of the incident and when the game takes place are quite ambiguous, there's some people saying this takes place right afterwards, but it's possible the incident caused by the narrator (Paul) happened a long time in the past, since then he's been living with guilt caused by the drink driving, writing letters to his dead wife and such and what we're experiencing are his last thoughts, to her and to himself
 
G

GillianSeed79

Member
Amazing game. Picked this up off of Steam after work tonight. I'm probably 3/4 of the way through, but I had to stop because I have to be up early for work Thursday.

I know it's not much of an actual game and interactive fiction is a dirty word, but damn it this is a compelling piece of software. Hell, I'll even go so far to say that it's another example of games as art, but I don't want to get into that argument.

I'm almost tempted to make a thread asking if there's such a thing as a reverse blue strategy, but know I'll probably be laughed at. This is the kind of game that makes we want to keep gaming. Instead of trying to reboot everything to try to get grandma and grandad into gaming, why not try to capitalize on people that have been gaming for years but have reached the cut off point for marketing demographics? Is it bad that I like a game whose only mechanic is walking forward? Eh, I just wish we could get more experimental games like this in the medium for us old fogey's.
 
S

SparkTR

Member
I would love an option to play the game without the narration, just the music and visuals. With only the objects and themes telling us the story, it'll be a completely different experience.
 
E

Echoes

Member
SparkTR said:
I would love an option to play the game without the narration, just the music and visuals. With only the objects and themes telling us the story, it'll be a completely different experience.
Click to expand...

I'd also like a way for the music not to stop. I absolutely love the sound in this game, but having a constant ambient stuff (to fill the gap that happens sometimes) would make it better for me.

I finished it twice yesterday and I may play it today after work. It's hard to put into words; I just like it. Emotionally engrossing.
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
I find this easier to explain to non-gamers/casuals that it's this cool interactive ghost story. They'd have no expectations of the gameplay or other crap.

If I tried to explain it to a gamer, they'd be like, "so what can you do in the game?" and would want to know more about the mechanics. Then I'd have to explain "you don't interact with anything, you can't sprint or jump, it's just all exploration". Then they'd give a "huh" and probably never give a shit about trying it out.
 
G

Goody

Member
I'll definitely be picking this one up soon. It looks amazing and I really want to encourage experimental games like these with my wallet as much as I can.
 
T

The_Player

Member
Messofanego said:
I find this easier to explain to non-gamers/casuals that it's this cool interactive ghost story. They'd have no expectations of the gameplay or other crap.

If I tried to explain it to a gamer, they'd be like, "so what can you do in the game?" and would want to know more about the mechanics. Then I'd have to explain "you don't interact with anything, you can't sprint or jump, it's just all exploration". Then they'd give a "huh" and probably never give a shit about trying it out.
Click to expand...

It's absolutely ok, the "game" isn't meant to be for every Jack and Jill. It'll either click with you and you'll love it or you'll think you were ripped off. And to be honest I can't call this product a true "game". The most closest thing I could relate it too is an audiobook combined with sightseeings. Yet this is a product of very high quality.
 
C

Cyborg771

Neo Member
Alright, so I just finished my fourth(!) playthrough. Alec in the alternate Wot I Think article said that he can't see a reason to do it more than once and while I see his point I have to say that the added repetition made it that much more meaningful. On my fourth time up the mountain I got the best narration yet, it tied together themes and words and feelings that all three of my previous games had set up. It was the payoff that finally drew tears for me. I sat in stunned silence for about 20 seconds before I realized I'd kept walking and was at the tower.

All in all I don't think it really matters what the story is, or if there even is a single interpretation. When the author releases a work into the wild we as the audience are just as much a part of it's meaning as they are. I got a story out of it that's going to stay with me for a long time and a lot of people won't. That's just the view from their front doors and I can't judge them for that. I'm incredibly grateful that I got to experience this when and how I did.
 
T

Tilian

Banned
CoolS said:
One question did anyone else see
a strange person with yellow glowing eyes wearing a frock on the top at the radio station? It was behind the fences on one edge right after you reached the top at the end. I'm still really creeped out by that.
Click to expand...

I'm still trying to find this with no success. Is it just before
the final animation kicks in when you climb the ladder to the top?

EDIT: found it. Yes, I see what you mean.
 
E

Ethranes

Member
Fantastic game, I wish this is the direction that gaming had gone all along, I've had to live with average stories wrapped around health bars and boss fights for too long.
 
C

Cromulent_Word

Member
Hey folks - I convinced Dan Pinchbeck (of Dear Esther) to sign up with GAF. He's waiting to be accepted, which might take a while.

In the meantime he's read the thread and is definitely keen to discuss/answer questions.
 
K

kanugo

Member
Cromulent_Word said:
Hey folks - I convinced Dan Pinchbeck (of Dear Esther) to sign up with GAF. He's waiting to be accepted, which might take a while.

In the meantime he's read the thread and is definitely keen to discuss/answer questions.
Click to expand...
Nice. I said a couple of post ago that he should join this discussion. Dan, if you're reading: congratulations on making an amazing experience.
 
D

daxy

Member
Just finished this! Amazing.

Quick question, could be relevant to the story so spoilers anyway:
Is it me or is there more than one person doing the narration? At the end when I was climbing up to the signal and passing the shack, the narration sounded distinctly different. The voice was a bit higher in pitch, almost like a younger version of the narrator. Perhaps I only noticed it then and it's been that way throughout the story? Maybe I just imagined it.

My playthrough actually took me about three hours. I felt compelled to explore various pathways and places, hoping to expose more of its story.
 
T

tborsje

Member
What a beautiful game. I loved the uncertainty surrounding the story, and how you are made to remember all the individual pieces of dialogue to try and stitch the narrative together. I think that the black screen at the end is quite deliberately placed there so you have the chance to do this.

I'd love to see more experimental games like this, it really was the first time in a long while that I felt like I was playing something completely different than what's been done before in the video game medium. Two hours of Dear Esther is far more rewarding than 20 hours of the next 'shoot people in the face' game.

Edit: The aspect of Dear Esther that stuck with me the most are the colours. The heavily saturated primary colours in the cave section look so amazing, the only game that I feel also captured this was the visual style in Mirrors Edge.
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
tborsje said:
What a beautiful game. I loved the uncertainty surrounding the story, and how you are made to remember all the individual pieces of dialogue to try and stitch the narrative together. I think that the black screen at the end is quite deliberately placed there so you have the chance to do this.

I'd love to see more experimental games like this, it really was the first time in a long while that I felt like I was playing something completely different than what's been done before in the video game medium. Two hours of Dear Esther is far more rewarding than 20 hours of the next 'shoot people in the face' game.

Edit: The aspect of Dear Esther that stuck with me the most are the colours. The heavily saturated primary colours in the cave section look so amazing, the only game that I feel also captured this was the visual style in Mirrors Edge.
Click to expand...

You might want to sit down for this. The envoronments were done by Robert Briscoe, the artist from Mirror's Edge.
 
Angry Fork

Angry Fork

Member
Just went on Steam and saw this. It seems so interesting/atmospheric I'm going to get this + Alan Wake (so hyped!) once I get home. What kind of game is this though? Do you just walk around and immerse yourself in the atmosphere? Are there any objectives? etc.

I'm going to get it either way because I'd love to support games like this. I'm a huge atmosphere whore and get into these kinds of worlds big time.
 
D

DagsJT

Member
Got too much of a backlog but this is just getting too much praise so I'm off to get it now. Sounds like I'll love it.
 
D

delta25

Banned
what a fucking game...... WOW

Oh and the graphics easily rival the best of the best, this game just oozes atmosphere at every corner.
 
B

BlazingDarkness

Member
Angry Fork said:
Just went on Steam and saw this. It seems so interesting/atmospheric I'm going to get this + Alan Wake (so hyped!) once I get home. What kind of game is this though? Do you just walk around and immerse yourself in the atmosphere? Are there any objectives? etc.

I'm going to get it either way because I'd love to support games like this. I'm a huge atmosphere whore and get into these kinds of worlds big time.
Click to expand...

Yep that's everything, just walking around soaking in the atmosphere
 
U

Utako

Banned
Cromulent_Word said:
Hey folks - I convinced Dan Pinchbeck (of Dear Esther) to sign up with GAF. He's waiting to be accepted, which might take a while.

In the meantime he's read the thread and is definitely keen to discuss/answer questions.
Click to expand...
When he is approved in 15 years, I look forward to it.
 
D

DagsJT

Member
Just forced a crash from the game by going into the controller settings, moving to "Look type" and pushing right to change to the next setting. Crashes every single time.

Okay, I've been playing for 20 mins and not got a clue what I'm meant to be doing. I've found a cave, only one entrance/exit and that's about it. The graphics are fantastic and the little story I've heard so far is nice but .... what's my aim here?

Also, are there any save points? If the game crashes now, I imagine I'll have to go right to the start again?

No jump/climb button? Why can't I get up a tiny ledge?

I dunno. I mean it does look great and it has a charm but I think I'm missing something here. The walking pace is way too slow, no run button, no jump/climb button, it's all just too linear so far. Tiny ledges, tiny fences of barbed wire and I can't even step over them, nevermind jump over?

These invisible walls stopping me from stepping up the smallest of rocks is really ruining the atmosphere for me. It feels like a video game, I can't get immersed into it when I'm expecting to step up a stone and some invisible barrier is stopping me.
 
C

Cydonian__Knight

Member
Cromulent_Word said:
Hey folks - I convinced Dan Pinchbeck (of Dear Esther) to sign up with GAF. He's waiting to be accepted, which might take a while.

In the meantime he's read the thread and is definitely keen to discuss/answer questions.
Click to expand...

Nice! Hopefully he gets approved soon, it would be awesome to hear more of his thoughts in here.
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
DagsJT said:
Just forced a crash from the game by going into the controller settings, moving to "Look type" and pushing right to change to the next setting. Crashes every single time.

Okay, I've been playing for 20 mins and not got a clue what I'm meant to be doing. I've found a cave, only one entrance/exit and that's about it. The graphics are fantastic and the little story I've heard so far is nice but .... what's my aim here?

Also, are there any save points? If the game crashes now, I imagine I'll have to go right to the start again?

No jump/climb button? Why can't I get up a tiny ledge?

I dunno. I mean it does look great and it has a charm but I think I'm missing something here. The walking pace is way too slow, no run button, no jump/climb button, it's all just too linear so far. Tiny ledges, tiny fences of barbed wire and I can't even step over them, nevermind jump over?

These invisible walls stopping me from stepping up the smallest of rocks is really ruining the atmosphere for me. It feels like a video game, I can't get immersed into it when I'm expecting to step up a stone and some invisible barrier is stopping me.
Click to expand...
There are 4 chapters, no save points if you exit. There are usually openings in the barbed fences. It's linear and wants to tell you a story, that's why you can't jump so they can script the audio with what you're looking at in the environment. This is mostly environmental storytelling.

You're meant to figure out the mystery. Who are you, the other characters, who's the narrator, what happened here, what's the nature of this island. Make out what you can from objects strewn around, like polaroid pictures or scraps of metal. Some dialogue and events are randomised, so it warrants multiple playthroughs.
 
O

Ourobolus

Banned
I keep hearing about this game and it looks fantastic. I think I'll pick it up this weekend. I'm gonna crack open a beer, turn the lights off, put on some headphones, and hopefully have a good time. I REALLY dig the concept of the game.
 
Tesseract

Tesseract

Banned
someone should decompile and port the bsps to left 4 dead. the island would make for an awesome campaign with a few adjustments. actually, the dear esther peoples should do it for publicity.
you know you want to.
 
J

John Rabbit

Banned
in several interviews pinchbeck says the narrative of the game is intended at times to be completely contradictory. i don't think there is a final "mystery" to solve to put all the pieces in order and figure out a series of events. the intention i think is more to see how your brain connects thematic structures together to form a mostly cohesive understanding of "what is going on".

the best description i've read and have used with others is calling dear esther "an interactive, visual poem".
 
S

shrapnelmagnet

Member
Played it last night, thought it was fantastic.

I can't help but be a TAD disappointed with the way the devs chose to end it:
Much like the RPS guy, I would've walked off of the tower, too. I walked into every weird hole and off of cliffs, killing myself repeatedly. I wanted to climb the tower myself, I wanted to talk off. It would've been the ONLY thing to do when you finally got there. Oh well, still great :)
 
B

Berto

Member
shrapnelmagnet said:
Played it last night, thought it was fantastic.

I can't help but be a TAD disappointed with the way the devs chose to end it:
Much like the RPS guy, I would've walked off of the tower, too. I walked into every weird hole and off of cliffs, killing myself repeatedly. I wanted to climb the tower myself, I wanted to talk off. It would've been the ONLY thing to do when you finally got there. Oh well, still great :)
Click to expand...
This!
It would be great if we could climb ourselves, with the wind getting stronger and getting that vertigo sensation.

Anyway, awesome experience, loved it.
 
S

Spoo

Member
I played through it, and wouldn't mind having my money back. Maybe, for some reason, I expected something closer to Amnesia -- which does what this game tries to do a lot better. Oh well.
 
M

Moobabe

Member
I've just finished it, and reading through some impressions here really highlight the level of detail on show. I'd probably have to play it again to be sure;
but I'm certain there's more than one narrator, the changes in tone are far too drastic for me to suggest it's one person throughout. Unless we're faced with a narrator completely detached from the story itself
- but I say that coming fresh from finishing the game 5 minutes ago, probably need a little time for it to settle.
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
Messofanego said:
You might want to sit down for this. The envoronments were done by Robert Briscoe, the artist from Mirror's Edge.
Click to expand...
To nitpick, I'm not sure he was "the artist" -- he seems to have been an environment artist, and said:
The levels I worked on during my time on Mirror’s edge were the stormdrains level (Jack Knife) and the final level (The Shard) images of which can be found in the gallery here.
Click to expand...
(See http://www.littlelostpoly.co.uk/mirrors-edge.html for reference)
 
A

ArjanN

Member
Spoo said:
I played through it, and wouldn't mind having my money back. Maybe, for some reason, I expected something closer to Amnesia -- which does what this game tries to do a lot better. Oh well.
Click to expand...

Dear Ester isn't trying to do the same thing as Amnesia at all, or vice versa.
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
I wasn't very interested in getting the game but the good impressions make it sound like it's pretty, at least. Quick question about save points and cliffs since I've seen this mentioned:

Since you can apparently kill yourself by jumping off a cliff, do you have to restart the whole thing, or just automatically restart that chapter?

Also, is the audio any quieter than the original mod? When I played through the original, I seem to recall some sort of screeching/high-pitched/really loud noise, possibly near some chalk cliffs, and I seem to recall it being almost physically painful. I would rather avoid that if this version still has it.
 
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