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Gone Home |OT| I ain't afraid of no ghost!

Cartman86

Banned
You guys are all over the narrative and stuff, but I can't play it for the controls, damn slow look up speed, it drive me nuts all the time, why I walk like 3x the speed I turn my head?

Did increased the mouse sensitivity but just helped a little to no good amount.

Is there anything else to help it?

Yeah I had to turn it up. I got used to the way it felt (and how it "auto-aimed") eventually, but it never felt perfect. I wonder if using a controller is better?
 

Not Spaceghost

Spaceghost
I really loved it, the ending was perfect and I really felt that whole game came full circle, it was like a moving slide show of what had happened in this house while you were away.

Spoilers:
I really loved how the game seemed to build up this supernatural element only to shove it away at the end and leave you with quite possible the nicest teen romance story ever told in a game, although I am still curious about the crucifix and the popping light bulb. That came out of no where for me and I actually go so spooked I threw the crucifix under the stairs out of pick up reach. I loved how the whole story starts off kind of innocently, then you realize that the father is depressed and the mother is possibly cheating on her husband as well as Sam discovering herself and the possibility of a ghost. Then by the end everyone has gotten a happy ending. It was kind of unexpected but lovely in its own way. Although I never felt like I got a good reason as to why the house had such a bad reputation.

I really feel like the games problem isn't length it's price. If it had been 10 dollars I would have bought this at release. In fact I didn't even buy it, it was gifted to me by a friend who was nuts over the game, and I can see why it was really quite something awesome.

I was not expecting this to be THIS good at all.
 
Just a heads up, my podcast had Steve Gaynor on this week to talk about the game. He goes in to a lot of his thought processes, influences, his career, and a lot about the characters.

Hope you guys enjoy it!
 

ViviOggi

Member
That came out of no where for me and I actually go so spooked I threw the crucifix under the stairs out of pick up reach.

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Kater

Banned
This is my PC game of the year. Played through it within 6 hours with a friend last weekend and I really enjoyed it. The spooky atmosphere fits perfectly, it felt like being a little kid again and exploring old, empty houses.
The side story taking over the main plot is a brilliant idea btw. Though I felt kind of pissed when I realized that the whole ghost thing was just a thing so that people who aren't usually interested in such normal, down to earth stories to go through the whole game because I for one was pretty alarmed all the time because of the thought of a ghost popping up and hunting me through the house.
 

Shaneus

Member
This is my PC game of the year. Played through it within 6 hours with a friend last weekend and I really enjoyed it. The spooky atmosphere fits perfectly, it felt like being a little kid again and exploring old, empty houses.
The side story taking over the main plot is a brilliant idea btw. Though I felt kind of pissed when I realized that the whole ghost thing was just a thing so that people who aren't usually interested in such normal, down to earth stories to go through the whole game because I for one was pretty alarmed all the time because of the thought of a ghost popping up and hunting me through the house.
I don't think it was a bait and switch at all. I fully knew this was an exploration game that
had nothing to do with ghosts[/url] and I loved it anyway. Moral of the story is: Don't go into any game (or movie or book or date or night out) with any preconceptions, because that leads to the highest chance of disappointment.
 

qumo

Neo Member
Just finished this at a friend's house. Really nice game overall but the story left me underwhelmed, I was expecting so much more.
I found the dead dude story a bit more interesting than the main one.
The music was the best part of the game.
Too short for 20$, would buy it at 5.
 

aasoncott

Member
I just wanted to post this so that my opinions can be cited and used against me by future generations: personally, I think Gone Home is the best game of the year, and possibly one of my favourite games of all time. It's the first game I've played in a very long time that I felt was on the right track when it comes to using computers as a storytelling medium. It really took advantage of the unique qualities of the medium while avoiding the trap of trying to emulate the narrative structures and devices we use in movies. And it was a fantastic reminder that we need more small, personal stories--not everything has to be a life and death struggle or about averting the end of the world. It told a simple, potent story, and it told it in a way that wouldn't have translated well to other mediums.

I totally get why people would hate it. But I want to see a lot more of this. Hell, if the market became dominated by small-scale stories told through exploration and personal discovery, I'd be happy as a clam.

Also, I think it's time for someone to take another crack at making a Rama game.
 

Kater

Banned
I don't think it was a bait and switch at all. I fully knew this was an exploration game that
had nothing to do with ghosts[/url] and I loved it anyway. Moral of the story is: Don't go into any game (or movie or book or date or night out) with any preconceptions, because that leads to the highest chance of disappointment.
Everybody was talking about ghosts when mentioning this game on twitter or here on neogaf before it came out, it just got stuck in my head. Some noises in the game like the thunder and the wood crackling in the oven while burning were also a tad bit unnerving.

Oh, and I hope we will get more games in the vein of this one. I even recommended this game to my mom, telling her that it is more of a interactive, open story than a game in the conservative way. :D
 

d00d3n

Member
The many overwhelmingly positive impressions from gaf and various reviewers made me play through the game.

I have to say, it is a really well made game. Adventure games are not really my cup of tea, but this was the right length (short), interesting story wise and
surprisingly suspenseful
.
The suggestion that there may be ghosts (or the possibility that the fanatical Nintendo fan friend had done something horrible) along with the mysterious secrets ridden house really enhanced the exploration element by adding suspense.
As a completionist type gamer, the volume of irrelevant and meaningless world objects that could be picked up and investigated was a bit annoying. I wonder if that element could be toned down in the game, but maybe it would feel too linear if only relevant objects were possible to investigate. Overall one of the better adventure games I have played.
 

charsace

Member
Why are people complaining about the price? e-books range from $10 to $20 when not on sale. This game isn't too expensive imo.
 

border

Member
Why are people complaining about the price? e-books range from $10 to $20 when not on sale. This game isn't too expensive imo.
It's amazing what a difference five or ten dollars makes. At $9.99 or $14.99 I doubt that anyone would be complaining.
 
I knew nothing about the game other than hearing immense praise for it over the last few weeks before I played it tonight.

Loved it. The 90 or so minutes just flew by. I love that it starts off with the horror atmosphere but the further you get the more you start to question if they're ever going to go there. The fact they don't is brilliant. Although
I was dreading finding her dead body in the attic. So glad it had a happy ending!

My two criticisms would be:

1) It's probably too expensive for what it is. I don't have a "£x = x hours" formula or anything, I just think £15 might be a bit too much and is limiting the audience. £10 would have been a better price point.

2) It's a shame that you can't see any of your own limbs. A bit more immersion like that would have been brilliant.

Those are really quite insignifianct though, I did love it. I knew lots of the people involved read GAF, so I just wanted to say what a great job you did. MILES better than the overrated Dear Esther.

PS: The light message on the corkboard got a genuine belly laugh from me.
 

OverHeat

« generous god »
Finished the game in 92min....this was not my cup of tea.
One of the first game I don't agree with GAF on.
 

dreamfall

Member
So, I just finished it after three hours.

And I'm feeling nostalgic & really wistful, I loved it all.

I think most of all I loved the voyeurism- turning over every object, opening all types of cabinets & drawers, reading handwritten notes, & trying to craft some sense of each family member's life. It's strange trying to piece together clues you've discovered and letting your imagination run wild.

Oh, the Riot grrrl in me felt such serenity. The unsettling meandering in the dark house was soothed by each mixtape. It's been a Julie Ruin all-week affair, and this fit perfectly.

lovelovelove.
 
Finished the game in just under two hours. Going by some times in the thread, it seems that's on the lower end of the spectrum, but I made absolutely sure not to rush through and to explore as thoroughly as possible. I just did what made sense, if I found something that implied I should go somewhere, I went there.

Anywho, I absolutely loved it. For me, the price is a non-issue. I got more out of this than I did from most movies I've seen in cinemas recently.

I also loved how so much of the narrative was explored through things left around the place, there was so much that you got to piece together in your own mind, and that subtlety hasn't been done in games much before.
 

MBR

Banned
Finished this game earlier this week. Replayed it yesterday. DAMN this is a good game.

I really, really can't see why people dislike it. Is it just CoD kids bashing it, or are most people entirely opposed of a short "story only" game?

Sure, it's short for its price compared to other games, but is that a problem when you're paying the same amount for a similar length blu-ray movie these days?
 

Shaneus

Member
Finished this game earlier this week. Replayed it yesterday. DAMN this is a good game.

I really, really can't see why people dislike it. Is it just CoD kids bashing it, or are most people entirely opposed of a short "story only" game?

Sure, it's short for its price compared to other games, but is that a problem when you're paying the same amount for a similar length blu-ray movie these days?
Because the game didn't match the expectations of a number of people's preconceived notions. That's the problem when you go into a game like this with that sort of perspective, IMO. In fact, pretty much any indie game these days.
 

BeberMan

Neo Member
OK so I beat and loved it!
The way the game gives you supernatural vibes in order to spook you just to end up telling you a normal family story is just amazing. I love games that are messing with me =].

I need clarification on a couple of things -
What is basically the Mom and Dad story? Did she have an affair? Went to work someplace far away? He failed as a writer? I didn't get it. Probably should've paid more attention.
 

Kayo-kun

Member
I just finished the game today and what a great and unique experience it was. The atmosphere was top-notch throughout the game. I really love it when indie devs have the guts to try something new and create games like Gone Home and Hotline Miami.
 

v0mitg0d

Member
Hi guys! Tomorrow I'm sitting down with Steve Gaynor to talk about the industry, indie gaming, BioShock 2, Minerva's Den, BioShock Infinite and mostly Gone Home.

Do you have any interesting questions I can pass on to him?
 

jetjevons

Bish loves my games!
OK so I beat and loved it!
The way the game gives you supernatural vibes in order to spook you just to end up telling you a normal family story is just amazing. I love games that are messing with me =].

I need clarification on a couple of things -
What is basically the Mom and Dad story? Did she have an affair? Went to work someplace far away? He failed as a writer? I didn't get it. Probably should've paid more attention.

So played this today and loved it. Not sure how they managed to map my exploration to the story development so perfectly, particularly when there were non-linear areas and no guarantee I would do or find what the dev wanted. That's some amazing design work IMO.

Beberman:

I think the parents end up ok. It's suggested that the mom likes the ranger she's working with but I didn't find any confirmation she actually cheated. I do know she was planning on moving away to her new job or something. But the Dad (Terry's) two books get re-published by the quirky sci-fi publisher and it inspires him to write a third installment. There's an 'Accidental Human' manuscript in one of the draw's in the Conservatory where he's presumably been writing. It's about the hero time-travelling to save a past version of himself! And then you find in one of the draws a couples counseling camp flier with the dates circled and the hand written note 'booked!' suggesting he's taking steps to reach out to his wife and they're going to make an effort. And there's another note somewhere taking about the two of them taking a trip away for their anniversary. I could be wrong of course.
 
if the team is 5-7 people they have enough funds to spend another 2 years developing a game. Or may be even 3-4 after Steam sales kick in.

Their team is four full-timers with some extra work contracted out, IIRC.

I have a feeling the game will have a pretty long tail. Seems like there are a lot of people who are interested in the game but are hesitant to spend the full $20.
 

Def Jukie

Member
I just picked this game up from the humble store and for some reason the triggers on my wireless Xbox 360 controller do not work in this game. They work on other games and the rest of the buttons work just fine with Gone Home. Has anyone experienced this? Any fix? I was hoping to leisurely play this on my couch but I might just switch to mouse and keyboard if I can't get it working.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
Played this early last week and loved it. Went in knowing nothing about the story besides that it involved an empty house, and that it wasn't a horror game in the vein of Amnesia. To be honest, the initial feeling of not knowing whether it was a supernatural story or not, and the later feeling of knowing it wasn't but not being able to shake the feeling of unease was a huge part of what made the game so great.

Someone mentioned it earlier in the thread, but it brought back feelings of what it was like to be a kid in an empty house; not quite fear, or curiosity or exhilaration, but a mix of all three, and more. That really impressed me.
 

subversus

I've done nothing with my life except eat and fap
finished it in 95 minutes. I think that ending was a bit anticlimatic. But I really should have explored the house more. I can't understand what this
otherworldly
stuff has to do with anything in the game but I guess there were some clues I haven't found. Like the safe I didn't open.

As for story...
it's a pretty simple love story with nothing special about it except gender angle
.

It was a fine game but nothing in it touched me deeply.
 
finished it in 95 minutes. I think that ending was a bit anticlimatic..

Isn't that the great part of it, though?
That you start to assume the worst, wonder if there's going to be a twist, or some tragedy, then... it's just a normal event. I know I let out a big sigh as it faded to black.

Good example of less is more.
 

Haint

Member
Game was fantastic but the story (ending spoilers)
was some kind of trope inception shit. I didn't get it at all. The emotional impact they blew by not having Sam commit suicide was criminal. The game had enough misdirection from the ghosts, to Daniel, to Oscar that the thought never even hinted at crossing my mind until they thew it in your face with the last couple journals. I just don't get why they did that only to lead to the straight ending you would have predicted from the start, which no one predicted cause there's always a Shamalan twist, only the twist was that there wasn't a twist. Wat. Tropeception.
 

Conezays

Member
I'm a bit in the middle on this one. While playing the game I initially started out bored, but soon became invested in the characters. That being said, at $20 and quite short (personally took me hour and a half) I do get the criticisms that people feel a bit let down with that kind of payment/time spent.

Regardless, I felt the game was an interesting game/experiment and worth playing if you get the chance...perhaps an idea that could be expanded upon more in-depth in the future by the same devs, though who knows if a longer playtime would've detracted from the game's success and impact.
 
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