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Dear Esther |OT|

S

sam27368

Banned
From reading the interviews I get the feeling that they're trying to say to people who have played the mod that yes we know you've played it, but this is in a league of it's own. Think of the mod as a more proof of concept for the full version.
 
K

Krilekk

Banned
sam27368 said:
From reading the interviews I get the feeling that they're trying to say to people who have played the mod that yes we know you've played it, but this is in a league of it's own. Think of the mod as a more proof of concept for the full version.
Click to expand...

What else should they say, "this is just like the mod and if you played that you don't need to buy it now"? Sounds like marketing BS to me, even half a year ago he said it was a 1:1 remake of the original mod. Now he's talking about the world being 10 times bigger. Well, maybe it is 10 times bigger, doesn't mean that the game itself is 10 times bigger, just that you can see more to the left and right of your path.
 
I

Ithil

Member
Sliver said:
Who will actually pay for this? Played the original, thought it was OK. Was going to get this until they made it commercial. Impressive visuals though, best use of the Source Engine so far.
Click to expand...

Considering how much work went into it, I don't think it's exactly a terrible crime to want to be paid for it.
 
S

SparkTR

Member
Sliver said:
Who will actually pay for this? Played the original, thought it was OK. Was going to get this until they made it commercial. Impressive visuals though, best use of the Source Engine so far.
Click to expand...

I'm willing to pay for it to fund their next project, which is a new take on open-world game design. Dear Esther will be awesome as well, I'm sure.

rogue_pigeon said:
Any plans for ports to other platforms?
Click to expand...
They barely had enough resources to make the PC release, consoles are like Mount Everest for teams this small. EDIT: You could have meant stuff like Mac as well, which is also too much at the moment most likely.
 
G

gabbo

Member
SparkTR said:
I'm willing to pay for it to fund their next project, which is a new take on open-world game design. Dear Esther will be awesome as well, I'm sure.


They barely had enough resources to make the PC release, consoles are like Mount Everest for teams this small.
Click to expand...

Isn't the team like 2-3 people?
 
Z

Zia

Member
Dear Esther incited way more discussion between judges than any other IGF entrant. Not all positive, but those that loved it seemed to be deeply moved.

That said, I can't see it winning the Seumas McNally over something more "play" oriented like Spelunky.
 
Riposte

Riposte

Member
That electronicfarmyard blurb is hilarious and totally dumb. Still interested in playing this to see if it has a good atmosphere at least.
 
D

Draft

Member
sam27368 said:
If you read the IGF's judges twitter one of them stated it brought them to tears
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lTMac.png
 
indigo-cyclops

indigo-cyclops

Member
I will be picking this up without a doubt. Missed the mod, but it looks great and the trailer sold me. The developers webpge lists some other interesting projects they're working on so I will be keeping my eye on this team. Can't wait, I wish more experiences like this would surface.
 
Wok

Wok

Member
Wren said:
Voice work and soundtrack has also been redone, and they added more dialog to the story. The game world has been updated (obviously) though I don't know if its been expanded with new areas or not.
Click to expand...

I would like to know whether there will be other languages. If this is English only, I may well be less touched. Skyrim got the voices in all kinds of languages, which makes it much more immersive. Let's hope.
 
S

sam27368

Banned
StuBurns said:
It seems bizarre an IGF judge wouldn't have played the free version ages ago.
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I'm not sure, but the devs really seem to be pushing the fact that if you have played the mod it doesn't matter, this is a polished, beautiful rendition of the story. Think of the mod as a home video recreation of the story and the retail version is the works, big budget studio version. (I know the game itself didn't have a big budget..)
 
K

kanugo

Member
I just found about this game today, and I was blown away by that video.

I was expecting a October/November 2012 release date, so, as you can imagine, I was very happy when I knew the game was days away.

I'll be there day one.
 
A

ArjanN

Member
Riposte said:
That electronicfarmyard blurb is hilarious and totally dumb. Still interested in playing this to see if it has a good atmosphere at least.
Click to expand...

It a bit gushing but I don't see what's so dumb about it. The game is artsy as shit, so I expect reactions to be extremely divisive between "OMG, so moving it made me cry" and "WTF, where is the gameplay, 2 hours long? RIPOFF!"
 
C

cooljeanius

Member
SparkTR said:
EDIT: You could have meant stuff like Mac as well, which is also too much at the moment most likely.
Click to expand...
Shouldn't be too hard, I remember the Garry's Mod dev said that basically all he had to do was change his .dll's to .dylib's, and then the Source Engine took care of the rest... unfortunately I can't find the article he said this in any more...
 
S

sam27368

Banned
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-02-17-dear-esther-hands-on

It's beautifully constructed, it looks breathtaking, and the atmosphere that Robert Briscoe has managed to conjure up is enough to rival anything else you could mention.
So put aside any preconceptions about what games should do, and look at Dear Esther as an example of what they can do. We should all be thankful of the mod scene for allowing this sort of bleeding-edge design to flourish.
Click to expand...

The result is extraordinary: a place imbued with more character than you might dare to imagine, with countless opportunities for curious exploration - in contrast to the original's entirely linear design.
The route ahead is always clear, as a tall radio tower at the island's peak provides an omnipresent reference point for where you need to be heading. But you're rewarded for straying from the established path, either with a new snippet of the storyline or simply an astonishing vista to gawp at.
This is, without a doubt, the most beautiful looking Source Engine game to date. Briscoe's careful modelling and texture work, not to mention a few tweaks to the code, have created something that's every bit the competitor to even the flashiest current-gen tech.
Click to expand...

and some new screenies

Dear_Esther_3.jpg.jpg


Dear_Esther_4.jpg.jpg


Dear_Esther_2.jpg.jpg


Dear_Esther_1.jpg.jpg
 
M

Manabanana

Member
I might be the only person who came into the mod excited and left feeling like I spent an hour of my time walking through some pretentious writing being read aloud at me in a manner so obtuse that "open to interpretation" is an almost indefensible claim to make about its story.

Never would I spend $10 to do it again. And I should have loved Dear Esther.

EDIT - Except for the Kotaku reviewer.
 
S

sam27368

Banned
CarbonatedFalcon said:
That short? I was looking forward to this at some point (either via the original mod or this version, probably on sale.)
Click to expand...

The mod was one hour, the devs has stated this is around 2hrs

EDIT: and another review 9/10 - http://www.videogamer.com/pc/dear_esther/review.html

The beauty of Dear Esther is that it raises questions about content rather than mechanics. It strips out anything that can get between you and what it wants to say, and every problem relates to how the game presents its story, and how effective that story is. We don't have to worry about production values, or whether the whole thing will fall apart in a buggy mess. It's what The Chinese Room wants to show you, and how you take what is shown. No barriers of entry. No obstacles. No guff.
Click to expand...
 
P

phosphor112

Banned
Manabanana said:
I might be the only person who came into the mod excited and left feeling like I spent an hour of my time walking through some pretentious writing being read aloud at me in a manner so obtuse that "open to interpretation" is an almost indefensible claim to make about its story.

Never would I spend $10 to do it again. And I should have loved Dear Esther.

EDIT - Except for the Kotaku reviewer.
Click to expand...

boothisman.gif
 
S

sam27368

Banned
IGN - 8/10
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/121/1218568p1.html
Dear Esther is that rarest of things: a truly interesting game. It left me feeling pensive, mildly saddened, and confident that games have plenty of directions left to explore. If you’re interested in what can be achieved when you abandon the conventions of games and explore the fringes of the form instead, it’s a must-play.
Click to expand...

Also worth noting
Dear Esther offers an unforgettable two hours
Click to expand...
 
K

kanugo

Member
Funds added to my Steam wallet. Edge review* read, I'm ready for this.

Also, in the Steam page for the game I noticed that the game is controller enable, this means I'll be able to play it with my Xbox 360 controller, correct?

*Great review.
 
S

sam27368

Banned
kanugo said:
Funds added to my Steam wallet. Edge review* read, I'm ready for this.

Also, in the Steam page for the game I noticed that the game is controller enable, this means I'll be able to play it with my Xbox 360 controller, correct?

*Great review.
Click to expand...
Here we are
Dear-Esther.com FAQ

Q. Will Dear Esther have controller support?
A. Yes, the game supports both the PC Xbox controller and most other third party controllers
Click to expand...
 
S

sn00zer

Member
I dont understand the $10 price tag... a half hour content would be something akin to buying a single television episode... not doubting the quality of the levels or anything, but when I can get 10-30hr games for the same price Im hard pressed to find the value in this even purely as an artistic statement

EDIT: noticed this is 2hrs...a bit longer than I thought, either way point still applies
 
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