I'd say this game is fairly popular, the [URL="http://dear-esther.com/"]website of Dear Esther[/URL] is down because: "The allowed bandwith for this account has exceeded.". I love that this game broke out to massive population and didn't linger to be "forgotten", absolutely love this game and it deserves all the attention it gets.
[URL="http://store.steampowered.com/"]It's still pretty much topping the Steam sales list[/URL] :v:
[editline]15th February 2012[/editline]
Wow nice, it's almost half-way up the 100 most played games list:
[IMG]http://i.cubeupload.com/mbyRNQ.jpg[/IMG]
To think it's been topping all those games in terms of activity...
Probably a dumb question but did you try [URL="http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-stanley-parable"]The Stanley Parable[/URL]?
Dear Esther awakens the beard stroking art guy in me.
[URL="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22648677/screenshots/DE/I%20Folded%20You%20Into%20The%20Creases.jpg"][IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7199/6883572149_9cfec22feb_b.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22648677/screenshots/DE/Shrine.jpg"][IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6883569099_eecec2e590_b.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22648677/screenshots/DE/He%20Was%20His%20Own%20Shoreline.jpg"][IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6883570849_dee52073ac_b.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Does this have some kind of wiki?
We'll need to know location of every ghost :v:
What I love about this, is that it is one of the few "games" to accomplish a more "introverted" level design in my eyes.
What I mean about that, is if you think about it, a lot of games this day and age do something I like to call "extroverted" level design, where it's all focused on just using the space as a vehicle to show something off or serve as a static mechanism to dazzle the player through the gameplay. Attention grabbing, loud, lack of atmosphere beyond color filters and/or shader effects.
"Introverted" level design on the otherhand would ideally evoke similar feelings that enviornmental photography tries to evoke on an artistic level. The level doesn't dazzle the player or act out as a structure for the more "interesting" surface level aspects of the game, it's wholly focused on itself, and building a deep, almost unconscious relationship to the player instead of being blunt about it.
Every person is introverted and extroverted, and most of the time there is one aspect that is more dominant (which is how someone is considered an introvert or an extrovert). However even the most staunch extrovert has an introspective side to him/her, and its through these moments that real insight can happen with issues that a person might have in their life. I believe spaces are the same way, they can be "introverted" or "extroverted" in how they are designed both from an artistic point of view, but how they are made and play. How can a level, or a game, have any real impact on the player without even a little bit of an introspective edge to it's design? It's hard for a level to connect to the player on any level without it. And it's extremely rare for me to play a game that truely embraces that mature "introverted" angle a level can have, which is a shame to me.
Because in my eyes, that is one of the most amazing ways to design a level. It means the environment by itself is powerful, deep, confident yet quiet and begs to be read or "figured out" like a good book. It's level design where the level design alone is enough to make an impact, because it doesn't rely on trying to grab your attention, dazzle, or simply acting as a vehicle for something else.
I think that's why DE has that allure to it, despite being short and having virtually no gamplay. It's one of the first true experiments in what pure introverted level design can really do - and in my eyes, it works.
Wow, that went on longer (and more pretentious) than I thought :v:
What you mean by that is that all the levels are made strictly with the grid these days, they seem to be made by some form of mechanical slaves not artists, just people hired who know how to texture and model, a concept artist gives them something and they have to do it and over and over, you have a lead designer who has his own vision and people follow his vision.
We know on this project worked only one person, right from the start to the end he had all the control over the whole thing so it's like an contemporary interactive art piece.
I played Dear Esther and I had this long forgotten feeling of days back when video games had story to tell, a good story at that. I sat all day thinking about it, just remembering all the interesting things I saw and heard.
Photoshop wouldn't stitch the right side of this one, had to do it by hand. There's probably some gigantic error somewhere that my eyes are too tired to see.
[URL="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22648677/screenshots/DE/Boat%20Without%20a%20Bottom.jpg"][IMG]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22648677/screenshots/bwoab%20small.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22648677/screenshots/DE/Erosion.jpg"][IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6884248755_df3745abd3_b.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[QUOTE=kaine123;34720573]I cried when I played this.[/QUOTE]
Games never made me cry until now.
The first hole before the house, am I supposed to go in there? I played the original so long ago.
[QUOTE=Brt5470;34721763]The first hole before the house, am I supposed to go in there? I played the original so long ago.[/QUOTE]
What? The shaft? Yeah, jump in there
[sp]Muhahahaha[/sp]
At the end is it supposed to be just black. I finished recording my whole playthrough but I got nothing. I assumed credits would roll.
[editline]16th February 2012[/editline]
[sp]in the first game I thought there was a submerged car. I never found it in this version. Did I miss it or is it gone? I looked.[/sp]
[QUOTE=Brt5470;34722139]At the end is it supposed to be just black. I finished recording my whole playthrough but I got nothing. I assumed credits would roll.
[editline]16th February 2012[/editline]
[sp]in the first game I thought there was a submerged car. I never found it in this version. Did I miss it or is it gone? I looked.[/sp][/QUOTE]
I thought my game crashed at the end yes, and there is [sp]An underwater motorway scene[/sp]
Just played though it, it was fantastic! My only complaint is the price, it definately should have been $5 as it is only an hour or so in length (lets say 2 hours as theres some diverging paths/random events).
[QUOTE=rakkie20;34722295]I thought my game crashed at the end yes, and there is [sp]An underwater motorway scene[/sp][/QUOTE]
That's not what I meant. [sp]I got to the roadway section. But I remember a car in the original, inside the cave under one of the pools with the lights still on.[/sp]
[IMG]http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/486624373472109557/29871059ED1F5DF2054B7D493D35E8DE12D8AC7D/[/IMG]
Sort of reminded me of the beach from [URL="http://www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/1278941/480/Kingdom-Hearts-2-Opening/8863.jpg"]Kingdom Hearts[/URL]
I'm an idiot and hardly understood the story.
But holy shit this is stunning. Really proud of source right now. Valve better pull off something amazing for their next game with this technology.
Also the walking speed was annoying, but that's nothing a cvar can't fix.
[t]http://www.sourceop.com/hell-met/de2.jpg[/t]
[sp]come back[/sp]
[QUOTE=Brt5470;34722365]That's not what I meant. [sp]I got to the roadway section. But I remember a car in the original, inside the cave under one of the pools with the lights still on.[/sp][/QUOTE]
I missed that from the original. It added that surreal effect to the mod. I mean, [sp]how on earth got that car there?[/sp]
also yeah the last "encounter" is randomized
[t]http://www.sourceop.com/hell-met/de3.jpg[/t]
[QUOTE=Hell-met;34722712]also yeah the last "encounter" is randomized[/QUOTE]
Randomized how?
I played through it earlier and loved it. I can only hope Valve takes notes on what this team did in terms of density of visual splendor.
Also, I'm not sure it was already noted but at the end during the [sp]black screen. Quick save (F6) and then Quick Load (F7 I think)... Nice touch there with the sky trails being the main focal point.[/sp]
[QUOTE=Im Crimson;34716593]Probably a dumb question but did you try [URL="http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-stanley-parable"]The Stanley Parable[/URL]?[/QUOTE]
There's a game i wouldn't mind paying money for. That should come out as a $5 indie title.
Also, i don't think you can take a bad picture of this game.
[img]http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/488876131761020436/90BB6AA7478B7451DF4712466DF611B87AF94611/[/img]
[img]http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/488876131760978448/7DFD2F358591B96E12A0C9951BA40D8C4EAE9172/[/img]
It's cool how your torch breaks at the start of the caves. (Bottom centre of the last screen.)
[sp]When you first go over the rock bridge over the underground river a single paper boat floats underneath you.[/sp]
[IMG]http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/470861774830524466/48A0A10B70960EDBDAA2733D4F672D59381C58A8/[/IMG]
This kind of made me stop and look for a bit.
Played through at like 4 AM and tired as fuck. Guess I should play it again when I'm more awake.
[QUOTE=joh;34723212]
It's cool how your torch breaks at the start of the caves. (Bottom centre of the last screen.)[/QUOTE]
Holy shit, I didn't notice that either. Either I'm really, really unobservant or there's so much detail put into this that you'll never spot it all in the first walkthrough.
[QUOTE=gothiclampshade;34723703]Holy shit, I didn't notice that either. Either I'm really, really unobservant or there's so much detail put into this that you'll never spot it all in the first walkthrough.[/QUOTE]
To be honest, I didn't notice until I was looking through my screenshots of my first playthrough and saw it. How creepy would it be if you found one of the ghosts in your screenshots without having seen it when you snapped the screen?
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