Dear Esther
Dear Esther is a very
unusual game, breaking away from the conventional idea of what a game
is and can be. Created originally as a mod for Half-Life 2 in 2009,
the mod featured a simple first-person game where the player simply
walked around an area listening to the story told by a man. The
popularity of this mod led it to be taken on as a project for a
professional games artist, Robert Briscoe, to later be released as a
standalone game by Thechineseroom. The new, refurbished Dear Esther
featured stunning visuals of a deserted island, and a narrative that
was both engrossing and unique. The unique feel to this game leaves
the player wondering if it was all real, and questioning the
characters motives on the island. The narrative and visuals are
enriched with life and create a world that the player can merely
enjoy exploring. The target audience for a game like this would be a
mature audience, 18+ as it contains mature themes such as death.
As the game is a
first-person exploration adventure game, there is no conflict found
in the gameplay. The player cannot pick items up or attack things,
and there are no other people on the island except for faint ghosts
in the distance which disappear when the player gets close to them.
There is no struggle in the game, the player just advances towards to
the aerial, there is no fighting or terror in this game. It is a very
easy-going game with a relaxed atmosphere. The only interaction found
in the game itself is the transitions between areas. The player has
to advance into another area for the narrative to continue, this is
interaction at it most simplest. Interaction can also be found in
simple things such as the plants when the player moves through plants
they move too. Collision meshes in rocks and walls also is another
form of interaction. In the basis of this game, it can be said that
interaction in a game does not create meaningful play as this game
has very little interaction but still creates an immersive and
beautiful atmosphere. The narrative and beautiful setting drive the
player to move forward in the environment, and progress the game.
The game itself is
visually stunning, its realistic portrayal of a desolate island gives
the player a real feel for the area and its life. The unique beauty
to this world is its emptiness, which is shown through its wide open
spaces and silence in the wind. Its gives the player a real feel for
this characters surroundings, and the feeling of being totally alone.
It also makes the player wonder if the island is real or not. The
aesthetics of the sound in the environment give the game an eerie
feel, with the use of music to give emotion to the voices.
“The
biggest influence is FPS games- STALKER in particular. In terms of
fiction, I love Philip K. and the Strugatsky brothers, who wrote
Roadside Picnic, which EVERYONE should read. I'm also a big Stephen
Hunt fan, so I'm getting a good chance to flex my steampunk for
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.”
Half-Life
Dear
Esther took inspiration from various FPS games, including Half-Life.
Dan Pinchbeck studied the relationship between story and gameplay in
FPS games.
System
Shock 2
Dan
Pinchbeck wanted to remove the traditional gameplay on most FPS games
and wondered if it would be engaging for games. Dan carefully studied
the basic themes in FPS games, especially the retrospective approach
of storytelling of System Shock 2.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:
Shadow of Chernobyl
The
game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is one of the favorite FPS games by Robert
Briscoe and Dan Pinchbeck. The open-endedness of the game has
influenced the creation of Dear Esther.
Metro
2033
The
post-apocalyptic world of Metro 2033 has influenced Dear Esther.
Released in 2010, Metro 2033 is one of the FPS games that both Robert
Briscoe and Dan Pinchbeck love to play.
Cryostasis:
Sleep of Reason
Cryostasis:
Sleep of Reason is a psychological horror game that has also
influenced the storytelling of Dear Esther. This is one of the FPS
games that have been analyzed by Dan Pinchbeck and Robert Briscoe.
Both are also big fans of the game.
Doom
3
When
developing the gameplay of Dear Esther, Dan Pinchbeck studied a wide
variety of games, including first-person shooters. This includes Doom
3. He also was inspired the world of Doom 3, including its
atmosphere.
Dear
Esther encourages players to break away from the cliché of video
games where they give the player a set goal and objectives, and the
player rushes through the world to complete them. Dear Esther
persuades players to advance through the world slowly, taking in all
of its beauty. In terms of improvement, the game has been made to be
minimalistic and very simple, and more and the meaning to the game
that the developers gave it would be lost. More interaction would
mean that players would seek out the interaction rather than taking
in the beauty of the world around them.
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