But to do so is completely missing the point. Every single button simply zooms in so you're able to appreciate Esther's landscape in greater detail, and simply soaking it all in is a joy in itself.ĭear Esther isn't for everyone, and some may discard it as ponderous, boring fluff. There are other items and objects of interest you'll stumble across during your ambling across shorelines, through gorgeously lit caves filled with crystal formations, organic spires of rock and hanging stalactites, rocky streams and desolate hillsides, but you're unable to interact with any of them. ![]() Dear Esther is unapologetically different, its story delivered only in narrated portions, found objects and the painted scrawlings on the island's craggy rock faces. It has no time constraints, no other objectives beyond making it to the end, no user-interface, and above all, no pretensions that it's anything else other than what it is what it sets out to be. The antithesis of every game where things go boom on a regular basis, playing Dear Esther is relaxing and meditative. Strolling through swaying grass as the coastal wind picks up, Dear Esther is one of the loveliest walks you'll ever take, especially in a video game. This iteration has been rebuilt with Unity and spruced up to look the best it possibly can, and indeed, Dear Esther looks genuinely quite beautiful on consoles. Starting life as a mod for Half-Life 2, Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is the definitive version of The Chinese Room's signature game that got remade for PC in 2012. It's the game that originated the so-called 'walking simulator', but the truth is there's more to it than such a reductive way of describing Dear Esther suggests. Actually, it's an experience that defies the label of 'game', in as much as you don't really do anything other than walk from one point to another. Indeed, being forced to draw heavily from the atmospheric, mysterious cloudiness of impressionism, the engine's limitations were perhaps "the best thing that could have happened" for the project - give it a watch, and keep an eye out for useful design principles! And an ear - the talk was conceived by a disconnect between audio and visuals, after all.If ever the ongoing 'are games art' debate needed a poster boy, then Dear Esther would be it. Judging by the results, facing and solving these challenges helped not only mask the technical limitations, but also provided the perfect vehicle to present the bleak, stagnant island, in contrast to the damp, fluorescent viscosity of the caves. It effectively serves as a new way of formulating 'environmental storytelling', or 'diegetic narration'. ![]() Even the limited color palette helped to keep things simple at a technical level, avoiding conflicting lighting and oversaturating the landscape - extremely useful for gameplay application, to make sure that players stayed focused, through what Briscoe calls 'subliminal signposting' the low light and sparse, but well-crafted detail serve to guide players throughout the abandoned island without the use of overlaid waypoints, or literal signposts. However, due to limitations with the Source engine, he decided to take it in a more stylized direction the inability to throw the kitchen sink at the project led to the heavy reliance on scarce, ambient lighting, and the limited, though highly detailed art assets. Disappointed that such an interesting gameplay setting had such a bland look, Briscoe took it upon himself to provide a stronger set of visuals for the project, originally opting to use a realistic art style to aid with the player's immersion. The inspiration for the project, a Mod for the original Half-Life, featured artfully crafted narration, narrative immersion, and unique thematic direction, but was lacking in the visual department - to the point where it detracted from the overall experience. In this lecture from GDC 2013, Robert Briscoe details his experience developing the environment of Dear Esther.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |