Dear Esther is an experimental first-person adventure art video game developed by thechineseroom. Initially released in 2008 as a free source engine mod, the game was later remade between 2009 and 2011 as a stand alone game. It is a unique game, in that the player actually has no choice in which way the plot turns. There are no tasks either, instead the game focuses on it's rich and imaginative storyline, told through a fragmented epistolary narrative as the player explores the environment.
How do the rules and conditions of the game create conflict?
As I said before, Dear Esther is a very unique and different game. The player doesn't actually do much, they essentially just walk around the environment, exploring it and uncovering information, so for some players it might not actually perceived as a "playable" game.
Leading on from the above, the game has a wishy-washy direction, blatant story as well as very limited interaction. You play a silent antagonist, suggested to be Esthers husband, who you know little about until about half way into the game. Some players are used to plots in games that are revealed bit by bit, in a clear and precise way, which could potentially cause dissatisfaction and separation from what is a very immersive and incredible game.
Are players struggling against each other, the game or both?
The short answer is no, there is no real struggle against the players or the game. It is a single player game with no scores, no real objectives and no goals, other than to complete the story. However, there is a struggle of sorts in understanding and piecing together the narrative and complexity of the story of the game.
The short answer is no, there is no real struggle against the players or the game. It is a single player game with no scores, no real objectives and no goals, other than to complete the story. However, there is a struggle of sorts in understanding and piecing together the narrative and complexity of the story of the game.
What are the interactive experiences provided for players in the game?
Compared to other games, Dear Esther has relatively little interaction within the game world. Players can't kill enemies, jump around obstacles, or even complete puzzles. Even the narrative isn't triggered by player actions, only by their whereabouts in the environment they are tasked to explore. Does this mean that it isn't a game? I would say so, it is more of a interactive storytelling device.
Does interaction create meaningful play?
To some degree, yes. In Dear Esther the player has to essentially gill in the blanks, piecing the story together through their own interaction, even if it is very basic.
Limited interaction between the player and it's surroundings mixed with the lack of characters in the game provides a fairly personal touch, creating a much greater meaningful play than other games.
What does the game look like?
Visually, the game is very impressive. I always thought of it as a updated realistic version of World of Warcraft, I was half expecting a murloc to jump out at some point crying it legendary call of "Aaaaaughibbrgubugbugrguburgle!". There is no UI on the screen, or in fact, any sort of interface, allowing the player to have a full and undisturbed view of the rich and impressive environment. Dear Esther uses mood illumination to great effect, casting soft coloured lighting to enhance feelings within the game. The blue's and greens, symbolising illness and nature, mixed with oranges and reds that invoke passion, aggressiveness and strength.
What are the possible visual influences and intertextual references?
Robert Briscoe, lead designer for Dear Esther, a environment artist and indie game developer, has said in a interview that his environment style has been influenced greatly by a film called Stalker. Stalker is a science fiction art film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky in 1979. It depicts an expedition led by the Stalker to bring his two clients to a site known as the Zone, which has the supposed potential to fulfill a person's innermost desires.
While going on to the Dear Esther website (http://dear-esther.com) to watch some videos and source some images, I found a FAQ section. The FAQ actually had lots of really good questions, one of them being the below:
Consider the game in terms of context, origin, year of manufacture, company, target audience, does the game contain any persuasive purpose, what would make the game more effective and what potentials does the game point to?
As mentioned before, Dear Esther started off as a mod for a Source engine in 2008. Being a mod, it was very limited in what it could do, as with most mods. Similar in respects to the mod Dayz, a mod of the game Arma II, a re-make was made due to the success of the mod using it's own custom game engine, allowing the creators to do much more with the game. Dear Esther was re-created in 2011 using it's own engine, and the result was a huge improvement on the original mod. As you can see below in the comparison video, the graphics alone are a huge improvement.
Visually, the game is very impressive. I always thought of it as a updated realistic version of World of Warcraft, I was half expecting a murloc to jump out at some point crying it legendary call of "Aaaaaughibbrgubugbugrguburgle!". There is no UI on the screen, or in fact, any sort of interface, allowing the player to have a full and undisturbed view of the rich and impressive environment. Dear Esther uses mood illumination to great effect, casting soft coloured lighting to enhance feelings within the game. The blue's and greens, symbolising illness and nature, mixed with oranges and reds that invoke passion, aggressiveness and strength.
What are the possible visual influences and intertextual references?
Robert Briscoe, lead designer for Dear Esther, a environment artist and indie game developer, has said in a interview that his environment style has been influenced greatly by a film called Stalker. Stalker is a science fiction art film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky in 1979. It depicts an expedition led by the Stalker to bring his two clients to a site known as the Zone, which has the supposed potential to fulfill a person's innermost desires.
While going on to the Dear Esther website (http://dear-esther.com) to watch some videos and source some images, I found a FAQ section. The FAQ actually had lots of really good questions, one of them being the below:
Q. Which authors (novels, movies) inspired the script of Dear Esther?
A. Dan (DE’s writer): “To be honest, most of my inspiration came from games. I did a doctorate in FPS games and this led to the questions that inspired Esther. But I guess in terms of authors I most identify with: Boris & Arkady Strugatsky, William Burroughs, Philip K. Dick, Margaret Atwood, Andrew Greig (if you haven’t read “That Summer” you haven’t lived), J.G. Ballard, Angela Carter, Sebastian Faulks (particularly Human Traces)… I love Soviet-era Russian sci-fi too: Kiri Bulychev and Dmitri Bilenkin are fantastic. Although they haven’t made it into our games yet, I’m a massive fan of good steampunkers too: G. W. Dahlquist and Stephen Hunt are superstars and I want to make a full-on Victoriana steampunk shooter before I die.”
Consider the game in terms of context, origin, year of manufacture, company, target audience, does the game contain any persuasive purpose, what would make the game more effective and what potentials does the game point to?
As mentioned before, Dear Esther started off as a mod for a Source engine in 2008. Being a mod, it was very limited in what it could do, as with most mods. Similar in respects to the mod Dayz, a mod of the game Arma II, a re-make was made due to the success of the mod using it's own custom game engine, allowing the creators to do much more with the game. Dear Esther was re-created in 2011 using it's own engine, and the result was a huge improvement on the original mod. As you can see below in the comparison video, the graphics alone are a huge improvement.
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