Dear Esther

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Dankk

Diamond Member
Jul 7, 2008
5,558
25
91
I see your point but I feel like when you go to the movies now, you pay like 10-14 dollars for a ticket, on top of that the movie you risk watching could be a piece of shit. I think $10 for a game like Dear Esther is much more engaging and if anything I'll probably get enjoyment out of it much more than any movie I'll be seeing this year.

Yeah... I'm still very on the fence about it.

I'll probably just say "fuck it" and pay the $10 for it, because I'm really interested in it, and it will be the other Valentines game I play tonight along with Dinner Date. :D
 

sigurros81

Platinum Member
Nov 30, 2010
2,371
0
0
Ok, so I just played through, took me about 2 hours. I don't know what it's about, but I will say that it's one of the coolest stoner experiences I've ever had. If anyone smokes the maryjane, do yourself a flavor and play Dear Esther high as kite (with headphones on).

Oh, I'd like to buy the soundtrack to this.
 
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skulkingghost

Golden Member
Jan 4, 2006
1,660
1
76
Dear Esther is the most incredible game I have played since Half-Life 2, and it has made more of a profound impact on me than any game before it (including Heavy Rain.) It is a pure artistic masterpiece, and the best 78 minutes I have ever spent gaming. Time for a second play through.
 

Dankk

Diamond Member
Jul 7, 2008
5,558
25
91
Wow... this "game" is seriously drop-dead gorgeous; proof that the Source engine is still capable of making beautiful games. Great graphics, great sound, perfect narration, and an excellent soundtrack to boot.

It took me 1 hour to go through it (and I wasn't exactly in a rush). That said, I feel like there's a considerable amount of stuff that I missed. Will I be returning to Dear Esther? Absolutely. Maybe not now, but soon. I can actually see myself making this into a sort of personal tradition. I'll set aside an evening every year to just sit down and and wander through it again.

The sun started going down before I realized I should've been taking photos, so these shots of the island will look pretty dark. When I play it again I'll be sure to grab some more screenshots. You really need to play it for yourself though.

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sigurros81

Platinum Member
Nov 30, 2010
2,371
0
0
Can someone give me their theory on what the hell this game's story is about. I have my own ideas but even then I am doubting myself. Awesome "game".
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,855
31,345
146
saw this video last night on steam. looks very interesting, but as others have said, will wait for a price drop.

I do like to see things like this coming out.
 

slpnshot

Senior member
Dec 1, 2011
305
2
81
Liked the game, but feel a bit meh about the 10 dollar price tag. Don't get me wrong, the music/atmosphere/and the lack of rush really did immerse me, but I was at least hoping for 3-4 hours with the 10 dollar price tag.

Guess I'm just spoiled because I tend to get sandbox games that will give me a lot of hours played/dollar.

It would be pretty cool if they create the same atmosphere of this game in the future with a mix of Myst like interaction/puzzle.
 

Zanovar

Diamond Member
Jan 21, 2011
3,446
232
106
Really enjoyed this,feel like saying lots but will spoil for others.looks stunning in parts:)
@sigurros81 i think i get the gist of it,then im guessing:p

 
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PrayForDeath

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2004
3,478
1
76
I played the first chapter. Game is rather... strange. But I like it. Though the graphics aren't as good as everyone here is making them out to be. They look last-gen, especially the foliage (it's 2D and turns with your character, lol.)

Looking forward to the other 3 chapters.
 
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Zanovar

Diamond Member
Jan 21, 2011
3,446
232
106
I played the first chapter. Game is rather... strange. But I like it. Though the graphics aren't as good as everyone here is making them out to be. They look last-gen, especially the foliage (it's 2D and turns with your character, lol.)

Looking forward to the other 3 chapters.
*coughs*Have you ever been told your not doing it right?
 

KirklandBrand

Member
Feb 15, 2012
56
0
0
I played the first chapter. Game is rather... strange. But I like it. Though the graphics aren't as good as everyone here is making them out to be. They look last-gen, especially the foliage (it's 2D and turns with your character, lol.)

Looking forward to the other 3 chapters.

I respectfully disagree with you sir, what graphics option do you have enabled?
 

PrayForDeath

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2004
3,478
1
76
I respectfully disagree with you sir, what graphics option do you have enabled?

I have everything maxed out on my GTX560, including transparency supersampling AA from the drivers. I'm not saying it looks bad, but it just isn't as stunning as everyone here is making it seem.

It does have amazing art direction though, which makes it look beautiful regardless of how old the graphics tech is (think Portal 2). I just don't like the 2D foliage, it's one of those 'once you've seen it you cannot unsee it' cases. The illusion is permanently shattered for me.

I finished the game (if you call it that), and I really enjoyed the experience. Might play through it again as I'm hearing some encounters are random
(like the underwater one)
.
 
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Justinakach0ppa

Junior Member
Feb 22, 2012
7
0
0
I recently posted a video on YouTube basically showing off the graphical capabilities of Dear Esther, I was not very satisfied with it as I just felt the tone of the video was incorrect and the quality of the video and the shots were not good enough to really show off what the game is capable of, so I went back to the drawing board...

I came up with something I am very proud of and would love some feedback on it and would really appreciate your guys opinions.

I loved this everything about Dear Esther from the art direction right down to the tiny details and the story and audio were top notch

Anyway without any further ado here is my video, make sure to watch in 1080P and enjoy it!

http://youtu.be/OQIS3Dnu6K4?hd=1
 

Justinakach0ppa

Junior Member
Feb 22, 2012
7
0
0
A really good one at that, its not your conventional sort of game more like narrative driven story with linear exploration. (I made it sound like call of duty lol)

There is no real "game" here per say, its a piece of artistry more than anything, just check it out and you will know what I mean.
 
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Nintendesert

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2010
7,761
5
0
Well thanks guys, I'll take a look at it. Nothing wrong with a game that is experienced vs. played sometimes.
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
hmm...the graphics didn't look as nice in this video as in the official videos. Hell, the shots from in the cave with with all stalctites and stalagmites looks like the old hand drawn images of adventure games from the 90s.
 

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
hmm...the graphics didn't look as nice in this video as in the official videos. Hell, the shots from in the cave with with all stalctites and stalagmites looks like the old hand drawn images of adventure games from the 90s.

I miss those games. Hand drawn images look so much better than 90% of all modern games.
 

Martimus

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2007
4,490
157
106
I miss those games. Hand drawn images look so much better than 90% of all modern games.

I concur whole-heartedly with this statement. Hand drawn 2D games will always age well, while early 3D was ugly in comparison.
 

Justinakach0ppa

Junior Member
Feb 22, 2012
7
0
0
hmm...the graphics didn't look as nice in this video as in the official videos. Hell, the shots from in the cave with with all stalctites and stalagmites looks like the old hand drawn images of adventure games from the 90s.

I have to disagree with you here, I rendered these videos at a very high resolution and downscaled to 1080P, I also tweaked a lot of things in the configuration so what you are seeing is actually an improvement upon the official vids, I am not just saying this because its my video I am just highlighting the fact it is a definite improvement on the official trailer and caves video.

The only difference is on the official video they have a slight border blur on the outskirts of the video which gives it a DOF effect in places but that is merely video editing.
And to prove that point I will link the two for comparison.

http://youtu.be/i3bPjEbenew?hd=1 <Official Cave system video

http://youtu.be/D7VJ4lP-05A?hd=1 > Official trailer
 

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
I concur whole-heartedly with this statement. Hand drawn 2D games will always age well, while early 3D was ugly in comparison.

Yep yep, it's the main reason why I can still enjoy playing classics like Baldur's Gate II and Age of Empires II.
 

Justinakach0ppa

Junior Member
Feb 22, 2012
7
0
0
You are probably thinking it looks worse because I rendered it at such a high resolution, if u watch the developer videos and trailers its very blurry, which often gives the game a more "cheesed over" look and by that I mean it smudges the imperfections.

When You render at such a high resolution and tweak certain things in the configuration it sharpens the textures therefore giving it that "adventure game" background look that your talking about, I know what you mean but I can assure you playing Dear Esther like this is the way it is meant to be played.

Things are far crisper and more realistic looking than the game at a stock level, the developers only hide these options away due to the massive toll it takes on a system.

The textures are at their original resolution and by using very detailed AA and AF along with draw distance fixes and foliage tweaks it gives the game an added layer of depth you do not see in the standard version.