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I also think the father's writing serves as commentary on video game stories. Not a sick megaburn, exactly, but a sad/funny look at how a well-meaning person can dilute their interesting ideas because they feel like they have to fit into a safe genre. Everything that dealt with the creative process was super interesting and honest. You could tell it came from people who made those mistakes and struggled to find their voices.
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Aug 17, 2013 10:09
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Corin Tucker's Stalker posted:I also think the father's writing serves as commentary on video game stories. Not a sick megaburn, exactly, but a sad/funny look at how a well-meaning person can dilute their interesting ideas because they feel like they have to fit into a safe genre. The best part is all the gamers posting reviews with the exact opposite complaint as Terrence's father. And replying to you is reminding me I wanted to mention how awesome it is to be hearing Heavens to Betsy in a 2013 video game.
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Aug 17, 2013 11:19
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Gotta Wear Shades posted:I highly enjoyed it even if I am worried that the girls are in way over their heads. The sexuality angst tugs at my heart strings but they're still high school lovers who shoplift and steal from their parents. Tremendous game/program/experience, though. I don't regret the 20 bucks I spent. One of the great things about Gone Home is how all the principal characters are flawed in some way without being truly unsympathetic, which makes them all seem very human. Often times in stories like these, especially ones where teens are questioning their sexuality, one character will become sort of a Mary Sue for the author and everything mean and oppressive will be endlessly heaped on her without any pushback. I thought it was great that Sam begins to rebel against her parents (and the patriarchy) in a realistically bratty kind of way, and how Lonnie brings that rebellious side out of her. I think anybody who's had an older sibling, especially one who seems as perfect and accomplished as Katie, can relate to feeling like the rebel outcast of the family. I agree with you that the future of the girls is really uncertain. It end didn't on a happy note for me at all, but rather a very mixed and complex one. It reminded me of A Doll's House, where Nora's arc is complete but you wonder how long it can really last. Nonetheless I think it's important that the reality of the game ends there. Although my logical side would have appreciated it, I'm glad they didn't tack on a happily ever after epilogue because it leaves you speculating what will happen once your parents return and all the family secrets have been uncovered. Maybe in Gone Home 2 you will head down to Salem hot on the trail of your missing runaway sister.
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Aug 17, 2013 13:46
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exquisite tea posted:One of the great things about Gone Home is how all the principal characters are flawed in some way without being truly unsympathetic, which makes them all seem very human. Often times in stories like these, especially ones where teens are questioning their sexuality, one character will become sort of a Mary Sue for the author and everything mean and oppressive will be endlessly heaped on her without any pushback. I thought it was great that Sam begins to rebel against her parents (and the patriarchy) in a realistically bratty kind of way, and how Lonnie brings that rebellious side out of her. I think anybody who's had an older sibling, especially one who seems as perfect and accomplished as Katie, can relate to feeling like the rebel outcast of the family. I kind of disagree. I felt that Lonnie and Sam were really idealized and I was surprised that there weren't any journal entries about them having a fight or having differences. The relationship between Lonnie and Sam was the only relationship in the game that didn't have any trouble and it felt out of place for me, especially when everyone else had so many problems. I think it would have made the the writing a lot more interesting to have some conflict between Lonnie and Sam and I felt that I couldn't get that emotionally involved in the story and writing because they were such a perfect couple. I don't know if Sam is just idealizing their relationship but it would've been nice to find some evidence that they have the same troubles that affect every relationship. I love the game and I've definitely got my money's worth out of it but I was thinking about it and I don't know anyone who has a relationship like Sam and Lonnie but I do know for a fact that queer relationships have just as much troubles as everyone else.
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Aug 17, 2013 15:36
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Homosocialism posted:I kind of disagree. I felt that Lonnie and Sam were really idealized and I was surprised that there weren't any journal entries about them having a fight or having differences. The relationship between Lonnie and Sam was the only relationship in the game that didn't have any trouble and it felt out of place for me, especially when everyone else had so many problems. I think it would have made the the writing a lot more interesting to have some conflict between Lonnie and Sam and I felt that I couldn't get that emotionally involved in the story and writing because they were such a perfect couple. I don't know if Sam is just idealizing their relationship but it would've been nice to find some evidence that they have the same troubles that affect every relationship. I understand that perspective but I didn't come out of the game seeing the relationship as idealized. It just seemed like, for Sam at least, to be her first love and she's been swept away by it. There's still the petty rebellions and the shoplifting to show how young they are. And there's Lonnie's vehement negativity towards her mother to show that she isn't some sugar-and-sunshine Perfect Girlfriend either. The thing is that we're reading/hearing all this from Sam's point of view and she is obviously all-in on this Lonnie girl. I think that's also why some of us (including me and exquisite tea) aren't sold on this being a happy or even necessarily upbeat ending.
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Aug 17, 2013 15:54
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Well, I'd say their relationship isn't without its disagreements. The "Getting Lonnie" passage in Sam's journal highlights how their personalities clash. No disagreement that their relationship is somewhat idealized, but we as the audience want to root for them and seven months isn't a lot of time for serious problems to arise, even in high school terms. Gone Home doesn't operate within a vacuum as well and it comes after a sequence in LGBT fiction in which the lovers are always star-crossed, tortured, and doomed to failure. I think it's important to also portray relationships that are healthy and uplifting..
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Aug 17, 2013 16:05
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https://twitter.com/AdamSessler/status/368760152658161666quote:Adam Sessler @AdamSessler 21m I want to hear this man's opinion.
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Aug 17, 2013 17:06
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exquisite tea posted:Well, I'd say their relationship isn't without its disagreements. The "Getting Lonnie" passage in Sam's journal highlights how their personalities clash. No disagreement that their relationship is somewhat idealized, but we as the audience want to root for them and seven months isn't a lot of time for serious problems to arise, even in high school terms. Gone Home doesn't operate within a vacuum as well and it comes after a sequence in LGBT fiction in which the lovers are always star-crossed, tortured, and doomed to failure. I think it's important to also portray relationships that are healthy and uplifting.. Plus, I mean, I remember the first time a person I had an interest in showed an interest in me, and this game nails that feeling. And sure, maybe stuff might go wrong for them if Sam runs off with Lonnie, but Sam's own parents don't even respect her sexuality enough to treat this incredibly important part of who she is as anything but a phase. In that sense, it's not about Sam and Lonnie being together forever, it's about Sam and Lonnie trying to figure out who they are together. Sam just plain can't stay at home, she has to leave and find herself.
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Aug 17, 2013 17:14
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Sankis posted:I ended up having to ask the official twitter account. What was your 23rd? The one I couldn't find was the hat on the bike I was missing "The Nunnery", the note under the folder.
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Aug 17, 2013 17:33
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exquisite tea posted:Well, I'd say their relationship isn't without its disagreements. The "Getting Lonnie" passage in Sam's journal highlights how their personalities clash. No disagreement that their relationship is somewhat idealized, but we as the audience want to root for them and seven months isn't a lot of time for serious problems to arise, even in high school terms. Gone Home doesn't operate within a vacuum as well and it comes after a sequence in LGBT fiction in which the lovers are always star-crossed, tortured, and doomed to failure. I think it's important to also portray relationships that are healthy and uplifting.. Yeah I agree with that and I think it was clever how they had the Pre-Raphaelite painting of the Lady of Shalott in Sam's room. I think they were saying that they wanted to get away from the doomed woman kind of thing and portray a successful relationship. I still would like more realistic characters but I do think that Sam is definitely idealizing their relationship and it works for what Gone Home is. Oh and I also noticed that everyone approaches issues of sexuality through popular culture. For example, the mother has the romance novel about a lumberjack (I think?) that ties into her possible affair. The father approaches his sexual abuse through science fiction and conspiracy theories around JFK's assassination. Oscar has the old newspaper ads with woman's clothes and he ties himself into biblical imagery, the popular culture for his era, with the crucifix. Sam uses reaction to "She-Ra" to prove to Katie her sexuality. I also think the whole red hair dye plays into Sam's obsession with Scully but I don't know if her obsession with Scully lead her to Lonnie or the other way around. Sam and Lonnie meet through playing Street Fighter and it seems like the whole relationship is inundated with pop culture references (Thelma and Louise?). I think it's interesting what Terrence's father says about how Terrence is dealing with his abuse by Oscar through science fiction and popular culture.
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Aug 17, 2013 17:34
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OmniDesol posted:I was missing "The Nunnery", the note under the folder.
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Aug 17, 2013 17:39
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guntpuncher posted:I'm giving Gone Home (or, the more apropos Gone Homo) a tentative 4/10. Why did so many dinguses expect a game with this trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEEwwd-pLp0 to be a horror game? Even idiots on the youtube page left comments saying they "expected something scary to pop out". Can a place not be poorly lit without being a den of ghouls? E: Almost forgot, nice slur! Lurdiak fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Aug 17, 2013 |
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Aug 17, 2013 17:50
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I don't know about you, but I expect a free patch containing at least one (1) ghost. The ghost to dollar ratio in this game is atrocious!!
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Aug 17, 2013 17:53
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abraham linksys posted:I don't know about you, but I expect a free patch containing at least one (1) ghost. The ghost to dollar ratio in this game is atrocious!! 
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Aug 17, 2013 17:55
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Lurdiak posted:Why did so many dinguses expect a game with this trailer: To be fair, this is the game's pitch on Steam: quote:June 7th, 1995. 1:15 AM You arrive home after a year abroad. You expect your family to greet you, but the house is empty. Something's not right. Where is everyone? And what's happened here? Unravel the mystery for yourself in Gone Home, a story exploration game from The Fullbright Company.
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Aug 17, 2013 17:56
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OatmealRaisin posted:To be fair, this is the game's pitch on Steam: But it is a creepy and tense game?
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Aug 17, 2013 18:00
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OatmealRaisin posted:To be fair, this is the game's pitch on Steam: I notice a distinct lack of the word horror in that description. The Steam store page also has the trailer I linked set to auto-play.
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Aug 17, 2013 18:00
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I don't know if anyone has talked about it, but I love that this game is kind of a love letter (haha) to writing. I can understand why it's set when it's set: if it takes place even a couple of years past 95, you would have to include computers or cell phones or other things. Everything here seems on the cusp of going away and it's kind of a shame we've lost that personalized-touch on a lot of common objects like mixtapes and VHS tapes. Not that that's gone away entirely, I just think it's beautiful how well the game and it's setting work together. It's also funny how this all ends up in a video game, I guess. And has anyone found a scan of the note that your character puts down before you get a chance to fully read it? I know it's wrong to want to see the rest, but I really want to know.
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Aug 17, 2013 18:33
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Parallax posted:And has anyone found a scan of the note that your character puts down before you get a chance to fully read it? I know it's wrong to want to see the rest, but I really want to know. I went back and took a screenshot. Here it is. It's not really racy, but I can see why Katie would go "nope" at a point a little further than I got myself. Also, that loving TV startled me again  .
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Aug 17, 2013 18:51
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Still haven't seen anyone mention dad's spank mag.
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Aug 17, 2013 19:02
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I may not be that into punk rock, but drat if I didn't keep playing every single cassette I came across. They created sorts of safe zones, where I didn't have to listen to every creak and groan the house made. The sound design in this game is fantastic.
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Aug 17, 2013 19:10
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I skipped the whole thread because I don't want to spoil myself on this, but I need something answered because I am a huge goddamn child. Is this a scary scary game? Is anything going to jump out at me or is it all just unsettling ambient spookyness? I get really uncomfortable playing games like these and I just get more and more nervous the longer nothing happens because I'm expecting something is going to scare the poo poo out of me, I need to know because I can't deal with this poo poo. I stopped playing Dear Esther after I saw a humanoid shadow on a cliff that only appeared when it was at the edge of the screen, if you focused on it it would vanish. Apparently that was too much for me because it made me feel like I was getting stalked by something horrifying, so I closed the game immediately. I'm super hesitant to pay for the game because it makes me nervous I won't be able to finish it.
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Aug 17, 2013 19:11
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teethgrinder posted:Still haven't seen anyone mention dad's spank mag. "Gosh, dad" / "Gosh, Sam" got a solid laugh from me. I also liked it (and the condom) from a realism perspective. It's like, well what did you expect to find rooting around in places like that. Not everything's going to be pertinent. e: ^ there's one thing that could be described as a very, very mild jump scare, and it really wasn't terribly scary at all. The rest is all ambiance. I'm a huge baby when it comes to scary games, too, and I could finish the game just fine. e2: forgot to mention, there's even a pre-game option that turns on every light in the house right from the start. Smirr fucked around with this message at 19:22 on Aug 17, 2013 |
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Aug 17, 2013 19:12
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teethgrinder posted:Still haven't seen anyone mention dad's spank mag. I think someone mentioned earlier that it was funny that Sam and dad have the same taste in porn. e:fb @100 hogs: this game has nothing like that. The closest is a jump scare with a light going out.
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Aug 17, 2013 19:12
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:Is this a scary scary game? I asked the same question earlier, it's scary in the sense that you're 15 again and home alone in a giant house around midnight in the middle of a thunderstorm. Slender isn't going to chase you through the house, but you will always feel like he is, which is the design of the game.
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Aug 17, 2013 19:18
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OatmealRaisin posted:To be fair, this is the game's pitch on Steam: You know what else it says on that same page? quote:No Combat, No Puzzles: Gone Home is a nonviolent and puzzle-free experience, inviting you to play at your own pace without getting attacked, stuck, or frustrated. This house wants you to explore it. and quote:Gone Home is an interactive exploration simulator. Interrogate every detail of a seemingly normal house to discover the story of the people who live there. Open any drawer and door. Pick up objects and examine them to discover clues. Uncover the events of one family's lives by investigating what they've left behind. So I don't know why people are expecting puzzles, or to be attacked, or for it to be anything other than what it's telling them it is.
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Aug 17, 2013 19:26
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Mmann posted:You know what else it says on that same page?
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Aug 17, 2013 19:28
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I just get the feeling that if a game or movie has this sort of lonely, unsettling, spooky setting, something is going on that is going to freak the hell out of me and give me nightmares. I find it difficult to trust the marketing material for games sometimes, I guess. I always assume something's gunning for me. If I was exploring an unfamiliar abandoned house at night during a thunderstorm I'd probably just stop in the living room with a lamp on and wait for morning because I would feel like every shadow and dark room is concealing something that's going to get me. 100 HOGS AGREE fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Aug 17, 2013 |
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Aug 17, 2013 19:32
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:I just get the feeling that if a game or movie has this sort of lonely, unsettling, spooky setting, something is going on that is going to freak the hell out of me and give me nightmares. It makes sense. Even knowing that there wasn't anything waiting for me besides exploration I was pretty jumpy for the first half hour or so. Then I put some kickin' tunes into the tape decks and relaxed.
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Aug 17, 2013 19:36
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:I just get the feeling that if a game or movie has this sort of lonely, unsettling, spooky setting, something is going on that is going to freak the hell out of me and give me nightmares. This game will make you kinda tense at some points, but I'm pretty sure nothing's gonna give you nightmares. Accordion Man posted:Which room is that in? That's the only one I'm missing too. Right wing, first floor. Next to the sweet couch.
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Aug 17, 2013 19:39
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For the first half of this game I was desperately and obsessively turning on every single light I could find as fast as I loving could because oh, God, something else is in here, helphelphelp. After a certain point, though, I was turning on every light because I wanted to see everything, I need to find out everything about this family!!!
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Aug 17, 2013 19:43
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A few thoughts and things I haven't seen anyone point out but I admit I haven't read every single post, sorry if covered. Sorry for the wall of spoiler text but it is all late/post game rumination. Item A - Terry and Oscar It seems to be a forgone conclusion that Terry was abused by Oscar, and I agree there is clearly evidence for something bad between them happening, but is there any solid evidence it was abuse, sexual or otherwise? And the bigger problem I have with this is regular people referring to the house as the psycho house. If he were a child molester and that was known, psycho is not the word people would use, and the only other public erratic behavior like selling the pharmacy seems like something people would quickly forget about and not something that would still be infamous of high school kids in the 90's decades after the fact. It just doesn't add up to me. Item B - Who the gently caress is Uncle Harvey. No seriously, who the gently caress is Uncle Harvey? Image: http://i.imgur.com/3jZMBwE.jpg Item C - The Renovation This is probably minor, but it still seems odd, and possibly ties into Item A. When you walk into the kitchen it is all messed up and you find a note, I think, something from your dad maybe to Sam saying sorry the kitchen is still a mess and screw contractors. In the creepy hallway in the basement behind the "Servant's Quarters" there is a blueprint of the first floor that shows the original layout. You can easily conclude that they wanted more space and added a garage or something, but why are the blueprints in the creepy hallway with the marking's for Terry's height and the potential place that bad business went down? Image: http://i.imgur.com/2XvjTEJ.jpg Image: http://i.imgur.com/vILF5g3.jpg Item D - Passage to "Katie's room" I missed this passage in the basement when I first played through but when I went back found it and thought it was strange. It gives the basement direct one way access to this room. There is a receipt on the ground when you open the door from Oscar's pharmacy, but I forgot to grab a screen of it, I think it was just a date scribbled on it. Could be some suggestion that this is the room where Terry stayed when in the house and a link to the 'transgression'. Just thought it was interesting and didn't see it mentioned anywhere. Image: http://i.imgur.com/2oxLX6M.jpg Image: http://i.imgur.com/nMDzEgn.jpg
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Aug 17, 2013 19:52
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OmniDesol posted:
Sylpher posted:A few thoughts and things I haven't seen anyone point out but I admit I haven't read every single post, sorry if covered. Sorry for the wall of spoiler text but it is all late/post game rumination. B: Just another uncle, he was a contestant on Jeopardy! too. D: That scrap of paper gives you the combination for the safe in the basement
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Aug 17, 2013 20:00
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This game has pretty exceptional atmosphere. I wasn't all that satisfied with the sudden ending though. I wish I could be all "gently caress you mom and dad, I'm leaving too" and let them clean up the mess I left.
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Aug 17, 2013 20:10
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I just played though it and I couldn't stop until the game was finished. It probably helped that it was raining outside here as well. The only potential "horror" moment for me was when I first entered the attic. I was worried for a moment that Sam and Lonnie's love affair had taken a dark turn toward something like a suicide pact. What a relief when I was wrong. We need more stories/games like these.
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Aug 17, 2013 20:40
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Mercrom posted:This game has pretty exceptional atmosphere. I wasn't all that satisfied with the sudden ending though. I wish I could be all "gently caress you mom and dad, I'm leaving too" and let them clean up the mess I left. I keep seeing people talking about the sudden ending and I really don't get that, you're entering the last part of the house you haven't already explored and all of the notes are catching up to the present day.
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Aug 17, 2013 20:51
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Accordion Man posted:A: They call it the Psycho House because after Oscar molested Terry he isolated himself away in his house for the rest of his life out of sheer guilt. People just assumed he was crazy and that's why he was a recluse. Terry getting molested was only known by Terry's family. I guess it makes sense that it became that house that kids fear and make stories about based on very little. I still think the molestation is conjecture, but after thinking about it some more I don't think it matters. Knowing something bad happened between them is all that is necessary, specifics services nothing. Any idea where else Uncle Harvey is mentioned? I must have completely missed it, I don't recall anything about Jeopardy. When I got to the safe I just looked around for the nearest 4 digit number, saw the date for the height markings on the wall, and tried it. I was surprised it was that easy.
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Aug 17, 2013 21:20
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Sylpher posted:I guess it makes sense that it became that house that kids fear and make stories about based on very little. I still think the molestation is conjecture, but after thinking about it some more I don't think it matters. Knowing something bad happened between them is all that is necessary, specifics services nothing. I remember a card wishing Sam a Happy 17th Birthday from him but that was it. I need to play this again because i think i missed a few things.
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Aug 17, 2013 21:43
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Sylpher posted:
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Aug 17, 2013 22:04
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Y'know. If whoever in Fullbright wrote this game decided to write a series of novels about Lonnie D. and Sam, I would read the hell out of them. Actually, I'm bummed out that this world is probably done with. There's no way they could do a Gone Home 2 without looking like complete hacks about it, and if they're going to do something else entirely different gameplay wise, they probably wouldn't revisit this story. Muuuuh, why does shlock like Uncharted last forever while a game like this is encapsulated in a single, brief experience? Automata 10 Pack fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Aug 17, 2013 |
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Aug 17, 2013 23:04
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