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Did anyone hear a whispered voice in the basement it was probably my imagination and I haven't replayed it or anything to check, but it's a testament to the strength of the game that my mind went there
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Aug 20, 2013 11:05
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When people in this thread brought up how the storytelling would pretty much be impossible if set in the present and that the whole game would be spent checking your family's Facebook/Tumblr, it made me realize that Gone Home is pretty much in the same genre as Digital: A Love Story/Hate Story, only you're digging through a 3D house instead of emails and chatlogs. So what I'm saying is that this game is the best visual novel I have ever and possibly will ever play.
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Aug 20, 2013 11:13
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I loved the game. The story has certainly been told before, but in the context of video games it's treading reasonably new ground. The interactivity really helps to tell a basic but engaging story in a way that makes it feel real, and making the player empathizing with the characters in a way that would be hard to convey in a less interactive medium. Essentially I guess it's the idea that nothing is a cliche if it happens to you. The design of the house basically works, even if some design decisions, while understandable, detract a bit from the realism: you kinda have to accept that people litter the house with little personal notes instead of just storing them in one place, or the narrative would just have been going to maybe one or two places and then listening to a crapload of exposition. I went into the game fully expecting it to be based on exploration, but I appreciate the way the game, - probably intentionally, plays with players expectation of video games. Almost every zero-budget horror game on newgrounds and other places takes place in an abandoned house filled to the brim with pop-scares, Resident evil-style journals, moon-logic puzzles and locked doors. When starting out, this game could be assumed to be basically that, and some of the notes in the game really plays into this. The length is certainly short, and I can see people being upset about it for the price they're asking. Personally though, as someone with a full-time job and a decent amount of disposable income, I actually appreciate that. I also appreciate the discussion about the game. The subject, the execution and probably also the short length all conspire to make people take it seriously. It's obvious the creators had a clear vision of what kind of game they wanted to make, and even when people do not appreciate the game, they recognize this. What I like most with the game is how it stays with you after the fact. Fullbright chose the perfect point to end the game, and players gets to fill in the blanks of the story themselves. Just as many other people in the thread, I rushed to the attic when I found the note in the secret room beneath the stairs, and I'm really relieved there was a happy end (more or less). The game really had great pacing.. When i finished the game I felt pretty satisfied, and then i woke up this morning finding that I still was thinking about it. I will probably replay it and find everything I missed the first time around. Someone else said it in the thread, and I fully agree: this is probably the first game I would be fully comfortable with showing of as a serious story to someone suspicious of video games as a narrative medium. All in all, 3/5 Citizen Kanes. If anyone is on the fence, play it! Especially since there will probably be tons of spoilers out there soon, and while you probably will be able to tell where the story is heading quite soon, I do endorse going in with few preconceptions.
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Aug 20, 2013 11:56
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I don't even get how the story has been done before is even a criticism unless it's paired up with the notion that the game did not do justice to it. Books, movies, plays, and other media are not criticized simply for retreading a familiar story. This is actually an important step to show that video games can tackle the same subjects in new and different ways.
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Aug 20, 2013 12:32
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Superstring posted:I don't even get how the story has been done before is even a criticism unless it's paired up with the notion that the game did not do justice to it. Books, movies, plays, and other media are not criticized simply for retreading a familiar story. This is actually an important step to show that video games can tackle the same subjects in new and different ways. I think there is some resistance towards games attempting to branch out into the personal and mundane. Many people simply want their hobby to remain various iterations of Space Invaders forever, and that's fine. The irony of people who have played Saints Row I-IV on release day proclaiming Gone Home to be nothing original is not lost on me, though.
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Aug 20, 2013 12:48
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I just finished playing SRIV for the day and I adore this game tyvm 
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Aug 20, 2013 13:03
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Superstring posted:I don't even get how the story has been done before is even a criticism unless it's paired up with the notion that the game did not do justice to it. Books, movies, plays, and other media are not criticized simply for retreading a familiar story. This is actually an important step to show that video games can tackle the same subjects in new and different ways. This is basically true, but it's roughly the same criticism I would level against a movie that today, 2013, would tell yet another story about vampires fighting each other, a wizard school or found-footage horror: There is nothing wrong with these stories, but due to their prevalence right now, you have a right to expect that they either bring something new to the table, or tell the story particularly well, otherwise they would simple be seen as derivative of better work. I feel the game does both these things: the interactive element is very effective in helping you empathize with the characters in a way that is relatively unique to video games. If you would tell the story, as is, in movie format, it would probably feel very derivative, but due to the unique way it's told here, it doesn't. And that's what I guess I'm trying to convey. Edit: Okay, in the context of video games only, this isn't even a criticism. This game is really quite original as a game, and a good story in any medium. Azraelle fucked around with this message at 13:30 on Aug 20, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 13:09
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death .cab for qt posted:I just finished playing SRIV for the day and I adore this game tyvm I loving love Saints Row and just finished this game, which I also loved. I had a moment towards the end of the game where I started to panic because I thought something terrible had happened, and my heart started beating like crazy because I felt Sam was a character that I was empathising with to a really strong degree. I'm not sure a game has really struck me like that before.
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Aug 20, 2013 13:45
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Infanticide posted:When people in this thread brought up how the storytelling would pretty much be impossible if set in the present and that the whole game would be spent checking your family's Facebook/Tumblr, it made me realize that Gone Home is pretty much in the same genre as Digital: A Love Story/Hate Story, only you're digging through a 3D house instead of emails and chatlogs. That's actually a very apt comparison, just like how Digital was a love note to the early days of the internet we have Home, which shows us how much value there is in little physical things as well. The game made me stop for a while and think of the consequences of our entirely digital lives, since very little of the stuff we do anymore has any permanence. System upgrades losing data, switching to new tech or a new social media site, or just having accounts die out from disuse all add up to a slow destruction of a lot of personal history.
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Aug 20, 2013 15:16
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In 20 years' time when they make a 2013 nostalgia game, it would be going online to read all the E/N posts of the missing person and clicking the ? button.
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Aug 20, 2013 15:25
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The Saddest Rhino posted:In 20 years' time when they make a 2013 nostalgia game, it would be going online to read all the E/N posts of the missing person and clicking the ? button. Don't Take It Personally Babe from Christine Love (maker of Digital and Analog) is kind of like this. It ostensibly takes place in the near future, but essentially you're a high school teacher with access to your students' social network accounts, and you use that to see how their relationships and teenage dramas evolve throughout the school year. It deals with a lot of the themes Gone Home deals with too, it's pretty good. (Just don't take the pedo path in the game. Take the non-pedo path, thanks in advance.)
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Aug 20, 2013 15:28
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Pinterest Mom posted:Don't Take It Personally Babe from Christine Love (maker of Digital and Analog) is kind of like this. It ostensibly takes place in the near future, but essentially you're a high school teacher with access to your students' social network accounts, and you use that to see how their relationships and teenage dramas evolve throughout the school year. Oh man I forgot how much I loved that game. Gonna have to grab it and play through it again.
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Aug 20, 2013 17:09
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Pinterest Mom posted:Don't Take It Personally Babe from Christine Love (maker of Digital and Analog) is kind of like this. It ostensibly takes place in the near future, but essentially you're a high school teacher with access to your students' social network accounts, and you use that to see how their relationships and teenage dramas evolve throughout the school year. Fair warning for those that have not played a Christine Love game before, they are pretty ham-handed with what they are trying to say and feel the need to brand it on your forehead in case you didn't catch it the other seven times. The actual games are decent, just glaze over the eye-rolling parts and you'll enjoy it a lot more.
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Aug 20, 2013 17:25
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exquisite tea posted:I think there is some resistance towards games attempting to branch out into the personal and mundane. Many people simply want their hobby to remain various iterations of Space Invaders forever, and that's fine. The irony of people who have played Saints Row I-IV on release day proclaiming Gone Home to be nothing original is not lost on me, though. I would have honestly thought much less of Gone Home had it gone for some sort of Twilight Zone-style twist. Its greatest strength is that it never falls back on the tropes of genre fiction, which we're conditioned to expect because video games.
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Aug 20, 2013 17:59
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cbirdsong posted:There is a ghost in one of Sam's notebooks so watch out for that. I missed it. More info? What actually happens? I pissed myself when the light popped after looking at the cross in the basement.
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Aug 20, 2013 18:15
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DreamShipWrecked posted:Fair warning for those that have not played a Christine Love game before, they are pretty ham-handed with what they are trying to say and feel the need to brand it on your forehead in case you didn't catch it the other seven times. The actual games are decent, just glaze over the eye-rolling parts and you'll enjoy it a lot more. Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 18:28 on Aug 20, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 18:19
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Accordion Man posted:I'd say that only applies to Don't Take it Personally, which is one of the many reasons its her worst game by far. Digital and Analogue are far better and leave more up to the audience to decide, but they got nothing on Gone Home when it comes to merging story and gameplay. Digital I would agree with, that wasn't so bad. Analogue's basis of hey guys gender roles are pretty hosed up! was treated like a twenty pound hammer, though. DTIPBIJAYS (what a name!) was just painful at the end, though. They were fun, just hamhanded.
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Aug 20, 2013 18:28
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I'm glad I paid (almost) full price for this game because I like the idea of rewarding a game company for making a game that's not about a buff white dude saving the world by killing lots and lots of bad things.
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Aug 20, 2013 19:23
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Phylodox posted:I'm glad I paid (almost) full price for this game because I like the idea of rewarding a game company for making a game that's not about a buff white dude saving the world by killing lots and lots of bad things.
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Aug 20, 2013 19:32
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Phylodox posted:I'm glad I paid (almost) full price for this game because I like the idea of rewarding a game company for making a game that's not about a buff white dude saving the world by killing lots and lots of bad things. (I warmed up to it a lot more upon analysising stuff I missed afterwards.)
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Aug 20, 2013 19:33
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Here is the composer of the game playing the theme on a piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-9lMGcOtZ0
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Aug 20, 2013 20:09
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Accordion Man posted:This, really. Gone Home is the kind of game I've been wanting for a while now. Seriously, I wish there were more games like this! Somewhere right between adventure games and visual novels.
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Aug 21, 2013 00:23
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Gravy100 posted:Did anyone hear a whispered voice in the basement it was probably my imagination and I haven't replayed it or anything to check, but it's a testament to the strength of the game that my mind went there  )
Retroblique fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Aug 21, 2013 |
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Aug 21, 2013 02:07
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Sonance posted:When I was standing completely still, examining the family painting, I distinctly heard the sound of someone walking around upstairs. This set up the possibility that I wasn't alone in the house and it was kind of hard to shake off that feeling for the rest of the game, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. I'm going to explain it away by saying the game engine noticed me clipping the desk next to the painting by a single pixel and "moved" me away, thus generating a "walking" sound effect. I like stuff like this. After all, I'm sure everyone's gone through the situation of not being 100% sure they were alone in a house at some time, and every little sound can make you wonder.
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Aug 21, 2013 02:11
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Wandering Knitter posted:Seriously, I wish there were more games like this! Somewhere right between adventure games and visual novels. Really it seems like things are better than ever for these kinds of games. Indie development allows for more niche genres to be explored and gain popularity. As much as I like shooty shooty bang bang and making numbers go up, it's nice to just kick back and take in a nice immersive story without a ton of modern video game trappings standing in the way. Frankly, I look back at some of the adventure games I've played and loved and realize that I hate every bit of "gameplay" that feels tacked on to justify it being a video game. I'm looking at you, The Longest Journey.
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Aug 21, 2013 02:17
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Infanticide posted:Frankly, I look back at some of the adventure games I've played and loved and realize that I hate every bit of "gameplay" that feels tacked on to justify it being a video game. I'm looking at you, The Longest Journey. Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 02:25 on Aug 21, 2013 |
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Aug 21, 2013 02:23
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For me playing though Gone Home for the first time recaptured that sense of exploration I had with Shenmue 12 years ago, except if it were to cut out all the boring stuff like the fighting and mystic prophecies and focused instead on driving forklifts and examining a bowl of oranges in your home.
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Aug 21, 2013 02:30
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Ziploc posted:I missed it. More info? What actually happens? Not too much, there is just a silly ghost drawing on a page where she talks about exploring the house with Lonnie.
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Aug 21, 2013 03:16
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Gravy100 posted:Did anyone hear a whispered voice in the basement it was probably my imagination and I haven't replayed it or anything to check, but it's a testament to the strength of the game that my mind went there I didn't, but my friend swears that he did. I wonder if it's something hidden.
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Aug 21, 2013 06:42
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I don't know if this has been addressed, but who exactly is Grossman? Or is it just a euphemism for the patriarchy, i.e. "gross man"?
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Aug 21, 2013 11:17
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I just took it to be the name of their highschool or some administrator they didn't like with an easily mocked name.
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Aug 21, 2013 11:35
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Transistor Rhythm posted:I didn't, but my friend swears that he did. I wonder if it's something hidden. I'm pretty sure I heard some whispering around the furnace down there.
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Aug 21, 2013 11:39
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The letter about Lonnie defacing her own locker was sent from the high school principal, named Grossman
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Aug 21, 2013 12:07
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Infanticide posted:So what I'm saying is that this game is the best visual novel I have ever and possibly will ever play. This is exactly how I felt about Gone Home.
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Aug 21, 2013 14:03
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krisis posted:The letter about Lonnie defacing her own locker was sent from the high school principal, named Grossman Speaking of that, it really was one of the most  parts of the game in terms of Sam and Lonnie's relationship
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Aug 21, 2013 14:57
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Good article on the game by one of my favorite people who writes about games.
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Aug 21, 2013 17:35
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I like that the article points out some of the workarounds Fullbright used for Gone Home (the unfamiliar house and time period). I'm curious as to how other games in this vein will attempt to deliver credible explanations for why the player is constrained in a particular way. I don't think you can keep leaning on unfamiliar settings and pre-internet time periods forever.
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Aug 21, 2013 17:45
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exquisite tea posted:I don't think you can keep leaning on unfamiliar settings and pre-internet time periods forever.
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Aug 21, 2013 18:07
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exquisite tea posted:I like that the article points out some of the workarounds Fullbright used for Gone Home (the unfamiliar house and time period). I'm curious as to how other games in this vein will attempt to deliver credible explanations for why the player is constrained in a particular way. I don't think you can keep leaning on unfamiliar settings and pre-internet time periods forever. Maybe the same way all the terrible post-Blair-Witch-found-footage horror movies deal with the "why are they carrying a camera around instead of just running" questions. They'll just ignore it.
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Aug 21, 2013 18:08
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To be fair, pretty much no games today deliver credible explanations for why the player can kill 800 people in a row without being arrested for being the worst person ever, or why the player can get shot 60 times and the just get better by sitting behind a chest high wall, or whatever. So it's not like people crave verisimilitude in games. But of course the point of the original article is that Gone Home is the video game equivalent of literary realism, so, Oldstench, if games go the found footage horror movie route of just ignoring the implausible poo poo, that kind of breaks away from the realism point.
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Aug 21, 2013 18:12
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