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 Website | Steam Page | twitter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5KJzLsyfBI What is Gone Home? It's 1995. You come home from a vacation in Europe to find your family's new house seemingly abandoned. A note taped to the front door, from your younger sister, tells you not to poke around trying to find out what's going on. It's night and there's a storm brewing, so the phones are down and you can't really walk through the woods to civilization. Obviously, you go inside and try to figure out what happened. That's the game.  So It's a Horror Game? A Monster Ate Everyone? Not overly. It's a game about exploring and about piecing together a narrative by looking at the sorts of items that people use to live their lives. You can pick up items, look at them, put them back down, move them around the house, and so on. The game is not full of puzzles or linear sections - you go wherever you want in the house and find (or fail to find) whatever parts of the story that you end up finding, although you do have to find ways to open a few locked doors. There aren't multiple endings, but there are sort of multiple middles, because most people miss stuff when they play through, so there are new things to find if you play through again. What happened? Why? What kinds of people are your family members? What kind of person are you? You'll learn more (or less) about this depending on what you find and what conclusions you draw. This is not to say that it isn't scary - you're alone in a house at night in a storm and the lights aren't on (until you turn them on).  What Kind of Wacky People Made This Game? It Doesn't Have Any Guns, For God's Sake! Gone Home is a product from the Fullbright Company, a game development studio started by Steve Gaynor, Johnnemann Nordhagen, and Karla Zimonja. They worked on BioShock 2 and were also responsible for Minerva's Den, the pretty fantastic BioShock 2 DLC. Here's a really interesting stream where Steve Gaynor plays through Minerva's Den and talks about it.  How Many Journal Entries are There? I Want Them All! 23. Also There is a 24th secret entry. I'm Like 14 Years Old and Can't Read Legitimate Old Timey Handwriting, Please Help? Turn on "Overlay Text" or whatever in the options menu so you can read the handwritten notes, you tiny child, you. Should I Turn "Interaction Text" Off? That Will Make the Game More Immersive Like Armed Assault 3! Actually no - the "interaction text" is also flavor text sometimes, so leave it on. Where's the Key to Open [Whatever the gently caress]? If you're stuck, try the following things: 1. Check the sewing room. 2. Check all the secret compartments. Where is the Combination for the Safe? Turn around and look what's written on the wall. Can I Get a Screencap of that One Note That Auto-Closes? It's a spoiler so don't read it until you've found it in the game. Screencap thanks to Smirr! Goon Reviews: StoicFnord posted:EuroGamer can go gently caress itself. Wandering Knitter posted:Game does not let me watch a bootleg VHS copy of Dark Crystal. 4/10 Szmitten posted:Finished it. Wasn't expecting what I got. Great game; play it if you're even vaguely interested. Crappy Jack posted:Very VERY much enjoyed that. I'd always enjoyed exploratory games like this, one of my favorite gaming moments is that section in Deus Ex where you're examining the DuClare mansion, just walking around this big empty house looking for clues and secrets, and this game delivered in spades. Pollyanna posted:Dammit, I really wanna play the game, but my poor MBP can't handle it without burning up. Al! posted:The weirdest thing for me about this game is I kind of know how that house smells from visiting houses like that in Oregon. MacGyvers_Mullet posted:I've never played a game that made a person's life so believable before. I can't even describe how I felt playing it. Ryen Deckard posted:
smashthedean posted:This game made me start rewatching The X-files. Also, it was pretty great. Reacon posted:I don't give a gently caress - I thought I made that clear already. I'm posting just to make sure you realise I don't give one. Motherfucker posted:I felt pretty nonplussed throughout the game, the feelings of fear or worry never really hitting me, I didn't know anyone in this game before I arrived at the house, how am I supposed to care that the house is empty if it was never really full in my mind at any stage? cheesetriangles posted:Just finished this and been crying for about a half hour since I finished it. gently caress. Tolth posted:This is the first videogame I have ever played that I would feel comfortable defending as a legitimate artistic piece to other adults in real life. As someone who's been obsessively wasting my time on this garbage since I was 5 years old, it's really cheering. Also, the ending was the single most emotionally affective set piece I have ever come across in a videogame. Bluedust posted:Yeah I'm an only child and the game did nothing for me. That's probably why. PonchAxis posted:This game is amazing and honestly tells a way better story than all the other big "story games" out there (Bioshock Infinite, Last of Us). And its mostly because there is no dumb combat I have to do to get to the next story bit. So many times playing through all 3 bioshocks I just didn't want to fight anyone, because the combat was just too boring. And in the case of Infinite, the combat was definitely improved but towards the end got very tiring. Honestly this is what I wanted Bioshock Infinite to be as well many other narrative driven games. Its just so drat good at telling its story and all you do is just explore and read through stuff. The mystery is great and solving it on my own was even better. Goddamn fantastic, this is an important game for sure. Heran Bago posted:No thanks this game is too expensive for what it offers. Al! posted:My favorite thing about Gone Home so far has been exposing how many people on the Internet are secret robot spies. Republicans posted:I could only ever make out really simple objects like spheres in magic eye pictures. COBRARocky posted:I really can not believe I payed $20 for this. Alain Perdrix posted:Only found out about this game tonight, and then proceeded to play it for like 3 hours, to its conclusion. It's one of the best games I've ever played, and no other game has ever come close to provoking the emotional reaction in me that this one did. Like, god drat, it hit me like a ton of bricks... about five or six times. Feeble posted:Just finished it. I didn't cry but goddamn if I didn't come really close. I thought I'd be saying The Last of Us had the best story in gaming this year but that's over now. Gone Home all the way. You can add that to the list in the OP. gently caress, I can't stop smiling, why can't I stop smiling? Hard Clumping posted:I loving love this game and I can't wait to support anything they do in the future. Gone Home even convinced me to trudge through the hell of Games For Windows Live to finally play Minerva's Den, which was also excellent. Lilli posted:This was a really good game that I ended up crying over. First time that's actually happened to me while playing a game. Additional Information
TychoCelchuuu fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Dec 3, 2013 |
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Nov 22, 2012 21:33
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I'm gonna have to watch an LP of it...is there a good one out yet?
oh my god this game.
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I want this thing. Give me this thing. Why is this thing not in my computer yet? Seriously, it's uncommon that just a sentence or two about a game concept will grab my attention, especially one as simple as this, but this did it. I love incidental details in games and this looks like it's built around them. Since they only seem to mention it in one line between pics on their home page, this is scheduled for release 'sometime' in 2013.
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Nov 23, 2012 01:15
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Their facebook page says second half of '13.
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Nov 23, 2012 02:02
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I'm guessing the protagonist is female, otherwise he would be mysteriously absent from that portrait. Or you're Caspar, the friendly ghostbro.
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Nov 23, 2012 02:09
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The protagonist's name is "Katie" so that is another crucial clue.
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Nov 23, 2012 02:16
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I actually did spend a year in Japan, thankfully my family was still there when I got back! This game looks really interesting, I love games where you have to discover the background of the story yourself. There's a real sense of mystery/unknown that intrigues me. Any idea what the release price will be?
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Nov 23, 2012 02:23
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TychoCelchuuu posted:The protagonist's name is "Katie" so that is another crucial clue.  What could it mean? edit: ha maybe I should watch the trailer next time
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Nov 23, 2012 02:35
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So wait. You're telling me that there's a game that sounds a LOT like the best part of Shenmue, wandering through the Hazuki dojo and house and picking up random poo poo? I want this game. Give me this game.
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Nov 23, 2012 02:41
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EasternBronze posted:I actually did spend a year in Japan, thankfully my family was still there when I got back!
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Nov 23, 2012 03:24
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Sounds like a more open-ended Dear Esther than anything else.
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Nov 23, 2012 05:29
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Periodiko posted:Sounds like a more open-ended Dear Esther than anything else. This seems a lot more player driven though, telling a story using a video game as a medium in a way other forms of media can't. I find this really cool on that concept alone, can't wait to get my hands on it.
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Nov 23, 2012 07:47
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In today's episode of "encouraging headlines about this video game," Gone Home devs on player agency: “We all appreciate games that trust us as players.”
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Nov 27, 2012 03:52
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Goddamn this game looks fantastic and I want it now. I'm a sucker for exploration and I'm loving this setting. Also wasn't Minerva's Den the only good thing about Bioshock 2?
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Nov 27, 2012 04:00
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PonchAxis posted:Goddamn this game looks fantastic and I want it now. I'm a sucker for exploration and I'm loving this setting. Also wasn't Minerva's Den the only good thing about Bioshock 2? That and the drill moves but mainly just Minerva's Den. Also as evidenced by Idle Thumbs Steve Gaynor is a really smart dude who knows a thing or two about what makes a video game sweet or rad.
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Nov 27, 2012 04:02
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Oh wow, this is awesome. As much as I love art/experimental indie games that play with narrative, more traditional games that tell narrative better the usual method are great. I could totally use a version of Facade with picking stuff up instead of talking.
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Nov 27, 2012 23:29
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A 1up preview that is pretty positive.
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Nov 28, 2012 03:36
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I just read the eurogamer review and I thought it brought up a good point - it seems like the audio diaries really would remove the immersion and take away from actually exploring. I know it would be hard to flesh out the story otherwise, but I also know from previous games that it's totally going to take me out of the experience.
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Nov 28, 2012 22:37
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It's a goddamn shame that this game isn't an entire genre. The promise of 3D was that we would be able to actually interact intuitively with real worlds and it took until 2012 to start making good on that.
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Nov 28, 2012 22:41
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the black husserl posted:It's a goddamn shame that this game isn't an entire genre. The promise of 3D was that we would be able to actually interact intuitively with real worlds and it took until 2012 to start making good on that. Ever since Dear Ester became popular it kind of has become it's own genre. There much be a dozen games like this on Steam Greenlight at the moment. e: and so some extent the Penumbra/Amnesia games with the nice environmental interactivity bomblol posted:I just read the eurogamer review and I thought it brought up a good point - it seems like the audio diaries really would remove the immersion and take away from actually exploring. I know it would be hard to flesh out the story otherwise, but I also know from previous games that it's totally going to take me out of the experience. Well at least they're not actual audio diaries on tapes or some poo poo. Eurogamer posted:They're not explicitly called that, nor are they scattered around as tapes with exposition dumps, but early on the player finds Sam's diary in which we hear her read aloud that she misses her older sister and will record her memories as if she's talking to her Yodzilla fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Nov 28, 2012 |
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Nov 28, 2012 22:46
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Someone should make a version of The Last Express without the point and click.
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Nov 28, 2012 22:48
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Yodzilla posted:Ever since Dear Ester became popular it kind of has become it's own genre. There much be a dozen games like this on Steam Greenlight at the moment. One released game (which is basically a tech demo for the idea) and a dozen muddy sketches on Greenlight do not make for a "genre". It's like people complaining about there being too many "atmospheric platformers" because Limbo and Journey were both released in the past year. Two games is not exactly an oversaturated market.
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Nov 28, 2012 22:49
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Who was complaining? You said it was a shame it wasn't a genre and I said there are other games like this that could be coming out on Greenlight, one of which just did.
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Nov 28, 2012 22:52
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It would be nice if most of them weren't horror games.
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Nov 28, 2012 23:04
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the black husserl posted:It's a goddamn shame that this game isn't an entire genre. The promise of 3D was that we would be able to actually interact intuitively with real worlds and it took until 2012 to start making good on that. I don't think good designers know there's that much of a demand. Making one on the coding and modeling side of things is still an undertaking, but with the advent of Unity, it is easier to create this specific kind of game than ever. However, to make it good takes a lot of thought and careful design, something many games these days lack.
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Nov 28, 2012 23:09
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Dear Esteban was pretty cool.
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Nov 28, 2012 23:30
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bomblol posted:I just read the eurogamer review and I thought it brought up a good point - it seems like the audio diaries really would remove the immersion and take away from actually exploring. I know it would be hard to flesh out the story otherwise, but I also know from previous games that it's totally going to take me out of the experience. They've mentioned in interviews that there are going to be modifiers that you can turn on/off, including the audio diaries, I think. Seems like that aspect is only kind of half-formed at the moment.
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Nov 29, 2012 00:29
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Something about the preview for this game really grabbed me and now I'm looking forward to playing it. I'm in love with the concept. Has anything been said of how long it would take to get through the entire house, assuming you're a completionist and want to explore everything? Will there be any value to starting a new game, randomized artifacts/events or anything like that?
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Nov 29, 2012 11:48
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Steve Gaynor (lead developer of this) just got 5,000 twitter followers so he posted this screengrab of what he's working on:
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Dec 8, 2012 22:52
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IGF awards are up, and Gone Home is a finalist in the Narrative category with Honorable Mentions for the Audio and Grand Prize categories.
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Jan 7, 2013 18:21
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How can it be a finalist for any category if the game is six months out from release? Oh well, not going to complain, I just hope it's released soon.  Not since Shenmue has my desire to pick up oranges and thoroughly examine them been met.
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Jan 11, 2013 15:53
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Monaco won the IGF back in 2010. It's coming out this April.
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Jan 11, 2013 17:40
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Looks super interesting, but how can you have different middle sections of the game? How can you fail to find everything in the house assuming you have all the time in the world? Do things disappear? Time limit?Kunzelman posted:Dear Esteban was pretty cool. rizuhbull fucked around with this message at 17:52 on Jan 11, 2013 |
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Jan 11, 2013 17:49
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I think there's just a lot of stuff. Dear Esteban is not a Spanish mod for Dear Esther.
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Jan 11, 2013 17:54
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Latest dev blog about some family history one of the designers turned up while looking around her family's house for inspiration.
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Jan 18, 2013 21:52
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The game's artist working on some extremely '90s stuff:
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Jan 24, 2013 05:49
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I simultaneously want to play this game and never want to play this game, in the same way you might want to see something like Black Swan but after you see it you feel like somebody kicked you in the gut and you wonder just what made you want to see it in the first place.
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Jan 24, 2013 06:26
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VanSandman posted:I simultaneously want to play this game and never want to play this game, in the same way you might want to see something like Black Swan but after you see it you feel like somebody kicked you in the gut and you wonder just what made you want to see it in the first place. No, I'm pretty sure I wanted to see Black Swan and I enjoyed it, just like I want to play this game and I feel like I will enjoy this game. What the gently caress are you talking about?
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Jan 26, 2013 00:34
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New screenshot up for Screenshot Saturday.
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Feb 10, 2013 01:56
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Blog entry on their input system.
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Feb 15, 2013 18:15
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 05:03 |
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Important development update
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Feb 16, 2013 07:10
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