BA6 - CS Dear Esther

Analyzing Dear Esther

Dear Esther was originally a Half-life 2 mod and is now a fully fledged game.  It is a first person mystery, ghost story game created by thechineseroom.

http://dear-esther.com/?page_id=2

This is a game that adapts existing mechanics (Half-life 2) for new purposes (Dear Esther).

Entertainment

The game is entertaining as you are exploring both the world and the narrative story.  At the beginning  you are trying to piece together what is happening - starting with where you are; you have no idea where you are, why you're there or exactly how you got there. Although it is indicated as there is a boat behind you when you start off.  You try to work out whether the narrative are letters or pieces of information to you from someone you know or if you are recalling your own memories, as each "entry starts with 'Dear Esther' and parts of the narrative are given out at specific times relating to the action you are doing e.g. climbing up the slope to the house in chapter 1 and gazing into the giant hole in chapter 2.  You also don't fully know what the narrative is on about or relating to as you know nothing about who is talking, yourself or anything prior to this situation.  Throughout exploring the island, you come across chemical and alchemy symbols as well as objects like ultra sound photos, medical equipment etc that make no/little sense to you and the narrative does not help to explain it either.  You are forced to piece everything together; both what you see/find and the narrative.  Mystery is the big key, the big mechanic here and it is the reason why you keep playing, to unfold the story.  It is the mystery that is the main entertainment factor in this game.

Ethics

There are no moral principles or ideas given in the game.  There is nothing going for or against ethics in the game as society and its themes/aspects are not involved in this game.  The themes in this game are impartial.

Social Responsibility

As the player, you can act independently and not have your decisions in the game influenced by authorization and society.  You explore the island and you choose where you want to go - where there are multiple paths to choose and places to investigate.  You can then go on to make your own decision about the situation with the information you gather that is not influenced by external factors in the game world.

Realism

Visually it is realistic; a realistic island off the English channel.  It is also seemingly realistic as you venture around the island and discover new pieces of information.  There are little things leading up to the end that are not realistic e.g. when you walk into the water there are no splashes or ripples from your interaction with the water, and you can not hear or see your footsteps in the ground or sand when you walk.  Also, sometimes you think you will see a figure of man standing in certain areas and then the figure will disappear.  The topics and information discussed from the narrative are also realistic, even if it makes little sense up until the end.  The ending is unrealistic after you jump off of the tower.

Social Realism

There aren't any statements, influences or points to class, society or any political agenda for you to relate to or question.  The story is about a dying mans last actions and his feeling and experiences which is not related to the game world and real worlds society in any way.  It is more about having information that is impartial that is presented to the player for them to experience and to have their own view of the situation and experience they are having.