Dear Esther, a modification for Half-Life 2, was released in 2008 and picked up a rather large cult following. Why? Well, let's start with some quick background information about the mod.
After a few years, the team was given a license to turn the mod into a full commercial product, with Valve's blessing. The team has spent the past three years giving a complete overhaul to their mod and it was recently that they realized that it had become so much more than they had originally envisioned. Thusly, the idea for a commercial release was born.
The game's environments are being created under Robert Briscoe's (Mirror's Edge) and a few early technical trailers were released to show off some of the game's improved visual splendor.
More information of the game can be found at the official website. Indie Fund is also supporting the development of Dear Esther, so check them out here.
“A deserted island… a lost man… memories of a fatal crash… a book written by a dying explorer.”
Dear Esther is a ghost story, told using first-person gaming technologies. Rather than traditional game-play the focus here is on exploration, uncovering the mystery of the island, of who you are and why you are here. Fragments of story are randomly uncovered when exploring the various locations of the island, making every each journey a unique experience. Dear Esther features a stunning, specially commissioned soundtrack from Jessica Curry.
Forget the normal rules of play; if nothing seems real here, it’s because it may just be all a delusion. What is the significance of the aerial – What happened on the motorway – is the island real or imagined – who is Esther and why has she chosen to summon you here? The answers are out there, on the lost beach and the tunnels under the island. Or then again, they may just not be, after all…
Dear Esther is a ghost story, told using first-person gaming technologies. Rather than traditional game-play the focus here is on exploration, uncovering the mystery of the island, of who you are and why you are here. Fragments of story are randomly uncovered when exploring the various locations of the island, making every each journey a unique experience. Dear Esther features a stunning, specially commissioned soundtrack from Jessica Curry.
Forget the normal rules of play; if nothing seems real here, it’s because it may just be all a delusion. What is the significance of the aerial – What happened on the motorway – is the island real or imagined – who is Esther and why has she chosen to summon you here? The answers are out there, on the lost beach and the tunnels under the island. Or then again, they may just not be, after all…
After a few years, the team was given a license to turn the mod into a full commercial product, with Valve's blessing. The team has spent the past three years giving a complete overhaul to their mod and it was recently that they realized that it had become so much more than they had originally envisioned. Thusly, the idea for a commercial release was born.
The game's environments are being created under Robert Briscoe's (Mirror's Edge) and a few early technical trailers were released to show off some of the game's improved visual splendor.
More information of the game can be found at the official website. Indie Fund is also supporting the development of Dear Esther, so check them out here.