Dear Esther... Stunning!

Faztastic said:
this will make you laugh.

First of all whats with the word damascus? why is the capital of syria being mentioned.. which let me remind you is at this moment of time on verge of civil war, it said on the wall "damascus is now a ruined heap"

there was all electronic diagrams written on walls and at one point in chapter 3 you get a flash into a city submerged in water by weston super maire.

I couldnt help but think, this man has survived an end of world / ww3 scenario?
Uk under water.... Damascus in a ruined heap (nuke)

His girl esther died and he doesnt want to be alone anymore so jumped.. he turned into a seagull suggesting he was now free.

and basically he was explaining what happend in a fancy way?

LOL seriously confused, but i suppose thats what it wants you to feel!
Click to expand...
If you pretty much regard everything in a metaphorical sense, then you can get an idea of what is going on in the story. A person's thoughts that mirror mine:
The island is a metaphor (every man an island). The shipwrecked ships are the regretted memories washed ashore, further explicated by the letters turned paper ships brought in by the tide. Narrator uses his kidney stone issue as a metaphor for building the island from stones grown in his stomach. Stones in the stomach representing guilt. Apparently he is brimming with it, though never explicitly stated. He has a peculiar first hand knowledge of the accident that apparently claimed Esther's life. He has a peculiar interest in proving that Jacobson is dysfunctional and possibly a drunk. Why does he hate Jacobson so much? He references a drunk as being the cause of Esther death on the motorway that he knows WAY too much about. I think this is the last moments of a man with many regrets but one that has haunted him in particular. He has never forgotten Esther, a woman who died in a motorway accident that he was involved in.

Definitely an unreliable narrator who is very confused about what is happening. Donnely and Jacobson are likely projections of the narrator's faults pre and post accident.
Click to expand...

The circuit diagrams are of anti-brake locking systems and some of the chemical molecule diagrams represent alcohol/ethanol or variations thereof. These can represent two of the possible causes for the car crash that ultimately ended in Esther's demise.

It can be theorised that Paul Jacobson, who probably caused the death of Esther, is being linked to Paul the Apostle, who travelled to Damascus and was rendered blind by Jesus (for the persecution of Jesus' disciples) and cured by 'Ananias of Damascus', whereby he converted to being an apostle and forgiven for past sins. This is probably Jacobson's wishes for forgiveness of Ester's death which lies very heavily on his mind. If I had some of the speeches on hand, I could probably link them.

The ending fading to a black screen is deliberate and not a bug (confirmed by project lead 'Dan Pinchbeck'), which most likely signifies the death of the player's character, suggesting that he was either wallowing in guilt over the death of Esther as he died of old age, or the kidney stones were meant both in a literal and metaphorical sense.

It is not at all clear which character the player represents, further widening the scope for interpretation.

IMO, in the end, how much you look into the storyline mirrors how much you get from the game - almost like a juxtaposition to the story's non-literal interpretation.
 
If you play it through several times you get different incidental voice overs i.e. first time I played through there was nothing that touched on the diagrams on the walls, clicked on the last section to replay a bit earlier and got 2-3 narrations that touched on the subject.

Pretty much every line is a metaphor and some seem at first unconnected to the others in the same sentence.

I don't think the player plays as Paul as in some dialogs it mentions going to see Paul and trying to find the scene of the accident from the perspective of someone who wasn't there at the time - although at other points it contradicts this and mentions gathering ashes from the scene of the accident. I think some of the confusion is deliberate to show someone in their final hour semi-delirious and not quite sure what is real and unreal any more
 
Last edited:
I was shocked when I came to the end of the game after only playing for just over an hour.

That said I've gone through some areas a 2nd/3rd time to witness the changes. But that said, they're so subtle I didn't find the revisits particularly rewarding...

Did I enjoy it? Oh yes!

Was it worth the money? Possibly, but I'd suggest people wait tills it's on offer at Steam...
 
kmetek said:
What exactly is point of game? :D
Click to expand...

Think of it as an interactive movie. You walk along a route through an island and hear snippets of dialogue, see various items on you way, and also see some rather good scenery.

It is not a game, but more an emotive experience.

IMHO it would be worth picking up when it's a bit cheaper. And I hope they produce more of the same, but with a deeper experience and more replayability.
 
PermaBanned said:

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Sounds like he didn't want to like it, and achieve that very well.

It is incredibly subtle and indeed only lasts just over an hour or so. BUT, it is original and at times quite moving.

I'd suggest people wait for it to drop in price and then pick it up knowing that it will only last 1-2hrs most likely for them.
 
I wouldn't really call it and interactive movie, it's kind of like saying the books on my kindle are interactive books because I have to press a button to make the pages turn.

Basically, walk around and you get random bits of text and voice acting.

Personally, it's not for me, bored me to tears!
 
AHarvey said:
I wouldn't really call it and interactive movie, it's kind of like saying the books on my kindle are interactive books because I have to press a button to make the pages turn.

Basically, walk around and you get random bits of text and voice acting.

Personally, it's not for me, bored me to tears!
Click to expand...

Out of interest... Did you see any of the 'ghosts'?
 
no, I only got about 15 minutes in.

I am 100% behind story telling in a game, however, this is lacking any type of game for me, it's all story.
 
AHarvey said:
no, I only got about 15 minutes in.

I am 100% behind story telling in a game, however, this is lacking any type of game for me, it's all story.
Click to expand...

It is very subtle... I'll give you that :)

I've probably played it thru twice...

The ghosts are there to be seen from the moment you start and in a couple of other places too. You can even see death/the grim reaper too...
 
The guy who made this, Dan Pinchbeck, was my lecturer at uni. He was my favourite lecturer and needless to say I got a 1st in his unit.
 
Just watched the trailer on their website, the voice sounds like fngmagnolia's ramblings :D
 
Really like the looks of this from what I've seen online. Will probably pick it up when I've built a PC capable of gaming. (Laptops are never going to win any favour from me).
 
Raventu said:
Really like the looks of this from what I've seen online. Will probably pick it up when I've built a PC capable of gaming. (Laptops are never going to win any favour from me).
Click to expand...

I'd still recommend waiting till it reduces down a few pounds, as it really is just 1-2hrs for most folks.
 
Loved every minute of it, some really jaw dropping moments, great music too. It's not a game but an experience.

Also impressive what can be achieved using HL2 engine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom