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a kitten posted:Oh wow, I missed that (I'm still missing a ton of stuff that's hidden in the Stanley Parable). Because they feel ripped off. Emotions are for queers, of course, therefore the super manly gamer crowd sees it as a game with no content. You just walk around, right!
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Oct 23, 2013 14:57
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The main issues people have with it are that they don't think it's a game, and they wanted a game; it's too short; it costs too much money (more than Daggerfall for instance); they are incapable of empathy, either generally or particularly for teenage girls in the 1990s.
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Oct 23, 2013 15:50
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TychoCelchuuu posted:(more than Daggerfall for instance) This is the loving best holy poo poo I guess no game should ever cost any money because Daggerfall is bigger than all of them
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Oct 23, 2013 15:59
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_jink posted:Sarah practically sobs her way though the last couple commentary nodes, that got totally intense @_@ The Rogue Squadron games did, but not in the same way.
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Oct 23, 2013 16:02
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Really good little game. I plan on playing through again with the commentary sometime in the future. I don't know if there's any significance to this, but did anyone else notice that all the VCRs were gone from under the TVs? There's just cables like somebody unplugged them. I'm thinking maybe I missed something. Also, a tiny little thing I noticed while going through the rooms again. If you go into Sam's room and turn on her desk light and then turn it off again you'll see glow in the dark stars on her ceiling. Yaaay! I spent almost the entire time playing this thinking the parents were up in their beds sleeping and here I was snooping around the house like some weirdo. Those little background noises made me jump because I thought they were my parents coming down to figure out what the hell I was doing. Bareback Werewolf fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Oct 23, 2013 |
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Oct 23, 2013 16:20
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SweetKarma posted:Really good little game. I plan on playing through again with the commentary sometime in the future. I don't know if there's any significance to this, but did anyone else notice that all the VCRs were gone from under the TVs? There's just cables like somebody unplugged them. I'm thinking maybe I missed something. Also, a tiny little thing I noticed while going through the rooms again. If you go into Sam's room and turn on her desk light and then turn it off again you'll see glow in the dark stars on her ceiling. Yaaay!
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Oct 23, 2013 16:38
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TychoCelchuuu posted:General consensus: Sam nabbed the VCRs and sold them to finance the whole 'run away and live with Lonnie' thing. Ah, okay that would make sense. I like that the developers took the time to think about little details like that.
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Oct 23, 2013 16:51
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The people who feel the need to vehemently defend this game by attacking the people who don't like it make threads about these types of games unreadable.
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Oct 23, 2013 17:45
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Rhinoceraptor posted:I love how far they've taken this Ghost Game joke. I'm probably the last person to have noticed this but on point, it took until the commentary for me to notice the Escape From Ghost Mansion board game in mom and dad's closet. Spoiler tagged just in case.
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Oct 23, 2013 17:45
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I look forward to listening to the commentary. Some of the developer discussion so far has been pretty fascinating, plus it gives me an excuse to toss the drawers and empty the fridge again. I took a screenshot of easter egg in The Stanley Parable if anyone cares.
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Oct 23, 2013 17:47
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Grabbed this last night and ran through it in one go. Loved it to death and I plan on going through it a again with the commentary on. One thing I enjoyed discovering: For a while, I felt bummed that there wasn't a whole lot of characterization of Katie (You.) This made sense, since she had been gone for so long and hadn't actually inhabited the house, but I was bummed when her bedroom wasn't even made up. It gave me very little to go on in terms of what she is like as a person, aside from being successful and the type of person to galavant around Europe for a year. Then I found her version of the reproductive writing assignment, and I realized exactly who she was and didn't need much else. In retrospect, that's fine since this is really Sam's story. I also had a nice moment where I read the crumpled up note that mentioned the attic before I had actually seen it, so it built up the suspense quite nicely with a good payoff once I actually saw the thing covered in christmas lights.
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Oct 23, 2013 18:19
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Fina posted:I look forward to listening to the commentary. Some of the developer discussion so far has been pretty fascinating, plus it gives me an excuse to toss the drawers and empty the fridge again. Whoa nice. Is it that dark in the game?
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Oct 23, 2013 18:40
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I was curious about this game, so I decided to read the steam discussion forums to get some opinions. That was a mistake. 
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Oct 23, 2013 19:30
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Ryuga Death posted:I was curious about this game, so I decided to read the steam discussion forums to get some opinions.
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Oct 23, 2013 20:01
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Feeble posted:What a foolish, foolish mistake you've made. You'll find no wretched hive of scum and villainy greater than those forums. How much did they spoil the game for you? Pretty much everything, plus most people's cruel opinions.
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Oct 23, 2013 20:07
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Ryuga Death posted:Pretty much everything, plus most people's cruel opinions. I would still consider playing it. Reading about it is one thing, but hearing the voicework that goes behind the journal entries really sells a lot of what's happening.
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Oct 23, 2013 20:10
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I bought this yesterday, and 18 hours later I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it's a brilliantly constructed experiment in game narrative. While the story wasn't super complex, it was told in such a way that I genuinely cared about all the people in it. They did a great job building the atmosphere. However, that's where my one problem with the game comes from. From the very beginning it had the atmosphere and tone of a psychological/paranormal thriller but it turned out to be a touching and well done coming-of-age story. I'm all for playing with expectations, but to me, it just crossed the line into bait-and-switch. I got to the end, and I smiled, because it seemed like everything (might have) worked out, and the people I had grown to care about looked like they were going to be OK, but then I almost immediately frowned, because the oppressive atmosphere had been telling me that something horrible had happened, but then there was no payoff. Everything was fine. It doesn't help that on my first playthrough I missed the room with Oscar's safe. That might have satisfied my horrible things quotient. Other than that, I think it's a great game. I hope Fullbright does more things and other people do things that are like it without being derivative.
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Oct 23, 2013 20:13
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ja2ke posted:Whoa nice. Is it that dark in the game? Yeah, it's hidden off in some dark corner.
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Oct 23, 2013 20:29
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This is kinda cool, if you have Amnesia you can now play the original Gone Home prototype: http://frictionalgames.blogspot.se/2013/10/gone-home-amnesia-edition.html
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Oct 23, 2013 21:08
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Max posted:I would still consider playing it. Reading about it is one thing, but hearing the voicework that goes behind the journal entries really sells a lot of what's happening. I second this. I've played through the game numerous times, and will go through again just to relive the atmosphere, the voice acting, etc. Plus, Fullbright have said before (I think in an RPC or PCGamer article) that they'd love to patch in some additional flavour text. I'll gladly rummage through some strangers' drawers again for that.
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Oct 23, 2013 22:40
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I spoiled everything about this game beforehand and still enjoyed it, it's a cute little game with a well put together story and it doesn't outstay its welcome at all. It's about the length of a feature length movie which is appropriate for a game of its type I think. It probably works best on sentimental people.
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Oct 24, 2013 00:19
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TychoCelchuuu posted:General consensus: Sam nabbed the VCRs and sold them to finance the whole 'run away and live with Lonnie' thing. What's really special about Gone Home, I think, is that this would be pretty boring on any other medium. We're so not used to seeing low-stakes young adult fiction in games that it becomes a sea-change.
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Oct 24, 2013 00:41
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Wolfgang Pauli posted:What's really special about Gone Home, I think, is that this would be pretty boring on any other medium. We're so not used to seeing low-stakes young adult fiction in games that it becomes a sea-change. For all the complaints about how this is "basically a movie", the interactive and somewhat non-linear way the story is presented makes it a lot more compelling and personal than it would be in another medium. You could ostensibly convey all the same information, down to the very subtle details, in a novella or short film, but it wouldn't be the same experience at all.
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Oct 24, 2013 00:44
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I avoided most media about this game, and I started up this game last night and was completely rapt and didnt stop til I got to the attic. I didnt want to go up there, I was afraid of what I'd find. But I did it anyway.  Sam you nearly gave me a heart attack. I cried at the end. Its a bittersweet ending, with an uncertain future, but that's always the case. So many mixed emotions about the end. Happiness? Relief? Elation? Sadness? Ugh feeeeelings! Coming out and dealing with the fallout is such a loaded issue for me, and I'm glad this story dealt with it well. I mean it's been many years since I've had to deal with it, but it's still got me hyperventillating and tense just going through Sam's journal. And it looks like I'll be playing again with developer commentary and try to get all the journal entries this time. Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Oct 24, 2013 |
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Oct 24, 2013 01:47
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Wolfgang Pauli posted:What's the consensus on the parents' bedroom? It's just the mom's side that was tossed. I also figured that they just took the VCR and SNES with them because they're kids and that's what's important to them. I assumed that the parents' bedroom had been ransacked for money and clothes for the road.
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Oct 24, 2013 03:32
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There's every indication that the parents also left in a hurry for their "anniversary trip" which was kinda planned at the last minute, so they probably made a mess packing up stuff. That or they're just huge slobs.
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Oct 24, 2013 03:43
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I finished this in one sitting last night. Given that it's only a couple of hours tops, I don't think it's really worth the full retail price, but I grabbed it when it was half price on steam and I felt pretty happy with that purchase. I think any game that has me desperately rushing to the attic and then utterly terrified to look around it purely out of concern for what my fictional sister might have done is a good game in my book. I was so relieved I didn't just find her hanging by a noose in the attic that I didn't really mind that she'd made a pretty dumb decision. The devs have said that their next game won't just be Gone Home in a different house, but it won't abandon the style of gameplay they developed in Gone Home either, so I'm looking forward to that. Maybe a police detective game? I enjoyed the parts of the game that were more about your own detective work and less about having Katie tell the next bit of her story to you, like how the parents tell Sam they were going on a camping trip but you find a couples counselling course leaflet in the greenhouse. I totally missed Oscar's child abuse plot though, which made the Dad's writing (especially the last novel where the character goes back in time to save himself instead of JFK) go from a funny joke about shlocky sci-fi novels to absolutely heartbreaking.
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Oct 24, 2013 08:39
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I like that everything is up to interpretation when you finish the game. Nothing has a neat and tidy ending, but nothing is even remotely close to hopeless. Things could work out for your mom, your dad, and your sister, or things might fall apart. It really helps with the feeling of reality in the story because that's exactly how life works for most people.
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Oct 24, 2013 10:43
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Red Bones posted:I finished this in one sitting last night. Given that it's only a couple of hours tops, I don't think it's really worth the full retail price, but I grabbed it when it was half price on steam and I felt pretty happy with that purchase. I missed the part about the dad being abused by Oscar my first go around as well. I had gotten into the safe and read the letter to his sister, but I missed Oscar's letter in the dad's desk (I had the interaction text and highlights turned off.) I didn't understand what people were talking about at first until I went through again and found the worn out letter from Oscar congratulating your dad on his marriage.
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Oct 24, 2013 13:31
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Oh my god the developer commentary is great. Touches on all aspects of the game, the characters, writing, the period, research, art direction, sound development, the origin of Christmas Duck. Sam's voice actor Sarah Grayson is talking about one of Sam's journals 'Dedication' and talking about how affected she was by that one entry that she basically burst out crying reading through it, then again at the recording session. Then as she's talking about this in the commentary about why it affected her so much she starts crying again then yells "Dammit I knew this would happen!"  Also: Also UGH this is crazy. I cant stop thinking about this story since I finished it last night, then I went through it again tonight with the commentary on and I cant help wondering what their future is but then I'm worrying about two fictional characters and goddammit compelling characters and immersion! Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 14:26 on Oct 24, 2013 |
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Oct 24, 2013 14:01
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I picked this up during the sale and I really liked it. I'm looking forward to playing through it again sometime with the developer commentary. I'm just going to spoiler the rest of my comments just to keep from spoiling ANY bit of fun for anyone else who might play it . . . Is the player supposed to think the game is a horror game at first? Because I totally did and was terrified to enter each room for quite awhile. I actually felt relief when I walked into that bathroom with "blood" on the bathtub because I was like "YES I knew something awful and scary was going on! . . . " Then I picked up the bottle of course . . .  Well OK there was one scary part: the part where you're in the first room of Oscar's. I picked up the crucifix absent-mindedly and the light popped out and wouldn't come back on aaaaaaaaaaaaah
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Oct 25, 2013 04:33
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HondaCivet posted:I picked this up during the sale and I really liked it. I'm looking forward to playing through it again sometime with the developer commentary. I'm just going to spoiler the rest of my comments just to keep from spoiling ANY bit of fun for anyone else who might play it . . . I think you're definitely supposed to be on edge - it's a dark, unfamiliar, empty house during a thunderstorm. Encountering that in real life would be quite scary, I think. The crucifix jump-scare, as well as the bathtub and the "OH NO GOTTA GET THE ATTIC" are the "payoff" for the foreboding atmosphere.
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Oct 25, 2013 04:39
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HondaCivet posted:I picked this up during the sale and I really liked it. I'm looking forward to playing through it again sometime with the developer commentary. I'm just going to spoiler the rest of my comments just to keep from spoiling ANY bit of fun for anyone else who might play it . . . I think we're conditioned by games to think 'Oh and abandoned spooky house!' and be scared shitless. I know I definitely jumped when I came around corners and saw shapes but oh, its just a pot. That lightning and thunder and creaking though.  Finished the game yet? And yes, that drat bathtub and crucifix! AAAAA ITS THE CURSE OF THE GHOST! Then I really creeped myself out by looking at the ouija board answers, then found out Sam and Lonnie had already gone and exorcised him. Hah. I was just thinking further today about the end and what they might do to support themselves when I realized that Lonnie is really a talented and artistic girl! Pretty good at drawing and is a lead singer. The visions of horrible disaster has kind of given way to the both of them doing their best at their band work, art and writing and do really well for themselves. Dammit, I still cant stop thinking about this game. They've really gotten into my head and the commentary just confirmed that a lot of love and work went into the game. That's a really good job. Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Oct 25, 2013 |
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Oct 25, 2013 04:40
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SynthOrange posted:I think we're conditioned by games to think 'Oh and abandoned spooky house!' and be scared shitless. I know I definitely jumped when I came around corners and saw shapes but oh, its just a pot. That lightning and thunder and creaking though. There are a few other spots where the game tries to play up our expectations, and we -- despite all logical signs to the contrary -- bite and become nervous. Well, I did, at least. With regards to your spoiler point: There's also the Phaedrus flyer (for the Brother 150) underneath Sam's bed. Lonnie may not be able to parlay a tinkering career into one of a garage-owner, but she may have the know-how to keep their car running until they decide where to settle.
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Oct 25, 2013 06:20
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I went through Gone Home in about 75 or so minutes a couple of nights ago. It kinda got under my skin in some ways because some of the stuff Sam does reminds me of my own sister a lot, which made it more effective in some ways, less effective in others. The part where you walk in to the bathroom and see the red stuff in the bath tub freaked me out a little more than it should've even though it was obviously not actually blood from the second you saw it, but the ending felt like it was supposed to be really uplifting but all I could think was "man this didn't end well when stuff like this happened in real life ", and I felt mad at the writers for what felt like...sugarcoating, I guess?Overall I think it was pretty cool. I was kinda more interested in the dad's story than Sam's, I think an alternate version of the game where you got audio entries for the mom and dad would be interesting to...walk through? I don't really want to say "play" here, this is less of a game than a lot of visual novels I've gone through. Making an experience that is just the whole "audio/text logs plus detailed level design to tell a story" thing that you see in stuff like the *Shock games, Fallout, some of the levels in Vampire: Bloodlines, and other similar games is a pretty interesting thing to do, I wouldn't mind seeing more stuff like it. The level design got a little ridiculous as it went on with some of the personal nature of the notes found in weird places, though I guess that's the central conceit of the design and sort of unavoidable.
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Oct 25, 2013 07:31
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Aw poo poo no wonder this game hit so many notes with me. Sam's only a year younger than me. Wait now I feel old and young simultaneously. This is weird.
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Oct 25, 2013 12:07
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If this game had a boxed release and was rated AO, someone born when it was set could buy it.
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Oct 25, 2013 14:07
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HondaCivet posted:Is the player supposed to think the game is a horror game at first? Because I totally did and was terrified to enter each room for quite awhile. Everything about the game says this was intentional in my opinion, they intended from the beginning to pull a little bait and switch action.
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Oct 25, 2013 16:00
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The one weird thing about the fake blood stains in the bathtub is that it implies Sam hasn't bathed in like, six months.
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Oct 25, 2013 16:47
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cbirdsong posted:The one weird thing about the fake blood stains in the bathtub is that it implies Sam hasn't bathed in like, six months. I took like ok we dyed my hair once, that was fun! Let's do it a lot now.
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Oct 25, 2013 16:50
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