IGF-Nominated 'Half-Life 2' Mod 'Dear Esther' Gets a Trailer

The Chinese Room's moody first-person exploration game goes for atmosphere, scenery in this trailer.

More than anything else, this narrated trailer left me feeling on the outside looking in: indie developer The Chinese Room has obviously created a series of gorgeous vistas that evoke melancholy and a desire to explore (as the camera scrolls down a path, I want it to go left, or maybe right). At the same time, I want to know what it's all about and what the "challenge" in the experience is, which, from the description below is obviously not the point in this game which is taking the broader view of "play" in terms of exploring, bending, and breaking the rules of your game space.

Here's how The Chinese Room describe Dear Esther:

“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 will be available through Steam on February 14th and you can put it on your wishlist now.

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Tags Dear Esther, Half-Life 2, The Chinese Room