mikemariano

Gone Home from The Fullbright Company

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Does it matter if the big budget, top down developed games don't directly aim to achieve more muted, mature or worthy goals if beautiful worlds are generated regardless? Skyim is a failure narratively and many systems are simply terrible (why do you want me to forge a trillion daggers?) but every inch of that world is beautifully crafted by shear brute force. No matter how trivial making geometry becomes it will always take a huge team to create a world that massive and detailed with such a strong sense of history. I think I'm comfortable taking what I want from games and excusing the crap, for the time being.

I'm excited for the potential of the 'narrative installation' genre of games and art more broadly. Imagine a generation of game designers and fine/visual artists growing up with exposure to Gone Home, Dear Ester and 30 Flights. That has to influence the development of both mediums in profound ways.

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 I just think that it would be interesting and bold for the designers of Gone Home to choose to not include any explicit objectives or win state in the game.

 

Hmm maybe I should poast in this thread!

 

We kind of ride the line. There are literally no objectives stated in the game, but these is also a central story spine that pulls you through the house. You make progress by unlocking more parts of the house and finding later points in the story. It does have an ending, which occurs when you open up the last area and find the last point of the story. Credits roll. But no objectives ever told you where to go or what to look for.

 

That said, we also have optional Modifiers on a New Game, allowing you to do things like starting the game with all the doors unlocked, or turning off audio diaries so you discover the story purely through observing things you find, without any voiceover, if that's what you want. With these modifiers on, it becomes a true sandbox, where you're free to explore in any order you want, and find whatever you want, without any kind of implicit guidance.

 

So, yeah. It's kind of both, or either. Up to you.

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Hmm maybe I should poast in this thread!

 

We kind of ride the line. There are literally no objectives stated in the game, but these is also a central story spine that pulls you through the house. You make progress by unlocking more parts of the house and finding later points in the story. It does have an ending, which occurs when you open up the last area and find the last point of the story. Credits roll. But no objectives ever told you where to go or what to look for.

 

That said, we also have optional Modifiers on a New Game, allowing you to do things like starting the game with all the doors unlocked, or turning off audio diaries so you discover the story purely through observing things you find, without any voiceover, if that's what you want. With these modifiers on, it becomes a true sandbox, where you're free to explore in any order you want, and find whatever you want, without any kind of implicit guidance.

 

So, yeah. It's kind of both, or either. Up to you.

 

That is EXACTLY what I want.  A general direction to move in, but the freedom to decide if and how I want to do it without someone literally pointing the way for me.  You just made a shitty day at work much less shitty.  Best.

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Why is there always a dead body in the final room?

Or maybe it'll be a surprise birthday party!

scott%2021st%20surprise%20birthday%20par

SURPRISE! Credits roll

(Can't tell if fancy dress or just 80's)

Sorry I don't really know anything about this game, although I did watch that fridge video... I know nothing about this game.

Is it a horror game? I'm guessing its not? Although unfamiliar empty house at night time is kinda spooky. Are you worried that people will think its a horror game? Which would be totally alright if it is a horror game. But is it a horror game though? Ain't you glad I didn't come to your GDC booth

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It is not a horror game, but it is a spooky game, kind of, in the way that being in a dark house alone is irrationally unsettling. But it is not a horror story and there are no monsters that will jump out at you or whatever. There will be no dead bodies in the game.

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There will be no dead bodies in the game.

... but your own.

GONE HOME COMING SOON

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I watched a little trailer. Now am thinking the games about child abuse. Some Fritzl shit has been going down in that basement.

The night is dark and full of terrors

Is cthulhu in the attic?

(Its weird, because its a video game my mind instantly always travels to the extreme dark places, I see a dark empty house and instantly think silent hill. I've never experienced subtlety in a game like this before, its always some grotesque flesh monster and a dead body in the last room)

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... but your own.GONE HOME COMING SOON

I think we're saving that for the prequel 'Going Home', right Steve?

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Gone Home Launch Trailer Script WIP

EXT. HOUSE HOME

The Gone Home sits on a hill, foreboding (potentially even fiveboding). Lightning flashes. Spooky music is playing.

HOT SCOOPS (V.O.)

There will be no dead bodies...

INT. HOME

The camera flies through a dark, empty corridor in the Gone Home.

HOT SCOOPS (V.O.)

...except the ones you create.

INT. HOME

First person footage from the perspective of the player, armed with a rocket launcher, as the player blows apart enemies. Drowning Pool's Let the Bodies Hit the Floor plays at maximum volume.

Cut to TITLE CARD:

GONE HOME

2013

FULLBRIGHT COMPANY

Drowning Pool cuts out abruptly and is replaced with the opening notes of a Riot grrrl song for 4 seconds before the trailer ends.

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Gone Home's a pretty cool guy. Eh has no dead bodies and doesn't afraid of anything.

 

So, yeah. It's kind of both, or either. Up to you.

 

Interesting! Now I'll have to decide which mode to play first...

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Someone needs to cut this together and release it as a trailer...

Find tape in draw, places it in cassette player, presses play, DROWNING POOL, goes down stairs and plays with the fridge for 10 mins. Title card GONE HOME 2013 something's got to give

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Gone Home Launch Trailer Script WIP

EXT. HOUSE HOME

The Gone Home sits on a hill, foreboding (potentially even fiveboding). Lightning flashes. Spooky music is playing.

HOT SCOOPS (V.O.)

There will be no dead bodies...

INT. HOME

The camera flies through a dark, empty corridor in the Gone Home.

HOT SCOOPS (V.O.)

...except the ones you create.

INT. HOME

First person footage from the perspective of the player, armed with a rocket launcher, as the player blows apart enemies. Drowning Pool's Let the Bodies Hit the Floor plays at maximum volume.

Cut to TITLE CARD:

GONE HOME

2013

FULLBRIGHT COMPANY

Drowning Pool cuts out abruptly and is replaced with the opening notes of a Riot grrrl song for 4 seconds before the trailer ends.

 

If this game were secretly a Call of Duty style FPS, it would be the greatest troll in the history of video games.

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If this game were secretly a Call of Duty style FPS, it would be the greatest troll in the history of video games.

 

And then Leigh Alexander will cry some more.

 

Someone should make a mod for Gone Home called "Game" which litters the house with guns, med kits and bad guys.

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That said, we also have optional Modifiers on a New Game, allowing you to do things like starting the game with all the doors unlocked, or turning off audio diaries so you discover the story purely through observing things you find, without any voiceover, if that's what you want. With these modifiers on, it becomes a true sandbox, where you're free to explore in any order you want, and find whatever you want, without any kind of implicit guidance.

So, yeah. It's kind of both, or either. Up to you.

I'm curious, since some of these modifier could be turned on and off whenever, is there a special reason for only allowing them to be tweaked when starting a new game?

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And then Leigh Alexander will cry some more.

 

Someone should make a mod for Gone Home called "Game" which litters the house with guns, med kits and bad guys.

Don't forget crates!

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I'm curious, since some of these modifier could be turned on and off whenever, is there a special reason for only allowing them to be tweaked when starting a new game?

 

The ones that are new game only are ones that fundamentally change how the game is played. Also some of them would be very problematic to change mid-game. Such as "all doors unlocked" or "all lights start on." It would be very easy to get yourself locked inside a room or lost in the middle of a completely dark basement with no way to orient yourself if you toggled these mid-game.

 

Going from that, other stuff like disabling the map or disabling audio diaries fits conceptually more into this "you're changing how the game is played" scheme than does toggling it midgame. But some stuff that's currently on new game only could get moved into a mid-game toggle if it's supportable and makes sense. We'll see.

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It had never occurred to me until this thread how good/terrible it would be if the family's last name in the game was "Gone." Worst/best/ :barf:

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It had never occurred to me until this thread how good/terrible it would be if the family's last name in the game was "Gone." Worst/best/ :barf:

 

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-Thanks Jake. Thanks for pointing that out. It's ok though, because the family's actual last name is Goldblum.

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Yeah the additional sibling pack, this pack adds an annoying little brother to the family. pre order today to unlock an additional room to explore full of smelly sucks, TMNT figures and a pet tarantula. Can you discover all 52 retro porn playing cards?

Also includes a golden Riot Grrrl cassette skin + will.i.am remixes of the entire 90s soundtrack!!

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Make sure to shop around various stores to figure out which retailer-exclusive pre-order alternate couch fabric you want unlocked in your game!

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