Tanukitsune Posted August 20, 2013 Who are these people who will drop 20 bucks on a game they know nothing about? Reading anything about what it is would dispell so many misconceptions about what it is. I'm pretty sure there are games that depend on impulse buys, I've also seen the same complaint on Proteus and all the more narrative games mentioned before and I'm pretty sure Hate Plus will get the same hate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barmecide Posted August 20, 2013 Eagerly looking forward to picking this up when I have money again at the end of the month. I posted about this on one of my country's local forums, and the response has been... underwhelming, basically fluctuating between "It's not a game" to "It's a game, but a $2-3 game". What can you do? Otherwise, this one's for Steve: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nappi Posted August 20, 2013 I'm unable to play things like Amnesia and Slender, because I'm a big baby when it comes to horror games. Still, I decided to give Gone Home a go despite it being a notorious ghost game. I'm so glad I did. What a great experience. Congrats Steve et al.! You can be proud! This game is worth $20 for Sam's menstrual cycle story alone.Also, the lights around the attic hatch were a masterful touch. Furthermore: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sclpls Posted August 20, 2013 I take two things from some of the negativity. One, some people just aren't at a point in their lives where something like this will resonate. I felt increasingly horrible for Katie's dad, partially because that's a lot closer to my fears. I can't expect some 17 year old CoDBlops fan, for who video games are a kind of sport to relate to a sense that you're passed mid-career and it's just not working. Two, there is probably something worth considering in the complaints, if not the specific idiot complaints themselves. I have really loved some of these pure narrative games Dear Esther, 30 Flights, Gone Home, but I feel there is some validity to questioning the push/pull of pure narrative and interactivity. These are both excellent points. There have been a ton of books that I read in jr. high school/high school, and didn't appreciate at the time, but felt really deep to me when I went back to them in my late 20s after having gained a little bit of life experience. I also think it is really easy to dismiss some of the criticisms because of how inarticulate so many of them are, but ultimately if someone didn't have a good experience with a game they should feel free to say so. The other day I got chewed out on another message board for linking to an AV Club article that expressed a lot of my dissatisfaction with the show Breaking Bad, and of course I was called an idiot in a dozen different ways. It's okay to not like some critically acclaimed work, and it doesn't mean that person is an idiot for not liking it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juv3nal Posted August 20, 2013 some people just aren't at a point in their lives where something like this will resonate. I felt increasingly horrible for Katie's dad, partially because that's a lot closer to my fears. I can't expect some 17 year old CoDBlops fan, for who video games are a kind of sport to relate to a sense that you're passed mid-career and it's just not working. I don't know about this. I mean what you say is obviously true, but on some level games are so often about taking on a role that is very different from our real lives. I've never been a space marine or wizard (well, that I can tell you guys about. real wizards have to pinky swear not to talk about it. it's like fight club.), for instance, but I'm able to relate to the challenges they face. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tegan Posted August 20, 2013 But in those cases it's because their experiences are entirely fictitious. The life of a wizard could involve literally anything, because there's no such thing as wizards.* Even if those characters are vastly different from a real person they're accountable to absolutely nothing in reality. Plus, unlike Gone Home, it's pretty rare that a game would focus on the emotional or mental state of a wizard or a space marine character to any extent. *like "magic missile, spectral blade, improved spectral blade" wizards. All "real" wizards are just weird Alan Moore-ish guys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juv3nal Posted August 20, 2013 But in those cases it's because their experiences are entirely fictitious. The life of a wizard could involve literally anything, because there's no such thing as wizards.* *like "magic missile, spectral blade, improved spectral blade" wizards. All "real" wizards are just weird Alan Moore-ish guys. Exactly what a member of the inner cabal of the wizarding-industrial complex conspiracy would be required to say. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coods Posted August 20, 2013 Exactly what a member of the inner cabal of the wizarding-industrial complex conspiracy would be required to say. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Erkki Posted August 20, 2013 I was having mouse problems as well (I recently bought a cheap RF mouse to replace a broken one and it sucks), turning off mouse acceleration and sticky targetting helped a lot, because those amplified the crappy mouse issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jintor Posted August 20, 2013 You can turn it off in the menu though. I could what the who Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TychoCelchuuu Posted August 21, 2013 I could what the whoFurther details will be forthcoming in my Gone Home tweak guide that I plan to publish within the week - this game definitely demands max FPS and pin point accurate control. If you don't squeeze every last frame out of this thing you're going to be at a serious disadvantage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nappi Posted August 21, 2013 Setting the resolution to 1024x768, using the lowest graphics settings, and disabling vsync helps a lot already, but I was wondering if there is a way to replace the textures of all the objects that you can interact with with plain red or something. Has anyone tried this already? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UltimateHurl Posted August 22, 2013 I got the game recently and loved it to pieces. Of course I can see why reviews would maybe not be sensitive to the things it's trying to do (reviewers these days just aren't used to cool ghosts), I might actually say it's in part because the language of game reviewing, not just the psyche of people playing the game that seems to have hindered discussion somewhat. An incredibly affecting experience that succeeded in a number of ways, loved it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TychoCelchuuu Posted August 22, 2013 I think the "language of game reviewing" likes the game just fine. And can I just say that "Gone Home" being in the "Adventure > First Person > Sci-fi" category at GameRankings is pretty great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Posted August 22, 2013 I think the "language of game reviewing" likes the game just fine. And can I just say that "Gone Home" being in the "Adventure > First Person > Sci-fi" category at GameRankings is pretty great. I figured this would be because that website simply didn't have an appropriate category, but then I looked, and they do actually have "Adventure > First Person > Modern". !??! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Erkki Posted August 22, 2013 Travelling back to the 90s sounds pretty sci-fi to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TychoCelchuuu Posted August 22, 2013 Sci-fi is often a catchall for sci-fi/horror. So between the ghosts and the X-Files references I guess Gone Home is sci-fi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dualhammers Posted August 22, 2013 I don't know about that, but I like to pretend that the Morley brand cigarettes mean that Gone Home and the X-Files are in the same universe. If this is true, then is X-Files in Gone Home the first reality television program? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juv3nal Posted August 22, 2013 Oh man, if Morley cigarettes puts two things into the same universe, the Tommy Westphall Hypothesis just got a bit bigger. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sclpls Posted August 22, 2013 Gone Home has technology where written diary entries that you will read in the future are converted into audio logs that you listen to when you interact with certain key objects. Sounds pretty sci-fi to me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gormongous Posted August 22, 2013 Hell, the entire story takes place inside a complex virtual simulation, with which you as the player mostly interact by moving around a specialized ball that corresponds to the position of your viewpoint onscreen. Sounds pretty sci-fi to me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted August 23, 2013 You can use telekinesis to manipulate objects without touching them. And use your clearly cybernetic eyes to zoom in while standing still. Sounds pretty sci-fi to me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted August 23, 2013 Ok, my new favorite dumb thing Taking the Christmas Duck all the way up to the attic and putting him in the nest Found it out from an AMA that Steve did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
malkav11 Posted August 23, 2013 So many questions. So Gone Home is a critical success, but (when) will we know if the game has been a financial success? Will Fullbright be able to make their next project the way they want? Also, do they have actual future plans as a studio, or was this a one-off thing? If they have plans, what are they? Also I'd like to read/hear a postmortem discussing the game design, like if concessions to more traditional video game expectations were made and how the budget informed design. Maybe someone should have Gaynor and/or the rest of FB as guests in a Gone Home Extravaganza podcast episode. It doesn't address the financial aspect much, but http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2013/08/21/qt3-games-podcast-gone-homecast-with-developer-steve-gaynor/ Who are these people who will drop 20 bucks on a game they know nothing about? Reading anything about what it is would dispell so many misconceptions about what it is. This is the part of the backlash that mystifies me. Fine, some people won't be interested in or won't like Gone Home. Some people won't feel the price is justified. But who the hell looks at the store page - which clearly says it's purely exploratory - and then bitches about the "lack of gameplay". And how do you buy the game without looking at the store page? My mind boggles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coods Posted August 23, 2013 Gah watching the speedrun Steve posted on his twitter makes me realize how many journals I missed!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites