Dear Esther

[spoodie]

Dear Esther commercial release is now available on Steam for £6 - http://store.steampowered.com/app/203810/

And it's quite lovely. If you don't know it's not a game as such, more of a story told with a game engine and probably as close to art as games get. The melancholy story isn't told in a straight forward way and a lot of it is down to interpretation. But you should be able to get the gist and fill in the gaps yourself. The visuals are amazing, especially in the second half. But don't look too closely at the foliage as you pass it, either the engine is showing it's age or all the plants are watching you. £6 for about an hours play isn't cheap, but I think it's worth it for the experience. Could have done with an auto-walk button though.

And if you play the game and you think you saw a figure, you probably did.

[shot2bits]

probably as close to art as games get

Games already are an art form, im not saying people should compare COD to picasso but if people can call movies and tv an art form then by god ill call games an art form, just because someone uses programming as a medium rather than painting doesnt make them any less an artist. Art is in the eye of the beholder and all that jazz.

Anyway that out of the way i had been meaning to have a look at this game and find out what it actually is as it seems to be popping up everywhere, will possibly grab it when ive got a bit of time off.

[spoodie]

Well shit, I got told off somewhere else for calling it a game. Which I'm not going to argue either way.

And I think there's a difference between an "art form" and a "work of art". Cinema is an art form, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo is not art. Anyway my point was that I think it's as close to a piece of art as games have got.

[Dog Pants]

Well shit, I got told off somewhere else for calling it a game. Which I'm not going to argue either way.

The Internet: Serious Business.

[Roman Totale]

If it's not a game, then why is it on Steam?!