Dear Esther Review

Via Scoop.it – PC, Console and Mobile Gaming

via http://www.actiontrip:

Welcome to the latest in experimental indie gaming – a non-violent first-person stroller featuring near photo-realistic graphics and exquisite music that would compliment even documentaries like Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams and Encounters at the End of the World.

In spite of a lukewarm reception from critics, Dear Esther was a financial success (In your face Bobby Kotick! – Ed. Vader) and that should be proof enough that gamers are interested in exploring non-threatening virtual worlds as well. Worlds where they can experience mature stories and feel a broader range of emotions than what they feel in typical ‘kill or be killed’ games. The simple truth is that Dear Esther is only a moderately successful experiment, which might leave the player disappointed. Still, we all know how important experimenting is to all forms of art. Games are that way too. However, play this just for yourself and try to see where things might go from here. The possibilities are endless and almost completely unexplored.

7.7

HIGHS
Beautiful visuals, equally accomplished soundtrack, professional writing and good narration, the game run smoothly with maximum settings even on mid-range PCs;

LOWS
A bit too much ambiguity and wallowing in self-pity, no interactivity whatsoever, can be finished in under two hours.
Via www.actiontrip.com

Gamification – the four main types of gamers

A great introduction to think about game theory (NOT the Mathematics version) is the Bartle’s Test (created in 1996), which attempts to defines what player type you are in an online game (take the test). There are four:

via http://justadandak.com/gamification-for-beginners-levelling-up-rewards-and-having-fun/