For my Critical Play, I chose to write about Dear Esther. In Dear Esther, walking is critical to telling the story. The story is told by the narrator, a disembodied voice that speaks when the player reaches key points and locations in the game. The game begins on an island. We play as a first person character that is free to explore. The player spawns in front of a lighthouse and dock on a gloomy evening. Walking tells the story because we must walk in order to advance the plot and get more information from the narrator.
The information is delivered in the format of letter fragments beginning with Dear Esther. The narrator often mentions himself, leading the player to wonder about his role in the world of the game. The player must multitask while playing; the game was designed so that the player must remember all of the narrator’s information while walking through the island and observing the scenery. Then, they must try to figure out the story, piecing together the stories of Esther, Donnelly, and the narrator. The story hints at themes of grief and acceptance, but the designers purposefully left the game up to interpretation. The identity of the player is never fully revealed, which adds to the game’s mystery.
Walking also adds to the somber loneliness of Dear Esther. The player walks alone in a desolate atmosphere, stumbling across a bothy, a cave, and even ends up underwater. The only time the player stops walking is the ending, when the player jumps off a cliff and flies instead of crashing into the ground and dying. Even the ending of the game leaves much for the player to interpret. Dear Esther pushes the boundaries of what can be considered a game. I have no prior experience with walking simulators, so Dear Esther’s barebones mechanics made it seem closer to a story or a movie in my opinion.
Ethics:
Dear Esther does not directly contain any violence. The backstory revealed by the narrator is quite sad and includes a car crash, but none of that is shown on-screen. The ending of the game hints at suicide, although the character flies away instead of hitting the ground.
Compared to more violent video games, I did not feel very “involved” when playing Dear Esther. This feeling was not just because of the lack of violence; Dear Esther is stripped of several fundamental mechanics that most violent games require. Grand Theft Auto V, for example, relies heavily on violence. As a byproduct, the user can purchase guns and ammunition, select a weapon from the weapon wheel, and can freely use their firearms. These mechanics allow the user to take more of an active role in the game.
The exclusion of violent elements in Dear Esther lets the player take a less active role and focus on observing the world around them. Because I am not very used to walking simulators, I was a bit thrown off by the lack of mechanics in Dear Esther. The game is very unique and I enjoyed playing a game that is different from the ones I typically gravitate towards.
