My path did indeed lead me to the source of this light as well. In the first cave that I entered in the game, I was able to see a flashing light in the distance that I felt like someone signaling me using morse code.
The game makers used beacon-type lights on multiple occasions to guide players in a very subtle manner. This is exactly what the game makers were expecting me to do since that’s where my path eventually leads me. Subconsciously, I picked that light as my destination. When I was younger, I’d heard the saying “If you are ever lost, just find the North Start and it will lead you home.” As I over the monotonous landscape which consisted of dirt, plants, rocks, and the ocean, I couldn’t help but notice a flickering red beacon in the distance. Picking a goal or general direction to move towards was another challenge, but that was soon resolved by what seemed to be intentional decisions made by the game makers. This lead to an internal conflict of dilemma, where I had to choose between these two paths, with no knowledge about where they might lead. But as I progressed through the landscape, I was constantly faced with diverging paths. Initially, I believed the game lacked any conflict. I soon started debating with myself whether I would actually describe “Dear Esther” as a game or simply a roaming experience.Ībout an hour into the gameplay, it became clear that while “Dear Esther” differs from most games that people traditionally play, it is indeed a game, from a formal perspective. However, the calming sound of the waves and the beauty of the natural territory urged me to continue my exploration. The only feedback mechanism that I received early on was the irregular narrative pieces from an omnipotent narrator that lacked any context and didn’t seem to provide any clues about the outcome I should expect by playing this game. The outcome of the game was even less clear as I kept wondering what the point of the game truly was. Exploration seemed to be the only logical fit for a game that lacks any physical actions apart from walking. With “Dear Esther”, it took me a much longer time to discover what the true objective was. In almost all games I’ve played so far, the objective is either clear from the very start, or it gets clear shortly after gameplay commences.
Unlike an FPS game though, there weren’t any controls or actions I could do apart from walking, not even running.
I was, however, able to pick up the movement controls very easily as they exactly resembled a typical FPS game. As I started “Dear Esther”, I was immediately plunged into the gameplay with basically no instructions or guidelines.
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