148 - Gone Home

[matt]

In this video, I talk about Gone Home and how they crafted a compelling interactive narrative without many (or any?) gameplay mechanics.

[miumiaou]

Gone Home is a game that I really like because it has an interesting and beautiful storyline (and I love the Mitten's journal easter egg)

[matt]

It definitely did a terrific job telling a story! I am looking forward to what the Fullbright Company comes up with next.

[RightClickSaveAs]

You're definitely not the only one to say that about them running off together! I remember reading a lot of people online talking about how difficult it's going to be for them to make it as teenagers on their own. The realist in me just kept thinking "why did you ditch the Army, you'd been planning for that your entire life and now they'll probably not let you back in!" But that kind of practical thinking can ruin a lot of books and movies too.

I agree that the story is pretty simple. If you were to compare books to games, this would be like a Judy Blume novel basically. Still, the way they make it work and feel so personal is a really big accomplishment.

I liked the fakeouts with the ghosts throughout the game. The Ouija board, the weird sounds you can hear very faintly in a couple places and stuff like the light bulb blowing out made me wonder a couple times if it was actually a horror game.

The game was really set in a perfect time period. In today's age of cell phones and Facebook, the whole thing would be solved with a text or quick "hey where is everyone?" call.

Also vinyl's making a bit of a comeback! I don't have any but a small but growing and dedicated group of people still swear by it.

[matt]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought they were being irresponsible. Darn kids!

[Harry Sunderland]

Come on guys, where's your sense of romance?

[matt]

hahaha. Maybe I'm a realist? I think at 17-18 or whatever, you don't really know who you are, so it's hard to know who you love at that point. Maybe I've just seen too many poorly written teen romance flicks, and it's coloring my judgment. hahah