Play Make Write Think

I have just downloaded the game “Gone Home” on my computer and am now ready to begin my quest. I will be live blogging my journey through the game and the assignment directions are explained in this link: https://eng101s20.davidmorgen.org/quests/side-quests/side-quest-3-liveblogging-gone-home/ .

The game begins by setting the atmosphere and tone for the game. I immediately sense the intensity by examining mysterious items and trying to gain entrance into the house. The porch is lit poorly and I am having trouble looking at some things because the game as a whole is very dark. I am able to see the lights flickering through the windows and hear the torrential rain pouring down the outside of the house. To gain entry into the house, I found a key to unlock the door and was able to get inside the house, but I realized no one was home. Playing the game in the first-person narrative makes me feel like I am in the game and allows me to understand the character’s confusion and emotions. In addition, being able to pick things up and examine the little details of notes and objects will help me stay connected to the game. Kaitlyn’s bag shows she travels across the world, so this may be foreshadowing that she will have to be adventurous in the game story line. I predict that the rest of the game will be trying to understand what is happening in the house and where everyone went after reading the note from Sam.

I loved the interactive and personal feel of the game. I felt like I was Kaitlyn and Sam at times in the game and that I was able to understand what they were thinking at every point in time. Turning on every light and reading any documents I could find was tedious, but it made me feel like a detective. In the end, I was still left confused and trying to connect some points because I may have missed a room or an object in the room. The dark background, sound effects, and ability to control everything helped me a lot and allowed me to examine everything on my screen. Overall, this gaming experience was enjoyable, but I am left curious to learn more about why everything happened.

Bluetooth mouse plugged in. Headphones connected. Check. Check. Launch game. I hear my computer struggle now. Subtitles on. Graphics switched to Low. Check. Check. New Game. Gone Home (The Fullbright Company, 2013) here we go. 

I don’t know whether it is because my GPU and CPU are inadequate for the game, or the game is designed to be so, I spent half a minute staring at a black screen. The game’s title then appeared. I shall say Gone Home starts with a contemplative mood. According to the reviews on the game website’s homepage, Gone Home tells a story about love, so at that moment I realize this will turn out to be a real-world fiction, not a horror game. The voices of both Samantha and Kaitlin triggered in the game are pleasing, and the voiceover artists do an impressive job. The score for the game adds to the contemplative mood. One unfortunate thing was that the subtitles to the voiceovers lagged too much on my computer. Interestingly, the player cannot see Kaitlin’s body. If we turn the camera angle straight down (corresponding to looking at one’s feet in a first-person POV), we see the floor only. Back to the contemplative mood, the character is not allowed to run or jump, and objects move in slow-motion. For instance, when we open a drawer, the pencil would roll outward in uniform linear motion; when we throw an object into the air, it does not observe every law of gravity. In addition, all the objects look realistic, and are relatable for an American. Also, I looked up some of the books by Greenbriar, and they indeed do not exist. 

Although Gone Home receives mostly positive feedback, there could remain minor improvements (merely a non-professional’s casual observations). Gone Home does not provide players with hints. Some players assume the game’s thrill will depend on jumpscares, while this is not exactly the case. The atmosphere brings uneasiness, and ambient sounds may serve as slight jumpscares, but scaring the players is not the main purpose of the game. Under stress, the player might not be able to idly search for every object available. Compared to more recent “point-and-click” high-definition adventure games, Gone Home’s magic somehow pales. One of the most expertly-made examples include What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow, 2017). Also a “point-and-click” game with a few puzzles to solve, Edith Finch provides the players with clear clues on what to click on (flashing white dots), and allow players to read the whole story in an innovative. The storyline is the core of some “point-and-click” games, so when the player misses a component, the gaming experience would not be complete. Gone Home has no cues for distinguishing critical objects (including light switches and objects that trigger voiceovers: pieces of paper, cassette, spray can, etc.) and ordinary objects (toilet paper rolls, pencils, etc.). Still, it is not to say “point-and-click” games have to provide cues for players, as some players could find entertainment in looking for the right object. Either way, Gone Home tells an adorable love story in a creative way. 

20:16 The game is set. Ready to play.

8:32 The game looks like a horror game, the unstoppable rain outside and the dim light in the house are typical elements when a horror story takes place. The game is really detailed. Especially, the sound effects in the game are really vivid. When turning the character with the mice, there is a change of volume on each side of the channel. For example, when the character’s left ear is closer to the window, the sound of rain on the left channel is bigger. However, the sensitivity of the mice is too high that even with a little move, the character could be suddenly facing the roof or the floor.

21:07 It is just hard to play the game when I almost missed all the switches of the light. I am literally going through darkness.

21:38 The setting of the game is so authentic. I have to take the book under a lamb in order to see its cover. There are so many elements in the game. I guess I missed a lot of them. The subjective finding process makes the game really interactive.

Playing Gone Home is an immersive experience.

I am going to start playing Gone Home. The background music is pretty creepy. I hope that I am not going to freak out… Also, I like how I can hear the sound of rainfall and thunder. This makes the setting more serious and depressing. Since the note on the door says that Sam does not want me(Katie) to find out where he went, I probably need to find where he is (because that is usually how a game works). However, the sensitivity of my mouse is distracting from playing smoothly.

#sq3, #gonehome and #liveblog

June 7, 1995 1:15AM: “…don’t go digging around trying to find out where I am. I don’t want Mom and Dad anyone to know…” – Sam

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LiveBlog of playing Gone Home

9:47: Game experience: bad; my apple laptop does not corporate, it takes forever to move a step, and it seems like a gaming laptop is needed for an actual game. But it seems like a pretty relaxing and typical puzzle game for us to solve. Sort of a “find the key and unlock this door” type of escape room game.

9:51 It’s much like a horror game, especially when entering into a hallway after seeing the family portrait. It is like how most horror games start when something suddenly jumps out.(with the thunder storm background)

9:56: Sam was called as a “psycho house girl”. The house does give me a sense of “psycho”, but I wonder what is the history or stories behind the house.

10:20: The parents are reading books about how to educate teens, and it looks like a pretty loving family, especially with Katie’s light-hearted tone every time she writes to her parents and sam.

10:30 From the note that Terrance wrote for Sam, it looks like Sam is having trouble making friends in school. Or maybe her dad saw the “bully note” from school?

took a break

11:29 From the note on the board, it looks like there are serious communication issues between Sam and her parents.

11:37 Some of the details in the game is really really well-done: like the pens rolls every time I open a drawer, and I could not see the title of a game tape unless I bring them under the light. I also realized there are a lot of highlighters in the house, is it because of their dad’s job as a writer? And there are different cassette tape that we could play, with different styles, the family probably love bands and music in general a lot.

12:25 The “Ghost Hunting” “exploration”, the secret library, and the red lights are actually freaking me out. I realized that whenever I get into a room, the first thing I do is turn on every light and lamp I could to give myself a sense of safety.

12:32 I’m kinda stuck now, I have been looking around the house for many times, and I’m seeing the same things over and over again. There must be some clues that I missed, like the key to get into the attic.

12:35 With the pizza boxes and chip bags, it feels like some one just disappeared from this house instead of planning on leaving this house to a new place.

12:55 There are just so so many puzzles and questions that are needed to be answered, There is no way I can stop playing the game right now.

1:20 Too many rooms, this house is a mansion, or should I say it’s a maze？

1:30 I found out that there are a bunch of clues of Terrance’s uncle Oscar, which is not necessarily important to the end of the game about Sam. But it seems like Oscar sold his pharmacy to “stay away from temptations”, which I’m not sure what exactly happened. And the idea of JFK assassination and the year 1963 occur just way too many times in this game.

2:04 I finished playing the game, there are still a lot unsettling questions, like why is the house called a psycho house, or what did the ouija board, or what exactly happened between Terrance, his father and his uncle, why is Terrance obsessed with JFK assassination and the phrase “you can do better”. Maybe I’m just missing a bunch of clues in the game.

I feel like the tone of my live blog is getting similar to the tone of Samantha’s journal, not sure why. But whenever Samantha’s voice is played in the back, somehow the game is “safe” and not so much like a horror game any more.

Except the technical issue, I have to admit the way that this game laid out the tangled stories are unique and engaging. It makes player wants to keep playing, and learn new chapters of the story. It is first person point of view from Katie, but it’s also first person from Sam’s view with her journal.

8:46 pm : I am impressed by how much details this game is offering, even including rotating the object.