What scene will you show and what will be the hook that you use to pull people into your review?
[List of visuals on screen]
Opening the game.
Start playing.
Pick the duck up.
[List of audio items]
Game opeing music.
The lightning stirkes.
[Rough script/talking points]
If you skipped the previous 10 seconds of the video, chances are you may not like the critically acclaimed game Gone Home. Why would I say that, Gone home is a game that needs a lot of patience to play. How did I come to that conclusion, watch the whole video to know more. This is my review of the game Gone Home…
Gone Home is a first person game, in which you play as Kaitlin, a person who just returned from an another country to your family’s new home.
When you arrive you, see that there is nobody there for you at home and pretty much everything is locked. The objective of the game is to find out what happened to your parents and Samantha or Sam your sister who leaves a note that you see in the start of the game.
[[Next->Class and Criteria]]How does Gone Home relate to other items? Will you compare it to similar games? Or to stories?
[List of visuals on screen]
Amnesia gameplay.
[List of audio items]
Amneisa in game music.
[Rough script/talking points]
Also, people who played the game Amnesia, that has a similar concept and gameplay can avoid this game. The two games are similar in several ways including voice overs. Amnesia on the other hand has several jump scares that this game doesn’t.
[[Next->Zooming Out]]What genres or classes would you use to discuss Gone Home?
What are the criteria that make something successful in those classes or genres?
[List of visuals on screen]
Gameplay of interacting with objects.
Show no dropped frames.
[List of audio items]
Pick sounds fromthe game.
High pitch music to complement my voice.
[Rough script/talking points]
The first thing one looks for in such games is the interaction between different things. The developers have done a phenomenal job in this aspect. Every single item in the game is designed really well with intricate details that help in making Kaitlin understand the story better. Examining every item in the game would definitely take you 30 hours!
Coming to the graphics, you don’t need a maxed out gaming PC or a high speced gaming laptop to play this game. Having those would definitely make it a better experience with better frame rates and resolution. However, I played the game on a mid speced laptop built made for productivity on medium graphic setting and experienced to lags or dropped frames.
People with no gaming background need not worry because getting used to moving around or examining things doesn’t have a steep learning curve.
[[Next->Details]]How does Gone Home relate to larger issues in culture or with games or storytelling? Does it help you make interesting points about identity, families, or culture? Does it speak to the status of literature or the evolution of media and communication? When you think about Gone Home, what larger concerns might it illuminate?
[List of visuals on screen]
As the game progresses, you get to know that Sam dating her High school friend Lonnie through her journals. Sam starts hanging out with Lonnie and makes her parents counsel her and write notes about grounding her home. You can observe Sam’s frustration and love through broken objects, notes and drawing of love in the home respectively.
[List of audio items]
Lonnie's voice over of her being Lesbian.
[Rough script/talking points]
The game has an engaging storyline that has larger than life characters that have broadly relevant to the social scene the world is now in. The game, set in 1995, significantly contrasts the 2017 LGBTQ community. The emotions Sam goes through are shown pretty well. Games like Gone Home can be used to tell stories that carry extremely strong emotions. Indirectly, this benefits storytellers by proving them another medium of reaching the audience.
[[Next->Take Away]]What elements of the game provide the best examples to support your discussion of Gone Home?
[List of visuals on screen]
More genric gameplay.
[List of audio items]
Pick sounds from the game.
[Rough script/talking points]
Moving to the technical aspects of the game. The graphics of the game are decent. You shouldn’t expect FPS game graphics. Nonetheless, they are good enough to observe most of the content present on screen. I would give the Graphics 7 on 10. Coming to the audio and sound stage, I can’t stop appreciating the effects produced when you move around and the stereoscopic sound I experienced. I would highly recommend you guys to use headphones while playing the game to have a better experience. I would give the audio a perfect 10 / 10. Next, I found the plot to be interesting, however, as a person who hasn’t played a lot of adventure games before, it took me a lot of time to beat the game. There were several instances where I didn’t know what to do and I had to watch walkthroughs to go to the next stage of the game. This spoilt the fun for me and I would give the theme a 3 on 10. The 3 for the engaging plot. A huge shout out to the team who took the painstaking task of the helping with the details of the different objects in the game.
[[Next->Context/Background]]What are your final thoughts on the game? Can you make a positive or negative recommendation? Are there final thoughts about larger concerns? Are there key points about the details of the game to further highlight? How might you link your conclusion circle back to the hook that started your review? How can you give the review a pointed closing without falling into repetition?
[List of visuals on screen]
Gone home conclusion.
Finish the game.
End credits.
[List of audio items]
Game ending.
Low pitch music.
[Rough script/talking points]
Overall I would rate the game a 7 on 10.
Finally, do you think you should buy the game? Yes, and No
Yes, if you enjoy adventure games and your patience levels are high. If you fall under both the categories mentioned and have 20 hours of free time, you’ll definitely enjoy the game. Also, this game is not free, so if you should be willing to shell out 20$.
However, if your patience levels are low and you look for help immediately when you get stuck the probability of you not enjoying this game is pretty high. You may want to stay away from the game or try Amnesia which has a better and easier plot with jump scares.
THE END[[Gone Home Storyboard->Opening Sequence]]
<img src = https://thefullbrightcompany.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/gonehome_titlescreen.png?w=640&h=360>