Gone Home: Fullbright Shine A Light On Their 1st Game
Last week brought very exciting news: I bought a new clock for my wall. Also, that the core team behind the rather good Minerva's Den add-on for BioShock 2 had gone their own way, founding indie dev The Fullbright Company with the full and noble intention of making a non-violent first-person game as their first project. Today brings yet more exciting news: I've just picked up some Euros for my holiday in Greece next week. Also, that the Fullbright Company have just announced and detailed said non-violent first-person game.
It's called Gone Home, and it's all about "exploring a modern, residential locale, and discovering the story of what happened there by investigating a deeply interactive gameworld." It looks and sounds at least 9 intruigings about of a possible 10, even if it yet remains largely as mysterious as a cat's inner thought processes.
What we do know puts me simultaneously a wee bit in mind of Jon Blow's The Witness and - and I say this in a highly affectionate way, not a damning one - the notorious Jurassic Park: Trespasser, except with a more explicitly mystery-adventure angle. Says lead designer Steve Gaynor, "We're really interested in pushing toward simulation, both in the sense of the physics system but also in allowing the player to open any door or drawer they'd logically be able to and examine what's inside, down to small details. If we do it right, these interactive and simulation elements will work together to make you that much more invested in discovering the story woven into the environment."
Here's a very early sample of what they're tinkering with:
Apparently, the current state of play is that the core mechanics and UI features are done, as are "the playable space and critical path and story elements for the first half of the game are in." It also provides an answer to the the undying, unanswerable question posed in all game reviews: how many graphics does it have? About 5% so far. Same goes for sound. So, this ain't some pie in the sky piece of wishful thinking, and hopefully we won't have to wait until just before the heat-death of the universe for it to be released.
Also confirmed: it's PC-native, made in Unity, with mouse and keyboard as the default control set and no, they're not going to use Kickstarter. Phew! That's one less post I'll need to write at some point in the next few months.
This last image might bear an embiggening if you care to click on it, as it demonstrates the game-space Fullbright have constructed so far. Within it, it appears, lurk many mysterious both big and small:
More on Gone Home soon, I hope, and keeping an eye on the Fullbright website probably wouldn't be a stupid idea. In the meantime, a puzzle to mull over as you examine the screenshots and video - what period is Gone Home set in? (Don't look at me for the answer man. I was hoping you'd tell me.)