Dear Esther is part of a research project, creating experimental game mods, based at the University of Portsmouth, UK. The aim was to use Source to create something radically different from normal: an interactive story that dispensed with traditional gameplay and focused instead on an open-ended, semi-random narrative.

More information about the mod and its aims, and the overall project can be found on the website. Also look out for two more mods coming soon: Conscientious Objector (Doom 3) and Antlion Soccer (Half Life 2 Deathmatch)

Thanks for looking - any feedback would be fantastic.

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Dear Esther Remake - update 25/10/2009 Dear Esther Remake - update 25/10/2009 Dear Esther Remake - update 25/10/2009
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32 comments by Henley on Oct 31st, 2009 digg this super bookmark


Ghosts, Zombies, Vampires and other monster boggiewoggies. Halloween is a great time to get into the scarier movies and games to give yourself a good fright. Last year on ModDB I created a video for the top ten voted spooky mods by our community, it had some interesting results to say the least with the popular but not always scary mods took the cherry. This year we will do something a little different, I have compiled a list of singleplayer mods (because we all know being alone in the dark really sets the mood) for different engines that you should check out if you want to get your spook on.

Mistake -1 (Half-Life)

Mistake -1 is the prequel to 'Mistake' and tells the story of Steve Rick, a patient from the Andrew Parker asylum, who harbors a dark secret. A very spooky mod that uses the Goldsource engine very well. Creepy lighting and visual map changes creates something very unique and exciting.


Hollow Moon (Unreal Tournament 2004)

You arrive to the moon research station to work as heavy machinery engineer. From now on you are on your own. Created as more of an experiment for different means of showing audio-visual styles Hollow Moon boasts no environmental sounds, but what is produced is a thick atmosphere that few games or mods can come close too.


Paranoia (Half-Life)

You will play the role of a Russian officer of the secret service. Your first impressions are that this mission will be just like any other, but you really have no idea what nightmares future events have in store for you. Paranoia is one of the very best mods to come out of Half-Life for both engine expansion and content. A must download!


Curse Episodes (Half-Life 2)

Curse episodes is an Egyptian themed action/horror/puzzle/exploration FPS where the further you creep into the world of Curse the harder and more frightening the entire experience gets, its up to you how you want to play. A very unique and very amazing mod worthy of your attention and bandwidth!


Dear Esther (Half-Life 2)

A deserted island... a lost man... memories of a fatal crash... a book written by a dying explorer. Dear Esther is a ghost story told using first-person gaming technologies. If you want a very spooky interactive ghost story Dear Esther should be the mod for you, highly recommended by all the staff here on ModDB.


There are hundreds more mods and games out there that will help create a fantastic Halloween experience for you all, these are just some of the truly stand out mods that deserve to be the major source of your ghostly ahhs and eeiies. Hope you have a very frighting Halloween!

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Dear Esther v1.1 (fixed)

Dear Esther v1.1 (fixed)

Jan 22, 2009 Full Version 36 comments

Updated Dear Esther with fixed link to level 4. This fully replaces v1.0, please delete that and unzip this into your SourceMods folder

Dear Esther - Soundtrack

Dear Esther - Soundtrack

Jul 11, 2008 Music 17 comments

Jessica Curry's soundtrack for Dear Esther: 8 tracks as MPEG4s.

Dear Esther script

Dear Esther script

Jun 30, 2008 Guides 14 comments

This pdf contains the script for the interactive story Dear Esther, as requested...

Dear Esther.zip

Dear Esther.zip

Jun 27, 2008 Full Version 12 comments

Zip file for the Dear Esther mod. Unpack it into your source mods folder, restart Steam and it will show in the games list.

Comments  (40 - 50 of 432)
Acreus
Acreus Sep 20 2009, 11:57pm says:

A beautiful piece of work.

+1 vote     reply to comment
Assassin17
Assassin17 Sep 18 2009, 6:02pm says:

THIS LOOKS REALLY WELL DONE THE ONE PROBLEM IS THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE NO ACTION.

-4 votes     reply to comment
Repzik
Repzik Sep 18 2009, 5:20pm says:

I could stumble blind across these rocks, the edges of these precipices, without fear of missing my step and plummeting down to sea. Besides, I have always considered that if one is to fall, it is critical to keep one’s eyes firmly open.

I loved this mod, and I cannot wait until the new mapping is released. Rated 10/10.

+3 votes     reply to comment
chris_sloany
chris_sloany Sep 14 2009, 8:20pm says:

A very well orchestrated mod!! was very nice, only downfall was
1. music was too loud compared to the voice
2. was too short
3.i wish i could walk just a tad bit faster.
But excellent mod nonetheless
best voice acting for a mod by far!!

+2 votes     reply to comment
TheScorpion
TheScorpion Sep 16 2009, 7:35am replied:

Ye I have to admit that guy has a nice voice and accent , its a big part of what made this mod so good ,Am glad that guy was UK and had a UK accent , unlike americans , no offence , but it sounds like a police car on it's way when americans talks.

anyway!! Luv peace and respect!

-4 votes     reply to comment
Rawket
Rawket Sep 25 2009, 11:47pm replied:

Frankly, I don't care what nationality the voice is. But if it's a squeaker, it's instantly terrible.

+1 vote     reply to comment
dethtoll
dethtoll Sep 21 2009, 11:05pm replied:

And Brits sound like they're 5 seconds away from saying "Oh dearie me!" every time they speak. Shut up.

-4 votes     reply to comment
thegentleman
thegentleman Sep 10 2009, 2:49pm says:

Its especially creepy when you hear the "come back" out of nowhere. Superb!

+2 votes     reply to comment
Godwin
Godwin Sep 16 2009, 1:46pm replied:

And you? You tried too little. What makes you think everyone is interested in instant gratification? Go back to COD4.

+2 votes     reply to comment
AXELfrieman
AXELfrieman Sep 14 2009, 9:59pm replied:

you admit to bunny hopping and you even downloaded this mod? The word DeathMatch isn't even in the title! Very nice mod btw.

+1 vote     reply to comment
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Platform
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Developed By
chineseroom
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Release Date
Released Jun 19, 2008
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First Person Shooter
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Horror
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