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  (70 - 80 of 432)
Slartibartfast
Slartibartfast Aug 25 2009, 8:57pm says:

Is the remake using the Orange Box version of Source? (hopefully the Orange Box SDK base). As the older versions crash for no reason and don't look anywhere near as good even if custom textures are used.

+1 vote     reply to comment
chineseroom
chineseroom Aug 27 2009, 2:40pm replied:

Yes, as far as I know, Rob's using the OB SDK

+2 votes     reply to comment
Ekonk
Ekonk Aug 25 2009, 5:05am says:

That you are going to remake this is fucking, FUCKING awesome. I always liked Dear Esther a lot, but the mapping was always kind of off and unimmersive. The worst part was probably that the grass would sound like concrete under your feet. I'm absolutely thrilled. When will it be done?

+2 votes     reply to comment
chineseroom
chineseroom Aug 25 2009, 11:30am replied:

Best guess, early 2010 - all credit for the remake due to Rob Briscoe, with help from Ben Andrews' concept art. We're just along for the ride... and loving it...

+1 vote     reply to comment
Potteh
Potteh Aug 25 2009, 2:50am says:

I'm guessing you derived the mods title from a common scottish womens name Esther? Nice choice.

+1 vote     reply to comment
Ballsopt
Ballsopt Aug 24 2009, 10:40pm says: Online

SEXY.

+1 vote     reply to comment
dafatcat
dafatcat Aug 24 2009, 6:18pm says:

More modders need to take notice of this mod. It is just amazing.

+4 votes     reply to comment
Dukeofmankind
Dukeofmankind Aug 24 2009, 5:24pm says:

Woah man, this is probably the most beautiful mod ive ever played. It might seem strange but in the gameplay, and the story and all were just, beautiful and breathtaking... You sir developer(^^) Are a true genious.

+3 votes     reply to comment
ghostings
ghostings Aug 24 2009, 4:55pm says:

Question (spoiler included so prospective downloaders, don't read):

In the end of the game I see the woman standing on the steps near the tower, when I approach her she doesn't go away like she normally does in other moments in the game. Also, the textures all over her body randomly scramble themselves. Is this normal?

+3 votes     reply to comment
chineseroom
chineseroom Aug 24 2009, 5:52pm replied:

Sounds like a bug to me - there are kill triggers all over that rock - will be gone with the new version, promise...

+2 votes     reply to comment
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chineseroom
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Released Jun 19, 2008
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