Mathew Hasker

Dear Esther – The Story Explained

Mathew Hasker — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:53:55 +0000

A little gem of an experience can be found while trawling through the extensive list of games on Steam called “Dear Esther”. While not strictly a game, it requires player interaction in order to complete it. But you’re not competing against anything, you are simply playing the role of a narrator of a story that you listen to while walking a set course across an island.

Sounds rather harmless, and it is. But you don’t quite understand what you’re in until the music, the sounds and the visuals lift you out of normality. Think yourself immersed into a story that slowly grows on you as you move your way forward. This is Dear Esther.

If you are now enticed to spend just a few quid on this delightful work of art, don’t read anymore as it will spoil it for you. Goodbye.

However, if you have played and are wanting to read another take on the story….

But it appears there is much discussion on what the story is actually about. Having played it twice through now and studied others interpretations, here’s mine with pointers on key items.

And yes, a reminder, there are SPOILERS in this. So please, do not read on if you’ve not played it, and if you haven’t played it, wait until it comes down to £1.74 on Steam and pick it up. Then come back.

Characters

The Narrator
The Narrator is who you control throughout the game. His name is not revealed at any point in the game. He was in a relationship (possibly married) to Esther, who throughout the game is mentioned as the letters whom the Narrator is writing to are addressed to Esther. He is lonely, ridden with guilt and is lost without Esther, who has died. he is composed near the start of the game, and by the end he becomes more erratic in his thinking. I am inclined to think that his age sits him in his 50s, the voice you here is also definately suited to a man at this age.

Esther
Esther was in a relationship (possibly married) to The Narrator. She has died, while in the presence of The Narrator and a gentleman called Paul. She was around the same age as The Narrator at at the time of her death, which I believe was recent.

Donnelly
Donnelly is a writer from the past who often visited the island that the Narrator is currently walking, who has also visited the island often. Donnelly wrote about Jacobson and noted everything that happened on the island. His book was found by The Narrator in 1974 (I believe shortly after Esthers death) found the book in a library and stole it. The book can be found in the house at the top of the hill in Chapter 2. I believe the book was much liked by The Narrator and his wife, which is why they visited the island in the past. he also had syphilis.

Jacobson / Jakobson
Jacobson was a man who moved to the island around the time of Donnelly. He planned to build his house, raise animals and eventually have a family. He was not popular, and died soon after he built the house. I believe Jakobson is the same person.

Paul
Paul is key to why we have ended up here, playing this game, as The Narrator, on this island. He is a sales executive who lives in Wolverhampton. He caused Esthers death. And here’s why….

The Car Accident
Not long ago Esther and The Narrator were travelling in the same car along the M5 between Exeter and Bristol. Paul is in another car, who loses control somewhere between the Sandford turn off and the Welcome Break (so the crash is recent, last 10-15 years or so), skids and crashes into the car carrying The Narrator and Esther.

Paul is first accused of being drunk behind the wheel, as alcohol is on his breath as he had some drinks following a sales conference in Exeter. He was travelling on his way back to Wolverhampton. But The Narrator tells us later in the game that he was not drunk. We can only presume then that he was not over the limit, but whether his alcohol intake affected his driving, in order to cause the crash is something The Narrator considers, as earlier in the game, he accuses him of being drunk. So what caused the crash is not clear. Paul is in a bad condition following the accident and has to be resuscitated. Esther is trapped in the car, presumed dead as the car had to be cut to get her out and it looked as though it was “dropped from a great height”.

The precise location of the accident remains a debate, but The Narrator does say it was somewhere between the Sandford Junction (Junction 21) and the Welcome Break Services (Junction 19). The final junction motorway marker is present in the game, as is the turn off sign, and the bridge across the motorway, presumably the junction. So the most popular thought location of the accident is here. Also, the Narrator talks of the “traffic backing up all the way to Salford”, which makes this a viable location. However, that real location does not have the banks by the motorway like the game does, and the signage displaying the turn off for the junction is different in layout. We put this down the Narrator being vague on its location when trying to recollect the events of that tragic day.

The Narrator tries to find the location of the accident, having driven up and down the motorway 21 times, but cannot find it.

The Narrator meets Paul
After the accident, The Narrator travels to meet Paul in his home in Wolverhampton. Paul at this time is dying in his own guilt and regret – the car accident has destroyed his life as much as The Narrators. But The Narrator, not seeking an apology but wanted to offer some no hard feelings towards the man, tries to “connect” with Paul but Paul is too nervous. it is obvious though that The Narrator wants to remove any bad scent between the two in order to get on with their lives as The Narrator wants to believe that alcohol did not cause Esthers death.

Pauls Death
It is not clear how or when Paul died, but certainly by the start of the game, Paul has died, perhaps commited suicide with guilt. The Narrator is saddened by this.

The Island
This is where the game is set, an island in the outer Hebrides, which can be seen from the mainland as The Narrator tells us he can see the mainland. The Narrator has been here before, perhaps he came here with Esther, but certainly he has been here in the past, having been inspired by Donnellys book about it (the one he got from the library in 1974). by the time of the start of the game, he has been living here for a while, in the house where Jacobson lived.

There are ghosts on this island, but to be honest, as there are 5 of them, I am to assume they are Esther, Paul, Donnelly, Jacobson and one other. I can only think the one other is the disfigured ghost, that could be anyone involved in the accident.

The Islands history (Donnellys book) in relation to the story
This is where I think many have interpreted this game as a dream while The Narrator is actually in hospital dying following the accident, or rather recovering from it. A lot of comparison is done between the island and the car accident. He also tries to compare Esther to Donnelly, Jacobson to Paul.

Which is why he calls them, at the end, Esther Donnelly and Paul Jacobson. I believe they are not their actual names, just comparisons in The Narrators mind.

I believe that The Narrator is actually walking that island, recollecting the accident and the events following it, and comparing it to Donellys book. this game is not a dream sequence of any kind.

The Narrators death
At the end, you are seen falling from the beacon. And then, you turn into a gull and you fly off. It is at this point the Narrator dies and his soul, so to speak, takes off like a gull, and joins the other two, Esther and Paul, who’s souls are represented by the two joining gulls at the end.

So yes, I believe after all that The Narrator went through, he ends up committing suicide and joining the other two in death.

Biblical References
There are biblical references in the game. Damascus is compared to Wolverhampton, assumable a comparison to The Road To Damascus (or, the road that Paul was taking back to Wolverhampton). The Road to Damascus is sometimes used to describe a big change in someones life. This I guess is relating to the car accident.

Lot’s wife is mentioned in Genesis 19, and is also mentioned in the game. Interestingly, Lots Wife is also a location in Marsden Bay in England, a Sea Stack, similar to one that is found on the beach in Chapter 1. I am however unclear on the other references and their meaning to the story. Only the refernce to “looking back” makes any sense to me.

The number 21
Whats with the number 21? That crops up often in the story. To be honest, I’ve no idea. 21 is the starting age of adult life, but that’s as special as it gets I guess.

———–

So there we are, that is what I have interpreted from the game and imagined in my mind. You may have something totally different, and I am sure if I play through it a third time something else will come up. Your thoughts below are welcome!

Showrooming – totally acceptable in my eyes

Mathew Hasker — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:45:49 +0000

First, have a read of this BBC article – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22098575

If you can’t be arsed to read that article, let me narrow the story down – Showrooming is when you go into a shop, browse, see something you like, and then go onto the internet and buy it cheaper. Sounds bad doesn’t it? Poor retailer.

Wrong. I do not feel bad for the retailer. I used to run a retail outlet with my family. I can tell you why you shouldn’t feel bad for showrooming.

Our family run business used to run on trust with the customer. The shopping experience had to be made to feel special. To make the customer feel like they should buy from the store with people they like and trust, whatever the cost. These days however, it is all about cost and everyone is looking to save money. That’s why we effectively went bust – no one cared about the shopping experience anymore, everyone is looking for value for money.

I remember a recent trip I took to a Comet store. My wife saw a ‘bargain bin’ that had a Panasonic cameras at 50% off. Her reaction was “Wow, 50%! Only £74.99!”. I smelt bullshit. I looked up the same make and model on the internet, and its usual price with all the usual online outlets was £74.99. Without 50% off.

So what did Comet do in this instance? They raised the price from £74.99 to £149.99 for at least 30 days and then stuck a 50% off tag on it to make it more appealing. So yes, it was 50% off, but only because Comet were raping the customer in the first place of their hard earned cash, charging £149.99 for a camera that was actually worth £74.99, and probably only cost them £40 or less to buy.

I still have a friend in the furniture retail game. He tells me a Dreams manager was selling a bed at £999. Half price during sale time, made it £499. The bed itself cost Dreams £99 to make.

So, back to showrooming. Is it unfair to retailers? No – because the majority of retailers out there are screwing the customer. My message to retailers is

STOP PULLING THE WOOL OVER THE EYES OF THE CUSTOMER

Only then perhaps customers will start spending money with retailers again. Regain your trust back with the customer, bring back the small, local tradesmen (which starts off with the banks and the government to help these small businesses), all of which have their own online store and then perhaps we’ll see less showrooming.

Which H P Lovecraft story book should you read first

Mathew Hasker — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:45:59 +0000

I played a game called Amnesia The Dark Descent and I heard that it was partly influenced by Lovecraftian horror. Reading further, I then found out about H P Lovecraft, who I heard about before but never really took notice.

Chthulu – of course!

But I wanted to dig deeper into his works and I was presented with the dilemma of what H P Lovecraft book to read first. And now that I’m fully into his stuff, this is my personal choice of what to read. I have purposely not put pictures up representing each story as I think it would spoil the surprise, so to speak. What you need to know is that it is weird horror, not your traditional ghost story but something more sinister than that. So here we go, if you want to get into H P Lovecraft, these stories did it for me:

Pickmans Model
This was the first one I read and it left me shivering. The story is told in a totally different way to how he normally writers but it certainly gave me the chills. General synopsis is the main protagonist recalls a story to his friend about an artist he knew called Pickman who invites him back home to show him some of his art. What he finds is something incredibly disturbing and the ending leaves you even more harrowed than the rest of the book. This story made me want to read more.

The Colour Out of Space
I actually listened to an audio version of this and again, it left me cold. A meteorite had landed just outside of Arkham (you’ll hear about this place more) and around the blasted heath, ‘something’ starts to turn the locals mad. Read it.

The Whisper in the Darkness
A little longer this story, but so far it’s one of the best I’ve read. The protagonist hears about some nonhuman creatures living up in Vermont hills and goes to investigate and ends up writing to a local. The story is mostly told through the exchanges of these letters, and eventually the protagonist is invited up. The tension in this book is incredible, and what is found at the end is just so deeply disturbing.

The Lurking Fear
Another one the best I’ve read, it’s told in 4 sections and is probably one of the scariest ones I’ve read so far. The protagonist and his friends want to find out more about a Mansion they’ve heard about in tales and set out to investigate. It all goes a bit wrong, but soon enough you find out what the “lurking fear” is. This book kept me up at night.

Herbert West – Reanimator
Yes, as in the film. If you are into the latest craze of zombies, this is worth a read. Apparently it was a catalyst for all future zombie stories that came, and I can see why. Told through the eyes of Dr Herbert Wests assistance, you learn about his efforts to bring back the dead. Gets a bit gory this one, but a great story.

There has been the odd one or two I didn’t really get into – Dreams of a Witch House left me disappointed, as did The Terrible Old Man (although the latter is VERY short).

As for Call of Chthulu, well that is just a classic – but I strongly urge you to read others as in my opinion, if you jump straight into Chthulu, you might get lost, especially if you’re only just getting into stories that are 100 years old. Then again, avid fans will probably say do it.

I’ve not read the other classics yet, such as The Shadow over Innsmouth and At The Mountains of Madness (both of which are supposed to be fine examples of his work), but they are on the list.

There are so many, but just to give you some direction, the above were good choices for me and I hope they are for you too. But if you are just going to pick up one, personally I would read Pickmans Model, just to get you in the mood for what is to come.

REMEMBER – these stories are around 100 years old now so you will need to adjust yourself to the language, but you will get used to it.

Rigonauts – My Review

Mathew Hasker — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 21:43:24 +0000

A fun game that needs more

I never really stumble into Indie game territory. I was given Beats Hazzard by a friend, Amnesia The Dark Descent was a silly idea (although it’s great) and Majicka is a good fun multiplayer but crap by yourself.

I saw Rigonauts for £2.37 on Steam and it reminded me of a contraption I made in Little Big Planet. I saw some videos and thought for the money, I’ll give it a go.

A nice short download on 86MB, few minutes and you’re in the game.

There is one mode, which effectively is a campaign mode with training missions on the way. The idea is to put together a machine that is capable of destroying the enemy machine, click Go and watch them battle it out.

Certain material that you build your “Rigo” with defend well against certain weapons (wood is not so good against fire, while stone is very effective), and vice versa, so what you use counts towards your success.

There is no limit to what you can do, unless you want to earn stars. You earn stars by using as little material and weapons as possible in order to earn top marks. But where’s the fun in that you ask? Surely you want to build the biggest, craziest war machine ever seen! Well you get there sooner or later, but the first few missions you start off quite small.

The physics are really good, and it is actually so much fun watching your rig battle it out with the other. Watching bits get blown off while you hammer away at your opponent is very satisfying, as is crushing wrecked out “rigs” as you advance (should there be more than one). It is however one of those games you will end up replaying one mission over and over again until you’ve got it right, so if you don’t have the patience for that, keep away.

While this game is a lot fun and is mega simple to get into, it lacks a variety of gameplays.

Multiplayer – OK, it’s easy these days to say that if a game doesn’t have multiplayer, it sucks. While this isn’t stricly true as some games are stricly single player, this is one game that would be nice to have a one on one. But what really bugs me is the lack of a….
Free mode – this game needs one badly. why is it not there? The fun of being able to rig out, with no limits, against another rig (one that is either preset, or one that you’ve built and saved) is just what this game needs. Think Incredible Machine, you had the option of just putting something together with no limits.

So while this is a good fun game that will have you going back again and again (despite the just above average reviews), it lacks the choice of modes that would add so many hours onto your game.

But as it stands, maybe worth getting at full price, definately worth getting in a sale.

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare – how to play in a LAN

Mathew Hasker — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 21:58:28 +0000

You know and love the game by now, but ever wondered how to play it on a LAN if you have some friends round?

Easy – first, go to Steam and install the Chivalry Dedicated Server tool (under Tools).

Then, get navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\chivalrymedievalwarfare\Binaries\Win32 and you will find an application called UDK.exe. Copy a shortcut to your desktop.

Now, from here, you have some options. First, get this PDF file. Have a read through the instructions. You have a variety of options you can set in the .ini file, but to get it quickly working, you need to change the shortcut properties.

right click on the shortcut you created on the desktop, go to the Shortcut properties and add a ‘server MAP_NAME?dedicated=true‘ to the end of the Target. For example, in order to start up a dedicated server in the arena on a Free For All, add:

server AOCFFA-Arena3_P?dedicated=true

So your target should now read

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\chivalrymedievalwarfare\Binaries\Win32\UDK.exe" server AOCFFA-Arena3_P?dedicated=true

Nice.

Run the shortcut. A box will come up with a stream of text.

Now make a note of the IP address you started the server up on. If you don’t know how to do this, in Windows 7, Start -> type “cmd” in the search box and hit enter. Then type ipconfig. Its the IPv4 address.

Now run Chivalry.

Now in the game, bring up the console with ‘ and type:

open server ip address

Example:

open 192.168.0.5

You should now join the game. All everyone else should need to do is bring up the console in Chivalry and type the open server ip address code in and you should all be good to go!

Okami HD on the Playstation 3 review

Mathew Hasker — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:38:48 +0000

The Beautiful has just got more beautiful.

It has been almost three weeks now since Okami HD was released on the Playstation 3 as a download only release via the Playstation Network store. As an avid fan of the original (certainly one of my top 3 games of all time), I was happy to pay the £15.99 it costs to play it a third time round, this time in HD.

The menu system is the same, the story line is the same and everything will look very familiar to those who played the PS2 version. Nothing has changed, with the obvious exception of the graphics and the sound. That is instantly noticeable – the intro movie of the game is just glorious to look at, and it just gets better from there.

I am about 6 hours in and the whole game is the same, only it’s better looking. I haven’t played the game in 6 years and to me its like a whole new game all over. Hexadrive have done a marvelous job in the restoration of this unknown classic.

I guess its like an iPhone fan boy (only less so) – it’s the same thing all over, but it just looks better. Only with Okami, it’s a 6 year gap, rather than a 6 month gap you get with each release of the iPhone (so already, you are saving yourself a bundle). Not only that, but you’ll get 60 hours of game time with Okami and it won’t cost extra for each mini game you come by, while with the iPhone, you need to buy apps in order to add variety to your new purchase.

Oh, and Okami HD is PS Move compatible. Is the iPhone PS Move compatible? Hmm?

So, if you own a PS3, and have been wondering what to spend your £600 on, then why not spend £15.99 on Okami HD, and then the £584.01 you have left on something useful?

While for all you other PS3 owners, whether or not you played the PS2 release or not, do yourself a favour and buy it this time round.

22/11/2012 EDIT – When I wrote this, I must have either had the number 6 on my mind, or in fact everything to do with this post involved the number 6. heck, even if the price was 1p more, it would be, £16! 6! Again! So please do excuse the apparent overuse of the number 6, only that’s how it is I guess.

When I met the Flower Kings

Mathew Hasker — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 22:18:28 +0000

From the day I heard “Back in the World of Adventures” during a visit to Russia, I fell in love with the music of The Flower Kings. No other music grew on me (with the possible exception of David Bowie) as much as the music of The Flower Kings did, and throughout my music writing years and time spent at music college, I have always looked up to Roine Stolts and Tomas Bodins music writing abilities.

Never did I think I’d see the day I would bump into them after a gig. I almost did with my friend Tom Maclean back when they came over in 2004 for their Adam and Eve tour, but I had to leave early and boy did I regret it. It wasn’t so much a life ambition, more like a “Things to do before I die – meet The Flower Kings”.

And this year, at Scala on the 24th September, I did it, purely by accident on the way back to the train station after grabbing a couple of drinks after the gig. Fate is a funny thing huh?

They were really friendly! As was Lalle Larsson who was supporting them plugging his solo album (his solo on Journey on the Agents of Mercy album Dramarama – check it out).

For me, to meet The Flower Kings was a dream that became a reality. Ok, it was outside the gig, in the cold while they were busy loading up and all the things I ever wanted to ask or tell them simply didn’t come to me at the time.

But I did get chance to thank them for taking the time to have a little chat and some photos – for they did make a big fan of theirs very happy that evening.

Full album of pics (as well as the gig!) can be found here.

Okami HD to be released for the Playstation 3

Mathew Hasker — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 14:53:40 +0000

Details were released back in September, but now the release is upon us – Okami HD is still set for a Halloween release – two days time!

So far, this game has had a sad story. When this little gem of a game was released back in 2006, it was not well heard of. Which is a real shame, because it was actually one of the best games on the PS2 platform. To top it off, the developers went bust soon after its release (Cloverleaf Studios).

But now, Capcom are re releasing it in full 1080p HD quality and boy I am excited. It will also support PlayStation Move and of course, trophies. It will be download only and apparently the price will be £15.99.

If you didn’t buy this game first time round, make sure you do it this time round. It’s an amazingly pretty game, with good 60+ hours gameplay and a fantastic story line. Keep your eyes peeled for the next couple of days on the Playstation Store.

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare by Torn Banner Studios

Mathew Hasker — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 20:30:25 +0000

I used to be hooked on Call of Duty : Modern Warfare back in the day, only to then be hooked by Modern Warfare 2 two years later. But then I lost the appeal to carry on spending tons of cash on the series, which happen to be around the time I found Steam.

I’ve also always been into Medieval history. 1066 onwards to around War of the Roses appeals to me greatly, hence why I also loved Medieval II : Total War. But now, a game has come out that appeals to me in both of these areas, in the form of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare.

I totally came across it be accident while flicking through Steam, with no intention of buying a game. I read about it, watched a video by a video blogger called SideStrafe, and for the price (£18.99, even cheaper if you buy it direct from the developer), it was worth the go.

Think this game as Battlefield or Call of Duty in Medieval Times. It’s all multiplayer based, with various game modes to choose from – Team Objective, where you and your team have to either defend or attack various objectives, Last Team Standing, where you take the other team out one by one until one team is left standing, or Team Deathmatch, as the name suggests. There is also Free For All, which again, as the name suggests, kill anything that moves.

It’s all about the Melee – hand to hand, sword to sword, shield to shield combat. You have to time blocking and attacking to perfection, while moving and strafing as and when needed. You have four classes to choose from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

For an indie game that was partially funded by Kickstarter, it’s impressive both in sound and graphic detail. While it may feel slightly unfinished, the gameplay is addictive and fun. Over the last 3 days I have spent 16 hours playing it and loved every minute. I should be playing more right now, but the servers are full, one might suggest that this is because it’s becoming quite popular? Who knows.

It really is a team game too – go running in by yourself, you’re good as dead. It really is best played if you are supporting or being supported by team mates. Pressing X will get your character to perform a battle cry, very cool as you’re running into battle with others around you.

Be prepared for some gore too – take heads off, cut off limbs and kick people into walls with spikes protruding from them. Very satisfying indeed.

All in all, it’s such and enjoyable game which you will have a lot of fun in if first person multiplayer is your thing. A welcome to change to the usual shit we see nowadays when it comes to first person. Congratulations to the developers for a welcome to change, and one that interests me greatly.

Now, any room for me on those servers tonight?

The Flower Kings – Scala London – 24th September 2012

Mathew Hasker — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:32:57 +0000

It was their final show of the Banks of Eden tour 2012 and what a show it was. Lalle Larsson played us in with piano arrangements of music from his latest album, plus a very cool jam with Jonas and Felix.

The Flower Kings themselves started off with Numbers, followed by For the Love of Gold, also from Banks of Eden. Then we delved back into albums such as Paradox Hotel, Adam and Eve and of course, Stardust We Are. But for the first time (in the times I’ve seen The Flower Kings play), they even played from The Rainmaker! Last Minute on Earth to be precise. Roine joked that there were actually people who liked the album, which is quite funny really because only two hours before I had joked with my friend that it wasn’t one of their greatest ones.

Tomas did a solo session which was quite trippy, as was the Roine / Jonas jam. The whole evening ended in a bang with I Am the Sun.

The venue itself is quite a small venue, but makes for a more personal setting. The ambience was good, the sound production was well done (kicking the bass out as and when it needed it!), and it was a great atmosphere. Thanks to the venue for hosting a great evening. The last time I saw The Flower Kings, some madman ran onto the stage and unplugged Tomas’ equipment, thankfully this did not happen this time round.