Overview

Gone Home is a first-person adventure game from The Fullbright Company. It was released on Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux on August 15th, 2013.

Various console versions (a Wii U version was the only leaked one) published by Majesco Entertainment's indie label, Midnight City, was due to be released sometime in December 2014. As of March 2015, Majesco's and Midnight City's financial troubles meant that all projects were canceled, and thus, the Gone Home console ports were put on indefinite hold.

Story

In the summer of 1995, a young woman named Kaitlin Greenbriar arrives at her family's new home in Arbor Hill, Oregon after traveling around Europe for a year. When she finds the house deserted, Kaitlin begins searching the mansion, hoping to find out what happened to her parents, Terrence and Janice, and little sister, Sam.

Characters

Katie Greenbriar

Gone Home is played from the perspective of Kaitlin "Katie" Greenbriar. She is the eldest child of Terrence and Janice Greenbriar.

Sam Greenbriar

Sam, the protagonist of Gone Home's narrative, is Katie's 17 year old sister.

Yolanda "Lonnie" DeSoto

Lonnie is Sam's friend. As they grow closer, she becomes Sam's girlfriend. Her relationship with Sam provides the conflict in Gone Home's narrative.

Terrence Greenbriar

Terrance is Katie and Sam's father. He is a struggling author who occasionally contributes to a home theater magazine.

Janice Greenbriar

Janice is Katie and Sam's mother. She works for the Oregon State Forestry Service. There are suggestions that she had an affair with a male coworker, recently transferred to her department.

Gameplay

Gone Home is a first-person adventure game. The game begins with Katie arriving home after traveling abroad to discover an empty home. The player finds various clues left from family members, such as letters, diary tape recordings, and maps leading to secret areas, in order to learn more about Sam's story. The game rarely tells the player where to look for the next relevant clue. This requires the player to scavenge the house for clues that will connect the dots to discovering more of the narrative. Access to certain parts of the house are gated using locked doors and require matching keys to be found before progressing.

There is no combat or difficult puzzles. The player progresses through the story by finding clues that lead them to discovering the next piece of the narrative, eventually leading to the game's ending. Most small objects can be picked up and examined from any angle. Additionally, finding certain notes will activate voice over narration from Sam that plays automatically and can be listened to again from the inventory screen. This is similar to how audio logs function in games such as BioShock.

Development

The development of Gone Home was led by Steve Gaynor. In May 2012, he appeared in a Giant Bomb video interview to discuss the founding of The Fullbright Company and the early development of Gone Home. Gaynor listed "immersive simulations" such as System Shock, Deus Ex, and Bioshock as sources of inspiration for Gone Home's first-person adventure gameplay although the game has no enemies or combat. Another source of inspiration was the practice of urban exploration.

The music is composed by Chris Remo who is a close friend of the company.

On February 16th, 2013, Johnnemann Nordhagen, co-founder of The Fullbright Company, revealed on Twitter that "Sassy Magazine" was used as a major research feature. This statement was later confirmed by Steve Gaynor.

System Requirements