Developer TheChineseRoom’s mystical adventure game, Dear Esther, has had a very successful launch. The indie Source engine game turned a profit in just six hours, selling 16,000 units at $9.99 USD (£6.99) a pop.
Dear Esther was originally released in 2008 as a Half-Life 2 mod. Robert Briscoe, who was an environmental artist on the Electronic Arts first person platformer Mirror’s Edge, collaborated with the developer in 2009 to overhaul the visuals and level design to make it a viable commercial product.
The game is an experimental first person adventure game much in the vein of Myst, as a ghost looks back on his own life and relationships.
