Dear Esther ‘a model for development-led research’

The Chinese Room’s breakout Indie title Dear Esther shows how powerful development-led research can be, says its creator.

Dan Pinchbeck, who also lectures at the University of Portsmouth, believes the success of the unique adventure game means that the academic institution’s research into new forms of gameplay was “absolutely on the right track”.

“The success of Dear Esther has been amazing – it’s been hugely well received critically and by players,” said Pinchbeck.

“It really shows that the research we were doing into new forms of gameplay and story was absolutely on the right track and we’re very excited that we seem to be exploring a new area for gaming."

He added that he hoped the game’s success would encourage others to begin exploring new genres in gaming and diversify the development landscape.

“It also shows how powerful development-led research can be," he said.

"Our new game, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, which is also supported by the AHRC and the University of Portsmouth, will follow on from this line of research as well and we really hope to see other institutions start to explore this as a result."