The Chinese Room are responsible for the lesser known - although critically acclaimed - experimental source engine mod Dear Esther. As a poetically narrated, 1st-person walk across the edge of a small, Scottish island, Dear Esther was made poignant by its unconventionally melancholic tone and atmospheric design, dealing with death and loneliness in a mature and thoughtful way. It seems The Chinese Room have a thing for death and loneliness. Everybody's Gone to Rapture just so happens to be set in the English countryside - the moment after the world has ended. With no HUD, no objective and not a soul in sight, players will be forced to find out the big answers on their own. Non-linear exploration is the name of the game (obviously, not literally) as you discover physical and existential meaning for just what the heck happened to everybody. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen a friendly glowing orb beckoning players onward, one of five ethereal companions you can choose to follow. Depending on the places you go, the things you do and the clues you find in what order you find them, you're interpretation of the story can and will vary. The developers aren't even forcing us to solve the larger mystery, if we even can. One thing is for sure - you cannot die. According to Chinese Room developer Dan Pinchbeck, in an interview with Polygon, "The only fail state for us is the player doesn't care." For all the FPS gun-fests and apocalyptic bloodbath stories out there, Everybody's Gone To Rapture doesn't bleed with the same need to spoon-feed us exposition on the back of some in-your-face-shooter design. With art-house vibes off the narrative-driven-chain, we can't wait to thoughtfully wander through the thematically rich aftermath of God knows what.
Real Science Magazine called James' addiction to video games "sexually attractive." He also worked really hard and got really lucky in college and earned some awards for acting, improv and stand-up, but nobody cares about that out here in LA. So... He's starting over fresh, performing when He can. His profile picture features James as Serbian, vampire comic Dorde Mehailo with His anonymous Brother and Uncle at the Nerdmelt Showroom in West Hollywood. In James' spare time, he engages in acting, writing, athletics, hydration, hours of great pondering and generally wishing you'd like him.
