How Her Story Turns Video Clips into Clues
My favourite game of 2015 happened to be a low-fi indie game about watching VHS tapes of a woman giving evidence. Let's break down exactly how Her Story works, and look at the design and development of Sam Barlow's incredible game.
This video contains spoilers for the entirety of Her Story. They start at 2:22 (and this section is clearly marked)
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Recommended reading / viewing:
Vimeo: "Sam Barlow on the origins of Her Story"
https://vimeo.com/144009779
Games shown in this episode (in order of appearance):
Her Story (Sam Barlow, 2015)
Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun (Climax Studios, Cancelled)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations (Capcom, 2004)
LA Noire (Team Bondi, 2011)
Aisle (Sam Barlow, 1999)
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Climax Studios, 2009)
Music used in this episode:
The 49th Street Galleria (Her Story, Chris Zabriskie)
CGI Snake (Her Story, Chris Zabriskie)
There's Probably No Time (Her Story, Chris Zabriskie)
NirvanaVEVO (Her Story, Chris Zabriskie)
The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan (Her Story, Chris Zabriskie)
That Kid in Fourth Grade Who Really Liked the Denver Broncos (Her Story, Chris Zabriskie)
Other credits:
"VHS Glitch Free" - Christopher Huppertz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qELSSAspRDI
"Jodi Arias Interrogation Tape. Part 1" - TheTawniDilly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc96tHCPt4M
"Great Crimes And Trials - My Son, The Axe Murderer" - CrimeTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klBFSFNsfjo
"Criminal Lawyer - Albany, NY - Christopher Porco appeal" - Tully Rinckey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERK6bThJi-E
"Porco's appeal for new trial denied" - CBS6 Albany
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgYPyo7AIls
"Transcript of videotaped interview of Christopher S. Porco" - Murderpedia
http://murderpedia.org/male.P/images/porco_christopher/transcript_interview.pdf
Homicide: Life on the Street © HBO
Contribute translated subtitles - https://amara.org/v/C3BFh/
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Other Statistics
Her Story Statistics For Game Maker's Toolkit
At this time, Game Maker's Toolkit has 401,503 views for Her Story spread across 1 video. Less than an hour worth of Her Story videos were uploaded to his channel, making up less than 0.94% of the total overall content on Game Maker's Toolkit's YouTube channel.