Episode 1 of experimental Half-Life 2: Episode 2 mod released.

The first episode of experimental Half-Life 2: Episode 2 mod Post Script releases today.

In it, players can explore the remains of a town destroyed by its own tragedy, while solving environmental puzzles and uncovering the mystery of how, somewhere along the line, the whole world fell out of existence completely.

Despite being built in a first-person shooter engine, Post Script is a slow-paced adventure with a focus on exploration and discovery. Episodes last between five and 30 minutes, depending on the playing style of each individual.

"I'm really curious to see what people make of it," said writer, designer and developer Lewis Denby, who is also the editor of Resolution Magazine and a freelance video game journalist. "This is a labour of love in a very real way. It's a solo project, a snapshot of a personal design vision I have, and an experiment into what does and doesn't work in video games. I write about the medium, but I've never had the opportunity to tackle development like this before. It's absolutely a learning curve, but hopefully people will share the ideas I have, and get something out of their time with Post Script."

A further four episodes are planned for the coming months.

Post Script can be downloaded for free from http://postscriptmod.wordpress.com/ or http://www.moddb.com/mods/post-script/downloads. An installed copy of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 is required.

A launch trailer is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_4anIX2D_0 (Please note, the launch trailer still features the old release date.)