a game about games and my start in meditative and mindful videogames: The Stanley Parable
Stanley Parable is a contemplative work that I find it hard to describe in its entirety, perhaps today we have a clearer picture of what can become the narrative in the video game but living an experience like Stanley Parable simply puts us in a much more conscious and reflective perspective regarding the freedom of movement in a video game. If Half-Life introduced me to the non-stop action of its shooting and dynamic story, Stanley Parable introduces me to the Indie side of a Walking Simulator, one where the narrative is the experience and we are the means to tell it, we are the office worker, an excuse to get into an experience that seeks to satirize the concept of "Freedom" in a videogame, we only go as far as the programmer decides we can go, or in this case, the omniscient narrator.
This game is told as a simple story from the beginning, Stanley works in an office of a company but his colleagues have disappeared, from there the voice of the narrator (played excellently by Kevan Brighting) that will give us "instructions" about where we should go or what we should do, and I put the word instructions in quotes because the game is to break the mold of traditional stories and present us in each scenario several decisions that will modify the story to the chagrin of our narrator, begins brilliantly presenting the dilemma of the two doors that goes something like this: "The narrator has given us an instruction to go through x door, will we follow it? " but we end up being able to take actions that are as challenging as they are hilarious, and that's another strength of the game, its humorous charge is capable of causing a good laugh and it's a treat the personality the narrator has with each of our actions.
"When Stanley came to a room with two open doors, he entered through the door on the left."
It's such a roundabout and simple sequence to introduce us to the roll of this game, the narrator narrates the moment and leaves it up to us to decide, my first play through I followed every one of the narrator's guidelines, went up the stairs, entered the code on the office keypad and then turned off the doomsday machine. A happy ending without further ado until I remembered that there is a door to the right and that's where the charm of the game falls on you in full force, we go exploring possibilities if we disobey the narrator or even if we return to the original course after leaving on our own the game changes radically in how it develops, to say more I think is to ruin the experience of one of the most innovative games of a few years ago.
Its narrator is a character that has both substance and personality and behind that comes a script and a narrative that emerges as an orchestra conductor of the whole clusterfuck that is about to happen because Stanley Parable knows how to take you and knows how to make you suffer, not for its gameplay but for the approaches that brings its narrator about what freedom means in a video game (and perhaps also the consequences of not following instructions lol).
Despite the experimental nature of this game I think it is an accessible game for those who want a short and fun story, with twists so unexpected that it is very difficult not to give them credit and with a system of choices that introduces very well whoever plays it to the video game, it must be clear that this game is not for everyone, it is a work that is (in my experience) in its own subgenre and over time has shaped quite the Indie industry with its cunning approaches or its meta humor, is a title that is hard to call it a video game because of its unusual initial approach, after all this experience is just look, make decisions and walk, the beginning of the existential Walking Simulators begins (and ends) with Stanley Parable, each game is different even if we retrace our steps exactly the same scenario, dialogues and even decisions and endings will change. In experiences that last no more than 20 minutes but leave you with a unique taste and a desire to repeat it until you find all its secrets, the end is never the end and this game makes very good use of its time.
The Stanley Parable despite being an Indie for me was the perfect entry into the world of independent developers, and is that a game with a strong personality and a clear idea when it comes to raise and execute it seemed amazing to me that appeared with a limited budget and aiming more to use the Source engine (Half-Life 2 or Counter Strike) to tell an innovative experience in the sector, after this I got a fever to try experimental games like the saga of Lisa, or the spiritual successor to the game of this analysis: The Beginner's Guide that works as a retrospective and even documentary experiment of what a videogame can become.
Man, I've heard so much about this game, and it looks so impactful to the gaming landscape. I'm definitely putting this on my list to try, I can tell it's a game worth experiencing, it sounds like a fun, emotional roller-coaster. Thanks for this, keep up the great game coverage! 🙏
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