User talk:CaDowns

This is the user talk page for CaDowns (talk) 11:57, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

Something Cool I found Online
The Stanley Parable

The Stanley Parable is a video game in the genre of interactive storytelling. First created by Davey Wreden in 2011 as a modification for Half Life 2 utilising the Source Engine created by Valve Corporation, the game was further developed by the independent studio Galactic Cafe and released as a standalone game in 2013.

The game, while in a first person perspective, does not feature any action sequences nor includes any gunplay. The player takes on the role of Stanley - an office worker - and simply walks around the map. The map, an office block, is devoid of any other Non-Playable Characters (NPC). All motivation to continue the story forward is the result of an omniscient Narrator (Voiced by Kevan Brighting). However, the player-character is able to challenge the narrator by ignoring his narration, changing the entire path of the game.

If following all of the narrators instructions, a short story plays out to a empty, yet optimistic finale. However, multiple paths exist for the player, all of which significantly change the storyline and even affect how the narrator wishes to deal with the players transgressions. The many ways in which The Stanley Parable can play out is one of the many reasons the game has attracted a significant cult following within modern gaming. IGN reviews the piece as 'funny, self-referential, surprising, and sometimes uncomfortable to play, a tale told not through one linear story but instead through many different branching paths that twists the illusion of control that video games work so hard to give us'.

The character of the Narrator has also faced widespread acclaim in the eyes of the modern gamer, as Kevan Brightings humorous performance is nuanced and varied in a fashion normally unseen in other contemporary, 'interactive storytelling' games. PC Gamer describes the character as 'At times, he feels like an antagonist, but really he's narrative design personified. He's as trapped by your chaotic whim as you are by his retribution. Depending on the path you're walking, he can be grandiose, affectionate, cold, impassioned, pleading, and, more often than not, wearied'.

The illusion of control is actively questioned by The Stanley Parable. This finds particular resonance in modern gaming, as a variety of other games -independent and heavily commercialised- have begun to question player agency in their own content: Irrational Games Bioshock (2007) and Bioshock Infinite (2013) question the idea of agency within their own storylines and serve as good examples of this.

The Stanley Parable finds itself alongside other 'Interactive Storytelling' games such as the Fullbright Company's Gone Home, Numinous Games' That Dragon, Cancer and Wreden's later work with Everything Unlimited Ltd, The Beginner's Guide.

CaDowns (talk) 20:46, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

Replies

 * CaDowns Oh! I've heard so much about this game! I'm obsessed with Portal and I'm getting into Half Life, so the Stanley Parable seems to be the obvious next step. I'm very excited to try it, although I've heard a lot of poor reviews. The Know, a Youtube group who talks about video games, claimed that they didn't have that much fun playing it. I wonder why. I'm intrigued to try it because I'm not sure if I'll end up following the Narrator or not. Apparently, according to other people who have played it, it's more difficult than one can assume. It's very much an argument against technology, if you think about it -- do you follow the voices or do you do your own thing?? Hfk667 (talk) 11:50, 10 February 2016 (UTC)