So, the only reason we play games are because theyвЂ™re basically interactive stories? That being said, lets go back to the endings. It goes to show that even if gameplay is simple, if the story is well done, players are still willing to play again and again. Some have called it a вЂњWalking simulatorвЂќ in the past, but because the story is so rich, it still qualifies as a game. But a game like TSP does show how thin the line is between linear and open gameplay, and it can be hard to distinguish at points. But then again, it does have invisible walls, and, you need to do certain things to get to the desired ending you wantвЂ¦so what exactly is TSP? Is it possible to have it be a mix of the two? In my opinion, TSP does have qualities to be an open world game. Is it safe to say then, that TSP is in some aspects, an open world, despite you being confined to the same hallway? I feel like it does fit the characteristics of it- you get to explore, interact with certain items. Thinking about it now, in order to get all 19, there is a lot of exploration that would need to be done in order to find them all without cheating. This then causes the idea of multiple time lines, something we talked about at the beginning of the year with legend of Zelda (Yes, Link did save Hyrule, but then when he was transported back, did he have to save it again?) Are games actually giving a proper, satisfying ending in this case?ДЄll conspiracy theory aside, TSP has 19 endings. Such an idea needs to be thought about in other games-вЂњwhat if Mario never rescued the princess?вЂќ. But the narrator puts an idea into your head that there is more, much more than the ending you got. Yeah, you can go follow the story, you get your reward. What happens, in Metal Gear, if you decided not to go on that mission, and vacationed in Cuba instead? TSP plays on the idea on how вЂњconform, and you shall be rewardedвЂќ really plays out in video games. ArenвЂ™t we the ones mindlessly pressing buttons? ArenвЂ™t we the ones needlessly following the narrators orders, and disobeying him just to get a rise out of him? We arenвЂ™t just playing as Stanley, nor are we actually Stanley, but the relationship between Stanley and the narrator plays on the relationship between the real life gamer, and video games.

вЂњBut, of course they areвЂќ, you say to yourself, вЂњyou are playing from his perspective after allвЂќ. One thing that came to me while playing the game was the possibility of the developers trying to make you, as the player, Stanley himself. Or, it could also be how a linear game some how seems nonlinear. It could be how self aware the game is of itself, for example, the narrator always talks about the use of вЂњnarrative tropesвЂќ, and how Stanley would just ruin the story by not following the narrative. With The StanleyвЂ™s Parable (TSP), there is some sort of entertainment factor that has helped make the game as popular as it is today. In about an hour I found seven different endings, and as soon as I watched someone else play, they found another two that IвЂ™d never seen beforeвЂ¦вЂќ Occasionally youвЂ™ll make the exact same decisions and something different will happen, as the narrator changes track. WhatвЂ™s impressive is how limited environments and apparently limited choices lead to so many different outcomes. I didnвЂ™t, as it happens, but this has a much more sophisticated version of that concept, no longer made of Half-Life assets and greatly expanded by creator Davey Wreden in collaboration with William PughвЂ¦ You might know The Stanley Parable from its 2011 iteration as a Half-Life 2 mod. ItвЂ™s 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. Fun! Follow that line! Follow that story!Д«Y KEZA MACDONALDLike Dear Esther and Thirty Flights of Loving, The Stanley Parableis an experiment with interactive narrative, another attempt to find a new form of storytelling unique to video games.

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