Thank you, Twitter, for reminding me about one of my all-time favorite game's sixth anniversary! I love titles that do not shy away from teasing the player. In a field that's for decades been dominated by highly intellectual and cynical postmodernism, they encourage you to step off the path laid by the developers and warn you against being fooled by a narrator posing as your ally, or maybe even hint that it’s impossible to learn the truth which changes based on every minute decision made by the player. The Stanley Parable exists to demonstrate just how effectively the fourth wall - that invisible boundary that separates the viewer from the piece of art - can be smashed into pieces and thrown into the trash bin. There is only yourself, your experience, and your ability to choose. The realization that the game addresses you directly, instead of talking through some made-up protagonist, quickly dispels much of the confusion. It's funny because it is precisely this method of storytelling that birthed a large number of interpretations of the game's real meaning, perhaps more than any other gaming project out there can boast. And maybe, that's why the best course of action is to let go of the attempts to make sense of what's going on and just enjoy the game for what it is. #thestanleyparable
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