Channels, Fall 2016

Alford • Choosing to Choose Page 52 medium because it has been used poorly in the past. The video game is an excellent medium to analyze with a media ecologist lens. The illusion of choice in the game mirror's the same illusion of choice that Ellul and Flusser argued exists within broader society. Obviously, game designers typically control possible outcomes of the story, but they entertain possibilities in their stories that can comment on ideas. Some of these games can be used as propaganda. America's Army is a good example of a game that exists to put forward a specific view point. The game is a recruiting tool for the US military and normalizes the ideals of American exceptionalism and patriotism. Additionally, games are the first interactive form of mass media. According to Stanley Baran (2014, p. 221), games are set to have 174 million players by 2020. This medium is not going away. The structure of the game is a unique opportunity to critique culture through creative gameplay mechanics combined with self-aware storytelling. For this reason, this paper will use the video game The Stanley Parable to illustrate the modern condition . The game challenges the assumptions underpinning technique and exposes the dangers of passively accepting technology without critical thought. It accomplishes this feat in a self-referential way, understanding that the medium it uses does not escape the critique the game puts forth. Case Study: The Stanley Parable The Stanley Parable features a mindless drone named Stanley. Pushing buttons all day for his job, his work requires no creativity or thought. The game opens with the mysterious absence of Stanley's coworkers and the equally mysterious appearance of a narrator who tells Stanley his possible paths forward. Stanley is presented with a series of choices, each one allowing him to either obey or disobey the narrator. Each series of choices results in a different ending. The Stanley Parable reveals the illusion of freedom within the interfaced society and demonstrates the manner in which the activity of play is able to deconstruct the probabilities of technique. Interfaced Media The first thing the player notices about The Stanley Parable is the unique style of gameplay. Unlike most games, which require skill or creativity to advance a story or win the game, The Stanley Parable's only functional element is walking and operating basic interfaces like doors or buttons. Not only does this expose the nature of video games as a series of decisions made by manipulating an interface, it also points to something broader about modern society. Since the inception of the typewriter, Western society has increasingly technified decisions. People write emails, create power-points, and operate machines. This society is what could be described as an interfaced society. In many ways, human technology is human existence. At the World Economic Forum's 2011 meeting, Dr. Ian Goldin (2011) discussed the double edged nature of technology. He said, “The interface of technology and society is absolutely key to what we do. Technology will provide many solutions, but it could also be the most dangerous thing we bring to the world” (30 Seconds). Technology is always value-laden. The technological media people use will