Channels, Fall 2016

Channels • 2016 • Volume 1 • Number 1 Page 55 well-established situations, are unable to grasp its meaning. Henceforth, there will be no conflict between contending forces among which technique is only one. The victory of technique has already been secured. (p. 130) The Stanley Parable points to this technological truth. The values of technique have invaded the human economic, social, and political life, and unseating it is unthinkable. Everything is being standardized. Even for The Stanley Parable , a critique of technique, the only ending that leads to “freedom” isn't true freedom. The door of the factory opens, and Stanley steps out; but as soon as he does, the player loses control of Stanley's movement. The sequence continues in such a way that the player cannot make decisions. This pattern illustrates the danger in the interfaced society. As people become increasingly dependent on their phones and computers, functioning without them grows increasingly difficult. To Play Having recognized the technological reality of the twenty-first century, what does The Stanley Parable suggest people do? Is it simply critiquing society, or does it offer a solution? Perhaps the alternative is found in the game’s being-in-the-world. What is the world of the game? It is the activity of play. The designer of The Stanley Parable, Davey Wren, made this point directly when he spoke at the 2014 GDC Game Narrative Summit. Wren (2014) explained: Even if there is a binary set of inputs, even if the game is mechanically only two things that you can do, I'd really love it if the player felt as if there were lots of different ways that you could go about choosing between those two things. . . What we are doing is creating a stage, and choices are props on the stage. And even you have the same stage and the same props, if you put multiple people in front of those props they are going to do totally different things with it, right? Giving two people the same prop doesn't mean we expect the same choice out of them. We will find out something new based on every single person who comes to those props. We want a variety of player expression, that every player who comes to it can see something new about themselves. It’s not about the outcome. It’s not about the challenge you are trying to overcome. It’s about when I was on stage with those props, I chose something that's a reflection of me. (5:00) The ultimate problem with technique that The Stanley Parable reveals is the problem of probability and expression of choice. The inevitability of decisions and the lack of the unpredictable strips Stanley of his agency. But players are able to express something about themselves in the game's form of dialogue. The alternative is to play. The dialogue of the game happens in the mind of the player as they slowly realize the inevitability of the game’s progression. This dialogue is different for each player. It is unpredictable. The act of playing a game introduces an element of change because the player cannot predict precisely what another player will do. Similarly, chess has a determined outcome; the game can only play out so many possible ways. The structure of the game is predetermined, but the other player is not. Through exploring the possible