The Stanley Parable [HL2 Mod]

[Klifsnider]

It sounds like you didn't download the fixed version.

Sorry, are you talking to me?
I didn't download the version that was released today... But all they did was remove a 200mb backup file to reduce the download size right?

[Armageddon]

Wasn't talking to you.

[Mr-Jigsaw]

You may find this harsh, and you may be right. If you haven't played it and don't want it "spoiled" in any way, don't read this. I refuse to use the spoiler thingy.

ScarT, I agree with you. In fact, I haven't played a single one of these so-called "profound" mods that I've liked. Dear Esther, Korsakovia, Radiator, another one I don't remember...I didn't like any of them, this one included. I don't see why simply eschewing combat and gunplay makes them deep. Jesus, guys, read a book if you want a story that isn't all explosions.

Though I must say, out of all these mods this is the one I liked best, partially because it didn't have a massive ego behind it, but that still doesn't mean I liked it. For how small the level is, more work could have gone into detailing and such. Of course, you may retort that the boring level design is meant to emphasize how boring Stanley's life is, but what of the areas he's never been to: the control room, the secret hallways, etc. Those aren't part of his life, but they still were detailed like they were. I mean, at least add some new textures, 2004 stock textures are old, used to death, I hate that office wallpaper. And would it have killed the guy to use something else instead of the combine terminal with the messed up skin? And the citizens? Nothing makes me laugh more than seeing the same city17 citizens in a mod unrelated to the Half-Life canon.

And then there's the part where you jump out the window. Gee, it's really a suicidal jump, what with being ten feet above the ground. I could really bruise my foot from that height. And would it really have been too hard to not use skybox buildings in the actual map? I mean, the game was already low-res, but walking outside really turns it up a notch. It would have taken an hour, maybe less, to build real buildings with brushwork. Just take a few screenshots of city17 and there you go.

So the lady talks through the menu, so the narrator comments on Stanley's reaction to the narration, etc. NONE OF THIS IS NEW. Breaking the fourth wall is hardly original, and having the character notice they are a character in a story isn't either. I don't see how routine or even amateur ideas in the world of literature thrive in video games. An author might be considered passable for writing a book with similar themes, but as soon as it's in a video game, oh boy, everyone treats the modder like they're the next James Joyce. People start spouting such praise like "It changed my life" and "It's so beautiful" and "So mature." Read a book, people! If this is what you consider to have literary merit, just wait until you read or see the real works of art.

The very premise is overused to the point that I found it amusing: Man lives pointless life in an office building, doing menial work for the man. Geez, you really turned the storytelling world upside down with that premise, guy. It's not like every other so-called "deep mod that you can't shoot things in." Seriously, there was another one I played where you grew up from a baby, with fun diminishing as you left toddler-ville, with its giant toys and colorful scenery to boring SCHOOL. Oh no! School! How dare those oppressive adults replace our fun filled years of sub-par mental capacity with actual education. And then you go to the bland, almost monochrome, office building with its endless expanse of cubicles. In the end of that one, you threw yourself off a building to get the best ending. I can only hope that it was a parody. But there it is, the same premise. Boring life, the man, yada yada yada. So you work in a cubicle all day, so you think your life is meaningless. YOU HAVE DONE THIS TO YOURSELF. Get a hobby, quit your job and work outdoors like at the end of Office Space(I don't really encourage this), your life's meaning is dependent upon you! Everyone has to do menial things in life, and your job is cushy despite its apparent boredom. There was never a better time to live than now, unless you would have enjoyed the factories of the Gilded Age before the rise of unions. Have fun dying, at least it won't be boring! Hell, even the Matrix did this, before it got all karate-y and shoot-y. So I don't forgive the mod its premise, which was old long ago.

Believe me, I tried to give this game a chance. But the developer commentary file says it all to me.
And I quote, "With the Mariella ending, I'm trying to point out that it's all perception. She thinks her life problems are so important, but the're just as significant as the crazy guy who saw them all in his head. On an unrelated note, you probably think your own personal life and problems are pretty important, don't you?"

Yeah, real deep there man, and you didn't skimp with the anvils either, brother. There's nothing I like being told more than that I'm a selfish bastard for fixing my own problems instead of everyone else's. Guess what, our problems are important because they're our problems. No one else is going to fix them, unless you had some kind of cosmic buddy system. Unlikely. You just can't trample over your fellow man in trying to fix them.

The creator said this took two years. TWO YEARS?!? He warns other modders not to be so ambitious. AMBITIOUS?!?! I am literally having an aneurysm right now. Zero custom textures. Zero custom models. I think I recognized the music from one of the bullshit new-age movies about fatal niceness or paying it forward or something. The level probably has less square footage than the largest CS map! And he calls it ambitious?!? I'm beginning to change my mind about that ego thing.

What people need to realize is that games must be fun. Fun is derived from gameplay. Gameplay is more than walking around, listening to passable writing and trying to find a way to climb onto that damned couch without being able to use the jump button(Good thing too, else I would have been jumping the entire game). Adventure games get away with that because, well, you're adventuring, exploring interesting worlds and seeing grand sights, not going through endless, monotonous corridors. In this mod, I wasn't having fun, nor was a being entertained in any way. I mean, say what you will about popcorn shooters, at least they're fun. They might fall apart as stories(I'm looking at you, MW2!) but at least the gameplay is fun, even if it's a bunch of gunplay. Believe me, you can make a deep game, that creates an emotional connection with the player, while still keeping the shooting aspects intact(Half-life 2, duh). If you're going to remove the shooting gameplay, which is kinda central to the source engine and all(most) of its (official) games, then you sure as hell have a good replacement(story or portal gun[still a gun!{Also real writing!}]).

Neither is gameplay walking around on an accursed, ugly island listening to shockingly bad purple prose and barely a story to speak of(GET IT? I'M TALKING ABOUT DEAR ESTHER!) These aren't games, they are short stories masquerading as games. Bad short stories.

Also, what is it with British narrators? I'd like to hear an Australian narrate a story once in a while.

[source-maps]

haters gonna hate

[aaoral]

Wow, what a wonderful mod to shit all over with your rancid wall of text. All it shows is that you missed the point of the game entirely.

The mod was developed with the interactive storytelling in mind, not the fucking textures, not the story itself (although it is admittedly a big part), not the level design or the scripting or the lighting or any of that garbage. It is labeled as an experimental mod for a reason, because it is testing out an experimental concept in the gameplay. While it's certainly not giving me any wonderful epiphanies, it's still a very interesting concept for a game that I would like to see expanded upon (hopefully with a better story).

If the lack of guns is really bothering you give me 5 minutes and I could turn up 20 mods full of running and gunning. Point is, this isn't your standard fare. While that doesn't make it good, you should give it a break, because there are still plenty of half-assed mods out there that do deserve your criticism.

[ad_hominem]

I think I'm going to like you, aaoral .

[neoviper]

I loved it honestly, it provided interesting responses to my choices, which were of course to do the opposite of whatever the narrator said.

[Hollow]

This was featured in this months copy of Edge magazine! Kudos Davey.

As for Mr, Jigsaw, I really think you need to step outside your comfort zone in terms of what you accept as a mod or game, your perception of the whole concept comes across as pretty narrow minded. I'd take this sort of gameplay over the thousands of crap half-baked action mods that never try to stand out.
It's comparable to someone who listens to only terrible speedcore and rejects the amazing broad diversity music has to offer.

[Jike]

I feel confused.. :O

On one hand, I LOVED the mod (even though I only watched the video version with all possible endings). Then again, I can completely understand Jigsaw's point of view. imo, the clash of standpoints, is that it is NOT a new concept, but it IS in videogames...

If a videogame is, what it takes to create interest in a person towards a concept or idea, then be it so. Same with the people, that decided to learn an instrument after playing guitar hero (I am one of those!)

About the breaking fourth wall and selfquestioning thing: There's a reason these themes are popular in any kind of media and have been for decades or centuries: because philosophical and psychological aspects circling around the "ME" and reality are (at least for now) things that seem to be closest accessible to the human playground of thoughts - probably on a biological basis.

to sum it up: fascinating! :O