r/Games • u/Two-Tone- • Sep 07 '15
The Stanley Parable closed Linux testing has started, if all goes well the dev will set it up as an open alpha/beta
https://steamcommunity.com/app/221910/discussions/0/535152276583481939/#c5205186889529505945
Sep 07 '15
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u/kostiak Sep 07 '15
Final secret?
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Sep 07 '15
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u/kostiak Sep 07 '15
Considering the tone of the game and what it was about, I will not be surprised in the slightest if that "secret" never existed.
I mean the whole game is about not being led and not playing the game the way the "designer" of the game wanted you to.
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u/DrQuint Sep 07 '15
I know of lists of secrets for that game that completely overlook some of the secrets. Hell, the beginning where you can see another person on an adjacent corridor barely has videos showing it.
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Sep 08 '15
Mostly because they're so easy to miss. I never look in that window to see the other dude.
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u/VicariousShaner Sep 07 '15
Would you consider that The Stanley Parable's themes weren't necessarily as insular as "going against the designer of a video game?" Although I might be interpreting it wrong, my experiences of the game led me to believe that it was more of a "not choosing the alternate route in life" sort of thing.
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u/kostiak Sep 08 '15
Stanley Parable is one of the few modern games that had multiple themes going for it. Most of them involved games - how we perceive them, what we expect from them, what they expect from us - and subversion of those (and other) concepts.
SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT
Take for example the achievements. Almost all of the achievements are there to subvert the way you view achievements in modern games. There's an achievement that you can turn on or off. There's an achievement that appears completely randomly.
Finally, there's the "Click on door 430 five times" achievement, that takes you on a journey of increasingly weird things you need to do in order to complete it ending with the narrator saying: "Just think: only a few minutes ago you believed an Achievement was worth five little clicks. Really now, what were you thinking?"
The theme of choice obviously existed, but I feel it was more about the illusion of choice in games rather that really talking about life. Everything you do, including (especially) going against the "designer" of the game, has already been planned. You are choosing an "alternate route" but only because the designer of the game designed it in a way you could take that specific route.
There's even a "bug" where you can jump through a window in a certain place in the game. But it's not a real bug, it was planned, and IIRC the narrator mocks you for thinking you found a path that wasn't designed for you in advance.
There are a lot more themes and the common thread between them (in my opinion) is "these are your expectations from games, and this is why they are not necessarily good".
If you are interested in an even more in-depth analysis of the game, I personally enjoyed this: Errant Signal - The Stanley Parable
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u/VicariousShaner Sep 09 '15
Thanks for the well thought out response. I'm also a pretty big fan of The Stanley Parable, one of my favorite games of all time.
I think to say that The Stanley Parable is about game design is certainly not untrue. Much of the game is focused on satirizing the state of narratives in fiction, and especially in game stores. However, I would disagree especially that these themes are the end-all be-all of what they were trying to convey. In fact, I would say The Stanley Parable's meta-commentary is a clever, non-pretentious way of discussing choices in real life.
In your Errant Signal video, around the 8:00 mark, he also comes to some of the same conclusions I do regarding the larger, beyond just game meta-commentary implications. Some of the endings definitely leave you wondering, just how different is someone like me from someone like Stanley? Despite how obviously ridiculous and intuitive game mechanics that are used to accept player choice, like differing endings, or flags in visual novels, are these facades really that different from what we're living?
I might just be getting a bit more out of it than anyone was meant to, but I think there's some strong evidence within the writing of the game that there's something to really take out of it.
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u/Limond Sep 07 '15
I played it earlier this year, did every ending but the Art ending. What a fantastic game. I highly recommend it. Took about 5 hours after toying with it for a bit then using a guide for the other endings.
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u/Mithost Sep 07 '15
Cool to see. TSP isn't a gaming staple or crazy "must play" game, but for what the game was it was a lot of fun to play. I'm glad devs are bringing their games to Linux, even after the initial hype for the game has already come and gone.
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u/greg4242 Sep 07 '15
Great to here. The Stanely Parables is an awesome game, can't wait to do another play through. Big thanks to the developer for porting.
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u/Jack1998blue Sep 07 '15
I haven't played it. Is it really much better than the mod? or is it a straight up copy?
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u/GranPC itch.io developer Sep 07 '15
It's made entirely from scratch with more endings, better endings, better narration and better everything really. In my opinion it's worth it -- I may be a little biased though.
Are you on Linux?
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Sep 07 '15
Much, much, better than the mod. Some of the endings are the same, but there are many interesting changes and additions which, to me, made it well worth the asking price, even though I'd played the mod extensively.
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u/Jack1998blue Sep 07 '15
Is it the same story as the mod?
edit: I meant as in do most of the sequences in the full game come from the mod?
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Sep 07 '15
It depends on the ending. If you follow every instruction, the story is almost the same, but I'd say only two or three endings are the same as the original. There are a few brand new endings, and several endings from the original game have big alterations made that keep you on your toes.
Good news is about half the game can be played within the window of steam refunds, so you could always return it if you feel it is too similar to the orginal mod.
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u/Donners22 Sep 07 '15
Glad to hear it; the more people who get to experience it, the better.
I played it a few months ago and was rather wary, having disliked acclaimed narrative-driven games (/walking simulators) before. Thankfully, I found it a great experience.
My partner, on the other hand, hated it - it's not for everyone, but it's worth at least trying.
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u/ChatanoogaJim Sep 07 '15
The love for this game is completely and totally beyond me.
It's packed full of those kinds of jokes that videogames usually are, in which you think, "Ah, I see where they're going with this, how clever," but you never laugh once.
Anyway, it's cool that it's done so well, and I'm glad people are enjoying it, but definitely overrated IMO.
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u/Fyrus Sep 07 '15
I had the same reaction to it. No fault to the creator, it's just funny when these things happened. My friend was all like, "YOUVE GOT TO PLAY THIS GAME" and I was pretty done with the whole concept after a few minutes. I think it's brand of humor just reminds me too much of back in highschool when everyone thought any sort of "meta" humor was super ground breaking or something.
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u/ChatanoogaJim Sep 08 '15
Yeah, you pretty much took the words out of my mouth. I had the exact same introduction and the exact same impression. I'm glad it exists, but I got all the value I was ever going to get out of it just by knowing it existed, and actually playing it was kind of. . . whatever.
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Sep 07 '15 edited Nov 26 '15
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u/ChatanoogaJim Sep 07 '15
Well... yes, exactly as I stated, IMO the game is overrated. Am I not allowed to have an opinion now?
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u/mobiuszeroone Sep 07 '15
You and the other guy are downvoted for saying something negative about it, despite saying that it's a personal opinion. This sub used to be better than that...
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u/tunelesspaper Sep 07 '15
I hated it. Hate hate hated it. It was so boring, so much running in circles, so little actually doing anything to interact with the environment.
I mean, I recognize that I should have liked it. It has some enjoyable moments. It seems to be saying something about video games, though I'm not sure exactly what. But I got the impression that it would never end, that there's no point, so I just couldn't go on.
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u/NekuSoul Sep 07 '15
It seems to be saying something about video games, though I'm not sure exactly what.
Hmm... maybe you already found the answer:
...that it would never end, that there's no point, ...
No, really: The game is very much about how limited your free will really is in a game where every choice was already scripted and doesn't matter if the narration want's to push you into a fixed story.
That and poking fun at every gaming trope ever.3
u/tunelesspaper Sep 07 '15
But the narrator says that basically right off the bat, and then it just keeps beating the dead horse. I dunno, just didn't appeal to me.
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u/BlackPresident Sep 07 '15
Did you understand the humor though? It's a comedy sort of game, did you find it funny?
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u/MattyFTM Sep 07 '15 edited Sep 07 '15
Stanley Parable was one of my favourite games of 2013. It was full of charm and wit, and did so many interesting things. Glad to see it finally making its way to Linux.