#the narrator is evil. he controls stanley for his story.

[comshipbracket]

Antis DNI - Block the tag "comship" if this causes discomfort.

Remember, you are voting for the ship you prefer, not the ship you find more problematic

Propaganda for both ships under the cut.

Disclaimer: All ships (other than NozoCoco) on this bracket are FOLLOWER-SUBMITTED ships, the Mods do not always hold necessary knowledge to be aware of any errors or fanonizing what should be canon material that may arise.

Jimthan Propaganda (One-sided Toxic Dynamic, Underage - Both Jimmy and Nathan are children)

"Jimmy and Nathan have an adorably onesided dynamic where it's never entirely clear if Jimmy is fully aware just how much Nathan hates his guts. Fueled partly by their different feelings on summer camp, Nathan has tried to get Jimmy killed multiple times, almost always ending in his own misfortune as a result. Much like a classic Looney Toons pair, Jimmy's insistence on fair play and good sportsmanship somehow always wins against Nathan's schemes. Even after encountering a situation where it is Severely, OBJECTIVELY clear that Nathan is just a straight up evil person who wants him and everyone else involved in the camp Dead, Jimmy seems to openly consider him a friend who he's glad to see every summer. This doesn't mean he never fucks with him, but Jimmy's attitude being so chill and friendly makes a wonderful contrast against Nathan's seething hatered. They also seem to be on mildly reasonable terms at school, partly because whenever Nathan has to directly interact with him, he feigns friendship, making the whole dynamic that much more complex. Please let my disabled babies win against the conventionally attractive anime people, i mean no disdain for the other ships i just think that would be really cool!!"

Stannarrator Propaganda (Codependency, Toxic Power Dynamics - In most endings)

"The Stanley Parable is a game about The Narrator wanting to tell a story through their game but having to rely on the Stanley's choices. The core of the game is that Stanley and The Narrator are bound to each other: Stanley needs The Narrator to make the "parable" he lives in, and The Narrator needs Stanley to make the choices that drive the story.

The Narrator clearly has the most power in this dynamic, since he can alter the world the Stanley lives in: modifying the rooms, creating and deleting objects at will, reloading the game, altering Stanley's perception, knowing almost everything and being almost everywhere. But, despite all that power, he isn't able to control the one thing that keeps his story existing: Stanley's choices.

Okay, spoilers to both the original 2013 game and the Ultra Deluxe remake from here on out since it's impossible to talk about them without spoiling a lot of the endings.

In one of the new endings on the Ultra Deluxe remake, the Skip Button ending, The Narrator creates a button that lets Stanley skip his dialogue `inspired` by a bad Steam review, but when Stanley clicks this button The Narrator is left all alone in that room, and which each click the skip becomes longer, from minutes, to hours, to weeks, to months… And in the fifth skip (where Stanley stays frozen for like, one, two weeks), The Narrator breaks up, talking about how he needs Stanley to listen to him and how scared he is of slipping back into the silence he passes through every time we use the skip button. In his own words, `I can't lose myself in the stretch of emptiness between you and me.` Of course, since it's the only way to advance in this ending, we skip again, and again, until The Narrator ends up eventually disappearing after the 12th or 13th skip, leaving Stanley alone in a desert, and that's where the ending stops, though it continues on the Epilogue, but I'll leave some things to add as propaganda during the polls.

Despite this, The Narrator still has more control of the situation than Stanley, like on the Explosion ending, where he traps Stanley in a room while the building's destroys itself as consequence for choosing to activate the Mind Control Machine instead of shutting it down to free everyone. He keeps acting like Stanley is nothing but a vehicle for him to pass a message through his story. `Watching you try to make sense of everything and take back the control wrested away from you…it's quite rich. I almost hate to see it go!` `You're only still playing instead of watching a cutscene because I want to watch you for every moment that you're powerless, to see you made humble. […] You wanted to control this world; that's fine. But I'm going to destroy it first, so you can't.`

But there's one point where they're equal, they both want to free themselves. On the Museum ending, we meet a being that is higher than The Narrator, the Female Narrator (yeah, that's her name), and she gives the best description of the relationship between these two: `Oh, look at these two. How they wish to destroy one another. How they wish to control one another. How they both wish to be free. Can you see? Can you see how much they need one another? No, perhaps not. Sometimes these things cannot be seen.`"

[welldonekhushi]

"This is a story of a man named Stanley.."

I really had to draw something in tribute to this fantastic game! Though canonically, the Narrator doesn't have a physical appearance since he's mostly a voice throughout the game, so I went through the fanon interpretations of how he looks and so far I created for how he'd appear as!

Also, depending on the endings, you see many sides of the Narrator and so far.. I made myself another version of him in the next slide, in power as his eyes glow, to take full control of the story. Can say in this versions, he is either evil.. or just doesn't want Stanley to make the wrong decision.. up to your imagination hahaha!

I got to admit.. that game shattered me.. it still got me thinking about it for days.. I 100% recommend you to go through this game, you won't regret <3

[rygoespop]

Thomas and Friends: Legends of Sodor (Story 45): Dudley Means Trouble

Narrator: Dudley Means Trouble

Scene opens right where it was left off, as Dudley puffed into Sodor

Dudley: Heh heh heh, time to make everyone miserable

Scene transitions to Tidmouth Sheds, as the 11 Members of the Steam Team were in their berths, completely horrified of Dudley

Edward: I sense him

Henry: He’s intimidating

Percy; He’s unredeemable

Nia: He’s a menace

Thomas: That means one problem

Soon, they heard Dudley’s whistle

Thomas/Edward/Henry/Gordon/James/Percy/Emily/Molly/Rosie/Stanley/Nia/Rebecca: Dudley!

Dudley puffed through steam clouds as he has an evil grin on his face

Dudley: Hello, Stink Team!

James: That’s Steam Team to you!

Thomas: What do you want Dudley?!

Dudley: To see my former friend D7101

Henry: If you mean Bear, then forget it! He’s happy to be with us on Sodor

Gordon: And you Dudley, are a bad engine!

Dudley: *crossed and snarled* I’ll show you!

Scene transitions to Toby, puffing down the line pulling Henrietta, as Dudley puffs up next to him as he pulled 7 Coal Cars

Dudley: My, no wonder why this Railway is such a mess, you belong in a Museum! *puffs away*

Toby: What a horrid engine he is!

Henrietta: Indeed Toby

Scene cuts Dudley puffing into Crovan’s Gate as Alfred was taking on water

Dudley: Ah, there you are Alfred, how would you like to cause trouble

Alfred: I appreciate your offer, but I’m gonna turn it down since I don’t associate with dangerous engines like you *blew his whistle and puffs off*

Dudley: Traitor! He’s like Crovan, but he’s an Anti Hero!

Scene cuts to Dudley puffing down the line, pulling flatbeds of pipes, racing past Oliver and Castle

Castle: My, what a horrid engine he is

Oliver: It won’t be long till he’s caught!

Bear oiled in

Bear: I tell you, Dudley is bad news

Scene transitions to Dudley at a Signal

Dudley: Showed them all, heh heh heh!

Soon, Dudley heard a horn

Dudley: Ah, that must be-

It wasn’t Bear, it was Winston, as he was driven by Sir Topham Hatt, he looked furious

STH: I should’ve known that you would try and sneak into my railway! Well Dudley, I don’t tolerate engines like you to come to my railway and intimate my engines! Who do you think you are?!

Dudley: *crossed* And who do you think you are to tell me what to do!

STH: You will go back to The Mainland, as I inform The Mainland Controller about your actions towards my engines!

Dudley was crossed as he blew his whistle and puffed away back to The Mainland

Narrator: I’m afraid to say this, but Problems with Dudley, have finally begun

Story End

[mj1343]

the "The Narrator is evil because he controls Stanley" take makes me SO sad like,, my brother in christ, the whole point of the story The Narrator is trying to tell is of Stanley being free. like, yes, of course he can't give him that freedom, Stanley is inherently a part of The Narrator's story (and therefore of the gamedev's story) but. still. the point of what The Narrator is trying to tell is to give Stanley, if just for a moment, the freedom he himself cant give him

YEAH ITS SUCH LIKE

like i was polite to them in the moment cuz were all friends and stuff but its such an incorrect read i dont i dont understand how you look at the entire game and take away that throughout the entire thing the narrator is forcing stanley to do his will for his own sadistic need when the ENTIRE GAME IS CHOICE

the narrator gets LONELY and ANGRY and EXCITED and rambles about stuff he likes and gets desperate to fix his story when things break he isnt putting up an act hes just trying to make a story and things keep going wrong, be it stanley or outside forces

they are both stuck and have to find what works for them even if it often does go against eachother but like. blah.

[prismatic-starstuff]

And while I'm talking about the Narrator and whether or not he's an antagonist, I'd like to speak about one of the endings where he definitely is: the Countdown Ending (which has a very special place in my heart for having some of the absolute best voice acting and music and general presentation and delivery in any media, ever.)

As I mentioned in my last post, the desired end result of the Narrator's story this go around is to give Stanley true freedom; if you do everything he says, Stanley walks outside without player input, away from the company that's mind controlling him. The Narrator is trying to help Stanley, genuinely so.

To get to the Countdown Ending, you have to do everything the Narrator says... right up until the very last choice, where you instead opt to turn on the facility's mind control rather than to turn it off for good. And for your efforts, rather than get an ending where Stanley assumes control of the facility for his own ends... the Narrator laughs at him, uses that nearly omniscient presence of his to outright change what the machine was meant to do, watches him scurry about pressing buttons in a futile attempt to save himself until everything goes up in an explosion and the game is reset to the beginning once again.

Now, I've seen people use this ending as an example of the Narrator being evil, but I can't agree there.

Because, when you look at it, what you've actually done - certainly from the point of view of the Narrator - is betray him at the last moment for the sake of personal power. He isn't being evil; malicious due to anger, yes, but not evil. Even in his dialogue, he says he's going to destroy everything expressly 'so you can't.'

I saw a really good comment on YouTube today about the laugh he gives during his speech, which really inspired me to make this post:

...'a mix of melancholy and malice,' 'the type of laugh someone that's been back-stabbed or double crossed would make when they gain the upper hand,' and I think that's a perfect way of describing it; because this isn't some mustache-twirling villain who wants to do you harm just because he wants to... this is someone who earnestly wanted to guide Stanley to freedom, who had that snatched away from him at the very last moment.

The Narrator is definitely an antagonist in this ending, because he's directly opposing you...

...but really, he isn't evil in this ending, nor a villain.

No, in this ending, he is someone who had good intentions and ultimately was back-stabbed and double-crossed.

And oh, he is someone who definitely gained the upper hand.

[rwesidwentevwiluwu]

Alright! This idea wouldn't leave my mind so here it is! The Stanley parable meet resident evil, well. The narrator and Ethan winters meet.

I apologize now for this not having really any conflict whatsoever but I just wanted to build it up and do that first I needed to set it up. So that means I am probably going to continue this.

So... Yeah. Enjoy my half baked, unedited, magnificent work of art.

The final thing Ethan had heard was the click of the detonator.

Then everything went black.

One of his first thoughts went to Eveline, and that place. Of the chill that sucked all of the warmth out of him.

Why hadn't he gone there?

Maybe it was gone now without the Megamycete, along with Eveline and Miranda and every other damn thing in that village.

Now Ethan was stuck in this void, unable to see a thing but he could still feel his body and hear.

He seemed to be suspended in this space, weightless and alone.

…It was so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.

It continued for an indescribable amount of time leaving nothing to do but think.

Ethan thought about the life he could've had with Mia, the one he could've had with Rosemary.

He thought about playing in the park with Rose, home cooked meals with just the three of them, all of the good times that could have been.

Could have.

~~~~~

Ethan had cried for a while, but it eventually settled down. He couldn't say that it helped much. He couldn't say that it didn't help at all though.

There was just a dull pounding in his head.

But there was something else, a soft buzz. It couldn't have come from him, at least he didn't think it was.

The buzz grew louder over time and it reminded Ethan of a voice distorted by static on a radio.

Eventually he could just make out words, though they were odd and seemed to be playing out on repeat.

"The end is never the end is never the end is never the end is never…"

Questions began to flood through his head, questions of why and how and what could it possibly mean?

Then it stopped.

After a moment, a clear voice rang out, the person sounded like an older man that had a British accent.

"This is the story of a man named Stanley."

They continued to speak, going on about whoever this Stanley was, about where they worked and how they liked pressing buttons.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ethan wondered but then something happened.

He was no longer in the void anymore, now he found himself sitting at a desk, an older bulky computer sitting in front of him along with a keyboard.

He tried to move but found himself stuck.

"Something was very clearly wrong. Shocked, frozen solid, Stanley found himself unable to move for the longest time."

Control finally came back to him after that. And looked down at himself.

He was wearing slacks and a long sleeved button up- what happened to clothes he had been wearing? Where was he? Who was speaking and why did it sound like it was coming from all around him?

His thoughts were pushed to the side when the door beside him opened all by itself.

"-He got up from his desk and stepped out of his office."

"What the hell is going on here?"

Ethan couldn't exactly say whether he was saying it for himself or if he was actually questioning the voice- it didn't really matter either way as they responded anyways.

"Wait a minute, you're not Stanley. Who are you? How did you get here?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" He responded, his tone coming out a bit gruffer than he meant it to be.

"Well there's no need for that sort of language, now is there? I was only asking a few questions."

They said it like they were scolding a child, and pissed Ethan off. His mouth opened, a "fuck you" at the ready, but he thought better of it. Probably best not to anger the person who might be able to explain what the hell was getting into.

"Sorry, just stressed out." He took a deep breath, "My name is Ethan Winters."

"Ethan Winters? Hmm, would you mind if I just used Ethan?"

His face scrunched up as he considered it.

The voice continued on, "Of course if that's too informal I suppose I could use Winters… no, that doesn't sound quite right- Mr. Winters? Of course that seems a bit too formal, doesn't it?"

"Just Ethan is fine," He interrupted their slight hum as they seemed to be thinking.

"Oh good, I was afraid of having to say Mr. Winters over and over again. Do you know how annoying that would be?"

He squinted as he continued to look up towards the ceiling, "Not really."

"Then trust me when I say it would. Now, Ethan, you said you didn't know how you came here, correct?"

"Yeah, no clue."

"Where were you before this?"

Ethan considered telling them about the village, but decided that it was probably better to keep that to himself, at least for now, "Some kind of void."

"A void? Was there anyone else there with you?"

He thought back to it, but quickly decided that, no, there definitely wasn't anyone else there.

He shook his head.

The voice was silent, set in some sort of quiet contemplation before breaking it so suddenly that Ethan flinched, just a little bit though.

"Ah ha! I've got it! You and Stanley must've switched places! Yes, that must be it. Ethan-" they addressed him directly now, "I have an idea on how to reverse this, but you'll have to follow my instructions exactly."

Reverse it? All just to go back to the void?

"What if I don't want to go back?"

"I suppose that's understandable, but trust me, you don't belong here. Besides, it's not like you would be able to truly appreciate all the work I've put into this story."

Well all that did was bring up more questions.

"Story?"

"Yes, "the story of a man named Stanley" if you will. You can't just change the main character willy nilly, it messes up everything."

Ethan remembered them saying the same line earlier and he considered prodding the subject further but he felt it would just create more questions than he wanted to deal with right now.

"Fine, whatever, what's your plan?"

"I'll guide you out of here. Oh! You wouldn't mind if I tried to run a few new lines with you? I've been meaning to make it a bit more exciting for Stanley."

"..Sure."

"Fantastic! Hold on, let me just grab the papers."

There was the rustling of papers before it stopped, "Here are! Now remember Ethan, just follow my instructions."

He just nodded in response.

"Alright! Leave the room and we can begin."

Ethan gingerly left the small office, hand pressed against the open door as he passed. The door softly shut a fraction of a second after he let go.

He looked back at it for a moment before the voice cleared their throat.

"Stanley still couldn't wrap his head around it- where could his co-workers be? 'Ah ha!' Stanley thought, 'I must have missed a memo for a meeting. Yes, that's it."

That wasn't exactly clear, but maybe it meant he needed to go to some kind of meeting room?

He started to walk through the office, the walls covered in a pale white and cubicles the same color with bright yellow numbers on them. It was much different than the old office he used to work at with its sleek furnishings and all the glass panels it had instead of proper walls.

"What do you think, Ethan? Does it stir you into action? Make you want to venture forth and figure out what has happened? I'm genuinely interested."

Ethan didn't exactly know what to say, he didn't exactly get what was happening, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to lie a little.

"Uh, yeah, have to find out what happened to everyone else… right?"

"Yes, yes! Your co-workers, where could they possibly be?"

Ethan gave a questioning look to the ceiling.

"Erm, Stanley's coworkers of course. Forgive me, I really am not used to not having Stanley here."

He nodded, "Yeah, it's fine."

He then noticed as he entered this new room, there were two doors and no clear sign of which to use.

"Oh? Here already? Okay-

When Stanley came to a set of two open doors, he entered the door on his left."

Ethan made his way over to the door and was about to go through when he stopped.

"How do I know that you're not tricking me?"

"Trick you? Now why would I do that? I have intentions of bringing you harm, Ethan."

"And why should I trust you? I know nothing about you- for all I know you're sending me into a death trap!"

They gave a deep sigh before they spoke, "What would I have to gain from that? I'm not cruel, at least not without reason. You've done nothing to gain my ire, Ethan. You will just have to trust me."

Ethan took a moment to mull it over, what if it was a trap? In the worst case it meant death but… well, it's not like he's not already dead.

Wait, was he alive? Or was this the afterlife? Was the afterlife being bossed around by some disembodied British voice?

God this was fucking weird, and not the weird he was used to which made the situation oh so much more nerve racking.

He eventually went through the left door-it wasn't like they could put him through any worse than he had been through in the last three years.

"See? No traps, no swinging axes or arrows being launched at you. Just a perfectly normal hallway."

And Ethan was grateful for that but he elected to not respond to them.

The walk to the meeting room was uneventful, each door was numbered, with the exception of a door label "broom closet".

He thought about checking in there for something to defend himself with but decided against this. Wasn't like this was the Baker house and he'd find a pistol or ammo inside it.

Upon reaching the meeting room, the voice rang out again.

"Yet there was not a single person here either.

Feeling a wave of disbelief, Stanley decided to go up to his boss's office, hoping he might find an answer there."

Ethan's gaze unfocused from the slides coming out of the projector, turned back at the ceiling for a moment before he left the room.

He soon came to a staircase to which they spoke up yet again.

"Coming to a staircase, Stanley walked upstairs to his boss's office."

He questioned whether he should listen to them yet again, though this time in his head. But he made the same decision as last time to listen to the voice and went up the stairs.

Like all the other doors, it opened just as he came up to it.

He walked past the door, expecting the door to close, but was surprised when it didn't.

This room was different from the others, the flooring and walls made of some sort of dark oak. Down to his left was a door labeled 'executive bathroom' and the other way seemed to lead to this boss's office.

He went over to the open double doors and stepped inside.

The doors slammed shut as the voice started, "Stepping into his manager's office, Stanley was once again stunned to discover not an indication of any human life."

Ethan started to walk around the office, looking on the bookshelves and then onto the desk towards the back- he took a particular interest at the keypad behind the desk though.

"Stanley searched throughout the room, checking every nook and cranny for any sign of where everyone could be. Eventually he came upon a keypad that sat behind his boss's desk. He knew this must be what guarded the truth of the situation but what Stanley could not have known is the true depth of the terrible secret that lay below his feet. And so the boss had assigned it an extra secret PIN number. 2845. But of course, Stanley couldn't possibly have known this."

Ah, so that was PIN. But what was he supposed to do here? They said Stanley couldn't have known so he shouldn't either, right? Maybe he should just put it in anyways.

And so he did, and in response to the correct code, a bookcase was whirled away to reveal some sort of secret room behind it. Ethan made his way over to it as they talked.

"Yet incredibly, by simply pushing random buttons on the keypad, Stanley happened to input the correct code by sheer luck. Amazing. He stepped into the newly opened passageway."

This place seemed to be unfinished, paneling laying loose and a large construction light in the middle of the room. He made his way past it to find an elevator to his left with a bright light emitting from the space.

There was a large button on the other side of the elevator, a big bright red button with an arrow putting down.

Ethan looked up again waiting for the voice to say something but found no response. He looked back to the button then pressed it.

The door closed behind him and he turned around to face it.

"Okay Ethan, how was that? I have to admit I'm quite proud of that one. It can be such a struggle to find the words to spark the right emotions, but I feel like I've done it! Tell me, Ethan, do you feel that curiosity that's built up inside you? The kind that makes you jittery with anticipation?"

"I definitely am interested, uh, actually, what is down here? Just as a warning?"

"No, no, no, why would you want to ruin the story? No, now I've got you hooked!" They chuckled, "Just wait, Ethan! I promise that the rest of the story will be every bit as enjoyable and fascinating as everything so far. Oh this will be so much fun! Now, where was I…"

Ethan just hoped what they considered to be fun wasn't like the other 'fun' things he had been subjected to in his life.

He sunk deeper into the building, metal and piping lining the walls that passed by him. A pit seemed to form in his chest, he couldn't say he was a fan of industrial architecture- especially after being chased by that creature in Heisenberg's factory.

Ugh, the stench of death from it still lingered in his memory and pervaded his senses.

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the memory.

"Descending deeper into the building, Stanley realized he felt a bit peculiar. It was a stirring of emotion in his chest, as though he felt more free to think for himself, to question the nature of his job. Why did he feel this now, when for years it had never occurred to him? This question would not go unanswered for long."

Ethan welcomed the disembodied voice this time, thankful to have a distraction, at least for the moment.

The elevator finally settled and the door opened. The place was cleaner than the factory he supposed- a lot less cold too. He made sure to not trip over the loose wiring that littered the floor and then he looked up.

"What the fu-" he caught himself before he finished the curse.

"No cussing, just like when you're around Rose."

Poor Rose. God he missed her.

"Yes, yes, the emotions are overwhelming aren't they? Learning of the Mind Control Facility, the possibility that you, yourself were nothing but a pawn in someone else's game! Oh Ethan, I'm overjoyed- I don't think I've ever had someone enjoy my story as much as you have! Come on, let's continue."

Ah, he was crying, wasn't he? Ethan just couldn't help it, Rosemary meant everything to him and now… now he's gone.

But he couldn't keep thinking about that and standing here with streams of tears rolling down his cheeks. He needed to keep going.

It's not like he had another choice.

He went through the doors and out onto a walkway that held a desk on the end with a button with a picture of a lightbulb.

Lights lit up after he pressed the button revealing many, many tv screens.

"Obviously to monitor the employees," Ethan thought to himself. It was kinda obvious that's what it was.

One walkway later and another button revealed just that.

"Called it."

He eyed the screens for a moment before he walked on yet another walkway, pushed yet another button, then finally watched an elevator come down from the ceiling.

Ethan spent the ride up just barely listening to the voice, the interest fading bit by bit.

Then the elevator opened up to show many large control panels coupled with a myriad of computers and buttons.

He explored this room for a few moments as they went on about the facility and Stanley and what they had to do.

Eventually he made his way out to the massive empty room, save for the catwalk to two buttons, ones he could make out as he got closer reading 'off' and the other 'on'. A large monitor was in front saying 'Mind controls idle awaiting input' in bold capital letters.

"...he knew it was his duty, his obligation, to put an end to this horrible place and to everything it stood for."

That struck a chord with him. It had been the exact same sentiment he had felt when he blasted that damn village along with himself.

How long has it been since then? He wondered. How long had he been in that void?

There came a cough, "I understand being overtaken by emotion at this point, but perhaps we should move along?"

Ethan turned back to the buttons, should he listen, just once more?

He breathed in and pressed the off button.

The voice talked on once more, this time of victory, freedom, and happiness, so much different from his own choice, the one that seemed to have brought him here.

He went down the walkway as it became lit up and towards the door but not with much pep or purpose.

He didn't know if he wanted to go back where he had been. The loneliness had begun to become suffocating before he appeared here.

It was nice to finally have sunshine after everything. Not just here, but from before.

The trees were sparse but were green.

Ethan thought he'd never see spring again.

"What do you think, Ethan? Not too over the top, was it? Give me your honest opinion."

"It was neat, I really wanted to see what happened next."

He wanted to say something else, some sort of big compliment.

"Hey, if it's okay with you, could I tell the story to my daughter?"

"Really?" They seemed to be absolutely ecstatic, "Well, you might not be able to deliver it quite as well as myself, but yes, I would be honored."

"Thank you."

"Thank you, Ethan. I wish you luck wherever you end up."

Those were the final words the voice said to them as Ethan stepped out of the facility.

He walked out a bit, wondering what all this had meant, but went still and cleared his mind.

He wanted to enjoy the sunshine as long as he had it.

~~~~~

Ethan must have closed his eyes at some point and he regretted it now.

He recognized the weightless feeling in his body. And darkness that persisted even when his eyes were open.

It was an oddly comforting place when compared to whatever he had been in.

There were so many odd things about it. So many questions he wanted answered.

But does it really matter? For all he knew it was some fantasy his mind had come up with to pass the time. Or he was going insane.

Of course being stuck in a void would be what broke him, not like he has lost multiple limbs and had his heart ripped out. Yep. Seems about right.

He was just about done berating himself for letting loneliness be his undoing before he noticed something.

There was a familiar buzz starting in his ears again.

[neverendingparable]

Just to clarify, so it doesnt get too confusing:

Stanley Sommers is the default Stanley. He's very social, friendly and a ray of sunshine (earning him the nickname Stanny Sunshine). But he isn't a real person. He's an illusion created by the Narrator because the real Stanley (Stellan) refused to cooperate. 

In most verses, he became a tulpa (a physical thoughtform) because his friendship with other employees made him more real.

Stellan Sommers is a real human being, who was lured into the Office under false pretenses, aka that he would get an actual job, not be a protagonist of a dumb Story. 

He's more reserved, introverted but always ready to help a fellow employee. Dislikes Narrators immensely.

Bradley Spencer is an alternate Stanley from a whole different dimension. He's a real person too, but in his case the Parable was a government experiment relating to mind control. In some verses he ended up killing his Narrator and becoming one by adding himself as an admin. 

He's very loud, mischievous and bratty. He's also overly affectionate to the point where he tend to ignore boundaries (ie hugging without permission) and suffers from bipolar disorder, adhd and depression.

Maso / Mason Paines / The Masochist is a fusion between a Bradley and a Stellan. He was created as an experiment by an evil version of the Narrator (Evil!Jon AU). 

He's a completely different person now, not a Bradley or a Stellan, though he has personality traits from them both. He also has four arms and two scars under his eyes where he used to have a second pair.

[letterboxd]

Watching John Malkovich.

To understand better why Letterboxd members set out on quests to watch specific actors’ entire filmographies, we invited Tim Rod to describe her dangerous and seductive journey through John Malkovich’s screen history.

For many film lovers, 2020 has been a year of catching up: on franchises, on directors’ filmographies, on historical gaps and top 100s. But for some Letterboxd members, the year indoors has been an opportunity to hyper-focus on a single actor and their work.

Jeremiah Lambert is on a Bacon Fest, Naked Airplane has embarked on a wild ride through the works of De Niro, Hackman, Hoffman, Nicholson and Pacino. Joey is preparing for next year’s centennial of The Kid by churning through Charlie Chaplin’s catalog (with David Robinson’s biography Chaplin: His Life and Art in hand). A quick Twitter survey found others churning through a performer selection as wide-ranging as Burt Lancaster, Parker Posey, Maggie Smith, Nicolas Cage, Cary Grant, Kevin Costner, Robin Williams, Adèle Haenel, Alan Arkin, Sam Rockwell and a Seth Rogen thirst project.

It can be a bumpy journey. In one performer’s oeuvre the quality will range widely, the genres too. But the rewards are many in a close study of craft, and there are revelations, whether it’s that Australia’s Miranda Otto deserves more recognition, or it’s “the total acceptance, lack of judgment, and vulnerability with which Alan Arkin has played so many of his flawed and wonderful characters”.

With Christian Bale in ‘Empire of the Sun’ (1987).

In 2020, no fewer than three movies and two television series starring John Malkovich have been released: Arkansas, Valley of the Gods and Ava, as well as The New Pope and Space Force. The legendary actor has kept himself busy, and I know this because I have seen most of his filmography—41 films and two series—in the span of a single month. I adore Malkovich, always have, and I came out of this experience with a deeper admiration for him, and with some thoughts about his unique, remarkable skills as an actor. (And, I had a really good time.)

Allow me to begin by saying that John Malkovich is the best part of every movie he is in. No matter the movie, Malkovich will always steal the spotlight, and he can turn a good movie into a masterpiece, or an average movie that wouldn’t catch anyone’s attention into one worth watching, if only to see him do his thing.

He’s starred in movies that are considered masterpieces by many: Being John Malkovich (1999), The Killing Fields (1984) and Empire of the Sun (1987). Movies that may be considered the opposite of masterpieces, like Supercon (2018), Eragon (2006) and the most recent Ava (2020), and he’s also starred in some gems that I knew nothing about but am glad to have discovered, such as The Convent (1995), Eleni (1985) and The Ogre (1996). Malkovich has brought to life iconic characters including Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Tom Ripley, Hercule Poirot (in BBC’s The ABC Murders), the artist Gustav Klimt, and several of David Lynch’s people, in the short film Psychogenic Fugue (2016).

As Mitch Leary in ‘In the Line of Fire’ (1993).

Malkovich has received two Academy Award nominations, for Places in the Heart (1984), in which he played Edna’s lodger, the solitary yet kind Mr. Will, and for In the Line of Fire (1993), where he played the complete opposite: the psychotic Mitch Leary, determined to kill the President of the United States. Though Malkovich is not a classic action-film actor, his work in that genre is driven by logic, intellect and emotion, and the delicacy that he employs to challenge concepts of masculinity and keep us guessing. His soft and collected voice threatening Clint Eastwood over the phone is scarier and more effective than a deeper one would have been.

That voice. Malkovich has admitted that he hates the sound of it, that he would always avoid listening to it, just like so many actors avoid watching their own films, but I’m bewitched by his voice and I could never get enough of it. It can be tender, sweet and calming, seductive when the role requires it, and terrifying. With that versatility, it’s not surprising that he has done some narrating work as well, for films including Paul Newman’s The Glass Menagerie (1987) and Alive (1993).

Malkovich is at his best when seduction and villainy combine, as they do in Dangerous Liaisons (1988). Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont has been performed by many actors over the years, but I find Malkovich’s take to be the most memorable and exquisite. He captures perfectly the depravity and evilness of Valmont, but also the nuances, his journey from womanizer to man genuinely in love and, ultimately, his tragic redemption. He even brings a comedic aspect to the character that adds more depth and dimension.

With Glenn Close in ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ (1988).

Valmont is an awful human being, a monster even, and yet, every time I watch this movie, I find myself fascinated by his mastery of the deception, his sensuality and complete control of the situation, until the situation is “beyond his control”. In her review of the film, Catherine Stebbins calls John Malkovich “a sexual force of nature”, and I completely agree. If you want to see more of Malkovich’s sensual side, other notable mentions include The Sheltering Sky (1990), The Object of Beauty (1991) and Beyond the Clouds (1995).

And then there’s Being John Malkovich (1999), in which ‘John Horatio Malkovich’ displays so many facets of his craft. The fictionalized Malkovich is possessed by different characters, one of them a woman. Catherine Keener’s character falls in love with a subtly different version of Malkovich, when he is a vessel for Lotte (Cameron Diaz). Even though Lotte doesn’t have full control of Malkovich, he uses his femininity to bring the character-inside-the-character to center stage, delivering a subtle-yet-perfect performance. Even when we don’t see Lotte, we know she’s there.

John Malkovich as John Horatio Malkovich possessed by Lotte, in ‘Being John Malkovich’ (1999).

Not many actors could pull this off as brilliantly as John Malkovich does. To be fair, not many actors have been given the chance that Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman gave Malkovich: a film with his own name in the title.

I’ve discussed some of the most well-known of Malkovich’s performances, but I’d like to mention an overlooked one that I found heartbreaking and noteworthy. I didn’t know of the existence of The Ogre (1996) until I took a closer look at Malkovich’s filmography. It’s not without its flaws, but I found myself absorbed in the fairy-tale story of Abel, a naïve French prisoner of war who is taken to Nazi Germany and used to recruit children for Hitler’s Youth. Once again, the actor’s duality is on display, as Evan writes in his Letterboxd review: “Malkovich is both queasy and endearing as the (ig)noble simp who just wants to save the babies.” The Ogre tells a tragic story, but thanks to Malkovich’s tenderness, we can’t help but have sympathy for his character. At times it reminded me of the innocence of Lennie in Of Mice and Men (1992), another of the actor’s more noteworthy performances.

One of Malkovich’s great contributions to cinema is elevating an average movie just by being in it. One such role is as English conman Alan Conway in the bizarre true story, Colour Me Kubrick (2005). Malkovich admitted in an interview that he thought his performance was good, and I agree. If there’s one reason to watch that film, it’s to see Malkovich playing an eccentric conman who poses as Stanley Kubrick, using different voices and accents. As TajLV writes, “if there were anything to commend this film other than Malkovich, I’d happily rate it higher”.

As Alan Conway in ‘Colour Me Kubrick’ (2005).

One fun fact: I sometimes forget John Malkovich is American. Maybe it’s because he has starred in many European productions—out of the 41 films I watched, 18 were European. Malkovich is of European descent, has lived in France for a decade and speaks fluent French, which allowed him to star as the mysterious Baron de Charlus in Time Regained (1999), with entirely French dialogue. He also delivers lines in French and Portuguese in A Talking Picture (2003) by Manoel de Oliveira.

You’ve probably heard Malkovich use words, expressions and even entire lines of French dialogue on more than one occasion. He does this often, which gives him a certain European vibe, consistent with his own character, mannerisms and dress sense—elements that he sometimes brings to his characters. Maybe that’s the reason he has played so many intellectuals and artists: professors, scientists, detectives, painters, writers, a scientist and a robot, and even the Pope… It seems there’s nothing John Malkovich can’t do, including directing.

To end my marathon, I watched his directorial debut, The Dancer Upstairs (2002), an assured movie adapted from a novel about the Maoist uprising in Peru in the 1980s, starring Javier Bardem. It was a nice surprise, and a strong start to what could have been a career as a film director, if not for the fact that he doesn’t have the patience to do it again. I recently read an interview where Edgar Wright revealed advice he always gives to directors, which is to make their second movie the one that will define them. I wonder if we will ever see John Malkovich’s second film, but for now, I hope he keeps gifting us with more unforgettable performances. At least we know that in the distant future, along with all the movies he has already appeared in, people will enjoy a never-seen-before performance when Robert Rodríguez’s short 100 years is released in 2115.

If there’s one thing I have learnt after watching most of his filmography, it’s that John Malkovich is one of the best and most versatile actors of our time, with the most unique voice I have heard in cinema, and with a rich filmography that encompasses every genre. And he’s not only a brilliant actor, but also someone I find personally fascinating. I truly find comfort in him. I hope we all get to enjoy his art for years to come, because his talent is limitless and I know he still has so much more to give. John Malkovich deserves all the praise for being a force of nature in the theater and film industry for over 40 years.

Tim is a Letterboxd member based in Spain, who has recently moved on from her John Malkovich marathon to a Sacha Baron Cohen quest.

[listdepot]

Top 10 Indie Games of the Decade (10 - 6)

Boy oh boy, video games sure did happen this decade, huh? A lot of stuff with a whole lot of video games and, most importantly, the independent game scene became far more pronounced, previously just confined to PC, the increasing presence of the online marketplace on consoles has greatly expanded the scope to which indie games reach players, putting these games on the same level as AAA. Anyway this is 10 of this games that I liked this year.

An honorable mention goes out to Firewatch because I still don’t know what is Firewatch.

10. Stacking

Double Fine are undoubtedly my favorite game company. Tim Schaefer’s company has not only created my favorite game of all time (Psychonauts), but all their games have such a fun creativity to them. Whether its a turn-based RPG where children fight based on their Halloween costumes or an action/strategy game set in a world based on hard rock and metal, Double Fine have proven to be such a company that embraces fun and whimsy, that Sesame Street of all people let them develop their most recent game.

Stacking, as you can tell from the screenshot, is a world populated by matroyshka stacking dolls, and you play as Charlie Blackmore, the smallest of all the stacking dolls, who sets out on an adventure to stop an evil Industrial Age baron called The Baron, who has enslaved his siblings. To do that, he stacks into other dolls, only able to go up in size one at a time. Most characters have their own unique abilities and Charlie uses those abilities to solve adventure game puzzles. And that’s where Stacking gets really cool.

Every single puzzle in the game has multiple solutions, if you can’t figure out one version of how to do it, there’s usually two more solutions. While you only HAVE to do one, the puzzles reset once you finish them, letting you take your time trying to figure the others. Its an adventure game that forgoes classic tropes of that genre, also replacing your standard point and click with the quick to pick up stacking mechanic that lets you pick and choose how you want to do things. Its a game that combines interesting ideas with an anticapitalist story and visually is both early 1900s set design while those sets are comprised of everyday household items. Its like playing a diorama from 1915. Not a lot of games are like that.

9. The Stanley Parable

The story of The Stanley Parable is simple. A narrative-driven walking simulator, you control Stanley, a boring office drone that’s tasked with monitoring data on a computer, pressing buttons and not asking questions. One day, that monitor goes blank and Stanley goes to fix it, suddenly discovering the office he works in is completely empty.

But that’s not the real story of The Stanley Parable. The narrator that describes Stanley’s actions, storybook-style, doesn’t control Stanley’s narrative. You do. And you have every opportunity, every step of the story, to go against the grain of what you’re told happens.

The Stanley Parable is a game that, as soon as you do anything it doesn’t want you to, begs you to continue following the path laid out for you then berates you for not following that path then continues to just complain to you, trying to regain control of the story. Every variation of Stanley’s story is maybe 10 - 15 minutes long but each one is a fun and weird surprise and Kevan Brighting’s soft friendly British narrator is an all time great voice acting role. One so good, Valve’s DOTA 2 MOBA game features an announcer pack that fully replaces the game’s announcer with Brighting’s narrator. DIGITAL SPORTS.

8. Observer

A digital plague called a nanophage has infected and claimed the lives of countless augmented people in this cyberpunk hellscape of Krakow, leading to war and rampant drug use. The Chiron Corporation stepped in soon after and took control, turning Poland into even more of a nightmare than it had been, condemning those on the lower rung of society to poorly kept together tenement buildings, while also creating a police force known as Observers, detectives given free reign to hack the minds of citizens. Its 2084 and you are Daniel Lazarski, an Observer who receives a message from his estranged son Adam to come to a tenement, where he discovers Adam’s body, dead from long before the call was made. And that’s when things get weird.

The more I think about it, the more I think Bloober Team’s more recent horror game, Layers of Fear 2, should take the place on the list. The only issue is I only played Layers 2 a month ago and, no matter how much I love it, my first exposure to this company was through Observer, and more than that, this was a game I did not stop thinking about for like a year and a half. While Layers 2 plays with color and black & white in a game about the early days of film, Observer is clearly influenced by classic works of cyberpunk (the most obvious being Blade Runner), the bright neon buzzing endlessly in this dark, miserable nightmare. 

Even the real stars of this game, the minds of the dead you dive into as you solve this murder mystery, embrace that look as your setting is warped around you constantly. Rooms that look normal start stretching endlessly, doors open into other memories. And as Dan gets deeper into the mystery, the line between the real of the world around him and the memories of those he’s probing begin to blend until his own memories get mixed up among them, showing what lead to the current sad life he lives. Its a game that oozes misery even as it tries to jumpscare you around every corner. And its why it still keeps showing up in my thoughts.

7. Gone Home

What exactly is a walking simulator? Dumb, that’s what. The idea that a game isn’t a game simply because it follows more of an adventure game aesthetic without any real challenges is absurd and, frankly, a childish view of what a game can be. And no game broke gamers’ brains more than the “walking simulator” Gone Home.

In 1995, Katie Greenbriar returns from a trip overseas on a stormy night to find her family home completely abandoned, moving boxes still unpacked. The unnerving quiet of the house mixed with the constant rain and occasional thunder feels like something out of a Resident Evil game. But instead of horror, the game uses this to make you feel confused, something to make you want to solve what happened. And it turns out its not a horror story, but a love story.

As Katie progresses through her house, she finds plenty of objects she can interact with, many that often unlock other areas in this large rural Oregon home. Along with many of those unlockables comes narration from Katie’s sister Sam, who details the awkwardness of moving into this new house, frequently thought to be haunted, and her life in a new school where she can’t connect with too many other people. Until she meets Lonnie. The two young women bond and fall in love. And the more you explore the home, the more this story gets fleshed out. Gone Home is a pure delight of a video game and one that not only spawned the pejorative term of “walking simulator” but became a gold standard for them, a term that the gaming industry has since embraced. There is no shame in using interactive media to simply tell a story, and Gone Home knows it.

6. Jazzpunk

Its the late 1950s in the country of Japanada and Agent Polyblank must-  I’m going to be honest with you guys. I don’t know what Jazzpunk is. I’m not entirely sure what its about. I’ve played it multiple times and loved every moment of it but I’m not going to pretend its a game that makes any sense. And that’s just what it wants to be.

Heavily adopting the style of mid-century spy and cyberpunk fiction, Jazzpunk is a game that overly prefers making you laugh over any qualitative form of actual gameplay. Sure there are puzzles to solve to move the story along, but those puzzles task you with collecting giant spiders that are better rendered than anything else in this game, or hacking into a Soviet consulate which involves using a telephone to dial “Kremlin 2: The New Batch”. 

And the puzzles that make up the story stuff isn’t even 1/5th of the general dumb garbage you can do in this game. Jazzpunk exists for gags like the wedding cake that opens into a console that lets you play the multiplayer wedding-based FPS Wedding Qake. Jazzpunk exists to make you help a woman swat down flies in her store of very expensive vases. Jazzpunk will make you suddenly stop what you’re doing to do a first person version of the car bonus stage from Street Fighter 2, or suddenly put you into a cyberpunk heist in a Blade Runner-like city. 

Jazzpunk is Saul Bass on laughing gas. An intentionally stupid and disorienting experience purely designed to have you explore every inch of this weird world just so you can dig up weird crap on the beach with a metal detector and experience a pizza-themed Evil Dead 2 parody. Jazzpunk exists to be Jazzpunk. And in a lot of ways, it fully lives up to its nonsense name. Its a game of subversion in a way so impossibly dumb that it entirely feels improvised. That’s Jazzpunk.

[aion-rsa]

15 Best Video Game NPCs Ever

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Free Guy follows a video game NPC who becomes aware of the circumstances of their existence and uses that newfound awareness to become the star of a game that they were only ever supposed to be a bit player in. It’s ultimately a look at the little people in video games and how easy it is to ignore them.

Of course, most gamers know that NPCs can be so much more than non-playable characters. While there are some NPCs that are little more than seat fillers in some of the largest and most elaborate video game worlds ever, others have used their supporting roles to steal the show and establish themselves as legends in their own right.

From mistranslated villagers and merchants to dogs and knights, these are some of the absolute best video game NPCs ever.

15. Error – Zelda II: The Adventures of Link

With the immortal introductory line “I am Error,” this humble NPC from Link’s bizarre second adventure found a home in the memories of a generation of gamers that wondered what the story behind this seemingly glitched character was. 

It turns out that Error’s bizarre dialog can be attributed to good old-fashioned translation issues, but this is a prime example of a seemingly meaningless NPC’s ability to work their way into our hearts despite being given almost no time to shine.

14. The Merchant – Resident Evil 4

For anyone who played the Resident Evil games up until the release of Resident Evil 4, the joy of encountering “The Merchant” cannot be overstated. Just when you thought you were about to have to battle yet another insane villager in a Wicker Man setting, the Merchant speaks cryptically, opens their coat, and offers you a very surprising helping hand. 

The Merchant’s sporadic appearances and unique role made them an instant favorite among franchise fans, but it’s the character’s mysterious nature that makes them so compelling all these years later. We still don’t know a lot about the Merchant, and that’s the way it arguably should be.

13. Jeff “Joker” Moreau – Mass Effect Trilogy

There’s no shortage of incredible characters in the Mass Effect franchise, but since we’ve already shown a lot of love to the game’s best squad companions, let’s talk about one of Mass Effect’s best NPCs that can’t join your away team: Joker.

Along with being one of the best pilots in the Alliance fleet, Joker is one of Mass Effect’s most consistently funniest characters. BioWare did a brilliant job of growing Joker’s story arc in future games, but he always remained a source of strength was always there to help make the Normandy feel like a home.

12. Elizabeth – BioShock Infinite

It’s fascinating to see how divisive BioShock Infinite remains eight years after its release, but one of the things that the game absolutely got right was Elizabeth’s role as an NPC companion. 

At a time when it was still fairly common to have to babysit your companions (even though there had obviously been tremendous advances in that area by this point), Elizabeth proved to be a more than capable partner who not only used her unique abilities to help you out of tight spots but would even occasionally toss you ammo and health. Elizabeth is an incredible character in her own right, but few games have ever made an A.I. partner feel so invaluable. 

11. The Narrator – Stanley Parable

It feels strange calling Stanley Parable’s narrator an NPC given that they’re the main reason that this game is one of the best of the last decade, but this disembodied voice certainly meets the technical requirements for that role.

The narrator’s determination to get you to follow The Stanley Parable’s most obvious path forward is bested only by the dry, witty frustration he exhibits whenever you start to veer off-course. He’s the real star at this look at the relationship between choice and storytelling in gaming. 

10. Cortana – Halo (Franchise)

Cortana is absolutely a strong character in her own right, but the thing that makes her stand out among the best NPCs ever is the nature of her relationship with Master Chief and you as the player. 

Cortana is the voice in your head that manages to guide you along the path while making the world feel a little more interesting along the way. At a time when gamers grit their teeth at the mere mention of the words “Hey listen,” Cortana proved that it was possible to make such a character feel like an irreplaceable part of what is ultimately the player’s journey. 

9. Dogmeat – Fallout (Franchise)

Truth be told, you could fill a list of the best NPCs in gaming history with Fallout characters and it would be difficult to argue with you. However, it’s hard not to ultimately give the nod to Dogmeat. Not only is this companion one of the most consistent sights in the Fallout universe, but their status as the absolute goodest boy/girl is undeniable.

In a series filled with moral ambiguity and complex characters with unique agendas, Dogmeat is…well…a dog. They’re loyal, loving, and willing to help you in any way that they can. They’re as perfect of a companion as you could ever ask for, and they make the wasteland feel just a little less hostile. 

8. Phillip “The Bloody Baron” Strenger – The Witcher 3

In a game that’s arguably best known for a collection of side quests and side characters that are better than most of the main stories and main characters seen in other games, it’s telling that “The Bloody Baron” is regularly referred to as the highlight of this epic adventure. 

The Bloody Baron may get more screen time than the average NPC, but it honestly doesn’t take long for this morally complex and utterly fascinating character to simply steal the show. He’s one of the best examples of why you should take the time to get to know the various inhabitants of RPG worlds. 

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7. Sans – Undertale

While it sometimes feels like blasphemy to rank one Undertale character over another given how well-rounded and important so many of the game’s NPCs end up being, it’s hard to talk about the game’s best characters for long without the conversation turning to Sans. 

This apathetic skeleton’s most tragically relatable quality is his tendency to pivot between whether or not the futility of his existence is a reason to do nothing or if it’s all the more reason to relax and have fun. He practically embodies this game’s complex morality and wicked sense of humor. 

6. Hal “Otacon” Emmerich – Metal Gear Solid (Franchise)

Granted, Otacon doesn’t exactly make a great first impression (he wets his pants the first time you meet him), but this quirky scientist has to be one of gaming’s best examples of how an NPC can grow on you over time. 

While it’s easy to champion the way that Otacon becomes slightly more badass over the course of this series, his most enduring qualities are the two things that never really change: his weirdness and commitment to going above and beyond to try to help. He’s one of the most “pure’ Kojima characters. 

5. Tom Nook – Animal Crossing (Franchise)

The debate over whether Tom Nook is the quiet hero of Animal Crossing or little more than a loan shark who introduces this quaint world to the joys of capitalism will rage on, but nobody walks away from Animal Crossing without some kind of thoughts about this true icon.

Tom Nook helps you get started in the world of Animal Crossing and is often the character you need to go to whenever you want to move on to the next part of your adventure. He’s kind of a gatekeeper in that sense, but he’s also the thing that keeps the Animal Crossing experience consistently compelling. 

4. HK-47 – Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

You do technically have the ability to control HK-47 during combat sequence, which means that their presence on this list could be considered a bit of a cheat. However, I dare you to play Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and let that technicality get in the way of giving this character the love they deserve. 

While KOTOR’s morality system helped distinguish it from so many other console RPGs of its era, there’s always been something undeniably compelling about HK-47’s wonderfully uncomplicated moral code. He sees every human as a “meatbag” and struggles to understand why you wouldn’t just blast your way out of a situation. 

3. Solaire of Astora – Dark Souls

Solaire of Astora is everything that you’re not expecting to find in Dark Souls. He’s optimistic, friendly, and, if you play your cards right, helpful.

While it’s possible for Solaire to succumb to insanity if you make the wrong choices along the way, he’s best remembered for his unusual commitment to the idea that there is hope and good in the game’s overwhelmingly dark world. His viewpoint may be idealistic, but you cannot deny the purity of his spirit and intentions. “Praise the sun” indeed. 

2. Cave Johnson – Portal 2

It’s impossible to ignore that GLaDOS is indeed the most famous NPC in the Portal franchise as well as arguably one of the most memorable characters in video game history. Long after “the cake is a lie” became one of gaming’s most overused memes, though, it’s Cave Johnson that stands apart as one of this franchise’s greatest creations.

Cave Johnson is the former CEO of Aperture Science who apparently reached Mr. Burns levels of evilness before he died from moon rock poisoning. His incredible dialog (which, it must be said, is expertly delivered by the irreplaceable J.K. Simmons) includes some of Portal’s best jokes, but it’s when you start to spot the tragedy and world-building in-between his jokes that you really appreciate how much this character accomplishes.

1. M’aiq the Liar – The Elder Scrolls (Franchise)

I love an NPC who practically becomes the star of the show, but my heart goes out to the NPCs who occupy a small part of a game’s world but a large part of our hearts. So far as that goes, M’aiq the Liar may just stand alone. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

As the name implies, M’aiq the Liar isn’t always entirely truthful. While those lies are often hilarious and clever, M’aiq is best known as a kind of unofficial developers’ commentary track. He often addresses meta subjects regarding missing features and misunderstood pieces of lore but does it in ways that make it difficult to separate the world-building from the Easter eggs. He’s the perfect reminder of the ways that the best video game NPCs can surprise you. 

The post 15 Best Video Game NPCs Ever appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Ready Player One Movie Review

Ready Player One was directed by Steven Spielberg and is an adaptation of Ernest Cline’s best-selling novel of the same name. It’s 2045 and with advances in technology and the decline of both the natural world and society, the majority of the planet’s population spends its time inside a massive virtual reality online world called the OASIS. In it, users create their own avatars and can do everything from finding a to play video games both classic and on the cutting-edge with people from across the world. The OASIS’s enormous success has made its creators played by Mark Rylance and Simon Pegg, the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of the future. After the the reclusive but brilliant of the two named James Halliday (Rylance) dies, it is announced that he has hidden an Easter egg within the OASIS, and whoever finds the egg will receive complete control of the program and a half trillion dollar fortune. The hunt inspires the players to search the program, filled with countless references to pop culture from the 1980′s as try compete against evil corporaion, also trying to find the egg and claim the prize. The story follows one of the hunters named Wade Watts, played by Tye Sheridan, and his quest for the egg which tests his knowledge of the most popular video games, movies, and music of yesteryear, encountering a wide range of friends and enemies. 

I first heard of this movie last summer when its first trailer released at San Diego Comic Con. Even though I hadn’t read the book, the trailer absolutely blew me away and the fact that Steven Spielberg was directing the project  made it even better. Spielberg is my all-time favorite director, and I could tell it would be a return to form for him. I appreciate the historical dramas he has been making more often in recent years, but I had been craving a new blockbuster from him for sometime. Something I hoped would bein the vein of the Indiana Jones trilogy, Jurassic Park, or even E.T was what I saw this movie as. Once I did get around to reading Ernie Cline’s book (which I highly recommend), I was even more on board with this movie. It’s an exciting and at times frightening glimpse in to the future with a ton of heart and memorable characters. In case you haven’t been able to tell from this paragraph, Ready Player One is among the movies I have been most excited to see this year, and I got my ticket as soon as possible. 

Almost as soon as the movie began, I could tell I would be satisfied with what I was wanting from Spielberg. His trademark of fluid camerawork and eye for stunning visual effects work really well for the world this movie takes place in. One scene in particular literally made my jaw drop with how well it combined modern effects with a classic movie environment. I won’t go in to much detail about it, but I will say it was my favorite action scene in the movie that was also a fitting tribute to the legendary director Stanley Kubrick. 

Acting was also a highlight for me. The core group of characters particularly Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and Lena Waithe playing their real world characters and OASIS counterparts very well. I however, think the best performances came from Mark Rylance and Ben Mendolsohn as the main villain, Nolan Sorrento. Through subtle acting Mark Rylance makes it apparent that James Halliday has a very awkward but brilliant mind which makes his character admirable and sympathetic. Ben Mendolsohn on the other hand, makes Sorrento ruthless while also being charming, allowing a self-conscious side of his character to come out once in a while. 

Something I think Spielberg achieved with mostly positive results was knowing when to stay faithful to the book and knowing what to change for the movie. I think its unfair to judge a movie based on how faithful it is to the original source because film and text are such wildly different mediums. It’s almost like having two world-class chefs make the same dish and expecting them to make their unique versions of it taste exactly the same way. Spielberg definitely made the right choices in modifying key parts of the story and plot to better fit a two and a half hour run time while also complimenting this visually driven version of the story.  At the same time, he did cut some important character development  and subplots for the characters of Aech, Sho, and Daito. Again, I’ll avoid spoilers, but the book gave all three characters important character arcs which if included, possibly could have made the movie even better. 

Aside from some of the struggles of translating from page to screen, the biggest problem for me in this movie was the structure. At times it felt rushed and at others it felt slow. The rushed scenes made me want more character development and world building and the slower ones took me out of the movie and made me feel its length. Another problem I had was a missed opportunity to use narration to the story’s advantage. Yes, one of the golden rules of film-making is “show, don’t tell” but when done correctly, narration can add an extra layer to the narrative and make the story even more personal for the viewer. The first fifteen minutes or so of the movie has quite a bit of exposition through narration as it sets up this massive world and doesn’t return until the last few minutes. I feel like the narration should have been present throughout or cut completely. 

Though it’s not a perfect movie, Ready Player One is a fun and engaging ride told in a way only Spielberg can pull off. It had the same thrills as his classic blockbusters and if you’re a fan of his as much as I am or grew up in the 80′s, you should have a great time seeing it. The more video games, TV shows, and movies of the past you have seen, I also think the more you will enjoy it. For those of you who have read the book, don’t hold yourself against the differences between it and the movie and I think you will also leave the theater satisfied. As for you who haven’t read the book, read a little background information before you see it as it might help you understand the plot better. Finally, I really enjoyed this movie and may even try to see it again. The storytelling and effects put me squarely in to the imagination Ernest Cline in a film filled with high-stakes, excitement, and humor complete the magic that only Steven Spielberg can bring to the table. 

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my muses

The Narrator:

Jonathan Von Sales.

8′ feet tall, glowing blue eyes. Wears a suit 98% of the time.

Powers are creating illusions, teleporting, control of the Office.

He’s often v grumpy, arrogant and stubborn, but has a dorkier side to him.

Jon’s tag

Stanley:

Stanley Sommers, aka Stanley Sunshine

Caucasian

5′9 feet, blue eyes, brown hair. Is an illusion created by Jon but gradually evolved into a tulpa.

Very friendly and open to newcomers.

Stanley’s tag

The Real Stanley (alcohol tw)

Stanley Sommers, but goes by ‘Stellan’

5′9, blue eyes, brown hair. Wears a brown leather bomber jacket.

Caucasian

Introverted, but honest and kind. Loathes the Narrator and his dumb story.

Drinks too much coffee and alcohol.

Stellan’s tag

Backwards!Stanley

Stanley Spencer, goes by Bradley (Brat-ley)

Hispanic

Trans gay ftm, pre-op, 5′5 ft. Brown hair, brown eyes and loads of freckles.

Wears a lot of sweaters

Very extroverted, loud and excitable. Has ADD and bipolar. Plus he tends to have little regard for his safety, since restarts are a thing.

Making Narrators suffer is his passion

Bradley’s tag

Maelle Von Cannes

The “Curator”

8′5 ft, alien, glowing dark blue eyes and extremely long hair.

Immoral, uncaring for human life, the puppet master behind Jonathan’s questionable ideas.

Has a love for fashion and painting.

Maelle’s tag

Mariella Carter

A Mariella version from the Evil!Jon AU

Mariella’s tag

The Masochist

A Stellan-Bradley fusion from the Evil!Jon AU.

Maso’s tag

Info will be updated more later! Also if you have the chance, please check out their full pages here (link only works on desktop) so you can get a full picture!

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about

This is a Story…. Years later, the Office has been a prison for Its inhabitants, who can never die without being reset, who are forced to live in a pocket dimension far away from their normal realities. Doors to other universes have opened up and they found alternate versions of themselves, of their friends and of their captors.

‘This is the Story of a man named Stanley’. If only it were that simple.

In truth, this is a story about aliens and humans and humans who aren’t any at all.

It is the story of how an incredibly stupid parable led to tying together the lives of people all across the universe.

It begins with a young man named Jonathan who left his foreign planet to visit Earth and create a story that will amaze everyone who came across it. Under evil influences of his best friend, he kidnapped people and placed them in an illusion resembling an Office to play out a story he had written specifically for them.

As is human nature, they rebelled.

The Facts

In the Office, you are semi-immortal. When you die, you get restarted, back in one piece where you began.

Narrators are the admins of the Office. They can control it and travel around as they please in form of teleportation.

The doors are often gateways to other dimensions. They can trap unsuspecting victims by replacing normal hallways with Office hallways, then teleporting the exit to another area.

Narrators are not all powerful, they can be tricked, overpowered or sometimes even removed from position.

Offices are semi-sentient. They can have minds of their own sometimes.

Offices resemble actual office buildings, usually the ones you see in The Stanley Parable game. They can be altered by Narrators.

Your typical hostage is either an employee who used to work in the Office and was trapped when the exits disappeared, or an unfortunate sap who wandered in by accident.