Walking Sim Case Study:

• Which techniques are used by the developers? In this case, think about any narrative and any imagery used.

​

Stanley Parable is built on comedic timing and fourth wall breaking, this is its building blocks, the game is also very basic in the visual sense as it's a cream colour on the walls and a very office looking carpet. The player discovers quickly that you have free choice and there WILL be an ending for where they are going, and that the ending will depend on what you do.

• Are there any aspects about the context that need to be considered? This could include who created the game, where it was created, when and under what circumstances, as well as your relationship with its context. 

​

The game is designed and developed by Davey Wreden and William Pugh, the game was designed in the source engine and a mod for Half Life 2.

• Ask yourself about the meaning of the walking simulator – what you think the game is about, and whether it might be trying to convey any messages.

​

The game is an exploration of choice, freedom, and reality. With 19 endings it toys with the concept of the relationship between the player and the creator; playing with the fact that the narrator throws you into a game and talks you through it, if you blindly follow the narrator you'll get the "freedom" ending, but if you deviate from the path, you agitate the narrator, but he can never force you to go anywhere, playing with the narrative first person walking simulators and really knocking some gaming tropes.

​

Brainstorms:

1 - Reality Piercing Office

2 rooms, identical, office chairs and filing cabinets

One has an elevator, doesn't work, just sounds

Filing cabinets can be opened

one computer has text on it "wake up"

​

2 - Apollo 13

Control Room

Buttons, radio static

Walking up stairs to the control room, there is no-one there, the ship is halfway taking off. You press a button and then cuts to black

​

3 - apartment

Apartment, Travis Scott and Supreme merch everywhere

​

For this walking simulator I want the player to explore the game, not only in the physical sense but to really think about it, the monotony of the office, or the freezing of time in the Apollo room, the vanity of the apartment, all these "valuable" paraphernalia but the absolute lack of what "living" is. Living in an apartment but looking like you own the world, owning a mac with Linux installed.

​

I want a definitive ending, with the office, I'm not too sure I can make an "ending", just leaving a thought in the player's head. With Apollo 13 I'm thinking it can end with the black and a crashing noise. With the apartment I really have no inspiration, nothing to really expand on. 

​

​

Decision:

After some thinking I've had an idea for the office, the gameplay will go something along the line of this: Explore the office, calendar with Monday on it, typing is only present, the clock is just ticking, the arms aren't moving, everything inside is a black and white, everything is uniform, the only things coloured are the windows and the area outside, there is a door to a balcony, open; this leads to one of the endings, where is cuts to black and the wind is heard and cars are getting closer, symbolising death. The next ending is just to sit down, and you get back up, everything is the same but the outside is dead, and the computers are dead. The last ending is to leave through the elevator, and it dings, you get the freedom ending.

​

I went with this idea as the assets I will need is minimal and textures are minimal, also as I like the symbolism of doing the same thing day in day out, ending it all by either leaving, waiting for the time to pass, or quitting forever.

​

This game will have some dark tones, so it will be fairly serious, but I will update this blog with changes.