The Little Ones

The games industry is more than just AAA, however, there is blooming indie scene. And luckily enough this year there has come forth an indie games triumvirate each also deserving of the Game of the Year award. The Stanley Parable, Gone Home and Papers, Please bring innovation and excitement back into the industry. Although the discrepancy between AAA and indie is still a horrid gap, the fact that one side is doing well is good news for both.

Gone Home is a masterfully told story wrapped up in some of the best design I have ever played. Everything about it is ineffable.  By using the smallest number of inputs to great effect, Gone Home minimizes the cluster and confusion resulting from too many ludic systems. The result is an immensely touching experience seamlessly connecting player and story.

Whereas Gone Home tells a story, The Stanley Parable subverts storytelling in videogames thereby creating itself to be an excellent meta-game. Just like the original Bioshock, and Spec Ops: The Line The Stanly Parable is a videogame about videogames. As an omnipresent smooth talking British narrator talks you through the game it becomes the player’s choice to follow it or not.  The Stanley Parable is both intelligent and fun, something all games should be.

Papers, Please takes an entirely different root. It has a purposely loose story allowing the gameplay to impart a ludonarrative upon the player. Papers, Please imparts emotions never before seen in a videogame, most notably being the sympathy from the player unto that of the player character. By forcing the player to do mostly simple busy work the full brunt of reality in a communistic dictatorship is felt. Morality is just as gray as the drab environments of your inspection station. Papers, Please is a simple game with powerful repercussions.

This triumvirate is the one that the industry as a whole should be following.