This episode of the mind bending series BLACK MIRROR . Is about a wanna be game programmer who believes he has the great idea to make a novel into a choose your own adventure game. The episode follows him and the problems he encounters making the game. Especially when dealing with mental trauma form his past.
The story is best experienced by you. As it is all about choice and that is the genius they present it as a choose your own adventure where you control the story. Yet you realize how it controls you in a way as it is in it's own way always in control. As it sets the rules and scenario and you choose what it will present to you. It also allows you to realize that many of the little decisions you make can easily also affect later bigger sorts of your day. Hence the common refrain it’s the little things that make everything up. As they are the ingredients that make up the main course.
I am a bit ashamed of how involved I got in this I wanted to go through all the scenarios and spent way too much time going back and forth. To just experience it all. This is why choose your own adventure Was an addiction and something I had to leave after awhile. One of my proposals now is always wondering what if and wanting certain question answered and trying to go through each scenario. So when offered, I went and spent quite some time but luckily it feels worth it. Where as here it encourages. When these type of tales were offered In Book form. It always felt like cheating to go back and wonder down a different path.
The fun part is playing along as some choices will still lead to the same scene except that maybe you might get a different motivation or a different soundtrack. (As in some scenes they ask what album you want to listen to. Though no matter what you choose it's the same action and shots) They sometimes add more to the story with the same endings. The whole experience is fun as you might lose yourself and it’s up to you to decide how invested you are going to be if you want to go back and down a different path or are your satisfied up to this point. Some lead directly to an ending others give you a chance to go back to complete a better ending.
It’s like playing a video game as you feel more and more In Control and In Some is tables guilty. One scenario eerily let’s you be almost in direct contact tact and another plays a game with you as it challenges you outright.
What’s interesting is that while he feels he is going crazy. It is actually our fault as we are controlling him and his decisions that makes us guilty and complacent and throughout all the decisions it is challenging us to make the adventure more exciting as many choices lead to an abrupt ending and commentary that are usually not satisfying. Though quite a few of the endings are actually quite competent and noteworthy. Even if they might lead to the same ending.
It also asks you to really choose are you a fatalist and want the twists which usually lead to an ending happy ending or do you want to let the characters not suffer. Which lead to an abrupt yet happy ending which comes off as a failure for not being adventurous. Though there are partial happy endings they still deal with a kind of objectionable details. So that there is no surprise happy or sad. They all seem to affect somewhat in the negative aspects.
So it truly leaves you in control and how do you want your entertainment. Are you merciful and can you be happy with that or do you need the suffering and twists to make your entertainment. Maybe you just enjoy playing. Yet must realize in a way we are dealing with human beings.
In the end the writer and creator is the author and in real power. He gives the player/Viewer the illusion that they are in control
No comments:
Post a Comment