![]() ![]() Over the course of the game (which spans five “days” in the prisoner’s life) you get to know these people intimately, to care about them, and to desperately long to hear from them again. The effect of this game had on me was so profound it caused me to write The Meaning of the Dark, which was my own attempt at an isolation narrative. There is an epigraph from Wertpol, the creator, at the start of the novel. It forces you to experience an isolation that I have never known any other book, play, film, or game to convey. The letters – your vital line to reality – bring tidings from four key individuals in your life. Markiplier himself became completely immersed in the game, to the point where he says, “Halfway through I stopped playing it and started living it.” In an hour or two, Presentable Liberty takes you on a journey to the very depths of despair and beyond. At first, all seems pretty safe and predictable, but then with each new revelation, the train picks up speed, until we’re biting our nails with fear at this 150 mile-per-hour rollercoaster. The only way you can interact with the outside world is by (a) reading letters and (b) playing on your Portable Entertainment Product™ (essentially a parody of a GameBoy).īut the story that unfolds from this point on is nothing short of breathtaking and spellbinding, as well as a frightening allegory for our modern times and the corrupting power of money. The game’s pace is like a train leaving the station. And, on top of that, the gameplay was limited: the premise of the game being that you were stuck in a cell somewhere high up, unable to escape, with the world around you slowly succumbing to a virus… (and yes, there are spooky parallels with today). Markiplier’s video was a one-hour playthrough of Presentable Liberty.Īt first, Markiplier was mocking. The clickbait video was for a game called Presentable Liberty, by an indie game developer known only as Wertpol. I clicked on it begrudgingly, expecting nothing remotely life-changing and a little annoyed at being caralled into investigating this, but unable to repress my human curiosity.īut, unbelievably, the title proved true, both for me and Markiplier himself. He put out a video that had a clickbait title: THIS GAME WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Anyway, you all know I’m an aficionado of games, so I don’t need to justify myself!Īt the time, I was subscribed to Markiplier, who is still one of the world’s biggest YouTubers and gamers. Of course, nowadays, many games are more like extended movies anyway, so there’s a lot story-wise to learn from and absorb. There is something fascinating about watching someone who is an expert take you through a game, especially if it’s a game you cannot get access to or have no intention of playing yourself. However, back in those days, I was really into gamers and “let’s play” videos. I still am, in some ways, but my taste in channels has shifted, and I no longer binge like I used to. Instead, it is a game that is a work of art through it’s design, it’s premise and it’s storytelling.Around 2014, I was an avid consumer of YouTube videos. Nor is it a game that aims to be an audio or visual masterclass. These allow you to collect achievements and work toward something within the confines of the cell but eventually these become boring and tedious, which is obviously the intent of the developer and works in the games favour. You’ll have a trusty PEP or Personal Entertainment Product, which allows you to play simple mini-games like Fear of Fire or Serpent. The player still has a number of things they can do to pass the time in their cell. You may be stuck in a prison cell and the world may be ending, but it’s not all terrible. The solitude plays a huge part in this game’s success and it’s a testament to the developers for taking a risk like this. The cell setting adds to this desire for communication and interactivity. The characters you encounter, Charlette, Mr Smiley and Dr Money all have very well written and complex stories that pull at the heart strings, leaving you rattling your cell door in anticipation of their next letter of correspondence. Plus, with no means of communicating back to these people, this adds another layer to their responses, with you acting as a means of release for these people. You’ll get to know these pen pals as they deal with the end of the world in their own respective ways. Well, the simple answer is through some brief exposition and then a series of letters slipped under your door from various cryptic characters. So the question on everyone’s lips is how do you tell a compelling story from within a shoe box cell. ![]()
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