Playing with Identity Authors, Narrators, Avatars, and Players in <i>The Stanley Parable</i> and <i>The Beginner&rsquo;s Guide</i>

• Main Authors: Hans-Joachim Backe, Jan-Noël Thon
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Bergische Universität Wuppertal 2019-12-01
• Series: Diegesis: Interdisziplinäres E-Journal für Erzählforschung
• Online Access: https://www.diegesis.uni-wuppertal.de/index.php/diegesis/article/view/357

This article offers a comparative analysis of Davey Wreden’s <em>The Stanley Parable</em> (Wreden 2011 / Galactic Cafe 2013) and <em>The Beginner’s Guide</em> (Everything Unlimited Ltd. 2015) in order to explore the interrelation of authors, narrators, avatars, and players as four salient functions in the play with identity that videogames afford. Building on theories of collective and collaborative authorship, of narratives and narrators across media, and of the avatar-player relationship, the article reconstructs the similarities and differences between the way in which <em>The Stanley Parable</em> and <em>The Beginner’s Guide</em> position their players in relation to the two games’ avatars, narrators, and (main) author, while also underscoring how both <em>The Stanley Parable</em> and <em>The Beginner’s Guide</em> use metareferential strategies to undermine any overly rigid conceptualization of these functions and their interrelation.