![]() Though it was released to little fanfare back in 2014, Presentable Liberty gained a burst of notoriety when several large Let’s-Play YouTubers gave it a go. The game was created by Wertpol A.K.A Robert Brock, who sadly passed away in June 2018. But this is actually the premise of a little indie title by the name of Presentable Liberty, a game that – though mostly forgotten – has gained a whole new level of relevance. In a post-COVID world, the scenario described above likely sounds like many people’s new normal – minus the working from home and banana bread. You long to get back out into the world, but it seems to be drifting farther away with each tick of the clock. The leaders tell you everything is fine and that positivity is the key to getting through it all, but your down-to-earth friends tell you otherwise. As time goes on, things start to get worse and more frightening more people are dying and taking desperate measures to survive. You have no choice but stay in your room and play video games to pass the time, waiting for a message from a friend or an update from those in charge. Picture this: the world as you know it has been turned on its head by a mysterious pandemic. Presentable Liberty is available for free on GameJolt.*THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS FOR PRESENTABLE LIBERTY* ![]() We want what we can’t have, and Presentable Liberty denies us one of the things we care about most: mattering. Trapped with nothing but oneself, we begin to care about things and people that may not even exist. What better way to convey the helplessness and ineffectual feelings of a prisoner than to force the player into that position while the world crumbles around them. ![]() None of it matters outside the cell door. What makes this so heartbreaking, and what drives the player to insanity is that they should have control. Presentable Liberty denies players any agency or control over what their story is, or even how it plays out for them. Even games like Cookie Clicker, where the player can literally watch a number rise for hours and hours without any input, does have things to do that affect progress– like purchasing a factory or an extra grandma. This expectation is present no matter what game is being played. The medium of video games imply a sense of agency and importance. The player’s story is about having no control over anything at all. Presentable Liberty is an amazing game because you can do absolutely nothing. So what makes this a good *game*? How do it’s mechanics lend to the story being told? If the letters were the only compelling thing to offer in the game, it probably would have done much better as a short story. Sure, everything is sad and lonely in the prison cell, the world outside sucks just as much apparently, but this is a video game. Most people are dead or perish soon after “play” is selected, but everyone, including the player, suffers. The player is engaged by being established as important in the eyes of the people outside through these letters. The narrative is presented to you in letters, written to you by the various friends, acquaintances, and enemies of our main character, and that’ really it. No agency is present in this game besides the choice of whether or not to read the letters or play your provided “P.E.P.” games. Presentable Liberty, a game by user Wertpol on GameJolt, is what is more of an anti-game than anything else. Your existence is paramount to the survival of everyone you are in contact with. Letter upon letter from all of these people enter your room through a small opening under your door, and the world outside is laid out in print, rather than experienced. The steel door blocks you from being a part of the outside world. Smiley hasn’t written you in quite some time, and he’s supposed to be keeping you happy, isn’t he? Your palms are a little sweaty, however, because there’s a tiny chance you’ll get a beautiful letter from Charlotte, the girl who runs the pastry shop. Money, the one who locked you in this dimly lit, cement coffin. ![]() It could be your old friend Salvador writing you about his adventure in the far east. You stand motionless on the cement floor waiting for the next letter, regardless of the sender. You’re stuck in a small cell with only a bed and a head-sized window you aren’t tall enough to use.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |