This is a story about a gamer named Stanley.

Stanley wondered if he should buy The Stanley Parable; he found it amusing that his name was in the title. What Stanley didn't know was that he was about to make the biggest decision of his life. You see, name wasn't the only thing Stanley shared with this game... This game, was about Stanley!

Stanley purchsed the game and patiently waited for it to finish downloading. His Internet connection wasn't the fastest, but the game wasn't very large either. He barely had enough time to brew a pot of coffee before the game was ready. Stanley booted up the game and tuned the settings to his liking. He always liked to make sure that things were just right.

Once in the game, Stanley noticed something familiar. "Hm, that's odd" Stanely remarked. "This looks just like my office." He continued playing, only to recognize more and more. "I was just in this meeting room yesterday!" He exclaimed. "I remember, we were talking about who would be the new whiteboard manager." Taken back, Stanley was enthralled at the prospect that this game may actually be about him!

Stanley continued playing... For hours he watched as the game slowly transitioned from silly happenstance into more of a... dark setting. Stanley's emotional state couldn't help but follow suit, as he went from curious excitement to sheer terror. He saw things that horrified him; he saw things that made him question his very existence! Stanley was scared... After a long night, Stanley stopped himself. "No!" He screamed. "This isn't real! This is just a coincidence! What was I even thinking? Buying a game simply because my name was in the title."

Stanley joined his wife in bed and anxiously waited to fall asleep so he could forget this whole ordeal.

The next morning, Stanley awoke to the smell of a lovely breakfast cooked by none other than his beautiful wife. He went to greet her, but suddenly found himself still fixated on the game he had played the night before. His wife, noticing how distratected he seemed, asked him if everything was alright. "What? Oh.. uh.. yeah." He replied. Stanley's wife tried to get him to talk about what had him so worked up. But he just wouldn't budge. After finishing his meal, Stanley finished getting ready for his day and left for work.

That was the last we ever saw of Stanley. It isn't clear what happened to him after he left for work that day. His wife tried so very hard to locate him, but was ultimately unsuccessful. After several years of waiting, she decided it was time to move on, and eventually remarried. But, the thought of Stanley returning some day never escaped her.

Some things are just too powerful to ignore.