The Stanley Parable

Broom Closet Ending

OH, DID YOU GET THE BROOM CLOSET ENDING? THE BROOM CLOSET ENDING WAS MY FAVORITE!

Stanley stepped out of his office and started walking, listening to the Narrator's usual spiel. He decided to go find more secrets. 

"When Stanley came to a set of two open doors, he entered the door on his left."

Stanley obeyed. Maybe there was something in the meeting room he overlooked. Stanley took a quick sweep of the meeting room before deciding there was nothing interesting. So he stepped out into the hallway. But something caught his eye. A room titled the broom closet. Interested, Stanley opened the door and stepped in. 

"Stanley stepped into the broom closet, but there was nothing here, so he turned around and got back on track."

A small, smug, smile crossed Stanley's face. He decided he was going to mess with the Narrator a bit. So he closed the broom closet door and sat on the ground. There was a long pause. The broom closet was rather small, but there were spaces that Stanley could fit in if he sat with his legs crossed. 

"There was nothing here. No choice to make, no path to follow, just and empty broom closet. No reason to still be here."

The smile still hadn't left Stanley's face. He could tell that the Narrator was becoming impatient. 

"It was baffling that Stanley was still just sitting in the broom closet. He wasn't even doing anything, at least if there were something to interact with he'd be justified in some way. A it is, he's literally just standing there, doing sweet FA."

British slang. Stanley forgot the Narrator was British. But Stanley also noticed that the Narrator was attempting to stay professional, though it was clear he was annoyed. 

"Are you... are you really still in the broom closet? Standing around doing nothing? Why? Please offer me some explanation here; I'm genuinely confused."  

Stanley shrugged. There was pause.

"You do realize there's no choice or anything in here, right? If I had said, 'Stanley walked past the broom closet,' at least you would have had a reason for exploring it to find out. But it didn't even occur to me because literally this closet is of absolutely no significance to the story whatsoever. I never would have thought to mention it."

Then why would the Narrator put it in? Stanley thought. Another short period of silence. 

 "Maybe to you, this is somehow it's own branching path. Maybe, when you go talk about this with your friends, you'll say: 'OH, DID U GET THE BROOM CLOSET ENDING? THE BROOM CLOSET ENDING WAS MY FAVORITE! XD' ... I hope your friends find this concerning."

Stanley burst out into inaudible laughter. That bit of dialogue was oddly funny to him. It was also funny that the Narrator was now clearly annoyed. 

"Stanley was fat and ugly and really, really stupid. He probably only got the job because of a family connection; that's how stupid he is. That, or with drug money. Also, Stanley is addicted to drugs and hookers." 

Well that was just uncalled for! But yet, the Narrator's attempts to make Stanley leave the broom closet were amusing. 

"Well, I've come to a very definite conclusion about what's going on right now. You're dead."

What?

"You got to this broom closet, explored it a bit, and were just about to leave because there's nothing here, when a physical malady (I ALMOST WROTE M'LADY INSTEAD) of some sort shut down your central nervous system and you collapsed on the keyboard. Well, in a situation like this, the responsible thing is to alert someone nearby so as to ensure that your body is taken care of before it begins to decompose."

Stanley tried to contain his laughter, As the Narrator called out. 

"HELLO!? ANYONE WHO HAPPENS TO BE NEARBY!! THE PERSON AT THIS COMPUTER IS DEAD!! HE OR SHE HAS FALLEN PREY TO ANY NUMBER OF YOUR COUNTLESS HUMAN PHYSIOLOGICAL VULNERABILITIES. IT'S INDICATIVE OF THE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF YOUR SPECIES. PLEASE REMOVE THEIR CORPSE FROM THE AREA AND INSTRUCT ANOTHER HUMAN TO TAKE THEIR PLACE AT THE COMPUTER, MAKING SURE THEY UNDERSTAND BASIC FIRST-PERSON VIDEO GAME MECHANICS, AND FILLING THEM IN ON THE HISTORY OF NARRATIVE TROPES IN VIDEO GAMING, SO THAT THE IRONY AND INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY OF THIS GAME IS NOT LOST ON THEM. Alright, when you've done that, just step out into the hallway."

For a few moments, Stanley didn't move. So he's dead now, huh? Guess I'll go along with it, he thought. Stanley opened the broom closet door and stepped out into the hallway. 

"A, second player! It's good to have you on board. I guarantee you can't do any worse than the person who came before you." 

Stanley stepped back into the broom closet, just to see what would happen. 

"You too?! Unbelievable. I'm at the mercy of an entire species of invalids. Perhaps there's a monkey nearby you can hand the controls to? A fish? A fungus? Look, you can hammer out the details; I'm not particularly picky. I'll just be waiting for when you're ready to pick up the story again." 

Stanley laughed a bit before stepping out of the broom closet and continuing on with the story. After the game reset, he came back to the broom closet, and walked inside. 

"Oh, no. Oh nonononononononono not again. I won't be a part of this. I'm not going to say anything at all. I'm just going to be patient and wait for you to finish whatever it is you enjoy doing so much in this room. Please, take your time." 

Stanley smiled and stepped out of the broom closet, playing the story once again. Once again he came back. But to his surprise, Stanley found the broom closet's door boarded up. Stanley walked away, satisfied.