Mechanics as Metaphor
in Thomas Was Alone and Loneliness
— One and One Story
“The Medium is the Message”
-Marshall McLuhan
What a wonderful game. While guiding the blocky hero of Thomas was Alone from portal to portal in his sad world, I was reminded of the oldest piece of writing advice there is; Show Don’t Tell. If I were to make one adjustment to that phrase to better fit the structure of a Video Game, it would be Play Don’t Tell.
Take away the context and Thomas was Alone is no better than an Atari 2600 game that’s been left out in the rain. The game is merely shapes moving left and right, jumping, and seeking out the exit to a level. But with that marvelous narration, all of sudden this becomes an involved story and every action the tiny A.I.s take becomes part of their little character. Being able to change characters also adds flavor to what would have been a bland play through. You get to experience the world as multiple characters, which make you understand them so much more deeply. Take Chris for example, the sad bitter cube who follows Thomas and the buoyant John on their adventures. We don’t just accept Chris as a sad sack because we’re explicitly told he is, it’s that he plays like a loser.
While Thomas and John were always bouncy and fun, the struggle I had with Chris was excruciatingly painful at times, every time I missed a jump with the little guy I could hear his internal monologue scream in protest as Thomas once again had to help his friend to an otherwise easily reached ledge. And what about John? The wonderfully charismatic and athletic rectangle that clears gaps with an ease that would make Mario and Luigi bow their heads in shame. It’s when you play as John that you truly understand Chris’s plight– he’s angry because he feels useless in comparison, always holding up the rest of group. In the end I eventually began to love Chris and see him as a guy who was just constantly angry with himself and his shortcomings—I think all of us have been a Chris at one point.
It is easy to think of Thomas Was Alone as the rebuttal to Loneliness, both are about cubes that seek out greater meaning in life. But Loneliness wallows in pity, sadness and misery and offers no answer to end the torment. Thomas is a bit more nuanced, in that it shows us that people (or Artificial Intelligence in this case) can make a difference and even experience change, friendship and meaning but you have to look for it. If Thomas, in all his blocky heroic greatness, could sit down with the unnamed protagonist of Loneliness he would tell him that life is for the living… and then probably help him get to a hard to reach ledge so they could escape—together. The medium truly is the message here, and were Thomas was Alone made in another medium other than a video game it would be as forgettable as tears in rain, but here it is a beautiful and unforgettable fable about an unusual 2D hero and his quest to save his friends.