There are photos that appear, and some that – then – subsequently disappear. The toothbrush always goes into a glass, which gathers chips in it as it goes. They start with one big stuffed animal that’s a chicken, and through each level its revealed they’ve gotten a growing collection of small chicks. We see how what the character does for fun, and how they define themselves as changing over time. This can be done in subtle ways, like when the main character first move into a house with friends after university where we see table top role playing game paraphernalia, and in all subsequent moves after that house, our character takes several of the role playing game rule books. It’s an interesting way to tell a story, relying on the items that we have to communicate this information. The only thing we have to garner this information is through their items. So who is this main character whose items we are constantly unpacking? We never see the main character, we don’t know their name, age, or any other amount of information and details about them. The items, how they change, and which ones get added or removed is how the progression of time shows a character’s growth, both personally and professionally. The next level is moving back to your parent’s home. For example, one level is when the primary character is moving in with a romantic partner. The locations are of utmost importance to the growth of the narrative. The entire story is simply told through the art of unpacking – the new homes being unpacked and the items you are unpacking become the entire story. No one speaks, no one gives written context or dialogue. With the exception of these phrases at the end of each level, no words are provided in the whole game. And while I won’t alter this approach too much, I do have a slightly different way of answering the question of who the main character of the story is.
Part of this storytelling is the interesting question of who exactly the main character of the game is, an answer that is typically found within the things we unpack in the game. The way the story is constructed and enacted by the player is a fascinating one, and fairly unique to Unpacking. Today, I wanted to take some time to explore Unpacking and its story. At the end of each level, a snapshot photo gets taken and inserted into a book like a scrapbook with a short sentence that gives hope and context for the life-step the move represents.
Unpacking game story explained full#
Each level gives us another step in a person’s life – from a childhood bedroom, to a university dorm room, and finalizing in a full several bedroom house. Part home décor, and part organisation-porn, Unpacking gives you rooms and boxes, and allows you to live in the art of unpacking. As someone who both loves organisation and has moved three times in the past two years, I found it an oddly comforting game.
It’s a familiar act – the art of pulling items out of boxes and trying to find their best location. Describing itself as a “zen puzzle game”, Unpacking is a game that is simply the act of emptying boxes and settling into a new space. In November of last year, a small indie game Unpacking came out.
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