BanderPAX

We have chosen to remix the choose-your-own-adventure game style film ‘Bandersnatch’ from the series Black Mirror. Through our study of the semiotics, ideologies and representations present in this film we have decided to remix this text by turning it into a multiple choice game. We have focused our remix on the ideology of free will and whether you have control in your life or not. Is it fate? Is there a god? Is life pointless? What happens if I choose the wrong path and is there a “wrong” path? Do my choices alter my path or do we only have one set destiny? These are big questions that every human asks or are at least curious about whether we are religious or not. In our game, BanderPAX, we have played on this ideology and have created a multiple choice game where one answer will lead to the next question whilst the other will lead to a dramatic death. “I give them the illusion of free will but ultimately I decide the ending” (Stefan, Bandersnatch) and that is ultimately what we do in this game. We have made the questions confusing and meaningless like some of the questions in Bandersnatch (Example is when we choose what cereal Stefan eats for breakfast) and we control the outcome of the players answers. You either move on to the next question or you die in a dramatic arbitrary way. The PAX character is represented in Bandersnatch as a character in Stefan's game he is creating in the film. We used the PAX icon as the “higher power” in the game as he is one perception as to what is controlling Stefan’s choices in the film. As Bandersnatch is represented as a dark psychological film we decided to have a comedic undertone in our game with PAX being sarcastic and vindictive and the way you die being completely ridiculous and unfair. In Bandersnatch there are multiple endings that could play out depending on what the viewer selects but we have decided to have every “wrong” choice lead to death and an ending that has no reward. In Bandersnatch the audience has a sense of power over Stefan however we have reversed the power and have handed it over to PAX, the higher power in the game. We have placed the player in the shoes of Stefan making the player feel like they have no control of the outcome and that they are controlled by this higher power. “When you make a decision, you think it’s you doing it, but it’s not. It’s the spirit out there that’s connected to our world that decides what we do and we just have to go along for the ride.” (Colin, Bandersnatch)