The Beginner's Guide (from the creator of The Stanley Parable)

johnny_ultimate

Huzzah: it's an unexpected video game launch shrouded in mystery!

Davey Wreden, one of two guys behind the Stanley Parable, has announced that his new game - The Beginner's Guide - is being launched in about 48 hours time. In a nice break from the year-long hype machines that precede many releases, such close proximity between reveal and release is to be celebrated.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given his last game was all about subverting expectations, there's very little information about the game so far other than it being a 'narrative video game for Mac and PC' and some ambiguous screenshots over at Polygon.

Given Wreden has already had his fun explicitly dissecting video game narrative tropes and tricks, I'm curious to see if he doubles down on the meta or moves in a different direction. Fingers crossed for the latter.

Links234

That reminds me, must grab Stanley Parable next Steam sale

johnny_ultimate

I'm reticent to say too much about this for two reasons: 1) it's a game you really need to play through with as minimal a knowledge of as is reasonably possible and 2) because the themes of the game itself make me wonder whether gushing praise is the correct response to it.

But I'll allow myself one superlative - The Beginner's Guide is truly remarkable. I've played quite a few games where the author's own voice and story was an integral part of the experience, but this is full-on rattling in its intimacy. It's a very challenging game in terms of the subject matter it deals with, and the themes are handled with maturity and nuance. And formally it's suitably complex - from its tricksy narration through to its wild, fluctuating design and complicated relationship with the player. At first, there are similarities with The Stanley Parable - it's meta structure, self-awareness, sense of humour and persistent narration most obviously. But over the course of 90 minutes it morphs into something else entirely, something intellectually provocative and emotionally affecting. Some of you might be familiar with the idea of a 'film essay', popularised by the likes of Chris Marker or Agnes Varda - that's a general comparison I'd use here. It's like an exploration of game design, a formal critique and diary entry all rolled into one, while also being a very vivid and artfully composed piece of work on its own terms.

I'm being vague because I must. If you're remotely interested, I'd definitely recommend hopping on Steam and downloading it as soon as you can, because I hope the discussions and writing surrounding it will be plenty interesting (and likely divisive) over the coming weeks. I must again abandon that attempt to remain moderate, because it very much offered a legitimate shock of the new that so few games manage. This is a very special game - although I sort of hope Davey Wreden isn't reading that.

Mr Bloat

Only €7.19? I'd spend that on a Humble Bundle of games I'd barely play and I really want to play this before the memes come out and spoil some of it. Sold.

jaykhunter

Sold! Worth noting the game is €7.19 with a steam AND DRM-free version on the Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/thebeginnersguide_storefront

RasTa

Knew nothing about this but first time I've bought a game in months. Bargain price to so no excuses for anybody not buying it.

Vojera

Cheers OP, just happened to see your thread, otherwise I'd still be oblivious to this game's existence. I really enjoyed the Stanley Parable so I'm excited to give this a go.

johnny_ultimate

The response to this has been predictably varied. From the wildly enthusiastic...

Much of the pleasure and insight I derived the game came not just from the moments when I played it, but the moments where I sought to interpret it, where I spoke about it with others, where I ultimately projected my own ideas about what it meant to me. While I may or may not be right—and it may or may not be interested in my analysis—The Beginner's Guide is a beautiful, thought-provoking and sometimes elusive piece of work, and one that I'm happy to recommend that people play—even if it might prefer to simply speak for itself.

(via Boing Boing)

The Beginner's Guide's provocative imagery and personal prose set it apart from just about anything else out there. Those interested in how to tell personal stories in interactive media without resorting to waxy-faced NPCs or collectible audio diaries will find Wreden's latest a masterclass in character-driven storytelling.

(via Eurogamer)

It’s a game I may only ever play once, but I’m thoroughly glad I did. For those who hate “walking simulators” and the “pretentious” side of independent games, you should probably steer clear. The rest of you? There’s more to this game than it’s 90 minute runtime. The fact I’m still thinking about it, deeply, hours after I played it is all part of the value too.

The fact it prompted me to write much of what I wrote here is something… special.

(via Jim Sterling, in a very heartfelt and personal response to the game)

...to the dismissive and vitriolic...

The recent—and woefully underappreciated—The Magic Circle also gives players a tour of unfinished games by a frustrated creator, but works legitimately interesting and fun play into this concept, all while looking at the creative process from many different angles (and without committing to a single interpretation). As an exploration of Wreden's insecurities, The Beginner's Guide excels, but, from the player's perspective, don't be surprised if you grow tired of the creator's schtick by minute 60.

(via USgamer)

It's a shame that its fantastic visuals are wasted; it's not the death of the player or the death of the author that should concern us, but the frequent absence of skepticism. When GameSpot sells Wreden's bizarre diary as “a fascinating journey into what it means to make a game,” you have to wonder why anyone would celebrate such a myopic assumption.

(via Slant)

On The Magic Circle comparison, I actually think this is a much more rewarding game narratively and indeed overall, even if it lacks the gameplay experimentation found in that game. I'd also suggest that those going in expecting a tonally-similar follow-up to The Stanley Parable might not get exactly what they're expecting, but it's very much worth engaging with this game on its own terms.

jaykhunter

Wow, this game is some pretentious garbage, I regret spending my money on it. It's the equivalent of modern art: some may get deeply affected it but all I see is a splodge on the page.
I appreciate the narrator's desperate attempt to ascribe deep philosophical meaning to basic layouts and half-baked one-note levels, but it's uncomfortable to hear painfully average Coda's biggest fan verbally fellate him.

This is obviously extremely personal to Wreden but I found it a frustratingly grating experience. Avoid like the plague.

johnny_ultimate

jaykhunter wrote: »

It's the equivalent of modern art: some may get deeply affected it but all I see is a splodge on the page.
I appreciate the narrator's desperate attempt to ascribe deep philosophical meaning to basic layouts and half-baked one-note levels, but it's uncomfortable to hear painfully average Coda's biggest fan verbally fellate him.

What's fascinating to me about the game is that 'Wreden' (part construct, part actual person, part a lot of things) is very obviously desperate to assign deeper meanings to these games, whether they warrant them or not (maybe that Counter Strike level is just an unfinished, haphazard doodle). And 'Coda's' (

taking for granted there is no actual 'Coda' and he's mostly a construct of IRL Wreden

) games are indeed a mix of fascinating ideas, half-baked ones, one-note ones, quick gags, weird experiments etc... The relationship between Coda's games and the meanings Wreden finds in them are what give the game its depths. Wreden is an unreliable narrator (I think the end of the game explicitly highlights that, in case there was any doubt), but the Beginner's Guide's trickiness stretches well beyond that. It's about ideas with no easy answers, an exploration of the many strange, dynamic and maybe even discordant relationships that exist between designers and players, storytellers and critics and indeed artists and themselves.

Obviously there are autobiographical elements - Wreden's blogpost about the response to The Stanley Parable certainly illuminates some of the concepts and feelings he was wrestling with - but IMO there's a lot more going on besides that. Crucially, I think we're invited to question, disagree with and challenge 'Wreden's' interpretations (

and ultimately his explicit manipulations and corruptions in the form of the lamp-post, or the way he 'breaks' some of Coda's games beyond their original form

) as we see fit, because what's at the heart of the game is that tricky conflict between intent and interpretation.

Funny you mention modern art too, because the solitary piece of explicit 'modern art' in the game - the painting dominating one of the walls during Coda's 'speech bubble' game - is actually left uncommented on. Kill Screen picked up on that in their reliably interesting review:

The painting, an artwork laid bare, is dismissed by the commenters and left hanging by Wreden. The narrator instead sharpens his focus and critical thought on the salaciousness of melodrama and the hidden truths uncovered by “puzzle solving” throughout The Beginner’s Guide. Analyzing a painting is an aimless diversion compared to that goal. And besides, the joyous explosion of colors in the painting probably runs counter to narrator Wreden’s thesis about Coda’s mental state. While the symbolism of the creative process as a prison is beat into players’ heads in so many of the scenarios that follow Notes, the direct inclusion of visual artwork, so symbolic of the cultural status videogames desperately aspire to, is ignored by our adept tour guide.

jaykhunter

It seems pretty unfair to ascribe such deep philosophical meaning to this game but not every other game, you know? Pretty much every other game in history has had more work put into it, having subtle nuances and meanings the creator put out that haven't been explored. I am glad you've gotten "ideas with no easy answers, an exploration of the many strange, dynamic and maybe even discordant relationships that exist between designers and players, storytellers and critics and indeed artists and themselves" out of TBG but it feels that you've superimposed your far more considered thoughts onto a much shallower game.

johnny_ultimate

I can only agree to disagree with you there I fully believe this is a game of uncommon thematic complexity, with the sort of ideas and provocations rarely seen in gaming. That's not to say there aren't many titles out there with lots of wonderful artistic nuances, and unquestionably you wouldn't have to look far for games with more mechanical depths I can play and appreciate MGSV on many levels, but The Beginner's Guide does its own thing and casts its own spell. But yeah games that provoke the kind of response I had to this are a rare (although not non-existent!) treat, although I fully respect where you're coming from too.

Jet Black

Looking at the trailer I was expecting a puzzle game, going through hundred of little games trying to find a mysterious creator. But it was nothing like that. From start to finish everything is explained by the narrator. There are no puzzles to solve and the mysterious creator is know from the start. I can see why people would be disappointed similarly to the way I did not like Gone Home. I didn't like the story and could not relate to the characters. But this game was different.

Not much can be said without spoiling the story

but it gives the view of an extrovert into the mind of introvert and struggling to understand him. You're guided from start to finish by the narrator and the whole experience lasts about 90 minutes.

jaykhunter

Jet Black wrote: »

Not much can be said without spoiling the story

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it a bit more. I very much enjoyed the Stanley Parable and Gone Home, but not this. Spoiler tag them?

K.O.Kiki

So, another 1-button + WASD walking simulator then?

RasTa

Loved Stanley but not keen on this, 90mins in. It's really up it's own arse

Vojera

Just finished it there. I liked it, but I'm a big fan of videogames-as-art so I knew I would. Not everyone does and that's okay.

I'm curious about what I might notice on a second playthrough that I didn't see the first time. Definitely not as accessible as The Stanley Parable, but much more intimate imo.

Jet Black

I think the narrator is the positive and Coda negative sides of the same person, Davey.

What I think is Coda was the part of the narrators fears of showing his work. He is making games for himself that are unbeatable or unplayable and generally different to others. He doesn't make games for recognition. Then we have the narrator the positive side that wants to change. That wants to show his work and is making changes to the games so that they are playable and enjoyable.

But I liked to take the story as literal. That Coda existed and Davey was trying show the world how good he was. Coda then retreated because of his personality and Davey ends up frustrated with him then himself. Extrovert not understanding introverts mind.

Of course I could be completely wrong but I enjoyed it anyway.

Vojera

My interpretation is that

Coda represents the part of the developer that makes games for himself, because it's fun, because he enjoys it and for the sake of it.

Davey, the narrator, represents the part of himself that craves validation from others for his games. Davey is the part that makes changes that Coda doesn't like to make the games more commercial or more palatable to others.

Davey wants to make games with a deeper meaning so that people can praise him for how great they are. He talks about how great it feels when people like the games he shows them. Throughout the game he is desperate to interpret Coda's games and get into his head, whereas he later muses, "maybe Coda just likes making prison games" - games don't have to be philosophical, they can be a shallow but fun experience and that's okay.

Coda says that Davey disgusts him. I think this feeling of disgust is the developer feeling that he is selling out on his values and making changes so that his games are more appealing to others, even if the changes make the game something different than what his original intentions were.

In the blog post linked earlier it talks about Davey's real life experience of surfing the wave of success that came with The Stanley Parable and the subsequent depression and feelings of anxiety that followed. To me this game is the expression of those feelings. It feels really good when people praise you for your work, but that leaves you wanting more praise for the next thing and feeling pressurised to produce something that people want, even though what you, as an artist or writer or whatever, may want to go in a different direction.

The Stanley Parable was a game with a lot to say and had lots of interpretations. I think that this has left Davey feeling a bit trapped; would anyone accept a straightforward platformer from him now? Or a FPS with lots of action but little story?

The TL;DR of this is that it's a struggle between trying to create something pure and true to yourself, and wanting to produce something that will be popular, even if you have to compromise on your original vision.

Winston Payne

Watched the Two Best Friends Play video about this yesterday. Made a guess about a quarter of an hour in, felt validated towards the end of the video.

Coda is Wreden. The narrator takes the place of the player of his previous work, The Stanley Parable. Ta-bloody-da.


It's an untypical game. Have to say I wasn't affected on any level at all by the story, how it unfolded or how it was developed. Woolie and Liam in the video were both hit much harder and that is an interesting contrast to me. They are creators who have audiences, who are under public scrutiny every day and are expected to make things for public consumption. They must have related on artistic and personal levels that I can't even grasp at. All the same, the twist was easy enough to call and I'm usually useless at doing that. I wouldn't recommend it for half it's price, game clocked in at an hour and thirty five minutes in their video and that's with some fruitless exploration throw in pretty regularly.