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[guybrushfreeman]

http://thebeginnersgui.de/

The Beginner's Guide is a narrative video game for Mac and PC. It lasts about an hour and a half and has no traditional mechanics, no goals or objectives. Instead, it tells the story of a person struggling to deal with something they do not understand.

Steam - http://store.steampowered.com/app/303210
Humble Store - https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/thebeginnersguide_storefront
$9.99 USD (20% discount until 8th October)

System Requirements

Windows
MINIMUM: 
OS: Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 
Processor: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 (or higher) or AMD64X2 (or higher) 
Memory: 2 GB RAM 
Graphics: Video card must be 128 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for Pixel Shader 2.0b (ATI Radeon X800 or higher / NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or higher / Intel HD Graphics 2000 or higher - *NOT* an Intel Express graphics card). 
Hard Drive: 4 GB available space 
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible

Mac
MINIMUM: 
OS: Mac OS X 10.8 or higher required 
Processor: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 (or higher) or AMD64X2 (or higher) 
Memory: 2 GB RAM 
Graphics: ATI Radeon 2400 or higher / NVIDIA 8600M or higher 
Hard Drive: 3 GB available space

Linux
MINIMUM: 
OS: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
Processor: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 (or higher) or AMD64X2 (or higher) 
Memory: 2 GB RAM 
Graphics: Video card must be 128 MB or more (ATI Radeon X800 or higher / NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or higher / Intel HD Graphics 2000 or higher - *NOT* an Intel Express graphics card). 
Hard Drive: 4 GB available space 
Sound Card: ALSA-compatible

Reviews -
Eurogamer - Essential
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-10-01-the-beginners-guide-review
Giant Bomb - 4/5
http://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/the-beginners-guide-review/1900-717/
Gamespot - 8/10
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-beginners-guide-review/1900-6416261/
The AV Club - No Score
http://www.avclub.com/review/beginners-guide-wants-intimacy-then-again-were-all-226170
Destructoid - 9/10
http://www.destructoid.com/review-the-beginner-s-guide-313130.phtml
Game Informer - 8/10
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/t...archive/2015/10/01/searching-for-answers.aspx
Screenshots

Trailer
https://youtu.be/RBK5Jheu0To

Announcement thread
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1118288

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

DON'T READ ANYTHING ABOUT THIS FREAKING GAME.


Go play it and come back, it's good. Just be sure to play it in one sitting, it's around 90 minutes long.

 

[johnnydrama]

I played it for about 20 minutes but it didn't interest me. Asked for a refund.

 

[Enter the Dragon Punch]

DON'T READ ANYTHING ABOUT THIS FREAKING GAME.


Just go play it and come back, it's good.

I disagree. It'd be worth watching a LP when they show up if you really want to see this thing.

Otherwise, wait for a deeper discount or pass on it. It's strong for the first half and then the last 45 minutes or so just spikes up and down, ending on an awfully drab note.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

I disagree. It'd be worth watching a LP when they show up if you really want to see this thing.

Otherwise, wait for a deeper discount or pass on it. It's strong for the first half and then the last 45 minutes or so just spikes up and down, ending on an awfully drab note.

you could just ask for a refund if you don't like it.

 

[guybrushfreeman]

I hope it was okay to make an OT for this, I didn't really want to break up the discussion from the announcement thread but I though it deserved an OT. Please message me if I need to edit anything.

Spoiler

Actual footage of me making my first OT

I can't play it until later today, glad to see people are enjoying it so far. I'll try and keep up with adding reviews as they come.

 

[Enter the Dragon Punch]

you could just ask for a refund if you don't like it.

I'm not refunding a game I beat because I didn't like it. That's disingenuous

I hope it was okay to make an OT for this, I didn't really want to break up the discussion from the announcement thread but I though it deserved an OT. Please message me if I need to edit anything.

Spoiler

Actual footage of me making my first OT

I can't play it until later today, glad to see people are enjoying it so far. I'll try and keep up with adding reviews as they come.

Go claim it in the OT OT

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

I'm not refunding a game I beat because I didn't like it. That's disingenuous

Well, that's your choice. Refunds can be used for any reason you want, I played it for less than 2 hours, I could refund a game I just finished RIGHT NOW.

But I won't, because I think that was pretty interesting.

 

[guybrushfreeman]

I'm not refunding a game I beat because I didn't like it. That's disingenuous



Go claim it in the OT OT

Thanks, I made a post. I checked there to make sure no one else claimed it first though.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I hope it was okay to make an OT for this, I didn't really want to break up the discussion from the announcement thread but I though it deserved an OT. Please message me if I need to edit anything.

Spoiler

Actual footage of me making my first OT

I can't play it until later today, glad to see people are enjoying it so far. I'll try and keep up with adding reviews as they come.

I'd just wrap the images in quote tags so they don't take up as much space. (Excluding the banner, it's fine.)

 

[guybrushfreeman]

I'd just wrap the images in quote tags so they don't take up as much space. (Excluding the banner, it's fine.)

Done, thanks.

As for the game I expect not everyone will enjoy it but it seems to have it's audience so far which is great. It makes me happy to know the market is able to support titles like this these days.

The Stanley Parable is one of my favorite games but it actually turned out to be much more popular than I expected. I hope that a lot of people have a great experience with this one as well but it won't be for everyone and that's fine.

If it's able to find its audience and entertain or communicate something then I think that's pretty special for any game.

 

[Brydo0]

Completely surprised by The Beginner's Guide, I'm not sure what I was expecting but man, what a unique game.

Spoiler

When playing The Beginner's Guide, I thought Coda was real, at least until the very end. Few games have made me feel as uncomfortable as the back-end of The Beginner's Guide, such a great turn from warmth and discovery to uneasiness.

 

[vehn]

Completely surprised by The Beginner's Guide, I'm not sure what I was expecting but man, what a unique game.

Spoiler

When playing The Beginner's Guide, I thought Coda was real, at least until the very end. Few games have made me feel as uncomfortable as the back-end of The Beginner's Guide, such a great turn from warmth and discovery to uneasiness.

Spoiler

...isn't he real though?

 

[Layell]

Spoiler

...isn't he real though?

Spoiler

I honestly hope not, because it would be a scummy thing to do, release a game that is basically you narrating over stuff somebody else created. But in the end does it even matter if Coda was real?

 

[The Illiterati]

I just want to say, as further anecdotal evidence to any game developers concerned about refunds killing the industry out there, I beat this game in 90 minutes. I thought it was interesting but not amazing. I am not asking for a refund because I respect the effort. Just one players opinion.

 

[Messofanego]

Cross-posting from other thread.

Really enlightening game.

Now I get why developers have been fawning over this on Twitter. It's brilliant.

It's like a found code game, a playable documentary of short projects. And within it, lies issues of

Spoiler

self-confidence, validation, creative and personal frustrations, loneliness, and selfishness

. Great personal drama.

 

[23qwerty]

Otherwise, wait for a deeper discount or pass on it. It's strong for the first half and then the last 45 minutes or so just spikes up and down, ending on an awfully drab note.

...it's $8 right now

 

[Sephiroth_VII]

Could the OP please be updated to reflect that this runs on Linux as well?

There aren't any sysreqs posted for some reason, but it should run well under Ubuntu 14.04, with a windows-equivalent setup.

So something like this:

Linux
MINIMUM: 
OS: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
Processor: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 (or higher) or AMD64X2 (or higher) 
Memory: 2 GB RAM 
Graphics: Video card must be 128 MB or more (ATI Radeon X800 or higher / NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or higher / Intel HD Graphics 2000 or higher - *NOT* an Intel Express graphics card). 
Hard Drive: 4 GB available space 
Sound Card: ALSA-compatible

 

[Stairouais]

I just want to say, as further anecdotal evidence to any game developers concerned about refunds killing the industry out there, I beat this game in 90 minutes. I thought it was interesting but not amazing. I am not asking for a refund because I respect the effort. Just one players opinion.

Asking for a refund when the description clearly states that the game will take 90 minutes to complete would be kind of dickish.

 

[Syranth]

So...

Spoiler

Anyone notice that the developer's name is Coda, and Coda is also a support group for people with co-dependency issues?

.. kinda fits the overall message.

 

[Cave Johnson]

It's essentially playing the Stanley Parable again with fresh eyes with the full context.

 

[Bjoern the Smexy]

Ok, so I bought it this morning, installed it and played through it in around 90 minutes.
Let me start off with saying that it was a GREAT experience and well worth the 7,19 € I invested in it.

But...

Spoiler

I cannot shake the felling that Dave Wreden really doesn't understand what Coda is trying to say him, although it was actually pretty clear in the last game: He was supposed to leave him alone. Instead he creates this compilation of Coda's games to reach out to him once more, even though that's not what Coda wants. He wants no further contact with Dave, is what I'm understanding from it.

Coda's style of making games was basically artistic. It doesn't have to have a greater reason. It has a meaning. Maybe. Maybe it doesn't. It doesn't matter.
The thing is Coda liked what he did at the time.
It was unconventional but it looked like he had fun.
Then he somehow tried to make fun games that may have not been fun to make. Which seems to have burned him out over time. Which is totally okay.
I can relate to it. I tried making games (with RPG Maker). At first I just screwed around, making some non-sense stuff. It worked but it had no deeper meaning.
Then I tried to make a real game. A big RPG in the style of classic SNES JRPGs. I worked on that for a year or two, but progress became slower and slower until one day I just gave up on it. Though contrary to Coda I released some of my work, at least in the form of screenshots and animated GIFs.

Nevertheless, I felt the message behind the game(s) from both Dave's and Coda's point of view.
Just because something seems dark and depressing doesn't mean that something is wrong with the creator. On the other side it's hard making games. It really is. Especially if you lose your drive somewhere down the line or you realize that you're not creating something for you but only for someone else.

Anyway, play this game. It's wonderful. It's honest. It's earnest. I like it.

Thuogh I still hope, Dave someday creates a (spiritual?) successor to The Stanley Parable. Because I like that kind of serious nonsense/nonsensical seriousness too.

EDIT: I just decided I'm going to play through the whole thing again tonight live at 8 pm CET. I'm gonna post a link to my twitch stream half an hour before it, if that's okay.

 

[Discotheque]

Spoiler

I cannot shake the felling that Dave Wreden really doesn't understand what Coda is trying to say him, although it was actually pretty clear in the last game: He was supposed to leave him alone. Instead he creates this compilation of Coda's games to reach out to him once more, even though that's not what Coda wants. He wants no further contact with Dave, is what I'm understanding from it.

.

Anyway, play this game. It's wonderful. It's honest. It's earnest. I like it.

Thuogh I still hope, Dave someday creates a (spiritual?) successor to The Stanley Parable. Because I like that kind of serious nonsense/nonsensical seriousness too.

Spoiler

Coda is Dave. Otherwise this would just be a really offensive and pathetic cry for attention. Especially with the profits going to himself lol. It's either reflective of a really low period of time in his past or maybe his post-stanley parable pressure getting to him. Or both. Same goes for the levels, I dunno if they were made by him back in the day or just recently to mirror his thoughts.

 

[Bjoern the Smexy]

Spoiler

Coda is Dave. Otherwise this would just be a really offensive and pathetic cry for attention. Especially with the profits going to himself lol. It's either reflective of a really low period of time in his past or maybe his post-stanley parable pressure getting to him. Or both. Same goes for the levels, I dunno if they were made by him back in the day or just recently to mirror his thoughts.

Spoiler

That's what I thought as well, but that doesn't make sense in the context of the last game. Writing a letter to himself telling him to stay away from himself? As long as Dave doesn't have some kind of multiple personality disorder I can't buy that.

EDIT:

Spoiler

Or maybe Coda is Dave. I really can't wrap my mind around it right now.

 

[guybrushfreeman]

Could the OP please be updated to reflect that this runs on Linux as well?

There aren't any sysreqs posted for some reason, but it should run well under Ubuntu 14.04, with a windows-equivalent setup.

So something like this:

Linux
MINIMUM: 
OS: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
Processor: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 (or higher) or AMD64X2 (or higher) 
Memory: 2 GB RAM 
Graphics: Video card must be 128 MB or more (ATI Radeon X800 or higher / NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or higher / Intel HD Graphics 2000 or higher - *NOT* an Intel Express graphics card). 
Hard Drive: 4 GB available space 
Sound Card: ALSA-compatible

Thanks for the update! I'll add it as soon as I can.

Edit: done! Thank you for letting me know. I'll be adding new reviews in about an hour or so too.

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

I think that

Spoiler

Coda is actually Davey, and the entire game is a series of vignettes as he struggled through the creative process. But when exactly did this creative process occur? I'll get into that in a moment. As a quick aside, I thought it interesting that the final game "Coda" produced, The Tower, was made in June of 2011, and the mod version of The Stanley Parable would launch in July 2011.

In order to get the full picture of why the game is a fractured letter from past, frustrated Davey to current, frustrated Davey, you'd need to read his blog post detailing his fight with all sorts of mental blockades and issues that he wrote after the massively positive reception to The Stanley Parable. You can see several recurring themes, including the desire for (and repulsion by) validation, anxiety over your own creations and self worth, withdrawing from the world... I think you get the idea.

It's very possible that not only did Coda not exist, but that the time frame for these games is fabricated as well. The Beginner's Guide being a reflection of Davey's own insecurities that he's fought, both pre and post Stanley Parable, and Coda's final demand of "stop showing off my games" is his brain's way of trying to stop him from creating again (see here). He compartmentalized his title(s) away, and while he admits it felt good to see people responding positively to them, he feels that those games are not his games. They couldn't be, right? They're good! People are enjoying them! An illogical force - as it tends to be with regards to mental illness. Davey's final plea was not for an actual other person to contact him, despite the setup he gives at the start with his real email address, but him trying to stir his creative self into action and not become locked away as Coda.

Because Coda is what leads to the end. Like a doorway that you have to close on your way through it.

 

[Zomba13]

Spoiler

That's what I thought as well, but that doesn't make sense in the context of the last game. Writing a letter to himself telling him to stay away from himself? As long as Dave doesn't have some kind of multiple personality disorder I can't buy that.

EDIT:

Spoiler

Or maybe Coda is Dave. I really can't wrap my mind around it right now.

Spoiler

I don't know what to think. I feel it could go either way, with Coda being the more artsy side of Davey and Davey being the more "make a game with an ending and a thing to do" side and they are at conflict with Davey going back into Coda's (his previous) work and adding puzzles and goals (lamp posts) which frustrates his artistic side as he can't get back into that zone. He's locked that behind him and can't go back (the door puzzle) and in the end it has his creative side tell Davey to leave him alone.

Spoiler

I feel it could also have a real (in game I mean) Coda and Davey and Davey was just a creepy overly attached person who took Coda's personal games and tried to attach deeper meaning and even going so far as to edit them to have endings and puzzles and the final game was Coda trying to get the point across as plain as possible, no hidden meaning, just a letter as text on a wall. He knew Davey would cheat past the puzzles and edit the level like he's done with all his prior games.

Spoiler

I think both of them being Davey is a story more on artists and the creative process and how success can change you and you might not be able to capture the magic of when you were just doing it for fun to express yourself or with no deeper meanings

Spoiler

I think both of them being separate is more about Davey getting obsessed with this guy who makes quirky things for fun or as an outlet but with no real deep meaning that Davey just latches on to and starts to deflect his issues onto Coda via the stuff he sees in the game. Davey is depressed and Davey has issues but he sees these things in Coda's games, sometimes hidden things you were never meant to see unless you are Davey and you mod a guys personal art, and sees himself and his problems in them but deflects it onto Coda because. He ends up sharing his art without permission, telling his friends the meaning of the pieces even though he doesn't understand them himself and deflecting his own depression and emptiness onto Coda and even after the final game tells him clearly he still releases the collection as a way to seem validated.

 

[Layell]

Honestly though if

Spoiler

Coda is a real person

we're going to hear something about it, and some gaming site is probably going to look into it. I personally don't think it's true, but at the moment of the games release it is very interesting to discuss these things. The sudden release also help tremendously.

 

[CivRab]

Spoiler

I don't know what to think. I feel it could go either way, with Coda being the more artsy side of Davey and Davey being the more "make a game with an ending and a thing to do" side and they are at conflict with Davey going back into Coda's (his previous) work and adding puzzles and goals (lamp posts) which frustrates his artistic side as he can't get back into that zone. He's locked that behind him and can't go back (the door puzzle) and in the end it has his creative side tell Davey to leave him alone.

Spoiler

I feel it could also have a real (in game I mean) Coda and Davey and Davey was just a creepy overly attached person who took Coda's personal games and tried to attach deeper meaning and even going so far as to edit them to have endings and puzzles and the final game was Coda trying to get the point across as plain as possible, no hidden meaning, just a letter as text on a wall. He knew Davey would cheat past the puzzles and edit the level like he's done with all his prior games.

Spoiler

I think both of them being Davey is a story more on artists and the creative process and how success can change you and you might not be able to capture the magic of when you were just doing it for fun to express yourself or with no deeper meanings

Spoiler

I think both of them being separate is more about Davey getting obsessed with this guy who makes quirky things for fun or as an outlet but with no real deep meaning that Davey just latches on to and starts to deflect his issues onto Coda via the stuff he sees in the game. Davey is depressed and Davey has issues but he sees these things in Coda's games, sometimes hidden things you were never meant to see unless you are Davey and you mod a guys personal art, and sees himself and his problems in them but deflects it onto Coda because. He ends up sharing his art without permission, telling his friends the meaning of the pieces even though he doesn't understand them himself and deflecting his own depression and emptiness onto Coda and even after the final game tells him clearly he still releases the collection as a way to seem validated.

Spoiler

I tend to agree but then again the end of the game tells us that we can't judge the creator by his game we just end up seeing a reflection of ourselves looking for validation through their work, 'maybe Davey just really likes experimental games'

 

[Sephiroth_VII]

This game is really unique. With regards to who Coda is, I agree that

Spoiler

it can't be anyone other than Davey himself. The people he's asking to stop trying to put meaning into his game where there is none must surely be us, the fans. I'm sure he's been bombarded with questions, like the ones he asks Coda in the game, since release.

I hope him being able to make this game means that he's gotten through it, and is ready to put his work out into the world again. It could also be interpreted as a farewell though...

 

[Doctor Ironic]

Spoiler

I cannot shake the felling that Dave Wreden really doesn't understand what Coda is trying to say him, although it was actually pretty clear in the last game: He was supposed to leave him alone. Instead he creates this compilation of Coda's games to reach out to him once more, even though that's not what Coda wants. He wants no further contact with Dave, is what I'm understanding from it.

Spoiler

Davey is very much the antagonist of this game, and the last part of The Tower is meant to be your revelation of this - in fact, it even reveals that Davey might not have been entirely honest with you about the circumstances of their friendship, or even the content of Coda's games, given we find out that the lampposts are Davey's creation, not Coda's.

 

[Sephiroth_VII]

Spoiler

I tend to agree but then again the end of the game tells us that we can't judge the creator by his game we just end up seeing a reflection of ourselves looking for validation through their work, 'maybe Davey just really likes experimental games'

Spoiler

I don't think that's necessarily the point of the game though. I think both the Stanley parable and this game are very much experimenting with making the narrative as open to player interpretation as possible. Now, some players took their interpretation to be THE interpretation, and thought they had figured out exactly what kind of guy Davey is. I don't think this is a universal message though. I see this as a personal and directed follow-up to the Stanley parable, and much of the main plot is really focussed on addressing the feedback to that game, but that's not all. It's also very much a different game entirely, with a side narrative about the creative process, what makes a good game, do games need to be good, and much more, which is the part that's universal. I really need to play this again.

 

[guybrushfreeman]

I updated the description in the OT to match the new one on the website. Added a new review and some quotes. Hopefully the description and review quotes paint a good picture of what it is without spoiling anything for people. Now all I need is enough time to play it...

 

[EatChildren]

Won't crosspost from the other thread, just write more thoughts;

Spoiler

If you're familiar with Davey Wreden it's obvious CODA does not exist literally as a person, but is the creative side of Wreden. He has been decently public about his insecurities, particularly the overwhelmingly positive critical response to The Stanley Parable, and his own desire for continuous self validation coupled with expectations.

The Beginner's Guide is basically through and through and introspective narrative, Wreden making a statement to himself through you and through a creative work that is stating he is struggling with creative ideas and himself. His self imposed expectations. His cycle of seeking validation. His inability to grasp meaning for simply doing and living beyond that validation. Obsession in finding meaning for the sake of meaning where there isn't any. The expectations his previous work has enforced in his new work. Feeling creatively bankrupt as a result. And a general sense of aimlessness and failure. Wreden is speaking to Coda, because he is speaking to himself, and the creative spark he has both lost and continue to fight and struggle with. It's meta, especially in the deliberate on-the-nose statements towards the end, which to me speak to the audience and assumptions that Wreden is depressed and all that when all of this is really just part of his creative process.

And I think that's wonderful and very personal and I'm glad it exists. I'd be lying if I said I was overwhelmingly moved or anything by the end. I get it (or at least think I get it). And I have zero interest in scrutinising or critiquing the work because I feel doing so defeats the point. But yeah. It is what it is and that's whatever.

 

[Bjoern the Smexy]

I wanna talk about this specific screenshot in the context of the game:

Spoiler

I'm truly, TRULY amazed how someone does that. Creating seemingly hundreds of corridors, hidden behind some walls, unnoticable to the average player.
Why did he do that?
I wanna visit all these corridors and see how they look like, how they play like.
I know it'll most probably just be a very similar experience than the one corridor we went through, but by showing off what's behind the wall my curiosity has peaked.

If the creating process of this game is real then I really wonder what drove him to do this.

Anyone remember the "Art ending" of The Stanley Parable?
This whole game (meaning the complete "The Beginner's Guide" game) is basically that.
In my opinion it truly fits the style of "Video Games as Art". And it really is an amazing experience.
I say that as a person who doesn't understand art most of the time.

 

[Scott667]

I know that this isn't exactly a tech thread, so I'm sorry if this is off topic, but I can't seem to get the game to run.

I don't usually play PC games, but my (barely a year old) laptop (windows 8.1) does meet the requirements. When I click play in steam, I get an error message saying "Couldn't initialize DirectX! Please make sure the DirectX Redistributable is installed". I've used dxdiag to check, and my laptop does have DirectX 11, so I'm not sure what the deal is?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I really have no idea how pc gaming works.

Edit: Thank you. I got it working

 

[Bjoern the Smexy]

I know that this isn't exactly a tech thread, so I'm sorry if this is off topic, but I can't seem to get the game to run.

I don't usually play PC games, but my (barely a year old) laptop (windows 8.1) does meet the requirements. When I click play in steam, I get an error message saying "Couldn't initialize DirectX! Please make sure the DirectX Redistributable is installed". I've used dxdiag to check, and my laptop does have DirectX 11, so I'm not sure what the deal is?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I really have no idea how pc gaming works.

Have you tried compatiblity mode? My ~2 year old laptop with Win10 on it ran this game no problem with maaaaany more fps than I'm used to (like 120 fps minimum).

 

[Cave Johnson]

That part with the

Spoiler

Demon's Souls style messaging

was the most moving part for me.

Spoiler

It was like each little note were fragments out of his

mind exploded into bits.

I feel it quite hard to go back in replay this game. It's pulling out some very dark thoughts within me, as I can relate with some of the themes in this interactive diary.

 

[SoulUnison]

That part with the

Spoiler

Demon's Souls style messaging

was the most moving part for me.

Spoiler

It was like each little note were fragments out of his

mind exploded into bits.

I feel it quite hard to go back in replay this game. It's pulling out some very dark thoughts within me, as I can relate with some of the themes in this interactive diary.

One of the moments that most got to me was in that segment.

Spoiler

There's a note "looking across" a gap that's obviously too large for you to jump across it, although there's notes on the other side, so people must've made it over there. The note said something like "Take my hand and let's jump." I didn't want to try jumping because I didn't know if "death" would take me out of the "game."

Spoiler

I walked away feeling like I wasn't brave enough to try something, and I noted that a small part of me was relieved that none of the notes ever seemed to call me out on it.

 

[Aerocrane]

One of the moments that most got to me was in that segment.

Spoiler

There's a note "looking across" a gap that's obviously too large for you to jump across it, although there's notes on the other side, so people must've made it over there. The note said something like "Take my hand and let's jump." I didn't want to try jumping because I didn't know if "death" would take me out of the "game."

Spoiler

I walked away feeling like I wasn't brave enough to try something, and I noted that a small part of me was relieved that none of the notes ever seemed to call me out on it.

Spoiler

You cannot fall off the ledges.

 

[Nzyme32]

THOSE REVIEW QUOTES SPOIL THE GAME

They diminish the power of the game by preemptively explaining its motives. I'd remove them

 

[Lilalaunebaer]

Will play later today when i come home. Really liked the stanley parable and the review scores are great. So bought just now on my phone.

Don´t know anything about this. Like, i didn´t even know about this a few minutes ago.

 

[EatChildren]

One thing I will say is that though I appreciate what Wreden has invested here, it also highlighted

Spoiler

my personal disinterest in experimental games built predominately around exploring the egos (and feelings within) of their specific creators, if expressed abstractly, over similar games that instead approach themes and concepts imbued with the creator's perspective and exploration of said themes

.

 

[SoulUnison]

Spoiler

You cannot fall off the ledges.

I still feel weirdly ashamed of myself.

 

[Cymbal Head]

It's almost impossible to talk about this game without "spoilers."

Everyone on Earth should just go play it. Take the weekend, we'll meet back here on Monday.

Spoiler

I loved it and I have many thoughts that haven't fully cohered yet.

 

[EatChildren]

THOSE REVIEW QUOTES SPOIL THE GAME

They diminish the power of the game by preemptively explaining its motives. I'd remove them

I don't think its something that can be reviewed, to be perfectly honest. I kinda feel that

Spoiler

reviews, especially with scores, are in many ways completely missing the communication

.

 

[guybrushfreeman]

THOSE REVIEW QUOTES SPOIL THE GAME

They diminish the power of the game by preemptively explaining its motives. I'd remove them

I appreciate the idea but I think without them people can't have any idea what the game is. Most people aren't going to want to go into the game with no information at all so I think if people know a little more about it there's a better chance of them understanding it well.

Is there any quote in particular I should take down? I really don't want to spoil people but I think the reviews help people understand what the game is and why it might be valuable to others. So I guess I hope there's a line between taking everything down and spoiling too much.

 

[ultron87]

Played this yesterday. Was glad I did.

Spoiler

The reveal that the lamp posts were added later on does bring the question of how much of this content is comprised of actual games he made in his early development years and how much of it was added/created in to support the narrative of the games as a connected whole. Honestly, the games have such a cohesive through line that I doubt any of them are genuinely prototype games. Too many of the games only make sense or present their theme after the "interference" of the narrator, most notably the game with the wider world hidden behind the walls. It felt more like he created it all recently to tell this story about the struggle between "Coda" and his desire to make more "playable" games.

 

[Nzyme32]

I appreciate the idea but I think without them people can't have any idea what the game is. Most people aren't going to want to go into the game with no information at all so I think if people know a little more about it there's a better chance of them understanding it well.

Is there any quote in particular I should take down? I really don't want to spoil people but I think the reviews help people understand what the game is and why it might be valuable to others. So I guess I hope there's a line between taking everything down and spoiling too much.

The description of the game in the Steam Store description, is about as close as you can get without diminishing the experience. The many of the review quotes and reviews themselves really destroy what this experience is.

This is the best spoiler free review I have seen of it. It is written by Laura K Buzz -

The Beginner’s Guide is a game you need to go into completely blind. If anyone wants to know what emotional themes in the game resonated with me so strongly, email Laura@Destructoid.com. I don’t feel I can talk about those details in the review. It just doesn’t feel right after playing the game to its conclusion.

Seriously, I know I’ve told you very little about the game, but please just this once take me on my word. The Beginner’s Guide is ninety mins you owe it to yourself to play.

 

[guybrushfreeman]

The description of the game in the Steam Store description, is about as close as you can get without diminishing the experience. The many of the review quotes and reviews themselves really destroy what this experience is.

This is the best spoiler free review I have seen of it. It is written by Laura K Buzz -

I removed them because I would hate to think anyone was spoiled by the OT. I'm not sure I agree with the approach though. Without any information (or very little) I think most people are simply not going to play it at all which is a much bigger spoiler than knowing about what themes the game deals with. I feel like overall while it would better for more people to understand what it is and why it's valuable.

I actually think that with the right expectations really anyone could enjoy this but if people don't understand what it is they'll just ignore it instead. It's an interesting issue to talk about with these kinds of games though.