Davey Wreden, creator of the critically acclaimed Stanley Parable, has finally produced his follow-up: The Beginner's Guide, or a selection of deep cuts from amateur game developer "Coda's" collection of unfinished titles created via the Source Engine. For $8, it amounts to what is essentially a how-to in game design for spectators masquerading as a fully-voiced personal narrative that overanalyzes nearly every single decision and design choice by "Coda." However, this sophomore effort is a sadly self-indulgent exercise that requires little thought or little input from the player to complete.
The Stanley Parable was a fascinating exercise in interactive fiction for a glittering few moments, and anyone who played it could understand why. After winning over the hearts and minds of critics and those who continually push for narrative legitimacy in a medium that's already proven time and time again its ability to weave believable and enjoyable stories, it was content to exist in a vacuum alone. It was a gem to be placed on a pedestal. It didn't have much to say, but it was an experience that begged at least one completed run-through, if only to be able to discuss it with friends. The Beginner's Guide attempts to recapture this magic, but fails.
Commentary Track
The Beginner's Guide follows narrator Wreden as he takes players on a guided tour through several unfinished projects created by an acquaintance named Coda. These range from large rooms with interconnecting passageways, a staircase that slows you down as you ascend it, a prison that was said to lock players in a cell for an hour before releasing them, and several other annotated works that Coda never saw fit to complete. As such, they're barely playable, save for a few moments of interactivity here and there via the typical WASD and mouse combo.
But this isn't about playing the games so much as experiencing them, as you'll find out from the very beginning. As Wreden offers insight into what the player is seeing onscreen, he often waxes poetic about the hidden implications of Coda's creations, evidenced in the first level, a Counter-Strike map. Coda has strewn several boxes across the map and Wreden is quick to interpret them as deliberate attempts to give what would otherwise feel like an ordinary game map a more human touch.
Perhaps that is what Coda meant, but who's to say? Why should we care? From the beginning of the interactive experience these suggestions come off as ham-fisted and contrived. While there's nothing wrong with searching for deeper meaning in the ins and outs of everyday life, let alone game design, none of Wreden's statements sound authentic, or even as though they were culled from a different person, which "Coda" likely was not.
Every new area merits a new explanation. Glitching out and rising above an unfinished skybox in the first level is related to a transcendent experience, as Wreden describes how Coda must have been fascinated with the way the view makes you feel "small." A door-opening puzzle that is re-used over and over in Coda's games is symbolic of "shutting the door on your past" and moving forward. Surely it couldn't have been an uninspired puzzle that was simple to design? At one point you play a “game” that forces you to only walk backward through several doorways while you take note of various messages on the walls around you.
Even that merits a long, drawn-out rumination on why it’s innovative. It’s not. It’s pretentious.
Director's Cuts
Unfortunately, the entire game is riddled with these anecdotes, sentiments that are meant to feel deeply personal and at times depressing, and the ideas that permeate The Beginner's Guide are those of a creator who desperately wants to communicate a message that's far more complex than it needs to be. It's Wreden attempting to weave a story that's very obviously an amalgam of ideas created specifically for this game, which felt extremely forced and silly by the end of it all, especially with a final chapter that made some rote and indecipherable decisions.
It's very clear the type of audience Wreden felt he was catering to by creating a two-hour experience that you can interact with as a mock-game, which can leave you feeling alienated unless you choose to believe there really is another person in the story beyond Wreden himself with dual personalities.
There's a place for this type of content, but not so much within the stratosphere of gaming where general audiences go to find their next addiction. It's a project that's more in-line with media you'd give a loved one or a colleague you'd like to share ideas with. Obviously a traditional game isn't what The Beginner's Guide set out to be at all, but it doesn't quite flourish as an offbeat art piece either. Charging an admission fee for what is essentially an explainer reel with jumbled tidbits of mundane unfinished game ideas is ludicrous, even in the name of thinking outside the box in terms of game design. Play The Stanley Parable instead.
This review is based on a PC code provided by the publisher. The Beginner’s Guide is available now on Steam for $7.99.
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