10 Plot Twists That Change How You See Video Games
6. The Beginner's Guide - Coda
Created by Davey Wreden (co-lead developer of the Stanley Parable) The Beginner’s Guide is a peculiar yet poignant game about game development.
Wreden walks and talks the player through a series of experimental mini-games created by his friend Coda, a reclusive game designer who underestimates his own talent. These games start off as charming minimalist experiences and grow increasingly surreal and unsettling.
The twist happens towards the end, when Wreden receives an email from Coda with a private link to a game that's impossible to beat.
Wreden cheats his way through the game and arrives at a startling message from Coda, telling him to stop sharing his games with other people and accusing him of altering his titles to suit his personal narrative of Coda as an emotionally tormented man. In reality he just really enjoyed making weird games.
The true genius of The Beginner’s Guide is its ambiguity: it’s not clear to what degree the events depicted are real or fictional. Are they based on true events? Are they a metaphor for a lived experience?
The emotional rollercoaster this game sends you through is guaranteed to leave a lasting impact on how you look at games and game developers, art and artists, creators and creativity.