My last blog post generated some great feedback on how to deal with gaming ennui, that funk you get occasionally where no game grabs your attention. Despite my ongoing struggles with getting interested in a game, I managed to get some gaming done and I played three games in the past week. I went a bit farther in Pillars of Eternity, but man is that a tough game to get up to speed on. The lack of explanation on how to handle combat encounters plus a simply punishing difficulty curve has got me wondering if I should go farther than the 4-ish hours I’ve put into it. In the meantime I’ve also been playing skirmishes in Command & Conquer: Generals, which in my opinion is a severely underrated entry into the C&C series. Tank rushing hapless AI never gets old and I’m debating going through the campaign yet again.

The Beginner’s Guide

The third game I played was The Beginner’s Guide, the latest title from Stanley Parable designer Davey Wreden. I actually played The Stanley Parable only this year which dampened a bit of the surprise that a lot of people felt upon that game’s release. Still, I enjoyed the game’s irreverent sensibilities as well as its playing with the fourth wall, though I wasn’t altogether bowled over by it. The Beginner’s Guide definitely toys with the fourth wall, but the cheeky tone has been replaced with a streak of earnestness. Unlike Wreden’s previous work, which left me lukewarm, his latest game hit me like a gut punch and I’m now, three days later, still trying to piece together what it all means.

The setup for The Beginner’s Guide is simply that you are taking a guided tour of a man’s projects as he grows as both a person and a game designer. This designer is named “Coda” and he is ostensibly a friend of Wreden’s from the game design scene. Wreden narrates the proceedings and provides insightful commentary on the various levels. The commentary elevates the drab gameplay experience as even the most boring Source generated level is picked apart by Wreden’s experienced eye. In this way you get glimpses of who Coda is and what he is going through at various points in his life. This experience, the walking around levels while hearing a commentary track, is essentially the bulk of the game’s 1-2 hour runtime.

Admittedly, explaining the game as I had done does not make it sound very compelling (and not everyone can be as talented as Mr. Walker!). Certainly, if you’re the type of person that decries “walking simulators” or are sensitive to the time/value proposition of a game, then The Beginner’s Guide is likely not for you. If, however, you like playing a game with director’s commentary or if you enjoy games like Gone Home, then I can offer a hearty recommendation. For me this game is indeed something special.

As much as I do believe the game has quality in and of itself, I can’t divorce the experience from my own feelings at the time that I played it. Granted, this is true when discussing most games, but it’s a lot easier to evaluate a game such as Shadowrun: Hong Kong with a dispassionate eye than something as profoundly personal as The Beginner’s Guide. Without spoiling too much, the game uses level design in creative ways, embracing bugs and emphasizing repeating elements to discuss such universal experiences as loneliness and friendship. Coda and Wreden’s story is certainly their own, but I’ve felt a lot of what the characters have felt at various times in my life.

The game would not be as successful in hitting these emotional notes if not for the exceptional soundtrack. While you do go for stretches with minimalist music or no music at all, the moments where the music comes to the fore allows for the game to hit that much harder. One particular scene, in which the player is tasked with endlessly tidying up a house while chatting with an NPC, deserves special praise for its use of a gorgeous guitar and humming track to create an atmosphere of domestic bliss. I felt Coda’s yearning to be “normal” in this scene and it made me want to see through the game to the end, if only for a chance for Coda to get a happy ending.

I’d rather not describe the game any further, as spoiling what happens would dampen the joy of discovery that new players will feel with this game. I can’t say that The Beginner’s Guide has cured me of my ongoing gaming ennui, but it was a welcome respite to connect with a game again after these past few frustrating weeks. If any part of my write-up has intrigued you then absolutely check the game out, if only to support new and interesting game types. There isn’t much there with this game, but what’s there is all that’s needed.