A POWERFUL EXPERIENCE | The Beginner's Guide 

"He makes these games and then abandons them" This is everyone who produces art, music, games, etc. I guarantee, every artist has a folder full of unfinished projects

Imagine spending hours upon hours trying to understand someone’s mind as if it were your own, this game is one of the greatest narratives I have ever seen.

"Stop adding lampposts to my games." Is a big kick in the gut

It isn't just the lamp-post. He keeps adding things to Coda's games that completely defeat the purpose of Coda's original intentions. "Hit enter to skip the labyrinth that Coda probably spent hours on." "Hit enter to skip the staircase that represents hard work leading to good rewards." "I'm going to let you out of this cage that represents punishment for willingly following obviously poor paths."

I'm just rewatching this, and from a narrative standpoint (I'm aware Coda is a fictional character), it's about how Coda just enjoyed making games. It was a fun hobby for him. Eventually, he met Davey, who was so desperate to feel whole and to see himself in something, that he forced his own meanings onto the games. As the player, you are not seeing the games in their original state. You are seeing them after Davey has changed them to better fit how _he_ feels. So the feelings of loneliness and depression the players feel while playing the games do not come from Coda. They come from Davey. It's impossible for us to know which parts of the games were untouched. The sound design and dialogue could've easily been changed by Davey. And it wasn't just this depression that Davey saw in Coda. He also saw other aspects of himself such as his extraversion and a need for validation. Throughout the game he talked about feeling good when he receives feedback, and he claims that Coda needed the same thing, neglecting that people are different. That people find fulfilment from other means. It was clear from the beginning that Davey always needed Coda more than Coda needed Davey.

Me: *Goes to watch an uplifting, casual video* Me: *Has existential crisis*

Wow I’ve seen this game a few times and I’m JUST NOW realizing that in Dave’s apology he’s doing exactly what made Koda stop speaking to him in the first place. Changing his games, putting his name on them, sharing games that weren’t meant for people to see. It’s like slapping someone in the face and when you go to apologize for slapping them, you apologize while beating them up.

Coda wasn’t depressed, or broken, or unhappy; Davey was the broken one. Davey took Coda’s games and saw something that wasn’t there - he saw a problem he thought needed fixing so he shared his friend’s works with other people, but didn’t ask for permission to do so. Davey projected all of his issues onto Coda’s games and convinced himself that there was something deeply messed up hidden within them, but never considered the possibility that maybe Coda just liked abstract concepts in games. He put words into Coda’s mouth, told everyone that Coda was unhappy and depressed without a second thought, essentially spreading lies about him. Coda saying “would you stop putting lampposts in my games?” is him telling Davey to stop changing his creations, to stop trying to find solutions to a problem that doesn’t exist, to stop looking for hidden meanings where there aren’t any. To just accept them as they are. Coda wasn’t suffering, he was just out of ideas. Davey latched onto Coda’s work because he wasn’t complete himself and it ended up hurting Coda, violating him. Davey couldn’t respect himself, which prevented him from respecting Coda. Davey was the one who needed help.

"This should be fun" Me: *sobs in corner*

"I want to know how to be a good person. I want to know how not to hate myself. Please. I'm fading. And all I want is to know that I'm going to be okay." - This bit always makes me cry. It's like the words I would say if I had the guts to speak my mind.

Around the 1:26:07 point, you start to realize that it’s him that needs help. Not Coda, but Davey. Especially how he refers to himself, and emphasizes “I” more.

1:20:46 hold on… so the bit about “at some point you have to leave and you have to push yourself forward”… that was ENTIRELY davey’s message. Coda wanted to stay. Omg

"A game where you have to scream into the mic every 15 seconds." Jack would win

So to anyone wondering, I see a lot of people theorizing about this game. I just wanted to let everyone know that Coda was never real. In fact Coda is just a metaphorical representation of Daveys journey to get out of a period in his life where he was always seeking self validation. In a way, knowing this fact makes it seem all just a little sadder.

I know this is from so many years ago, but I always believed that "the Beginner's Guide" is a warning about how any fan can twist the original feeling of another's creation. It can really stress out the creator and while I know Coda isnt a real person I can relate to this plight. I've had my creations twisted by others or demanded more of it/explanations to things that doesn't need to be explained.

This game is basically saying “The curtains were blue just because the author liked the color blue. He’s not sad or in despair; he’s just a fan of the color blue.”

Sean: *crying/speaking about being inspired by people sticking by his side* me: "ive been here since 2014, rewatching in 2020. im not going anywhere soon."

"i'm fading. all i want is to know i'll be okay." me too

I think Coda’s games aren’t actually talking about how coda feels. Not everybody expresses themselves through their work. He could simply be expressing stuff on his mind. The chat was just a bunch of random comments. The puzzle was just an interesting recurring theme. The lamppost was just a lamppost. He only started to make sad stuff when Davey was trying to make sense of the prisons.

45:37 There's a book on the far bottom left of the book shelf. It's called "On a winter's night, a traveler" by Italo Calvano. The book is super meta: a book about books and itself self-aware its a book. Probably one of Coda's inspirations.

I really love how earnest and thoughtful Jack is here. Coda may or may not exist, but Jack's worried about him anyway. Everything else aside, that's really touching.

*I'm fading.And all I want to know is if I'll be ok .* This hit to close to home

Fun fact: in Writing Music, a Coda is a sign used to tell the player to back to a previous section to play it again but with changes written on a different line. Like when the Chorus in a song changes the 2nd or 3rd time it comes up in the song.

the fact that Davey's last hurrah, the last way he thought of trying to reach a friend he hurt was to do exactly what Coda asked him not to. He was so desperate for attention and needed validation back so badly that he went out of his way to try and hurt his friend again, just to get a smidgen of it. As a lot of the other comments say, I think this is about interpretation. About people overlaying deep, psychoanalytic meanings onto creations that force their way so deeply into a creator's personal space. Davey continues to force and force and force because that's what critics do. That's what game "theorists" do. When they use creations to reflect upon the creator instead of taking them as what they are, creations. Stories that are made up to make people sad, or happy or whatever they want them to feel. I think ultimately this is talking about how people use works of art to almost reflect how they believe the creator should be seen in them. This creator makes horror games, they must be depressed, this creator had a character who was a bad person in one of their books, they must be a bad person. No one takes a moment to recognise anymore that art is made up. It all has to mean something even when its so obvious that it doesn't, and never has. Its actually physically exhausting sometimes, to have someone constantly analyse everything you do, even when its just for fun. its why so many art students fail, because they want us to constantly look inwards and have a reason why, even when there isn't one. And simply not having a reason just isn't a valid reason anymore. And if the creator won't give you a reason, to fill the void in your chest, then what's your next move? well, to make one up yourself. You get all of that sweet validation, piggy backing off an emotionally exhausted artist who just wanted to have fun. Personally, I don't think Coda is real. And I don't think Davey is the persona he's putting on. I think Davey is Coda, and I think "Davey" is everyone who took Stanley Parable and ran with it. Decided there must be this big underlying meaning when, the whole point of the game is that it means nothing, and you're free to do what you want. There doesn't need to be a meaning. Creations are not always a mirror, and when they are, its usually more obvious than you would realise. When a creative cries for help using their creativity, you know about it. Its not something that you need to theorise over to work out, they're asking for help, not revealing hidden treasure.

coda /ˈkōdə/ the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure.

That hit me so hard. I think most people were like, am I a "Davey" to someone? Am I just...a bother? Am I just making life harder, making life...worse? Because of me? Am I? What if I am? Maybe I am. Maybe I don't deserve the people I have. This game...really hits an emotional part in my heart.

It's kind of ironic and satisfying to look back on this and hear Jack say the channel and the games he played had plateaued and that he was just "waiting for the next big thing". Twenty-two days later, his first episode of Undertale was released. Good things come to those who wait.

The housekeeping section is honestly my favorite part, I love how it is calm, like a rest point. Instead of being sad, it's peaceful and makes you feel happy

Me: **watches this for the fourth time** **gets to The Tower** Me: **tears up knowing what's gonna happen**

Davey’s end monologue apologizing to coda hit me really hard Edit: and yes I know Coda isn’t real but still it reminded of some things that happened in my life

27:39 it's actually funny, this moment is shows exactly what the game is about, jack enjoying a moment in the game for the game itself and the narrator forcing himself into it.

It's an old video, but as a game developer and a bit depressed of making games, this is my simplified take on it. Davey and Coda are the same person with different stages or perspective of this life. Coda is the young Davey who like to create games, like to show them to the friend they trusted. It doesn't bother him if the game is playable or not. The point is to express himself and send a message. Davey is the grown up and now. He has responsibilities and bills to pay. If he wants to keeping doing what he wanted to do, creating game, he has to make them commercial and monetize them. He has to make them playable, adding "lampposts" to them. He also more stress and looking for validation now because his games are now play by others. Doing so starting to poison making game for him. In the end, I believe and with reference to his talk in university. Davey grown out of it and created this game.

oooooo the beginning gets so much more uncomfortable when you already have seen this game and know where it's going.

I always thought that Coda and Dawey is the same person here. Dawey just represents the want for validation. And Coda -- genuine artist, who creates because he loves to create. The want for validation started on that gamejam where "they've met". But once the creator became obsessed with validation, the artist "faded away", because he was angry, he couldn't realize himmselves fully. And this talks about this artists struggle with the want for validation. Wanting validation kills creativity, because you start creating not for yourself, but for others' likeness

I'm an artist I periodically come back to this video when feel lost and not sure where to go with my work. It just hits home with me.

I love at the end Jack is like "I want to do more, I don't want to be an actor or anything." Several years later is in "Free Guy"

The most uncomfortable thing about this game is that when you reach the end, and you start thinking about Coda and Davey and the point of this game existing, you start to wonder about its meaning - which is the exact problem that Davey talks about, about assigning meaning to Coda's games. It's this paradox, and I kind of love that.

Ironic that the entire game itself is just the creator talking to himself using the puppet of coda.

Something about the house cleaning part of this game was so emotional to me that I burst into tears when I saw it and Idk why, but from now on that scene will always make me cry (Spoilers to the game btw) And its like such a weird twist when it just. Stops. And then davey tells you that its meant to stop, and that you have to keep moving and thats what the point of the level was, and I was heartbroken at that realisiation, I didnt think I needed to leave, it was warm, it was cozy, it was comforting, but the narrator tells you thats how it has to be and that you have to move on But then later he tells you HE cut off the scene and that coda originally made it to last forever! So it was meant to symbolise that. I would have geniuenly wanted to play a version in which it lasted forever, I dont know why. I saw someone say that its meant to symbolise that while coda embraced repetition even if the task is hard or boring or well, repetitive, he embraced that feeling and enjoyed it even at the low points like maybe its harder to do the dishes sometimes, and he still did it, and i think here davey was the one to disagree and subtract the real meaning from this level like hes done with the others by "helping you finish it faster", you were meant to expierence the invisible maze and you were supposed to guess the code only by chance and you were supposed to sit in that jailcell for a whole hour and you werent able to open that Last door because thats just how life IS, it doesnt need a reason for it, not everything has a solution or reason, and thats where davey screwed up, he thought he could "fix" everything and added those things because the actual message coda told him never seemed to reach him The cleaning level just broke me man, idk why, but it hits so hard

Time stamps Counterstrike map: 2:20 Escape from whisper: 4:50 The past was behind her: 9:02 You are now entering: 10:17 Nonsense in nearly every direction: 10:48 Ready, set, fish: 12:39 You are now exiting: 16:12 The great and lovely descent: 16:57 This game is connected to the internet: 26:09 Pornstars die too: 32:53 Housekeeping: 41:43 Items you love at members only prices: 50:32 Stage freight: 53:46 Mobius trip: 1:01:58 Searching for the engine: 1:04:14 The machine: 1:11:06 The tower: 1:18:58 Epilogue: 1:30:37 Credits: 1:39:09

“Would you stop changing my games? Stop adding lampposts to them?” God 2020 and this still shocks me

*opens the video unsurely* *cries near the end* *collects herself together* *cries again when Sean speaks and cries*

I know this video is old, but I really appreciate Sean’s sincerity at the end of the video about being on RU-vid for longer periods of time and what’s it like from a creativity perspective. Anyway just saying thank you Sean, for your genuine personality on RU-vid and the videos you make, I find it really warming and generally lights my day up watching your content.

i remember discovering this game several years ago and ADORING it. i was thinking about it a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t remember the name for the life of me. the fact that The Beginner’s Guide and The Stanley Parable were created by the same person makes so much sense. they’re both complete deconstructions of what a video game is and can be. seriously clever stuff!

Dear Jack,I know you probably not reading this, but I am writing for so many people here. Thank you. Thank you for giving us a way to get through the day. Thank you for making us happy every day. Just... Just thank you for everything for you do for us, giving us a friend to come home to each day. And thank you, for always being so real with us. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

Am I the only one that assumed that Coda and Davey were actually the same person? I mean not that he had dissociative identity disorder, but maybe that Coda was just the part of him that loved making games and Davey was the part of him that was desperate for validation?

I related to Davey, how he has this outside that is happy and trying to help, but then just does something that they think is helpful but it just messes things up.

7 years ago, I saw this for the first time. Helped me through a bad night. It's become the video I watch when I'm hurting. Sean, you have a way of making me see the world through lime colored glasses and this video picks me up when I can't have the strength to stand. Thank you. Though you'll never know me or how much you've helped me. Thank you.

Imagine a horror game where you can only walk backwards

one of the saddest things that happened about 45 minutes in for me was when the bot was going to give insight and it reminded me of something I heard once. The worst feeling you can get is having someone tlak to you about something that makes them happy and they stop and apologize and say it's stupid. you know in that moment that they were told it didn't matter and that their happiness is something that they weren't taught to take care of because of someone else.

I like how the whole game is about how you don’t have to find meaning in everything, and even in the end, Sean is still trying to find symbolism in the maze.

This is my third watch over 4 years, and it hits hard every time

Moral of the story: Don't judge a book by its cover. Don't try to psychoanalyze people, let them speak for themselves. Davy thought he could save Coda, he told everyone he needed saving. In the end, he did more harm than good. When someone is in need, be there for them. Don't try to dictate their life or be the judge and executioner.

Can't believe that this was 3 years ago, i still remember clicking on this video the day it came out. Insane.

I like to imagine the final epilogue game was made by Davey himself. He's making his own games, and he's working on himself, on his addiction to validation, and that final part with the beam and maze shows that now that Davey is making his own game, HE can finally use it to add meaning, to express his own emotions.

I love how jack starts crying talking about how much he appreciates the people around him. That is why I stay watching him for so long. Because he truly cares about the people around him and I want him to know that he is just as amazing too! Jack is so human, and that is what makes him so wonderful! Thank you for being such a good person jack!

At 49:30, the narrator says that the housekeeping game represents the dark space between doors, and that you can't spend too long in it if you want to survive and keep living your life. However, much later, he admits that *he* was the one who implemented the sudden cut-off, and in the original game, the relaxing cycle of chores was never intended to end. It feels as though he was attempting to insert meaning where there was none, something that, as it is revealed later, he did very often. It's an interesting metaphor, even more so when you remember that this very housekeeping game was the specific game that made Coda calm and happy.

The irony is that the story is a warning of over-analyzing and oversharing things to the point of objectification, but it's hard not to want to say something about it...

I think its about the dangers of projection. Davy thought he was being empathic and really trying to understand or help Coda - when really he was projecting his own fears and anxieties - his own own issues, onto coda, in a subconsciously selfish way that is pretty relatable. I find your comment at the end 'I think youtubers ESPECIALLY will connect with this game' to be really interesting - as you project yourself, your fears, - your anxieties onto Codas vague canvas too. Not a criticism at all, in fact probably just shows how well executed this really was. I actually feel I got got more out of it as a result. Of course I'm probably wrong too... oh god

I just realized something, Jack says that after Davey said he believed the prison games were depression that Jack also believed that. But that’s because Davey told you that was the case, had he not said anything, it would have just been a bunch of random games, but Davey puts that small idea in your head that Coda is depressed, thus your mind begins to fill in the explanation as that very reason even if it’s not the case.

I went out once in the middle of nowhere and it was completely pitch black and when I looked up I just sort of stopped and stared at the sky. I sat there maybe an hour and went back inside and went to bed and it's my fondest memory

I thought the “stop adding lamposts” was really interesting I think it could be symbolic or literal Davey was constantly adjusting the games and in order to make Coda seem like this broken depressed developer, adding a lamp post to signify a ending that isn’t there would be a perfect touch But it also could be metaphorical. Codas telling davey to stop looking for an ending, stop making something out of unfinished games. Stop telling people these meaningless meanings that make it seem like an incomplete program has a purpose I think that phrase applies a lot to life where we find ourselves trying to add a reason or ending to things instead of just accepting them as they are That not everything in life has a purpose, and you don’t need to keep adding lamposts to make yourself feel like you figured something out, much like how davey was always trying to figure coda out

Davey's whole view on validation reminds me a lot of myself, a good few years back. Like, uncomfortably so, it feels like looking at a mirror of my past, and it hurts in a way I can't describe. I also did shitty things in the desperation to be heard and seen and validated. I know why, now. It's not an excuse. I was emotionally abused as a kid. My parents didn't really...give me much praise. I'm an only child. I only had myself. I was always in my head, on my own, and after a point, I couldn't even go to my parents when I had troubles or problems. Either I was overreacting, in their eyes, or it was sooo serious and I'd lose all input abilities and they'd fuck shit up and leave me with the consequences. And then I'd be blamed for it all. Again. It was always my fault. It was always brushing me off if I did good, because that was just...expected. So I strived to be better but, even then... I started seeking validation from other people. Proof that everything I made wasn't either dogshit or so meh that it's worthy of being brushed off. I couldn't trust my own internal sense of something being "good". I had been taught not to. Every thought, every feeling, it had to be evaluated by others and shown to be worthy of attention, of existence. I myself had no say in that. I was too faulty in my own eyes. I still am, to be honest. My dad once told me that him not criticizing my art was his way of complimenting it. I sometimes wonder if his way of showing his validation of me was just...not being angry. Or disappointed. I don't know. I'm not sure I'll ever ask. I'm too afraid of the answer. I'm too afraid of what he'll think if he knows I had moments as a kid where I wondered if he loved me. My mom still makes me feel like I'm the bad one. Despite everything. It's easier to recognize she's wrong, after all these years, but there's still a part of my brain having an absolute panic attack at the idea of everything I've done being...on the evil side, so to speak. That I'm the bad one. That I'm actually the emotionally abusive one. That I'm just a brat. She likes to bring up how I wasn't always the best kid anytime I mention her wrongdoings. It's why I don't think we'll ever fully resolve our issues for a long time. All I want is for her to apologize and take responsibility. All she wants is to...not be wrong? Not worry that I'll leave her if she messes up, I guess. I don't know. I'm not her. Not that she realized that for a lot of my childhood. That I'm not her. I'm 18. I'm an adult now. But I still...struggle with validation stuff. I'm a lot better than before. It's not necessary for everything. I still crave it a lot though. I used to go out of my way to go above and beyond, so my teacher would give me any semblance of praise, as a kid. I got bullied from elementary onwards, but until about middle school, I didn't even really notice or remember a lot of it. I never cared. I was just desperate to be...seen. To have someone look at me, someone in authority, in power, to look at me and go "you are good," "you did good." I rarely got it even with that though. People just expected more and more from me. People shamed me for being too proud of myself. People shamed me into compulsive humbleness. I still am compulsive about it. I...I'm 18 and struggle to brag when my therapist demands it. It's hard to do. It's easier nowadays than before, but it still...It takes a lot of effort to force out of my throat. I know I'm probably projecting, much like Davey, but I do wonder if he had a similar experience. If the craving of validation I felt, and still, to a much more mild degree, feel, if that is in any way, similar to Davey's cravings. I wonder if his pain and struggling is the same.

I hope nothing ever happens to this video. Seven years ago I was watching this video and working on a project in my sophomore year of high school. Tonight, I am listening to it when I work on a paper for my third trimester of my first year of college.

"And when you finally see what I am talking about... don't say anything." -𝄌

"I hate mazes and labrynths" *Immediately goes back into the maze*

I'm not crying you're crying, I have been struggling for a long time, and honestly hearing that you yourself delt with the same sorta thing makes me feel a little better, I can't get myself to do anything, I live in the middle of nowhere, I'm extremely alone all the time and I dropped out of college, lost my job and I can't get myself to do anything, until I started making videos and suddenly I don't feel as alone and I have never had a bigger smile, I don't have anyone that watches and I don't care if anyone ever does I just want to be happy, and do something I enjoy, I always wanted to start ever since I was in high school, and I owe a huge part of that to you, I just want to help someone the way you helped me, even if I only helped one person my life would be complete. So BIG thanks idk where I'd be without your channel you're literally always there to give us all a giggle lol ❤

I watched this when I was 14 I’m 20 now, I used to be anxious all the time and these videos were the perfect distraction

*"maybe he just liked prison games"*

"I help people because of the internal good feeling I get." -Coda

I always visit this video, maybe twice a year when I'm feeling my worst. Idk what about it draws me to watch but its like a subconscious thing that lets me know things are not going so well and to turn it around. Don't send me any well wishes I just want to make a note here in the comments for someone else that may be in the same spot.

It’s odd that Jack, for the majority of the experience, seemed fine with Davey changed the games and cut parts out. It seems he placed too much faith in Davey as a narrator and therefore didn’t question what he was actually doing

When Jack starts talking about his friends and his voice cracks I'M NOT CRYING

I didn't realize how much I needed this.

i just absolutely love it when jack “rambles” i feel like we really get to look into his head and what his thoughts are like i feel we get to know him better if that makes sense

Rewatching this video again and god did it hit me in the gut. I feel like I’ve recently been in Coda’s position and once had a Davey in my life as well. They wanted my attention, they loved everything they did and wanted more, even a bit too much. They were so needy and even made me like one of their therapists. They kept trying to overanalyze and pin something meant to just soothe my mind. The fact they barged into my life, leeching onto my creations and trying to make an unintended meaning I wasn’t comfortable with as their only source of happiness... I tried to give them everything I can to help them but they wouldn’t listen and kept trying to spam me and get my attention, even during my sleeping and school hours. They never stopped so... I cut ties with them recently. Even though it’s been around 2 and a half weeks ago, it still feels as painful as it is today. I never wanted to leave them, but if they leeched onto me as their only support despite not listening to my advice and guilt trip me further, they left me with no choice but to leave them. S, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re still doing well. And I mean that. But please, if you ever want to talk to me again, prove that you’ve changed. To the rest of the commenters reading this, sorry for the ramble.

When the narrator described Coda as "grossly happy", it made me reflect back on some of the happiest people we knew, who all lost their own fights with mental health ..

I feel like a lot of people might not grasp everything about the game, so I figured I'll write some of my thoughts. This game showed a guy that was so enthusiastic about someone else's work that he took it upon himself to give it meaning, to show others and to receive validation not for his friend but for himself so that he could feel like he was as fulfilled as a guy that was just so worldly in his eyes. The problem wasn't ever that Coda was depressed, or that he was really trying to place himself in the game. Honestly, he probably thought it was funny and liked to dabble. He didn't need the appreciation and the gratification. Davey did. That's why this all spiraled downward. It was Davey who needed so much gratification from others that he was literally leeching off of Coda in order to feel like he mattered. Like he was someone that understood something. Coda didn't need to put meaning into his work. He didn't need to express anything and he didn't need anyone else to praise or celebrate his work because he was himself and felt good about himself. He didn't limit himself until he eventually found that someone depended on his dabbling to mean something. It had to mean something, or else Davey wouldn't have accepted it. Honestly, is it so hard to think that all of those games, all of them, meant nothing? That they were just games that he put together in his spare time? Davey superimposed meaning into them, creating a Coda that just didn't exist. He thought he was getting to know this person through his games when he was really just creating a fictional character that had such a deeper level of thinking, that wasn't real. In reality, Coda was probably an artist who just liked making games. Regardless if they were playable or not. Davey didn't want to get to know the real Coda, he had his ideal Coda already mapped out for him from the interpretations he made from the games. There were many times Coda may have placed meaning into the games, trying to get Davey to see that he was just another person and not some grand guru that understood everything and anything that was the human condition. Davey limited himself so completely that he forced his friend to limit himself alongside him. When you live for other people, you stop living for yourself. You tell yourself, "I need to be this way so that they can be happy." and "I have to give them answers so that they know I have them." Sometimes there are no answers. Example: A person walks up to an abstract painting and says "Wow, that piece is full of conflict and emotion. I can really see the intentions and artistic understanding because of how fully composed this piece is. This Artist must have done a lot of preparation and thinking before they created such a wonderful masterpiece." In reality, the artist probably just got a bunch of complimentary colors and let their hand move around the canvas. The feeling might have been "I'm painting something with these colors" and there might have been some compositional thought in it, for aesthetics or not, but ultimately art doesn't need a reason. Another example, something more simple and straight forward, is when a person goes up to an artist and sees that they are making a character. They start asking questions like, "What's their back story? What's their name? Why do they wear that shirt? Are they the main character? What's their personality?" This will make an artist step back from their character and start thinking too much when they were drawing just for drawing's sake. The moral is to just be who you are and genuinely be ok with whoever you are and understand that you do things because you want to. When you start catering to ideas that other people want or need to understand, you lose all interest in your work, you start to wonder if you're even good at what you do because you don't put a lot of effort into it. Limiting yourself to what other people need or want is what kills creativity. Let's use RU-vid as an example so that it's more on the subject. Jack, I'm sure people may have told you that doing this was a bad idea, that it was a waste of time, that to get anywhere you needed to make a lot of money, and you needed to get a job. Why didn't you do that? It would have been acceptable to everyone. No one would have questioned you doing it, not like they question you playing games for views. People might say your job is easy, that it's simple and not hard, that you don't put much effort into it, that you're playing off people's empathy and insecurities by being charismatic and relatable, or that you're not good because you're not like other RU-vidrs. What do you usually tell your audience when stuff like that comes up? It's usually along the lines of, "That's just not what I want to do. I like doing this, and that's it. I want to do it because I like doing this. I enjoy people that enjoy what I do, but I'm not going to change what I do for them. If they don't like what I do, they do not have to watch. They don't have to be happy with what I'm doing because this isn't for everyone. I am happy with who I am and know that what I am doing is what I want to do. This is what makes me happy, and no one can tell me how to be happy because I already am." This is you no longer limiting yourself to the idea of other people controlling what your actions do. You don't need to fix any "problems" with your channel because to you a problem to another person shouldn't be a problem to you. Unless it is. You define yourself and other people will always misunderstand who you are because no one takes the time to actually get to know people on an individual level. They want snippets of who you are, they want to make their own interpretations, they want someone out there to be great and to know that they can also be great. But no one is really great unless they are happy. The only way to be happy is to be yourself and not give in to other people's expectations. Coda, maybe trying to be friends with an over enthusiastic Davey, started to try to meet his expectations. This created a possibility for Davey's insecurities, Davey's inability to be satisfied with any simple answer or reason, Davey's unacceptance of who Coada actually was, to seep into Coda's mindset and ruin his love for games. It was Davey who didn't like that he wasn't showing the games to people. It was Davey that believed his games were philosophical. It was Davey that imagined a lonely companion that was in desperate need to be "fixed." But Coda didn't need to be fixed. He wasn't hurting, he wasn't lonely. He was content until Davey came along. When he tells Davey that when the reason clicks with him, to not say anything, it's because explaining yourself isn't necessary. You don't have to have someone else tell you that you are good. If you believe you are good, you are good. Even if you are "bad." Our concepts of "good" and "bad" are such limiting terms that only breed miscommunication and judgment. What even is "good?" What is "bad?" Some would say helping others is good and killing others is bad. Isis is helping others. There are times you need to kill in order to survive. These are both true statements and should generate the overall understanding that "good" and "bad" don't exist. They are defined by an individual, and shouldn't be something defined by the masses. We believe ISIS is bad because they are attacking us, but ISIS is attacking us because they believe that someone has to correct and control corruption in the world in order for there to be peace. Neither side is wrong. One side believes that it is "bad" because it is not their ideal, thus creating more corruption and contempt between the two parties. Neither is willing to listen to the other or actually take what the other is saying for what it is. Neither wants to know what is really true because they feel as though they already know. Which is the second point of the game, you never KNOW anything. There is usually nothing to KNOW. You get more information, understand a few truths, only to know that you don't know anything. There will never be a time where humanity understands the whole truth of a situation because there is just no possible way. Unless we developed a global hive mind that lets everyone understand everyone's life and thought processes, feelings, expectations, and methods, we will never be able to be peaceful and we will never be content because we just can't accept that we just don't know. I hope... at the very least... that this helped someone understand what this very interesting and disturbing game was about. I get that the characters aren't real, that none of it actually happened, but it was very nice to know that a developer was able to create such a thought provoking game that you actually feel as though you understand something about it. Leading to the kicker being, you don't

Watching this at 11 and coming back at 17 it really hits differently, just like Davey I see myself in this game. I used to have lots of friends and people that cared about me, constantly giving praise and validation. But at 14-15 I had it taken away. My friends gone, my validation, gone and being empty inside for that long makes you think about yourself. I locked myself away, retreated to my phone and computer, seeking out online validation because I had forgotten to make friends, and forgot how to socialize. I would feel empty even after getting praise, i would just seek it out and then not feel fulfilled. But I'm trying to get back to normal, socialize and make friends.

i revisit this video every couple of years and every time i find something new to take out of it

I cried real tears at the end, when coda wrote "I need to ask you not to speak to me anymore." Like I really understand the Davey character. I'm always trying to fix my friends, always the therapist, always the night in shining armor, always going on a personal crusade for people. But sometimes things go too far and I end up hurting myself or my friend or both of us in the process. I never mean to cross lines but I have a couple times, and the Davey character really embodied that for me. He obviously loves his friend, but sometimes when we try to help and fix the people we love, we just end up making things worse. This has been the hardest lesson that I have had to learn in my 20 years of existence.

This is my first time seeing this, 4 years later, but its really cool to me. This is my interpretation. This is a story of a person who destroyed a dear relationship, because they could not see past their own flaws. Coda is not a real person, but a pseudonym for one. Coda (or R) was not a game developer, but they were real person in Davey's life. They had a special connection and back and forth, Coda inspired Davey. But Davey began to self imprint of Coda. He placed these ideas onto Coda and believe that Coda had to be flawed like himself because of this behavior that looked so similar to his own. And Davey needed to FIX Coda because if he can fix him, he can fix himself. But Coda was never broken. Coda became aware of Davey's issues and tried to relate to him, to talk to him, and be kind/relatable; to offer some comfort, but Davey interpreted this as Coda being flawed like him and he began to spread this around and others believed him. By doing this Davey wedged an unreparable gap between the two. Coda eventually realized that Davey was an unhealthy presence for himself and decided that, for the best interest of both, they needed to depart. Davey couldn't comprehend this because he was so sure that he knew Coda but he never did because he never truly cared about Coda, he cared about his idea of Coda. But Coda left and Davey was forced to face himself. This is a story of a man who destroyed a very dear relationship, and is finally able to say that he understands. He can finally see why Coda left, Coda's words finally have meaning and he gets it. And now Davey can finally return Coda's goodbye.

Looking back at this after the Stanley Parable DLC makes me happy. It shows that Davey has learnt he doesn’t need external validation anymore which is great.

this will forever be one of my favorite videos on the internet

here’s what i think: coda wasn’t the one that was depressed. it was davey. davey was so hopeless that he put so much thought into finding a meaning in coda’s work, when there was truly no meaning at all. when you feel such a strong feeling of hopelessness, you sort of just push your problems into things, and find your own meaning in things. davey found his own meaning in coda’s work, which is fine, but he was so lost in believing that he had finally found someone who felt the same as him, that he felt he needed to help coda. he tried to help someone who didn’t need help, only because he couldn’t help himself.

I know this is four years later... but that end scene really hit me hard. Just... that expansive plane of confusion and never ending turmoil. The maze was absolutely gigantic and looking at it was just so... jarring. And you realize how much Davey really hurt. He wanted something to make himself feel better in a world that he felt so trapped and alone in without Coda. He fed off of Coda, and without him... he was lost. Lost with a unbearable feeling that he absolutely could not shove down. And in a way... I relate so incredibly much with Davey’s desperate attempts to get his validation despite knowing that he screwed up and he hurt others. He wants to shove it down, he doesn’t want to hurt Coda again. But he cannot shove that want down. He cannot shove that absolute overwhelming need. And so he’s stuck. In a maze he sees no end to.

Watching this because I can't wait for Matthew Patthew to finish it for GTLive.... I'm hooked.

This is going to stay with me for the rest of my life.

5 years and I still don’t understand why jack told us his shoes were off....

This entire playthrough, I kept thinking about how much of an asshole Davey was being to Coda, and I'm so glad I was right. The constant over-explanation, the refusal to respect his request by "fixing" his games, the projection of his own issues onto Coda's games, and sharing them without consent. It's amazing how clear the message of this game was to me from the very start, because I've dealt with people like "Davey" before. From the very first level onward, something about Davey made me deeply uncomfortable. I figured that this whole game was a story, and that Coda wasn't real, but I also figured that the game was leading to a dialogue on how people project their own meaning, their own interpretation on games.

i'm crying while watching this. the way it makes you feel is just... like everything is so simple yet so complex at the same time. like feeling nothing at all while at the same time feeling everything at once.

A few things I get from this: It seems to me Coda made games to process through Coda, while Davey was also trying to find himself. Coda was walking through himself with everything and Davey kept making it about himself, his own ideas, and what he perceived. Coda perceived that his games were a crutch at the end, and that he needed to move beyond making them to process through himself, not, that he would stop, but just that that was the next move for Coda. Davey perceived it again how he wanted to, rather, how he needed to. So, Coda made a final game for Davey, just what Davey, missing the point, was asking in his apology at the end. By walking Davey through that final game, Coda is walking Davey through himself, just as all the games before it were Coda walking through himself. The end of the game, the way out of and above the maze, was for Davey to move beyond himself. When we lose our dreams or direction, it can spiral us. But the problem is not ultimately that loss, but the idol we create from them. Our thoughts and feelings don't have to be evil to become evil. Good feelings, thoughts, and genuine care for the world can become obsessive if we idolize them; our own plans, our own thoughts and feelings can become to us the greatest good, and, when that happens, when what we want becomes more important than what's true, we err and the very heart we had for something good can become evil. Davey's friendship is a good example of that. That maze is Davey's maze. That's why it is a different person to him, just as much as it was his revelation that he was making up a Coda that wasn't Coda. Coda had to leave, not because he wanted to, but because it was right to; Davey needed to lose Coda to find himself. 7:05-20. ;) It's what we all fear, Jack. Anyway, it's a great game because it makes you think. Let's hope the story is made up and that no one real was hurt. XD Good to see this now, even if it was a long time ago. Enjoy your days!

The most underrated Jacksepticeye video

I’d like to think the idea this game is trying to get across is that we are always trying to solve people. We desperately want to think we know the people we like and we’ll dismantle everything someone creates just so we can say that we know them. But we don’t and we can’t and the more we try to explain a person the more we break them down and try to jam ourselves into their work. And it kills the creator, it breaks what they made and makes them lose who they are. It’s not wrong to try to understand people of course, but we need to stop pretending we know what they are. Because everything we see in them is actually just an aspect of us.

I feel like I rewatch this video every other year. It’s just so good and it takes me back.

I’ve… never cried that hard over a video game before. I mean, it’s just so relatable on both sides. Feeling like you’re doing the right thing… but it turns out you’re only making things worse. It hurts. A lot. Jack, you’ve always made me happy. I look up to you! A lot, and I hope you know just how much of an impact you’ve made on me! We all love you very much! You will never have to go through the hard things alone!

Jack, we are here for you - not Mark, not Felix, we are here on this channel for *you.* Don't be so hard on yourself. You are the best kind of person. The type that gives so much, but doesn't even get too much back. We want to give back, but we just can't. Don't forget that; we're here for a reason

This is the kind of content I subscribed for. An hour and forty minutes of me questioning who I am as a person, my mental state, and, well, everything really.

This spoke to me and felt like it was a perfect representation of how I feel most of the time. First, I felt like the individual games were different representations of how the brain in a dyslexic works (dyslexia is far more than most people think), very chaotic (the mazes), mixed up (the colored blocky pieces all over), yet thinking in the big picture, large scale (the universe). Then I really felt like Coda, not liking the intrusion of Davey (whether a separate person or an aspect of the same person they gave a name to). As an introverted dyslexic who learned not to trust anyone, I really felt Coda was like me and Davey was far too pushy and trying to get Coda to do what Coda didn't want to do. Coda wanted something to feel safe, and coding his small games was that. Davey ruined it for him. I've had people ruin my enjoyment of games and other things because they got pushy about it, making me do things I didn't want to do. I found myself telling Davey to just leave Coda alone to just be himself. If he wants an opinion or others to see his stuff, he'll ask for it or put it out there himself. Why does everything have to be shared? Why can't things be private? I'm constantly pressured by others to do things I don't want to do, to the point that I have to feel like I am a different person when dealing with others than when I'm by myself. I have to do like Sean explained at one point of putting on a mask of another person to go out and face people, all because I can't be myself around anyone. This just really hit home, very hard.

there’s such an honest, willing truth behind this. it doesn’t cover up anything, it shows how placing significance on something that exists, for the sake of existing, can be damaging.