Escape

Escape (alternatively, Pornstars Die Too) is the ninth chapter of The Beginner's Guide.

Level
This level begins in a room with pieces of modern furniture and decoration: a glass table, a floor lamp, two sofas, three glass shelves, a white table with drawers and a picture of urban landscape. Beyond iron bars, there is an outside path leading to a well, which is apparently located on the top of a hill. After a door, there are staircases and corridors with side walls decorated with modern art. The player walks down and gets to the deep end of the well as the passage instantly closes, leaving the player with no exits.

The level then restarts in the same room, with no exits and black-circumvented rectangular spaces instead of furniture. The chat system then asks the player four questions about which piece of furniture they want to put in each part (three options of answers are given), but the player's opinion is not taken into consideration. Instead, the same pieces as before will appear in the same places of the room. The room then begins expanding and the same pieces of furniture reappear in different positions. Later this version is referred to as "the furniture maze" confirming that it is the second of four mazes in The Beginner's Guide.

Then comes the third part: in the middle of an empty white environment, there is a different room with the same furniture and several messages intended to be a tutorial on "how to escape any prison environment". The tutorial instructs the player four steps: click on the table, slightly turn the picture, turn the floor lamp on and off, slightly push one of the sofas and click on the shelves. A "return" button, leading to the "real prison", then appears.

Back in the first room, there is no way to follow the steps since the table and other parts are missing. Several other versions of this level are briefly shown, including an upside-down version, a version with a door instead of a well, a "reverse prison" where the player is boxed in surrounded by sky-textured walls, and a version with no cell bars but with a gap in the terrain so the player still cannot reach the well. Then the screen automatically shuts down.

The last screen is a dark neighborhood where a lamppost and a telephone booth are highlighted. Inside that booth, the player talks to an alternative themselves before they "escaped the prison".

Narration
Okay this one is tough, it's going to kind of just spin its own wheels for a few minutes, hang with it.

See like this is it, the whole game, and there's nothing that's particularly interesting about it, you just walk to the end of a hallway. Except for some reason, Coda gets really fixated on this prison that has all this modern furniture. And I don't know why, but he decides he needs to revisit this prison, he's going to start over, use the same assets, turn it into something else. Okay, cool, here's version 2.

Eh, there's a bit more to this one, but still it's not really communicating anything, it's kinda just weird for weirdness sake.

(For some reason a subtitle file is missing here, so sorry if I missed anything)

So okay, he throws it out and starts over, this time he comes at the prison idea from a different direction.

(Player completes tasks and returns to the "prison") And of course, now the table is gone and you can't begin the chain of events to escape.

''Here's a version where there are no bars but you can't actually get to the well. And then a version where the inside of the prison is the outside and the outside is the inside. Let me just blink you real quick through a few more of these, I mean he really unloaded on this prison idea, there's nearly a dozen of them. Personally I think it's awful to watch this, to see a person basically unraveling through their work, and for what! At what point do you just go “Eh, maybe there are game ideas other than this prison that I could be working on"? But Coda doesn't have that voice telling you to stop, that particular mechanism of defense against yourself. Without it you just spiral. And so he keeps going and going and going...and then he hits on something. And he likes it, and that's it, he's done, he stops making prisons. This is the very last version of the prison game that he created and the reason I think it works is that the prison is not actually in it.''

(See dialogue section)

It's a conversation. And so this is what Coda wants, is to be able to talk to someone, to share what's on his mind and to get some good advice from someone who knows. But the irony is that even in this scenario you're still talking to yourself, you know ALL of these games so far are Coda talking to himself.

I can see why he considers this a fitting conclusion to the prison games, after all the obsession and frustration, to just be told by someone you can trust that things are going to be okay, wouldn't that be nice?

Furniture room
What furniture ought to go in the center of the room?
 * 1) How about a TV with surround sound.
 * 2) A refrigerator. (sic)
 * 3) Put a giant hole in the ground.

Okay, now what about along the wall of the room?
 * 1) Let's put a huge picture of a horse.
 * 2) I'd really like a washing machine. (sic)
 * 3) 10 stoves lined up along the wall.

I think we should-light (sic) up this room a bit.
 * 1) A skylight. Full-ceiling window. Let's open this baby up.
 * 2) I'm thinking 10x12 recessed electric 6-in. soft LED ceiling lights with fluorescent trim
 * 3) We'll put live tesla coils in each corner. Yeah.

And a table! You need a table!
 * 1) Who are you? Where exactly are you doing this from?
 * 2) I'm pretty sure none of my choices are making any difference.
 * 3) Tables were invented in 1935.

Prison phone
Hello? Who is this? past2: You're me? ...So you were trapped in this prison too? past3: That's where I am right now! Oh I'm so glad to know that I get out eventually! What's it like to escape? past4a: Really? How long has it been since you got out? past5a: Years?? I haven't been here for years, I don't think.. past5b: But this is the worse, [sic] most desperate thing I've ever been through! How could you possibly forget it? past4b: Why? Was there anything about it that you felt good about? Being here [stinks]! past7a: I do that too I guess... But is that just how I'm going to be forever? I'd really like to change that. past7b: Is that good though? It's comfortable, but it's inhuman. I couldn't live this way... past7c: Excited? It's the only thing that matters to me! It's the only thing keeping me going! "Excited" doesn't really do it justice. past4c: Do you feel any different? Some times I'm scared I'll get out and then things will be exactly the same as before. past11a: Oh no, that's awful! That's the worst thing I can imagine! past11b: Oh good! That's so nice to hear. That makes me feel...really happy. transition: Wait, if you're me, then did you get a call from another version of you when you were trapped? past101: Then can you tell me how to get out? Maybe I can come find you! What do I have to do? sincere1: ...what? That will free me? How does that work? feel1: ...what? That will free me? How does that work? talk1: ...what? That will free me? How does that work? past102: What did they tell you? What did you have to do to get out? sincere2: ...what? That freed you? How does that work? sincere4: Sincere about what? feel2: ...what? That freed you? How does that work? feel4: Okay...I feel afraid that nothing will ever change. talk2: ...what? That freed you? How does that work? talk4: Okay...I can talk Let's just talk for a bit. Will you be here? ending: End of Dialogue
 * 1) Hey! It's me! I'm you from after you escape the prison! (Go to past2)
 * 1) Yep, I was in the furniture maze. (Go to past3)
 * 2) Yep, I was in the escape tutorial. (Go to past3)
 * 3) Yep, I was in the reverse prison. (Go to past3)
 * 1) Actually, I'm already forgetting what being in the prison was like... (Go to past4a)
 * 2) It's strange, but in a way I kind of miss being in the prison. (Go to past4b)
 * 3) It feels like being completely still and wildly in motion at the same time. (Go to past4c)
 * 1) Years! Like, I've been standing right here working up the nerve to call you! (Go to past5a)
 * 2) Only a few minutes, but somehow it's already fuzzy, kind of like it never happened. (Go to past5b)
 * 1) This is really hard to admit, but I was afraid to make this call. (Go to transition)
 * 2) Time moves differently for you than it does for me. (Go to transition)
 * 3) Maybe the prison is just affecting you in a strange way. (Go to transition)
 * 1) Haha, I promise it's not as bad right now as you think it is. (Go to transition)
 * 2) You don't ever forget it, you just stop identifying with it. (Go to transition)
 * 3) Anything can seem infinite when you're drenched in it. (Go to transition)
 * 1) True, maybe I only like things once I don't have them any more. (Go to past7a)
 * 2) It was comfortable, I knew its limits, I knew my place. (Go to past7b)
 * 3) But don't you feel excited about getting out? The promise of freedom? (Go to past7c)
 * 1) Maybe? (Go to transition)
 * No, I think you'll find a way to change. (Go to transition)
 * 1) You don't need to! You just need to be patient. (Go to transition)
 * 2) Having limits is way more important than you probably realize right now... (Go to transition)
 * 3) You'll see what I'm talking about when you've been there for a while longer. (Go to transition)
 * 1) Exactly! You have something you care about! Something to look forward to. (Go to transition)
 * 2) You won't always have something that you care about as much as this. (Go to transition)
 * 3) Just be with that enthusiasm for a bit, let it ooze into your flesh. (Go to transition)
 * No, I'm really the same person now as I was back then. (Go to past11a)
 * 1) It actually does change, I don't feel like the same person at all. (Go to past11b)
 * 1) Don't worry! It's actually not a bad thing! I promise. (Go to transition)
 * 2) Well, you get something else in exchange. (Go to transition)
 * 3) The problem is that you don't actually know who you are right now. (Go to transition)
 * 1) Age just kind of does that, you know? (Go to transition)
 * 2) I'm still me, but I'm not somehow. It's hard to describe. (Go to transition)
 * 3) Remember to enjoy being who you are right now, it won't last. (Go to transition)
 * No, I think I'm the first person to call back. (Go to past101)
 * 1) Yes, I did get a call, that's how I escaped. (Go to past102)
 * 1) To get out, all you have to do is be sincere. (Go to sincere1)
 * 2) To get out, you need to tell me how you feel right now. (Go to feel1)
 * 3) To get out, just talk with me for a bit. (Go to talk1)
 * 1) Listen, you can't know until you're out, but I promise it works. (Go to sincere4)
 * 2) Just be sincere. (Go to sincere4)
 * 3) It will make sense. (Go to sincere4)
 * 1) Listen, you can't know until you're out, but I promise it works. (Go to feel4)
 * 2) Just tell me how you feel. (Go to feel4)
 * 3) It will make sense. (Go to feel4)
 * 1) Listen, you can't know until you're out, but I promise it works. (Go to talk4)
 * 2) Just talk to me. (Go to talk4)
 * 3) It will make sense. (Go to talk4)
 * 1) All they told me was to be sincere. (Go to sincere2)
 * 2) They asked me how I felt about being imprisoned. (Go to feel2)
 * 3) They just talked to me for a while. (Go to talk2)
 * 1) Listen, you can't know until you're out, but I promise it works. (Go to sincere4)
 * 2) Just be sincere. (Go to sincere4)
 * 3) It will make sense. (Go to sincere4)
 * 1) That's exactly what you need to figure out in order to escape. (Go to ending)
 * 1) Listen, you can't know until you're out, but I promise it works. (Go to feel4)
 * 2) Just tell me how you feel. (Go to feel4)
 * 3) It will make sense. (Go to feel4)
 * 1) Go on. (Go to ending)
 * 2) Go on. (Go to ending)
 * 3) Go on. (Go to ending)
 * 1) Listen, you can't know until you're out, but I promise it works. (Go to talk4)
 * 2) Just talk to me. (Go to talk4)
 * 3) It will make sense. (Go to talk4)
 * 1) I will be here for as long as you need. (Go to ending)