In the reading “The Death of the Author,” Roland Barthes argues that we have been approaching writing incorrectly, often treating it as a window into the author’s mind. As we read different pieces of writing, we tend to try to decode what the author intended to say. However, Barthes argues that the author’s intention does not actually matter, because writing is a combination of existing cultural materials and language that goes far beyond what the author intended to communicate.
After playing The Beginner’s Guide, I began to see the game as a piece of writing. Here, we are presented with a choice: to follow the traditional approach of decoding the author’s intended meaning behind the game, or to allow the player’s interpretation to give the game its meaning. Contrary to the approach Barthes argues for, The Beginner’s Guide introduces a narrator, Davey, who presents himself as a friend of the game designer, Coda. Throughout the game, Davey is very vocal about trying to understand where Coda’s head was at while creating each of the games. In the intro level, Davey explains that he will let players interact with the games while also sharing his own comments and interpretations.
While well-intentioned, I believe that Davey’s interpretation is heavily influenced by his desire to understand who Coda was as a person, including his thoughts, feelings, and interests. As I was playing the game, even though Davey claims that players should form their own interpretations, I found his perspective shaping my understanding to a significant extent. For example, in the Stairs game, Davey suggests that the staircase represents a “small climb” needed to see that Coda is actually a vibrant and compassionate person, rather than cold or distant. Here, Davey is clearly interpreting the game as a reflection of Coda’s personality. As someone who had no prior knowledge of Coda, I doubt I would have reached that conclusion on my own.
This pattern continues throughout the game, where Davey’s attempts to understand Coda strongly influence how players interpret and experience each level. In the game Down, for instance, Davey discusses his disagreements with Coda about whether games should prioritize effort or accessibility. While his perspective may be valid, it again frames the game design as a direct expression of Coda’s intentions, reinforcing the idea that meaning comes from the creator.
From Barthes’s point of view, however, language, and in this case game design, operates independently of intention. This suggests that the structure and elements of the game do not need to be analyzed solely through the lens of the creator. Instead, meaning emerges through the player’s interaction with the game. Barthes extends this argument by stating that interpretation happens during reading rather than writing, so in this case, the player is the one who gives the game its meaning. Importantly, this meaning is not meant to be fixed or universal.
Davey, although he encourages interpretation, ultimately contradicts this idea through his own actions. As I read The Death of the Author and played The Beginner’s Guide, I found myself wondering about Coda. Is this information really as insignificant as Barthes suggests? After all, who would know the game better than the person who created it? Do I think this way because we are conditioned to decode creators through their work, whether in literature, art, music, or film? Or is it because Davey’s perspective pushed me to think about Coda in that way?
I am not entirely sure, and it may be a combination of both. Overall, I still enjoyed the game, and I found it to be an unexpected medium that explores the relationship between Davey and Coda more than anything else.
