The maze in The Tower

[Clippy]

Has anyone figured it out? The maze where the walls are invisible but when you touch them your screen flashes red and you teleport back to the beginning.

I want to beat it with the narration turned off to see if anything is different. It almost seems impossible though. If you go against the left wall and go straight you seem to go a little farther than anywhere else but after that you can't go left or right. Anyone figure out if this is possible?

[LokiFM]

Is stuff different without narration? Hmm... I have to try this.

I have found hidden naration and sound effects by walking into walls and places which seem undesirable to visit.

[Knave]

I wouldn't keep at this unless you're okay with receiving no reward for the effort. Because I don't think either the fictional character of Coda or the real Davey had any intention to reward you for completing the maze without cheating. It's possible, but it seems perfectly in character for Coda to have meant the maze as meaningless busywork and for completion to be its own reward, and I doubt Davey imagined anyone would try to beat the maze straight.

Actually, that last part might be incorrect. Obviously someone would try to beat it.

Good luck.

[takua108]

If you're crazy, you could launch the game with -console and look up online what the commands are to show invisible meshes like trigger volumes.

[DaVince]

Originally posted by ScrapTF.takua108:

If you're crazy, you could launch the game with -console and look up online what the commands are to show invisible meshes like trigger volumes.

I did just that:
http://i.imgur.com/F6pXFlC.jpg

And discovered something very, VERY mean, a little easter egg for if you managed to navigate the maze this way. Near the end, the path is simply blocked and probably impossible to pass:
http://i.imgur.com/KmtTDHs.jpg

Very clever.

[takua108]

I wonder if that pillar was an afterthought, like "here's this maze that would be insane to solve but you can do it." "...You know what, ♥♥♥♥ you, no you can't."

[Xio]

The art design in this level was mind blowing.

[takua108]

Originally posted by Xio:

The art design in this level was mind blowing.

That's why I think Davey is such an interesting guy. He's not really a game designer in the traditional sense (or at least, he hasn't shown himself to be one with TSP and TBG); his games never really have mechanics or goals or objectives in the games themselves. Instead, his use of space and visual design and, like, how he applies narrative ideas (repetition, symbolism, metaphor) to the actual design of the levels themselves is incredible. He's really good at conveying himself and his ideas through his levels and his storytelling. There have been plenty of "great level designers" over the years, but... I don't know. This is going to sound corny. It's like he uses Hammer (the Source engine map editor) the way a writer would use a pen, typewriter, or word processor, or the way an artist uses a pencil, brush, or Photoshop. His levels don't serve game mechanics well or like, lend themselves well to enemy placement or whatever other criteria "good levels" in other games have. Instead, it's how he expresses himself. I love it.

In addition to all the other crazy stuff this game did well, it also changed my opinion on game design somewhat. I'm not going to go into it right here, right now, because it might go on for paragraphs. Basically, Davey engineers experiences, and game designers focus on mechanics and numbers and probabilities and balance and increasing player engagement. I can't help but respect that (and be maybe a little envious).

[nshady]

Originally posted by DaVince:

Originally posted by ScrapTF.takua108:

If you're crazy, you could launch the game with -console and look up online what the commands are to show invisible meshes like trigger volumes.

I did just that:
http://i.imgur.com/F6pXFlC.jpg

And discovered something very, VERY mean, a little easter egg for if you managed to navigate the maze this way. Near the end, the path is simply blocked and probably impossible to pass:
http://i.imgur.com/KmtTDHs.jpg

Very clever.

Is there any possibility that the obstruction only appears if you don't fulfil some unmentioned criterion in the other chapters?

[TheSultanOfLOL]

Am I forgetting where this audio file was triggered? Steam\SteamApps\common\The Beginners Guide\beginnersguide\sound\narration\"VOF_tower03" says "Damn". Any chance that's meant to be triggered by you completing the maze yourself?

That would actually be an excellent explanation of why there would be some trigger at the end, to trigger that piece of narration if you made it all the way through.

[Baf]

From DaVince's screenshot, it looks like there's an alternate exit over to the left that you couldn't reach from the bridge. Has anyone tried going there?

[Bekoha]

Originally posted by DaVince:

Originally posted by ScrapTF.takua108:

If you're crazy, you could launch the game with -console and look up online what the commands are to show invisible meshes like trigger volumes.

I did just that:
http://i.imgur.com/F6pXFlC.jpg

And discovered something very, VERY mean, a little easter egg for if you managed to navigate the maze this way. Near the end, the path is simply blocked and probably impossible to pass:
http://i.imgur.com/KmtTDHs.jpg

Very clever.

You can actually pass through this brush and it will play sound of narrator saying "Damn" and remove last invisible wall.
http://puu.sh/kwRoV/22e2bad34b.jpg
http://puu.sh/kwRlG/1cc1426d5c.jpg

[LokiFM]

Originally posted by DaVince:

Originally posted by ScrapTF.takua108:

If you're crazy, you could launch the game with -console and look up online what the commands are to show invisible meshes like trigger volumes.

I did just that:
http://i.imgur.com/F6pXFlC.jpg

And discovered something very, VERY mean, a little easter egg for if you managed to navigate the maze this way. Near the end, the path is simply blocked and probably impossible to pass:
http://i.imgur.com/KmtTDHs.jpg

Very clever.

Tried it yesterday, you can go through that trigger without getting reset. I don't know what it does do though.

[DaVince]

Huh! Interesting. Guess I should have tried myself.

Originally posted by Baf:

From DaVince's screenshot, it looks like there's an alternate exit over to the left that you couldn't reach from the bridge. Has anyone tried going there?

I wondered the same, but it actually just goes into a wall at the back.

[ftanyx]

I just triggered the dialogue in game! It's actually fairly easy, thanks to that map!

1. Put up the bridge (E or enter)
2. Don't touch your mouse, and walk straight ahead until the third circle of light. Look at the map in the fourth comment to see where to walk off towards the right side. If you're standing, it'll be just after the first 128.128 disappears off the bottom of your screen.
3. Walk sideways to the right, falling off the bridge, until the far right buttress is just slightly to the left of directly in front of you.
4. Crouch (it's easier) and walk forward until the right edge corner disappears (you'll know it when you see what I mean)
5. Walk sideways to the left until you're under the bridge, then forward

Davey says, "Dayum" and then continues with the normal dialogue.

I tried doing the maze from the beginning and only got to the second light circle before giving up and jumping off a bridge. Literally

[ftanyx]

It took me about 60 tries, so... take "fairly easy" with a grain of salt lol