Three Dots Meaning Possibly Explained

[Beepin]

This has some spoilers, but I'm going out on a limb here and going to assume that everyone who's played this game did it in one sitting.

The level with the notes has one in particular that when you come to the "dots" painting says "up close, it looks like just a bunch of dots." This note is located directly underneath the painting, and I believe this to be the answer to the 3 dots placed throughout the game.

Alone, up close, for the first time, when you come across the 3 dots.

You might think, "What is this? What a strange thing to be here." And think nothing of it, or possibly ignore it all-together.
But then you come across them same 3 dots again, and you might think, "Oh, so this is a conscious design choice to be placed in certain/random/secret locations." And wonder if you'll come across more.
And after seeing it the 5th time, you might have thought, "What do these mean? Are these important later? I keep seeing these again and again. What's the deal?"

My point is that the painting in the "notes" level is just a bunch of dots... When you stand up close to it... But...

When you stand away from it, you see a composition. You see a piece of art, something to be discussed, something that is more than just "dots"... A picture.

And every picture is worth a thousand words.

Which is why everyone keeps talking about the 3 dots. Alone, they're nothing special. If they were just in one of the levels, they might not mean anything. But because they're part of a composition that spreads across multiple levels, they become a piece... A set that begs for an answer as to why they are all over, and why 3 dots?

Unfortunately, I doubt the 3 dots themselves actually contain a meaning, but all the dots in all the levels are the actual meaning. Similar to how one brick is insignificant, but a house made of bricks is. The dots being an art-piece IS the secret.

[Iron Pariah]

moosjuice님이 먼저 게시:

I'm going with blind because of the Mobius level starting with a message telling you that you're blind. To complete the level you must open your eyes while everyone else is also blind. Then you have to tell the truth, making the message that everyone was telling Coda to keep making games without realizing the truth that only he could face.

This is an excellent reading. Never occured to me. / noticed that. Thanks for commenting.

[Infused With Power]

Thanks. This game has me thinking. So it also appears in the Whisperer level before that, a bit out of sight around behind a corner. In that spot Davey talks about the space part, and deliberately passes up the 3 dots (because in the Tower he admits that he noticed them). In that level Davey explained that it looked unfinished but that people should look at the game for what it is, but Coda didn't want to make the game.

The glitch at the end where you float instead of die is what Davey thought made the game amazing but Coda didn't want to happen, just as he didn't want the counterstrike level to be published. In the first level there's no decal because he was just messing around and didn't think anyone cared. When you're high up you can see his decal again in plain view, again breaking his game.

In the Notes level he is imagining all the criticism that represent people trying to break his games, but instead of the hostile typewriters being the subject of attention, Davey puts a lamppost. Did I win?

[What Would Spock Do]

The three dots could simply mean "...", as in "I refuse to break my silence about what these games mean"
but I think your past, present future interpretation is straight on.

[Turing Test]

Beepin님이 먼저 게시:

I'm starting to think that the 3 dots are actually a common icon used in web browsers (a unicode character that is 3 dots).

I think they might have something to do with an email icon or something, but I swear I've seen it as an indicative symbol on the internet before.

It's the "share" icon. Probably unrelated, but ya never know.

[|Reanne|]

My God I can't tell you how much I love this game. I played it for the second time after a few months tonight and it still hit me so hard. The dots symbolise everything I love about this game.
Somebody wrote that Coda is Davey, and we as the audience are Davey looking for meaning in the game. The fact that this forum exists is all the proof we need of that. Like 'Davey' we're trying so hard to uncover the meaning of the dots, and placing our own theories, and therefore projecting ourselves, onto the work. We need to find meaning in these dots, just like 'Davey' needs to find meaning in Coda's work. I think that the true painful and unbearable beauty of the dots is that there is no meaning beyond trying to make us think that there's a meaning. It's a red herring designed to make us a helpless and lost as the narrator.

But here's where it gets tricky. Because where the game succeeds is that I desperately want to know. Despite the fact that I am 10000% certain the dots have no other meaning than to torture us all I want is a solution. So here's something to add to the theories (even though I can feel myself helplessly being drawn into the trap). We know that 'Davey' adapts 'Coda's' work to fit his ideals. He adds in lamp posts and is an unreliable narrator. If the three dots are Coda's signature, does that mean that the levels without the dots weren't created by him? Could they have been added by Davey to further his own narrative.

But my brain hurts because there is no Coda. It's all Davey. And however much this game is or isn't about him, how he feels about making games, or if this means nothing emotionally to him and is just a clever story, I will never ever be able to deny that this game is a work of genius that I will be questioning for a very long time. Part of me would kill for answers, the other is glad that Davey is so private about the game's meanings, because it really does mean more that way.

[Invisible Drax]

I have just sent an email to Daveys asking if what i think is ok.

I believe that CODA is an acronym for "Creativity Of Davey's Anxiety", in the chapter of the press/interrogation we see how the guard says that the machine called itself "Coda", and we see during the interrogation how you say to the machine that it stopped working and let everyone down, so i think it has something to do with that.

And I also believe as mentioned by others that the lamppost is the signature of current davey and the 3 dots are the signature of the past davey (Coda). But im reading some things here that are blowing my mind.

So keep up the work people, the game is not only amazing but your conclusions and ideas as well :)

[Iron Pariah]

jnioms님이 먼저 게시:

I have just sent an email to Daveys asking if what i think is ok.

I believe that CODA is an acronym for "Creativity Of Davey's Anxiety", in the chapter of the press/interrogation we see how the guard says that the machine called itself "Coda", and we see during the interrogation how you say to the machine that it stopped working and let everyone down, so i think it has something to do with that.

And I also believe as mentioned by others that the lamppost is the signature of current davey and the 3 dots are the signature of the past davey (Coda). But im reading some things here that are blowing my mind.

So keep up the work people, the game is not only amazing but your conclusions and ideas as well :)

The machine is clearly a literal manifestation of his "creative engine." and it's failed him. I really don't think they're the same person, I think coda is a fiction in our world, but a real person in the narrative of the game. I think the acronym is a bet of a literal stretch, and the definition of the word "coda" is a better fit, but I think he could definately represent the origin of the character Davey's anxiety.

It's a beautiful game, and definately evoked a powerful emotional response in me. I was moved to tears by the ending, and felt extremly guilty and angry for being involved as the player in the violation of Coda's privacy by Davey

[FellowSufferer]

It's funny how there was an entire storyline in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles devoted to "three dots", where the heroes tried to discern the meaning behind them. In the end, they may or may not have been indicative of anything.

[Iron Pariah]

FellowSufferer님이 먼저 게시:

It's funny how there was an entire storyline in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles devoted to "three dots", where the heroes tried to discern the meaning behind them. In the end, they may or may not have been indicative of anything.

I actually really liked that show. WIsh we'd gotten more.

[Bully Maguire]

|Reanne|님이 먼저 게시:

My God I can't tell you how much I love this game. I played it for the second time after a few months tonight and it still hit me so hard. The dots symbolise everything I love about this game.
Somebody wrote that Coda is Davey, and we as the audience are Davey looking for meaning in the game. The fact that this forum exists is all the proof we need of that. Like 'Davey' we're trying so hard to uncover the meaning of the dots, and placing our own theories, and therefore projecting ourselves, onto the work. We need to find meaning in these dots, just like 'Davey' needs to find meaning in Coda's work. I think that the true painful and unbearable beauty of the dots is that there is no meaning beyond trying to make us think that there's a meaning. It's a red herring designed to make us a helpless and lost as the narrator.

But here's where it gets tricky. Because where the game succeeds is that I desperately want to know. Despite the fact that I am 10000% certain the dots have no other meaning than to torture us all I want is a solution. So here's something to add to the theories (even though I can feel myself helplessly being drawn into the trap). We know that 'Davey' adapts 'Coda's' work to fit his ideals. He adds in lamp posts and is an unreliable narrator. If the three dots are Coda's signature, does that mean that the levels without the dots weren't created by him? Could they have been added by Davey to further his own narrative.

But my brain hurts because there is no Coda. It's all Davey. And however much this game is or isn't about him, how he feels about making games, or if this means nothing emotionally to him and is just a clever story, I will never ever be able to deny that this game is a work of genius that I will be questioning for a very long time. Part of me would kill for answers, the other is glad that Davey is so private about the game's meanings, because it really does mean more that way.

I'd never heard the idea that Coda could be Davey before, and I really like that idea. To be honest, the thing I really like about it is just the way that it covers up a major "plot hole" I guess you could call it, and that is that the game costs money. If Davey were really trying to get his friend to see his game in a desperate attempt to be reunited, the last thing he would be concerned about is profit, especially considering it would actually hurt the chances of Coda playing it if he had to pay for it. But if it really was all just in his own head, then the fact that it costs money doesn't really throw a wrench in the narrative anymore.

[portal bump]

Guys, lets not forget something bout these 3 dots.
They ALSO APPER IN THE STANLEY PARABLE
*insert mind explosion here*

[|Reanne|]

Replayed the game for a third time because I'm a trash lady and I feel the need to revive this thread.
Three dots pointing down is the mathmatical sign for the word 'because'.
The dots were put there just because.
They mean nothing. Their only meaning is so that we can find and apply and theorise our own meaning onto them. Which in turn means that they actually don't mean nothing, there is meaning.
This game is a paradoxical trap. There will always be more questions than answers. I love it so much.

[JJA1999]

|Reanne|님이 먼저 게시:

Three dots pointing down is the mathmatical sign for the word 'because'.

In the mathematical sign the dots are equally spaced, while in Coda's dots the middle dot is closer to the end dots then they are to each other. I can't find any reference to that positioning of dots anywhere. It might not have any meaning at all not even the meaning of intentionally having no meaning. To put it mathematically, mind = blown

[|Reanne|]

JJA1999님이 먼저 게시:

|Reanne|님이 먼저 게시:

Three dots pointing down is the mathmatical sign for the word 'because'.

In the mathematical sign the dots are equally spaced, while in Coda's dots the middle dot is closer to the end dots then they are to each other. I can't find any reference to that positioning of dots anywhere. It might not have any meaning at all not even the meaning of intentionally having no meaning. To put it mathematically, mind = blown

Balls. Guess I'm back to the drawing board.

[Arcadia]

so, i really havent thought much of this. But, honsetly, I think Max is the only one who can see the graffiti. Because the graffiti is like everywhere... and is of the same stuff. If there is that much graffiti, it would be taken down/pianted over. It's just everywhere which isn't acceptable in schools. Really, I think only Max can see them. And I think all the graffiti are little messages Chloe/whoever are writting for her. Like, "Trust no one." "Everyone dies." "Just gotta let go." I think it's chloe telling her you just have to let her die. Like every time Max messes with time, a different version of Chloe writes that to warn her or something idk?? But, maybe the three dots, (going back to the math thing) just mean that BECAUSE your chaging time and ♥♥♥♥, that is the reason all this messed up stuff is happening