Tyler

**Tyler** is the deuteragonist of Bonesaw577's 2023 indie horror game, *Manny's*.

Tyler is the sole employee of the Manny's restaurant that manifests itself for the game's protagonist, Bryan. He prides himself on his customer service abilities and is somewhat of an omnipotent figure.

## Background

Little is known about Tyler prior to the events of the game. Tyler was initially employed at a fast food restaurant prior to Manny's, but how he came to work for Manny's itself is a mystery. Not even Tyler himself remembers the events leading up to the present moment. Tyler infers during his confrontation with Bryan that he is actually dead and misses his old life. He is revealed to be working at Manny's under a contract which keeps him from properly dying. His passing on is prevented dependent solely on his employment at Manny's, though he is tremendously overworked. He demonstrates a fine work ethic and is no stranger to hard work, as evidenced by his eight consecutive Employee of the Month awards. His duties include those within the restaurant and in the Underworld, where he leads a demonic ritual to feed bodies and souls to the Maneater. Though Tyler secretly detests working at Manny's and having customers meet their demise, he sees no other choice but to see his duties through to the end. It appears that Tyler is just as much a victim as the customers themselves.

## Manny's

Tyler first appears when Manny's manifests itself on the deserted island where Bryan is stranded. Tyler initially presents himself as a friendly and competent service industry worker and insists on helping Bryan as best he can. He demonstrates a certain detachment to customers but is understanding, while also pretending to be oblivious to the questionable nature of the restaurant, but it is unknown if Tyler's vagueness is a rule of the establishment or not.

Tyler reappears with the restaurant the following evening, questioning why management doesn't let anyone behind the counter sit down, showing that he regularly questions traditional values forcefully placed on minimum wage workers.

Bryan can interact with Tyler during the second night, which produces three unique conversations.

1. Tyler asks Bryan if he has ever heard of a famous musician, known as indy. Tyler explains that indy. is someone he knows personally and that he has bought tickets to attend a live concert of his. He also explains that he has applied for Paid Time Off (PTO) and he hopes that it is approved in order to attend.
2. Bryan asks about the other customer in the restaurant, Victor Petrovsky. Tyler says that Petrovsky is a survivor of a plane crash, much like Bryan, and that he knows who he has killed previously.
3. Bryan asks about the restaurant, which Tyler explains is owned and managed by Manny, who he says is a fair but firm manager of the establishment. Bryan asks what Tyler used to do before working at Manny's, but Tyler cannot seem to remember any events of his life prior to his employment.

Tyler then prevents Bryan from ordering a second meal since he has used his credit the previous night. Tyler is threatened physically by Bryan, but Tyler knows he cannot be physically harmed by customers. He explains to Bryan that assaulting him will do no good, since if you can't pay, you get no food. Tyler reveals that he knows that Bryan is a murderer, sensing his killing of the woman on the life raft previously. He says that human beings were simply "born to kill each other" and that Bryan killing another person in his desperate situation was inevitable anyways.

Tyler produces a knife from the kitchen and explains to both Petrovsky and Bryan that if one of them wants to eat, then the other has to die. Since Tyler cannot directly intervene in the killing of customers as per the rules of the establishment, he let's "fate decide" who should get the knife by spinning it on the counter and giving it to the person the knife points to once it stops.

When Bryan returns after killing Petrovsky, Tyler is shocked at Bryan's resilience. While Tyler respects Bryan's grit, he also finds him annoying, as Bryan gets under his skin by stealing his line about letting fate decide, using Tyler's own tactics against him, and persevering against all odds where other customers have perished.

Tyler orders his subordinates to restrain Bryan, who finally catch up to him. When the dynamite hidden inside Petrovsky's dead body explodes, killing his subordinates, it perforates Tyler's eardrums and leaves him in a state of shock, allowing Bryan to flee. Bryan catches up with Tyler as he packs his belongings into a Mitsubishi A6M Zero airplane in an attempt to escape the Underworld before a decision is made regarding his PTO. Tyler attacks Bryan with a Japanese katana but is stopped mid-fight due to his scheduled work break, abiding by the rules of his employment regardless of his situation.

Tyler becomes angry at Bryan, stating that his intervention during the ritual will probably get Tyler fired. He laments that though he wishes to see and experience life one last time, it appears that, due to Bryan's actions, he has prevented Tyler from showing management that he is deserving of having his PTO approved. Tyler contemplates suicide before being able to face the consequences. He disarms himself, throwing his katana over the edge.

Bryan stops Tyler, who apologizes for all he has put Bryan through. Bryan suggests, to Tyler's surprise, that he simply call in sick in order to guarantee a few days off from work, regardless of the PTO decision. Tyler lauds Bryan's genius, apparently in disbelief that he hadn't thought of the idea sooner. As a reward for the suggestion, Tyler invites Bryan to go with him to indy.'s concert, which Bryan accepts. Excited with Bryan's decision, Tyler shakes his hand and the two formally introduce each other, sparking an immediate friendship.

Tyler then receives a response to his PTO request, which ends up being rejected. Tyler's response is incredible anger, to which Manny responds with awarding Tyler a ninth consecutive Employee of the Month award. Refusing the bribe, Tyler throws the award back at Manny and promptly quits Manny's on his own accord. Manny becomes enraged and attacks both Tyler and Bryan, with Tyler saving Bryan's life by pushing him out of the way.

With Tyler flying the Zero, Bryan uses the mounted Type 97 Aircraft Machine Gun to shoot the crystal on Manny's head while the two flee from the pursuing giant. Manny catches up to the aircraft, crushing it in his hand while Bryan and Tyler attempt to jump to safety. Tyler's foot is caught in the plane, which prevents him from escaping. Bryan hangs on to Tyler, adamant on not letting go. Tyler tells Bryan to go to indy.'s concert on his behalf before dropping Bryan to safety, dooming himself to die. Tyler finds his lighter in the plane as well as a few sticks of dynamite, lighting the explosives, and falling into the Maneater's mouth with the dynamite in hand. The resulting explosion kills Tyler and Manny in the process.

## Trivia

* Tyler becomes nervous when attempting to tell Bryan about his past, showing that there may be repercussions for discussing an employee's previous life.
* It appears Tyler can tell when someone has taken a human life and that the customer in question can afford a meal, though this method is never shown or explained.
* It is evident that Tyler does not necessarily agree morally with the job he has to do at Manny's. He infrequently demonstrates contradicting behaviors and feelings that he tries to suppress.
* Tyler hears Manny call out to him from below the restaurant, but none of the other characters appear to notice. Whether Tyler can communicate with and understand Manny remains unknown.
* Tyler also appears to lead the ritual and has extensive knowledge of the customs of the Underworld, though it is not known how he learned them.
* If the player gets the bad ending with Bryan sacrificing himself to the Maneater, Tyler seems slightly distraught at the sight of his sacrifice, turning away and unable to watch. Tyler may know that Bryan's sacrifice will result in his employment.
* If the player gets the good ending, Tyler becomes enraged at Bryan for disrupting the ritual, saying "you can't screw around" with the ritual, meaning there may be dire consequences either for him or for everyone if the ritual should fail.
* Though Tyler is deceased, he is able to leave his nametag, a receipt, and a blank comment card for Bryan at the door to Manny's. The circumstances surrounding these items is mysterious, considering Tyler can come back to life and cannot leave the restaurant. This may suggest, though it is not confirmed, that Tyler is still alive.
* Late in the game, Tyler contemplates suicide, though it appears he is already dead. This may suggest that committing suicide may be a potential escape for an employee of Manny's.
* When Bryan threatens Tyler with the knife, Tyler questions whether Bryan would murder him "in front of all these witnesses", referring to other customers in the restaurant. However, the restaurant is clearly empty except for Tyler and Bryan. It may be that Tyler can see and experience things going on within the restaurant that both the customers and the player cannot.
* Tyler remarks that he feels some kind of energy when he shakes Bryan's hand. It is not known exactly what Tyler feels, but says that it couldn't possibly be what he thinks it is. It is often speculated that what Tyler feels when shaking Bryan's hand is love. It is a prevalent theory that Tyler and Bryan are in a romantic relationship.
* Tyler's use of the katana against Bryan is a clear violation of Manny's rules. However, it appears that Tyler is so beyond rational thought at this point that he simply does not care.
* In the beta version of Manny's, Tyler was originally supposed to act differently, even to the point of insanity from extreme isolation. It was planned that Tyler would interact and have full conversations with the skeletal remains of Japanese soldiers in the cave. Tyler would have Americanized names for them like "Bob" or "Jim".
* Bonesaw577's initial reaction to the character upon completing the game was negative due to Tyler's flamboyant and often dramatic behavior. The developer considered editing or removing a large portion of the character's dialogue, most notably his evident depression and suicidal tendencies, which was a direct reflection of the developer's own personality at the time. Regardless, Tyler became the most popular character, with the consensus being that he is incredibly relatable to most players.
* Even though the entire game is mostly made up of Tyler's dialogue, none of the dialogue was scripted beforehand and was written on-the-spot while the cutscenes were being made.
* Tyler's use of swords and the piloting of aircraft have led many to suspect that Tyler has some sort of combat experience. Since Tyler's age is impossible to determine, it is hard to guess which conflict he could have been in to warrant such experience.
* Tyler was initially planned to survive the events of Manny's with Bryan. However, this was edited to make for a more emotional ending to the game.
* Tyler appears in the game's extra level, which acts as a dream Bryan has while in the raft just prior to the game's events. He facilitates this dream and snaps his fingers as a way to wake Bryan up during the first cutscene.
* The lowest part of Tyler's face has UVs that are mapped incorrectly, which cut off a portion of Tyler's mouth when he is screaming.