Stairs

**Nonsense in nearly every direction**

Level number
4

Date of creation
December 2008

Preceded by
Entering

Followed by
Puzzle

**Stairs** is the fourth chapter of *The Beginner's Guide.*

## Description

### Level

It is the first game after Whisper to have an alternative name. It consists of three big, dark gray, rectangular, parallel blocks placed over a gray ground under a blue sky. A linear staircase leading to a door near the top is connected to the right block. When the player reaches the middle of the staircase, the door opens but their speed is severely reduced. It is still possible to get to the door but the speed will not come back until the level ends unless narration is turned on. The door leads to a living room with several messages in it expressing ideas for video games. After a few moments, the level automatically ends.

### Narration

*Often times Coda would put bizarre titles like this one at the start of his games.
I wish I'd known him at the time that he was making these early games, he would really only talk to me about his work as he was making it. Once he stopped work on a game, like, that was it, it was dead to him. And I don't agree with that at all, but what are you going to do?*

*(If the player explores around the big blocks) I know it's tempting but there's actually nothing over here. Sorry!*

*Once you've been slowed to absolute crawl, the door at the top of the stairs opens. So why, if Coda's not showing these games to anyone, why bother opening the door at all? Well, to show you I'm modifying the game here so that when you press 'Enter'/the 'Use' key on your gamepad it'll bring you back up to full speed, so you can enter the door for yourself.*

*A room that's warm, and nice, and filled with little ideas for games.*

*Coda would often tell me that he didn't mind if people thought of him as cold or distant, he said that he knew he was actually a vibrant and compassionate person, but that it takes time to really see that. It can be a very slow climb to get there.*

### Ideas for games

* A game of only motivational quotes, played one after the other while the player cannot move.
* A game of only posters and concept art showing what the game is intended to be.
	+ This may be a reference to Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist.
* A game where you collect items, except the game automatically quits when you collect them all.
* A key in one game unlocks a door in a completely separate game.
	+ See: Devil Tower Star.
* A normal game where you have to scream into a mic every 15 seconds to keep playing.
* A series of lavish manuals come with the game giving you incorrect instructions on how to play.
	+ This may be a reference to the Narrator in *The Stanley Parable*.
* A stranger appears.
* Game filled with chairs, except one chair is floating.
* Live on a boat taking orders from the captain. The captain is always wrong.
	+ This may be a reference to The Stanley Parable Adventure Line™ in *The Stanley Parable*
* Play as a pair of floating eyes emitting footstep noises.
	+ This may be a reference to the Mariella Ending in *The Stanley Parable*
* Stand on an X staring at a bear for 3 hours.
	+ This may be a reference to the Art Ending in *The Stanley Parable*
* The game is nothing but giant blocks of text explaining what's happening.
	+ Possible reference to Island.
* You are a gate.
* Play as the camera filming an advertisement, walking around a set filming whatever you like
* Press U to surrender
	+ This may be a reference to the Apartment Ending in *The Stanley Parable*
* A button you press to stop the chaos, that doesn't work
	+ This may be a reference to the Explosion Ending in *The Stanley Parable*
* Sharks are trying to eat you, simultaneously you are trying to eat the sharks
* Read an enemy's emails to learn how to beat them
	+ This may be a reference to Coda, and the theme of "knowing someone without meeting them" present in the game.
* You are the queen, dusting your jewelery [sic] while your kingdom is destroyed.
* You must adress [sic] and rally a group of eager press reporters
	+ Possible reference to Machine.
* You construct a wall, the wall is destroyed, you are given a medal.
	+ Possible reference to the cut chapter called "Rotation".
* You play as a loud bodiless sound walking around confusing people.
	+ Possible reference to The Narrator|the Narrator from *The Stanley Parable*
* You run a shop inside your body, selling your organs strategically to make the most money before you die.
* You start in a small room, until you realize you can just walk through the walls.
* You walk around talking people down from pursuing their hopes or dreams.
	+ This may be a reference to the Zending in *The Stanley Parable*

### Easter Eggs

* If you walk behind the tower with the stairs and stand in the corner of the world, you'll hear a strange distorted and echoing voice. The voice is sampled from the song "*Goin' Down*" by *The Party*. The presumed woman says "Hey babe, you wanna go out? (Overlapping) What time- Do you wanna go out? (Inaudible/ distorted voice) What time? Come here cutie, hey are you (distorted) did you hear what I said? Come here (distorted) Come here daddy (distorted) so good." The voice is the same person, bits and pieces are repeated, reversed, overlapped, etc. The sound file is called "Sex\_worker\_emitter", and does not loop.
* From that corner, if you turn left and stand in the next corner of the world, you'll hear angelic voices "singing." It sounds pretty spooky, considering the file name is "Emitter\_Scary\_Loop."
* The narrator's comment that "*there's actually nothing over here*" despite the two emitters may be one of the early signs that he isn't being completely honest.
	+ He would partly be correct if these were not particularly noteworthy.

## Trivia

* This is the first level Coda gives a "*bizarre title*" to, according to Davey.