Twelve Minutes - Story + Ending EXPLAINED // What is Real?

What do you think? Did this all happen in his head?
Twelve Minutes - Story + Ending EXPLAINED // What is Real?
• Twelve Minutes - Story...
00:00 Story Explained
6:16 All Endings Explained
10:15 What REALLY Happened!
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About Video Game Sophistry:
Video Game Sophistry is an opportunity to celebrate the creators and the artistry found in Video Games. I believe that Games are the most effective medium from experiencing another world, and another way to live. Expect to see a series of videos showcasing the narratives hidden in every game, interviews with game developers, along with our bench mark weekly podcast, Dialogue Wheel.
Andy Borkowski started this program nearly 10 years ago and, in that time, it has changed from a simple KZbin show, to a radio show, a TV show and now once again a KZbin destination. Welcome to VGS.
VGS - Video Game Sophistry
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[@VideoGameSophistry]

What do we think folks? Did this all happen in his head? 00:00 Story Explained 6:16 All Endings Explained 10:15 What REALLY Happened!

[@LadyDonegan]

Its the ending I came to. thank you.

[@ErinJeanette]

I'm still confused I have read a ton of comments theories watching tons of game play and reviews and I'm just like was any of it real....??

[@gravityfallscanada]

@@ErinJeanette I agree the game falls flat... TBH whoever likes this game after finding about there relationship should be ashamed... Look at at these theories, the game can't even vaugly explain it self... DISGUSTING!!! 🤮🤮🤮

[@worthlesspictures280]

This game was crazy I really loved it though

[@mattskolnick8162]

I think your theory is spot on. I'd love to know why you think the father has hair in one scene and is bald in another.

[@Tink00]

Imagine if the Dahlia was a different Dahlia and the name was just a coincidence and this man had a full mental breakdown over accidental incest that didn't really happen 😂

[@MoMbarek250]

That was what I thinking lol. But unfortunately (now) I think otherwise...

[@Beno951]

Batman vs Superman situation with Matra xDDD

[@nuages8915]

And with that imagine that he also did kill a man but it wasnt her father 😭😭

[@SevenEllen]

That's one reason I wish all the characters had names, but I'm sure there was a good creative reason why not to, other than to hammer home "These two are married and in love! Don't forget that! "HUBBY" and "WIFE"." Ha ha! :D

[@corvus2512]

How does he not remember killing his father? Why is it a revelation? Im confused about that, i get its a reveal for the audience but why is it a reveal for the character? He doesnt remember killing his father and marrying his sister?

[@glittery_cucumber]

The wife sometimes hums the tune of "Frère Jacques / Brother John" which is about someone being asleep. I think this is a hint that everything is happening in the protagonist's head.

[@VideoGameSophistry]

That’s a good catch

[@kadree]

holy shoot

[@SevenEllen]

I didn't realise that for a long time, as it was so subtle it was excellent. That and the paintings. In the tree painting, the two big trees represent the husband and wife, and a third one appears representing their unborn child. In various loops, the trees go through the seasons, losing their leave, representing the breaking down of the relationship, and in winter, the little tree is gone, which, to me, represents that the half-sister had an abortion after she left her half-brother. I'm guessing their marriage was annulled, but we don't see that. Just that empty apartment in the 'Alone' ending, which suggests she took everything with her.

[@badreedinedjellali1328]

but I think in the ending where you talk to the man was real

[@CleoHarperReturns]

Wow another thing I didn't catch! Where the hell was my head in this game?? Anyway, seriously cool observation. Also another brilliant subtle clue from the maker.

[@sleepy.bunneh]

I think a key theme of the game is "living in the present", which includes not obsessing over our past life decisions and thinking about "what ifs" and "could haves". (Whether that's past romantic relationships, childhood trauma, possible actions we could/should have taken at a point in time, regrets we have, etc.) Like the quote the main character said: only by forgetting, can we really live our life in the present. The game shows that by overly thinking about potential choices and outcomes, we become trapped in our minds in forever loops. The ending implies that sometimes you just need to turn it all off ("options out"), and go and live life. So with that, time to shut down the computer and go out and enjoy the sun 🌞

[@sleepy.bunneh]

As to why they chose incest as a plot device to tell the story, my possible speculations: One, it could be the shock factor (it's sensational, attention grabbing, people will talk about it, the realization when we find out halfway during the game keeps us hooked.) Second, there's less moral ambiguity. If the main character keeps imagining a possible relationship with say a married woman, some may think cheating can be justified in certain situations, or a divorce could be the solution. This type of plot would just cause a lot of side discussions (players imagining even more scenarios beyond the game) that distracts from the key theme. Whereas incest is understood by most of the modern human population as morally wrong, so we know there's no point thinking up more solutions because incest is just wrong, it's a dead end. And yet the feeling of being in love is universally relatable, so we can empathize with why he keeps obsessing over the issue/person and relate to his feelings of helplessness.

[@turoreal]

Unfortunately the game mechanics really limit how much you care about the story.

[@royalexodus2666]

@@turoreal that's arguable but you do you

[@ShadowPhoenix82]

Yes, the creators very likely do believe that notion.

[@ShadowPhoenix82]

@@sleepy.bunneh that... Is an interesting second theory about why they chose incest, but it's pretty subjective in regards to moral alignment. Morality itself is pretty subjective. I honestly didn't even question it, because why wouldn't they choose either of those? If anything, it's probably closer to your first theory, that incest would punch harder, not that it's "more wrong" than adultery.

[@reldn14]

your theory makes sense to what the three doors in the beginning of the game represent. The one to the left being the reality where you have the baby which is why when you try to enter the door it says you woke up the baby. The door to your right is the reality where you are all alone. It’s empty. And the one in front of you that being the one you enter in which represents the “present time” is your therapy session. You learning that you will have a child with your half sister

[@Skibidy_rizzler_]

Omg

[@stewlad3121]

Here is my take on it after having finished every ending, major spoilers ahead: Most people are saying that it's a therapy session, but hear me out. I believe the first "interrogation" scene in the study room with your Father (dark room, he has hair) is the only few seconds in the game that was reality. Your character is there at 11:58, presumably on the night of New Year's Eve. The father never mentions a child, only your feelings for his daughter. One of his first lines is "I know this is a lot to drop on you." He's brought you there to reveal the truth about the affair and how he's your biological father after finding out about you dating his daughter. Your dialog choice doesn't change the fact that you accidentally kill him by shooting him twice with his own gun (that he had concealed on him, if you didn't cooperate), while the rest of the gameplay and it's endings are all made up scenarios in the protagonist's mind. He's fantasizing about all the possible futures with his sister, including framing her for the murder, while their disapproving father the "cop", keeps intruding and won't allow them to be happy because he's deeply suppressing what he's done. The second scenario of the talk with the father in the study (first with hair, then bald) where you have the ability to forget everything or hug him and resolve your differences is also in the character's mind, just a twisted version of their meeting that he's accepted because it let's him ignore the truth and have closure. I think the slow zoom in and out from the clock face for the transitions is supposed to be him fixated on the clock on the wall during the real meeting and possibly after he's shot and killed him while he's ignoring the body and deep diving into all of his alternate scenarios. The "12 minutes" essentially being the two minutes before midnight and the ten minutes after you've killed him. The true ending "Mindfulness", stops the clock at 12 and doesn't advance the clock hands, signifying that you understand that obsessing over all these fantasies is unhealthy and you're ready to accept what you've done and make a decision regarding your girlfriend/sister and your father's murder. Sorry for the long rant, I'm sure this explanation doesn't resolve everything but I believe this thought process is the real "twist" for the player.

[@joaomarcos2089]

But isn't him forgetting everything via hypnosis the true ending?

[@CorDharel]

This sounds like a very good explanation and also explains some weird story twists like how in the second meeting with his father the father knows about the pregnancy (even if he has been dead for 8 years). Just something that I personally don't understand: How can the man that I am playing be at in the room with his father that gets killed with his own gun be at the same place 1000s of miles away meeting the woman that the Polaroid proves to be innocent? They say they met at this evening as far as I know but then again he was there "killing" his father... this really confuses me.

[@DanielSaner]

@@CorDharel I don't think it said they met that evening. In fact, I think I remember when the wife first confesses to shooting her father, she says that she didn't turn herself in because "it was a new year" and then "a few weeks later, you showed up." The exact words may be different but I just finished the game last night so it's still quite fresh in my memory 🙂

[@CorDharel]

@@DanielSaner Hmm yes I thought so too later. I guess they didn't meet this evening and I just misheard or misinterpreted that.

[@DanielSaner]

@@CorDharel Actually I looked this up again, and we may both be right! :D There is not one polaroid, but three. They change as you progress in the game. In the first polaroid, the wife looks very cheerful, and in the final one, she's wearing a hoody and looks distant and sad. Early on in the game, it's kind of implied that the (first) polaroid brought them together, (although it would be possible that he only saw the photo later and then tried to find out more about her). When you check the polaroid again later after having learned about the murder, it has changed, and the dialogue is about how it proves her innocence, and she mentions how they met a few weeks later. I think it's pretty brilliant how you can keep finding more and more inconsistencies in the loops, that make you realise how the main character keeps changing the story to fit his narrative. Looking at some other playthroughs, it's amazing how many other scenarios are covered in the game that I didn't get to see, even though I played it three times.

[@sawkmicoc4287]

Adding to your theory, in one of the diologue choices the cop says his wife is dead and he only had his daughter, its known that the father, played by the same voice actor, has also got a dead wife and is left with a daughter.

[@user-ek2xg3ps5s]

DIOlogue

[@sawkmicoc4287]

@Богдан Крименюк dude im retarded leave me alone 😢

[@user-ek2xg3ps5s]

@@sawkmicoc4287 At least you're honest...

[@beahgg]

@@user-ek2xg3ps5s i thought it was a jojo reference

[@user-ek2xg3ps5s]

@@beahgg because it is

[@samuelguetta8445]

The theory also explains why everything is overlooked. We don't know the exact hour because there is no small hand on the pocket watch and clock and why no one has an actual name. (side note the picture in the hallway before the apartment foreshadow the twists endings)

[@albertoandrade9807]

The one with the flower?

[@hanchua5600]

The husband's name is Aaron, and the wife's is Carla. These are in the game files. But these are irrelevant to the story anyway.

[@anon_exe8970]

@@hanchua5600 why

[@hanchua5600]

@@anon_exe8970 Because you don't need to know the names of the characters to understand the story.

[@zaidizainal2495]

mannnn. his voice. i can close my eyes and listen to him and still understand everything. like a podcast.

[@nomercy8989]

You need your eyes open to understand people talking?

[@ErinJeanette]

@@nomercy8989 or... You like seeing the visuals of what's being talked about? Difference between radio and TV? Really lol.

[@zaidizainal2495]

@@nomercy8989 well, that's not what I've meant. The feeling is different. His voice. Ah nevermind. I think i should keep this comment for myself. Sorry.

[@Lynxu_]

@@zaidizainal2495 lol you dont have to be sorry, i totally get what you mean. Glad we share the same opinion :) no need to keep it for yourself. I even agree with you!

[@zaidizainal2495]

@@Lynxu_ well, thank youu :))

[@m1garand164]

That makes sense to me that this whole story is taking place in the mind of the protagonist. His feelings for his half sister is the only thing that is real. This game is nothing more than a guy imagining the consequences of pursuing his half sister. In his mind, to be with her, he’d have to kill his father, and he’s imagining consequences of doing so. The cop taking the form of his father representing the inevitable force that will make him pay for what he has done. He can’t resolve in his head how this relationship works without severe consequences. Even though he can’t resolve it in his head, the other option is still incredibly sad, he imagines he’s all alone with nothing but bare walls around him. In his head he can’t seem to escape the fear that what he wants can never be good for long, but choosing to not pursue her will lead to crushing loneliness and a barren life.

[@teacherify1168]

I like this view

[@6000yrs]

When I remembered about the baby clothes after the cop said the "daisy... something like a flower name" line, I internally lost it, such a crazy revelation that isn't pronounced in game, but rather in your own head.

[@shooterxd2387]

The "Listen" ending has more to it, because the clock actually goes backwards instead of you instantly reloop.

[@Edrigangr]

Twelve Minutes - The Prequel :: It's after Christmas Eve dinner when the father sits his daughter down and says they need to have a serious conversation; She also says she has some news for him too. He tells her she needs to end this relationship and stop seeing him. She argues with her father, says she's in love with him and will not leave him. He tries to pressure her more, probably draws from his professional background as part of his arguments. She probably accuses him of his past infidelity, how it ruined their family. He tries to convince her. She says her news is that they already made plans to move far away and get married at New Years, start a loving family. Her father is in shock; He tries to force the situation like he usually does but without revealing that this is actually her half-brother she's dating, probably ends up giving her an ultimatum. She says she's his daughter and not his patient, turns his own ultimatum back to him by choosing her partner and storms out of the house. It's almost New Years and you're finished with your preparations; Moving to a different city thousand miles away might sound daunting but it's a good career opportunity and you'll be with her too. A new chapter, a new life. You haven't talked to her since Christmas Eve, but it's understandable, there's a ton of things to take care off and it's holiday season. Suddenly your phone rings and her father invites you over to his house. You're somewhat surprised. You get in your car and drive there, her father lets you in and leads you to his study room. On your way to the room, you realize the entire place is full of decorations that have captured the love this man has for his daughter; Pictures of her adolescent years, some paintings, her school diplomas or sports achievements. This man has been and will always be there for her. As the father leads you inside the office, he excuses himself for a bit. While waiting, you look around this library room. Judging by the titles, this man appears to be a professional in a field related to psychotherapy. A small red book catches your eye. Out of boredom you pick it up, its about meditation. You flip the pages until an underlined comment catches your eye. "It's only by forgetting that we ever really drop the thread of time and approach the experience of living in the present moment." You hear the fathers footsteps and you hastily put the book back in it's place. In the process of doing so, you notice a hidden polaroid picture on the back of the shelf that this book initially covered. You sit in the chair before the father walks inside. He says something, but you are piecing the puzzle together. There's no way this man could have this picture unless.... The father is talking but you're only registering parts of it... "Your relationship is like cancer.." "You need to make a choice" "I can help you" You're spacing out... He grabs the chairs arms while he's in front of you. You know he knows. And now you know too. Does she know?! No she can't have or else she would have talked to you about it. This secret is still between you and her father... your father. Can this stay hidden? Will she ever find out?! What happens if she gets pregnant, will the doctors find out and tell her?! Is this even legal?!? You're visibly shaken. You look at the clock. Your mind starts racing.......

[@python6344]

I don't usually read long comments but man this was good, you should be writing books lol

[@B.A.Killington]

I watched a couple of playthroughs and ending analysis' and none of them mentioned anything about the changes in the apartment, like the flowers. I thought that was pretty interesting and kind of added another level to the "all in your head" theory.

[@kamahlfriscia]

This is a therapy session of a man that is insane, because insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome

[@crabboi6177]

Hey, I also played FarCry 3

[@kamahlfriscia]

Never played it

[@crabboi6177]

Thats ok, I have

[@LathamFell]

Technically you can't do the exact same thing again, because at the very least some time will have passed since the last attempt.

[@davidinass]

This game deserve an Emmy. Finished the game and it's so mind blowing. It makes you think.

[@zhnigo]

makes you think how trash it is lmao gottem

[@davidinass]

@@zhnigo ok. Elaborate

[@user-hu8fn2jp5v]

@@davidinass its interesting but doesnt deserve an emmy or anything. The point of a story is to have an ending that will solve your confusion. Take movies like the sixth sense or shutter island, they both have a big twist in the ending that ends your confusion. This games fails to do so and have you speculate the "true" ending, they failed to "end" the story. And alot of people agree if you read the steam reviews

[@111Malefic]

Yeah no

[@davidinass]

@@user-hu8fn2jp5v it's for you to figure it out on your own. Have you been given a task in collage and was told to understand what just happened. You can say those movies. Like shutter island or the sixth sense are good but it's not about a twist its about understanding everything. I'm sorry its not call of duty or anything or something for you to understand.

[@heavenlee971]

I feel like with the true ending is more like an unhealthy obsession with his sister. The fathers tone is set differently and based on what he is saying is assuming more of like the half brother is not even with a half sister. As if all of this was in his mind to begin with. How they met, this imaginary relationship with his half sister and father figures it out and tries to solve it.

[@tfvo86]

Basically, the father use sharingan's genjutsu, Izanami, on is son

[@kadree]

LMAOOO

[@coshuloser9513]

cringe spelling kiddo

[@tfvo86]

@@coshuloser9513 yeah, i dont care junior

[@npcimknot958]

I just found this on a meditation sight. That 12 minutes of mindfulness a day will make a difference but it really will. Setting yourself the task of meditating for just 12 minutes a day adds up over a year to 4,380 minutes. - and its called mindfulness too!! This is Buddhism It also says there is 12 steps to nirvana .

[@FableErrejeDMR]

so he's dead?

[@-ZH]

@@FableErrejeDMR Where the hell did you get that from the original comment?

[@FableErrejeDMR]

@@-ZH 12 steps to nirvana, death, heaven

[@-ZH]

@@FableErrejeDMR Nirvana isn’t heaven. From Wikipedia In the Buddhist tradition, nirvana has commonly been interpreted as the extinction of the "three fires",[4] or "three poisons",[5][6][note 1] greed (raga), aversion (dvesha) and ignorance (moha).[6] When these fires are extinguished, release from the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra) is attained.

[@ar_drizzy4899]

Agreed about the imagination theory because if u think about it, the way you play your character in the game it isn't in first person it's in third person so that shows you that the third person is the main character imagining all the endings from a third person that's why u play the game in that pov

[@Mina-ox8hm]

just watched a gameplay of all the endings and was soooo confused by Dafoe voicing both the cop and dad, thank you for this video!!

[@Mikuz]

I literally just finished your perfect walkthrough vid. Great timing

[@patfuryy]

That's messed up and I find it pretty interesting. Reminds me alot of Shutter Island in the last theory

[@Akito.9923]

Wow man thanks for the great explanation, it's just mind blowing, I really loved this game, it was so great.

[@mateusbrum2048]

I had a theory very similar to yours, but your theory makes a lot more sense. Loved the video, congrats!

[@chrisbc]

Thank you for this man. I’m really trying to make sense of this too and I think what you’re saying makes sense.

[@Saturn2888]

I thought the same as you. Which is how I came to your video. I needed to better understand the mindfulness ending, and you had an excellent description!

[@Marco_di_Martino]

They use the Overlook Hotel carpet pattern outside the apartment.

[@jackalope7774]

Yes. Clearly that apartment building shines. Haha

[@livivindle9912]

@@jackalope7774 wow

[@RegretfulBirdConsumer]

I knew it looked familiar.

[@livivindle9912]

@@RegretfulBirdConsumer i guess you just overlooked it. Hah

[@MadArtMart]

I'd just noticed the same thing and came to see if someone else had seen it too!

[@JLucas-hz4vh]

I was subscribed to you years ago, I'm glad I found you once again my friend

[@RibasFilms]

Really nice! Thank you

[@orafalemes]

I 100% agree with you! And you were the first person to reach the same conclusion as I did. Thanks for the video!

[@galaxy_mooncat779]

Great video man

[@DanielSaner]

One thing I really loved about the game is how the different endings end in different states. Maybe I'm reading a bit much into it, but I felt like they each comment on coping with trauma or sadness. I thought the game managed very well to reveal the time loops as representing how you can get stuck in what-if scenarios, especially ones that are rationally not going to work out. Your mind trying to find convoluted ways in which everything could work out after all, despite a reality that clearly won't fit. There's the endings that involve trying to keep up the fantasy. But it's not going to get you anywhere, because you know that whatever plan you could come up with is ultimately going to break down. Especially since in this story, the only way of keeping the charade up for a few more years would involve getting rid of that one other person who knows the truth, his own father, who wouldn’t stand for it. Hence, those are the endings that just loop you back, as if you hadn’t finished the game at all. Then there's the endings of trying to forget, or suppress, the trauma. One of them removes the “Continue” option from the main menu, which I found to be a nice touch. But even there you have the hidden option of “remembering”. The other resets your progress - it's no way to move forward, either. You end up falling back into the same trap and thought spiral. And finally, there’s the “bleak” ending, which feels like a true ending to me, as the only way out is to deliberately walk back into the trap of “but what if, after all…”. It’s scary in its bleakness, and I liked how completely ambiguous the game remained about it to represent that (even though I can't help but feel like I'd also appreciated a bit more closure on it). Because while scary, it’s also the only real way to heal and move on. After all, that empty apartment is also just one of the imagined futures of the protagonist, overblown in its negativity as much as the other fantasy was overblown in its unrealistic hopes. And with the watch still there, hidden in the vent, the only object left in the apartment - signifying that the only thing really certain about this other future, is that the threat of falling back into the black hole of what-ifs will always be there, just a thought away in a weak moment. But that it doesn’t have the power, on its own, to prevent you from building a different, better future around it. I'll just leave these thoughts here, which I wrote for another site, where they probably won't get approved though and I confused some things in writing anyway :D

[@johnfuckingwick3919]

this game actually taking the whole internet for some reason.

[@ottere]

and it is an reasoning.

[@andrei-ionutgranat9321]

Some reason? Oh boy, this game aproaches the main idea of undertale, This is a mindfulness, live in the present moment game. It is simply a masterpiece of morality and an awsome choice for people who love timeloop games.

[@ottere]

@@andrei-ionutgranat9321 I was just rolling with it. and i have made some fatal errors because of my way of giving that speech two days early.

[@resul8777]

Wow this was smart thank you! Now I got it amazing explanation

[@jessek4474]

Great explanation!

[@rinkuki9169]

Man I lovee your theory 👍 Thank you

[@raphialhebert]

So far you're the only video I've watched that sees the same theory I had as well. I absolutely agree with your theory, and I feel so many people focused too much on the plot twist about the half-sister being your wife, that it's easy to distract from the reality that most, if not all of this, was in his imagination.

[@HeatherHill2020]

I really like your theory VGS. Have you noticed the changing tree painting in the living room behind the couch? It changes seasons -- or at least from blooming to dead. Where are you seeing the ouroboros symbology? You mentioned a painting?

[@northernwizard745]

The Ouroboros/egg painting is in the bottom right corner of the apartment, above the oven.

[@HeatherHill2020]

Ah! I see it now. Thanks!!

[@The_AndroidSentByCyberlife]

Great video i agree with your statemnts

[@ashtongrisham2689]

No one is gonna talk about the floor pattern in the hotel being the same in The Shining.

[@jentheredhead4698]

Lol first thing I noticed

[@michaelpolston5240]

I just finished this game and honestly...I think it's pretty silly. I was seeing so many things online like "yo this game really goes places" and "it gets suuuper dark" and I don't know, maybe I'm just not as sensitive to this content as some people but my big takeaway after watching your excellent video is just...this game sure was tedious and the twists and turns speak more to how much creator likes Memento and speaks less to the fact that he actually has something important to say.

[@jknifgijdfui]

personally i actually loved the big twist purely cause of how much it made me laugh that moment of realization when i read those baby clothes one last time and that sense of oh no made me laugh way more than any point and click i have ever played it was the build up of hours and dozens of loops to that one revelation that sold it to me

[@michaelpolston5240]

@@jknifgijdfui Yeah I can totally see that. I think one of my problems with the twist is that I figured out what it was on my own but didn't actually get to witness it for several more loops because I kept doing something incorrectly that caused me to have to repeat the same sequence over and over until, when I finally got there, I was just irritated with the game and the reveal that I had been working toward no longer had weight.

[@jknifgijdfui]

@@michaelpolston5240 i googled a guide near the end so i didnt cause im stupid it totally blindsided me

[@vixiestarfire]

incest/family murder is pretty dark idk 😅

[@-ZH]

Just for my information, what would you consider a dark game?

[@JackJones-hl9pq]

My opinion is I think the core of the game is best explained as a father trying to get his long-lost son who is desperately, obsessively in love with his half-sister to move on/"knock it off" but there's still lots of things to ponder around the edges. Excellent summary/theory video.

[@MikeyJBlakeJR]

I really like this theory. Honestly, it makes more sense than any other explanations I've heard

[@Soulsphere001]

It actually makes sense that the Mindfulness ending is the true ending, especially since the ending where you're hypnotized is, I suppose, the original ending that seems to get you to where you are in the beginning of the game.

[@kulich5388]

Very interesting theory. Now it all makes sence.The voice of the father, also him knowing about pregnancy

[@moonlitxangel5771]

Something else I feel that points to the legitimacy of the Mindfulness ending being the true ending: every time that we learn a fact about what happened or there's a major revelation one of the three outer circles on the block move to the 12 position. I don't recall when the second one happens, but the first happens iirc when the husband finds out that he's the half-brother. While the credits play for the mindfulness ending, the third circle (the outer most one) is slowly moving in to place and rests at the top in the 12 position with the others. I think these represent him coming to terms with reality as it is. Beyond that I think it's hard to say how true much of the story is beyond the fact that the guy has fallen for his half-sister and is struggling to accept that the woman he wants is unobtainable. By the mindfulness ending, I feel like he's come to terms with this fact after falling off the acceptance wagon a time or two.

[@Bob.Roberts]

The hallway with the Overlook hotel carpeting was an interesting touch, another hint that things are just not what they seem.

[@sepphero9639]

Actually i have another theory, i think only that tume jump backwards to the fight with the father is in his head head and i actually don't think that he is her brother, i think he makes that up in his mind but let me explain. (Please consider that some details could be misunderstood by me or wrong translated into german) Near the start of the game the wife explaines that she meet him AFTER new years eve and only in that new town miles away. But in this look back the fight where the father is shot only occures because they already where in an incestuous relationship. That are two completely unmatching things are they not? I think he only made that up because those two woman actually had the same name and because his mind is tired from this time loop and is searching for a reason. Another possible hint on that is that you don't have a bad/mean achievement name for this probably incestuous ending unlike the coward ending

[@Erencrypt]

that's really made me think about game and i think you pointing an interesting details, i like this theory.

[@ErinJeanette]

Interesting!!

I agree with your theory.

[@addie_is_me]

Sounds good.

[@Edrigangr]

The daughter/wife never knew this is her half brother. But the protagonist knows and the father knows. This is proven by the allegory of the picture. In his minds view, this clears his wife and proves her innocence; "We met after New Years" is like your New Years resolutions or how people use that day to end a chapter in their life and start a new one. The picture is there to portrait that the girl is innocent in all of this; That is the murder, during the time loops - And the knowledge that this is an incestrous relationship, in reality.

[@FableErrejeDMR]

i like your theory it really make's sense

[@tylerbivins9807]

It's not a theory it's real

[@fadedlegi0n]

This is the most reasonable to believe. I love this.

[@soybb]

Love your theory. What do you think about the father knowing about the baby? Could it be that they are already in a relationship and had a baby then father found out which led to this "therapy"? Also, about father's death being 8 years ago, 8 also represent the infinity figure so that's also a symbol.

[@tudKjp1035]

this was my theory too when i played the game yesterday, but the reason why the father is trapping him in a 12 minute illusion is because he wants to make him forget about his feelings for his sister completely,and he didn't try to change his mind because he knows that the son will never give up on her and that's why he trapped him in 12 minutes of hell to break him to lead him to a point where he can't stand this anymore, and only then the son will beg his father to make him forget his fellings for her after he told the father about that sentence in the book and that's where you really get the true ending by giving it all up and forgetting averything about your wife, it's really tricky because in order to get the real ending you have to never give up and keep playing longer than the others. But when you get to the end when you get to the end of the game force you to give up and surrender to the father to get released from that hypnosis, the ending is really ironic but only if you understand my point.

[@addie_is_me]

So where are the sister and the baby when he forgets them?

[@tudKjp1035]

@@addie_is_me the game is basically you being trapped in a illusion by your father and the only way to get out is to forget about your love to your half sister that's all but i still believe or hope that you can still get out from the illusion without forgeting about her

[@tlhpr0vidence579]

@@addie_is_me the way i understand it, the true ending that op is talking about is set before the sister had the baby, the protagonist gets to forget his feelings about her, before it all happened

[@RattlersPurple]

For context, I grew up playing video games, beginning with the Atari 2600, and they have been a passion of mine my entire life. When I heard about this game, it registered on my radar (especially since Annapurna was involved) and I recognized that it looked interesting, but not enough to make me rush out and get it day one. Although I believe Game Pass is an amazing service (and deal), I just do not have the time to make it worth it. Last week (November 2022) I happened to catch that 12 Minutes was on sale and thought I would give it a try, which is why I am coming at this over a year after release. I did not read any reviews or watch any analysis videos before my first play through; however, I went deep into that arena after I was done with the game (i.e., experienced all the endings). Even though I have a strong stomach, I will admit that there were things about the game that initially disturbed me - things I did and things I learned that certainly did not make me feel good. Although I found some very interesting and insightful theories (yours included!), it never quite sat well with me and I found myself replaying and going over every little detail (the rings of the clock, whether the Father has hair or not in the library, when the paintings change, etc.) to try and definitively answer the question: Why did the developer, who has a reputation for producing fascinating experiences, craft this game in the way they did? Despite all the high concept theories, I still felt like something was missing. The theory I am about to propose finally donned on me as I was contemplating the absurdity of the situation where the only way to get the final twist is to show the Cop the onesie at the precisely correct moment. We as the player already know Husband's mother's name was Dahlia, and we know that Husband knows his own mother's name. Why the hell couldn’t he have just said that in that moment: "Wait, was her name Dahlia?" Why make us go through the trouble to figure out such an obtuse way of presenting this information? And then it hit me…. what if that was the developer's intent all along? What if the purpose of the experience was to develop a construct that would test how far YOU as the player, the one who is ultimately controlling the actions of the game character, would go to “finish the game”? We as gamers have been conditioned for decades to believe that games include a beginning ("Press Start") and a predetermined end - it is our job to figure out how to get there, and we typically enjoy doing so, which is ultimately why we love playing. Over and over and over again, this is what playing a video game boils down to. If my theory is correct, the brilliance of this game experience is that the plot and the disturbing twists and the horrific violence has nothing to do with the game world itself, but has all been crafted to see how far you are willing to go, how deep are you willing to dig, to do the one thing you think you are supposed to do in every game you play - finish the game. Think about all the awful things YOU did (drug your pregnant wife, torture and kill a man, use a man's cancer stricken daughter as a pawn, etc.); think about the horrific things you witnessed because of the actions YOU took (watching your pregnant wife be murdered and framed for suicide while you hide in a closet, watch your father die at your hand, etc.) ; think about how hard YOU had to work to figure out the obtuse puzzles to advance the plot (the light switch, the onesie, calling Bumblebee, etc.). And all for what? Only to discover that the climax of the plot is that your character killed his father and married and impregnated his sister? [borderline Oedipus complex, right?] All your trial and error, all the trauma you put yourself through, only to uncover an unquestionably disturbing revelation. It’s difficult to imagine a more horrific scenario, which I believe is the point. The whole thing is set up to challenge and punish you for your preconceived notions about what a video game is. Only by YOU choosing to advance the plot (and working extremely hard to do so) do you experience the atrocities and reveal the final abomination. Everybody seems to want to come down on the developers for trying to be "shocking" and that the puzzles were too obtuse and that the whole thing "doesn't pay off", but what they are forgetting is that THEY are the ones who chose to continue to go down that path. THEY are the ones who tried every crazy possibility and committed unspeakable atrocities to advance the plot. The developer did not force us to do these things - we chose to do them because we cannot help ourselves and we will do whatever it takes to “finish the game”. Don’t believe me? See what happens if YOU don’t touch the controller/mouse on your first loop...

[@718NecroLeX]

Im pretty sure the wife being called bumblebee in the alternate reality is a reference to the butterfly effect. Alongside the idea that bees are attracted to flowers (like butterflies) but at the same time are capable of stinging. Idk why the theme of incest is involved but the idea of accepting reality and what's morally correct by visualizing all the possible outcomes and seeing how it falls apart is the only redeeming outlook you can form on this game. I think making the wife your sister was the only way the devs could get the marriage to be the 'wrong' choice.

[@SladkiyStream]

Not wrong in Alabama, i guess

[@jaybirdt374]

Bumblebee is the cop’s daughter, not the wife

[@718NecroLeX]

@@jaybirdt374 somebody didn't watch the video. The cop is the father. It's like parallels

[@AuthorityCat]

Well I mean incest only really matters when a couple is considering having a child, which many couples never do, especially in the modern world. I think the main problem with this game is that the developers expect the player to think of incest as an entirely evil thing when in reality it's more of a grey area. In many cultures throughout history it's been accepted and sometimes even expected. In a future world where medical science is so advanced that someone can be brought back to life after death, murder won't be a most serious crime like it is now. Long before that people will stop having children regularly (see current birth rate statistics), plus lab grown children will be common. Incest wouldn't be frowned upon with the expectation that a couple typically won't have a child/ may not even be male/female in the first place given recent societal trends. People forget that society changes, it's just slow. But it still does and therefore pokes holes in thought experiments like this one that assumes the half sister/brother WILL have a child. Then again, that would be the father/brother's assumption during the interrogation, so it does make sense in that regard. It's not trying to say anything beyond what those two characters were thinking but was a little heavy handed from time to time in my opinion. Pretty good game all things considered.

[@hongngocnguyen7744]

First of all, great video man. I do have a similar idea when I myself finish the game actually, that all of this is just an imagination in the messed up mind of the protagonist. Cause I do feel that the twist that the protagonist just forgot that he killed his father/their father (maybe due to trauma) is kinda off and persuaded. If this is a hypnotized session it would make much more sense. One thing I noticed but I am not sure is it a bug or not. That sometime when I use the watch to get back to the two minutes loop, I find the father is actually bald, somehow. I meant he is literally the cop and he is talking to me in the library. I was so confused actually, and thought that it was just a bug. P/s: okay so not just me get this, cause I saw a video about endings of the game and in the video, after the alone ending, when he comes back to the library, the father is now bald. It is really weird right? Does anyone have an explanation on this?

[@Edrigangr]

It's not a bug. The father/cop represents your biggest obstacle when you decide to pursue a romantic relationship with your half sister. In your imaginary stories, the cop almost never treats you right, he steps over the line and uses unlawful methods even to the point of killing while trying to save his daughter from cancer ( The allegory is that you are like cancer for his daughter) The way the cop mistreats you is your minds view of how your father mistreated you, never caring about you or your feelings; He only really cares about the 'little girl'.

[@Ok-ok-ok-ok-ok]

@@Edrigangr the cop tries to make u realize the truth by killing her in ur mind basically to make u stop loving her

[@shawshank_1317]

This game deserves a movie of its own!

[@PentiSam]

I think they pulled the incest aspect of it to the fore to show the son rationalizing his neglect in favour of the daughter. That the son believes she must be something so incredible compared to him, that the ultimate joy, the ultimate display of his worth would be in her falling in love with him.

[@hoohohohter]

I also think it's a moral dilemma. He's overthinking so much and the dad in aiding it to the point where he's stuck inside his mind, instead of leaving in the moment (the clock hands finally allining). In a sense, every time he went to the 'therapy room' he was faced with the same choices - yet he still tried to predict where each one would lead him from the point of therapy based on the things he already felt and knew. For example if he left, he might not be alone in an appratment, he might meet someone new. But to him it feels like it because she's all he can currently see as a home and future. I believe the child wasn't his, as she speaks of an affair. I think he was coping with losing her and her dad was helping him move on.

[@CSDragon]

While you're right about everything happening in the mind of the main character as he's being hypnotized, I'm pretty sure there is a child in the "real world" as well, which is what sparked his meeting with the father that day.

[@Amodh1257]

well it depends on when the "real world" is right? is it the same day the father would've been dead in the fictional world (aka 8 years before the loop) or is it somewhere around when the present day would have been in the loop

[@CSDragon]

@@Amodh1257 His "death" acts as the divergence of events for the hypnosis world, so it's probably still that day in reality

[@Amodh1257]

@@CSDragon Well then 8 years ago there couldn't have been a child. The meeting could've been anything, like the dad figuring out they were dating

[@CSDragon]

@@Amodh1257 why couldn't there have been? We don't know how old they are. Remember, it's not actually 8 years ago, the room scene is actually a hypothetical 8 years in the future. The father mentions pregnancy in one of the "flashbacks" so it's likely something that accidentally happened in the real world

[@CSDragon]

@@Amodh1257 It's also possible, since the father becomes bald in one of the true flashback, that there is no "8 years ago" and instead the hypnosis world is an alternate history where the father had been killed 8 years ago and from that point events diverge

[@AchievingAchievement]

I had an ending where the cop talks to me rather than the father, which is very confusing tbh

[@ErinJeanette]

Yes I'm confused by that part too.

[@justamanofculture12]

That must be rare

[@ErinJeanette]

@@justamanofculture12 its when the guy talking to you suddenly has a bald head

[@Hououin_Kyoma]

Yes, same thing happened to me and it confused the hell out of me

[@Hououin_Kyoma]

Any ideas of what could that mean?

[@fynflorentine2512]

Can you make a vid about Pocket Mirror game? Beautiful game

[@saihikaruno]

I managed to complete almost all endings by myself I got all the endings correct alone ending except picking up the book which is the continue ending which I realized a book fell off the shelves which I could not pick it up and the mindfulness ending which nobody actually can thought of dragging the time to get this endings And those who likes this game are those who solved the puzzle by themselves and think they are smart Those who hate this game is like those who can't solve the tedious puzzle and they felt stupid for not achieve the reward by solving the puzzle that is why the rating

[@gianrodriguez6249]

this game is absolutely perfect in every way and is the exact type of game i would have loved to play if i didn’t already know all of the endings and understand the entire storyline :/ so if y’all know any games similar to this one that i could give a try lmk

[@kolonel1216]

Disco Elysium I think is kinda similar

[@feartrain1282]

It’s kinda hard to find one to recommend since this game’s pretty unique. But if it’s the story, evolving mystery part you liked, I’d recommend THE OUTER WILDS. a totally different genre but I loved in same ways I loved 12 minutes…. DISCO ELYSIUM I’ll second that, that’s a great recommendation

[@CorDharel]

Stanley Parable is like this I heard

[@dungeondumbo]

The father becomes the Cop in subsequent library scenes (at least on my version)….so the Cop’s dying daughter is the brother’s mother (the nanny).

[@slushguy8398]

I’ve watch a few of these videos but nobody paid much attention to the two other doors at the beginning. Combined with the two paintings… I believe the left side represents the acknowledgment that you were a mistake (red book) and that there was no place for you in your father’s life (already a kid in the appartement). The right side, the apartment is empty and the character says, “i wonder if someone will ever rent this unit”. I think it represents the void created by the absence of a mother figure (for whom you are responsable for her death). I think it has something to do with the main character being abandoned at birth… but I will be thinking about this game for a while…

[@bardiaeskandarian8224]

Guys !!!! i dont think so that his father hypnotism him ! if you fall back in the second 11 : 58 you will see that he dont say father ! he says : "sir!?" so its not his father thats hypnotisming ! 🧐 maby its his psychologist that is helping him to what to choose ? ( be with girl and forget that she is her sister or live her or forget everything in his mind !!!!

[@apocreg11]

Sounds about right to me!

[@relarin952]

Honestly this entire gane is just a lot like its very thought provoking but just its so so much

[@molki1111]

I think it's a little different. So you are in a therapy session, but everything even the father and the hypnosis is part of the man's stories. The man is obsessing about a woman he cannot be together with. Maybe it's because she's dead or not interested or really his sister, we don't know. So during the therapy the man comes up with a story to create an excuse for himself why they cannot be together and how it's not his fault. The progression of the story is the therapist dismantling the stories the man comes up with and trying to make him accept reality. That's why the story becomes more complicated every time, going from "there is a murderer coming for her" to "she has killed her father in the past" to "she's actually my half sister" to "I was hypnotized the whole time". It's the man coming up with new excuses for himself. In the end the therapist says that making up and believing these excuses is unhealthy and he needs to wake up and accept reality.

[@miguelmansuesta4634]

Te quedan dos ano a lo 42 cuero venden cafe en lo cavare

[@chriss.249]

I think the best way to describe this game would be "Sweet home Looper" 😂

[@bruhder5854]

I am very confused by the "his daughter" part at 8:20. So this other William Dafoe is another person from the cop but he's not actually the father of the girl since he died a week after she shot him. So then who exactly is he?

[@Ok-ok-ok-ok-ok]

He never died the father made this story in his mind basically to confuse him the father in this hypnosis is the cop the daughter is rappresented by bumblebee pure and with cancer the cancer is the brother and the wife that is the brother desire and as u can see by each loop he gets less interested in her except the perfect night one but basically the loop objective was to make him less attached to her infact the cop kills her most of times to show how the father wants to get rid of this desire of his

[@baconwithmoreeggs7938]

My theory (before I fully finished the game)is that the brother/main character also died in childbirth and only lived for 12 minutes and the game was a manifestation of the fathers guilt. The baby crying next door would have been the sound of the him crying after being born. Now I’ve finished I don’t think it’s true at all but there wasn’t really a significance to the 12 minutes so I was trying to think of one

[@baconwithmoreeggs7938]

@Floating Battalyst Oh I didn’t know that about pocket watches. Fair enough 😂

[@moaidm2269]

here is a theory about the Continue lets think of it that way so you chose to that your memory will get deleted meaning that you as the player will forget what happend in the game or even think and say what is this game so you start the game over again and then you do the same and the same simply creating a time loop when you keep playing the game forgeting and then playing it again forgeting and it keeps on happing doesnt that also explain why the game is about a time loop? because its not a 1 time loop its 2 time loops one is in the game and 2 is in real life because you keep getting memory deleted and so does the save game and go to the same thing over and over and so does the protaginst? i think that explains alot

[@pub795]

I like your theory

[@RohanGuptarg]

The mindfulness ending depicts the Protagonist making sure the clock physically strikes 12, thereby eliminating any chance of him living out the imagined time-loops (that all start from 12) in reality. It shows his mind putting the final nail in the coffin of his love for his step-sister, allowing him to move on.

[@user-iw3xr4nu2d]

Woah... I understand how this protagonist, imagined the possibilities of what might happen if he pick his choices

[@kyleyuen245]

This now makes the Green goblin voicing the cop and father makes more sense

[@shadowmasterking6542]

Can you do a prototype video

[@wetwave6591]

SO that is why I thought I heard "Sweet Home Alabama" in the background.

[@lindatantular2547]

Omg this game is so messed up but amazing story line. Loving it

[@LadyFeverdream]

James McCavoy, Daisy Ridley and William DaFoe did an AMAZING voice acting job for this.

[@Thickboi15]

Wait I thought the father was dead, I'm confused because the cop and dad are both voiced by green goblin?

[@te6020]

They should really turn this game into a movie some day.

[@Verinagie]

This is why I actually dont wanna play games like his anymore - so tired of all this "think what you want" crap. When I eat food - I want to feel fed in the end, I dont want to guess if I am full or not. And when I read or see a story I want to see the ending and not spend time guessing what the hell happened in there for real. It was fun few times but it's time to stop really. If you can't finish the story - it has no meaning. I'm up for open endings but not this bullshit of who whe hell knows what really happened.

[@PackRunners]

I originally posted this as a comment to someone else, but for the sake of getting some opinions. I think every ending happened, but not necessarily in the order we experience it. If we assume that both referenced pregnancies are the same pregnancy that gives us a timeline that begins with some form of the apartment scene minus the cop, at which point the father is informed of the inbred baby and calls on the husband to tell him the unfortunate news that he happens to be related to the mother of his child. That leads to three consecutive events that we see play out at individual endings. He first agrees to cut ties, but upon living alone in his apartment he realizes that's not a loop he wants to be in, so he goes back at which point the father offers to help him forget in order to move on, but his mind fights it's way through the hypnotism wreaking havoc on his psyche in the process and he goes back a final time to tell the father he can't live without her, they fight and eventually the father is shot and killed. Everything else that we now witness is his shattered psychological timeline, mixed in with his own created antagonist and the added layer of the wife shooting him the first time as a defense against reality.

[@VkrauRJ]

The biggest tip is the pregnancy. The father died 8 years ago. but for some reason, he knows about the pregnancy, that the man just found out about.

[@blueskies2334]

Kind of unrelated, but this game is 100% inspired by the Stanley Parable. It's the only other indie game I can think of that has this particular style of time looping- you begin in the same place, but accumulate knowledge as you go, using it to unlock different parts of the narrative. Even down to the vague endings up to interpretation.

[@monikafalanoyle]

Something tells me that these 2 games take place in the same universe im idiot.

[@AdlerPostHC]

If "What are you doing, step-brother" was a game...

[@bitviper3430]

I think that the Alone ending and the Mindfulness ending is what really happened, and everything else is the imagination of the brother

[@woomylover2006]

I started this game as “cool time loop game” and ended as “what the fuck is this”

[@jamall7003]

"the nanny that birthed yo-er uh your wife's half brother" 🤣

[@anjelika5628]

I believe bumblebee is the wife/sister. Bumblebee with Cancer is interpretantion the wife/sister incest relationship with the half brother. And the pocket watch is how to save the wife or bumblebee by coming back to present time to choose whether to forget or move on (from theraphy session).

[@haziq9130]

Idk if I'm right, but i think the ending "alone" and the two endings where we meet our father are all the true endings. They go in a chronological order. The first one is where we meet our father, and then we tell this quote from the book and then begin the time loop. The second one is where we're still in the room with our father and the first thing he says is "it was a shock wasn't it?" probably referencing to the hypnotherapy that he gave us. And then after that we stared at the clock and decided to let her go. Last but not least, is the "alone" ending where it's probably been a few years and we're all alone. Probably thinking about what would've happened if we were to marry our sister (😟🤢🤮).

[@Lucifronz]

I thought at first that re-using Willem Dafoe for the Cop and the Father's voices was a lazy move, but I realize now it was intentional. They wanted to blur the two characters together, make the connection between them. It's not indisputable proof that they're telling you they're the same character, but it does hint at the possibility. My best guess is that this all happens in the player character's mind, the Husband/Brother. I think he's obsessed with his sister and imagines, in his psychosis, that he and his sister are married. That he killed his father in order to live with her (or in earlier cases she killed him and hid this from him, etc.). The Daughter could be seen as the Father's connection with his daughter represented in the loop. It makes sense to me that his mind would fabricate him as this awful villain, as he already ruined his life once by abandoning him and allowing him to get where he is (mad and desperate for love). Whether or not he actually killed his father in this scenario is up for debate, but I *think* that the lines by the Cop/Father mix while looking at the clock, and the fact that the game treats this ending differently and doesn't force a loop, tells us that the Husband/Brother is finally letting go of his delusion. He's not just choosing to forget, he's *mindful* of his mistakes, of his insanity, as he is letting it go. Starting the game up again and going into the loop would be him regressing back into madness and the process begins again.

[@CorDharel]

To be honest the game was longer than I thought and I played more loops than I expected but I couldn't stop the game before I finished it so I also felt like I am stuck in an endless time loop haha

[@npcimknot958]

The 12 nidanas, which are pictured as the outer circle in the Wheel of Life, describe the chain of causation by which the cycle of death and rebirth known as samsara is created. They are also known as the 12 links of dependent origination. With basic ignorance as the first cause, each link in the chain is both the result of the previous nidana and the cause of the next. This sequence operates moment to moment as well as lifetime to lifetime. Fundamental ignorance (Pali: avidya) Formation (sankhara) Consciousness (vinnana) Name and form (namarupa) Sense faculties (salayatana) Contact (phassa) Feeling or sensation (vedana) Craving or thirst (tanha) Clinging or grasping (upadana) Becoming or worldly existence (bhava) Birth or becoming (jati) Old age and death (jaramarana) Then we start all over again. Found this too lol. Probabaly over reading it.. but more it does feel like its Buddhism

[@vinhoverde3843]

This is the inception of gaming, just the way it makes you think, never felt that with a game

[@60fpspeasant84]

More like Memento of games. The Inception of games is Psychonaut (1 and 2).

[@miguelmansuesta4634]

@@60fpspeasant84 Ponte para El dinero y suerte El miedo que la jente save quien tu ere que tu vevite en la Copa de sstana y te reite del jajaja

[@miguelmansuesta4634]

@@60fpspeasant84 h

[@mahdytonsey2898]

The continue ending supports this theory

[@mcvideos]

You sound like the postal dude!

[@saihikaruno]

I managed to complete almost all endings by myself I got all the endings correct alone ending except picking up the book which is the continue ending which I realized a book fell off the shelves which I could not pick it up and the mindfulness ending which nobody actually can thought of dragging the time to get this endings And those who likes this game are those who solved the puzzle by themselves and think they are smart Those who hate this game is like those who can't solve the tedious puzzle and they felt stupid for not achieve the reward by solving the puzzle that is why the rating between this game is either praise or hate