Oh, something I forgot to note: this video was inspired in part by Patricia Taxxon's essay, "Celeste's Biggest Mod (and why it's interesting)". I find her way to describing video game aesthetics fascinating, and it was the fastest 50 minutes I had in my life. I heavily suggest checking it out!
first reply but i wont waste it on this, i love your videos and this might be my favourite so either this or the one about the out of bounds are my favourite :)
My friend and I found a Minecraft server that was a scale recreation of Disneyworld. They had barriers set up so players couldn't climb on top of buildings, into rides, out of the park. They also had rules and server staff to catch people who found ways around the barriers. My friend and I would spend hours trying to maneuver our way into rides, onto buildings, out of the park. It was so much more exciting because of the threat of getting caught, too. The "behind the scenes" stuff was always interesting too. They had parade floats that were being built for special plugins, funny projects the admins were working on, star wars ships, etc. It was really cool to see. We called it "cracking the map". We cracked into splash mountain, and when other players were nearing the top of the lift hill in their mine cart, we'd push them back down. It was a lot of fun and some good memories
what i expected: a deep philosophical essay that will make me question the nature of not only video games but also life and art. what i got: car (great video, looking forward for more)
8:35 This pretty much articulates one of my favorite feelings in gaming. It's part of why Half-Life and Prey 2017 are two of my favorite games ever, the impression that you're not in a location that exists for the sake of being a playspace. It doesn't feel like the devs are winking at you.
Your video essays are great man. Your talent of going in depth on certain topics whereas others wouldn’t be able to scratch the surface is really something special.
I love these videos. The way the editing flows, the way that even the most jarring change, from rainworld straight back to spaghetti stil feels right somehow, that everything is though out. These videos are not out of bounds, but at the same time they are.
The concept of "game areas not meant to be played" reminded me of how "real life applications" work. Different from school, in work there are often no clear guideline. People just put some nonsense in front of you and expect you to make the problem go away. Some tasks were so out of place, all I could do was scratch my head and shrug cluelessly. But there was also a sense of boundless freedom. All rules and conventions were thrown out of the window and the ultimate goal was to solve the problem - doesn't matter what tools or methods are used. Applying already learned skills, exploring new ones, observe and analyse. I wish there are more opportunities in life we can actually enjoy that feeling of freedom. No enforced pointless rules, but just exploring. Anyways, great video!
as a trackmania fan for more than 10 years i really loved this video, i relate a lot to your feelings on the maps. good luck for the wr and keep grinding!
Idk what happened here, I never turn on RUclips notifications and don’t pay attention to my subscriptions, but here i am having watched your newest video for the 3rd time, after having binge watched all your others since the games you can’t play anymore video popped into my feed. I don’t know how to describe how much I relate to your views, and specifically the way in which you present them, it just connects with me on a level that I didn’t know I had.
My favourite out of bounds videogame moment was when I found (as I like to call it) The Lab in Subnautica Below Zero. I wanted to build my base really high, so that I can see far away and after hours long building, jumping, falling and glitching I finally did it, I climbed up the cliff that was not supposed to be climbed up and what I found was... scary and interesting. The interseting part was The Lab, it was an open space full of signs with different Ice Worm animations and when I walked near the Worm appeared and did the animation. It was probably here for testing during development and I was super happy to find it without knowing it from RUclips. The scary part was the emptyness, the snow was too flat, too perfect, the mountains too, it was unnatural and wierd... and I love it, I hope some game will expand upon this and make place like this specifically for players who work their way there, out of bounds and find ghost towns, empty fields, NPCs you know from story as allies and enemies standing still... to expland that feeling of limital space
i love how many emotions and interpretations trackmania has created, ross' game dungeon video is also a banger in a similar vein. Such a great bizarre game
Rain world remains one of my favorite games because it feels like it goes on without me like i can imagine my lizard sitting in the den waiting for me to return
Rain World really is something else. The feeling I get while i watch two lizards fight or attacked by a vulture is completely different from any game i've ever played. Its actually so impressive how the devs managed to make the world and creatures feel realistic.
found out abt this channel last month,, lots of horride stuff happened since but your content really helped me wind off. soothing, relaxing and educational while at it
When I think about a "game that doesn't care about you" I immediately think of Darkest Dungeon. This game does not give a shit whether you're having fun or not, it will throw everything at you, taking everything that you've gained away from you in an instant. It is unbearable and soul crushing and I love it.
A game that doesn't care about the player, meaning that he isn't the super hero that saves the day or something , is stalker. The world goes by its own without the player doing anything. He's just another artifact hunter, just another adventurer among many others.
another game i'd like to bring up which i think fits in the same vein is Fear And Hunger. it's essentially a survival jrpg dungeon crawler horror game, but honestly, it's so much more than it's labels. despite the fact that you're really not "in nature" for most of the game, it truly does feel like you are in an uncaring wilderness, in uncharted and unknown territory. each battle feels like a sheer chance of luck you even won it, and the game takes every possible chance to punish you in some way. it truly doesn't care about you. you're a human in the lands of gods. i'd recommend going in blind, but that's like eating a macaroon and realizing it's filled with wasabi
this is a really interesting video and honestly inspired me creatively. i've always loved that feeling that comes when you realize a game doesn't care about you, i've found it in games like NaissanceE and also when trying to get into unintended areas in certain games like what you talked about in this video. i'm working on a game currently based on several combinations of procedural generation, and i've often wondered how much i should try to control that noise and have it make sense to the player or how much i should just let the noise run loose and see what happens. what you said towards the end of this video was really thought provoking, when you said the trackmania map "felt like nature". i feel like games should lean into that more. this medium is so interesting in that we are creating interactive environments that the player is set free in, and the possibility space is potentially endless. endless to the point that even the developer has no idea what kind of experiences/feelings are fully possible within that environment. in most contexts it makes sense to put up safeguards to help create a coherent, intentional experience for the player, but what if the virtual environment didn't have those safeguards? i wonder what kind of games could be achieved when fully leaning into this mindset, that feeling that comes with being in an environment that truly feels like it was not made for you is really something special. super interesting topic and great video, looking forward to more from you.
Glad someone brought up NaissanceE. It has a lot of areas that most players won't even see. Huge rooms with hulking shapes. Not a human structure. Not meant for us.
@@Soul-Burn seriously love that game. have never played something that felt so viscerally eerie like it. it was such a strange experience i still think about it a lot
Reading this title, the 2 games which I thought of were Mario Kart Wii and Subnautica. I'm glad they were both clips in the video. I see you have great taste. I love Mario Kart Wii so much despite really disliking the new Mario Kart games. The driving mechanics really feel like you are in control of your character using your skill and knowledge to move around the map fast. Sometimes it feels like the tracks are not designed for you, especially by taking shortcuts. And the glitches... nothing feels better than clipping off a random pole and skipping most of Sherbet Land, it feels like you are conquering the game on your own terms. The new games just feel like you are going along the path glued to the road. Subnautica is amazing at making you feel completely lost, isolated, and confused, while subtly nudging you in the right direction. I think the detailed map despite, being very small, is the pinnacle of amazing world design. Despite having a somewhat veiled linear progression, it never feels like you are following the steps like other story based games, you are just learning and achieving mastery of each region. It's quite the opposite of placing a character in a world made independently; it creates a world to expertly cultivate that feeling, while still letting you solve problems with your own solutions and interesting interactions with the environment.
This channel never disappoints, holy shit, the way you manage to verbalize things and feelings I love about games I but don't know how to explain is so satisfying
Awesome video! The spaghetti track reminds me of a freaky dream I had over a decade ago but still remember clear as day. There was a giant monolithic cube covered in eldritch symbols, suspended in an endless sky. Wrapped around the exterior was an infinite staircase like the Penrose stairs from Escher's "Ascending and Descending". In the distance, threatening to blast the monolith out of the sky, was a freshly detonated nuclear weapon that was suspended in time at the moment of the blast. All that could be heard was the idea of the blast looped over the "City in the Sky" from Twilight Princess. Keeping said destruction at bay was a procession of Jesus Christs marching in sync around the staircase. Specifically, each of them looked like this Jesus from this old Flash game (maybe someone can help me remember what it was called...I remember his face was just a couple crossed lines and I think he fought demons or something with a bunch of rifles and whatnot). Their fate was to stay locked in their parade forever, using their eternal lives to stave off the nuke or be destroyed by it. They could only ever see the back of the Jesus in front of them and the dizzying expanse that gave way to nothingness out of the corner of their vision. They kept the cataclysm frozen by only ever thinking of two words..."walk" and "think". Anything beyond that would have meant the end. The thing that still terrifies me is that somewhere there might be a dimension where this is still happening, and what an experience it would be to be one of those possessed saviors. I haven't thought about this dream in years, but seeing the track brought it all back in an instant. It evoked in me a feeling of being in limbo despite our desire to seek emergent patterns in an otherwise repetitive sequence. Phew...I think I need to go for a long walk and think for awhile lol
The out of bounds has always meant more for me. Expcially nintendo games, the way the backgrounds felt so real that i wondered more about the intended world beyond more than exploring glitchy spots
I used to think people who played racing games were probably boring for wanting to just drive around in a virtual car on a virtual road to a useless destination. Then I found this channel.
One of my favorite game worlds is that of Kenshi. It’s unforgiving, packed to the brim with lore, and would be perfectly fine without the player. People live their lives, trying to survive in a post-post-apocalyptic wasteland with no one immune to nature or other people. At your strongest, you’re still vulnerable to many things
I felt a bit of this playing The Outer Wilds, at least at first. That game captures both the majesty and pants-shitting terror of space, but also just exploration in general. And I feel it does that by giving the player the freedom to fail. When I jumped out of my spaceship without my spacesuit on, the game didn't pop up a little warning message about a lack of breathable air. I just suffocated to death on the spot. When I turned on autopilot and had my spaceship fly towards a planet that was passing behind the Sun, the game didn't pop up a warning about an obstruction in the way. My ship flew gaily into the sun and incinerated me. When I climbed into an alien spaceship and turned on the launch controls without thinking, and launched myself directly at the Sun (again), the game didn't tell me how to change course or reverse. I just flew into the sun and was incinerated (again). Over and over and over, the game leaves these thoughtless little deathtraps in the player's path. There are so many ways to die in that game. For every new player I've seen, the early game is always a comedy of errors. A parade of deadly rakes to the face. But for every player who sticks with it, all that punishment breeds respect for the world and its rules. And with that respect comes attentiveness, focus and learning. And eventually, mastery of the game and its world, and a casual approach to its dangers that would seem absurd to a new player. That's not to say that the game doesn't want you to finish it. It very clearly does. *But it doesn't care if you don't.* That's the key point, I think: indifference. Not cruelty - forcing the player through ridiculous hoops just to see the end - but apathy. The Outer Wilds is harsh and unforgiving the way a mountain is harsh and unforgiving. It will kill you dead without a second thought, because it has no thoughts at all. It's a big pile of rock, and you're the damn fool who decided to climb it. But it has rules, and you'd better learn them if you want to reach the summit. The player must adapt to the game, because the game will not concede to the player.
I have just discovered your channel, and oh man what a hidden gem it is. It feels sincere, "real", somehow. Thank you very much for the experiences you carefully craft.
One game I love for its natural dangerous is the redone Elite Dangerous. Until recently, you carried all your goods. Anything you want to keep safe can be taken from you in the blink of an eye. You do have ship insurance, so it’s not like permadeath, but some of the ships you own in the end game are so expensive to pay for insurance. The game has taken on a much tamer sense in time, but there is still this overwhelming feeling of dread when you fly into the stream of a neutron star, knowing if you get too close, you won’t escape, and you will die. It’s not nearly as cutthroat as some other games, but there’s this wonderful feeling of danger when you’re 50,000 light years away from any settlement and if you die, the past month+ is lost.
Time to write a propper comment So yeah, did not expect a this type of video, it's really well made, the "uncarring artist's masterpiece" title is suprisingly accurate And my best part is 8:24 , the despair Also the very huge jump/last downhill at the far right i like to call that the "final boss", when building i left 1/3 gap there for bo reason, and when i re gained "care" i wanted that section to be really dense with no hole, and also made some paths to go back to fill out some holes i found You make good content, will check out other vids, and good luck on the WR hunt, ~10 mins left, not that far
@@TheCursedJudge yeah, 2 mins away from wr, dont know why i said 10 mins (probably saw the minute start and called it there), so Pole__ kinda hunted the map, damn And yeah, i love these types of videos that makes you think differently
I'm not gonna lie, I keep replaying the nascar section at 7:50 HAHAHAH it's too good. I was in such deep thought that it immediately got me smiling and giggling like a little girl. thanks
This topic reminds me of the much forgotten SSX game on PS3/360. It was seen as a disappointment by many SSX fans, but I really enjoyed it. The big thing about this game is that the developers took real topographical data from mountain ranges across the world and used segments of them as baselines for their tracks. This allowed them to create over 40 playable tracks, as they didn't need to design them from scratch. Because of this approach, they felt very much like natural places. My favourites were those in Antarctica, which really gave off the vibe of being lost in a near infinite sea of snow and ice. There are no crowds cheering you on. It feels much more like you're on your own out in this vast wilderness. Sure, this did mean that the levels didn't have the incredible hand-crafted design of the previous titles, but overall I still think it's a great game.
congrats on getting to the big ones, my condolences to all the things that will drastically limit your creative output and good luck on staying up there
YO, I WAS WATCHING THE VIDS YOU POSTED A LONG TIME AGO! Your videos are so good i didn't even notice till about halfway that this was a new video! You can mantain good content from then and now! And getting better and better at it! Please, post more, and more and more! lovely!
i find it funny how i listen to this guy talking about out of bounds and a racing game and somehow by the end of the video it all makes sense. and it really made me want to try out trackmania and the spaghetti map. i'm not sure if i'll try it out but i think i will.
I'm a fledgling game developer. One of my pie-in-the-sky ideas is this fantasy simulation/RPG that aims for that feeling of being unwelcoming and indifferent to the player. The tutorial campaign might have some accommodations to the new players, but once the tutorial is over, the player is thrown right in the middle of a world that doesn't gve a crap about the player. It aims for maximum procedurality to create tons of all kinds of obstacles that emerge not so from through hand-tailored design, but from happenstancce and the world developing in ways that forces player to consider their choices carefully and adapt to circumstances. There's a magic system in the core of the gameplay loop (you play as a witch), but to truly use magic, it's not so much about finding the spell the developer intended for you to cast, but more about studying, researching and experimenting how magic works and coming up with creative solutions that will give you just enough of an edge to overcome the kinds of cruel and unforgiving challenges that you will encounter. The developers haven't put up a river that blocks your path to teach you about a mechanic to cross that river - it just happens to be a very rainy season and the map generator just happened to spawn a river there. You simply need to cross it to reach an important destination to which the procedural breadcrumbs are taking you. Maybe you're good at frost spells and need to freeze the river. Maybe you know how to teleport and can cross the river that way. Or perhaps you know how to transform into a fish. Or maybe you find a city and buy yourself passage across. Or you fund a nearby town to build a bridge over the river. Furthermore, the resource you use for spellcasting and other magical practices like alchemy is also used to level up your character. If you want to cast a spell or brew a powerful potion, it means you're further away from leveling up, so you better be smart and mindful about how you use that spellcasting resource.
your channel is so underrated, every topic you bring up you are able to turn into an emotional experience that really gets you thinking, i have been trying to find this kind of content for a while so thank you for being the guy to do it
really cool to see that you have such a love for trackmania! you couldn't have described nascar tracks any better haha. i wish you good luck with the WR hunt :D
I love your content. It is amazing to see someone who can go into such great detail and make it so clear and easy to digest. Can't wait to see your next video
One of the best video essays I've watched in a year or two. I thought this genre of video had gotten stale, you're proving me otherwise. Keep up the good work sir :)
One thing that gave me a similar feeling of "not made for me to traverse" were those Minecraft redstone computer builds. The purpose was clearly to create a working computer in Minecraft using only redstone, but I never used the actual computer. Instead I had the time of my life climbing through the wiring of the hardware, making these huge electronic parts a jungle for me to survive in.
I've never been made motion sick by a video game outside VR before, but good God the transparent overlays of multiple runs at once made me dry heave. 10/10 would watch again with my chrome window minimized
I really like how you always start with a game, then add onto it as the video goes on, showing more and more about how it relates to the video. Very Good 👏
Just because how extreme this video is, it deserves a spot in the game design textbook. Being extreme is a good way to be *clear* about an abstract and unusual idea. This video is successful in that regard.
(I prefer to comment in spanish so I can be better understood). Este vídeo tiene un gran contenido filosófico. Para empezar, hay que distinguir características de los circuitos: 1.Siempre tienen un creador. 2.Hay mapas bellos y mapas feos. 3.Hay mapas hechos a medida y mapas en los que eres tú quien tiene que adaptarse. Esto se podría extrapolar a dos postulados distintos de la realidad por cada tipo de mapa (solo explico dos, pero pueden darse otras muchas corrientes filosóficas al respecto): En el caso de los mapas hechos a medida, se puede extrapolar (en un sentido filosófico) a que la realidad es así porque: A. (Explicación posmodernista o idealista) porque nosotros la vemos así, es decir, que realmente la belleza de este circuito sea subjetiva y personal, por lo que "que todas las curvas del circuito estén predispuestas de una manera bella y en sintonía a la velocidad que lleve el coche en ese momento, y que incluso tenga decoración lo que hace que el mapa sea más bello" no sea así porque realmente sean bellas, sino porque tú tienes la interpretación de que sean bellas y el creador del circuito no tenga esa intención B. (Explicación más religiosa o causal) Porque realmente el creador del circuito haya intentado crear un circuito bello y por eso se fluye tan bien en él. Incluso por eso da la sensación de estar en una "civilización antigua" por la sensación de simetría y sentido de idiosincrasia en el circuito. E incluso si se intentara no crear belleza siempre habría casos donde se crearía, pues el creador del circuito mantiene unos patrones predefinidos de aleatoriedad. Los dadaístas se dieron cuenta de que no hay forma de despojarse de un orden intrínseco a nosotros al intentar escribir textos aleatorios. En el caso de los mapas que dan la sensación de ser más aleatorios a los que te tienes que adaptar tú (cabe señalar que explico "dar la sensación de" y que no sea estrictamente aleatorio, pues el creador pudo tener algún motivo al crear las curvas de esa manera)estos son así porque: A. (Explicación naturalista, que es la que tú das) Porque realmente son aleatorios y el único objetivo es llegar al final de la mejor manera. "Sobrevivir y adaptarse". Aún así, en estos se puede encontrar belleza, pues se crean patrones como las zonas a las que tú acabas nombrando "la triple rampa" o "el salto grande" y el "salto pequeño", lo que le resta aleatoriedad. Esto podría indicar que el humano en un contexto de caos tiende al orden. B. (No sé decir a qué corriente filosófica pertenece esta explicación) Porque realmente la aleatoriedad en sí misma sea bella y tenga un sentido, ya que el creador que ha construido el mapa tiene unos patrones por los cuales pone curvas más cerradas o más abiertas. Es decir, que el acto de hacer el mapa implique, aunque sea, una realidad que no sea aleatoria: que todo deba ser aleatorio. La proposición "que todo deba ser aleatorio" no es aleatorio, es un criterio que elige el creador. Por tanto, se puede deducir que hay cierto orden y belleza, y que realmente se pueda llegar a entender el mapa. Ante todo esto, la realidad de los circuitos (es decir, si son o no bellos, si tienen orden o son desordenados) solo se puede saber de dos formas: 1. preguntando a los creadores del circuito la intención al crear tales circuitos, como, por ejemplo, preguntar si realmente se le ha querido dar orden o si solo quería que fuese aleatorio 2. Analizando de una forma racional los circuitos. Es decir, aunque el creador pueda decir que en el circuito no hay orden uno puede analizar y deducir orden tras de este circuito. Este punto, claro, implica la hipótesis o creencia de que los circuitos puedan contener orden y belleza. Yo soy partidario de pensar que si todos los circuitos son aleatorios, se pueda encontrar belleza dentro de estos, pues no hay que olvidar que todo circuito tiene un creador que tiene unos patrones. No hay forma real de dar una aleatoriedad completa (si se usa una inteligencia artificial para crear el circuito se podría ir al código del bot y si se copia y se pega en otro mapa se volvería a crear exactamente el mismo mapa, por lo que no sería aleatorio de ninguna forma, solo " da la impresión" de ser aleatorio). Por otro lado, si el creador intenta dar un orden al circuito, es decir, estos serían los circuitos que tendrían sintonía y a los que no haría falta adaptarse, estos podrían contener belleza. Para eso haría falta definir qué es la belleza. A partir de aquí se puede crear toda una doctrina de por qué los circuitos son bellos o no siempre acordes, claro está, a las leyes que impone el juego. Por ejemplo, "el derrape del coche" o "que resbales en hielo" o "que el coche acelere" o "que haya superficies que den turbo" o lo que sea. Es mucho más interesante de lo que parece.
Loved the video, and I agree completely with the thesis. I've been absolutely fucking obsessed with Gary's mod since i was a child for this exact reason. The community-generated content offered by that game has eons worth of this same exact feeling your expressing here. Loading up the magnum opus of some 17-year old dude in a flyover state and exploring his mind for a little bit is infinitely more engaging to me than the precision-sculpted railroad games they feed us like slop. Why would I play the new call of duty? what insanity would drive me to do that? Nothing novel is expressed there. No soul is left. However, once you boundary-break, you start to see it. The work of individuals appears as the polish fades away. It feels more human right on the edges of these AAA studio worlds. You feel special, it becomes an interaction instead of consumption - if that makes any sense. Great stuff homie.
One game I've played that matches this feeling of untailored hostility is zk_maps, or its full name "[fr0g] clan official server 24/7 zk map (for stranger)" It's a first person platformer roughly approximating the physics of quake, and you begin around the top of a map, the maps are made up of objects the creator placed almost entirely at random. Your objective is to get to the ground at the bottom without dying, and the only consideration for making this possible is the creator tested each map and went "yep it's possible!" Meaning there's little to no intentional "challenges" but instead a mountainous cluster of 3D shapes that you have to explore yourself to find safe paths to the bottom that were never intentionally designed to be overcome. I love it, it makes me happy
Dwarf Fortress is basically the antithesis of this. You don't even have direct control over any character in the world, and each creature has its own generated personality.
I love feeling like the world in a game goes on without you in some sense. It can be tiresome to feel like everybody just stands around waiting for you to approach. Pathologic 1 & 2 for sure felt liberating thay way, and confusing as well, with the game just letting you figure things out, and don't figure some things out.
This reminds me of Caves of Qud... No matter how omnipotent I become, I will always be vulnerable to a small whim of chance... I can literally fold space and time, but will inevitably be humbled by a small animal or a sentient slime with an abandonment complex.
Man, your vids have been flooding my recomended reently. And i love it! your way with words and ideas are amazing and deep, great to watch/listen to!! :)
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Oh, something I forgot to note: this video was inspired in part by Patricia Taxxon's essay, "Celeste's Biggest Mod (and why it's interesting)". I find her way to describing video game aesthetics fascinating, and it was the fastest 50 minutes I had in my life. I heavily suggest checking it out!
first reply but i wont waste it on this, i love your videos and this might be my favourite so either this or the one about the out of bounds are my favourite :)
glad to hear!
@@TheCursedJudge ive never seen a youtuber reply to me
That adds up, because I was just thinking how much this reminded me of her style. You did a good job trying to capture it
rainworld is very relaxing
Did not expect my little silly map to get this far, thank you and good luck on the WR hunt
Mapper commented :0
mapper commented! :D
Mapper commented :o
mapper commented :OOO
Can't wait to hear: and then.. The Cursed Judge got this run..
"I am afraid of spaghetti" is the best thing I've ever heard.
Peppino Spaghetti.
🤌
@@timmyjimmy7413 hhjhhhhhhhhå øl
Spaghettophobia
@@xxxfairycorpsexxx7592 EYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
i love that all of this video boils down to talking about a brain draining map in a track game
7:49 made me laugh so much, its such a contrast to your usually serious narration
Same here lmao
@@metaphysicalparadox I am, but I've gone through and watched all his videos and there's not too much humour in them, especially not silly humour
Came to comment this ,caught me so off-guard lmfao!!
I have a silly sense of humor but I don't often use it in videos, I want to more though
@@TheCursedJudge Please do, its great
My friend and I found a Minecraft server that was a scale recreation of Disneyworld. They had barriers set up so players couldn't climb on top of buildings, into rides, out of the park. They also had rules and server staff to catch people who found ways around the barriers.
My friend and I would spend hours trying to maneuver our way into rides, onto buildings, out of the park. It was so much more exciting because of the threat of getting caught, too. The "behind the scenes" stuff was always interesting too. They had parade floats that were being built for special plugins, funny projects the admins were working on, star wars ships, etc. It was really cool to see.
We called it "cracking the map". We cracked into splash mountain, and when other players were nearing the top of the lift hill in their mine cart, we'd push them back down.
It was a lot of fun and some good memories
what i expected: a deep philosophical essay that will make me question the nature of not only video games but also life and art.
what i got: car
(great video, looking forward for more)
beepbeep
nyyyyyyrrrrr
and somehow by the end of it, it makes sense.
I like how you not only analyzed what it means for a game to be unwelcoming, but also linked that to reality and nature. This was an insightful video.
As a rain world enjoyer I now want to play trackmania *just* for spaghetti
UPDATE: I got trackmania and have learned I can make my own hell maps
I am afraid of what you're cooking, Jesse. This is NOT meth.
Trackmania is the most addicting game of all time
Masochism: the video game
@@thepioneer1525 I like hitting my head against brick walls until they break
"My hands hurt" is such a simple but hilarious line read 😂
8:35
This pretty much articulates one of my favorite feelings in gaming. It's part of why Half-Life and Prey 2017 are two of my favorite games ever, the impression that you're not in a location that exists for the sake of being a playspace. It doesn't feel like the devs are winking at you.
@@AzazelFox Yeah, Noita's definitely in that category too. I bet 70% of the people who've played it have *no idea* how huge it actually is.
Exactlyyyy. Half Life 2 doesn't have that. Half Life 1 truly feels like nobody in the game wants me to survive it
LOL the transition from national parks to ~Spaghetti~.. love to see how filled up that patron list is!!
Your video essays are great man. Your talent of going in depth on certain topics whereas others wouldn’t be able to scratch the surface is really something special.
Just call them videos. "Essays" is pretentious and he's not getting graded.
@@jarlwhiterun7478 an essay is a piece of writing on a particular subject. This is by definition an essay
7:50 "I call this one the NASCAR section because you neeeeeuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrr"
You, sir, have reached Jacob Geller levels of video game philosophy
YES THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT RAIN WORLD! This is honestly one of my favourite games ever
I find it so fascinating how you can make anything look like art with so much more meaning behind it than I ever would've thought, good video
"I am afraid of spaghetti"
glad i am not alone in this world
I love these videos. The way the editing flows, the way that even the most jarring change, from rainworld straight back to spaghetti stil feels right somehow, that everything is though out. These videos are not out of bounds, but at the same time they are.
wake up babe, The Cursed Judge uploaded a new video
sorry i'm late i was doing stuff
Yes dear.
Indeed
sorry I'm here
Happy father's day!
Love your videos man! It’s so well-made and you make it so easy to digest and you make it super interesting!
The whole concept of this video could be about Far Cry 2 and I absolutely love when games go for that feeling.
The concept of "game areas not meant to be played" reminded me of how "real life applications" work.
Different from school, in work there are often no clear guideline. People just put some nonsense in front of you and expect you to make the problem go away.
Some tasks were so out of place, all I could do was scratch my head and shrug cluelessly. But there was also a sense of boundless freedom.
All rules and conventions were thrown out of the window and the ultimate goal was to solve the problem - doesn't matter what tools or methods are used.
Applying already learned skills, exploring new ones, observe and analyse.
I wish there are more opportunities in life we can actually enjoy that feeling of freedom.
No enforced pointless rules, but just exploring.
Anyways, great video!
First video of yours I’ve ever seen. Masterful transition to Trackmania and a genuinely convincing argument as to why. Instant sub.
when the world! is raining in the world!
Very nice video. I've been loving these "theory of games" type of videos, they really make me think about the worlds that I'm playing in.
as a trackmania fan for more than 10 years i really loved this video, i relate a lot to your feelings on the maps. good luck for the wr and keep grinding!
Ah yes my favorite quote "I call this part the nascar because *NEEEEEEWROW*"
Idk what happened here, I never turn on RUclips notifications and don’t pay attention to my subscriptions, but here i am having watched your newest video for the 3rd time, after having binge watched all your others since the games you can’t play anymore video popped into my feed. I don’t know how to describe how much I relate to your views, and specifically the way in which you present them, it just connects with me on a level that I didn’t know I had.
My favourite out of bounds videogame moment was when I found (as I like to call it) The Lab in Subnautica Below Zero. I wanted to build my base really high, so that I can see far away and after hours long building, jumping, falling and glitching I finally did it, I climbed up the cliff that was not supposed to be climbed up and what I found was... scary and interesting. The interseting part was The Lab, it was an open space full of signs with different Ice Worm animations and when I walked near the Worm appeared and did the animation. It was probably here for testing during development and I was super happy to find it without knowing it from RUclips. The scary part was the emptyness, the snow was too flat, too perfect, the mountains too, it was unnatural and wierd... and I love it, I hope some game will expand upon this and make place like this specifically for players who work their way there, out of bounds and find ghost towns, empty fields, NPCs you know from story as allies and enemies standing still... to expland that feeling of limital space
i love how many emotions and interpretations trackmania has created, ross' game dungeon video is also a banger in a similar vein. Such a great bizarre game
Rain world remains one of my favorite games because it feels like it goes on without me like i can imagine my lizard sitting in the den waiting for me to return
This video feels more like an excuse to talk about trackmania and I loved it
ive wanted to talk about that map for a while
Rain World really is something else. The feeling I get while i watch two lizards fight or attacked by a vulture is completely different from any game i've ever played. Its actually so impressive how the devs managed to make the world and creatures feel realistic.
found out abt this channel last month,, lots of horride stuff happened since but your content really helped me wind off. soothing, relaxing and educational while at it
When I think about a "game that doesn't care about you" I immediately think of Darkest Dungeon. This game does not give a shit whether you're having fun or not, it will throw everything at you, taking everything that you've gained away from you in an instant. It is unbearable and soul crushing and I love it.
A game that doesn't care about the player, meaning that he isn't the super hero that saves the day or something , is stalker. The world goes by its own without the player doing anything. He's just another artifact hunter, just another adventurer among many others.
The Beginner's Guide is a game that somewhat touches on the topic of games not made for the player.
Another really good video!
another game i'd like to bring up which i think fits in the same vein is Fear And Hunger. it's essentially a survival jrpg dungeon crawler horror game, but honestly, it's so much more than it's labels. despite the fact that you're really not "in nature" for most of the game, it truly does feel like you are in an uncaring wilderness, in uncharted and unknown territory. each battle feels like a sheer chance of luck you even won it, and the game takes every possible chance to punish you in some way. it truly doesn't care about you. you're a human in the lands of gods. i'd recommend going in blind, but that's like eating a macaroon and realizing it's filled with wasabi
this is a really interesting video and honestly inspired me creatively. i've always loved that feeling that comes when you realize a game doesn't care about you, i've found it in games like NaissanceE and also when trying to get into unintended areas in certain games like what you talked about in this video. i'm working on a game currently based on several combinations of procedural generation, and i've often wondered how much i should try to control that noise and have it make sense to the player or how much i should just let the noise run loose and see what happens.
what you said towards the end of this video was really thought provoking, when you said the trackmania map "felt like nature". i feel like games should lean into that more. this medium is so interesting in that we are creating interactive environments that the player is set free in, and the possibility space is potentially endless. endless to the point that even the developer has no idea what kind of experiences/feelings are fully possible within that environment. in most contexts it makes sense to put up safeguards to help create a coherent, intentional experience for the player, but what if the virtual environment didn't have those safeguards? i wonder what kind of games could be achieved when fully leaning into this mindset, that feeling that comes with being in an environment that truly feels like it was not made for you is really something special.
super interesting topic and great video, looking forward to more from you.
Glad someone brought up NaissanceE. It has a lot of areas that most players won't even see. Huge rooms with hulking shapes. Not a human structure. Not meant for us.
@@Soul-Burn seriously love that game. have never played something that felt so viscerally eerie like it. it was such a strange experience i still think about it a lot
Sounds like when I no-clipped outside RDR2 boundaries... that was a wild ride
Reading this title, the 2 games which I thought of were Mario Kart Wii and Subnautica. I'm glad they were both clips in the video. I see you have great taste.
I love Mario Kart Wii so much despite really disliking the new Mario Kart games. The driving mechanics really feel like you are in control of your character using your skill and knowledge to move around the map fast. Sometimes it feels like the tracks are not designed for you, especially by taking shortcuts. And the glitches... nothing feels better than clipping off a random pole and skipping most of Sherbet Land, it feels like you are conquering the game on your own terms. The new games just feel like you are going along the path glued to the road.
Subnautica is amazing at making you feel completely lost, isolated, and confused, while subtly nudging you in the right direction. I think the detailed map despite, being very small, is the pinnacle of amazing world design. Despite having a somewhat veiled linear progression, it never feels like you are following the steps like other story based games, you are just learning and achieving mastery of each region. It's quite the opposite of placing a character in a world made independently; it creates a world to expertly cultivate that feeling, while still letting you solve problems with your own solutions and interesting interactions with the environment.
Great video essay! Please keep up the more in depth, thought provoking vids!
This channel never disappoints, holy shit, the way you manage to verbalize things and feelings I love about games I but don't know how to explain is so satisfying
Awesome video! The spaghetti track reminds me of a freaky dream I had over a decade ago but still remember clear as day. There was a giant monolithic cube covered in eldritch symbols, suspended in an endless sky. Wrapped around the exterior was an infinite staircase like the Penrose stairs from Escher's "Ascending and Descending". In the distance, threatening to blast the monolith out of the sky, was a freshly detonated nuclear weapon that was suspended in time at the moment of the blast. All that could be heard was the idea of the blast looped over the "City in the Sky" from Twilight Princess.
Keeping said destruction at bay was a procession of Jesus Christs marching in sync around the staircase. Specifically, each of them looked like this Jesus from this old Flash game (maybe someone can help me remember what it was called...I remember his face was just a couple crossed lines and I think he fought demons or something with a bunch of rifles and whatnot). Their fate was to stay locked in their parade forever, using their eternal lives to stave off the nuke or be destroyed by it. They could only ever see the back of the Jesus in front of them and the dizzying expanse that gave way to nothingness out of the corner of their vision. They kept the cataclysm frozen by only ever thinking of two words..."walk" and "think". Anything beyond that would have meant the end. The thing that still terrifies me is that somewhere there might be a dimension where this is still happening, and what an experience it would be to be one of those possessed saviors.
I haven't thought about this dream in years, but seeing the track brought it all back in an instant. It evoked in me a feeling of being in limbo despite our desire to seek emergent patterns in an otherwise repetitive sequence. Phew...I think I need to go for a long walk and think for awhile lol
madness combat might be the flashgame you refer to.
@@helix33933 That's it! Leave it to the internet lol
@@oakenmethod glad to help!
This video feels like a hyper-specific crackhead rant from one of my coworkers. I love it.
You're officially one of my favourite youtubers now. Outstanding videos!
This has by far become my new favorite channel. Keep it up dude
The out of bounds has always meant more for me. Expcially nintendo games, the way the backgrounds felt so real that i wondered more about the intended world beyond more than exploring glitchy spots
Your video essays are always so enjoyable to watch! Keep up the good work 👍
I used to think people who played racing games were probably boring for wanting to just drive around in a virtual car on a virtual road to a useless destination.
Then I found this channel.
One of my favorite game worlds is that of Kenshi. It’s unforgiving, packed to the brim with lore, and would be perfectly fine without the player. People live their lives, trying to survive in a post-post-apocalyptic wasteland with no one immune to nature or other people. At your strongest, you’re still vulnerable to many things
I felt a bit of this playing The Outer Wilds, at least at first. That game captures both the majesty and pants-shitting terror of space, but also just exploration in general. And I feel it does that by giving the player the freedom to fail.
When I jumped out of my spaceship without my spacesuit on, the game didn't pop up a little warning message about a lack of breathable air. I just suffocated to death on the spot. When I turned on autopilot and had my spaceship fly towards a planet that was passing behind the Sun, the game didn't pop up a warning about an obstruction in the way. My ship flew gaily into the sun and incinerated me. When I climbed into an alien spaceship and turned on the launch controls without thinking, and launched myself directly at the Sun (again), the game didn't tell me how to change course or reverse. I just flew into the sun and was incinerated (again).
Over and over and over, the game leaves these thoughtless little deathtraps in the player's path. There are so many ways to die in that game. For every new player I've seen, the early game is always a comedy of errors. A parade of deadly rakes to the face. But for every player who sticks with it, all that punishment breeds respect for the world and its rules. And with that respect comes attentiveness, focus and learning. And eventually, mastery of the game and its world, and a casual approach to its dangers that would seem absurd to a new player.
That's not to say that the game doesn't want you to finish it. It very clearly does. *But it doesn't care if you don't.* That's the key point, I think: indifference. Not cruelty - forcing the player through ridiculous hoops just to see the end - but apathy. The Outer Wilds is harsh and unforgiving the way a mountain is harsh and unforgiving. It will kill you dead without a second thought, because it has no thoughts at all. It's a big pile of rock, and you're the damn fool who decided to climb it. But it has rules, and you'd better learn them if you want to reach the summit. The player must adapt to the game, because the game will not concede to the player.
I have just discovered your channel, and oh man what a hidden gem it is. It feels sincere, "real", somehow. Thank you very much for the experiences you carefully craft.
One game I love for its natural dangerous is the redone Elite Dangerous.
Until recently, you carried all your goods. Anything you want to keep safe can be taken from you in the blink of an eye. You do have ship insurance, so it’s not like permadeath, but some of the ships you own in the end game are so expensive to pay for insurance.
The game has taken on a much tamer sense in time, but there is still this overwhelming feeling of dread when you fly into the stream of a neutron star, knowing if you get too close, you won’t escape, and you will die.
It’s not nearly as cutthroat as some other games, but there’s this wonderful feeling of danger when you’re 50,000 light years away from any settlement and if you die, the past month+ is lost.
I love this dude.
The most erratic English teacher vibes.
Time to write a propper comment
So yeah, did not expect a this type of video, it's really well made, the "uncarring artist's masterpiece" title is suprisingly accurate
And my best part is 8:24 , the despair
Also the very huge jump/last downhill at the far right i like to call that the "final boss", when building i left 1/3 gap there for bo reason, and when i re gained "care" i wanted that section to be really dense with no hole, and also made some paths to go back to fill out some holes i found
You make good content, will check out other vids, and good luck on the WR hunt, ~10 mins left, not that far
I'm actually 5th world currently with a 1:52:05 or something (I'm Owlette_ in game), but Pole has nutty pace. Also, I'm happy to hear you enjoyed!
@@TheCursedJudge yeah, 2 mins away from wr, dont know why i said 10 mins (probably saw the minute start and called it there), so Pole__ kinda hunted the map, damn
And yeah, i love these types of videos that makes you think differently
I'm not gonna lie, I keep replaying the nascar section at 7:50 HAHAHAH it's too good. I was in such deep thought that it immediately got me smiling and giggling like a little girl. thanks
This topic reminds me of the much forgotten SSX game on PS3/360. It was seen as a disappointment by many SSX fans, but I really enjoyed it.
The big thing about this game is that the developers took real topographical data from mountain ranges across the world and used segments of them as baselines for their tracks. This allowed them to create over 40 playable tracks, as they didn't need to design them from scratch.
Because of this approach, they felt very much like natural places. My favourites were those in Antarctica, which really gave off the vibe of being lost in a near infinite sea of snow and ice. There are no crowds cheering you on. It feels much more like you're on your own out in this vast wilderness. Sure, this did mean that the levels didn't have the incredible hand-crafted design of the previous titles, but overall I still think it's a great game.
WOOO TRACKMANIA REPRESENTATION
- Virtuo btw
Oh hi Virtuo!
I love how your narration adds so much creativity to content in a way I would never see
congrats on getting to the big ones, my condolences to all the things that will drastically limit your creative output and good luck on staying up there
YO, I WAS WATCHING THE VIDS YOU POSTED A LONG TIME AGO! Your videos are so good i didn't even notice till about halfway that this was a new video! You can mantain good content from then and now! And getting better and better at it! Please, post more, and more and more! lovely!
"You don't grow beyond the ecosystem"
Saint would like to have a word.
The word is ascension.
But he himself would never ascend... he acts as the guide that can never cross the Rubicon himself.
The choice you made for the transition was just perfect>.< loved the video
Hope the algorithm gods bless you.
Just subscribed yesterday and today I realized how very often you post! Its seriously impressive! Just dont overwork yourself ^^
I didn't really play TrackMania for the last 11 years. I discovered your channel last week and it made me want to give it another try.
I love how this video has like, two examples total, one of which is only a single map in a game.
i find it funny how i listen to this guy talking about out of bounds and a racing game and somehow by the end of the video it all makes sense. and it really made me want to try out trackmania and the spaghetti map. i'm not sure if i'll try it out but i think i will.
I'm a fledgling game developer. One of my pie-in-the-sky ideas is this fantasy simulation/RPG that aims for that feeling of being unwelcoming and indifferent to the player. The tutorial campaign might have some accommodations to the new players, but once the tutorial is over, the player is thrown right in the middle of a world that doesn't gve a crap about the player. It aims for maximum procedurality to create tons of all kinds of obstacles that emerge not so from through hand-tailored design, but from happenstancce and the world developing in ways that forces player to consider their choices carefully and adapt to circumstances.
There's a magic system in the core of the gameplay loop (you play as a witch), but to truly use magic, it's not so much about finding the spell the developer intended for you to cast, but more about studying, researching and experimenting how magic works and coming up with creative solutions that will give you just enough of an edge to overcome the kinds of cruel and unforgiving challenges that you will encounter. The developers haven't put up a river that blocks your path to teach you about a mechanic to cross that river - it just happens to be a very rainy season and the map generator just happened to spawn a river there. You simply need to cross it to reach an important destination to which the procedural breadcrumbs are taking you. Maybe you're good at frost spells and need to freeze the river. Maybe you know how to teleport and can cross the river that way. Or perhaps you know how to transform into a fish. Or maybe you find a city and buy yourself passage across. Or you fund a nearby town to build a bridge over the river.
Furthermore, the resource you use for spellcasting and other magical practices like alchemy is also used to level up your character. If you want to cast a spell or brew a powerful potion, it means you're further away from leveling up, so you better be smart and mindful about how you use that spellcasting resource.
i absolutely love this video and your general narration in this video. It's very Bennett Foddy-like
your channel is so underrated, every topic you bring up you are able to turn into an emotional experience that really gets you thinking, i have been trying to find this kind of content for a while so thank you for being the guy to do it
I loved your little "I have a purple car". It was cute. Also purple is a great colour :)
rainworld gameplay: only hungry mf's care about you.
rainworld lore: you dont even exist lmaoo.
really cool to see that you have such a love for trackmania! you couldn't have described nascar tracks any better haha. i wish you good luck with the WR hunt :D
I love your content. It is amazing to see someone who can go into such great detail and make it so clear and easy to digest. Can't wait to see your next video
One of the best video essays I've watched in a year or two. I thought this genre of video had gotten stale, you're proving me otherwise. Keep up the good work sir :)
Hey man great video. I completely understand how you feel. I get a similar feeling when playing Fuel which has a map the actual size if a US state.
i thought i was gonna get a rain world video, but this is even better
One thing that gave me a similar feeling of "not made for me to traverse" were those Minecraft redstone computer builds. The purpose was clearly to create a working computer in Minecraft using only redstone, but I never used the actual computer. Instead I had the time of my life climbing through the wiring of the hardware, making these huge electronic parts a jungle for me to survive in.
I've never been made motion sick by a video game outside VR before, but good God the transparent overlays of multiple runs at once made me dry heave. 10/10 would watch again with my chrome window minimized
Yoooo! Sequoia national park is an hour from my house! Crazy crossover.
I really like how you always start with a game, then add onto it as the video goes on, showing more and more about how it relates to the video. Very Good 👏
Just because how extreme this video is, it deserves a spot in the game design textbook. Being extreme is a good way to be *clear* about an abstract and unusual idea. This video is successful in that regard.
(I prefer to comment in spanish so I can be better understood).
Este vídeo tiene un gran contenido filosófico.
Para empezar, hay que distinguir características de los circuitos:
1.Siempre tienen un creador.
2.Hay mapas bellos y mapas feos.
3.Hay mapas hechos a medida y mapas en los que eres tú quien tiene que adaptarse. Esto se podría extrapolar a dos postulados distintos de la realidad por cada tipo de mapa (solo explico dos, pero pueden darse otras muchas corrientes filosóficas al respecto):
En el caso de los mapas hechos a medida, se puede extrapolar (en un sentido filosófico) a que la realidad es así porque:
A. (Explicación posmodernista o idealista) porque nosotros la vemos así, es decir, que realmente la belleza de este circuito sea subjetiva y personal, por lo que "que todas las curvas del circuito estén predispuestas de una manera bella y en sintonía a la velocidad que lleve el coche en ese momento, y que incluso tenga decoración lo que hace que el mapa sea más bello" no sea así porque realmente sean bellas, sino porque tú tienes la interpretación de que sean bellas y el creador del circuito no tenga esa intención
B. (Explicación más religiosa o causal) Porque realmente el creador del circuito haya intentado crear un circuito bello y por eso se fluye tan bien en él. Incluso por eso da la sensación de estar en una "civilización antigua" por la sensación de simetría y sentido de idiosincrasia en el circuito. E incluso si se intentara no crear belleza siempre habría casos donde se crearía, pues el creador del circuito mantiene unos patrones predefinidos de aleatoriedad. Los dadaístas se dieron cuenta de que no hay forma de despojarse de un orden intrínseco a nosotros al intentar escribir textos aleatorios.
En el caso de los mapas que dan la sensación de ser más aleatorios a los que te tienes que adaptar tú (cabe señalar que explico "dar la sensación de" y que no sea estrictamente aleatorio, pues el creador pudo tener algún motivo al crear las curvas de esa manera)estos son así porque:
A. (Explicación naturalista, que es la que tú das) Porque realmente son aleatorios y el único objetivo es llegar al final de la mejor manera. "Sobrevivir y adaptarse". Aún así, en estos se puede encontrar belleza, pues se crean patrones como las zonas a las que tú acabas nombrando "la triple rampa" o "el salto grande" y el "salto pequeño", lo que le resta aleatoriedad. Esto podría indicar que el humano en un contexto de caos tiende al orden.
B. (No sé decir a qué corriente filosófica pertenece esta explicación) Porque realmente la aleatoriedad en sí misma sea bella y tenga un sentido, ya que el creador que ha construido el mapa tiene unos patrones por los cuales pone curvas más cerradas o más abiertas. Es decir, que el acto de hacer el mapa implique, aunque sea, una realidad que no sea aleatoria: que todo deba ser aleatorio. La proposición "que todo deba ser aleatorio" no es aleatorio, es un criterio que elige el creador. Por tanto, se puede deducir que hay cierto orden y belleza, y que realmente se pueda llegar a entender el mapa.
Ante todo esto, la realidad de los circuitos (es decir, si son o no bellos, si tienen orden o son desordenados) solo se puede saber de dos formas: 1. preguntando a los creadores del circuito la intención al crear tales circuitos, como, por ejemplo, preguntar si realmente se le ha querido dar orden o si solo quería que fuese aleatorio 2. Analizando de una forma racional los circuitos. Es decir, aunque el creador pueda decir que en el circuito no hay orden uno puede analizar y deducir orden tras de este circuito. Este punto, claro, implica la hipótesis o creencia de que los circuitos puedan contener orden y belleza.
Yo soy partidario de pensar que si todos los circuitos son aleatorios, se pueda encontrar belleza dentro de estos, pues no hay que olvidar que todo circuito tiene un creador que tiene unos patrones. No hay forma real de dar una aleatoriedad completa (si se usa una inteligencia artificial para crear el circuito se podría ir al código del bot y si se copia y se pega en otro mapa se volvería a crear exactamente el mismo mapa, por lo que no sería aleatorio de ninguna forma, solo " da la impresión" de ser aleatorio).
Por otro lado, si el creador intenta dar un orden al circuito, es decir, estos serían los circuitos que tendrían sintonía y a los que no haría falta adaptarse, estos podrían contener belleza. Para eso haría falta definir qué es la belleza. A partir de aquí se puede crear toda una doctrina de por qué los circuitos son bellos o no siempre acordes, claro está, a las leyes que impone el juego. Por ejemplo, "el derrape del coche" o "que resbales en hielo" o "que el coche acelere" o "que haya superficies que den turbo" o lo que sea.
Es mucho más interesante de lo que parece.
Ah, im so very glad i found your channel thanks to the video on games with dissatisfying endings!
Loved the video, and I agree completely with the thesis. I've been absolutely fucking obsessed with Gary's mod since i was a child for this exact reason. The community-generated content offered by that game has eons worth of this same exact feeling your expressing here. Loading up the magnum opus of some 17-year old dude in a flyover state and exploring his mind for a little bit is infinitely more engaging to me than the precision-sculpted railroad games they feed us like slop. Why would I play the new call of duty? what insanity would drive me to do that? Nothing novel is expressed there. No soul is left. However, once you boundary-break, you start to see it. The work of individuals appears as the polish fades away. It feels more human right on the edges of these AAA studio worlds. You feel special, it becomes an interaction instead of consumption - if that makes any sense.
Great stuff homie.
I'm glad you connected with it.
The celeste ost fits so well with the video
Keep up the masterpieces
i fuckin love this guy. if your reading this. your really changing my perspective on gaming. your videos are very creative and fun to watch. thanks.
yet another great take on the videogame experience, and with a lot of my favourite games as well, great job Judge!
I love your narrative, specially describing that track that was made by the "gods" and how each terrain add on to the experience and design.
One game I've played that matches this feeling of untailored hostility is zk_maps, or its full name "[fr0g] clan official server 24/7 zk map (for stranger)"
It's a first person platformer roughly approximating the physics of quake, and you begin around the top of a map, the maps are made up of objects the creator placed almost entirely at random. Your objective is to get to the ground at the bottom without dying, and the only consideration for making this possible is the creator tested each map and went "yep it's possible!" Meaning there's little to no intentional "challenges" but instead a mountainous cluster of 3D shapes that you have to explore yourself to find safe paths to the bottom that were never intentionally designed to be overcome. I love it, it makes me happy
I gotta say I love these videos, deep dive break downs are great. Keep it up 👍
Dwarf Fortress is basically the antithesis of this. You don't even have direct control over any character in the world, and each creature has its own generated personality.
I love feeling like the world in a game goes on without you in some sense. It can be tiresome to feel like everybody just stands around waiting for you to approach. Pathologic 1 & 2 for sure felt liberating thay way, and confusing as well, with the game just letting you figure things out, and don't figure some things out.
Your videos just get better and better! Can’t wait for more!
I've been binging your shit bro. You are criminally under subbed. Keep making quality like this you're gonna blow up soon its inevitable.
mapper: spaghetti road go brrrr
the cursed judge: *goes on a deep dive into the epitome of randomness*
This reminds me of Caves of Qud... No matter how omnipotent I become, I will always be vulnerable to a small whim of chance... I can literally fold space and time, but will inevitably be humbled by a small animal or a sentient slime with an abandonment complex.
The Long Dark is a very harsh survival game where it feels like only the top players ever conquer nature.
Man, your vids have been flooding my recomended reently. And i love it!
your way with words and ideas are amazing and deep, great to watch/listen to!! :)