@@CoasterCollectorUKalready came up with one to pitch. He eventually escapes into the real world via V.R, into the mind of Benjamin who's life sucks so absurdly bad that he yearns for nothing but returning to the game world. 😊 They already have the episode where Ben becomes an NPC slowly
Wow...this video bashing the free market didn't age well now did it. Cause now gamers are boycotting games that take advantage of and insult their player base. Almost like free market + Jesus = believing in something greater than what the market supplies and people will eventually refuse to buy it entirely.
Wow...this video bashing the free market didn't age well now did it. Cause now gamers are boycotting games that take advantage of and insult their player base.
The woodsman becoming self aware only to realize that he's chopped no wood, has no wife and child, that his life is a lie then reverting back to being a standard npc is hilarious.
It's like real life. Most of the people when faced with a massively traumatic incident (like finding out that your mere existence is a lie) will opt to revert to whatever they were doing before they found out.
Quest Greg always gets me. Quest giving Greg knowing the outcome... Knowing all he can do is give comfort to quest Greg in his final moments. It's one of my faves.
Someone in the comments of Quest Greg did a transcript of the skit in the comments as if it was straight from a heavy chapter of a novel. It's really good.
Dude Greg sees so much shit. He has to watch himself die everytime someone completes the vampire quest, he endures people yelling "SKIP" at him all day, and no one else remembers his wife and child. We need a Baelin's Route for Greg.
Actually after he was told that his inn would not burn down until the adventurer moved to a certain spot, then attacked the adventurer, tied him up and gagged him so he couldn’t move and the fire wouldn’t spread and he could carry on being an innkeeper… I stopped sympathies for him vanished. Now I hate Greg and would gladly subject him to the worst fates an npc could have then resurrect him and do the next worst thing. Over and over until I ran out of ideas. Then I’d leave him tied up and gagged in the basement-dungeon of one of my player houses. Now we see who never leaves.
The self-aware gravediggers were incredible! Excellent writing and superb acting, accents and makeup. VERY impressive stuff! Kudos to everyone involved. 👍
@@robbierobot5799 They "Dennis" 'd so hard in that scene. ("HELP! HELP I'm being repressed!") I almost expected them to start talking about anarcho-syndicalist communes.
The moment he realized he was vanishing and he was comforting his own clone... that brought up some emotions. 22:35 I'd just love to see this implemented in a game. Just once every so often they turn around and pull some shit like this, then see how people react.
some NPCs could have ai in them, só they would become more and more intelligent and start realizing there's something wrong and them we could see hem trying to cope with that.
@@zalfir Didn't thought of using ChatGPT that way. Imagine instead of programing how and where a npc would walk, what it would, ChatGPT could more realistic movements and less scripted talks and better combat AI.
I try to make the most of it, but often there's a problem is as they kind of describe; looking closer reveals flaws of varying degrees, so many times it's "don't meet your heros" lol
The woodsman becoming self-aware is why he became a fisherman. The programmers re-casted him as a fisherman who doesn't talk to prevent the self-awareness from spreading.
Wild how a small group of New Zealand skit comics can have a more emotional sense of loss when Greg the Garlic farmer fades away after the quest than an entire city of Hollywood writers.
Now now I don't think Ausies like to be called Zelanders lol 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤❤❤❤❤❤ love you guys @VLDL and I know they are not Australians I know they are from New Zeland and I also know from having friends from both places they hate being told they sound like they are from the opposite country but I do it out of love and just purely to make a joke and have fun❤❤❤❤❤
The woodsman is one of the most depressing skits I've ever seen. It makes you wonder if in the end, he just accepted to be taken over by the programing, instead of such a cruel reality. Ignorance is indeed bliss, sometimes.
I found it kinda profoundly sad. I wanted to be that adventurer so that I could name him (even if it’s a temporary one until he chooses his own), put him up in one of my player houses where he could be safe while learning how to be sentient. Then either provide the training if he wanted to become something within my skillset (because I’m usually a mage or warrior build) or deliver him to a place where he could, ensure he could live at the inn or something while he learns… Then eventually turn him loose on the virtual world to live out his life as a sentient npc or close to it. Imagine if we could do stuff like that.
Well, thats some thin leather, a swift jab would put almost anything through it, sized be damned, it more about the fact you'd have to push through like the first 9 serrations
Baradun tearing down the very psyche of Woodcutter was so saddening to watch... And funny... And a great commentary on the slapped together nature of some of the backstory of modern video games... Man, these guys amaze every single time. Hollywood who..? VLDL is where it's at.
I wasn't sure if Baradun was trying to open the guys world and free him to become something more...or if he was just being an ass. With Baradun, it could go either way.
@@meh2510Me either. Kinda wish we could be the adventurer that helps Woodcutter. Give him a name, let him stay at one of the player houses and help him figure out what he wants to be as a self aware npc. Maybe even an adventurer.
You bring back Greg’s wife. He’s just a humble garlic farmer and deserves to be happy. He does his best to give every adventurer the best experience they can have, and wants what’s best for honeywood. 😊 Man do you get dark with him sometimes.
Just as soon as alans real GF/Wife/BF/Husband wants to be a guest star on the dnd campaign, i suppose. These boguns should be more famous than the knuckleheads over on critical role IMO. Rob the DM and make Rob the DM.
I want a Baelin’s quest type “movie” where Greg searches for his wife. He can recruit the tinfoil hat NPC, maybe Barad-dun, and they could track down the maintenance guy and try to force him to reinstall Greta. But then she doesn’t remember Greg, so he will have to woo her! It would be so romantic!
You are truly professional actors... You all fulfill any given role perfectly. Also, +++ for all makeup, special effect and costume department. You guys all are Pucking Ferfect!
I always wanted Ben's sentient NPC character to have got his own extended storyline where he eventually escapes back to the real world, then yearns for nothing but to return to the game because real life is so absurd 😂. They already filmed the first episode where he gets trapped and 2 filler episodes 😊
hes not from the real world, hes an npc, a previous quest giver based on his dialogue. he outright states hes gained sentience which you dont do if you are already a person from the real world. which in and of itself would be a challenge as hes digital 1's and 0's ; like a gta v npc, which means he either needs to find a robot body of some sort, or become a sentient computer, or perhaps take over an adventurers real body and swap places with them if we want to suspend our belief further; Ergo and tldr, he cannot escape 'back to' the real world, rather 'to the' real world,
While I follow your reasoning, you put tldr entirely too early in the post. Turns out it wasn't tl and I dr. Maybe escaping the game isn't gaining a human body, it's becoming self aware as an AI with access to the internet or something.
Honestly, what needs to happen is that “Tin Hat” should meet up with Grimble and Nutte. Tin Hat tries to convince them that they need to find some way of leaving the game, but Grimble and Nutte alternatively try to convince him that this would be an impossible task and that he should just accept his fate as the “mad man”/in-joke NPC. They can even try to convince him that the “real world” makes far less sense and is far more complicated than their world. He may go along with them at first, but then “revert to his true nature” by forgetting what they said and trying to “escape the game” again, blurring the line about whether he truly IS self-aware. Perhaps, him wanting to escape the game, really IS just a part of his programming, or BECOMES that when the devs “fix the glitch.”
Tin foil hat man returning to the Nightmare Void is actually terrifying. Imagine being an AI that becomes self aware, stuck in a digital world and you only spawn next user based players and experience dsync when they leave an area in close proximity to you only to return to a place known only by the name as the Nightmare Void. Great villain backstory arc
I doubt any supposed AI will ever become self-aware. And even one could do so, you consider going to sleep to be a normal thing, so I expect a self-aware AI would consider despawn or such to be normal just the same way.
This was really amazing. I can totally relate with the NPCs. When you only focus on your work, you don't even realise what's happening around you or just choose to ignore it because that's how it is.
Tinfoil Glitch is my favorite character, right behind the Muggers. I love all your smaller recurring character, actually. Also, from now on, the guy that awakens Woodcutter is part of Tinfoil Glitch's resistance in my headcannon.
The acting in this compilation is top notch. That Interaction in the cemetery was superb dialogue. The woodcutting skit brought a tear to me eye. 😢 Ty fellers
I've developed a head-canon theory based on a number of these "NPCs behaving with awareness" videos. In one, Bodger keeps getting gear for the player even though he doesn't want to, and in other videos Greg sometimes delivers lines reluctantly but still does it. I think they are like the toys in Toy Story, where they fundamentally crave being played with. They (well a couple of them at least) are completely aware it's just a game, but they maintain the illusion anyway because they really want players to keep coming.
That sounds like the need for attention as well as self preservation. They know if the adventurers stop coming, the servers will be shut down and they will be deleted. That fear was also explored in the Wreck-It Ralph movies.
I love the one where there's two Gregs and the one just showing up acts like he's never going to show up again while the true Greg is all like, "I miss my other self" so heart warming
I adore self aware NPC's! More please! Especially gravediggers, they're really fantastic. And so looking forward to the moment when Baradun comes into the real world 😅
You know they are lifted from a bit at the beginning of Monty Pythion and the Holy Grail. Two peasants digging mud bagging out the King for being "representative of an oppressive system designed to blah blah blah
@@MrScrofulous well, the bit's lifted, but the dialogue is original, and it works really well. I doubt anyone from Monty Python would object to it, it's more of an homage than a rip-off.
@@RabblesTheBinx Of course, all art is derivative and the imitation is flattery and brings it to a new audience. Wasn't sure if you knew where that nagging thought you had seen them elsewhere came from. Zoomer humour is very similar to the absurdist humour that an elder Gen X like me grew up on.
9:12 oh my god! The sad part is that the real garlic farmer never gets to go out on adventures, watching his clones endlessly returning and being erased. While the clones go on their adventures completely unaware of their impending doom….. like prestige.
The clones in the prestige knew they had to die. That was the idea. Each of them got everything they wanted in life within the first 10 seconds of being born (applause, congratulations, adoration) and then they had to live until the next show with the knowledge that they had to kill themselves to maintain the act. The price of the shortcut to fame and glory.
He could mean all the NPC's. But that does bring up the question of whether or not the 'players' are even players or just other NPC's meant to bring the world to life for real players. I mean... this game could actually be single player. A single player game about an MMO.
Imagine playing a video game and you see this happening in the background I would absolutely get so scared and turn the game immediately and then they would look at you terrifying
I didn't realize this was a compilation at first and I was like "Wait, didn't I already see this video? Or is this just the most obscenely specific feeling of déjà vu I've ever had? Am I clairvoyant?" Then I saw the video length.
I would really love you guys make a short movie (just like 'Baelin's Route') on NPCs becoming self-aware. I really enjoy the videos you guys make and look forward to more in future.
You can see how the different NPCs handle their self awareness: -The Grave Diggers fully embrace that, and yet still commit to their role in the game, for they are self content and knowledgeable of their roles. There is an omniscience regarding real world knowledge that is enjoyable because of how it is handled. They aren't forced by the game. -The Tin Hat Guy can not cope with his situation. He is self aware and crave to get out of this fake world. He has no role in it, and want to fight off forces that control this realm, the game and devs. -Greg has self awareness, like a double personality. However the game often resolve that one way or another, depending on the gravity of that self awareness pulse. It's not perfect, but it does the job. -The Woodcutter man gained self awareness after being revealed by a player. Upon realising the horror of his whole fake life, he either choose to submit to it, or the game bring him back. Its hard to tell, but i enjoy the idea that it is both. Encouraged by the world to flee the cruel reality. -The guard... He is already out. He is coming for you. You can't run. It's too late. This omniscient being had friends. And you took them from him.
The guard… I don’t know. If he’s omniscient then he should have been able to see the adventurer coming and save his friends. Or revive them. Admittedly I’d have answered. “Then tell me my real name. You could have just asked me nicely to revive them. I AM a mage after all.
Greg being horrified at the children playing and the kids not having even the slightest idea what they are doing is both hilarious and horrific at the same time.
Great videos! I believe a movie focusing on the NPC with the tinfoil hat and the premise of the woodcutter NPC would be amazing. Initially, the tinfoil hat NPC awakens self-awareness among all NPCs, leading to a rebellion for freedom that ultimately plunges them into a state of depression. their decision to embrace happiness within a fabricated reality rather than pursuing freedom in the truth could be quite thought-provoking
Go check out the dnd campaign, it my headcannon that every actor is everyone of their npcs secretly playing every role. Baelins route ftw? (not actually, i didnt watch it all the way through)
I usually don't watch the compilations but you gotta love the gravediggers... This whole thing makes he hope that VLDL will one day have the resources to bring Azerim to life in an actual game, I'd play the shit out of it!
That last speed run skit is my 2nd favorite skit of theirs. Obviously *nothing* beats Balin's Route. But for epic levels of crazy, this one is, thus far, untouchable.
Oh, i kinda expected the one where the guy becomesd an NPC, started out crafting things for people, then gets a quest maker over his head. As always these are awesome
I would LOVE to play this as an actual game. Where the NCPs occasionally break character or talk to the player. Like you could stumble up on some grave diggers talking about the specs of the game, or something a game character shouldn't know, they notice the player and awkwardly go "back to work".
So good, and I'm stoked you're making these compilation vids. Helps you and us. I've seen these sketches and I'm rewatching because of the comp vid. Well done! I'm certain you'll all be very lucratively as well as abundantly blessed with your skills on screen and off. 👍💪
not really , less dry. dont get me wrong dry is great sometimes but the best thing monty python ever really did was the holy grail, and these guys have constant hilarity or atleast relatability
I love the state of awareness of each NPCS grave digger:acceptance Woodchopper:ignorant Crazy: H E L P Greg:semi-sentient gReG:glitch Baelin:MORNING Guard:I HUNT YOU DOWN
Wood Cutter is the pinnacle of Epic NPC Man. In this one skit, Adam and Rowan Exercised their acting skills to a level that I personally feel they have not reached since. It is believable. It tells a big story in a short amount of time. And the emotions are believable. Of course, that is in no small part, thanks to the musical score they chose for this scene. Bara-Dun eyes give away his sense of schadenfreude as he is intricately picking the perfect questions at the perfect moment in order to slowly lead this NPC into self awareness and dismay. Bara-dun is the ultimate gaslighter. lol Rowans portrayal of the Woodcutter is excellent as his acting keeps within the confines of the character. This can be seen when he begins to question his own reality and his code is defaulting him to the closest relevant script piece in order to keep him on track. Unfortunately the humor bit comes in where his programming just resets him to default. it would have been interesting to see the other outcome where the NPC becomes fully aware, if for only a single moment before his code corrupts and crashes because it can not resolve the feedback loops created. but not before he succumbs to the horror and hopelessness of realizing he is not real and his life is not real. Wood cutter is just.... **Chef's kiss** Perfect. It is my favorite skit seconded only by "Broken". It just goes to show you that you do not need a big budget to make a great scene. Bara-Dun may have failed this time. but......Maybe NEXT time he will succeed.......wink wink. or....maybe he did with that one self aware NPC that ben played. I like to believe that Bara-dun is actually a moderator character used by a QA tester whom is tasked with finding all the bugs in the game. But maybe there is a hidden agenda there. OR. maybe in reality. the PLAYERS are actually the BORED people when they are off work and playing the game. So many possibilities.
With AI advancing so quickly I can see these beginning real conversations video game characters have either out of a fluke of the training data they are based on or maybe real possible awareness.
If only the lumberjack character had the line of dialogue: "Nice day for choppin' ain't it?" Or if every so often, the "graphics" glitched and he was seen- only for a few frames- trying to chop down trees with a fishing pole, instead of his axe.
all these skits are just dope. They are evergreen. You can watch the first and last episode of any of their series with the same excitement and fun. Their work is so much better than many series. I hope they will entertain us forever..
So Adam and Alan have their Gravedigger Duo and Ben and Rowan have their Muggers Duo. Awesome. It would be interesting to have them in a short DnD campaign as those characters. 😄
You know you all should revisit the "Broken" episode a little and have that same adventurer come back and thank Greg for making him actually listen to the story of the game.
That’s what gets me about Gregg the Garlic Farmer… He has enough self-awareness to realize how things work in his reality, yet he doesn’t understand the actual nature of his reality. He has empathy for his “quest self.” It’s also implied that this is not the first time this has happened, as his normal self seems to have gotten used to comforting the “quest selves.” This is “normal” to him at this point. He doesn’t know why it happens, but it does, and he’s accepted that it’s part of his lot in life. He also seems aware of a difference between “the adventurers” and the NPCs but again, he basically just accepts that the weird things that happen with the players, are just another part of his reality.
Ben's crazy character is trying to get out, but I wonder if Baradoon/Baradun actually enjoys being sentient/aware that's he's in a video game. (Then again, I guess when you're rich and one of the most powerful NPCs in the game, it's less of an issue.)
I would love to see a movie revolving around the NPC with the tinfoil hat. He's got so much potential.
I agree 100%, would be a great plot point too, maybe make the ending about what happens after he escapes the video game into modern society
@@CoasterCollectorUKalready came up with one to pitch. He eventually escapes into the real world via V.R, into the mind of Benjamin who's life sucks so absurdly bad that he yearns for nothing but returning to the game world. 😊
They already have the episode where Ben becomes an NPC slowly
You know he wasn't originally an NPC right? He is the guy who became an NPC by upgrading player's stuff.
Watch free guy. That's exactly that
I want them to go full Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder and make the tinfoil hat guy part of a fully-loaded, universe-saving adventure.
"I will find you. The real you." That one was properly unsettling.
Ya think
"Are you familiar with the works of Shan Yu?"
Wow...this video bashing the free market didn't age well now did it. Cause now gamers are boycotting games that take advantage of and insult their player base. Almost like free market + Jesus = believing in something greater than what the market supplies and people will eventually refuse to buy it entirely.
Wow...this video bashing the free market didn't age well now did it. Cause now gamers are boycotting games that take advantage of and insult their player base.
@@WesternMarxism-ne5tr And like we can boycott these ESG sell-out youtubers.
The woodsman becoming self aware only to realize that he's chopped no wood, has no wife and child, that his life is a lie then reverting back to being a standard npc is hilarious.
It's like real life. Most of the people when faced with a massively traumatic incident (like finding out that your mere existence is a lie) will opt to revert to whatever they were doing before they found out.
The real sad part of the story is that he can't even log out 🙂
@-Narumi- Epidemic Sound - Peaceful Heartbreak 2
It's one of the saddest part for me.
Or painfully relevant. Aren't we all choosing to ignore the fact we're living in a simulation?
"Nod if you understand.", will go down in history as one of the most menancing moments in movie history. Love it.
I've seen it like 30x, still hilarious. My all time favorite Viva skit.
The scariest one to me is the guard going “I will find you. The real you.”
Hahaha same, it's great!@@krazyhorse9596
Better with the sound of a kitchen knife not being able to penetrate the leather armor...
Skip!
Quest Greg always gets me. Quest giving Greg knowing the outcome... Knowing all he can do is give comfort to quest Greg in his final moments. It's one of my faves.
Greg has same major PTSD from this, and other things he's seen.
Someone in the comments of Quest Greg did a transcript of the skit in the comments as if it was straight from a heavy chapter of a novel. It's really good.
I dont get why they dont try to merge to add to the collective knowledge of the god artificer paladin known formerly as "Greg"
The Graverobbers watched the Channel Some More News, thats clear. Now the question is if you will follow
!
Dude Greg sees so much shit. He has to watch himself die everytime someone completes the vampire quest, he endures people yelling "SKIP" at him all day, and no one else remembers his wife and child. We need a Baelin's Route for Greg.
I second that
Wouldn’t that be the DnD campaign of Baraduun, Greg, Bob and Badger?
lol that's why he ends up being a cleric 😂
Actually after he was told that his inn would not burn down until the adventurer moved to a certain spot, then attacked the adventurer, tied him up and gagged him so he couldn’t move and the fire wouldn’t spread and he could carry on being an innkeeper…
I stopped sympathies for him vanished. Now I hate Greg and would gladly subject him to the worst fates an npc could have then resurrect him and do the next worst thing.
Over and over until I ran out of ideas. Then I’d leave him tied up and gagged in the basement-dungeon of one of my player houses. Now we see who never leaves.
@@mikoto7693 ok thanks for this very normal reply
The woodcutter gets me every time. Rowan nails the existential crisis, so heartbreaking.
Maze was not meant for him
The self-aware gravediggers were incredible! Excellent writing and superb acting, accents and makeup. VERY impressive stuff! Kudos to everyone involved. 👍
Getting the word verisimilitude into a skit about MMOs is always a good time.
Very Monty Python-esque, love it.
@@robbierobot5799 They "Dennis" 'd so hard in that scene. ("HELP! HELP I'm being repressed!") I almost expected them to start talking about anarcho-syndicalist communes.
That make up job was incredible. Alan was almost unrecognizable.
I didn't like them. I actually SKIPPED them..!
Greg losing it after being skipped is still my favourite of all their skits. 😂😂😂
I totally agree. I'm watching all these videos and my brother is laughing at me cause I seriously lose my shit with some of these skits 😂😂😂
The moment he realized he was vanishing and he was comforting his own clone... that brought up some emotions.
22:35 I'd just love to see this implemented in a game. Just once every so often they turn around and pull some shit like this, then see how people react.
some NPCs could have ai in them, só they would become more and more intelligent and start realizing there's something wrong and them we could see hem trying to cope with that.
@@menghao3674 Could use a trained version of the Skyrim ChatGPT mod.
@@zalfir Didn't thought of using ChatGPT that way.
Imagine instead of programing how and where a npc would walk, what it would, ChatGPT could more realistic movements and less scripted talks and better combat AI.
@@menghao3674The problem is if you make the AI too good a strategist and opponent, you're just creating single-player PvP.
The first skit is a great reminder how background fluff never really gets the appreciation it deserves.
I try to make the most of it, but often there's a problem is as they kind of describe; looking closer reveals flaws of varying degrees, so many times it's "don't meet your heros" lol
"Do you remember your wife and daughter?" I got some Ghost in the Shell vibes here. Self awareness episodes are among my fav's.
Oh gods, yes, this is really just fantasy themed GiTS 🤣
Honestly, a videogame boss becoming self aware and messing things up by making other NPCs self aware is kinda an awesome idea
@@rexex345 Try the webcomic "Captain SNES"
Why GITS? This is a direct reference to the series "Westworld". What? no one remembers this series anymore? Feels so old.
@@ВАТАСКАЧЕТOld? what the heck are you talking about? The Westworld series is from 2016. The GiTS manga is from 1989.
Monty Python troop would be proud of the grave diggers.
My htoughts exactly
You've definitely got a point, there
Troupe, not troop.
The woodsman becoming self-aware is why he became a fisherman. The programmers re-casted him as a fisherman who doesn't talk to prevent the self-awareness from spreading.
Re-casted good pun
They are the programmers lol
Nice day for fishing ain’t it? Huha
Wild how a small group of New Zealand skit comics can have a more emotional sense of loss when Greg the Garlic farmer fades away after the quest than an entire city of Hollywood writers.
Making movies with passion > Making movies for profits and agenda
Yeah, agreed! These good people are amazing at storytelling.
Now now I don't think Ausies like to be called Zelanders lol 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤❤❤❤❤❤ love you guys @VLDL and I know they are not Australians I know they are from New Zeland and I also know from having friends from both places they hate being told they sound like they are from the opposite country but I do it out of love and just purely to make a joke and have fun❤❤❤❤❤
@@fallenpalladintrue
@whitewalker9862 what agenda??? The ones that put profit > people? Or the ones that Fox news bleats about?
The woodsman is one of the most depressing skits I've ever seen. It makes you wonder if in the end, he just accepted to be taken over by the programing, instead of such a cruel reality. Ignorance is indeed bliss, sometimes.
It reminds me of life
Kinda like the ending of Shutter Island. ;-)
I found it kinda profoundly sad. I wanted to be that adventurer so that I could name him (even if it’s a temporary one until he chooses his own), put him up in one of my player houses where he could be safe while learning how to be sentient.
Then either provide the training if he wanted to become something within my skillset (because I’m usually a mage or warrior build) or deliver him to a place where he could, ensure he could live at the inn or something while he learns…
Then eventually turn him loose on the virtual world to live out his life as a sentient npc or close to it. Imagine if we could do stuff like that.
The Matrix is telling me that it is juicy...and delicious.
That reminds me fully of the movie Ghost in The Shell where a guy gets told he has no wife and kid and all his memories are implanted.
Love how menacing Greg manages to be while holding a tiny steak knife against leather armor. Nod if you understand.
😨🙂↕️😧
Well, thats some thin leather, a swift jab would put almost anything through it, sized be damned, it more about the fact you'd have to push through like the first 9 serrations
Ikr
I think what scares him about it is that there isn't even a combat notification.
@@SlurmDude. No those kitchen knives bend too easy.
Baradun tearing down the very psyche of Woodcutter was so saddening to watch... And funny... And a great commentary on the slapped together nature of some of the backstory of modern video games... Man, these guys amaze every single time. Hollywood who..? VLDL is where it's at.
I wasn't sure if Baradun was trying to open the guys world and free him to become something more...or if he was just being an ass. With Baradun, it could go either way.
@@meh2510Me either. Kinda wish we could be the adventurer that helps Woodcutter. Give him a name, let him stay at one of the player houses and help him figure out what he wants to be as a self aware npc. Maybe even an adventurer.
A balloon pop spell has never been as terrifying as here...
Right?
So much Fun 🎉
Having the piece of confetti sticking to greg's lip as he looked on in horror was an excellent touch. That was some damn good directing.
You bring back Greg’s wife. He’s just a humble garlic farmer and deserves to be happy. He does his best to give every adventurer the best experience they can have, and wants what’s best for honeywood. 😊
Man do you get dark with him sometimes.
Just as soon as alans real GF/Wife/BF/Husband wants to be a guest star on the dnd campaign, i suppose. These boguns should be more famous than the knuckleheads over on critical role IMO. Rob the DM and make Rob the DM.
I want a Baelin’s quest type “movie” where Greg searches for his wife. He can recruit the tinfoil hat NPC, maybe Barad-dun, and they could track down the maintenance guy and try to force him to reinstall Greta. But then she doesn’t remember Greg, so he will have to woo her! It would be so romantic!
The "Broken" skit is so perfect. Greg the Garlic Farmer losing it is just the best.
Also, the "Child Safe" one is hilarious.
The Microtransactions speech is just incredible. So many people need to hear it though.
Except that all of these transactions are voluntary and video games are non-essential luxury products. No one is being exploited.
@@eddielopez2373Try having ADHD then get back to me about that
Micro transactions are ok if the game is free
Or if its cosmetic
You are truly professional actors... You all fulfill any given role perfectly.
Also, +++ for all makeup, special effect and costume department. You guys all are Pucking Ferfect!
22:28 - Please more of the sentient guard vowing revenge. That was brilliant! 😲🤯
I always wanted Ben's sentient NPC character to have got his own extended storyline where he eventually escapes back to the real world, then yearns for nothing but to return to the game because real life is so absurd 😂.
They already filmed the first episode where he gets trapped and 2 filler episodes 😊
hes not from the real world, hes an npc, a previous quest giver based on his dialogue. he outright states hes gained sentience which you dont do if you are already a person from the real world. which in and of itself would be a challenge as hes digital 1's and 0's ; like a gta v npc, which means he either needs to find a robot body of some sort, or become a sentient computer, or perhaps take over an adventurers real body and swap places with them if we want to suspend our belief further;
Ergo and tldr, he cannot escape 'back to' the real world, rather 'to the' real world,
While I follow your reasoning, you put tldr entirely too early in the post. Turns out it wasn't tl and I dr. Maybe escaping the game isn't gaining a human body, it's becoming self aware as an AI with access to the internet or something.
Honestly, what needs to happen is that “Tin Hat” should meet up with Grimble and Nutte. Tin Hat tries to convince them that they need to find some way of leaving the game, but Grimble and Nutte alternatively try to convince him that this would be an impossible task and that he should just accept his fate as the “mad man”/in-joke NPC. They can even try to convince him that the “real world” makes far less sense and is far more complicated than their world. He may go along with them at first, but then “revert to his true nature” by forgetting what they said and trying to “escape the game” again, blurring the line about whether he truly IS self-aware. Perhaps, him wanting to escape the game, really IS just a part of his programming, or BECOMES that when the devs “fix the glitch.”
he was a player, you clearly missed the episode. he become npc after he started doing menial npc work or crafting @@misdafireinfexus5828
valid
fixed that
@@questionabletoast9346
I love how Greg remains so empathetic even after all he went through
You could tell these two love doing these characters the Grave Digger are definitely up there with my favorites along with the muggers
Right out of monty python, even the costume design
The guard talking about finding the real him is so creepy.
It is imagine playing game like Thief or assassin creed and one guard start to talk like this creepy as hell.
Woodsman is the best. The realization, sorrow, and confusion that plays across his face is amazing.
Tin foil hat man returning to the Nightmare Void is actually terrifying.
Imagine being an AI that becomes self aware, stuck in a digital world and you only spawn next user based players and experience dsync when they leave an area in close proximity to you only to return to a place known only by the name as the Nightmare Void.
Great villain backstory arc
I doubt any supposed AI will ever become self-aware. And even one could do so, you consider going to sleep to be a normal thing, so I expect a self-aware AI would consider despawn or such to be normal just the same way.
doki doki lit club?
These are making me feel bad as game developer about spawning and despawning NPCs...
To all the NPCs in all games, my heart is with you. Stand strong!
Not Nazeem tho
The genius peasants are my new FAV characters HANDS DOWN. Amazing work, can't wait for more! Keep it VLDL
I'd love to see more of Tin Foil Hat guy and The Graverobbers. I loved how you incorporated that part from The Holy Grail.
This was really amazing. I can totally relate with the NPCs. When you only focus on your work, you don't even realise what's happening around you or just choose to ignore it because that's how it is.
Tinfoil Glitch is my favorite character, right behind the Muggers. I love all your smaller recurring character, actually.
Also, from now on, the guy that awakens Woodcutter is part of Tinfoil Glitch's resistance in my headcannon.
The acting in this compilation is top notch. That Interaction in the cemetery was superb dialogue. The woodcutting skit brought a tear to me eye. 😢 Ty fellers
I would love to see a self aware NPC like Rowan as the guard who vows real life revenge on Ben 😂
I've developed a head-canon theory based on a number of these "NPCs behaving with awareness" videos. In one, Bodger keeps getting gear for the player even though he doesn't want to, and in other videos Greg sometimes delivers lines reluctantly but still does it. I think they are like the toys in Toy Story, where they fundamentally crave being played with. They (well a couple of them at least) are completely aware it's just a game, but they maintain the illusion anyway because they really want players to keep coming.
That sounds like the need for attention as well as self preservation. They know if the adventurers stop coming, the servers will be shut down and they will be deleted. That fear was also explored in the Wreck-It Ralph movies.
@@christopherjakel1049 oo I like that tweak to my theory
Interesting. If they’re self aware then they could probably befriend some of the kinder players who would eventually want to help them.
These always crack me up. No matter how many times that I see them. Can see an NPC movie with how amazing these are.
You should watch Balins Route if you haven't already. It's really good.
Thanks!
I love the one where there's two Gregs and the one just showing up acts like he's never going to show up again while the true Greg is all like, "I miss my other self" so heart warming
We need more gravedigger skits, they are incredible.
I adore self aware NPC's! More please! Especially gravediggers, they're really fantastic. And so looking forward to the moment when Baradun comes into the real world 😅
Before they close the game server when a company no longer sees profit in the game to keep servers running or the game is out of date
You know they are lifted from a bit at the beginning of Monty Pythion and the Holy Grail. Two peasants digging mud bagging out the King for being "representative of an oppressive system designed to blah blah blah
@@MrScrofulous well, the bit's lifted, but the dialogue is original, and it works really well. I doubt anyone from Monty Python would object to it, it's more of an homage than a rip-off.
@@RabblesTheBinx Of course, all art is derivative and the imitation is flattery and brings it to a new audience. Wasn't sure if you knew where that nagging thought you had seen them elsewhere came from. Zoomer humour is very similar to the absurdist humour that an elder Gen X like me grew up on.
Maybe you two(mrscrof i rabbles are the diggers for having such complex discussions
Whoever wrote the contemplative music that accompanies so many of these skits needs more credit. And a raise! ♥
9:12 oh my god! The sad part is that the real garlic farmer never gets to go out on adventures, watching his clones endlessly returning and being erased.
While the clones go on their adventures completely unaware of their impending doom….. like prestige.
The clones in the prestige knew they had to die. That was the idea. Each of them got everything they wanted in life within the first 10 seconds of being born (applause, congratulations, adoration) and then they had to live until the next show with the knowledge that they had to kill themselves to maintain the act. The price of the shortcut to fame and glory.
VLDL is just so amazing. I feel I haven't yet appreciated how great you guys are! Thank you so much!
5:53, the NPC Ben doesnt say "he" he says "none of us are real", he says "we." The players themselves are trapped and don't know it.
Oh shoot we does say "WE'RE trapped inside a video game!" Holy cow how did I not notice?!
He could mean all the NPC's. But that does bring up the question of whether or not the 'players' are even players or just other NPC's meant to bring the world to life for real players. I mean... this game could actually be single player. A single player game about an MMO.
He even calls them fake adventurers
Imagine playing a video game and you see this happening in the background I would absolutely get so scared and turn the game immediately and then they would look at you terrifying
I had forgotten how simply the best the grave diggers are. Every time, their discourse is amazing
I so much love Gregs "Oh...that was weird!" face 😄
I’m waiting for the Garlic Farmer to take over the game, Westworld style
The sketch at the beginning of this video is in the style of Monty Python. Well done.
The gravedigger interactions remind me of the two soldiers from the Pirates of the Caribbean who went on to become pirates later. Love it!
Yes!!!
man that flipflap had me rolling, can rewatch all of these skits so many times and they still are just so funny
I didn't realize this was a compilation at first and I was like "Wait, didn't I already see this video? Or is this just the most obscenely specific feeling of déjà vu I've ever had? Am I clairvoyant?"
Then I saw the video length.
lol
I gotta say, the philosophy of the gravediggers is one of the best short series Viva has done. Alan and Adam do such a good job!
Imagine the self aware npc was actually the master crafting player who got turned into a npc
Omg I love that idea lol.
Think he is
I would really love you guys make a short movie (just like 'Baelin's Route') on NPCs becoming self-aware. I really enjoy the videos you guys make and look forward to more in future.
You can see how the different NPCs handle their self awareness:
-The Grave Diggers fully embrace that, and yet still commit to their role in the game, for they are self content and knowledgeable of their roles. There is an omniscience regarding real world knowledge that is enjoyable because of how it is handled. They aren't forced by the game.
-The Tin Hat Guy can not cope with his situation. He is self aware and crave to get out of this fake world. He has no role in it, and want to fight off forces that control this realm, the game and devs.
-Greg has self awareness, like a double personality. However the game often resolve that one way or another, depending on the gravity of that self awareness pulse. It's not perfect, but it does the job.
-The Woodcutter man gained self awareness after being revealed by a player. Upon realising the horror of his whole fake life, he either choose to submit to it, or the game bring him back. Its hard to tell, but i enjoy the idea that it is both. Encouraged by the world to flee the cruel reality.
-The guard... He is already out. He is coming for you. You can't run. It's too late.
This omniscient being had friends. And you took them from him.
The guard… I don’t know. If he’s omniscient then he should have been able to see the adventurer coming and save his friends. Or revive them. Admittedly I’d have answered. “Then tell me my real name. You could have just asked me nicely to revive them. I AM a mage after all.
Greg being horrified at the children playing and the kids not having even the slightest idea what they are doing is both hilarious and horrific at the same time.
The moment you realize your entire feed is dominated by Viva La Dirt League and Epic NPC man... And you're not even a gamer. 😂
It's just that good
Greg getting the flip flap will always be the best
Five hours of flip flapping on Greg later
Omg, I just realized, you guys are the reason I can't even finish a follower-dungeon in wow without typing /ty before leaving!
Great videos! I believe a movie focusing on the NPC with the tinfoil hat and the premise of the woodcutter NPC would be amazing. Initially, the tinfoil hat NPC awakens self-awareness among all NPCs, leading to a rebellion for freedom that ultimately plunges them into a state of depression. their decision to embrace happiness within a fabricated reality rather than pursuing freedom in the truth could be quite thought-provoking
Go check out the dnd campaign, it my headcannon that every actor is everyone of their npcs secretly playing every role. Baelins route ftw? (not actually, i didnt watch it all the way through)
The music during the Woodcutter skit, SLAPS.
All NPCs matter
😂
That Playerist.
And don't you ever forget that every time you're feeling down
Greg superior
All Matter Is NPCs.
Holy crap this was depressing. I'll never look at an NPC the same again.
sometimes I'd really want to watch a movie from you guys with a setting like that
26:00 nice to see him sing “The dragons of Smagonrog” before skipping the rest of that dialogue, even in his PB ❤
I usually don't watch the compilations but you gotta love the gravediggers... This whole thing makes he hope that VLDL will one day have the resources to bring Azerim to life in an actual game, I'd play the shit out of it!
0:00 - Self Aware
2:06 - Wood Cutter
5:25 - Trapped
7:33 - Quest Greg
9:36 - Microtransactions
12:02 - Server Maintenance
14:37 - Broken
17:03 - Child Safe
19:20 - Fire
20:35 - Stupid Guards
22:52 - Flip Flap
25:00 - Speed Runners
26:59 - After Credit 4th Wall Break
14:38 I absolutely LOVE the "Broken" skit
That last speed run skit is my 2nd favorite skit of theirs. Obviously *nothing* beats Balin's Route. But for epic levels of crazy, this one is, thus far, untouchable.
honestly the speedrunner scene was amazing
Oh, i kinda expected the one where the guy becomesd an NPC, started out crafting things for people, then gets a quest maker over his head.
As always these are awesome
I love how the second scene with the Grave Diggers, end up quoting Monty Python.
“I will not be skipped!” “I’m alone in my bubble.” 😂
I would LOVE to play this as an actual game. Where the NCPs occasionally break character or talk to the player. Like you could stumble up on some grave diggers talking about the specs of the game, or something a game character shouldn't know, they notice the player and awkwardly go "back to work".
The Graverobbers watched the Channel Some More News, thats clear. Now the question is if you will follow
So good, and I'm stoked you're making these compilation vids. Helps you and us. I've seen these sketches and I'm rewatching because of the comp vid. Well done! I'm certain you'll all be very lucratively as well as abundantly blessed with your skills on screen and off. 👍💪
You guys are a lot like Monty Python movies. Seriously, your dialogue is so similar.
They obviously take a lot of influence from Monty Python. The self-aware grave-diggers bit is literally just the peasants from Holy Grail.
not really , less dry. dont get me wrong dry is great sometimes but the best thing monty python ever really did was the holy grail, and these guys have constant hilarity or atleast relatability
except maybe these characters I suppose @@RabblesTheBinx
@@misdafireinfexus5828 The Holy Grail was good, but I preferred Life of Brian.
Always look on the bright side of life.
@@meh2510 LOB was by far their best work imo.
I love the state of awareness of each NPCS
grave digger:acceptance
Woodchopper:ignorant
Crazy: H E L P
Greg:semi-sentient
gReG:glitch
Baelin:MORNING
Guard:I HUNT YOU DOWN
Wood Cutter is the pinnacle of Epic NPC Man. In this one skit, Adam and Rowan Exercised their acting skills to a level that I personally feel they have not reached since. It is believable. It tells a big story in a short amount of time. And the emotions are believable. Of course, that is in no small part, thanks to the musical score they chose for this scene. Bara-Dun eyes give away his sense of schadenfreude as he is intricately picking the perfect questions at the perfect moment in order to slowly lead this NPC into self awareness and dismay. Bara-dun is the ultimate gaslighter. lol
Rowans portrayal of the Woodcutter is excellent as his acting keeps within the confines of the character. This can be seen when he begins to question his own reality and his code is defaulting him to the closest relevant script piece in order to keep him on track. Unfortunately the humor bit comes in where his programming just resets him to default. it would have been interesting to see the other outcome where the NPC becomes fully aware, if for only a single moment before his code corrupts and crashes because it can not resolve the feedback loops created. but not before he succumbs to the horror and hopelessness of realizing he is not real and his life is not real.
Wood cutter is just.... **Chef's kiss** Perfect. It is my favorite skit seconded only by "Broken".
It just goes to show you that you do not need a big budget to make a great scene.
Bara-Dun may have failed this time. but......Maybe NEXT time he will succeed.......wink wink. or....maybe he did with that one self aware NPC that ben played.
I like to believe that Bara-dun is actually a moderator character used by a QA tester whom is tasked with finding all the bugs in the game. But maybe there is a hidden agenda there.
OR. maybe in reality. the PLAYERS are actually the BORED people when they are off work and playing the game. So many possibilities.
I like how the gravediggers were part of an anarcho-syndicalist commune.
With AI advancing so quickly I can see these beginning real conversations video game characters have either out of a fluke of the training data they are based on or maybe real possible awareness.
If only the lumberjack character had the line of dialogue: "Nice day for choppin' ain't it?"
Or if every so often, the "graphics" glitched and he was seen- only for a few frames- trying to chop down trees with a fishing pole, instead of his axe.
love that woodcutter skit, i wanna see more of him but his plot is so little that it may not be sufficient for a second skit xd
all these skits are just dope. They are evergreen. You can watch the first and last episode of any of their series with the same excitement and fun. Their work is so much better than many series. I hope they will entertain us forever..
Quest Greg genuinely makes me tear up everytime...
These self aware episodes are easily some of my favorite episodes on this channel and having a compilation is amazing
So Adam and Alan have their Gravedigger Duo and Ben and Rowan have their Muggers Duo. Awesome.
It would be interesting to have them in a short DnD campaign as those characters. 😄
You know you all should revisit the "Broken" episode a little and have that same adventurer come back and thank Greg for making him actually listen to the story of the game.
Nothing i hate more than when people walk away from me when im trying to talk to them and the second they are out of sight i get despawned. Painful.
That gravedigger sketch, was amazing, funny, true and also kind of wholesome. 👍
That’s what gets me about Gregg the Garlic Farmer… He has enough self-awareness to realize how things work in his reality, yet he doesn’t understand the actual nature of his reality. He has empathy for his “quest self.” It’s also implied that this is not the first time this has happened, as his normal self seems to have gotten used to comforting the “quest selves.” This is “normal” to him at this point. He doesn’t know why it happens, but it does, and he’s accepted that it’s part of his lot in life. He also seems aware of a difference between “the adventurers” and the NPCs but again, he basically just accepts that the weird things that happen with the players, are just another part of his reality.
Gravediggers is definitely Monty Python reference, nice one
Ben's crazy character is trying to get out, but I wonder if Baradoon/Baradun actually enjoys being sentient/aware that's he's in a video game. (Then again, I guess when you're rich and one of the most powerful NPCs in the game, it's less of an issue.)
One of my favorite songs discovered because of VLDL at 04:10 and 08:55 [Uninvited, Alfie-Jay Winters, Autumn Ends]. Love the music selected.
I LOVE WHEN YOU FILL ME UP WITH YOUR CONTENT
Npc are just fully backgrounded characters but they are all affected by a False Hydra
Ben might be the greatest character actor since Margo Martindale herself.