I know this video is really old, but I thought Miss Nancy was telling the kid of all the things that she wanted to do, but she has run out of time. She had so many dreams that were never met and the cold metaphor is time itself ... It keeps getting colder and colder ... eventually you will be gone and you either lived or you didn't. Her leaving on the rocket was a metaphor of her dying. That's how I looked at the story. Time is the weather ... It started who knows when and it keeps snowing every single day, never stopping .... Time never stops.
I started as a literature student at the university level and have since moved onto other things but I've always enjoyed analysis of games in a serious manner and I couldn't be happier that i found Games as Literature. I not only enjoy hearing about games I have played to add to my own understanding of them but hearing about games solely through the analytical lens is pretty much just as magical. Keep up the amazing work and know that you have a seriously impressed Canadian fan!
Great interpretation, but I find it weird that you did not touch upon the very blatant criticism on consumerism: Burning things is basically the final stage of throwaway society, the fact that all the smoke from the chimnes very likely is CAUSING the coldness is a very obvious analogy to climate change. Then there is the typically unhelpful way you are treated by the tomorrow corporation, the terms and conditions you burn without reading them, the "lever operation business" as the final stage of point- and meaningless jobs, the fact that you are supposed to buy certain products to substitute your "masculinity", that you can't even get a hug without the coupon etc. I could go on and on about this, but it seems quite clear to me that the game is as much a satire on capitalism and modern society as a whole as it is about wasting your time with meaningless games. And this does shed a quite different light on what miss nancy said to you. Is she really encouraging you to live an independent life full of experience? Or is she just talking about indulding in a different kind of hedonism, lazily covered up by beeing supposedly individual and "against the system"? Ultimately, she does leave you alone in a world that seems doomed, although her rocket is so huge that there should be plenty of space for others.
I think that's why, it's very obvious to a point everyone gets it so there's not much value in actually talking about it; and, if I'm to be honest, your interpretation seems rather simplistic. There's ultimately more meaning discussing what's underneath and how to integrate it into your life than what it says about the powers that be.
@@dutch_asocialite Except my comment mentions some limitations of the approach to the video, even contradicting it in part. So if that aspect was that "obvious" to whoever made the video, they would offer a rebuttal. It's weird that you talk about productivity, yet you seem to have nothing better to do than to tout your horn about how "obvious" everything is to you. After all, you commented something very similar under the video itself. If there is no value in discussing something obvious, then there certainly is even less value in pointing out that it's obvious. Also, I was talking about the fact that in the current system, being "subversive" is often *part of the system*. If you had understood my point as well as you claim, then you would not be suggesting to integrate what the video says into our lives. That would be, as you put it, "rather simplistic".
@Hans Hinterman Bro calm tf down, I was just giving my two cents on the matter. >So if that aspect was that "obvious" to whoever made the video, they would offer a rebuttal Why would it need to be rebutted if it was obvious? It would on average just need to be addressed before moving on. What, do you think I'm saying it's an incorrect interpretation? >It's weird that you talk about productivity Uh huh... >yet you seem to have nothing better to do than to tout your horn about how "obvious" everything is to you Well I do think it's obvious, but I thought it was obvious for everyone; I mean, being encouraged to buy things constantly for whatever reason by the powers that be seems rather on the nose, don't you think? Hell, I put that two and two together just thinking about the game years after having ever seen it and decided to look into it again to see if it holds water. Anyway, it's just been the New Year, give me a break at least. >After all, you commented something very similar under the video itself I'm glad you noticed, but that was more a musing about how the same ideas presented in this video has propagated and evolved as time went on in various resources. I just found it curious how much of the same elements I've came across in psychoanalytic content are represented here albeit in a less developed form. >[If] there is no value in discussing something obvious But I didn't say that, only it was just less valuable. Though maybe I was a little hard in my wording... >I was talking about the fact... being "subversive" is often *part of the system* Yeah I know, that's part of the reason why I find it quite obvious and less valuable to begin with. Critique about capitalism and society is expected and - especially these days - endorsed such that positing, "late stage capitalism is a bad end for humanity," is effectively baby's first thought. It has good truth to it but it's not particularly radical because... and so what more value does it have if it's in line with the powers that be? Being subversive _is_ often part of the system. Sure, the archetypal interpretations presented here can be branded as, "part of the system," but they're also valuable on their own and reflected in classic stories as archetypal themes, long before the system was a thing. While the capitalist-critical interpretation is... well, obvious, it's also only relevant so long as the issues related to it or just capitalism as a whole are a thing because when or where it's not it's largely meaningless, while the idea about, say, growing up is much more universally applicable; honestly, I took the concept of burning your toys and the repetition of "you can't go back" as a way of saying, "grow up," rather than an image of hypercapitalism - though I see why one would see it that way - especially since right now I'm trying to get rid of much of my own old possessions. But maybe you do have a point, and what I mean to say is, "your interpretation is just not interesting," at least to me. Not only do I hear critiques like that all the time, but they're also quite depressing since they never seem to offer satisfying solutions, just complain and whine about things without action, whereas with the fantastic interpretation in the video it at least offers something one can do in their life to... give genuine meaning unto it. With how "subversively hopeful" the end of the game is contra to all the dark humour beforehand, compounded with all the talk about never able to go back, it seems to be especially sincere in this regard, at least to me otherwise I feel there would be a coy self-aware sort of time travel element or something to further shit on the idea of consumerism instead of hitting you over the head with the hard reality of the ever encroaching progress of time, unless it's also satirising archetypal happy ending stories too in which case fuck me.
This is my favorite video on Little Inferno, and I will point everyone I can to it when they inevitably say "Little Inferno is a pointless time-waster of satire."
I played this a while ago. Remembered the general vibe and message but not many details. This was a good revisiting. I am grateful for this analysis. First video of this channel I've seen, and I already love it.
I'm glad to hear that, because this is a very old video and I'd like to think my work has significantly improved since then lol. Hope you like the newer stuff even better!
dotfortun Yeah, I've gotten a couple reports of that. Unsure what would have caused it, since that's not a normal occurrence and nothing different happened in editing that I can see, but I'll be on the lookout for it in the future, for sure.
Exactly. This was just as important a topic as wasting your time on meaningless games, especially considering that wasting your time on these types of games is PART of consumerism.
I always, ALWAYS, took away a completely different interpretation of this game. I'm a climate scientist, and I have always seen this game as a critique of humanity's inability to act before it's too late. After reading an interview with the devs, I realised I was projecting myself onto the game, but I still think it was an interesting interpretation (see below). I always assumed that the reason for the constant cold, was because of everyone in the town constantly burning things all day to keep warm. If you think about it, every time the weatherman signs off, he says "from above the smoke stacks, above the city". I always assumed that the smoke clouds were LITERALLY blocking out the sun from the town below (hence when he goes above the smoke, he sees the sun for the first time ever). Plus, when the little girl burns her house down and escapes, and then writes that she's sat on a beach somewhere, that means this cooling is not seen everywhere. So basically it is just this ONE town that is constantly burning shit to keep warm. I also got major evil vibes from the huggy lady and always assumed she knew that what was causing the "snow" (or ash, if you like that) was her company. I.e. a big company exploiting the planet and it's people, to the detriment of both, to make a profit. Then when the town/planet is fucked, she gives a "oh that's strange" and fucks off in a rocket with all of her hoarded wealth. It's such a coherent narrative. Maybe I need to make a video on this.
Honestly, if I had made this video years later I would absolutely have talked more about climate change and capitalism. I wasn't as politically savvy back then, and didn't want to wade into those waters. Thankfully I improved on that front before making my video on Final Fantasy VII. 🤣
I just found your content and it is great :) Watched several of the shorter videos and this and I'm hooked. Definitely gonna keep watching. This video was wonderful!
I found your channel through watching random "The Last of Us" related videos on Autoplay. There needs to be more RUclipsrs like yourself who take their time to dissect the themes and messages of games. Off the top of my head I can only think of Errant Signal and Extra Credits. I have recently noticed a lot of ambivalence and pushback from other gamers about games designed with messages that have relevance in real life and about critics who examine them in depth. Many of them say "I just want games to be fun" and the ones who take time to dissect them are looking into them look in too much...venturing into diatribe or push agendas. I have even felt an undercurrent that it is detrimental for the future of the games industry. Both in development and journalism. Which is a shame. Well, thanks for your hard work, and this subscriber will be looking forward to more videos.
DoctorWeeTodd People worry that games in general are way too serious these days, though many may also be missing the fact that they simply aren't children anymore and everything is a bit more serious for them. Then people also miss out on games that are just fun, like Splatoon, because of market trends and gaming culture being so divisive. I, myself, am just projecting a bit though, because I too once felt like games were becoming too meta or real or serious, when they weren't the problem, growing up was. Growing up is hard and now that games seem to be doing it too (even though certainly not all are, not even a majority), it's like part of our childhoods that were just playing a fun game is aging as well. Just my ideas on the matter.
Well, you just earned a new sub, you are an amazing analyst and you prove and provide amazing evidence that games are an art form, you commonly talked about Little Inferno as a deep and meaningful story, and that you say that we should be aware of the games and gain something from it, well I would like to request you do a analysis of Earthbound, I'm not sure what your stand on requests are but honestly you all talked about gaining new things from these games, and Earthbound is a game that constantly comes to mind. It taught me to hang onto the childhood I have remaining and all about friendship and while not a specific thing from the game, the creator talked about how in the worst of times, the best thing you can keep is your sense of humour which was the inspiration for Earthbound and honestly something I live by, and honestly I have had some bad times, I suffer from Anxiety, depression and other mental illness as well and playing Earthbound generally made me happier and changed me as a person, and recently it got re-released on the New Nintendo 3DS and playing again fills me up with all this wonderful childhood thoughts because of this portrayal of innocence and reminded me of when I was 10 or 12 (I'm 17), and I really would like you to see your views and analysis on this gem of a game, honestly you don't have to, I'm not forcing you, but your channel in general being all about gaming as literature and art forms, earthbound is one of those games that just fit in. But even if you don't do Earthbound, keep up the amazing work and continue to show gaming for what it truly is.
+Machupichu18 Glad you enjoyed the video! I'm hoping to do Earthbound at some point, but it'll probably be a while; RPGs take a long time to analyze, so my current policy is not to analyze them until I reach a Patreon goal that lets me take some work off to do them. As for requests, I listen to them to help determine what my fans want, but the only requests I take directly are those given with Patreon pledges; certain pledge levels allow you to request a game for me to stream and/or analyze. The pledge levels are kind of expensive, but that's because analyses take SO long to make.
Hey, a similar game with similar depth you should look into: Exoptable Money. It operates similarly, with you facing a single screen and receiving letters from unique characters as you make progress. It takes maybe two hours to go through and I think you'll enjoy it. Especially the sequel, Presentable Liberty.
Great episode ! I think that not portraying miss nancy as a vilian and the little inferno entertainment system as evil was the best thing to do. Otherwise it would look like those critisism media gives about video games in general. Showing that it's time/money wasting but not stupid is very meaningful to me, I mean I played hours and hours on team fortress 2 (spent about 150 € too), but it was great, the way I see our world didn't change but I had a great time, and I think it was worth it ! But nothing last forever and now I spend my time in a different way ! I'm not sure if I dreamt bigger, I mean my life style didn't change much ! But yeah !
Great video. I've heard people talk about Little Inferno before but never this eloquently, I always figured it was just a dumb little timewaster with a slightly hamfisted message. Maybe those other videos just didn't want to spoil anything. This game looks awesome, and those unsettling moments (Particularly with the sudden THUMP and Sugar Plump's panicked dialogue) seemed genuinely terrifying. I still don't think it's the kind of game I'd play but you definitely changed my mind about it. I think the metaphor for the childhood/adulthood transition hypothesis is very accurate. It's exactly what I was thinking when I watched those parts in the video, everything in the later part speaks to adulthood for me. I just wish somebody had asked *me* whether I was ready to be an adult or not >_> Also "Seriously though, watch Steven Universe. It's too good." Yes. Yes yes yes. Anybody reading this who has not seen this show, go and watch it right now.
pseudogenesis Yeah, it's a weird one, but it's so much more compelling than it seems like it'd be at face value. And yeah, I had to throw in a shout out to Steven Universe. I still can't get over how good it is.
I've now watched a few videos of yours, and I am amazed you don't have more subscribers. You have however, gained one more with me. :) These are brilliant! I hope you keep making them!
Loved the analysis :). when I played this game I also caught the idea of wasting my time and also to find a way to "move on". Its not that the Little Inferno machine is evil. It's more like you will eventually want to do other things. I think thats why the free coupon to hug Nancy was a rather subtle and interesting touch. I was wondering why you didn't include it. It's a weird addition, since it is not something you can claim immediately and not a thing that's particular of videogames, let alone Zynga type games. And if you think about it its actually kind of a big deal. It's like getting a free lunch with the game creator, a golden ticket to Wonka's chocolate factory. I think this was a subtle way to induce the player of the idea of "dream bigger". A way of telling you that you could get out and hug Nancy. And yes, you can burn that coupon, you can reject that quest. And although you wont get the hug when you talk to her, its alright because you are learning as you go, and if you hug her, well you quest is done, then what? Well you dream bigger. That coupon is like Nacy saying: You don't have dreams? Don't worry, here's one for you... I believe every game creator want that for their games... to inspire, to make people have their own dreams and grow. That's why Nancy is not evil, she really really wants to inspire you, like any creator would want to. Oh well, this was some small ramblings from my part to an already excellent analysis. It was awesome to watch and I'm going to look more of your videos. Keep up the good work, and I will tell everyone I know about this channel, it's very interesting and full of great content.
Italo Felipe Capasso Ballesteros You know, for all the interpreting I did, for some reason I just couldn't quite get enough out of that coupon to make it worth mentioning. It was a fun touch, but I end up needing to ignore a lot of interesting things in these analyses in the interest of time and pacing, and for some reason I just couldn't get enough meaning out of that to make it particularly worth mentioning. But you managed to. Well done. That's the kind of thing I simply didn't catch on to for some reason, but really wish I did before making the video.
I think theres two important themes you missed here. Once is the climate change metaphor (world freezing=world heating up): we stare into our 'fireplaces', distracted from the real problem and from the necessary changes to the system. Secondly, consumerism and capitalism, wasteful consumption of things for short term shallow entertainment. While the world burns down around us, corporations encourage us to stay pacified and keep burning things for them. For me, that's the real message of little inferno, but like many works of art its the differences in individual interpretation that make it so interesting.
I just started watching your videos and Man they are amazed I hope you continue to work and I hope you can get more subscribers I'll be telling everybody about you
CEG HOBO Yay! I always love it when people enjoy my work, and I also enjoy it when they tell others! If you need help with that last bit, check out the Facebook and Twitter; should make that process easier. :) And yeah, I have no plans to stop. The series is growing, albeit slowly, and I enjoy doing it as much as my few, dedicated fans enjoy watching.
This was for sure one of my most favorite games in recent years. I really enjoyed it so much. I had no idea what it was, except for the fact that i like fire and you burn things. What i got out of it, was sooo much more.
I reserved judgement on Anita's work until after it came out. Her points are shallow most of the time, completely off base more than some want to admit, and when she is right, she doesn't go deep enough to really make a solid point about anything. She also never makes it clear what sources she's citing, and refuses to credit youtubers that she grabbed game footage from. also, that Kickstarter campaign was undeniably exploitative on her part, since there is no appreciable difference in production value or research quality between her videos before the Kickstarter, and those after it.
someone in a video: (mentions anita in passing to make a point) the comments: (gamergate discourse and discussion on whether shes the savior saint of videogames or a horrible manipulative monster) like cant yall shut up for a second?
that's the problem with satire their comes a point where If you're not careful enough with the parody you end up playing the mocked trope completely straight
I figured that the snow was ash from all the smoke stacks and burning paper, wood, plastic, WAIT, BRICK?! And that... Miss Nancy just wanted to inspire kids. But without knowing it, she caused an almost nuclear winter. As Nancy said, dream bigger, and nothing is somebody's fault. Miss Nancy did mean well. She gave you a purpose to play again, and find out more. She knew. And now I have finished this 'stupid' game (in the eyes on ignorance). I can stop. But Miss Nancy helped me realize, no end comes to something that you just add on by dreaming bigger. People call these games stupid, and how unsocial they are, but... with this art... it is a picture that moves. I could go on forever with all the theories. But I need to go to bed.
I always thougt that Miss nancy did not really care about the consequences of her actions, but I guess assuming that she had ultimately good intentions would fit the hint that you might find "a monster with a heart of gold" in the tomorrow corporation building.
Hey Samuel, I just stumbled on your videos, and I liked them so much I've become a subscriber! I really enjoyed this video on Little Inferno. I personally read the story in the final way: as a symbolic fable about childhood. However, I didn't think of the other interpretations, which only serves to make the game that much deeper! P.S. If you like Steven Universe, you should definitely see Gravity Falls! By far my favorite cartoon airing, even over Steven Universe
Jake Rodrigues Thanks! Always good to hear of people enjoying the series. ^_^ I do love how many different ways a story can be read. Some will see one meaning, others another, some may see many while others see none. Makes discussion interesting. :D And yes, I also love Gravity Falls! I think Steven Universe edges ahead of it for me, but then they do tend toward different things (namely Gravity Falls' grand mystery vs. Steven Universe's character drama), so either choice makes sense to me. Kids' shows have been so excellent lately, it makes me happy.
I definitely see what you mean, and I quite liked the game, but I think the fact that the ice age is implied to be caused by all the Little Inferno's seems to weaken the point, intentionally or not. We're escaping from a world of our own making.
@@vi0let831 Not totally sure, but I figure the sheer amount of dust, soot and ash caused by the fireplaces would create a nuclear winter, blocking out the sun and dropping the temperature which would knock more effects.
😍 Шикарная игра Очень долго искала её анализ Чувствовала что есть смысл глубинный, который хотелось бы услышать от другого человека И вот нашла, великолепно!
Great analysis. I have one additional interpretation and I think it is supported by a lot of symbolism. You said that it is not necessarily a criticism of video games as whole but more specifically on a narrow set of video games. I would posit that it is actually a criticism of a wider phenomenon and not narrower: The consumerist society as a whole where a lot of people spend their time chasing meaningless entertainment thru buying and consuming products and they miss out on finding meaning and fulfillment to their lives. I think the fact that you don;t just burn timber of coal but consumer goods is a strong symbol. Also the fireplace is a symbol of comfort so in the first part of the game the protagonist basically spends his entire life entertaining himself by buying and consuming stuff he does not need and never leaves his zone of comfort. He knows nothing of the outside world and the few interactions with other character he has are not in person. So it basically portrays the tragedy of the manchild. The protagonist is basically a manchild that was so consumed by his habits he wasted years of his life while other people around him moved on. It ends with him liberating himself and the fact that the game is not judgmental but instead inspiring I think makes it something like a Interventionist wake up call for people stuck in such cycle. Tells them they can brake the habit and go out and live life. The massage about "It can't last forever" has a different meaning in this context. They may never make the choice to turn away from the fireplace or to destroy it,m but as the years go by their life will come to an end they will die without ever having lived.
Ok not gonna lie, the scene where Sugar Plumps said to turn around, and the one where the player burns their house down is downright *TERRIFYING* I legit got scared by that. Also the picture of her after she supposedly got burned alive in her house was creepy af. It doesn't help that I'm sleep deprived while watching this lol
"Sitting in front of the fireplace for...we don't even know how long." To be blunt, we do know the proverbial counter starts when the game opens due to his letter coming with the purchase. Now, assuming in universe time is accurate to real time, it's probably safe to say it's ,3-4 hours between the beginning and exit of the protagonist.
Awesome video! I knew that there had to be some deeper meaning to this game. As someone that doesn’t play a lot of games (sorry...I know some people don’t like that) but is fascinated by the story elements of them, consider myself a new a subscriber :)
This game clearly beats "Lone Survivor". :| And it's great that you mention the patronizing ideals that tag the act of spending time/intellect on games as wasteful/harmful. I mean, how many of the books, shows, news features, articles, movies, etc. we experience everyday turn out to be utterly pointless or even deceitful by nature. But do people go out bashing 'reading' and those who partake in it in general? No, it's just that as you've mentioned many times in your episodes, video games are simply not taken that seriously (if at all) by authorities. Perhaps the blame lies with the numerous games (old and new) that Little Inferno particularly seems to be satirizing, and perhaps it's how the title 'game' would mean the opposite of 'deep/intellectual' for many. After all, can't gamers themselves decide what to take away from the art / product they consume? Even if it's utterly pointless and solely designed to rob you of your time and money? Isn't this perhaps what led the developers of Little Inferno to come up with a greater, more intriguing concept to enrich such seemingly. pointlessly addictive games? Also adding to the second interpretation, I think the game could also symbolize how theocratic and dictator systems can install their dominant ideology and keep the society in a state of desensitization until the point when one simply cannot stare away from his/her very own 'little inferno'. Ultimately, borrowing your words, it's up to the individual to dream bigger and see the world beyond what the dominant system wants us to experience. Perhaps the world isn't as frozen as they made it seem. Thanks for another great analysis. Can't wait to play this one now.
Aria Mohtadi Everything you said about judging games and gamers is seconded. And yeah, there are plenty of potential political and social interpretations that can stem from this as well, such as the one you mentioned and a critique of consumer culture. I know this is probably weird for someone like me, but I find social/political interpretations to be far less interesting than more conceptual and/or specific ones, so I went ahead and went with them. Though I definitely like the one you just mentioned; Little Inferno as propaganda is a pretty solid and interesting interpretation.
Games As Literature I agree, yes, social/political undertones often tend to be way too over-stressed particularly in movies. At times they might even strike as way too off-hand or far-fetched; as the one comparing The Dark Knight Rises with the recent Wall Street protests. And there are sure some visual/thematic indications supporting that, but one could also name countless reasons why the filmmakers never intended that underlying message. And then again, there's the matter of author's intent: should we base all our interpretations based on evidence supporting what the creators had in mind? Do other valid interpretations also count as...well,valid? Thanks, I appreciate it. Living in Iran, the 2nd interpretation of your analysis instantly made me think of the way the regime here uses its tools of propaganda (religion being one of them) to keep people 'busy'; to distract them from the actual problems.
Aria Mohtadi Yeah, authorial intent is an fascinating subject I plan to eventually do an episode on. And living in Iran probably would make the propaganda elements of this game stand out, I imagine. Interesting.
Neither, though I am interested in approaching Dante's Inferno as an adaptation of its source material (however loosely it does that, and it's EXTREMELY LOOSE).
I feel like this analysis didn't go deep enough. The game references childhood, yes. The whole point is you play, as you play you get bored and want new exciting experiences which you burn through... you experience some trauma (sugarplumps' death for instance) eventually it's time for you to become an adult and you are forced into it because you already burnt through all of it and "you can't not know anymore", you can't just keep playing and going through the same experiences over and over again, you are fed up, you burn through the most important "toys" which left some meaning for you because they are linked to the trauma, and go out. Over the clouds, the clouds being the harsh truth of the outside world and adult life. "The temperature is getting colder and colder, and we just don't know why." Except we do, the clouds which make the temperatures drop, are formed by the toys being burned, of which smokes go up through the chimneys, to the sky, meaning each child's trauma is contributing in making the harsh outside world reality, which if you dream big enough, can surpass.
Oh it absolutely doesn't go deep enough. Frankly, I was still early in my process of deconstructing the conservative worldview I was raised with when this was made, and didn't feel comfortable getting into the game's commentary on environmentalism and capitalism. If I made this video today, I absolutely would have gone into that stuff. Thankfully, I figured it out more before making a video on Final Fantasy VII. 😅
It's amazing how ahead of its time this all was, to a point it's practically worthless now. Not to rag, but more concise and meaningful information that goes above and beyond this game is... pretty common now and I'm not just talking about JBP.
My friend bootlegged this game and copied it on his flashdrive and gave it to me. My first ever PC game at the time. Id play this game on every computer I could.
Absolutely amazing analysis! I found your channel on Reddit, and I'm really excited to check out the rest of your videos. Have you considered looking into the story line of Morrowind?
DontQuoteMeh I definitely want to do something on the Elder Scrolls series at some point, but I'll have to return to Morrowind. I spent a lot of time on it a few years back, but never did finish it; I'd kind of like to return (perhaps with a few mods to make the gameplay a little more bearable--I loved the game, but wow) and complete it at some point. Maybe I should try and do that soon.
I really didn't like Little Inferno. It's one of the few games where I will use the term pretentious. I didn't feel like it was subversive and clever, I just thought it was repeating an understood truism as if it were profound realization. "Don't waste your life in front of entertainment media" is a concept as old as entertainment media. I also don't feel that it was a children's game, or something you're meant to go in thinking it's a children's game. It's just a game that has a cartoony creepy art style, like Don't Starve. I kept playing the game because burning stuff was a fun waste of time, and out of sheer stubbornness to get my money's worth even as the game kept trying to tell me that it was dumb and that pointless wastes of time are horribad evil and make you blind to the horror of the world. We get it, Farmville is bad. I don't think anyone really thinks otherwise.
Well, there certainly was a bit more to it (especially the criticism of consumerism), but I do agree that the game was very blatant about a lot of things. There definitely are games that made me feel MUCH less respected as a recipient when i played them - some really are unsubtle enough to feel kind of insulted as a player. So I'd say Little Inferno was an ok game, neither terrible nor great.
HighCalibur Not a positive example so much as "not Hitler." You can agree or disagree with her all you want, but to suggest she's trying to attack video games in the same way as Jack Thompson is outright inaccurate. And yeah, I could see some parallels to Fahrenheit 451. Though I imagine if Ray Bradbury wrote this it would be far more critical of Little Inferno and basically all technology ever. He had some interesting views on the subject. :P
Games As Literature i loved the video also, and as for the sarkeesian clip, i think its good showing how some people can knee jerk a reaction against people criticising games but with the amount of baggage that comes along with her its really hard to use any clip from her tropes series without a lot of people assuming way more than is being said, I'm a guy who tries to look at things as realistically as possible and even i rolled my eyes when she appeared but as soon as i saw old jack i got the point, its must be from working in the industry but when people use the tropes series as a basis for an opinion in games its sometime difficult not to switch off, still it was a great video, keep it up man
Alan Monaghan Yeah, I'm aware there's a lot of baggage, but I'm glad you got what I was going for. I knew it was slightly risky, but I also knew the worst case scenario was pissing off a few Gamergaters, and... I'll admit, I don't really care about that. :P
Games As Literature now I'm not a gated so don't take this the wrong way or anything but i heard that actually its about ethic in game journalism :P but seriously there are a lot of good people in gg who simply want similar goals in terms of ethical standards and the like and don’t know where to go to talk about it, myself I’m just watching how it all plays out as i have no direct involvement with the press, i just design sounds :)
Flamekebab I'm not. Watch my Prince of Persia analysis if you want to know about my camera's awful onboard mic. We're using a professional mounted shotgun mic. The mic isn't the problem, it's the acoustics in the room, which unfortunately is an exceptionally more expensive problem to fix without plastering foam all over the walls (which my wife doesn't want to do in our spare room). I plan to improve that, but until Patreon funding allows it I'm stuck with things as they are.
Games As Literature I'm assuming the shotgun mic is mounted on the camera then? Either way it's way too far away from you if that's the sound you're getting out of it.
Flamekebab Yeah, it's a camera-mounted mic. But it's only a few feet away, and that's kind of the point of shotgun mics, so I'm unsure of what the solution would be. It does sound a bit better on the closeup shots, but I can't have it next to me all the time.
Games As Literature There's no reason it has to be mounted on the camera though. I've had a shotgun mic setup under the shot pointing up before. Gotta get creative sometimes!
Flamekebab Huh, perhaps so. Though the cable on this thing is as short as you'd expect for a mic that needs to be mounted, and I'm unsure whether extending it would affect audio quality. I may need to experiment a bit.
Brenden Hudson As do I. But thematically, it wanted to have a lot more meaning than it really ended up with. Which will make it really interesting to look at next month. ^_^
Brenden Hudson Just the trilogy. And probably a brief mention of the steaming pile of crap that is Judgment, because it's basically the epitome of the series' issues (which is impressive considering the first one).
+randomguy6679 Definitely 2. I think it did the most right without wasting as much potential. I did a four-part series on the trilogy where you can find out more, if you're interested.
Oh, well then sorry. I've had much worse unironically on here, learned it was usually straightforward. :P Glad you liked it! Little Inferno is an underappreciated favorite of mine.
Still Anita was probably not the best example because it is like saying the aussy rating system and government doesn't want to ban games. Both don't in a broad sense but ask anita if a game that makes jokes about sexist natures, even in the satirical sense, should be allowed, she might not be gun ho about it. She is closer to the middle then the counter example but she is still leaning toward the anti-gamer area. Violence in games breeds violence VS sexism in games breeds sexism. These both paint games in a light that just isn't so. Games like hatred are made to push boundaries while "gamers" like her force the industry to be in a bubble of correct behavior. (Gamers is in quotations due to the amount of wrong or stolen video content in her videos, batmans butt being unseeable comes to mind with the first issue) Still overall a great video and liked your viewpoint on the games ending. I just wanted to get my opinion out on this because it was the only issue I found in the video, which when an issue with a single clip used is the issue your doing good.
anita and that news guy are the same... they take their opinions and tell them as facts and than use the gamer as scapegoat for their problems... do not defend her. ever.
That's... not quite what's going on with either of them. Jack Thompson never had problems related to violent games, he just thought they caused problems in society and campaigned to have them controlled or eliminated as a result (using less "opinions" than "made up complaints"). And Sarkeesian isn't blaming video games for anything, just pointing out patterns and tendencies she believes to exist in them (that also exist in other media as well). This is not a matter of defending anyone, it's simply pointing out distinctions: someone who actively tries to legally censor video games is different from someone who criticizes certain tendencies of the medium. And if we, as a gaming community, could get off the knee-jerk defensive for a second that wouldn't be so difficult to recognize.
Aaaaaaand you quoted Anita Fraudkeesian. Congratulations, I was sitting here going, "Man, why haven't I subscribed to you?" That, precisely, is why. Because it's all about ethics in a BS narrative, right?
Haha, it still astounds me how sensitive people are about her. I didn't even quote her in support of what she said, I included a quote by her to demonstrate the difference between her criticism and the criticism of the Jack Thompson era. But that's apparently enough to completely reverse your opinion of me, huh?
I know this video is really old, but I thought Miss Nancy was telling the kid of all the things that she wanted to do, but she has run out of time. She had so many dreams that were never met and the cold metaphor is time itself ... It keeps getting colder and colder ... eventually you will be gone and you either lived or you didn't. Her leaving on the rocket was a metaphor of her dying. That's how I looked at the story. Time is the weather ... It started who knows when and it keeps snowing every single day, never stopping .... Time never stops.
I like your interpretation
I started as a literature student at the university level and have since moved onto other things but I've always enjoyed analysis of games in a serious manner and I couldn't be happier that i found Games as Literature. I not only enjoy hearing about games I have played to add to my own understanding of them but hearing about games solely through the analytical lens is pretty much just as magical. Keep up the amazing work and know that you have a seriously impressed Canadian fan!
+Michael Boggia Yay! Glad to have impressed you. ^_^
Great interpretation, but I find it weird that you did not touch upon the very blatant criticism on consumerism:
Burning things is basically the final stage of throwaway society, the fact that all the smoke from the chimnes very likely is CAUSING the coldness is a very obvious analogy to climate change. Then there is the typically unhelpful way you are treated by the tomorrow corporation, the terms and conditions you burn without reading them, the "lever operation business" as the final stage of point- and meaningless jobs, the fact that you are supposed to buy certain products to substitute your "masculinity", that you can't even get a hug without the coupon etc.
I could go on and on about this, but it seems quite clear to me that the game is as much a satire on capitalism and modern society as a whole as it is about wasting your time with meaningless games.
And this does shed a quite different light on what miss nancy said to you. Is she really encouraging you to live an independent life full of experience? Or is she just talking about indulding in a different kind of hedonism, lazily covered up by beeing supposedly individual and "against the system"? Ultimately, she does leave you alone in a world that seems doomed, although her rocket is so huge that there should be plenty of space for others.
I think that's why, it's very obvious to a point everyone gets it so there's not much value in actually talking about it; and, if I'm to be honest, your interpretation seems rather simplistic. There's ultimately more meaning discussing what's underneath and how to integrate it into your life than what it says about the powers that be.
@@dutch_asocialite Except my comment mentions some limitations of the approach to the video, even contradicting it in part. So if that aspect was that "obvious" to whoever made the video, they would offer a rebuttal.
It's weird that you talk about productivity, yet you seem to have nothing better to do than to tout your horn about how "obvious" everything is to you. After all, you commented something very similar under the video itself.
If there is no value in discussing something obvious, then there certainly is even less value in pointing out that it's obvious.
Also, I was talking about the fact that in the current system, being "subversive" is often *part of the system*. If you had understood my point as well as you claim, then you would not be suggesting to integrate what the video says into our lives. That would be, as you put it, "rather simplistic".
@Hans Hinterman Bro calm tf down, I was just giving my two cents on the matter.
>So if that aspect was that "obvious" to whoever made the video, they would offer a rebuttal
Why would it need to be rebutted if it was obvious? It would on average just need to be addressed before moving on. What, do you think I'm saying it's an incorrect interpretation?
>It's weird that you talk about productivity
Uh huh...
>yet you seem to have nothing better to do than to tout your horn about how "obvious" everything is to you
Well I do think it's obvious, but I thought it was obvious for everyone; I mean, being encouraged to buy things constantly for whatever reason by the powers that be seems rather on the nose, don't you think? Hell, I put that two and two together just thinking about the game years after having ever seen it and decided to look into it again to see if it holds water.
Anyway, it's just been the New Year, give me a break at least.
>After all, you commented something very similar under the video itself
I'm glad you noticed, but that was more a musing about how the same ideas presented in this video has propagated and evolved as time went on in various resources. I just found it curious how much of the same elements I've came across in psychoanalytic content are represented here albeit in a less developed form.
>[If] there is no value in discussing something obvious
But I didn't say that, only it was just less valuable. Though maybe I was a little hard in my wording...
>I was talking about the fact... being "subversive" is often *part of the system*
Yeah I know, that's part of the reason why I find it quite obvious and less valuable to begin with. Critique about capitalism and society is expected and - especially these days - endorsed such that positing, "late stage capitalism is a bad end for humanity," is effectively baby's first thought. It has good truth to it but it's not particularly radical because... and so what more value does it have if it's in line with the powers that be? Being subversive _is_ often part of the system.
Sure, the archetypal interpretations presented here can be branded as, "part of the system," but they're also valuable on their own and reflected in classic stories as archetypal themes, long before the system was a thing. While the capitalist-critical interpretation is... well, obvious, it's also only relevant so long as the issues related to it or just capitalism as a whole are a thing because when or where it's not it's largely meaningless, while the idea about, say, growing up is much more universally applicable; honestly, I took the concept of burning your toys and the repetition of "you can't go back" as a way of saying, "grow up," rather than an image of hypercapitalism - though I see why one would see it that way - especially since right now I'm trying to get rid of much of my own old possessions.
But maybe you do have a point, and what I mean to say is, "your interpretation is just not interesting," at least to me. Not only do I hear critiques like that all the time, but they're also quite depressing since they never seem to offer satisfying solutions, just complain and whine about things without action, whereas with the fantastic interpretation in the video it at least offers something one can do in their life to... give genuine meaning unto it. With how "subversively hopeful" the end of the game is contra to all the dark humour beforehand, compounded with all the talk about never able to go back, it seems to be especially sincere in this regard, at least to me otherwise I feel there would be a coy self-aware sort of time travel element or something to further shit on the idea of consumerism instead of hitting you over the head with the hard reality of the ever encroaching progress of time, unless it's also satirising archetypal happy ending stories too in which case fuck me.
The dev who wrote the story he they didn’t mean it to be that way and that he loves consumerism
This is my favorite video on Little Inferno, and I will point everyone I can to it when they inevitably say "Little Inferno is a pointless time-waster of satire."
+lizardizzle Yay! Always happy to hear that people appreciate the show. ^_^
I played this a while ago. Remembered the general vibe and message but not many details. This was a good revisiting. I am grateful for this analysis. First video of this channel I've seen, and I already love it.
I'm glad to hear that, because this is a very old video and I'd like to think my work has significantly improved since then lol. Hope you like the newer stuff even better!
You are a trail blazer. I just found your contact and now it is.
Videos of this pop off a true trail razor
Your audio track is a couple of frames behind the video track starting a few minutes in.
That being said, still a good video.
dotfortun Yeah, I've gotten a couple reports of that. Unsure what would have caused it, since that's not a normal occurrence and nothing different happened in editing that I can see, but I'll be on the lookout for it in the future, for sure.
I forgot how good this game was. I just got a switch and bought it to play again and I’m literally crying. It’s so frickin good!
YOu speak of these "three interpretations" but I think the game definitely says a lot about consumerism wich you didn't mention at all. Great vid tho
Cesar Gerardo I think the same way. Consumerism is one of the central themes.
Exactly. This was just as important a topic as wasting your time on meaningless games, especially considering that wasting your time on these types of games is PART of consumerism.
Kyle said he didn’t mean it to be that way and that he loves consumerism
@@RiesgoGarza Kyle said he didn’t mean it to be that way and that he loves consumerism
I always, ALWAYS, took away a completely different interpretation of this game. I'm a climate scientist, and I have always seen this game as a critique of humanity's inability to act before it's too late. After reading an interview with the devs, I realised I was projecting myself onto the game, but I still think it was an interesting interpretation (see below).
I always assumed that the reason for the constant cold, was because of everyone in the town constantly burning things all day to keep warm. If you think about it, every time the weatherman signs off, he says "from above the smoke stacks, above the city". I always assumed that the smoke clouds were LITERALLY blocking out the sun from the town below (hence when he goes above the smoke, he sees the sun for the first time ever). Plus, when the little girl burns her house down and escapes, and then writes that she's sat on a beach somewhere, that means this cooling is not seen everywhere. So basically it is just this ONE town that is constantly burning shit to keep warm.
I also got major evil vibes from the huggy lady and always assumed she knew that what was causing the "snow" (or ash, if you like that) was her company. I.e. a big company exploiting the planet and it's people, to the detriment of both, to make a profit. Then when the town/planet is fucked, she gives a "oh that's strange" and fucks off in a rocket with all of her hoarded wealth.
It's such a coherent narrative. Maybe I need to make a video on this.
Honestly, if I had made this video years later I would absolutely have talked more about climate change and capitalism. I wasn't as politically savvy back then, and didn't want to wade into those waters. Thankfully I improved on that front before making my video on Final Fantasy VII. 🤣
Man, I'm really glad I've found your channel on reddit. I can't stop watching your vids!
kosair rox Yay! Always happy to hear that people like them.
Amazing analysis. Thank you to speak a very understandable english.
***** Thanks! And you're welcome! ^_^
Dude, I honestly need to thank you for this amazing video. Keep up the excellent Games As Lit! *applauses*
A really great analysis, you deserve WAY more subs!
I just found your content and it is great :) Watched several of the shorter videos and this and I'm hooked. Definitely gonna keep watching. This video was wonderful!
+Benjamin Jeppsson Söderbeg Thanks! I do really like this one; one of my favorites I've done. Glad you liked it too!
I found your channel through watching random "The Last of Us" related videos on Autoplay. There needs to be more RUclipsrs like yourself who take their time to dissect the themes and messages of games. Off the top of my head I can only think of Errant Signal and Extra Credits. I have recently noticed a lot of ambivalence and pushback from other gamers about games designed with messages that have relevance in real life and about critics who examine them in depth. Many of them say "I just want games to be fun" and the ones who take time to dissect them are looking into them look in too much...venturing into diatribe or push agendas. I have even felt an undercurrent that it is detrimental for the future of the games industry. Both in development and journalism. Which is a shame.
Well, thanks for your hard work, and this subscriber will be looking forward to more videos.
DoctorWeeTodd
People worry that games in general are way too serious these days, though many may also be missing the fact that they simply aren't children anymore and everything is a bit more serious for them. Then people also miss out on games that are just fun, like Splatoon, because of market trends and gaming culture being so divisive. I, myself, am just projecting a bit though, because I too once felt like games were becoming too meta or real or serious, when they weren't the problem, growing up was. Growing up is hard and now that games seem to be doing it too (even though certainly not all are, not even a majority), it's like part of our childhoods that were just playing a fun game is aging as well. Just my ideas on the matter.
Well, you just earned a new sub, you are an amazing analyst and you prove and provide amazing evidence that games are an art form, you commonly talked about Little Inferno as a deep and meaningful story, and that you say that we should be aware of the games and gain something from it, well I would like to request you do a analysis of Earthbound, I'm not sure what your stand on requests are but honestly you all talked about gaining new things from these games, and Earthbound is a game that constantly comes to mind. It taught me to hang onto the childhood I have remaining and all about friendship and while not a specific thing from the game, the creator talked about how in the worst of times, the best thing you can keep is your sense of humour which was the inspiration for Earthbound and honestly something I live by, and honestly I have had some bad times, I suffer from Anxiety, depression and other mental illness as well and playing Earthbound generally made me happier and changed me as a person, and recently it got re-released on the New Nintendo 3DS and playing again fills me up with all this wonderful childhood thoughts because of this portrayal of innocence and reminded me of when I was 10 or 12 (I'm 17), and I really would like you to see your views and analysis on this gem of a game, honestly you don't have to, I'm not forcing you, but your channel in general being all about gaming as literature and art forms, earthbound is one of those games that just fit in.
But even if you don't do Earthbound, keep up the amazing work and continue to show gaming for what it truly is.
+Machupichu18 Glad you enjoyed the video!
I'm hoping to do Earthbound at some point, but it'll probably be a while; RPGs take a long time to analyze, so my current policy is not to analyze them until I reach a Patreon goal that lets me take some work off to do them.
As for requests, I listen to them to help determine what my fans want, but the only requests I take directly are those given with Patreon pledges; certain pledge levels allow you to request a game for me to stream and/or analyze. The pledge levels are kind of expensive, but that's because analyses take SO long to make.
Hey, a similar game with similar depth you should look into: Exoptable Money.
It operates similarly, with you facing a single screen and receiving letters from unique characters as you make progress. It takes maybe two hours to go through and I think you'll enjoy it. Especially the sequel, Presentable Liberty.
Great episode ! I think that not portraying miss nancy as a vilian and the little inferno entertainment system as evil was the best thing to do. Otherwise it would look like those critisism media gives about video games in general. Showing that it's time/money wasting but not stupid is very meaningful to me, I mean I played hours and hours on team fortress 2 (spent about 150 € too), but it was great, the way I see our world didn't change but I had a great time, and I think it was worth it ! But nothing last forever and now I spend my time in a different way !
I'm not sure if I dreamt bigger, I mean my life style didn't change much ! But yeah !
Great video. I've heard people talk about Little Inferno before but never this eloquently, I always figured it was just a dumb little timewaster with a slightly hamfisted message. Maybe those other videos just didn't want to spoil anything. This game looks awesome, and those unsettling moments (Particularly with the sudden THUMP and Sugar Plump's panicked dialogue) seemed genuinely terrifying. I still don't think it's the kind of game I'd play but you definitely changed my mind about it.
I think the metaphor for the childhood/adulthood transition hypothesis is very accurate. It's exactly what I was thinking when I watched those parts in the video, everything in the later part speaks to adulthood for me. I just wish somebody had asked *me* whether I was ready to be an adult or not >_>
Also "Seriously though, watch Steven Universe. It's too good." Yes. Yes yes yes. Anybody reading this who has not seen this show, go and watch it right now.
pseudogenesis Yeah, it's a weird one, but it's so much more compelling than it seems like it'd be at face value.
And yeah, I had to throw in a shout out to Steven Universe. I still can't get over how good it is.
I didn’t burn the coupon and you get a free hug at the end
I've now watched a few videos of yours, and I am amazed you don't have more subscribers. You have however, gained one more with me. :) These are brilliant! I hope you keep making them!
Loved the analysis :). when I played this game I also caught the idea of wasting my time and also to find a way to "move on". Its not that the Little Inferno machine is evil. It's more like you will eventually want to do other things. I think thats why the free coupon to hug Nancy was a rather subtle and interesting touch. I was wondering why you didn't include it.
It's a weird addition, since it is not something you can claim immediately and not a thing that's particular of videogames, let alone Zynga type games.
And if you think about it its actually kind of a big deal. It's like getting a free lunch with the game creator, a golden ticket to Wonka's chocolate factory.
I think this was a subtle way to induce the player of the idea of "dream bigger". A way of telling you that you could get out and hug Nancy.
And yes, you can burn that coupon, you can reject that quest. And although you wont get the hug when you talk to her, its alright because you are learning as you go, and if you hug her, well you quest is done, then what? Well you dream bigger.
That coupon is like Nacy saying: You don't have dreams? Don't worry, here's one for you... I believe every game creator want that for their games... to inspire, to make people have their own dreams and grow. That's why Nancy is not evil, she really really wants to inspire you, like any creator would want to.
Oh well, this was some small ramblings from my part to an already excellent analysis. It was awesome to watch and I'm going to look more of your videos. Keep up the good work, and I will tell everyone I know about this channel, it's very interesting and full of great content.
Italo Felipe Capasso Ballesteros You know, for all the interpreting I did, for some reason I just couldn't quite get enough out of that coupon to make it worth mentioning. It was a fun touch, but I end up needing to ignore a lot of interesting things in these analyses in the interest of time and pacing, and for some reason I just couldn't get enough meaning out of that to make it particularly worth mentioning.
But you managed to. Well done. That's the kind of thing I simply didn't catch on to for some reason, but really wish I did before making the video.
I think theres two important themes you missed here. Once is the climate change metaphor (world freezing=world heating up): we stare into our 'fireplaces', distracted from the real problem and from the necessary changes to the system. Secondly, consumerism and capitalism, wasteful consumption of things for short term shallow entertainment.
While the world burns down around us, corporations encourage us to stay pacified and keep burning things for them. For me, that's the real message of little inferno, but like many works of art its the differences in individual interpretation that make it so interesting.
The devs confirmed none of those are themes they intended
I just started watching your videos and Man they are amazed I hope you continue to work and I hope you can get more subscribers I'll be telling everybody about you
CEG HOBO Yay! I always love it when people enjoy my work, and I also enjoy it when they tell others! If you need help with that last bit, check out the Facebook and Twitter; should make that process easier. :)
And yeah, I have no plans to stop. The series is growing, albeit slowly, and I enjoy doing it as much as my few, dedicated fans enjoy watching.
Thank you for this video. You deserve so much more for all your hard work. I really enjoyed this video.
This was for sure one of my most favorite games in recent years. I really enjoyed it so much. I had no idea what it was, except for the fact that i like fire and you burn things. What i got out of it, was sooo much more.
I reserved judgement on Anita's work until after it came out. Her points are shallow most of the time, completely off base more than some want to admit, and when she is right, she doesn't go deep enough to really make a solid point about anything. She also never makes it clear what sources she's citing, and refuses to credit youtubers that she grabbed game footage from. also, that Kickstarter campaign was undeniably exploitative on her part, since there is no appreciable difference in production value or research quality between her videos before the Kickstarter, and those after it.
someone in a video: (mentions anita in passing to make a point)
the comments: (gamergate discourse and discussion on whether shes the savior saint of videogames or a horrible manipulative monster)
like cant yall shut up for a second?
that's the problem with satire their comes a point where If you're not careful enough with the parody you end up playing the mocked trope completely straight
I don’t want to set the world on fire with my Little Inferno
I figured that the snow was ash from all the smoke stacks and burning paper, wood, plastic, WAIT, BRICK?! And that... Miss Nancy just wanted to inspire kids. But without knowing it, she caused an almost nuclear winter. As Nancy said, dream bigger, and nothing is somebody's fault. Miss Nancy did mean well. She gave you a purpose to play again, and find out more. She knew. And now I have finished this 'stupid' game (in the eyes on ignorance). I can stop. But Miss Nancy helped me realize, no end comes to something that you just add on by dreaming bigger. People call these games stupid, and how unsocial they are, but... with this art... it is a picture that moves. I could go on forever with all the theories. But I need to go to bed.
I always thougt that Miss nancy did not really care about the consequences of her actions, but I guess assuming that she had ultimately good intentions would fit the hint that you might find "a monster with a heart of gold" in the tomorrow corporation building.
Hey Samuel, I just stumbled on your videos, and I liked them so much I've become a subscriber! I really enjoyed this video on Little Inferno. I personally read the story in the final way: as a symbolic fable about childhood. However, I didn't think of the other interpretations, which only serves to make the game that much deeper!
P.S. If you like Steven Universe, you should definitely see Gravity Falls! By far my favorite cartoon airing, even over Steven Universe
Jake Rodrigues Thanks! Always good to hear of people enjoying the series. ^_^
I do love how many different ways a story can be read. Some will see one meaning, others another, some may see many while others see none. Makes discussion interesting. :D
And yes, I also love Gravity Falls! I think Steven Universe edges ahead of it for me, but then they do tend toward different things (namely Gravity Falls' grand mystery vs. Steven Universe's character drama), so either choice makes sense to me. Kids' shows have been so excellent lately, it makes me happy.
I definitely see what you mean, and I quite liked the game, but I think the fact that the ice age is implied to be caused by all the Little Inferno's seems to weaken the point, intentionally or not. We're escaping from a world of our own making.
Wait how would the Little Infernos cause an ice age???
@@vi0let831 Not totally sure, but I figure the sheer amount of dust, soot and ash caused by the fireplaces would create a nuclear winter, blocking out the sun and dropping the temperature which would knock more effects.
Anyone here just loved the expression said on the video, "To destroy the object of your fascination"?
I feel really weird because almost the entire time I was listening to this, I was watching the virtual fire behind him.
😍 Шикарная игра
Очень долго искала её анализ
Чувствовала что есть смысл глубинный, который хотелось бы услышать от другого человека
И вот нашла, великолепно!
Great analysis. I have one additional interpretation and I think it is supported by a lot of symbolism.
You said that it is not necessarily a criticism of video games as whole but more specifically on a narrow set of video games. I would posit that it is actually a criticism of a wider phenomenon and not narrower: The consumerist society as a whole where a lot of people spend their time chasing meaningless entertainment thru buying and consuming products and they miss out on finding meaning and fulfillment to their lives. I think the fact that you don;t just burn timber of coal but consumer goods is a strong symbol. Also the fireplace is a symbol of comfort so in the first part of the game the protagonist basically spends his entire life entertaining himself by buying and consuming stuff he does not need and never leaves his zone of comfort. He knows nothing of the outside world and the few interactions with other character he has are not in person.
So it basically portrays the tragedy of the manchild. The protagonist is basically a manchild that was so consumed by his habits he wasted years of his life while other people around him moved on. It ends with him liberating himself and the fact that the game is not judgmental but instead inspiring I think makes it something like a Interventionist wake up call for people stuck in such cycle. Tells them they can brake the habit and go out and live life. The massage about "It can't last forever" has a different meaning in this context. They may never make the choice to turn away from the fireplace or to destroy it,m but as the years go by their life will come to an end they will die without ever having lived.
Why is James still chilling on the painting?
Insert Channel Name yes I noticed too
*watches little inferno instructional video*
"Nice. "
randomly remembered this game, nice
Ok not gonna lie, the scene where Sugar Plumps said to turn around, and the one where the player burns their house down is downright *TERRIFYING* I legit got scared by that. Also the picture of her after she supposedly got burned alive in her house was creepy af. It doesn't help that I'm sleep deprived while watching this lol
11:10 BRO WHY WAS THERE A KNOCK ON THE DOOR AT THIS MOMENT SOMEONE EXPLAIN
"Sitting in front of the fireplace for...we don't even know how long."
To be blunt, we do know the proverbial counter starts when the game opens due to his letter coming with the purchase. Now, assuming in universe time is accurate to real time, it's probably safe to say it's ,3-4 hours between the beginning and exit of the protagonist.
The audio is lagging behind the video a tiny bit. I think it may be on my end.
Awesome video! I knew that there had to be some deeper meaning to this game. As someone that doesn’t play a lot of games (sorry...I know some people don’t like that) but is fascinated by the story elements of them, consider myself a new a subscriber :)
A full decade later it received a DLC.
This game clearly beats "Lone Survivor". :|
And it's great that you mention the patronizing ideals that tag the act of spending time/intellect on games as wasteful/harmful.
I mean, how many of the books, shows, news features, articles, movies, etc. we experience everyday turn out to be utterly pointless or even deceitful by nature. But do people go out bashing 'reading' and those who partake in it in general? No, it's just that as you've mentioned many times in your episodes, video games are simply not taken that seriously (if at all) by authorities. Perhaps the blame lies with the numerous games (old and new) that Little Inferno particularly seems to be satirizing, and perhaps it's how the title 'game' would mean the opposite of 'deep/intellectual' for many.
After all, can't gamers themselves decide what to take away from the art / product they consume? Even if it's utterly pointless and solely designed to rob you of your time and money? Isn't this perhaps what led the developers of Little Inferno to come up with a greater, more intriguing concept to enrich such seemingly. pointlessly addictive games?
Also adding to the second interpretation, I think the game could also symbolize how theocratic and dictator systems can install their dominant ideology and keep the society in a state of desensitization until the point when one simply cannot stare away from his/her very own 'little inferno'. Ultimately, borrowing your words, it's up to the individual to dream bigger and see the world beyond what the dominant system wants us to experience. Perhaps the world isn't as frozen as they made it seem.
Thanks for another great analysis. Can't wait to play this one now.
Aria Mohtadi Everything you said about judging games and gamers is seconded.
And yeah, there are plenty of potential political and social interpretations that can stem from this as well, such as the one you mentioned and a critique of consumer culture. I know this is probably weird for someone like me, but I find social/political interpretations to be far less interesting than more conceptual and/or specific ones, so I went ahead and went with them. Though I definitely like the one you just mentioned; Little Inferno as propaganda is a pretty solid and interesting interpretation.
Games As Literature
I agree, yes, social/political undertones often tend to be way too over-stressed particularly in movies. At times they might even strike as way too off-hand or far-fetched; as the one comparing The Dark Knight Rises with the recent Wall Street protests. And there are sure some visual/thematic indications supporting that, but one could also name countless reasons why the filmmakers never intended that underlying message. And then again, there's the matter of author's intent: should we base all our interpretations based on evidence supporting what the creators had in mind? Do other valid interpretations also count as...well,valid?
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Living in Iran, the 2nd interpretation of your analysis instantly made me think of the way the regime here uses its tools of propaganda (religion being one of them) to keep people 'busy'; to distract them from the actual problems.
Aria Mohtadi Yeah, authorial intent is an fascinating subject I plan to eventually do an episode on.
And living in Iran probably would make the propaganda elements of this game stand out, I imagine. Interesting.
Games As Literature Looking forward to that episode :)
dat hyper realistic fire in the background
Hey another quick question, did you ever do a analysis on Dante’s inferno or Dead Space? Would be really interesting to hear your perspective.
Neither, though I am interested in approaching Dante's Inferno as an adaptation of its source material (however loosely it does that, and it's EXTREMELY LOOSE).
So this is the Video Game equivalent of The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle by Patrick Rothfuss ?
1:32 I think he just described Doki Doki Literature Club right there.
I feel like this analysis didn't go deep enough. The game references childhood, yes. The whole point is you play, as you play you get bored and want new exciting experiences which you burn through... you experience some trauma (sugarplumps' death for instance) eventually it's time for you to become an adult and you are forced into it because you already burnt through all of it and "you can't not know anymore", you can't just keep playing and going through the same experiences over and over again, you are fed up, you burn through the most important "toys" which left some meaning for you because they are linked to the trauma, and go out. Over the clouds, the clouds being the harsh truth of the outside world and adult life. "The temperature is getting colder and colder, and we just don't know why." Except we do, the clouds which make the temperatures drop, are formed by the toys being burned, of which smokes go up through the chimneys, to the sky, meaning each child's trauma is contributing in making the harsh outside world reality, which if you dream big enough, can surpass.
Oh it absolutely doesn't go deep enough. Frankly, I was still early in my process of deconstructing the conservative worldview I was raised with when this was made, and didn't feel comfortable getting into the game's commentary on environmentalism and capitalism. If I made this video today, I absolutely would have gone into that stuff.
Thankfully, I figured it out more before making a video on Final Fantasy VII. 😅
It's amazing how ahead of its time this all was, to a point it's practically worthless now. Not to rag, but more concise and meaningful information that goes above and beyond this game is... pretty common now and I'm not just talking about JBP.
Now to wait for the other tomorrow corporation game episodes :3c
My friend bootlegged this game and copied it on his flashdrive and gave it to me. My first ever PC game at the time. Id play this game on every computer I could.
I am very distracted by the audio desync.
I know this game was released in 2012 but i still hope for a little inferno 2
I know it’s weird watching a 5 year old video and replying to a month old comment BUT SAAMMMEEEE
@@hypersonic677 And people worry about apocalyptic stuff when we are the ones with real problems...
And kids think fortnite is their favorite game 😂. They have no idea the true beauty of gaming.
I know this video is really old, but I really don't understand how to listen to music with that weird voice on the background...
This video was a ride to watch while playing cookie clicker
Absolutely amazing analysis! I found your channel on Reddit, and I'm really excited to check out the rest of your videos. Have you considered looking into the story line of Morrowind?
DontQuoteMeh I definitely want to do something on the Elder Scrolls series at some point, but I'll have to return to Morrowind. I spent a lot of time on it a few years back, but never did finish it; I'd kind of like to return (perhaps with a few mods to make the gameplay a little more bearable--I loved the game, but wow) and complete it at some point. Maybe I should try and do that soon.
this video is LIT
I really didn't like Little Inferno. It's one of the few games where I will use the term pretentious. I didn't feel like it was subversive and clever, I just thought it was repeating an understood truism as if it were profound realization. "Don't waste your life in front of entertainment media" is a concept as old as entertainment media. I also don't feel that it was a children's game, or something you're meant to go in thinking it's a children's game. It's just a game that has a cartoony creepy art style, like Don't Starve.
I kept playing the game because burning stuff was a fun waste of time, and out of sheer stubbornness to get my money's worth even as the game kept trying to tell me that it was dumb and that pointless wastes of time are horribad evil and make you blind to the horror of the world. We get it, Farmville is bad. I don't think anyone really thinks otherwise.
Well, there certainly was a bit more to it (especially the criticism of consumerism), but I do agree that the game was very blatant about a lot of things.
There definitely are games that made me feel MUCH less respected as a recipient when i played them - some really are unsubtle enough to feel kind of insulted as a player. So I'd say Little Inferno was an ok game, neither terrible nor great.
The bus and rocket ship were the two most dark things to burn if you ask me. I only ever burned them once out of necessity, then never again
Do last of us next. I bet you'd find interesting g things.
Ben Bates It's not next (I did announce the Gears of War trilogy for the next one), but it's coming. It's definitely on its way. :D
Little over 7%
[This comment is for my own purposes of making a playlist, and is not a judgement of quality.]
That moment when you use Anita Sarkeesian as a positive example LOL. Great analysis as usual though :-)
HighCalibur Reminds me of Fahrenheit451
HighCalibur Not a positive example so much as "not Hitler." You can agree or disagree with her all you want, but to suggest she's trying to attack video games in the same way as Jack Thompson is outright inaccurate.
And yeah, I could see some parallels to Fahrenheit 451. Though I imagine if Ray Bradbury wrote this it would be far more critical of Little Inferno and basically all technology ever. He had some interesting views on the subject. :P
Games As Literature i loved the video also, and as for the sarkeesian clip, i think its good showing how some people can knee jerk a reaction against people criticising games but with the amount of baggage that comes along with her its really hard to use any clip from her tropes series without a lot of people assuming way more than is being said, I'm a guy who tries to look at things as realistically as possible and even i rolled my eyes when she appeared but as soon as i saw old jack i got the point, its must be from working in the industry but when people use the tropes series as a basis for an opinion in games its sometime difficult not to switch off, still it was a great video, keep it up man
Alan Monaghan Yeah, I'm aware there's a lot of baggage, but I'm glad you got what I was going for. I knew it was slightly risky, but I also knew the worst case scenario was pissing off a few Gamergaters, and... I'll admit, I don't really care about that. :P
Games As Literature
now I'm not a gated so don't take this the wrong way or anything but i heard that actually its about ethic in game journalism :P
but seriously there are a lot of good people in gg who simply want similar goals in terms of ethical standards and the like and don’t know where to go to talk about it, myself I’m just watching how it all plays out as i have no direct involvement with the press, i just design sounds :)
Like if you see james in the back ground hi james
Scathing indictment of capitalism
Please don't use your camera's onboard mic. It's awful.
Flamekebab I'm not. Watch my Prince of Persia analysis if you want to know about my camera's awful onboard mic.
We're using a professional mounted shotgun mic. The mic isn't the problem, it's the acoustics in the room, which unfortunately is an exceptionally more expensive problem to fix without plastering foam all over the walls (which my wife doesn't want to do in our spare room). I plan to improve that, but until Patreon funding allows it I'm stuck with things as they are.
Games As Literature I'm assuming the shotgun mic is mounted on the camera then? Either way it's way too far away from you if that's the sound you're getting out of it.
Flamekebab Yeah, it's a camera-mounted mic. But it's only a few feet away, and that's kind of the point of shotgun mics, so I'm unsure of what the solution would be. It does sound a bit better on the closeup shots, but I can't have it next to me all the time.
Games As Literature There's no reason it has to be mounted on the camera though. I've had a shotgun mic setup under the shot pointing up before. Gotta get creative sometimes!
Flamekebab Huh, perhaps so. Though the cable on this thing is as short as you'd expect for a mic that needs to be mounted, and I'm unsure whether extending it would affect audio quality. I may need to experiment a bit.
I liked Gears of War
Brenden Hudson As do I. But thematically, it wanted to have a lot more meaning than it really ended up with. Which will make it really interesting to look at next month. ^_^
Games As Literature Are you just doing the original trilogy or are you doing Judgement too.
Brenden Hudson Just the trilogy. And probably a brief mention of the steaming pile of crap that is Judgment, because it's basically the epitome of the series' issues (which is impressive considering the first one).
+Games As Literature which gears of war is your favorite?
+randomguy6679 Definitely 2. I think it did the most right without wasting as much potential. I did a four-part series on the trilogy where you can find out more, if you're interested.
And with that I guess I should get off youtube...
666th like
anita? used as an example for a good thing?
im out
Literally just, "She's not trying to ban video games." Don't know what to tell you if you're gonna' give up on a video for such a basic claim.
Games As Literature it was a joke, it was a good video
Oh, well then sorry. I've had much worse unironically on here, learned it was usually straightforward. :P
Glad you liked it! Little Inferno is an underappreciated favorite of mine.
Still Anita was probably not the best example because it is like saying the aussy rating system and government doesn't want to ban games. Both don't in a broad sense but ask anita if a game that makes jokes about sexist natures, even in the satirical sense, should be allowed, she might not be gun ho about it. She is closer to the middle then the counter example but she is still leaning toward the anti-gamer area. Violence in games breeds violence VS sexism in games breeds sexism. These both paint games in a light that just isn't so. Games like hatred are made to push boundaries while "gamers" like her force the industry to be in a bubble of correct behavior. (Gamers is in quotations due to the amount of wrong or stolen video content in her videos, batmans butt being unseeable comes to mind with the first issue)
Still overall a great video and liked your viewpoint on the games ending. I just wanted to get my opinion out on this because it was the only issue I found in the video, which when an issue with a single clip used is the issue your doing good.
Ziluth i agree, im just saying such a small thing wont stop me from liking the video
anita and that news guy are the same... they take their opinions and tell them as facts and than use the gamer as scapegoat for their problems... do not defend her. ever.
That's... not quite what's going on with either of them. Jack Thompson never had problems related to violent games, he just thought they caused problems in society and campaigned to have them controlled or eliminated as a result (using less "opinions" than "made up complaints"). And Sarkeesian isn't blaming video games for anything, just pointing out patterns and tendencies she believes to exist in them (that also exist in other media as well).
This is not a matter of defending anyone, it's simply pointing out distinctions: someone who actively tries to legally censor video games is different from someone who criticizes certain tendencies of the medium. And if we, as a gaming community, could get off the knee-jerk defensive for a second that wouldn't be so difficult to recognize.
62chipo
You are just like the two people you described.
Aaaaaaand you quoted Anita Fraudkeesian. Congratulations, I was sitting here going, "Man, why haven't I subscribed to you?" That, precisely, is why.
Because it's all about ethics in a BS narrative, right?
Haha, it still astounds me how sensitive people are about her. I didn't even quote her in support of what she said, I included a quote by her to demonstrate the difference between her criticism and the criticism of the Jack Thompson era. But that's apparently enough to completely reverse your opinion of me, huh?