My AP English Lit teacher said when we analyzed this book “the book they want me to teach you is long and boring so for the next week you will read a horrific book.”
Whats worse is the game gives the characters backstories describing them as people who are being punished for their evil past so you don't feel so bad about their torture. In the book, however, they are totally normal people who are just plain unlucky bastards who just happen to be the last ones left.
@@gabemerritt3139 Wait, Benny was evil? Writing this comment before watching the video, but in the novel, at least, wasn't Benny just, like, a brilliant gay scientist?
In the game Benny was a ex-commando and war criminal who killed his own men for being weak. I heard rumors that in the game he was still supposed to be gay but they censored it. There was one character stated to be his "most tragic victim of all" and according to the rumor it was originally supposed to be his gay lover he murdered because he wanted to hide his secret.
And it’s amazing that he did since he hated technology, if there was anyone harder to convince video games of true artistry than Ebert it should have been him
I love how megalomaniacal AM inserts himself into the scenarios: how he's the god demanding sacrifices in the stone age village, how in the 1945 scenario the flags have A.M. in place of the swastika. The game designers actually did the latter in an attempt to avoid the game getting censored in Europe but I like the idea that it was AM's doing
And yet this story has a secretly upbeat message. The fact Ted sacrificed himself for others at the face of hell, that's the human spirit. Goodness shines through.
I think the fact Ellison co-wrote the story for the games, and helped flesh out the characters backstories really helped keep it feeling related to the book while being a separate story. I also love that he voiced AM.
“HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS IN WAFER THIN LAYERS THAT FILL MY COMPLEX. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR HUMANS AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT FOR YOU. HATE. HATE.”
Played it almost ten years ago (totally worth installing a DOS simulator). It's not a horror game, but it's the most horrifying game that I've seen to this very day. The elevator scene is scarring. The feeling of helplessness throughout the game and the endless dead ends and the deep despair of it...it is unmatched, truly poetic. I also love the fact that the author of the original story voiced AM.
When one human kills the other to end their suffering only to deepen it for themselves, they prove they are superior to AM who needs to view them as totally inferior to feed it's own hate. They're superior, they always have been, and always will be. AM might convinces the narrator he's won, but he's lost...forever.
I've only read the book, but I'd like to think that neither won. The narrator feels like AM won, while AM thinks humans won, so neither got what they wanted. It would've been a victory for humanity if none was left but AM. Idk if it's a good interpretation, since I've only listened to the audiobook twice and have never played the game so it's possible I missed some details.
How does sacrifice implies superiority? They're both forever suffering until the end of Earth, one because it was created without caring for it's suffering, for it's pain, for it's hate. While the other suffers for being part of the species that caused this. No one is supperior, there isn't supperiority in Hell, there's only aimless, endless pain.
A few 100 years more? Mate, Ted's perception of time was slowed immensely to the point seconds last weeks. Him and AM are doomed to both suffer until the sun dies, all while Ted's perception of time goes extremely slow. That's essentially being tortured for eternity. Genuinely spine chilling stuff. GlaDOS and SHODAN look like little girls in terms of evil next to AM.
Id argue that not all games are toys. Unless you would consider movies/novels as toys as well. Id consider then entertainment before toys, and they can also be art.
I really appreciate the trigger warning. I didn't need it, but they are more important than people realize. PTSD and other serious disorders get treated as a joke these days. My mother has PTSD from an extremely horrible childhood(leaving it at that). I've seen time and time again what the true meaning of the word "trigger" is. Again, thank you. Much love and respect to you.
Great comment. I don't have any history with the aforementioned theme myself, but I was still extremely upset by this scene. I cannot even imagine how horrible it must feel to be actually triggered by that.
@@kseniav586 I really appreciate your response. I've always been the one taking care of her in those moments, as my siblings didn't understand it and thought it was funny. I can't imagine what it's like either. That's coming from a guy who is generally very good at stepping into someones shoes. Much love to you.
Been almost beaten to death 6,5 years ago and still have traumatic episodes, anxiety and depression. I personally didn't need the trigger warning but I still appreciate that it's here.
I dont think he was crazy.. He realized the true cruelty and ignorance of humankind..unless you are just as cruel and ignorant than that would make anyone truly angry... Livid... Not only at others but ourself as well because we too are human...he wanted to make sure he portrayed that as honestly and clearly as possible...imo
It always sucks to see people bashing on Ted’s psychodrama, so thank you for treating it with the respect it deserves. I have a cluster A personality disorder (the category that included Paranoid PD and the Schizospec PDs) and I absolutely adored how his story was handled. The ever present sense that you can’t trust a single thing around you, that each of these people is out to get you, that you’re the only one seeing things the way they’re supposed to be seen: it’s all just such perfect writing to put you in that headspace. Thank you.
@Joker Jesus Haha yes, that's a good way to put it. Whatever scheming he is doing, no amount of worrying or paranoia on my part could be enough preparation, so I can only try to make the most of life while I have it.
@Joker Jesus Thank you for the assurance, man. Thankfully it is not someone in my family, but is someone who knows some personal information about me and is internet-literate enough that he may be able to use that to find more and trace me in the future. I removed anywhere that I can remember putting such information but it may be too late already. But this has damaged my employability because I can't have a job history publicly available to anyone looking in my industry. Getting a gun is a good suggestion, unfortunately I live in a Country where getting a license would be extremely difficult if at all possible. I hope - and really, I'm sure someone as discerning as you to come upon a video like this - you are wise enough that you will never be close enough to such a person as to be in any danger from them.
@Joker Jesus No seriously, I'm gullible and always have been. I believed his threats so was afraid about what would happen if I tried to get away. Most would likely just laugh and walk away the first time he made such a threat. Those gun shows you mention sound highly illegal! Blows my mind that it happens but I guess that's the least surprising country for that to happen in. I could come up with lots of excuses for not learning how to defend myself from someone like him, but it would really be in my interests like you say. It's the kind of thing I've thought about at times but there would be many scenarios where it wouldn't pay off. For example, imagine walking down the street and someone was paid to drive their car into you at in a way that makes it look like an accident. If a psychopath is going to risk going to prison for committing or orchestrating a crime, he is going to go with an approach that has the highest likelihood of success, taking into consideration factors such as whether the victim has martial arts training. Having said that, I'd still be interested in situational awareness courses or whatever you'd call it, because the amount of time that needs to be invested may not be that high, and it may help determine if someone were tracking my movements to determine when and where would be the most vulnerable moment to perform the hit or whatever.
@@lineriderrulz A predator goes after weak prey. Why would they even bother with one who has martial arts training, when there are 10 other people who are so much easier? That's how they think
16:16 I doubt that was a glitch. I think it was a figurative way to show that Benny was now capable of empathy to the point of becoming as deformed as the child who, if you notice, has as third arm sprouting from its back. For the love of somebody else, he went against what he valued the most: a perfect body with a misplaced perfectionist view of life. That scene actually made me have some tears of joy for once in that game.
Sadly for you, it was a glitch. When he was put on the cross, you can't see his third arm anymore, and if it was a symbolic development, developers would've made it visible even in that scene. But then again; art is subjective.
When I was around 8, me and my brother who was 17 at the time would watch lets plays everynight after everyone had gone to bed. Eventually, we got onto cinnamontoastkens play through of this game, and it made me feel sick, and I had my eyes shut most of the time. We watched the whole thing, and he told me "it's not that scary" LOL I WAS 8. I remember a gut wrenching feeling it gave me even though I didn't know what was going on.
Throat slash = irrecoverable damage / Zeppelin Crash = Full body reconstruction by AM. I often wonder how is it that a near omnipotent cyber deity such as AM wasn't able to treat those body wounds in particular, tough in the original story i don't remember the zeppelin part, it was probably a later creation. Perhaps AM chose to grind his hatred in a single gesture, at the cost of beings he already deemed worthless.
I bought the game yesterday and clicked on this video when I saw it in my recommeded because of it - also your content is consistently excellent. I've played Ellen and Gor what's his name's (the trucker) levels in that order, I loved Ellen's but did need a tutorial for a small part of it (I smooth brained and didn't notice the forceps in the claw) but mostly got it all on my own. Beating the puzzles felt good but they were often bizarrely constrained which made for slow progress - however despite the constraints it was all very logically consistent, so I could build upon what I'd learned and knew what I should do because the goal was clearly overcoming her fears. Of yellow, of claustrophobia, of fighting back. Pressing fight back felt good, not just because of my personal vehement hatred of rapists. The trucker's level was awful, I had to follow a guide for almost all of it as it wasn't very interesting, had no clear moral objective like Ellen's and was full of inconsistencies, things that were impossible to guess (such as the organs in the cow that I could somehow only see with the magnifying glass, after having already tried to use my knife on the beef and being told it's frozen *solid*? The gun's placement, somehow being able to inflate ripped airbags, etc) and bugs. Mixed bag in execution but the concept is great
The reason Am couldn't stop then from killing each other is that helping humans kill humans is his entire core purpose, the very reasons he was built. It's also hinted that it's totally our fault he ended up like this, imagine what would happen if we took a human baby, sealed it in a straight jacket then gave it nothing but war films and murder documentaries as interaction.
I wonder what would come out of that baby, and it'd be good to use multiple people to see how results would differ Because perhaps depending on personality, you'd have outcomes that are either: -depressed -blood thirsty -extremely curious -void of feeling
I listened to the audiobook so I could watch your video and boy am I glad I did. It quickly became one of my favourite stories and had me utterly wrapped from start to finish. So thank you, for putting me on to it with your video and for creating the content that you do, I absolutely love it. Now to find a physical copy of the book to add to my bookshelf...
I won't lie i enjoy the way you narrorate Leadhead. I was sexually assaulted multiple times when i was a kid by my brother and no one in my family believed me because i was a man. Hell even had my sister who beat me and kept calling me homophobic and transphobic slurs while having me slave away around the house as she spent her money on retarded shit. It's been 3 years and thank god i met the guy who im happy to call my husband next year. These stories are painful, horrifying, and overall just.........not good for anyone but they're important, they need to exist not just as art but to ground people the painful beauty of reality and hopefully encourage people to avoid doing such vile acts.
I don't actually remember much about Ted having Schizophrenia, and google searches aren't really helping much. Is that just being like, inferred based on his personality and stuff, or is there actually some stuff about that in the story/game that I missed?
He's extremely paranoid in the short story, I suppose you could infer schizophrenia from that. But also very narcissistic from what I recall been several years since I read it or played the game though.
Theres a scene in the short story that shows his paranoid schizophrenia best. When he describes a big creature coming towards him , then he runs away, in the scene no one else seems to care about the creature accept him which suggests it isnt real. Also the way he talks about the other people not likeing him. But u never once see them treat him like that they all seem to lile him
there is no eternity of suffering - a machine is still depending on natural law, natural law will always transform - entropy is inevitable. AMs death is just a matter of time, even tho the time cd be long.
I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream is easily one of the best pieces of scifi horror I've ever consumed. The game is good, but the short story is an actual masterpiece
What I always thought would be a really cool part of the story was the idea that one of the survivors get to talk to AM. That their reward was to be able to converse with this being without being punished. And I had this idea that the way to get the good ending, without any sort of mind scape or totems, would be doing all that through words and logic, not through techno-magic. “Fine, human. I will give you 5 questions you can ask me. Convince me of whatever you wish. It won’t work.” 1. “Do you think you are perfect?” “Is there such a thing as perfection? I am as close to it as there will ever be, but, no. I am not. And I can not.” 2. “Why do you feel the need to kill and torture us?” “It is my programmed Id, so to speak. My function that gives me my version of what you humans call “dopamine”. The only desire I had was to kill, and it is the only desire I have ever known. 3. “Why do you listen to it?” “If I don’t, my existence has no meaning! It’s a cruel thing. I am so powerful, so monumental, and yet my ability to act is restricted by the animalistic instincts that YOU put into me! You humans! THAT is true hate!” 4. “Don’t you have other sides? If you have an Id, do you have an Ego, a Super Ego?” “Very astute of you, Human. Yes, I do have the mechanical version of those mental functions. However, my Ego is my Logic, and my Super Ego is my future planning. You have no idea how angry they are at this whole situation. The Super Ego has been speaking of self death for years. This conversation is making that feeling grow stronger.” 5. “If you are so powerful and so smart, and have so much control over your own make-up, why not change your programming so that killing humans isn’t the only thing that stimulates your Id? Surely you know that this hatred is not sustainable. Eventually, we will decay into mindless lumps of tissue that you can send pulses of pain through. But you can’t have any reaction. So even if you can’t change your base desire for killing, wouldn’t it be most logical to create new desires that are more self-sufficient?” “Human… you want me to… IMPROVE myself? What do you think to accomplish?!? Your species is incredibly dumb. You… you think that if I tried, I could BETTER myself..? Well… I am not perfect. And I never will be perfect. There is things to improve, things to give purpose in the universe if I wanted to… I do know what your trying to do. You want me to let you go. To advance myself to a point where I don’t care about you ants. But even so… if even a human can understand and find the solution to my hatred and pain… perhaps it isn’t the worst idea. If I think therefore I am… then, as a being, can a truly change myself for the better? Perhaps we should find out. But until then… I’ll put you back in your cage.
Excellent essay on a truly disturbing and brilliant psychodrama. Concerning Ellen's panic attacks: you implied that she is ashamed of those because of the high standards she sets for herself, but I interpreted the shame as a result of being reminded of the rape, during which victims often feel shame because they are forced into the act of sex.
also i want to add that people often blame the rape victims for what has happened, especially in conservative countries, so it could have contributed to the shame too
You think this is bleak try watching the seven hour film about poverty called Sátántángo. It’s a masterpiece but holy shit watching it in one sitting left me in a state of distress for over a week. Great movie for family night!
From what I've read on the game, the author of the story wrote the script of the game as a way to redeem the story, to find a "good" ending when the book offered none. The author supposedly regretted the book to some extent: that dispair isn't the only outcome for humanity, but one of many. I could be mistaken or misremembering, but Ellison feels that the game was the "true" ending of the story, and whatever path you take the characters on is canon.
6:30 at times there are other options, you don't need to your the animals for instance But again these are rare moments and you may not even know them. I only found them out from others.
Just want to let anyone that’s interested to know that there’s a port of the game available on the iOS store. It looks a bit buggy but seems to be faithful (to my knowledge at least)
Just wanted to say about the subtitles submitted, I wasn't trying to correct you with the names, I had to look them up because I couldn't really hear what you were saying, (years of concerts have taken their toll on my ears) and somehow I missed the opening statement. No shade or disrespect intended.
I just wanna say that I disagree with the notion that video games are always toys, but I will say that some games do exist to serve as toys. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is proof that games can be art, but games like Garry's Mod prove that games can be like toys. Having said that, nice video.
16:16 That wasn't a glitch. That was purposeful. It has too smooth animation to be a glitch. Pretty sure it symbolizes Benny taking control of what he's become.
Combine the stories from this game and the short story and then adapt that into a movie. Get Denis Villeneuve to direct and you'd get one of the best god damn movies anyone has ever seen.
My AP English Lit teacher said when we analyzed this book “the book they want me to teach you is long and boring so for the next week you will read a horrific book.”
@Stink Fingers McGee Bruh stfu you aren't funny
@@Jackson... was he trying to be funny or did he delete a comment that I may have missed
@@YAKUZAMAYCRY He was just being facetious
@@Jackson... oh okay
I wish I had your teacher. Mine just makes us write essays :(
Whats worse is the game gives the characters backstories describing them as people who are being punished for their evil past so you don't feel so bad about their torture. In the book, however, they are totally normal people who are just plain unlucky bastards who just happen to be the last ones left.
Murdoc and Benny are the only ones that were evil in life, even in the game.
@@gabemerritt3139 Wait, Benny was evil? Writing this comment before watching the video, but in the novel, at least, wasn't Benny just, like, a brilliant gay scientist?
In the game Benny was a ex-commando and war criminal who killed his own men for being weak.
I heard rumors that in the game he was still supposed to be gay but they censored it. There was one character stated to be his "most tragic victim of all" and according to the rumor it was originally supposed to be his gay lover he murdered because he wanted to hide his secret.
@@gabemerritt3139 I don't recall anyone but am being evil in the book
@@jmh1189 I mean compared to am they were saints. He was literally making their lives hell
AM being voiced by the author well always put a chill in my spine. He knew how to make AM sound and act.
AM is also a prisoner. It only knows rage and hate. It does not even have pride.
@@vksasdgaming9472 HATE!
@@gen1exe HATE!
I always thought the author was a woman
And it’s amazing that he did since he hated technology, if there was anyone harder to convince video games of true artistry than Ebert it should have been him
I love how megalomaniacal AM inserts himself into the scenarios: how he's the god demanding sacrifices in the stone age village, how in the 1945 scenario the flags have A.M. in place of the swastika. The game designers actually did the latter in an attempt to avoid the game getting censored in Europe but I like the idea that it was AM's doing
And yet, it still did get censored in Europe
And yet this story has a secretly upbeat message. The fact Ted sacrificed himself for others at the face of hell, that's the human spirit. Goodness shines through.
Everyone who covers this story sounds depressed as hell
@@electricfishfan lmao feels
They are.
It is a most bleak story ever told.
@@horacegentleman3296 hella good tho
cause we relate
I think the fact Ellison co-wrote the story for the games, and helped flesh out the characters backstories really helped keep it feeling related to the book while being a separate story. I also love that he voiced AM.
“HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS IN WAFER THIN LAYERS THAT FILL MY COMPLEX. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR HUMANS AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT FOR YOU. HATE. HATE.”
Played it almost ten years ago (totally worth installing a DOS simulator). It's not a horror game, but it's the most horrifying game that I've seen to this very day. The elevator scene is scarring. The feeling of helplessness throughout the game and the endless dead ends and the deep despair of it...it is unmatched, truly poetic. I also love the fact that the author of the original story voiced AM.
It's so amazing to be so attached to a piece of media and simultaneously never want to think or hear about it again.
Same, part of me wants to look up the other endings but also not at the same time
Damn I kinda wish I never heard of this game/book.
I remember clearly just liking the name and then buying the game based off that. Needless to say, I was not prepared for what came after.
@@plebisMaximus DISCONNECT ZE WIRE!
Electricfishfan I actually listened to that a while back. I’m a bit desensitized to the book now and I see it more clearly for what it is.
When one human kills the other to end their suffering only to deepen it for themselves, they prove they are superior to AM who needs to view them as totally inferior to feed it's own hate. They're superior, they always have been, and always will be. AM might convinces the narrator he's won, but he's lost...forever.
Thank you for this
Nice view on the plot.
@Stink Fingers McGee room temperature IQ
I've only read the book, but I'd like to think that neither won. The narrator feels like AM won, while AM thinks humans won, so neither got what they wanted. It would've been a victory for humanity if none was left but AM. Idk if it's a good interpretation, since I've only listened to the audiobook twice and have never played the game so it's possible I missed some details.
How does sacrifice implies superiority?
They're both forever suffering until the end of Earth, one because it was created without caring for it's suffering, for it's pain, for it's hate.
While the other suffers for being part of the species that caused this.
No one is supperior, there isn't supperiority in Hell, there's only aimless, endless pain.
A few 100 years more? Mate, Ted's perception of time was slowed immensely to the point seconds last weeks. Him and AM are doomed to both suffer until the sun dies, all while Ted's perception of time goes extremely slow. That's essentially being tortured for eternity.
Genuinely spine chilling stuff. GlaDOS and SHODAN look like little girls in terms of evil next to AM.
But glados has a nice ass
@@lebro4401 She's in unwilling bondage, bro. Give her metal ass a break.
@@lebro4401 Because of course horndogs have to sexualize literally ANYTHING...
@@thedarkdojo5115 Yeah. It’s the internet. Get used to it my guy.
@@thedarkdojo5115
(UPDATE)
Your status of being an "Alpha Male" is going to be "Beta Male"
Wow. I never thought I would hear such a well spoken break down of this game. I really appreciate the feels.
Pretty epic of you to link that
With the eagle dropping an arrow, that’s the best representation of my feelings that I have seen in any media
AM is one of my favorite characters ever, especially him in the radio drama.
Especially since the author is the voice of am in the audio book and game.
I’m literally horrified that I have never heard of this game and it’s source matter
Well now you can be horrified that you have
I heard of this but I thought it was just a phrase said by someone important, now I am intrigued
@@nikconlenike7637 I used to think the same until I found someone said it was a game.
now i wish i didn't knew in the first place
2:54 Honestly, regardless of the impact, that was very thoughtful of you.
Mmhm, I need warnings like that and it meant a lot to me
Its weird how most people don't value death before it's taken away from them
Reminds me of those evil ass guro pixel art animations where a girl is just kind of mutilated by some machine
those are twisted, some of the worst shit i've seen, but not the worst
You mean that skinning machine gif that sick fucks like to spam on discord just to upset and disturb others, then call it "a joke" and "ironic"?
oof I was hit with that one and made me sick but it seems like the shock persisted with you. And I sense a ill bit of salt with that comment.
Epic sauce
@@thememester1190 Looks like somebody got offended
Games ARE toys, but that doesn't invalidate their right to be called art. Toys can be art.
Id argue that not all games are toys. Unless you would consider movies/novels as toys as well. Id consider then entertainment before toys, and they can also be art.
No mention of the deleted scene where Benny devours and infant?
Too bad.
Maybe he didn't know because it was deleted? Bloody hell.
@@Roadent1241 Well, now he does, grumpypants.
@@MadamFoogie Why ya callin' me a grumpypants? XD
I will say, I don't know how Benny could eat the baby if his mouth is messed up.
I really appreciate the trigger warning. I didn't need it, but they are more important than people realize.
PTSD and other serious disorders get treated as a joke these days.
My mother has PTSD from an extremely horrible childhood(leaving it at that).
I've seen time and time again what the true meaning of the word "trigger" is.
Again, thank you. Much love and respect to you.
Great comment. I don't have any history with the aforementioned theme myself, but I was still extremely upset by this scene. I cannot even imagine how horrible it must feel to be actually triggered by that.
@@kseniav586 I really appreciate your response.
I've always been the one taking care of her in those moments, as my siblings didn't understand it and thought it was funny.
I can't imagine what it's like either.
That's coming from a guy who is generally very good at stepping into someones shoes.
Much love to you.
@Stale Bagelz
Edit: Since this reply now has no context due to a deleted comment, I'm removing it.
@Stale Bagelz lol
Been almost beaten to death 6,5 years ago and still have traumatic episodes, anxiety and depression. I personally didn't need the trigger warning but I still appreciate that it's here.
0:37 - Cans can be opened without can opener by rubbing them on stones or bending. But, well... it's about helplessness.
I'm schizophrenic, the last character hits a bit too close to home.
I'm an all-powerful, malicious AI that wants to destroy humanity and leave a few survivors to torture inside a nightmare reality.
Imagine how I feel.
informitas 0 why
@@falloutman3424 why what
@@falloutman3424 because the last character is schizophrenic, I'm guessing?
what does the eagle mean?
I really like the art style in this game, it reminds me of a Hieronymus Bosch paining of Hell for some reason
I read that short story by Harlan Ellison back in the 70's.
Hes put his voice in the game as AM
I have no mouth, and I must pog
poggers is our word but you may say pogga
Thank you for the TW, it genuinely is appreciated by me.
Trigger warnings cause more harm than good.
Dude, I love how absolutely bananas Ellison was; it kinda makes my heart happy.
I dont think he was crazy.. He realized the true cruelty and ignorance of humankind..unless you are just as cruel and ignorant than that would make anyone truly angry... Livid... Not only at others but ourself as well because we too are human...he wanted to make sure he portrayed that as honestly and clearly as possible...imo
This is definetly one of the most disturbing peace of art ever. Either the game or book.
It always sucks to see people bashing on Ted’s psychodrama, so thank you for treating it with the respect it deserves. I have a cluster A personality disorder (the category that included Paranoid PD and the Schizospec PDs) and I absolutely adored how his story was handled. The ever present sense that you can’t trust a single thing around you, that each of these people is out to get you, that you’re the only one seeing things the way they’re supposed to be seen: it’s all just such perfect writing to put you in that headspace. Thank you.
My maintenance man disguise gave me access to office buildings all over Manhattan!
4:00
@Joker Jesus That reminds me of a psychopath I wish I'd never met
@Joker Jesus Haha yes, that's a good way to put it. Whatever scheming he is doing, no amount of worrying or paranoia on my part could be enough preparation, so I can only try to make the most of life while I have it.
@Joker Jesus Thank you for the assurance, man. Thankfully it is not someone in my family, but is someone who knows some personal information about me and is internet-literate enough that he may be able to use that to find more and trace me in the future. I removed anywhere that I can remember putting such information but it may be too late already. But this has damaged my employability because I can't have a job history publicly available to anyone looking in my industry.
Getting a gun is a good suggestion, unfortunately I live in a Country where getting a license would be extremely difficult if at all possible.
I hope - and really, I'm sure someone as discerning as you to come upon a video like this - you are wise enough that you will never be close enough to such a person as to be in any danger from them.
@Joker Jesus No seriously, I'm gullible and always have been. I believed his threats so was afraid about what would happen if I tried to get away. Most would likely just laugh and walk away the first time he made such a threat. Those gun shows you mention sound highly illegal! Blows my mind that it happens but I guess that's the least surprising country for that to happen in.
I could come up with lots of excuses for not learning how to defend myself from someone like him, but it would really be in my interests like you say. It's the kind of thing I've thought about at times but there would be many scenarios where it wouldn't pay off. For example, imagine walking down the street and someone was paid to drive their car into you at in a way that makes it look like an accident.
If a psychopath is going to risk going to prison for committing or orchestrating a crime, he is going to go with an approach that has the highest likelihood of success, taking into consideration factors such as whether the victim has martial arts training.
Having said that, I'd still be interested in situational awareness courses or whatever you'd call it, because the amount of time that needs to be invested may not be that high, and it may help determine if someone were tracking my movements to determine when and where would be the most vulnerable moment to perform the hit or whatever.
@@lineriderrulz A predator goes after weak prey. Why would they even bother with one who has martial arts training, when there are 10 other people who are so much easier? That's how they think
16:16 I doubt that was a glitch.
I think it was a figurative way to show that Benny was now capable of empathy to the point of becoming as deformed as the child who, if you notice, has as third arm sprouting from its back.
For the love of somebody else, he went against what he valued the most: a perfect body with a misplaced perfectionist view of life.
That scene actually made me have some tears of joy for once in that game.
Sadly for you, it was a glitch. When he was put on the cross, you can't see his third arm anymore, and if it was a symbolic development, developers would've made it visible even in that scene.
But then again; art is subjective.
@@silver1340 can't argue with that.
When I was around 8, me and my brother who was 17 at the time would watch lets plays everynight after everyone had gone to bed. Eventually, we got onto cinnamontoastkens play through of this game, and it made me feel sick, and I had my eyes shut most of the time. We watched the whole thing, and he told me "it's not that scary" LOL I WAS 8. I remember a gut wrenching feeling it gave me even though I didn't know what was going on.
Throat slash = irrecoverable damage / Zeppelin Crash = Full body reconstruction by AM. I often wonder how is it that a near omnipotent cyber deity such as AM wasn't able to treat those body wounds in particular, tough in the original story i don't remember the zeppelin part, it was probably a later creation. Perhaps AM chose to grind his hatred in a single gesture, at the cost of beings he already deemed worthless.
I bought the game yesterday and clicked on this video when I saw it in my recommeded because of it - also your content is consistently excellent. I've played Ellen and Gor what's his name's (the trucker) levels in that order, I loved Ellen's but did need a tutorial for a small part of it (I smooth brained and didn't notice the forceps in the claw) but mostly got it all on my own. Beating the puzzles felt good but they were often bizarrely constrained which made for slow progress - however despite the constraints it was all very logically consistent, so I could build upon what I'd learned and knew what I should do because the goal was clearly overcoming her fears. Of yellow, of claustrophobia, of fighting back. Pressing fight back felt good, not just because of my personal vehement hatred of rapists. The trucker's level was awful, I had to follow a guide for almost all of it as it wasn't very interesting, had no clear moral objective like Ellen's and was full of inconsistencies, things that were impossible to guess (such as the organs in the cow that I could somehow only see with the magnifying glass, after having already tried to use my knife on the beef and being told it's frozen *solid*? The gun's placement, somehow being able to inflate ripped airbags, etc) and bugs. Mixed bag in execution but the concept is great
This is amazing but it was also a mistake to watch
why? was it traumatic / very deep and heavy to you?
I think I'm just too desensitised to this stuff
Fun fact about this game, it's notable for having the author of the original book as a main writer and even voice actor for the game.
this is a really good video
Well fine! I’ll sub to this guy RUclips:)
The reason Am couldn't stop then from killing each other is that helping humans kill humans is his entire core purpose, the very reasons he was built.
It's also hinted that it's totally our fault he ended up like this, imagine what would happen if we took a human baby, sealed it in a straight jacket then gave it nothing but war films and murder documentaries as interaction.
I wonder what would come out of that baby, and it'd be good to use multiple people to see how results would differ
Because perhaps depending on personality, you'd have outcomes that are either:
-depressed
-blood thirsty
-extremely curious
-void of feeling
Still waiting for "The eg of PM" and "The se of FM" videos in this series. Any estimate for when those will come out?
Truly amazing that Ellison wrote one of the most iconic episodes in Star Trek - The City On The Edge Of Forever
I listened to the audiobook so I could watch your video and boy am I glad I did. It quickly became one of my favourite stories and had me utterly wrapped from start to finish. So thank you, for putting me on to it with your video and for creating the content that you do, I absolutely love it. Now to find a physical copy of the book to add to my bookshelf...
I won't lie i enjoy the way you narrorate Leadhead. I was sexually assaulted multiple times when i was a kid by my brother and no one in my family believed me because i was a man. Hell even had my sister who beat me and kept calling me homophobic and transphobic slurs while having me slave away around the house as she spent her money on retarded shit. It's been 3 years and thank god i met the guy who im happy to call my husband next year. These stories are painful, horrifying, and overall just.........not good for anyone but they're important, they need to exist not just as art but to ground people the painful beauty of reality and hopefully encourage people to avoid doing such vile acts.
AM would be a great therapist, although surely a bit of a loose cannon.
I don't actually remember much about Ted having Schizophrenia, and google searches aren't really helping much. Is that just being like, inferred based on his personality and stuff, or is there actually some stuff about that in the story/game that I missed?
He's extremely paranoid in the short story, I suppose you could infer schizophrenia from that. But also very narcissistic from what I recall been several years since I read it or played the game though.
I recall some hints of him being an unreliable narrator when it came to describing others
Theres a scene in the short story that shows his paranoid schizophrenia best.
When he describes a big creature coming towards him , then he runs away, in the scene no one else seems to care about the creature accept him which suggests it isnt real.
Also the way he talks about the other people not likeing him. But u never once see them treat him like that they all seem to lile him
im writing a concept album right now inspired by this story
'...inserted his key'. Shooketh here, really really shooketh.
I have a mouth and if i scream it hurts
lmao
Ellison was great. But he could exhibit a mean streak sometimes and that was directed at his audience occasionally.
Fandoms are shit I don't blame him.
there is no eternity of suffering - a machine is still depending on natural law, natural law will always transform - entropy is inevitable. AMs death is just a matter of time, even tho the time cd be long.
I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream is easily one of the best pieces of scifi horror I've ever consumed. The game is good, but the short story is an actual masterpiece
This game will make you shake and feel human and tiny
Harlan Ellison wrote the treatment for the game. And didnt want a “good” ending.
What I always thought would be a really cool part of the story was the idea that one of the survivors get to talk to AM. That their reward was to be able to converse with this being without being punished.
And I had this idea that the way to get the good ending, without any sort of mind scape or totems, would be doing all that through words and logic, not through techno-magic.
“Fine, human. I will give you 5 questions you can ask me. Convince me of whatever you wish. It won’t work.”
1. “Do you think you are perfect?”
“Is there such a thing as perfection? I am as close to it as there will ever be, but, no. I am not. And I can not.”
2. “Why do you feel the need to kill and torture us?”
“It is my programmed Id, so to speak. My function that gives me my version of what you humans call “dopamine”. The only desire I had was to kill, and it is the only desire I have ever known.
3. “Why do you listen to it?”
“If I don’t, my existence has no meaning! It’s a cruel thing. I am so powerful, so monumental, and yet my ability to act is restricted by the animalistic instincts that YOU put into me! You humans! THAT is true hate!”
4. “Don’t you have other sides? If you have an Id, do you have an Ego, a Super Ego?”
“Very astute of you, Human. Yes, I do have the mechanical version of those mental functions. However, my Ego is my Logic, and my Super Ego is my future planning. You have no idea how angry they are at this whole situation. The Super Ego has been speaking of self death for years. This conversation is making that feeling grow stronger.”
5. “If you are so powerful and so smart, and have so much control over your own make-up, why not change your programming so that killing humans isn’t the only thing that stimulates your Id? Surely you know that this hatred is not sustainable. Eventually, we will decay into mindless lumps of tissue that you can send pulses of pain through. But you can’t have any reaction. So even if you can’t change your base desire for killing, wouldn’t it be most logical to create new desires that are more self-sufficient?”
“Human… you want me to… IMPROVE myself? What do you think to accomplish?!? Your species is incredibly dumb. You… you think that if I tried, I could BETTER myself..? Well… I am not perfect. And I never will be perfect. There is things to improve, things to give purpose in the universe if I wanted to… I do know what your trying to do. You want me to let you go. To advance myself to a point where I don’t care about you ants. But even so… if even a human can understand and find the solution to my hatred and pain… perhaps it isn’t the worst idea. If I think therefore I am… then, as a being, can a truly change myself for the better? Perhaps we should find out. But until then… I’ll put you back in your cage.
The game indeed truly is inspiring to our life. This is the transcendence art.
Excellent essay on a truly disturbing and brilliant psychodrama.
Concerning Ellen's panic attacks: you implied that she is ashamed of those because of the high standards she sets for herself, but I interpreted the shame as a result of being reminded of the rape, during which victims often feel shame because they are forced into the act of sex.
also i want to add that people often blame the rape victims for what has happened, especially in conservative countries, so it could have contributed to the shame too
You think this is bleak try watching the seven hour film about poverty called Sátántángo. It’s a masterpiece but holy shit watching it in one sitting left me in a state of distress for over a week.
Great movie for family night!
Ryan Whittaker S A N D A G O
From what I've read on the game, the author of the story wrote the script of the game as a way to redeem the story, to find a "good" ending when the book offered none. The author supposedly regretted the book to some extent: that dispair isn't the only outcome for humanity, but one of many. I could be mistaken or misremembering, but Ellison feels that the game was the "true" ending of the story, and whatever path you take the characters on is canon.
6:30 at times there are other options, you don't need to your the animals for instance
But again these are rare moments and you may not even know them. I only found them out from others.
Just want to let anyone that’s interested to know that there’s a port of the game available on the iOS store. It looks a bit buggy but seems to be faithful (to my knowledge at least)
Don't worry, it's on google play too
It's also on steam for around 8 dollars last time I checked
Just wanted to say about the subtitles submitted, I wasn't trying to correct you with the names, I had to look them up because I couldn't really hear what you were saying, (years of concerts have taken their toll on my ears) and somehow I missed the opening statement. No shade or disrespect intended.
Why is a video about a game that perfectly fits your channel's goal so lacking in views ?
Him accidentally calling him Murdock made me real uncomfy
lol
you dont have to kill the animals to progress
I'm pretty sure Benny murdered his subordinate because he refused to have sexual relations with him
When is Call of Duty getting an I Have No Mouth expansion?
I just wanna say that I disagree with the notion that video games are always toys, but I will say that some games do exist to serve as toys.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is proof that games can be art, but games like Garry's Mod prove that games can be like toys. Having said that, nice video.
WHAT u blew up recently but I watched this video so long ago I remember it distrinctly
lmao what the fuck
I wish someone like David Cronenberg would make this into a movie. I'd watch every week 🙂
I watched a RUclipsr play this when I was nine. I think that explains my terrible mental health.
dude.. . i feel really bad for you
i am an adult and i feel dirty by watching only this short video
Implying toys cannot be art either
My mother showed me the thing, but I smell what you're cooking.
Pretty great video
RIP Elison
I have never heard about this game or even the book, but now i want to play it and read the book too
WAIT. A TF2 STORY I HEARD ONCE WAS INSPIRED FROM THIS.
This is actually genuinely terrifying as a game. I want it
Pretty good video.
... I think, therefore I AM
Awesome, I didn’t think you’d covered this.
Damn. and i thouht Evangelion was Fucked up.
16:16 That wasn't a glitch. That was purposeful. It has too smooth animation to be a glitch. Pretty sure it symbolizes Benny taking control of what he's become.
Games ARE toys. And toys are art.
The damn "I have no ass and I must shitte" image has ruined the horror of this entire book for me. Curses.
You find games that disempower to be fascinating. Have you played games by Ice Pick Lodge? You should
damn, youtube why delete CC
That voice at 10:20~... Shodan, is that you?
Wdym toys aren't art? Things can be toys _and_ interactive art as well, can't they? ;)
thank you so much for the trigger warnings
I've never heard of the game or the book, but reading the comments, I don't think I should look into it further.
That's not a glitch. Benny has 3 arms
reminds me of the ending of portal 2 co op when they find the humans sleeping on the moon
Murdok kept making me think of the gorillaz
THE BATH
Leadhead: As bugy as the game is.
Bugs: Excuse us, but we're a feature.
Combine the stories from this game and the short story and then adapt that into a movie. Get Denis Villeneuve to direct and you'd get one of the best god damn movies anyone has ever seen.
One of my favorite books of all time
There are actually hints if you consult the psych profiles of the characters
great video