Inside - Story Explanation and Analysis (Part 2)
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Were you wondering what was causing those shockwaves? How about those worms controlling the pigs? I try to answer these questions - and more - in this video.
View Part 1 Here: • Inside - Story Explana...
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I think I heard somewhere that if you stay inside the red photo room, more photos develop. One is the long-haired water girl and another is a cage of people.
Interesting
I stayed in there a long time, and the only photos I ever saw appear were the blob and the cage.
@@jamesedwards6173myth debunked
My theory is more of a meta-theory. I believe the purpose of the game is to explore the relationship between game developers, players, and the avatars that said players control. Think about it: Who is in control of the game while it plays? You would think the Player is in control, since they're the one guiding the boy. But in fact, it is the developers who are controlling the Players by manipulating where they can go; setting the rules and laying out the physics of the game. The entire world of the game is one giant obstacle course planned out to the last detail - this becomes apparent at the end of the game once we see the diorama that shows the last frame of the narrative. This is a hint to the Player that they are in fact, being controlled even as they control the Boy. The scenes of dystopia, especially the scene where the Boy is forced to jump in unison with the other drones, serve to emphasize the Players lack of control and the paradox that,even though the player might seem all-powerful, they're still being guided and controlled by a higher power. (The Devs). The "special ending" reveals the way to escape the Developer's Control - by pulling out the cord that supplies the Boy with power. Unfortunately, this also ends the game. Likewise, in the regular ending, once the Blob comes to rest at the bottom of the hill, the Player loses control over it, and this of course, happens right before the ending.
This makes you think: how much control do you have over your real life? How much of what you go through - the beliefs you hold, the job you work - has been constructed by others in an attempt to manipulate you into doing their bidding? Who are the "Game Devs" of Real Life? It seems like a silly question, but then you watch Documentaries like Adam Curtis' "Century of the Self" and realize that governments and corporations have (since the 20th century,) put a great deal of resources into researching ways to manipulate the public. How we vote, what we buy, what we learn in school, all of these are guided by the massive amount of Social Engineering that has been directed at the average citizen.
Maybe this game was a warning to us to pay attention. That to be free, we must "unplug ourselves" even if it means we are cast out of the system that currently seems to encompass our existence.
theproplady Good thinking !
Exactly! That"s what I believe this game is all about, and it's a bloody brilliant one at that!
the G-Man in Half-Life is exactly that
theproplady such a dope theory, and makes perfect sense!! wow...
Wow
I really immediately just assumed "Field research" was a reference to the fact that its... in a field.
lol same
wordplay
I think you should address the moment when the hive mind enters the room filled with people. The dangling cube to draw the hive to the trap. IF YOU SET THE BRIGHTNESS ALL THE WAY UP you'll notice kids sitting in the front row.. NOW take a picture, take it to photoshop or whatever and you'll see, by color picking, that each child has a different colored shirt. I think some red blue and green... I feel this changes the core story. There's a cycle with these kids. I should just make a video.. lol
Dude make a video
Wheres the video
Yeah, where’s your video?
Samuel Martinez and then they are next in the experiment?
that is so sad
What about the cigarette that was still burning in one of the rooms, as the boy made his way through the facility? I believe that cigarette was 1) Obviously recently put out but 2) That the people inside that room had to get out quickly, leaving the smoker not enough time to put it out. Also when towards the end, and the boy is able to run up to the observation window and look out, the employees also noticed him and even moved aside for him to see. I think everything was almost set up the way the scientists wanted, with releasing a boy and letting him move in on the hivemind through some sort of portal-like tests. However they noticed the boy was advancing at an incredible rate, leaving the theory of the cigarette butt confirmed, they knew he was coming, and in order to "keep the vibe" had to run out of the room. They didn't however notice that he was also able to find the mind-control spheres and shut them off before repeating the cycle again.
And also what was with the Man and his Son? It looked like they were going out to pick out their newest group of slaves, could the government be creating these things and also trying to sell them off to the rich people? The chopped up bodies the boy swims through when going through the water vents,as well as the bodies coming out of the, what looks like a garbage shoot. They could have been Drones that didn't pass the obedience test, as seen with the boy and the people wearing masks, and where then picked up by the shock coil and disposed of as rejects of the system. This could also explain why there are some body parts that move around on their own and seem to be drawn to the boy, as these are new or premature Growths for either the hivemind, or growing more drones for popular demand.
I kinda agree with you. The scientists had been waiting for him. If you notice, in the area where you stand next to big window (before the entering facility with lots of drones), you could notice two scientists rushing to facility (in the upper left corner). Also, when you just entered the facility, you could notice the hanging phone with "busy" signal. They all were rushing to the hive-mind.
There's the guy that run past you & bumps into the table & chairs just before you reach the hive mind tank too. Must have been taking a dump & then realised "Shit, I'm late! I'm going to miss it! Ruuunun!!!" :P
Matt Hafey There's also the phone dangling by its cord and still swinging, meaning someone was making some sort of call but had to quickly abandon it
The cigarette butt was still burning because there was someone recently there lol they were all rushing to the Huddle Chamber to get a look at it, the Boy approaching closer probably made it become active or something Everyone abandoned their stations to see it. I don’t think they anticipated the Boy or what the connection to him & the Huddle was. Two of them step aside & look down at you when you pull up to the window but they seemed more confused that a child is there more than anything, but pay you no mind & go back to looking at the Huddle.
They’re clearly shocked when he gets sucked into the chamber, they pound on the windows when they see you as if to say “gtfo you dumbass it’s not safe”.
3:14
Or maybe their both just puns. Think about it, (corn)field research, unearthing secrets by unearthing the secret bunker.
If you stay in that red photo room long enough, another photo develops
That picture looks more like the mermaid than the meatball
Play the game and you'll see that it's the meatball. I'd bet my life savings on it.
It would make more sense if it was the mermaid though because when you get the achievement, the name implies that someone (the farmer) had to travel into the abandoned underwater area and document things that were living there, such as the mermaid. The farmer wouldn't need to document the meatball because it was in plain sight.
ruclips.net/video/gFkYjAKuUCE/видео.html Go to 1:47, confirmation that it's the blob, the guy literally says its the company-wide picture of the thing
@@maxderrat ita the mermaid... clearly
@@maxderrat also you presumed he hadn't played it .arrogant
I think the shockwaves are being caused by large-scale versions of those devices that shoot up along a rail and then slam back into the ground. I thought this immediately, since, after the shockwave stage, the game presented us with one of those little devices for no other apparent reason; it wasn’t even related to any puzzle in this instance. What else could they be?
Clearly, the employees do not use them for platforming purposes in the same way that we do when we assume that boy. I believe there are large versions of these devices which were developed as a kind of super-weapon, and that the use of these weapons is what brought about the global apocalypse that we can see clear evidence of.
What is the device on the rail name?
@@jameskristian3617 unknown pneumatic device
it seems that some kind of apocalypse did happen
Thanks for both videos on Inside. I enjoyed the analysis.
I just randomly started watching these again lol
I had 2 theories.
1. Your theory is right, but the facility also tests weapons (the lightning shock wave) and biological weapons (the worms and mind control), each number represents each weapon/experiment.
2. This is a metaphor for revolution; the boy is the flame of the revolution, at the start he is being chased and hunted by the dictatorship (trying to snuff it out), he is helped by citizens throughout to topple the regime. The facility could be a metaphor for this regime. These citizens (apart from the mermaids possibly) cannot think for themselves as they have been raised in this dictatorship (so this is why they're sort of brainless until someone controls them, the flame of the revolution controls them). However there are people in the government/higher classes who would like this dictatorship to fall, however they want to replace it with another one and have planned this thoroughly. These are the scientists and/or the onlookers. This would explain why everything was so conveniently placed throughout the facility, although it wasn't made so obvious that the 1st dictatorship would notice. The blob of people represents the revolution taking full force with all citizens working together to topple the regime. It eventually ends this dictatorship when it kills the boss-like figure sitting in the chair by the window. However the scientists/onlookers contain this revolution while still making it feel like it is free. Thus the 2nd dictatorship has been formed.
I honestly dunno.
I recently finished this game and had similar thoughts. I think there could be something to this. The red of the boy's shirt may have symbolic meaning in this context.
My theory is that the goal of the devs was simply to create an off the wall adventure that will allow the player's mind to interpret it any way they see fit. It's kinda like the movie, Mulholland Drive. Lynch's choosing to remain mum about its meaning suggests he simply threw together a plate full of weirdness for the viewer to eat however he or she chooses. Like the movie, there are little mind tricks and clever cues in the game that serve as pieces to a puzzle that were never joined to begin with. Meanwhile, the devs love to hear how we try to put it all together. In this sense, the game is the lab experiment and players are the guinea pigs. There's no end to the maze, yet we proceed down various routes under the impression that there is one. I loved hearing about your theories, but I've since chosen not to dig for answers since there appears to be none that we don't create ourselves.
This is the best way to look at it, in my opinion. :) I love Mulholland Drive, and what is brilliant about that movie is precisely what is brilliant about Inside.
Agreed. That movie has sparked more mind activity than some graduate schools have. Lynch did say one thing about it - that a key element of the film was revealed during the opening credits. He was likely referring the the movie title just to toy with people, but his comment did spark a huge wave of people analyzing that opening dance scene to death. It was funny to read about the deep symbolism people were trying to extract from it. We are a weird bunch sometimes. : )
The devs are probably bewildered at how much attention that photograph is being given. I don't think it is among the mysterious cues at all. The bunker is, but that photo is nothing.
Woooow.
There's some credence to that. Artists tend to just throw a lot of nonsense in a vaguely structured framework and see what happens. Some are pretentious and expect to be praised by being "intellectuals" and to be "trying to convey deep themes and/or emotions". But I do believe some works are deliberate being convoluted and unexplained for the purposes of motivating its audience to piece it together. However, this game is borderline too cohesive to be just a meta narrative and brushing it off as such devalues the experience.
You should never dismiss anything in the game as an easter egg. Like Limbo, it's extremely well thought out.
I got the same feeling at the end too. I felt as though it was not happy and the stillness kind of puts this vibe that there is either no escape or nothing to escape to. Very sad and wonderful game.
I wish this game would have a sequel it's so full of interesting details.
I finished this game 3 times and got all the trophies, and yet these videos hit me right in the gut. What a god damn work of art this game is.
Not sure if this was mentioned already, but it's also fun/interesting to note that the sonic ambience as the light shines down on the hive mind and the credits role isn't natural, but rather mechanical, most likely a choice that further confirms that the hive mind has simply landed in yet another part of the facility.
The song is found at the bottom of the broken REC sign-building, where you get that orb. It is played by the tape recorder there.
Also i beleive that (because of the gravity testing, and the random rockets you find in the base, as well as the fact that these drones do not need air to survive, that the facility was attempting to go off into space.
Maybe Limbo takes place after everyone left, but I think that's just one way to interpret it because the title Limbo and the video game's description on steam pretty much explain the game for me.
i do it right but the door is not opened !!
very interesting now that i remember the rockets. perhaps the earth is doomed and those shock waves are a result of that. but the shock waves come in consistant blasts, so it kind of seems they are man made. and not a result in weather
Alex C
There are test dummies in the shock wave zone, so it is probably some sort of propulsion device or energy source.
There was a rocket design that utilized several tiny nuclear explosions to launch a rocket into space, this could be something like that.
I thought Limbo was LITERALLY limbo.
Finished the game, watched the video - thanks for putting all these thoughts together. Fun to theorize and nice to have it all in one place. Cheers.
6 years later, still relevant
Have a different theory if anyone's interested.
There's a reason why we play as a boy. Remember «Schindler's list» movie, all black and white except that episode with little girl dressed red? And here's our boy dressed red the exact way while everything around him is grey and dark and gloomy. And the first theory I came up with after completing the game was a story about growing up, adultery stages. Just think of it: we face a lot of difficulties like being watched and hunted for and as we're going rogue throughout the game everyone tries to punish us for it. It reminds me of parents that always watch after their children and punish them for not doing what they say. Same dystopia that most of us goes through, isn't it?
Let's go further. That episode when boy acts like zombies is depicting that sometimes we're being forced to behave just like everyone while young, otherwise we're done with, metaphorically. And every obstacle we meet on our way in game somehow means the obstacles we meet in real life on our growing up way.
Those episodes with zombies may show that on some of our life stages we begin making friends and they help us, while being nothing but a bunch o' no ones and we leave them fast enough. That "collect-30-dummies-to-open-that-gate" episode? Looks like acquiring friends to move further in our life. Mind-controlling helmet represents our authority - as said in the video and in comments below, at first we need some extra respect to force those people serving our purposes, but then we're respected enough so there's no need to force them to listen to us. (I guess you folks are already bored with my grammar, sorry)
Episode with that long-hair underwater child may represent…love. Oh yeah, we may escape it as long as we can (I know what I'm talking about), afraid of being dragged into abyss, and when we are trapped in its arms, yes we fall deep down, but then we discover a new power! The power that makes us feel even stronger, makes us feel alive. But yes, child plugs us in, so we're one step closer to merging with crowd.
And that's the most important part. The being-called blob, or the Hive-mind, is just a ball made of people, and for me it represents the crowd every little human blends with when he or she becomes fully adult. That strange lab, that factory is nothing less than a representation of society that grows us for becoming the faceless man, part of mechanism. In countless efforts of gaining the freedom and choosing your own path you end up blending with faceless crowd, just as planned. Escape scene shows that we protest to the last yet our end was predicted. We're being convinced that this is freedom, yet it was a distraction planned from the start, so we'd never suspected a thing. (still ain't tired here?)
Oh, and about those orbs. Just collectable thing, but I see them as a pieces of a great knowledge that everything around is a big lie. You know, like some books that blow your mind up. This might explain why they were hidden that good - no one's really interested in people that carry too much knowledge.
And alternate ending shows a great deal. There's always a choice. And all you need is knowledge and a good senses. It cuts you out of the existing world, but at least you are never controlled.
------------
Can't wait to hear your opinions on that one!
Влад Григорьев This is fantastic! I think you identified the core idea behind this game. The game is called "Inside" because, for the majority of the game, the boy is trapped "inside" the facility, and trying to escape. The forest and natural landscape at the beginning of the game is a kind of "pastoral" setting, representing the idealized innocence of youth. The facility represents the world of adult society that we are all forced to join during adolescence.
To many young people, this world appears to be exactly the kind of dystopia presented in the game: the people are no more than faceless zombies, toiling endlessly within a cold, dark machine, which has no discernable purpose other than to simply perpetuate its own horrific existence. The boy represents the feelings of all so-called anarchists, rebels, delinquents, iconoclasts, and social malcontents. Not only does he refuse to be absorbed into the system, he considers it fundamentally evil, and he wants to dismantle it completely.
This is why he attempts to free the grotesque mutated amalgamation at the end: this abomination is the ultimate manifestation of the evil of the system the boy opposes. He can only be at peace when this ultimate victim is returned to its "natural" pastoral setting, and in the end he sacrifices himself to achieve this goal. From the boy's perspective, he dies a hero.
BUT! the game has a far more bleak message if you care to dig a little deeper. As many people have discovered, the boy's victory was largely staged. It turns out is that even his heroic martyrdom is just another necessary form of maintenance that is required to keep the system functioning. His attack was anticipated and provided a valuable spectacle for all the onlookers. He expressed what many people likely felt (aversion to the system), but more importantly he demonstrated that any attempt to resist will only result in personal tragedy. So the conformist audience could feel free to sympathize with his motives, but be determined not to follow his example.
Ultimately, this is the story of how society assimilates sources of opposition and incorporates them into its own process of self-reinforcement. Pretty heavy stuff for a video game.
I really like this explanation because there are similar motifs in Limbo -- starting off near a tree house and then moving on to a hotel and a factory, implying growing up.
Влад Григорьев: Great analysis! I think you've nailed it here. That's a lot to think about bit it seems to fit very well. You make me think of social media culture and just media culture in general. Good thoughts on the underwater girls too.
Thanks for writing. Don't worry about grammar, you have the ability to convey your ideas clearly.
Komaa: That's a good question. I'd be interested in any more theories too.
one question is, if you *really want* to escape the system.i mean, as long as you *think* yo escaped it and are happy with it and dont know you didnt really escape, its OK, isnt it?
+Komaa i think it could be some difficulties in life that try to pull you down, destroy you, i.e. responsibilitys
4:13 awesome transition to cut down the cave
They made shockwave level for sick music beats.
The shock wave field intrigued me SO much
I always thought scientists had figured out how to build or create violent black holes
It also raises questions why you can't walk sideways, only forward and back. Therefore, you are probably not controlling the boy,
6:46
The boys journey is meant to summize the progress of the facility. The pig is the boys literal stepping stone to controlling humans, as they were for the facility
What if the boy in limbo is the same boy in inside. The boy in limbo may be the inside boys eyesight. He may be uncouncious and limbo is his little haze while he is being controlled.
I've beat this game so many times already and I just bought it. Here's my theory: There's no end until the boy unplugs himself, ending the never ending cycle once and for all. Maybe the boy IS the experiment and the game itself is the ultimate mind control to keep players playing doing the same tactics over and over again (No lie but it's fun lol). And every time the game starts it's a new boy and every time that new boy goes to the "Hivemind" it absorbs that copy repeating the boy's same mistakes again next day, that's why at the end it's just looks like one blog of multiple bodies, maybe it's hundreds of those little boys. Perhaps the scientist are hoping for change with these copies and that one that got the 2nd ending is ready for part 2 hahaha The next experiment.
Or 2nd Theory: The mind control machine at the 2nd end...Maybe it was the real "Hivemind" super artificial intelligence self aware knowing what the humans are planning so it destroyed it's self using the little boy that it was controlling.
What ever it is I'm hoping for a part 2 lol
Theory 3: Ultimate Psychological Maze hoping a rat (player) would find the cheese and exit.
Gaming4U2be your 1st, theory is exactly what I thought lol
Like real life
Great video! By the way, there's a lot of new information about this game thanks to a steam thread called 'INSIDE A Compilation of Secrets and Mysteries' you should definitely look it up, those guys did awesome work and uncovered alot of new stuff.
Hey, thanks man! I just looked it up and I'm going to read the thread now. :)
Great take on the shockwave level, it's my favorite part of the game.
This is interesting, though I feel that there is a lot of credit being given to a character who is put in with pure speculation. Which, like you said, is the fun of it! This game is deliciously loaded with things to analyze and incredibly vague - however, I myself am skeptical of the idea that this is the result of one person's noble(?) effort. If not a singular farmer, why not the collective hive mind? Presumably, if it was made with sentient beings and not drones, this is the will of many people who are now imprisoned. If the boy is being controlled, perhaps it's not the will of *one* former employee, but many? An "inside job", as it were.
One thing about the shockwave level its also the *ONLY* level that has music in it as a main part of the level. Like all others have music but none are as prominent or for a lack of a better word "happy" as any of the other levels. That probably means something considering this whole game just one huge masterpiece of a story.
This game is being taken far too literally if you ask me.
It is mostly a meta experience, more concerned with drawing large themes than telling a compelling story.
This works well as all throughout the game I found myself pondering on what I was seeing.
Trying to piece this together into a cohesive narrative is in my opinion a futile attempt. Instead, abstracting the visuals should lead to a conclusion that does this game much more justice.
LukeSparow
Yes Justink?
Art can be interpreted in any way, i prefer to view it as a cohesive story rather than something abstract.
>complains about people taking the narrative too literally
>puts zero effort into providing his own explanation
@@protonjones54 If he did provide his own explanation of the plot, that'd be defeating the purpose of saying people take the narrative too literally.
Great video! Make more analysis videos on other games
Sure! :D What games would you like to see me do?
Limbo would be awesome :)
Limbo, Firewatch, Witcher series....there are hundreds of games with stories. Even movies.
Max Derrat
I may be late to the party but... what about Fran Bow, or SOMA.
gta v
Well that look more like aqua child not the meatball
I play at 4K and I can absolutely assure both of you that is a picture of my ex girlfriends bush...
Uh how???
I like to think it was a curious kid who found out what was going on and later in the game they find out he's sneaking throughout the facility and want to see wear it leads to (because it's a research facility). For example: Near the end with the scientists looking at the boy and following the Akira-like-blob around. Did anyone notice when you have to throw the generator box up and the scientist to get him to start it, he waves at the Akira- blob to go through. There's so much amazing things about this game, so many little things to notice. I can't stop thinking about it. Excellent video btw.
You can read my take on the game above. But if I were convinced otherwise, I'd say they got the blob right where they wanted it. That water's edge was behind glass inside the facility. It didn't break out. Rather, it wound up back in the simulated environment it broke free from. You get the sense that it got loose when everyone started congregating around the glass. By the time the boy reached it, it was being subdued by those electrodes. The kid loathed what was going on in that place and he decided to set the blob free to retaliate against their cruelty.
Also, while the little naked girls did drow the boy, they may have been trying to escape. At least one of them wanted to see the demise of that facility, so she helped him to continue on more equipped to end it all. In the end, the boy was overtaken by the blob who did not break outside . . . it broke "Inside."
Perhaps a subtle point that is being overlooked is that the player is actually the blob.
In the secret ending when the boy slumps over limply like all the other zombies, it is clear that he is being controlled by something else and does not possess free will.
When you proceed through the game the first time, you would never identify with the zombies you control. The secret ending reveals that the boy is just another one of those zombies.
If we are not the boy, then who are we. Who represents the player in this universe? It only makes sense that we are represented by the one giving the commands - the blob.
I love this game and wish to be able to expolore this sad and somehow beautiful world more.
There are less destructive methods of generating electrical power. The shockwave would be very efficient in defending a large area against invasion or attacking hoards, eliminating all trespassing without a need for mines, fences or guards. The poles could be measuring impact pressure to maintain the desired radius.
Thanks for the Analysis in both videos!
Seeing the big under water place again at the end it reminded me of the feeling I had when playing it: If only there would appear a giant snake/fish/water-monster now that would look so epic
wait, when the hell do you get a torch and walk through snow terrain? I just played the game and dont recall being given a torch and staving off holves.
It’s towards the end, it’s a secret area and you find one of those hidden collectible device things
the corn size in the farm suggests somebody recently planted all those corns
The boy from limbo looks kinda like the boy in inside buy in 3D and we can see the color of him he might be an older version of the boy from limbo in the future
I think on the first playthrough the end goal for the blob is just to end it all in a place of happiness: ocean waves, breeze, sunlight on your skin. The diorama could be a motivation for the workers. Good workers get to go there, the only place left that still has trees, ocean breeze and sunlight. The blob also knows about this and wants to dye there.
Second playthrough is about you just wanting to finish and getting disconected. You know theres more, you hear about the orbs, you find them, complete it, disconect and go to your own happy place.
Never knew you had a part 2, so interesting though
Excellent. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it.
Best analysis I've found on Inside. Thanks!
Field Research. The secret is IN A FUCKING FIELD.
You mentioned that the bunker could have been built by an employee who was then taken and merged with the hive mind who is the one controlling the boy, i disagree because when you're in that bunker the photo is still dripping wet from being placed in the bath there for it could not have been long at all from the point the photo was developed to when the boy could first enter the bunker there for someone else is using/built the bunker and is doing the field research.
Field research: corn field
Unearthing secrets: you are underground
I'm late, and just played this game myself, but everybody's missing really important questions. Are we not going to talk about how the boy we control is the only child? What about the fact that the workers no longer want to kill you after you make it into final few parts of the facility? only men in black shirts wanted to kill you. the other workers help you. That final light couldn't have paralyzed you, because you stand in front of many lights before that. The water lady who drowns you, but then either saves you or revives you or connects you to the Hive Mind, depending on your theory, intentionally places herself in front of that giant underwater light. What struck me all throughout the game is the child's creativity, but also his knowledge of where he was going and how everything operates. Why was the big blob able to absorb the boy, but nobody else? Was this boy ever really creative, or did he truly play right into the hands of the man?
Whenever you were talking about the big burst of light from that room you said it was to collect energy I believe that it was not Supposed collect energy but in fact use it to fuse or split an organism and to do some thing like that would take a lot of energy and I believe the light and shockwave are the result of spending a lot of energy and the polls scatter around we’re not to collect ambient energy but we’re sensor arrays to make sure everything was going smoothly and the dummies I do believe what you said to test it would be legal or not to enter the room because they have to do maintenance on the machines somehow
Another quite striking similarity between Limbo and INSIDE is how the consoles/buttons look. In Limbo, they are big boxes with a square light in one of the top corners. The exact same looking machines can be found numerous times throughout INSIDE. Definitely not a coincidence.
Everyone is dead, including the boy, a mind is controlling everything, the mind or man inside the secrete passage controls the boy. He tries to destroy his last experiment (The Hive Mind) and then when he has nothing left, he unplugs his mind and dies.
The controlling the boy by the hive makes sence because when you unclip the things from it ( the same things you put your head into to control the "zombie guys" ) you then become the hive and play as that. But it doesn't happen on each one, but only on a spacific "hat". I think that means it's controlling more than one guy but yours was the first to get there.
Nice work man. Enjoyed both.
I've not actually played the game but I've watched a play through of much of it and find the story fascinating. I'm trying to work out an interpretation that is both based on facts and evidence from the game and also internally consistent with the rules/laws in this universe and this post is large part is me thinking out loud and formulating my thoughts. First of all we know that the control mechanic is recursive, controlled creatures can them-self control other creatures. We also know that controlled creatures when not being controlled become lifeless which happens to you in the secret ending. We know the blob at the end must be controlling creatures it has multiple machines attached to it and so it's likely that it's attached to the machine that allows control you of you. There's one thing I noticed about the freeing of the blob which is that in order to keep control over you, it would need to remain connected which it does, you get absorbed after unplugging 3 of the 4 cables, it only breaks the final connection after it's absorbed you.
One question I've not seen answered yet is what is it about the boy that fundamentally allows the blob to escape, the most sensible explanation for the general plot is that the blob is controlling the boy and leads the boy into the facility to free it, what is preventing the blob from doing this without the boy precisely? It seems only possible after it has absorbed you. The blob is fundamentally strong enough to escape it smashes through the glass, nothing the boy does that I've seen as he approaches the blob in any way aids the blobs escape. If anyone has any rational explanation for that i'd be interested to hear it. It kind of breaks down here a bit and it's hard to imagine an internally consistent story without expanding the narrative to a meta one that includes you the player.
The opposite of control is really free will, the ability to control your own actions and I get the feeling that what the blob gains when it absorbs you the boy, is the free will to act and move, but it creates this circular logic where if the boy is controlled by the blob in the first place, it doesn't make much sense and some hybrid combination of the boy having free will because he's controlled by you, but also by the blob is really messy it doesn't seem coherent enough. It only makes sense if the free will the blob is gaining is from you - the player. Revisiting the secret ending it would kind of imply that in the background the screens (what looks like a PC) with wires or tentacles of some kind is an attempt to craft visual representation of how in the game world you might be connected to the boy and of course if you voluntarily disconnect your control the game ends and fade to black.
This makes a little more sense that the experiment if there really is one is more about you the player rather than the blob or the boy. And my mind goes to control again and control of the developers over us as players. Because we play the game and thats how we feel in the moment, that it's our choice to free the blob and lead it to escape, only to fail. But really thats a narrative the developers have made and the only way to finish the game is to follow that narrative through, there's really no choice in the game at all, other than to kill the boy, succeed or play the alternate ending. And that's not so much a choice in the game, more of a hidden extra to reveal the fact the boy himself is controlled. So it very much has the feeling that it's more about the developers control over the player, and that's where the lines become blurred about narrative and about where I feel you can reasonably read in to it before it becomes too abstract about the developers motivations to tell that specific story.
I believe there are also some hints at that tell you the boy are a an possessed corpse like all other drones: The chickens and the fishes. They are all attracted to the boy and do something like "eating" when touching him. Normal animals don't behave like that to a stranger they've just met (they always hide from them). Perhaps they think that you who are a rotting corpse, are food and try to eat you. That's why they try to follow and stick to you. If it's true (I'm sure it does), it's the hint to us that the boy is not normal human being.
Also, there is a stage that you control a drone and use it to control another one in the early game. That maybe another hint to us that may be the boy is possessed by someone or something else.
now for the explanation of how everything was built. some areas are too weird or obnoxious for it to make sense. like those electrical poles you mentioned in this video. how could they be build if a death pulse happens every few seconds?
If it is a cycle of experiments, it would also explain the respawn and loading system of the game. I personally never encountered this type of loading chapters. Almost as if you're not loading a save, but teleporting back or forward... Or as if you gain control of another child from another cycle. One other weird thing is how to acquire the secret ending. You have to go back to unlock it. You don't gain another option endgame, a tool that would change your path. No. You unplug every ball, and then you have to load back to the farm to get that secret ending.
4 years late, but I wonder why no one mentions the guy helping you out in the end. You need him in order to pump up the pneumatic chest and he cheers and encourages you to move on. In the beginning I thought this guy was disagreeing with this sick experiment, but he´s all part of the plan and makes you move forward. It also matches with all these guys just casually watching the blob go rampage from a safespot. Terryfing game. I love it.
The shock-wave stage still bothers be as a simple barrier would not protect hum from the pressure wave. Explosive shock waves cause internal cranial damage and internal bleeding as the pressure wave penetrates the ear canals and sinuses. It's not pretty and the reason people are killed by explosions while being untouched by shrapnel.
It could be that the boy is a drone so he's immune to that.
The shockwave level could be the infusion of power into the blob hivemind. It could also be that we’re seeing a story in some kind of loop. The blob calls the boy when it’s being created, as it may have done before, since we see the photo. The alternate ending is the boy refusing its call.
I think the field research is just a play on word. Because it’s the title it probably just mean field re-search, because in order to find the last piece we need to look for the under ground bunker( so we re-searched the field). But otherwise this theory is on point.
i think that one aqua-human that injected you with the mind-controll stuff was a rogue one and you were supposed to go up the ladder but it breaks so the aqua-human girl saves you ... then you go to the giant meatball and become the meatball and roll to the beach that looks like the diorama earlier then BOOM a giant meatball crashes from the ceiling then yada yada rolling to the beach then BOOM giant meat ball crashes from the ceiling then yada yada rolling to the beach then BOOM .... paradox
A bit of necro posting, but something interesting is that if you were to replay the levels before opening the door in the bunker the lights on the orbs that you have previously pulled would be off. However, after completing the alternative ending the lights on the orbs are off. This also includes the door to the final orb and the bunker door.
HI! i don't know if you're interested or not but there is a little thing that I discovered. when you find the last orb (the big one) there is this big screen showing which orbs you have found till then and if all the lights are on so you can get inside the 14th one and unplug it but the thing is when u do it, all the little lights die except number 2 which is the one in the farm with that secret door. it actually is giving us a hint to go back there and check if sth is wrong! and whats wrong that has kept the 2nd light on? that mind control device that the boy unplugs at last. so what if all other orbs are too connected to mind controlling devices and by unplugging each, we destroy a mind controlling zone somewhere? its just an additional theory to yours:)
also the workers helping the meatball escape further proves the theory that the facility anticipated it
Fantastic videos! This and part 1! THANK YOU!
Something to back up the experiment towards the end the people help the blob to get out.
There are multiple bunkers like the one under the corn field. That bunker looks just like another location later on in the game...
I notice that when it comes to the shock wave level that before you enter that building (after you get out of the submarine) you can faintly hear the noise it makes before entering the building. However, toward the end of the game when you enter the anti gravity water with the drones in it you can also faintly here the noise again
But you answered you question in the same sentence, if the facility was dependent on the hive-mind & still wanted a fail safe then they would make it hard to access with more then one key, usually it take 2 or more switches to pull the plug on a large scale government experiment but the idea of a rebellious worker that had the means, know how & motive could also explain just that
I think the shockwave arena is or might be used as a power source. I came to this conclusion when I noticed that in the room where you collect the dead sleepwalker, there are what I believe is generators or batteries connected to the windows. Each time the shockwave hits the window, you can hear a fan rotate, and a dial on the side of the machinery flips up half way, three fourths or fully on the measurement.
Assume the machinery behind the one we can see are a generator/battery, and assume there are several more rooms like this one all around the arena walls around the shockwave center, then that’s a lot of power.
I feel like its the boy from limbo & the story expanded upon, the few humans found those mind contolling worms & made all this from that. All your theories seem to fit extremely well tho & its a joy watching them as i feel i understand the game a lot better now.
Thank you very much for both analysis! I only watched a Let's Play, but enjoyed the boys journey and all the unanswered questions that remained. I thought, it was about a child growing up, that does have a lot of unanswered questions, but that seemed too abstract :D It was great fun, guessing what it is all about, aspecially because it is so complex.
Anyways, thanks for throwing light in the darkness, good luck with your channel ! :) greetings from Germany !
Of course! I am glad that my analysis was able to shed some light on things for you! :) Oh and by the way... Ich bin ein Berliner!
(Yes, I know what that really means ;D )
Actually there is another secret and that is if you stay a little bit longer in that room on left where the 2nd orb is the left most photo starts to get visible. and that also makes the story a little bit more concrete.
It's not a man connected at this mind control helmet but yellow cables, like those of the secret orbs. You can see this more clearly in a INSIDE "no clip" video.
I remember a few spots where it seemed like someone had just been in a room prior to the player arriving. Like the film developing in the bunker and a cigarette still burning in an ash try and the phone off the hook in an office room. It seemed like there were more places where this occurred but I can't remember exactly where right now. I got a feeling someone knew I was coming and left right before I got there, or like someone knew my purpose and was watching me. Something else I've pondered as to if it has any significance is the animals you encounter..the baby chicks, the flock of birds, and the school of fish. They seemed to be shown with brighter and more vibrant colors than the other scenery. The chicks are used to get the hay bale down (and sadly one of them didn't make it it looks like) but the birds and the fish really don't help in any way useful. Not sure if there if more to this but just wanted to bring it up as a talking point. Cheers blobs!
The fish did disconnect that long shit that was on the boy's tummy as he drowned
Perhaps the boy from limbo was a test subject who died in a test and his limbo represents the facility and the forest around it. Also the spider could be what he saw the meatball creature as. This also explains why other people are trying to kill u in limbo, but that's just off of speculation.
Or the Hive Mind in the photo is you in your past play through(s) of the game. Maybe it's a cycle that you've finally broken.
I think the shockwave level is for mining I mean if you look around the puzzles you have to do in order to get 20 people on a pressure plate, you will notice that you are in a mine. It also looks similar to the laboratory you sneak into later in the game just under construction instead. It wouldn’t be to far fetched because all of their labs are underground and they are huge spaced.. maybe the shockwave is there to mine out all that rock quicker so they have room for another underground laboratory so they have more room for more experiments
You're missing the most important part about the secret ending!
*That the only way to achieve it is going through the game and disconnecting all 14 orbs.
Meaning the very first play-through is actually an continuation of an ongoing experiment from the "farmer inside the hive-mind " ;by playing off of the scientist in white mask predictions that we've perceived throughout the game over again and AGAIN.
Being the second go around that starts immediately after the credits have passed; is actually still apart of the games complete linear story and not just an alternate ending.
Let me explain-
Now that the hive-mind used the first boy to unplug the orbs(first play-through), he can then use the second boy(after credits) to turn off the system controlling the boys. Essential the games true ending is showcased within the bunker and is an given opportunity for the hive-mind, the boy and us the player to choose which fate we want for the rest of the human race that is trying to survive. Either continue the experiment in order for the human to survive or to stop the destruction of their own slave race creation or in other words slave lifes matter.
Playing off the whole idea of mind control maybe the farmer isn't a farmer but a created slave that grew enough intelligence to do field research and decide a fate for himself and his race to prove they can be something more than expandable slaves and showing the hive mind as well that it is not as smart as it thinks it is by getting away each time only to be led back to its prison. anyways GREAT GAME and video.
My theory for the shockwave level is that the dummies had those little shock chips that you see on Mythbusters (obviously way stronger) to gather data about what strength of power the shockwaves were emitting. Once this data was collected, the scientists used the data to create stronger and stronger "zombies", thus explaining why they can survive falling great heights. They could then test them again in the same room with the dummies. The scientists probably reached a maximum strength limit, thus explaining why the area is in disarray and unused, and why only dummies are in the chairs. The shockwaves were probably controlled explosions.
ALTERNATE: The collection device used was actually the pole thingies in the wasteland that can survive the blast.
I do agree with the analysis though good work
Why are there VHS tapes and cameras all over the place?
I think these are the same cameras used in the facility with the blob. If you noticed, when you submerge first time in the sub and go down and right, you face with the facility with two pipes. And here's the twist - the same two pipes (shape and location) can be observed on facility with the blob before entering it. So, I think that all the facilities under the water are from the previous experiments. Hence, lots of tapes are here and there.
@@rusektor I also think they are literal representations of the deliberate ways the game developers sought to frustrate attempts to glean a single, cohesive narrative from the game's events. The tapes are lying there, forever unseen, forever holding onto their secrets. Like the devs are taunting us, saying, "We know you're trying to piece this story together, but its ultimate meaning will forever stay just beyond your reach".
3:21 you got the trophy on my birthday🎉
I think you’re almost impeccably correct about the long haired swimmers, or “Samanthra” as markiplier coined them. I think actually where you take the submarine is an older, smaller version of the facility, because if you remember where you enter the actually populated section of the facility, there’s a massive wall with pipe/tube things running into it, and a small door at the bottom. You go through an area exactly like this in the submarine, where there’s a massive wall with a small door, and huge tubes/pipes running into the wall.
Honestly I think that the light at the end was a sign of hope and peace even when it was black all around their was still hope there in the distance...somewhere but there
Yet the diorama on the bottom floor of Facility 4 is a recreation of the exact spot at which the meatball hivemind comes to rest at the end of the game. Which seems to suggest it's a cycle, a deliberate experiment that's been repeated multiple times.
My initial thought with the shock wave level was that the shock wave was a signal. This thought accured to me as the orbs seem to be scattered in a way that boosts the range of the mind control. The shock wave signal might help the drones do more complicated tasks. When we stand in line alongside other drones, we see that they are able to jump and turn around. I hoped this pattern matched the shock wave pattern, but it doesn't. It seems that the shock wave level really isn't that important, even if it seems really grand.
I kinda figured there were two organizations at play. The Shockwave Level being a divide between them (The shockwave being a weapon to keep either side from attacking the other). The first organization having perfected their drones, the second learning how to make their own drones (The human to drone ratio seems to drastically shift after you pass through the Shockwave zone). This could also explain the hidden orbs, a hidden system by the second organization to hijack the fully developed drones of the first. And I would say that is where your theory could come into play though. The diorama of the beach means they knew something about the escape. (Another theory is that it was merely a model of the only Outside place they knew of and everything in the game is actually indoors.)
I like this theory a lot. What I kept wondering is why does it take so much weight to open the door to the shock wave zone? The drones wouldn't figure it out, but a non-drone would. That could make sense.
Plot twist: the scientist from the “field research” theory is the boy from limbo
I think its over complicating the story.
-The monster is used to clone / control drones.
-The drones are used either as a massive experiment or perhaps the world maybe normal outside and drones may act as slave labor since they're able to farm pigs and such.
-Everyone in the facility is immune to the monsters influence.
-Some random boy was playing too close to the facility and was unprotected so and he got influenced by the monster which is why every intruder NOT wearing a mask is executed so harshly.
-The monster has constantly attempted to escape which has left a lot of the facility in ruin, which is why there's so many layers.
-The scientist decided they can't stop the monster from trying to escape so i'll be easier to give the monster "false hope" and a predetermined path so they can reduce damage done as a failsafe should the guards be unable to stop the monsters puppets.
-The secret ending is the monster wising up and accepting it can't escape and instead deciding to sacrifice its chance of escaping so the scientist can't use it to control the drones.
-Water drones are just glitched drones, being unaccessable by the scientist the monster is able to influence them, when you drown there's even a dead body with a needle inside it meaning the monster attempted this before but something happened.
-Everything is in ruin because of the monsters previous attempts at escaping or perhaps as a result of resettling locals once it became apparent the monster could influenced people.
I think the achievement name "Field Research" is just witty naming convention for the achievement (because it's located in a corn FIELD), like for the rest of the orbs and as is customary in so many other games.
Another "oddity" is that while the humans at the beginning have no qualms letting their dogs kill the boy, later on (shortly before you take the long drop into the water) they use tranq darts.
I like the idea about the shockwaves. Good video. Id like to hear about limbo boy manifesting facility as part of his nightmare.
I don't know why people don't even care to the campfire, or the torch, or the door that is closed by some mysterius, and the fact that there was no number "01" tests room.... I think there are more ocasions that sugests to another person going one step forward the kid
I have a theory.
Something to add on to yours, because I pretty much felt the same.
The boy was definitely a zombie developed by this factory. BUT, I think it was to test the intelligence of the zombie. The only thing is they cant get pass the influence of the blob. This is why I think the zombie in the water begins to help him out, because he's in the radius of the blob influence. Which then changes his goal to set it free. Only thing is, even outside is apart of the testing facility so it never escapes. This is why everyone is rushing towards to observe it, to see any changes.
One thing that stood out was when the boy entered the containment of the blob if you go towards the window, everyone outside of it directs you to unplug it. They are testing changes in reactions, movement etc of the blob.
This is why I think the game starts all over again at the end. It never ends until they get whatever it is they're trying to uncover or develop.
It's the theory of singularity that explains this game.
What about the worker that pulls the string and pushes the box back down, for the hive, to hit the button towards the end?
All these "control" themes seem to be reminiscent of THE MATRIX.
All this just chills me to the bone