Hey Butch, Charlie "Mr. Subnautica" Cleveland here. I was the original creator of the game and the designer. Throughout making the game, we've been hearing about "Thalassophobia", along with Agoraphophia (open spaces), Nyctophobia (dark), Claustrophobia (oxygen, caves) and so many other fears that this game places squarely in front of the player. Personally speaking, while I've done a ton of scuba-diving, it generally fills me with fear and anxiety. Occasionally I can move beyond it and the colors and majesty of the underwater world overtake me. But more often than not, I feel more scared than enraptured. But when watching your video, I couldn't believe how much I actually felt what you were feeling. Seeing you nauseous and scared actually made ME nauseous and scared. As a game designer, it makes me secretly happy to see the game have such a potent effect on you, on the other hand, I felt so sorry for what you were going through. Essentially, for what I and the team worked so hard to inflict upon you. Most players have a nice mix of joy and fear which (we think), slowly transforms to full joy, but for you, the fear was so intense, I can't help but think that we created essentially digital torture. I hope that this experience helps you, in some form. You are a brave and strong soul for doing it. I wish I could give you a huge hug, to try to make up all the terror we worked so hard to put in the game. -Charlie
Genuinely in disbelief that you have watched the video, let alone commented! Thank you so much for taking the time, I really do appreciate it. I hated subnautica and adored it at the same time. I have never FELT to much in a video game before and that is all down to you guys. The world, atmosphere and emotions that you stimulated was nothing short of out of this world! Digital torture is a great way to put it! But the lower the lows, the higher the highs baby and the feeling of accomplishment I got from completing this game was one of the highlights of my gaming career! I am already so excited for Subnautica 3. I will be there on release, ready to put myself through hell once again! Thank you for all your hard work on the game Charlie.
This game is quite interesting from a psychological point of view. It could be a good treatment for people who have thalasophoboa. Even the exposure is increasing, in the right measure. Even though there are monsters, etc... eventually you get used to them. The greater the intensity of suffering caused by exposure, the more effective the result. (That's if the person doesn't give up halfway through). That's because it's just a game, it has no potential to cause real trauma. I bet most people who played this game lost their fear of the ocean, rather than increasing it. Contrary to what common sense says. It's definitely more of a cure for a phobia than torture. But for us, psychologists, it's normal to seem like we're torturing people when we push ourselves too hard... But that's a good indication of improvement.
I don't know if intuitively or not, the result of this game is something exceptional. I have a master's degree studying emotions and behavior and I realize how much scientific knowledge could be used in games to provoke greater emotional engagement. Sometimes small details like the exposure time to something scary, or the feeling of loneliness that the game brings about being alone. The game is so memorable, too, because it's a completely new environment. It's like taking a trip to another country. You will always have it in your memory. anyway... I could talk for hours because I'm a bit of a nerd haha I hope you continue like this, seeking to provoke intense experiences in your players.
Lots of people talk about thalassophobia when playing this game, and they get a bit scared when it comes to exploring the depths. But you're the first I've seen to actually have a visceral reaction to the open water. Kudos for pushing on!
I don't have Subnautica but if I'd played it I'd probably have the same reaction. I'm scar d of going in any body of water that I can't see through because both my mum and my sister have stepped on weaver fish and I hate the jellyfish that are in the water.
@Farflung Clown I never had su h a reaction, the depths and the monsters simply creeped me out. But I kind of miss the time when this game could scare me.
If I knew nothing about Subnautica I'd have the same reaction. But I know you're safe at the beginning, so I'm less scared. If they make a Subnautica 3, I'm going into it blind, 100%
An encouraging word. What I have learned of human psychology has shown me that, when you have a genuine fear, voluntarily confronting that fear in an incremental and tolerable way is the best method. And it’s not a matter of making you less afraid, it’s about making you braver. A little exposure at a time helps you to grow in your mind so that the fear is no longer this massive oppressive feeling but a smaller and more manageable one. Making you as big as or bigger than the fear, in a matter of speaking. Good job confronting your fear. It’s not an easy task, especially when it’s a phobia. But don’t feel bad, it’s genuinely not an irrational fear. The unknown deep in the depths is truly terrifying.
Subnautica is seriously one of the scariest games I ever played and the funny thing is, the developers initially never meant for it to be a scary game. Good to see you gave this game a try, it ultimately is really well done.
I started playing it EARLY early access, before much of the storyline had been incorporated and well before there was even an opportunity to escape. At the time, I think there may have just been one leviathan (the reaper), and a lot of the map was still relatively empty of anything but resources and random fish. It was a very relaxing game, but there was always an edge of vague tension caused by the environment itself. As development went on, you could practically FEEL the dev team realize what they had here, and how it affected people, and start bending things towards that. What they created is a hell of a thing.
Its such a different kind of horror too Horror games are meh but subnautica is just genuine fear and panic from the sheer scale and mystery of the ocean its awesome
NEVER LET THIS GUYS GET EVEN REMOTLY CLOSE TO THE VOID. That will traumatize him for life. Also amazing video, you are super brave for playing this game with thalassophobia.
If you mean the big things with the tentacles and the boomy noise then you and I have very different definitions of the word cute 🥲 thank you for checking out the video!!
in VR, at night (IRL) and with surround headsets.... We literally dive into the atmosphere. But there is no better way to fight fear by facing it head on.
@@BennickBlue If anything that makes it realistic.. even peepers look so small but they are big bois when compared to the player model through mods/console commands for sure
I also have thalassophobia and I played this game, it took around 50 hours to complete. The game is absolutely terrifying and it gets 100x worse but it’s still one of my favorite games because it’s terrifying and beautiful at the same time. It gets easier to explore and then your somewhat calm until you see them…
To watch you go from sheer panic every time you went into the water to jumping out of the bottom hatch in the pod with ease within the first ten minutes is genuinely inspiring
Didn’t leave the safe shallows for an inordinate amount of game time. When I did, I went to explore the Aurora and I heard “it” for the first time. Then “it” found me and I had to pause the game for a while. I don’t even have a fear of the ocean. I can’t imagine what you were feeling.
I don't even have Thalassophobia, but I remember the moment of exiting the escape pod and seeing an endless ocean. It filled me with a kind of dread I could not explain. It took me a while before I even dared to explore beyond the shallows, and the nights get especially scary.
@@Madi_Ernar I mean, I don't have a fear of water bodies in real life. I have swum in pools, rivers, and lakes (not the ocean yet) and I'm usually fine from just having a healthy fear of death and being sensible (not going into waters that are known to be dangerous, or attempting to explore caves). But I'm not really afraid in any way when I see the ocean or imagine diving in water. The scenario of this game where we are on an unknown planet, is especially unnerving.
its impressive seeing how you went from having a physical reaction to even getting out the escape pod at 3:22, to being able to do it without even really flinching at 7:20 . you can see while the fear still exists you were getting braver and more resilient to your fear. really really impressive.
No I have the same anxiety and it's obvious he is looking to be surrounded by cliffs or objects rather than free ocean. It would be hard to act consistently in a Livestream. I had to quit Subnautica within the first 20 min, it really is that vad
I believe this might be the best way to get over a phobia. It's a shitty experience, but if you believe that you can get better and reassure yourself a fair bit, I think it will start to change the severity of your response. Getting those feelings of accomplishment helps a ton. I love seeing these kinds of experiences that people have, not out of a sadistic interest but a curiosity. I'm a psychology major so this stuff is fascinating to see, can't wait for you to do more, keep it up, you can do it!
It might be cool if there was a starter mode where there's no lore but also no creatures. So people could get used to the water while being safe and then being able to play properly.
honestly , my phobia was a bit worse when i first started playing the game . it’s still there and still very uncomfortable , but i feel a little bit more “ courageous “ . i can make myself go a little deeper sometimes and just focus on the task or where i’m going instead of the area or my fear .
I don't know if it works on a phobia as severe as this, but the game definitely helps you conquer fear. I used to be TERRIFIED of the Ghost Leviathans. Now? I'm grappling onto them and flying around punching the crap out of one with a Prawn Suit XD There are times in this game where you feel so powerful and in control that you feel like there's nothing you can't conquer in this ocean. (Lava Zone humbled me VERY fast though)
It really is interesting how different every playthrough of the game is, Some players are just obsessed with going deeper. Some players are obsessed with the Aurora. Some players are obsessed with base building, or egg collecting, or just all sorts of things.
I've watched plenty of Subnautica and so YT threw this one under my nose. Since the game can give people mild Thalassophobia, I'm astonished this chap is punishing himself so (especiallly considering some of the content). Big respect to him say "I'm doing it for the views" how refreshingly honest. Great format - documentary/reaction hybrid. Subscribed.
I don't even have any phobia like that, yet playing a game like this can still make me uneasy when swimming over deeper waters (especially first time). Being able to be attacked from dimensions that are not normally possible on land, is enough to put just about anyone on edge, especially in a survival game where dying isn't exactly preferable. Bottom line is that people who typically do not become at all immersed in a video game, usually don't play video games at all, or at least they stick to genres where immersion does not matter.
I saw your tiktok about it and came straight here to watch the video. Honestly think this is incredibly courageous of you. As someone who is extremely passionate about the ocean and has no fear of it at all, I did get uncomfortable playing this game so you playing it while having Thalassophobia is so impressive to me. I love being able to see it through your eyes, please keep playing it! YOU GOT THIS
Thank you so much for checking out the video!!! I have a massive appreciation for the ocean and it’s role in this worlds ecosystem, but I like that appreciate to occur from a distance 😂
I don't have thalassophobia but I can understand where it's coming from. I've an uncomfortable feeling myself swimming in too deep, dark or unclear water as well, especially when you're alone. I do get chills while playing sub nautica myself currently, I don't want to imagine how it's for you and all people with that phobia.
@anamendes5481 there's millions of people who love swimming I'm the ocean and spiders, I think it all has to do to trumas you suffered as a child, I have a trauma with spiders and I have my reasons why lol
I like your editing style! Please keep this series coming, I have Thalassaphobia as well, but watching this made me not feel alone in that. So thanks man!
Genuinely, thank you so much for this comment 🙏 I spent a lot of time on this vid so it means the world that at least one person thinks it’s worth a watch! And I’ll keep the series going for as long as my nerves will hold 😅
@@ButchX3 I have never actually seen anyone with worse thalassaphobia than myself before. The number of times I had to just....pause the game, stand up, and walk away until the queasiness in pit in my stomach went away, even just from something as simple as driving the seamoth past a ledge and discovering that past it is a steep incline down into the unknowable void...I honestly think you were having an even rougher time than me, and I am super impressed that you stuck it out. And I have to say, given how much difficulty you had with the horizon, I'm super impressed that you kept going out the top of the pod rather than directly into the water. You're a beast, and I am super looking forward to the series (and then the movie!)
Ha, and literally twenty seconds after when I had paused the vid to post this, you talk about the EXACT same thing. going over the ledge into T H E V O I D, with almost the exact same feelings as I have for it. Yeah, I am gonna like this playthrough :D
This game is a nightmare for everyone, having thalassophobia or not. Have finished it last month and I'm still recovering from some parts. But I must admit you're the bravest man I've ever found on the platform. You literally went to fight your own demons with bare hands. You have a new sub, bro!
You've given me the confidence to try and overcome my thalassophobia and finish Subnautica. I completely felt for you as soon as you left the escape pod and saw the vast ocean. Especially when you jumped in. I'm proud of you! Now it's time for me to try :'D
I don't really have thalassaphobia, but I definitely can understand the fear of it. Subnautica is one of my favorite games of all time and I just love the water in general.
It's not the water, it's the CAVES that scare me. The deeper parts MESSED me up. But, it's all so well-made and beautiful, It kinda overtook my fear and I kept going to find more. This game is so amazing.
Your reactions to the ocean felt so genuine and relatable to me! You're the first person I've seen whose 'fear of the ocean' extends beyond more than just a rational "oh the ocean scares me". While I don't have an intense fear of the ocean, I do rather unusually suffer from ichthyophobia (fear of fish) to the point where even seeing images of fish can cause me to contort involuntarily. Fortunately for me, the 'fish' in subnautica feel different and fake enough compared to earth fish that it didn't strongly elicit this particular fear, but it still wasn't very pleasant. Nice to see someone else with a similarly visceral and violently irrational fear of something!
I don't even have thalassophobia and the journey to the floater island unnerves me every time, I've made a habit of just not looking down, I KNOW for a fact there's nothing that swims there, I've played Subnautica since early beta, but it still freaks me the hell out, can't even imagine what it's like for you, big ups man
Hey! The ghost leviathan in the grand reef is actually right below you when you swim out there, and it can often come after you during the swim! Just thought I could let you know you've been extremely lucky so far! :D
@@thetruebt7274 it's down there yes, but if you swim at the surface the whole time it'll never come after you, you're just way too far from it's aggro range, the "there" I was referring to was the 20 or so meters of water just under the surface, just to clarify
When I saw you were swimming to the Floating Island, I said a prayer for you. I don't have proper thalassophobia and swimming around that island gives me the willies. There's just so much open water around it, and even though the other island has steep sides, at least you can see where the seafloor is. Around the Floating Island, there's nothing to anchor yourself to. Really, good on you for facing your fears head-on! It's an inspiration!
I also have thalassophobia, and have played both Subnautica and Subnautica Below Zero. I was always swimming right along the sea floor and hugging walls to mitigate the fear. And those deep drops made me physically ill……..I find the floating island particularly hard to swim around. And seeing the reef backs swimming or seeing anything breach the water makes me want to vomit. I played the games because apart from the deep water…..they have so many elements I really enjoyed. All this to say…..I know how hard it is to play with this phobia……it’s tough, you’re brave, and good luck with getting further (and maybe finishing?) the game!
Me too. It took me forever to take the first dive off the pod into the reef. Weeks to make it out of the reef. I've since finished both games, but it was really difficult.
Im suprised that its so strong, I never felt phobia from hights in game, nor bad feelings of spiders etc. maybe its really a trauma from some events including water? Personally I even did work on tall buildings or ladders, but I had no choice, that certainly helps with overcoming fears.
@@WwarpfirewWCould be, but sometimes phobias have no reason or explanation, other than genetics. I've had cynophobia (phobia of dogs) for as long as I (or any of my relatives) can remember, and I've never had any traumatic experiences with dogs. I was just born with it. For a long time, I had a complete panic attack whenever I saw a *single* dog *anywhere.* It didin't matter what kind if dog or where, just the *sight* of one was enough to send me into complete panic mode. I just started trembling and crying and went almost completely immobile. I have manged to mostly overcome it by now - and even find some small, peaceful dogs to be cute and enjoy their company - but big / medium sized dogs (especially those that run or jump around a lot), or dogs of *any* size with deep, loud barks are *terrifying,* no matter their temperament. My body just goes to a complete *stop* and my heart begins racing whenever I walk by a house and a huge dog just rams into a fence and starts barking loudly - something I've experienced many times. And don't even get me *started* on *any* unfamiliar dogs that aren't on a leash. I have trained myself to just walk away calmly and pretend to not notice any dogs that I encounter (regardless of whether they're leashed or with their owner), but that's only because I know they're less likely to attack if you don't show any signs of panic. That does *not mean* I actually *am* calm in those situations. Sure, I can stay a lot *calmer* than when I was a child, (especially if I'm with a friend), but there is always this lingering sense of pure *dread* and *anxiety* with most dog encounters. I constantly feel the need to look behind me whenever I walk by almost any dog (which I've trained myself not to do to avoid drawing the dog's attention), and my mind just fills with thoughts like "what if it's watching me regardless" or "what if it breaks out of the leash and begins chasing me?" or "what if it already *is* following me and I just haven't noticed?" and other stuff like that. And every single time, whenver I feel like I'm far away enough, I *always* turn to look back, *just* in case. And the thing is, all these reactions and thoughts are here to stay. The phobia of dogs has always been and will forever be a part of my identity, even though I have never had any bad experiences with dogs, and that's fine. I can't make it any less intense. This is as good as it gets. While some phobias *can* stem from past trauma, some are fully genetic. And neither is better or worse than the other. Phobias cannot be explained or mesured, and they can never be fully overcome: they're just fear in it's purest form, and should be treated as such, regardless of how illogical or made up the source of the phobia may seem. Underestimating or dismissing a person's fear(s) is never a good or right thing to do, especially if said fear is completely irrational and uncontrollable (aka, a phobia). Sorry for this long af comment, btw, and thanks to anyone who actually read through this whole thing, lol. I just thought I'd explain my view. To end the comment on a funnier and more gaming related note, I have a message to all other people here with cynophobia: if you want to give yourself some *more* fear or reawaken some past trauma, try out a game called "Inside" without looking anything up. Watching a full playthrough of it first was about the only thing that made me able to play through the game myself: it wasn't really that scary when you knew what was going to happen. If I had gone in blind, though... Oh, and don't worry, I can *assure* you that there's a bunch of stuff in it for people with talassophobia, too! :D
honestly this is just really interesting to watch, seeing how deep the ocean is or how vast.. those things can make you terrified while to me and some other people its just very beautiful, calm and magical. The human mind is something else for sure.
That dream you had at 4:00 is something I've always feared myself. Starting from I think No Man's sky. Warping into a new system for it to be empty and clear. Until you turn around to find a massive planet right behind you. Seemingly sucking you in. You voiced that fear of mine so perfectly!
I had a dream like that as a kid, I literally moved at FTL speeds through our own solar system, I went past Saturn, Jupiter, Over the asteroid belt, almost grazed Mars and crashed into the Earth. It was the most bizarre feeling I got in my life when that happened. Like I was losing my breath, my skin was in pain, I cramped up, etc.
oh man, watching this man starting his journey towards his first island knowing whats coming is tense. I dont have thalassophobia but its still so unsettling, the island just floating above the nothingness
15:31 I can say I understand the freak outs you go through because I freak out on this game too but it gets so fun once you start getting different ways to travel. I really love this game now
@@ButchX3 15:31 It's the same with me. I have a phobia of snails/slugs/leeches to the point of quitting Metro:Exodus, Dark Souls 3. I was barely able to power through it in Ark, Hunt:Showdown and Legend of Grimrock (of which the last still haunts me).
@@ButchX3 Well 3 months late, but you can take all that emotion out on the bigger creatures when you get a prawn suit, grappling arm and drill arm. Can beat the living shit out of most, and starts to feel more like Doom, the Ocean side of things starts to kind of disappear in the back of your mind.
The support on this series has been absolutely unbelievable. We went from 500 subs to 22,000. I really can’t express how thankful I am to every single person that has watched this video. I make RUclips videos because I absolutely love it. I love everything about it. From the recording, to the editing, to the interactions with you guys once it’s posted. Some how we have come from the odd comment on every other video to literally hundreds. I have no idea if this will last, either way, I’ve loved every second of it 💙
I can tell you within the first minute I subbed to this channel as I knew this was gonna be a good, now also if you thought this gave you thalassophobia, try Barotrauma, it's 2D, but it's multiplayer and it scares me more than Subnautica, great fun to play with others, especially with the proxy chat the game has.
People who don't have a phobia will never understand fully what it'd like. It's a chemical reaction in the brain we can't control. It's a physical reaction! That said. This game is the perfect immersion therapy for this specific phobia. It really gives you the opportunity to build your own safe place in the water and you can do it at your own pace. And once you have the seamoth the water starts to become more comfortable
Ive been looking for someone with an extreme fear to play the game and nobody else i watched really fit that. When i saw you in the reefback biome and ran out of air. You covered your eyes and pressed the forward button and im crying cause i did the EXACT SAME THING on my playthrough of the game. Loved this video.
I can only imagine how hard this was for you. It's pretty impressive you continue to play despite the physical discomfort it causes. I don't have thalassophobia but i do have severe discomfort when i can't see what's beneath me or around me. I guess closer to the fear of the unknown. Being in murky water or dark unfamiliar spaces and just imagining what's around or beneath me that i cannot see makes me unbearably anxious. Though, If i can see my surroundings i'm fine.
I'm astonished you put yourself through this. Good job. You are INDEED a brave big boy. Subnautica is a favorite of mine, and it's fun to watch different people react. I do hope you made sure to take care of your mental health during this. Hopefully it ended up more like immersion therapy than additional trauma.
For me it's really nice to see someone playing this game for the first time and having such a genuine reaction. I'd give anything to play it for the first time, and seeing the first reactions to it gives me a little taste of it. thanks for playing
This is literally gold, but I was literally making the same faces as you and hiding and pausing after being sooo tense. Idk how you are doing it. I can't. I couldn't lol. Best Streamer.
@@ButchX3 Oh man. I really feel for you. I have about 1/10th of what you have. I have finished it and am doing another playthrough. I've become more and more desensitized since when I first started a few years ago and watching several playthroughs. I honestly don't know how you are going to finish the story. I mean you can do anything you put your mind to, but baby are you going to go through it. Good luck!
I started my first playthrough a few months ago and my thalassophobia isn't as bad as yours but its nice to get that feeling of solidarity with 'its not just splishy splashy fun time its unfathomable discomfort and anxiety, leave me in my pod and begone'. I just started watching this series and I'm massively looking forward to the rest. Also respecting the same response to the things in the sea and the sea itself being "Fuck off"
Not only is this my #1 favorite game of ALL TIME (no hyperbole), as I have played it five or six times and watched DOZENS of playthroughs on RUclips, but my favorite pasttime is watching people with TRUE thalassaphobia play it! You, my new friend, are a brave trooper of a MANLY MAN to put yourself through the exposure therapy of this experience! I'm subscribing imMEDIATEly and I'm here for the whole journey. I believe in you! You got this.
Absolute banger of a video, not saying this because how scared you are but because you take the time to explain over the raw footage and bring a bit of education into gameplay its amazing! Id definitely love to see you play more of one of my favorite games!!!!
Great video. Phobias can be intense, and it's super interesting to see you push through it. As I watch I imagine your reactions as the literal reactions of the character. Trapped on an ocean planet, terrified, trying to survive. Somehow it works perfectly. You'd have to be stupid not to be scared in this situation.
Dude, I legit think you got guts for playing this game. I don't have thalassophobia, in fact I think the sea is gorgeous, but even I get unnerved and even scared in this game. My only advice to you is pay attention to upgrades when you can make them, they'll help you navigate the sea better and with more confidence. Also, of course, give any massive predators a wide berth and they might leave you alone.
This was absolutely the most enjoyable Subnautica video I've watched. It made me feel like I was playing again for the first time; scared of everything and afraid to explore. You also made me realise that I do not in fact have thalassapobia; but my fears did mimic yours in the beginning. As time passed I got more relaxed and more curious and the fear subsided. Your reactions are way more severe but I'm proud of you bro for pushing on! MORE PLEASE!
The courage to play the game for our entertainment is legendary cudos to u for deciding to challenge the fear! Keep it up man this game only gets a lot harder.
I commend you for having such a severe fear, and playing a game that completely embodies said fear. You are brave and willing to try it and press on, despite how difficult it is to even do so. That takes a lot more courage than people like firefighters that risk their lives to save people. Not sure what else to say but I am glad I came across your video.
Then there's weirdos like me that watch deep sea videos in the middle of the night when I can't sleep because I find the ocean so fascinating. Thus is becoming my new current deep sea watch even if it's a fictional ocean and good on you for facing your fears to play this game! You're a big brave boy!
@@ButchX3 This is my very first time being exposed to your content, and I was shocked at how few subscribers you had! Your narration, editing and personality are at a level one rarely sees from **professional** content producers. Kudos!
I didn't know what it was called, but I have a touch of that fear. The part that gets me is being on a small boat and seeing the sea bed beneath, and as you go deeper the sea bed disappears into this dark green murk, and you know if you fall in you're not gonna survive. I played Subnautica, but I found the whole experience incredibly stressful. I never finished it, and vowed I'd never go back to it. The later parts of the game, where you are miles deep still haunts me.
Those seaweed vines freak me out I can't help but think about getting tangled and stuck, genuine panic! I can't wait to see you finish the game, this is fantastic!!
I have a pretty huge thalassophobia aswell. However i loved Subnautica even if it terrified me in many occasions. I loved it so much that even when i finished the game i did it again a couple months later and so on, having 200+ hours combined on the 2 Subnautica games! The game cured quite a bit of my phobia, even if i still have it, it is not as severe as it was. It is a really hard task to immerge yourself into that game without knowing anything of it and you did great!
its nice to see someone who seems to ACTUALLY have real thallasophobia play the game. people kinda throw the word around when in actuslity theyre just creeped out by normal creepy ocean stuff
I absolutely love the ocean, marine life and the story of subnautica. This game is amazing and I love it so much. However I have a fear of heights and also some mild thalassaphobia. I tried playing it years ago but got no further than the grassy pautues. The fauna also scares me, only having a knife to protect yourself? Inside a small sub that if they destroy you have to swim home with only a knife to protect you??? I started playing again in March. I am playing very slowly and am making sure that I have everything I can possibly have before I go anywhere. I have made it to the jellyshroom caves (barely, was forced to go), I have a seamoth, I really need the Moonpool so I can upgrade the seamoth to feel a bit safer. But unfortunately it looks like my only feeesible options are one of the Mushroom forests or the Sparse Reef. I have chosen the Sparse Reef as there's less to attack you but boy the deep merky water is really getting to me. Good Luck :)
This sounds like such a well thought out plan! And I’m proud of you for preserving even with your fears! I do with sometimes that this game was multiplayer, that way, we can get braver people than you and I to help us get to the good stuff 😅 Thank you so much for checking out the video!
@@ButchX3 something that may help, those big floating things that you saw, the creatures that made a really loud boise. They're called reefbacks and are a friendly, passive type of leviathan.
just so you know, Subnautica while being a horror and survival game, it trives off the fear of the unkown, so the more you explore a biome or know about the game, the less afraid you will be, if you need to, circle around the edge of a biome for a bit, observe creature behavior from a distance, and make sure to scan them (pretty much every creature can be scanned) and read the PDA entry, they often give you tips, and try to use google/wiki as little as possible
I can't imagine having this phobia because this has opposite effect on me. I find it soothing and relaxing in a situation like this. Especially when I am inside some sort of a vehicle safe inside. I like to explore while in it and find the tiniest places to crawl into. I just love the solitude of it all. I once made a base near the glowing tree. I sat there thinking I am the only living human in this world. No matter what I do or say doesn't matter. I found peace in that.
Love seeing there are others facing the same fears. We are together in this, on our each individual journey. Thank you. Love seeing your reactions, its nice to be so immersed in something that you actually feel like being there in a sense of sort. Now i gotta watch your whole subnautica playthrough. I was looking exactly for this type of playthrough, the type where the player actually feels all sorts of emotions and tries to overcome them along the way while facing innermost fears.
It's nice watching you play because I also have the same phobia and I played Subnautica but I never ever had the guts to finish it, so I hope that I can face my fears if you can overcome it and finish this game for all our phobia folks!
I also went to the island you went to, I refused to look underneath at all costs, and after seeing me go back to my base afterwards, and rewatched the recording, I realized that a leviathan was following me the entire way back, so watch out for roars, you'll know it once you hear it.
And the worst of it all, they don't despawn, so if they follow you, they will stay in that location where they stopped following you, and this is the result of that. ruclips.net/video/NsUbLrgHJ4s/видео.html
It's very hard to hear but you can hear it's roaring which means it can see you, if you hear it roar, its coming for you. They have echolocation or whatever its called, so beware. Make sure to turn off your lights in your seamoth, it helps you stay unnoticed but eventually they'll come to you if your close to them, I recommend running away the moment you hear and see them.
Thank you so much for checking out the video Faith! That sounds absolutely terrifying 😳 I’m trying to avoid finding anything big for as long as I possibly can 😅
0:55 no worries. I gotcha. As i too have thalassophobia in a bit smaller scale i quiet enjoyed this game besides a few scares from a Leviathan. Im proud of you for getting out of youre confort zone and thats worth a sub in my opinion, so here ya go
I don’t even have full-on thalassophobia (I'm terrified of dark drop offs, but open water is okay) and this game filled me with dread. And yet, you certainly went farther than I did in the first few days! I could barely enter the kelp forests, I was so scared!
I'm going through your series now. I also have thalassophobia. I had to force myself to play this and I couldn't play at night but after a while I managed to get through it. There were moments where my entire body would tense up and I couldn't move, I would just sit and stare at the screen before I'd turn the game off. One thing I love doing now tho, is watching other people with thalassophobia play the game. It feels good knowing it wasn't just me lol.
Just discovering this video now and I respect your bravery for a playing a game with an element that terrifies you on such an extreme level. While watching, I tried to compare it with my own fear. Spiders. And tried to imagine myself playing a game with a large spider crawling on my arms and head. Even with those terrible thoughts in mind, it still doesn't do what you did justice. You are awesome, and have earned both my respect and my sub.
This is the exact sort of thing that just thrills me about computer games. I love stories and worldbuilding in games, but I'm totally blown away when a game basically gives you a safe space to face your fears. Another game I play has giant spiders, with a scaling arachnophobia mode so you can turn the realism down. TLDR - computer games are awesome and so are you. Well done.
While I can't help but be entertained and find your reactions humorous, I would be lying if I said I didn't initially react the same way you do when I first played the game. What got me through was familiarity and repetition until the game couldn't surprise me anymore. Now I speed through the game, mostly unaffected, even though big open expanses and leviathans still get to me. I don't think it will ever completely stop affecting me a little bit, but that's also why it very quickly became one of my all time favourite games. And that's no small feat, I've been gaming since the mid-90's. You've got yourself a new subscriber, you are thoroughly entertaining, really brave for facing your fear head-on and just seem like a cool guy. Cheers 😊
@ButchX3 Love the videos, man. It's very entertaining, and as someone with slight thalassophobia its realy humbling to see someone else so deathly scared of the sea😂😂
Here from Tiktok. Watched the whole video, and man, am I impressed. Not only for facing your fears in order to achieve your content creation career goals, but the video quality and structure were extremely impressive as well. You've got a future in this if you want it. Subbed and can't wait for the rest of the series, I hope you make it! (P.s. maybe some beta blockers or dramamine might help? Idk, just trying to help lol)
Genuinely moved me this comment. I’ve been doing this for a long time and learnt a lot along the way! Thank you for joining me on this journey, I really do appreciate it 🙌
I also suffer genuine thalassophobia and forced myself to play this game. The experience of 100% completion felt like one of the greatest victories of my life.
This is the first time I've watched someone play Subnautica and *genuinely* got the feeling that your thalassophobia is as bad as my own. The deepening in your voice when you look at expanses of water, the flinching away from unknown things, the cringing while you swim - I relate perfectly to every single reaction.
Honestly, massive respect for facing your phobia like this. Im not sure if you will be less frightened or more so after finishing this game. Keep it up!
The secret to be less (and not more) frightened after is to take time to actually wait until the fear disappears. The brain needs time to learn that nothing happens. So we have to wait until the desire to look away, bail out or distract ourselves has disappeared. If you play like that, you'll not progress fast, but you'll lessen your fear significantly. If you just keep playing fast and stressed, constantly feeling like you're in danger and in constant alarm and avoidance mode.. then the game will probably make the phobia worse.
I really hope to see a whole playthrough of this game, and see your reactions to different kind of things, you can also leave stuff unedited, its entertaining and fun This first episode was a blast
Everyone: THIS is what an actual, true phobic reaction looks like. Props to my man @ButchX3, you're a goddamn hero for muscling through this. I absolutely love the game, I've recently started a re-run after several years. I know how eerie the game can get and let's say, I don't particularly like the idea of swimming in open seas, but I can manage. I can only imagine what it must've felt like to you. Mad respect. 👍
Seeing someone like you with thalassophobia play this game makes me really, truly happy. Because I beat this game, and I, too, have severe thalassophobia - Luckily not as bad as you, though. My Submechanphobia on the other hand severely destroys me. This game haunted me and gave me nightmares, but it was also strangely therapeutic. I hope you have the same experience. I've subscribed to you and look forward to seeing the rest of your playthrough.
I really wanna see more of this! If you think the red biome area is deep, you are in for a real "treat". I recently completed the game and i've got 50.9 hours in it, fortunately i dont have thallassophobia, so i can only imagine, but there are certain times when i got terrified myself, so i simultaneously cant wait to see you get to those points, and also am terrified for you at those points. Have !!FUN!!
small tip from someone who's played this game a bunch and is also terrified by it: as long as you stay at the surface of the water (around 5m deep), you're generally speaking safe from the scary fish out there :). so if you need to get through a scary patch of water where you know there's more dangerous creatures, as long as you stay at the surface you should be good! (you can look up at the sky while swimming to avoid looking at the abyss xD)
I try not to feel guilty about enjoying your struggle xP You are, after all, doing it for the views and here I am fulfilling my part by viewing! I do hope your body recovers well after recording, though.
Brother. I suffer from the phobia, and it took me close to a year to finally get to the point that I was able to finish the game. I’d really love to see you finish this game, and the community is always here to answer questions you may have. The feeling you’ll get when you finally beat the game is unparalleled. Rooting for you! And you got a new subscriber.
Every time you got better at exiting the pod made me so happy, I was clapping in celebration for you. This game will get really bad at times for you if you keep going, but it can also be a form of exposure therapy. Just take it slow, baby steps. Even if you don’t end up completing the game, I’d like to say that so many of us are proud of you for pushing through. You got a new subscriber out of me for your courage. And please take breaks when it really gets to you.
I have really bad arachnophobia and I feel that absolute same way as you. My friends used to be like “how are you scared of spiders”. My honest answer is that I don’t know, it’s just how I am.
I don't necessarily enjoy watching you be scared, I'm more in awe that you can challenge yourself in this way. I don't think I could do it. Respect, man!
Hey Butch,
Charlie "Mr. Subnautica" Cleveland here. I was the original creator of the game and the designer.
Throughout making the game, we've been hearing about "Thalassophobia", along with Agoraphophia (open spaces), Nyctophobia (dark), Claustrophobia (oxygen, caves) and so many other fears that this game places squarely in front of the player. Personally speaking, while I've done a ton of scuba-diving, it generally fills me with fear and anxiety. Occasionally I can move beyond it and the colors and majesty of the underwater world overtake me. But more often than not, I feel more scared than enraptured.
But when watching your video, I couldn't believe how much I actually felt what you were feeling. Seeing you nauseous and scared actually made ME nauseous and scared. As a game designer, it makes me secretly happy to see the game have such a potent effect on you, on the other hand, I felt so sorry for what you were going through. Essentially, for what I and the team worked so hard to inflict upon you. Most players have a nice mix of joy and fear which (we think), slowly transforms to full joy, but for you, the fear was so intense, I can't help but think that we created essentially digital torture.
I hope that this experience helps you, in some form. You are a brave and strong soul for doing it. I wish I could give you a huge hug, to try to make up all the terror we worked so hard to put in the game.
-Charlie
Genuinely in disbelief that you have watched the video, let alone commented! Thank you so much for taking the time, I really do appreciate it.
I hated subnautica and adored it at the same time. I have never FELT to much in a video game before and that is all down to you guys. The world, atmosphere and emotions that you stimulated was nothing short of out of this world!
Digital torture is a great way to put it! But the lower the lows, the higher the highs baby and the feeling of accomplishment I got from completing this game was one of the highlights of my gaming career! I am already so excited for Subnautica 3. I will be there on release, ready to put myself through hell once again!
Thank you for all your hard work on the game Charlie.
This is great.
First Bacon and now Charlie himself. Im so happy for Butch. 🥰
This game is quite interesting from a psychological point of view. It could be a good treatment for people who have thalasophoboa. Even the exposure is increasing, in the right measure. Even though there are monsters, etc... eventually you get used to them. The greater the intensity of suffering caused by exposure, the more effective the result. (That's if the person doesn't give up halfway through). That's because it's just a game, it has no potential to cause real trauma.
I bet most people who played this game lost their fear of the ocean, rather than increasing it. Contrary to what common sense says.
It's definitely more of a cure for a phobia than torture. But for us, psychologists, it's normal to seem like we're torturing people when we push ourselves too hard... But that's a good indication of improvement.
I don't know if intuitively or not, the result of this game is something exceptional. I have a master's degree studying emotions and behavior and I realize how much scientific knowledge could be used in games to provoke greater emotional engagement. Sometimes small details like the exposure time to something scary, or the feeling of loneliness that the game brings about being alone. The game is so memorable, too, because it's a completely new environment. It's like taking a trip to another country. You will always have it in your memory. anyway... I could talk for hours because I'm a bit of a nerd haha I hope you continue like this, seeking to provoke intense experiences in your players.
Incredible game man
"Oh it's deep" -he says looking at the shallowest part of the entire game. :D
😂😭
1700 meters later….
Poor guy
In meter terms, even the safe shallows are deep. Your average pool at deep end is 10 feet, or about 3 meters.
Lots of people talk about thalassophobia when playing this game, and they get a bit scared when it comes to exploring the depths. But you're the first I've seen to actually have a visceral reaction to the open water. Kudos for pushing on!
Thankyou for checking out the video! 🙌
I don't have Subnautica but if I'd played it I'd probably have the same reaction. I'm scar d of going in any body of water that I can't see through because both my mum and my sister have stepped on weaver fish and I hate the jellyfish that are in the water.
@Farflung Clown I never had su h a reaction, the depths and the monsters simply creeped me out. But I kind of miss the time when this game could scare me.
If I knew nothing about Subnautica I'd have the same reaction. But I know you're safe at the beginning, so I'm less scared. If they make a Subnautica 3, I'm going into it blind, 100%
An encouraging word.
What I have learned of human psychology has shown me that, when you have a genuine fear, voluntarily confronting that fear in an incremental and tolerable way is the best method. And it’s not a matter of making you less afraid, it’s about making you braver. A little exposure at a time helps you to grow in your mind so that the fear is no longer this massive oppressive feeling but a smaller and more manageable one. Making you as big as or bigger than the fear, in a matter of speaking.
Good job confronting your fear. It’s not an easy task, especially when it’s a phobia. But don’t feel bad, it’s genuinely not an irrational fear. The unknown deep in the depths is truly terrifying.
Subnautica is seriously one of the scariest games I ever played and the funny thing is, the developers initially never meant for it to be a scary game.
Good to see you gave this game a try, it ultimately is really well done.
But it's so relaxing???
I started playing it EARLY early access, before much of the storyline had been incorporated and well before there was even an opportunity to escape. At the time, I think there may have just been one leviathan (the reaper), and a lot of the map was still relatively empty of anything but resources and random fish. It was a very relaxing game, but there was always an edge of vague tension caused by the environment itself. As development went on, you could practically FEEL the dev team realize what they had here, and how it affected people, and start bending things towards that. What they created is a hell of a thing.
Its such a different kind of horror too
Horror games are meh but subnautica is just genuine fear and panic from the sheer scale and mystery of the ocean its awesome
@@chrisx5127 not very relaxing when you hear a reaper
NEVER LET THIS GUYS GET EVEN REMOTLY CLOSE TO THE VOID. That will traumatize him for life. Also amazing video, you are super brave for playing this game with thalassophobia.
Detecting Multiple Leviathan Class Lifeforms in the region, are you sure whatever you are doing is worth it?
@@TheRealGimynus1 dude doesnt need to read half of the question. just read multiple leviathan and he dies.
yeah
IF he knows what the leviathans are or even the gargantuan 💀@@nick33ee
@@TheRealGimynus1NOOOOOO!!! NOT AGAIN!
@@TheRealGimynus1 I could see bro having a full blown attack if he entered the void and heard that
Butch, you're such a brave big boy. Proud of you! Also the whales in this game are super cute, gentle giants
If you mean the big things with the tentacles and the boomy noise then you and I have very different definitions of the word cute 🥲 thank you for checking out the video!!
@@ButchX3 Yep that's the creatures she meant and she's right, they are completely peacefull.
The plants that can sometimes be found on their backs however… Those plants will shoot you dead.
Spoiler for the second game:
.
There are more whale-like creatures and they are even cuter! You can even interact with them
@@ButchX3
yes these are the nice ones.
i wont mention any of the others...
i tried playing this game in vr. and to say it was terrifying is an understatement
I’m couldn’t handle it in VR 😂😂
in VR, at night (IRL) and with surround headsets....
We literally dive into the atmosphere. But there is no better way to fight fear by facing it head on.
@@ButchX3 In VR everything looks like 3 times bigger. If you dont want to have a heart attack, I recommend you to not play it in VR
Please don't!!! Your heart can't handed the stress!!!
@@BennickBlue If anything that makes it realistic.. even peepers look so small but they are big bois when compared to the player model through mods/console commands for sure
I also have thalassophobia and I played this game, it took around 50 hours to complete. The game is absolutely terrifying and it gets 100x worse but it’s still one of my favorite games because it’s terrifying and beautiful at the same time. It gets easier to explore and then your somewhat calm until you see them…
Thanks you for checking out the video!
Keyword: them* 😂😂😂😂
@@inter_logged them* scares my soul out of me
*There are multiple leviathan class lifeforms in this area, are you certain whatever you are doing is worth it?*
@@thatoneleaf9895 lol the first time I got that message it was just a hell no for me
To watch you go from sheer panic every time you went into the water to jumping out of the bottom hatch in the pod with ease within the first ten minutes is genuinely inspiring
Didn’t leave the safe shallows for an inordinate amount of game time. When I did, I went to explore the Aurora and I heard “it” for the first time. Then “it” found me and I had to pause the game for a while. I don’t even have a fear of the ocean. I can’t imagine what you were feeling.
I don't even have Thalassophobia, but I remember the moment of exiting the escape pod and seeing an endless ocean. It filled me with a kind of dread I could not explain. It took me a while before I even dared to explore beyond the shallows, and the nights get especially scary.
Hi , rohit. Thank you for your view on this hopefully you can over come your fear😂i inshallah
Welcome to H.P. Lovecraft
you must have it then
@@Madi_Ernar I mean, I don't have a fear of water bodies in real life. I have swum in pools, rivers, and lakes (not the ocean yet) and I'm usually fine from just having a healthy fear of death and being sensible (not going into waters that are known to be dangerous, or attempting to explore caves). But I'm not really afraid in any way when I see the ocean or imagine diving in water. The scenario of this game where we are on an unknown planet, is especially unnerving.
@@rohitchaoji you're afraid of unknown deep water. I think it fits thalassophobia
its impressive seeing how you went from having a physical reaction to even getting out the escape pod at 3:22, to being able to do it without even really flinching at 7:20 . you can see while the fear still exists you were getting braver and more resilient to your fear. really really impressive.
he just faking
No I have the same anxiety and it's obvious he is looking to be surrounded by cliffs or objects rather than free ocean. It would be hard to act consistently in a Livestream. I had to quit Subnautica within the first 20 min, it really is that vad
exposure therapy in action
@@lolilol. have the same phobia and I can say you speak trash man
or he was just faking it, like every content creator does lol
I believe this might be the best way to get over a phobia. It's a shitty experience, but if you believe that you can get better and reassure yourself a fair bit, I think it will start to change the severity of your response. Getting those feelings of accomplishment helps a ton. I love seeing these kinds of experiences that people have, not out of a sadistic interest but a curiosity. I'm a psychology major so this stuff is fascinating to see, can't wait for you to do more, keep it up, you can do it!
Thank you for checking out the video!
It might be cool if there was a starter mode where there's no lore but also no creatures. So people could get used to the water while being safe and then being able to play properly.
honestly , my phobia was a bit worse when i first started playing the game . it’s still there and still very uncomfortable , but i feel a little bit more “ courageous “ . i can make myself go a little deeper sometimes and just focus on the task or where i’m going instead of the area or my fear .
It wont change , only thing making it better is getting to know whats down there, fear of the unknown dissapears
I don't know if it works on a phobia as severe as this, but the game definitely helps you conquer fear. I used to be TERRIFIED of the Ghost Leviathans. Now? I'm grappling onto them and flying around punching the crap out of one with a Prawn Suit XD There are times in this game where you feel so powerful and in control that you feel like there's nothing you can't conquer in this ocean. (Lava Zone humbled me VERY fast though)
It really is interesting how different every playthrough of the game is, Some players are just obsessed with going deeper. Some players are obsessed with the Aurora. Some players are obsessed with base building, or egg collecting, or just all sorts of things.
Watching you overcome, or at least push through, your fear is inspiring to watch, and also hugely entertaining.
I've watched plenty of Subnautica and so YT threw this one under my nose. Since the game can give people mild Thalassophobia, I'm astonished this chap is punishing himself so (especiallly considering some of the content). Big respect to him say "I'm doing it for the views" how refreshingly honest. Great format - documentary/reaction hybrid. Subscribed.
What ever I do, I’ll always be transparent and authentic! I appreciate you taking the time to watch the video, really does mean a lot 💙
I don't even have any phobia like that, yet playing a game like this can still make me uneasy when swimming over deeper waters (especially first time).
Being able to be attacked from dimensions that are not normally possible on land, is enough to put just about anyone on edge, especially in a survival game where dying isn't exactly preferable. Bottom line is that people who typically do not become at all immersed in a video game, usually don't play video games at all, or at least they stick to genres where immersion does not matter.
Let me know what you think troops! If you wanna see a part 2, please let me know. These videos take me a while but they’re super fun to make 🙌
Part 2 required
Part 2 pls
please make part 2.
Part 2
Part 2 100%
I saw your tiktok about it and came straight here to watch the video. Honestly think this is incredibly courageous of you. As someone who is extremely passionate about the ocean and has no fear of it at all, I did get uncomfortable playing this game so you playing it while having Thalassophobia is so impressive to me. I love being able to see it through your eyes, please keep playing it! YOU GOT THIS
Thank you so much for checking out the video!!! I have a massive appreciation for the ocean and it’s role in this worlds ecosystem, but I like that appreciate to occur from a distance 😂
I don't have thalassophobia but I can understand where it's coming from. I've an uncomfortable feeling myself swimming in too deep, dark or unclear water as well, especially when you're alone. I do get chills while playing sub nautica myself currently, I don't want to imagine how it's for you and all people with that phobia.
I think is a natural human fear, like the fear of spiders. I love water but I think I would be uncomfortable too swimming deep
@anamendes5481 there's millions of people who love swimming I'm the ocean and spiders, I think it all has to do to trumas you suffered as a child, I have a trauma with spiders and I have my reasons why lol
“Oh my god its so deep” says in the 10m deep safe shallows
I like your editing style! Please keep this series coming, I have Thalassaphobia as well, but watching this made me not feel alone in that. So thanks man!
Genuinely, thank you so much for this comment 🙏 I spent a lot of time on this vid so it means the world that at least one person thinks it’s worth a watch! And I’ll keep the series going for as long as my nerves will hold 😅
@@ButchX3 I have never actually seen anyone with worse thalassaphobia than myself before. The number of times I had to just....pause the game, stand up, and walk away until the queasiness in pit in my stomach went away, even just from something as simple as driving the seamoth past a ledge and discovering that past it is a steep incline down into the unknowable void...I honestly think you were having an even rougher time than me, and I am super impressed that you stuck it out.
And I have to say, given how much difficulty you had with the horizon, I'm super impressed that you kept going out the top of the pod rather than directly into the water. You're a beast, and I am super looking forward to the series (and then the movie!)
Ha, and literally twenty seconds after when I had paused the vid to post this, you talk about the EXACT same thing. going over the ledge into T H E V O I D, with almost the exact same feelings as I have for it. Yeah, I am gonna like this playthrough :D
I give you massive props on giving this a go. Kudos to you for real.
Thank you brother! Massive probs to you for checking out the video 🙏
Massive respect for going through with this! 👍
I chuckled at the “it’s so deep!” when you first dove in from your escape pod 😂
This game is a nightmare for everyone, having thalassophobia or not. Have finished it last month and I'm still recovering from some parts. But I must admit you're the bravest man I've ever found on the platform. You literally went to fight your own demons with bare hands. You have a new sub, bro!
You've given me the confidence to try and overcome my thalassophobia and finish Subnautica. I completely felt for you as soon as you left the escape pod and saw the vast ocean. Especially when you jumped in. I'm proud of you! Now it's time for me to try :'D
I don't really have thalassaphobia, but I definitely can understand the fear of it. Subnautica is one of my favorite games of all time and I just love the water in general.
Hi, link dragon… thank you for your perspective… inshallah you overcome this vf fear
I love water but the ocean (and the beach) can go fuck themself
Deep water makes me uneasy, but not scared. I have a trick to overcome it in a game. You aren't swimming, just flying.
It's not the water, it's the CAVES that scare me. The deeper parts MESSED me up. But, it's all so well-made and beautiful, It kinda overtook my fear and I kept going to find more. This game is so amazing.
Your reactions to the ocean felt so genuine and relatable to me! You're the first person I've seen whose 'fear of the ocean' extends beyond more than just a rational "oh the ocean scares me". While I don't have an intense fear of the ocean, I do rather unusually suffer from ichthyophobia (fear of fish) to the point where even seeing images of fish can cause me to contort involuntarily. Fortunately for me, the 'fish' in subnautica feel different and fake enough compared to earth fish that it didn't strongly elicit this particular fear, but it still wasn't very pleasant. Nice to see someone else with a similarly visceral and violently irrational fear of something!
Because you’re a gullible muppet
I don't even have thalassophobia and the journey to the floater island unnerves me every time, I've made a habit of just not looking down, I KNOW for a fact there's nothing that swims there, I've played Subnautica since early beta, but it still freaks me the hell out, can't even imagine what it's like for you, big ups man
Hey! The ghost leviathan in the grand reef is actually right below you when you swim out there, and it can often come after you during the swim! Just thought I could let you know you've been extremely lucky so far! :D
@@thetruebt7274 it's down there yes, but if you swim at the surface the whole time it'll never come after you, you're just way too far from it's aggro range, the "there" I was referring to was the 20 or so meters of water just under the surface, just to clarify
When I saw you were swimming to the Floating Island, I said a prayer for you. I don't have proper thalassophobia and swimming around that island gives me the willies. There's just so much open water around it, and even though the other island has steep sides, at least you can see where the seafloor is. Around the Floating Island, there's nothing to anchor yourself to. Really, good on you for facing your fears head-on! It's an inspiration!
As someone with severe social anxiety I know how challenging it is to face your fears, but you‘re doin really well 🥰
Thank you brother 🙏
I have social anxiety and thalassophobia
I also have thalassophobia, and have played both Subnautica and Subnautica Below Zero. I was always swimming right along the sea floor and hugging walls to mitigate the fear. And those deep drops made me physically ill……..I find the floating island particularly hard to swim around. And seeing the reef backs swimming or seeing anything breach the water makes me want to vomit. I played the games because apart from the deep water…..they have so many elements I really enjoyed. All this to say…..I know how hard it is to play with this phobia……it’s tough, you’re brave, and good luck with getting further (and maybe finishing?) the game!
I bet the worst part is those dark waters that have those sharp drops and barely any plants growth or geology huh. ^.^
Me too. It took me forever to take the first dive off the pod into the reef. Weeks to make it out of the reef. I've since finished both games, but it was really difficult.
Im suprised that its so strong, I never felt phobia from hights in game, nor bad feelings of spiders etc. maybe its really a trauma from some events including water? Personally I even did work on tall buildings or ladders, but I had no choice, that certainly helps with overcoming fears.
@@WwarpfirewWCould be, but sometimes phobias have no reason or explanation, other than genetics. I've had cynophobia (phobia of dogs) for as long as I (or any of my relatives) can remember, and I've never had any traumatic experiences with dogs. I was just born with it. For a long time, I had a complete panic attack whenever I saw a *single* dog *anywhere.* It didin't matter what kind if dog or where, just the *sight* of one was enough to send me into complete panic mode. I just started trembling and crying and went almost completely immobile. I have manged to mostly overcome it by now - and even find some small, peaceful dogs to be cute and enjoy their company - but big / medium sized dogs (especially those that run or jump around a lot), or dogs of *any* size with deep, loud barks are *terrifying,* no matter their temperament. My body just goes to a complete *stop* and my heart begins racing whenever I walk by a house and a huge dog just rams into a fence and starts barking loudly - something I've experienced many times. And don't even get me *started* on *any* unfamiliar dogs that aren't on a leash. I have trained myself to just walk away calmly and pretend to not notice any dogs that I encounter (regardless of whether they're leashed or with their owner), but that's only because I know they're less likely to attack if you don't show any signs of panic. That does *not mean* I actually *am* calm in those situations. Sure, I can stay a lot *calmer* than when I was a child, (especially if I'm with a friend), but there is always this lingering sense of pure *dread* and *anxiety* with most dog encounters. I constantly feel the need to look behind me whenever I walk by almost any dog (which I've trained myself not to do to avoid drawing the dog's attention), and my mind just fills with thoughts like "what if it's watching me regardless" or "what if it breaks out of the leash and begins chasing me?" or "what if it already *is* following me and I just haven't noticed?" and other stuff like that. And every single time, whenver I feel like I'm far away enough, I *always* turn to look back, *just* in case.
And the thing is, all these reactions and thoughts are here to stay. The phobia of dogs has always been and will forever be a part of my identity, even though I have never had any bad experiences with dogs, and that's fine. I can't make it any less intense. This is as good as it gets. While some phobias *can* stem from past trauma, some are fully genetic. And neither is better or worse than the other. Phobias cannot be explained or mesured, and they can never be fully overcome: they're just fear in it's purest form, and should be treated as such, regardless of how illogical or made up the source of the phobia may seem. Underestimating or dismissing a person's fear(s) is never a good or right thing to do, especially if said fear is completely irrational and uncontrollable (aka, a phobia).
Sorry for this long af comment, btw, and thanks to anyone who actually read through this whole thing, lol. I just thought I'd explain my view. To end the comment on a funnier and more gaming related note, I have a message to all other people here with cynophobia: if you want to give yourself some *more* fear or reawaken some past trauma, try out a game called "Inside" without looking anything up. Watching a full playthrough of it first was about the only thing that made me able to play through the game myself: it wasn't really that scary when you knew what was going to happen. If I had gone in blind, though...
Oh, and don't worry, I can *assure* you that there's a bunch of stuff in it for people with talassophobia, too! :D
honestly this is just really interesting to watch, seeing how deep the ocean is or how vast.. those things can make you terrified while to me and some other people its just very beautiful, calm and magical. The human mind is something else for sure.
Couldn’t agree more 🙌
That dream you had at 4:00 is something I've always feared myself. Starting from I think No Man's sky. Warping into a new system for it to be empty and clear. Until you turn around to find a massive planet right behind you. Seemingly sucking you in. You voiced that fear of mine so perfectly!
check out outer wilds, i was physically unwell and puked from some things that happened there :D
I had a dream like that as a kid, I literally moved at FTL speeds through our own solar system, I went past Saturn, Jupiter, Over the asteroid belt, almost grazed Mars and crashed into the Earth. It was the most bizarre feeling I got in my life when that happened. Like I was losing my breath, my skin was in pain, I cramped up, etc.
oh man, watching this man starting his journey towards his first island knowing whats coming is tense. I dont have thalassophobia but its still so unsettling, the island just floating above the nothingness
15:31 I can say I understand the freak outs you go through because I freak out on this game too but it gets so fun once you start getting different ways to travel. I really love this game now
I really hope this game gets fun because at the moment I’m just trying to hold myself together 😂 thank you for checking out the video!
@@ButchX3 the fun is trying to hold yourself togethrr lol
@@ButchX3 15:31 It's the same with me. I have a phobia of snails/slugs/leeches to the point of quitting Metro:Exodus, Dark Souls 3. I was barely able to power through it in Ark, Hunt:Showdown and Legend of Grimrock (of which the last still haunts me).
@@ButchX3 Well 3 months late, but you can take all that emotion out on the bigger creatures when you get a prawn suit, grappling arm and drill arm. Can beat the living shit out of most, and starts to feel more like Doom, the Ocean side of things starts to kind of disappear in the back of your mind.
The support on this series has been absolutely unbelievable. We went from 500 subs to 22,000. I really can’t express how thankful I am to every single person that has watched this video.
I make RUclips videos because I absolutely love it. I love everything about it. From the recording, to the editing, to the interactions with you guys once it’s posted. Some how we have come from the odd comment on every other video to literally hundreds.
I have no idea if this will last, either way, I’ve loved every second of it 💙
I love your videos man. I subscribed the day this video came out. And I’ll be here the day you hit 100k subscribers
remember us before you hit 100K subscribers
just found you and i gotta say the quality of the content is top notch!
I can tell you within the first minute I subbed to this channel as I knew this was gonna be a good, now also if you thought this gave you thalassophobia, try Barotrauma, it's 2D, but it's multiplayer and it scares me more than Subnautica, great fun to play with others, especially with the proxy chat the game has.
First time audience to your channel. Really good video.
People who don't have a phobia will never understand fully what it'd like. It's a chemical reaction in the brain we can't control. It's a physical reaction! That said. This game is the perfect immersion therapy for this specific phobia. It really gives you the opportunity to build your own safe place in the water and you can do it at your own pace. And once you have the seamoth the water starts to become more comfortable
Couldnt have said it better myself!
Ive been looking for someone with an extreme fear to play the game and nobody else i watched really fit that. When i saw you in the reefback biome and ran out of air. You covered your eyes and pressed the forward button and im crying cause i did the EXACT SAME THING on my playthrough of the game. Loved this video.
I can only imagine how hard this was for you. It's pretty impressive you continue to play despite the physical discomfort it causes. I don't have thalassophobia but i do have severe discomfort when i can't see what's beneath me or around me. I guess closer to the fear of the unknown. Being in murky water or dark unfamiliar spaces and just imagining what's around or beneath me that i cannot see makes me unbearably anxious. Though, If i can see my surroundings i'm fine.
I'm astonished you put yourself through this. Good job. You are INDEED a brave big boy. Subnautica is a favorite of mine, and it's fun to watch different people react. I do hope you made sure to take care of your mental health during this. Hopefully it ended up more like immersion therapy than additional trauma.
For me it's really nice to see someone playing this game for the first time and having such a genuine reaction. I'd give anything to play it for the first time, and seeing the first reactions to it gives me a little taste of it. thanks for playing
Thank you for watching!
Same.. watched other youtubers play it and now I do regret not putting off watching then in order to play subnautica for the first time
This is literally gold, but I was literally making the same faces as you and hiding and pausing after being sooo tense. Idk how you are doing it. I can't. I couldn't lol. Best Streamer.
Honnneeeeyyyyy!!!!! This is so horrible. It’s weird recording them and not streaming because chat isn’t there to distract me (or make things worse) 😂
@@ButchX3 Oh man. I really feel for you. I have about 1/10th of what you have. I have finished it and am doing another playthrough. I've become more and more desensitized since when I first started a few years ago and watching several playthroughs. I honestly don't know how you are going to finish the story. I mean you can do anything you put your mind to, but baby are you going to go through it. Good luck!
The voice-over narration makes this extremely unique and compelling, I'm now subbed and getting notifications. I love this.
I started my first playthrough a few months ago and my thalassophobia isn't as bad as yours but its nice to get that feeling of solidarity with 'its not just splishy splashy fun time its unfathomable discomfort and anxiety, leave me in my pod and begone'. I just started watching this series and I'm massively looking forward to the rest. Also respecting the same response to the things in the sea and the sea itself being "Fuck off"
Honestly the most entertaining subnautica play through I have seen in a long time
I really do appreciate that! Thank you for taking the time to check out the video 🙌
watching somebody be scared shitless in their first subnautica play through is always the most entertaining type of video, love the content man!
Not only is this my #1 favorite game of ALL TIME (no hyperbole), as I have played it five or six times and watched DOZENS of playthroughs on RUclips, but my favorite pasttime is watching people with TRUE thalassaphobia play it! You, my new friend, are a brave trooper of a MANLY MAN to put yourself through the exposure therapy of this experience! I'm subscribing imMEDIATEly and I'm here for the whole journey. I believe in you! You got this.
I love this, thank you so much for the kind words!!!
butch u have earned another subscriber, im going through the game and have gotten all vehicles in the game
Absolute banger of a video, not saying this because how scared you are but because you take the time to explain over the raw footage and bring a bit of education into gameplay its amazing! Id definitely love to see you play more of one of my favorite games!!!!
Great video. Phobias can be intense, and it's super interesting to see you push through it. As I watch I imagine your reactions as the literal reactions of the character. Trapped on an ocean planet, terrified, trying to survive. Somehow it works perfectly. You'd have to be stupid not to be scared in this situation.
The view from standing on top of the pod, surveying the vast oceanscape proves the planet in question was flat on the surface Kappa
This logic is absolutely undeniable
Dude, I legit think you got guts for playing this game. I don't have thalassophobia, in fact I think the sea is gorgeous, but even I get unnerved and even scared in this game. My only advice to you is pay attention to upgrades when you can make them, they'll help you navigate the sea better and with more confidence. Also, of course, give any massive predators a wide berth and they might leave you alone.
This was absolutely the most enjoyable Subnautica video I've watched. It made me feel like I was playing again for the first time; scared of everything and afraid to explore. You also made me realise that I do not in fact have thalassapobia; but my fears did mimic yours in the beginning. As time passed I got more relaxed and more curious and the fear subsided. Your reactions are way more severe but I'm proud of you bro for pushing on! MORE PLEASE!
*Jumps into the safe shallows: Ohh its deep*
Ghost leviathan: U are done
This was glorious. Took me back to my first dive into Subnautica - absolutely terrifying!
love the balance between voice over and in the moment reactions. super fun style and awesome vid.
Thank you so much mate, glad you have been enjoying them!
It's amazing, isn't it? Being compelled to go forward despite your fear. I hope you find more joy than despair in this game.
The courage to play the game for our entertainment is legendary cudos to u for deciding to challenge the fear! Keep it up man this game only gets a lot harder.
Really do appreciate this mate! I’ll do my best 🙌
I commend you for having such a severe fear, and playing a game that completely embodies said fear. You are brave and willing to try it and press on, despite how difficult it is to even do so. That takes a lot more courage than people like firefighters that risk their lives to save people. Not sure what else to say but I am glad I came across your video.
Then there's weirdos like me that watch deep sea videos in the middle of the night when I can't sleep because I find the ocean so fascinating. Thus is becoming my new current deep sea watch even if it's a fictional ocean and good on you for facing your fears to play this game! You're a big brave boy!
To each our own.
The quality of these videos is unreal. Proud of how far you have come dude!❤
Mate this honestly means so much 💙💙💙
@@ButchX3 This is my very first time being exposed to your content, and I was shocked at how few subscribers you had! Your narration, editing and personality are at a level one rarely sees from **professional** content producers. Kudos!
I didn't know what it was called, but I have a touch of that fear. The part that gets me is being on a small boat and seeing the sea bed beneath, and as you go deeper the sea bed disappears into this dark green murk, and you know if you fall in you're not gonna survive. I played Subnautica, but I found the whole experience incredibly stressful. I never finished it, and vowed I'd never go back to it. The later parts of the game, where you are miles deep still haunts me.
Those seaweed vines freak me out I can't help but think about getting tangled and stuck, genuine panic! I can't wait to see you finish the game, this is fantastic!!
Thank you for taking the time to check out the video, I really really appreciate it 🙏
I have a pretty huge thalassophobia aswell. However i loved Subnautica even if it terrified me in many occasions. I loved it so much that even when i finished the game i did it again a couple months later and so on, having 200+ hours combined on the 2 Subnautica games! The game cured quite a bit of my phobia, even if i still have it, it is not as severe as it was. It is a really hard task to immerge yourself into that game without knowing anything of it and you did great!
its nice to see someone who seems to ACTUALLY have real thallasophobia play the game. people kinda throw the word around when in actuslity theyre just creeped out by normal creepy ocean stuff
I absolutely love the ocean, marine life and the story of subnautica. This game is amazing and I love it so much. However I have a fear of heights and also some mild thalassaphobia. I tried playing it years ago but got no further than the grassy pautues. The fauna also scares me, only having a knife to protect yourself? Inside a small sub that if they destroy you have to swim home with only a knife to protect you???
I started playing again in March. I am playing very slowly and am making sure that I have everything I can possibly have before I go anywhere. I have made it to the jellyshroom caves (barely, was forced to go), I have a seamoth, I really need the Moonpool so I can upgrade the seamoth to feel a bit safer. But unfortunately it looks like my only feeesible options are one of the Mushroom forests or the Sparse Reef. I have chosen the Sparse Reef as there's less to attack you but boy the deep merky water is really getting to me.
Good Luck :)
This sounds like such a well thought out plan! And I’m proud of you for preserving even with your fears!
I do with sometimes that this game was multiplayer, that way, we can get braver people than you and I to help us get to the good stuff 😅
Thank you so much for checking out the video!
the mushroom forest is the best because it is shallower, few predators, calm soundtrack, and it looks like a forest
@@ButchX3 something that may help, those big floating things that you saw, the creatures that made a really loud boise. They're called reefbacks and are a friendly, passive type of leviathan.
There is a multiplayer mod, it’s a little janky but it works. Nitrox for subnautica is what it’s called.
Please post part 2!! I love subnautica its such a beautiful and scary game!! Would love to relive the subnautica experience haha
There will absolutely be a part 2 coming as soon as I can make it! Thank you so much for taking the time to check out the video 🙏
just so you know, Subnautica while being a horror and survival game, it trives off the fear of the unkown, so the more you explore a biome or know about the game, the less afraid you will be, if you need to, circle around the edge of a biome for a bit, observe creature behavior from a distance, and make sure to scan them (pretty much every creature can be scanned) and read the PDA entry, they often give you tips, and try to use google/wiki as little as possible
I can't imagine having this phobia because this has opposite effect on me. I find it soothing and relaxing in a situation like this. Especially when I am inside some sort of a vehicle safe inside. I like to explore while in it and find the tiniest places to crawl into. I just love the solitude of it all. I once made a base near the glowing tree. I sat there thinking I am the only living human in this world. No matter what I do or say doesn't matter. I found peace in that.
I agree. Riding in my sea truck in Below Zero is fun
Love seeing there are others facing the same fears. We are together in this, on our each individual journey. Thank you. Love seeing your reactions, its nice to be so immersed in something that you actually feel like being there in a sense of sort. Now i gotta watch your whole subnautica playthrough. I was looking exactly for this type of playthrough, the type where the player actually feels all sorts of emotions and tries to overcome them along the way while facing innermost fears.
It's nice watching you play because I also have the same phobia and I played Subnautica but I never ever had the guts to finish it, so I hope that I can face my fears if you can overcome it and finish this game for all our phobia folks!
I also went to the island you went to, I refused to look underneath at all costs, and after seeing me go back to my base afterwards, and rewatched the recording, I realized that a leviathan was following me the entire way back, so watch out for roars, you'll know it once you hear it.
And the worst of it all, they don't despawn, so if they follow you, they will stay in that location where they stopped following you, and this is the result of that. ruclips.net/video/NsUbLrgHJ4s/видео.html
It's very hard to hear but you can hear it's roaring which means it can see you, if you hear it roar, its coming for you. They have echolocation or whatever its called, so beware. Make sure to turn off your lights in your seamoth, it helps you stay unnoticed but eventually they'll come to you if your close to them, I recommend running away the moment you hear and see them.
This leviathan is called the Reaper leviathan.
Thank you so much for checking out the video Faith! That sounds absolutely terrifying 😳 I’m trying to avoid finding anything big for as long as I possibly can 😅
Great video! I can't wait to see you dive into really deep waters, this game definitely helped get over any fears I had of the ocean
Well I can definitely wait to go deeper 😂
0:55 no worries. I gotcha. As i too have thalassophobia in a bit smaller scale i quiet enjoyed this game besides a few scares from a Leviathan. Im proud of you for getting out of youre confort zone and thats worth a sub in my opinion, so here ya go
I don’t even have full-on thalassophobia (I'm terrified of dark drop offs, but open water is okay) and this game filled me with dread. And yet, you certainly went farther than I did in the first few days! I could barely enter the kelp forests, I was so scared!
I'm going through your series now.
I also have thalassophobia. I had to force myself to play this and I couldn't play at night but after a while I managed to get through it. There were moments where my entire body would tense up and I couldn't move, I would just sit and stare at the screen before I'd turn the game off.
One thing I love doing now tho, is watching other people with thalassophobia play the game. It feels good knowing it wasn't just me lol.
Came for the trauma, stayed for the bravery! Well done! 👍
appreciate you 💙
Just discovering this video now and I respect your bravery for a playing a game with an element that terrifies you on such an extreme level. While watching, I tried to compare it with my own fear. Spiders. And tried to imagine myself playing a game with a large spider crawling on my arms and head. Even with those terrible thoughts in mind, it still doesn't do what you did justice.
You are awesome, and have earned both my respect and my sub.
I dont have this phobia myself, but I could feel your pain during this. You're very brave!
Part 2, please! 😇
Part 2 on its way!
This is the exact sort of thing that just thrills me about computer games. I love stories and worldbuilding in games, but I'm totally blown away when a game basically gives you a safe space to face your fears.
Another game I play has giant spiders, with a scaling arachnophobia mode so you can turn the realism down.
TLDR - computer games are awesome and so are you. Well done.
While I can't help but be entertained and find your reactions humorous, I would be lying if I said I didn't initially react the same way you do when I first played the game. What got me through was familiarity and repetition until the game couldn't surprise me anymore. Now I speed through the game, mostly unaffected, even though big open expanses and leviathans still get to me. I don't think it will ever completely stop affecting me a little bit, but that's also why it very quickly became one of my all time favourite games. And that's no small feat, I've been gaming since the mid-90's.
You've got yourself a new subscriber, you are thoroughly entertaining, really brave for facing your fear head-on and just seem like a cool guy. Cheers 😊
Definitely enjoyed this content and really hope you play through the entire game! I'll be there for every video!
Absolute legend, facing your fear by playing a game that might as well be called thalassaphobia, would absolutely love to see more of this series.🔥🔥
You’re the legend for taking the time to check out the video! I really do appreciate it 🙏
@ButchX3 Love the videos, man. It's very entertaining, and as someone with slight thalassophobia its realy humbling to see someone else so deathly scared of the sea😂😂
Here from Tiktok. Watched the whole video, and man, am I impressed. Not only for facing your fears in order to achieve your content creation career goals, but the video quality and structure were extremely impressive as well. You've got a future in this if you want it. Subbed and can't wait for the rest of the series, I hope you make it!
(P.s. maybe some beta blockers or dramamine might help? Idk, just trying to help lol)
Genuinely moved me this comment. I’ve been doing this for a long time and learnt a lot along the way! Thank you for joining me on this journey, I really do appreciate it 🙌
I also suffer genuine thalassophobia and forced myself to play this game.
The experience of 100% completion felt like one of the greatest victories of my life.
This is the first time I've watched someone play Subnautica and *genuinely* got the feeling that your thalassophobia is as bad as my own. The deepening in your voice when you look at expanses of water, the flinching away from unknown things, the cringing while you swim - I relate perfectly to every single reaction.
Honestly, massive respect for facing your phobia like this. Im not sure if you will be less frightened or more so after finishing this game. Keep it up!
The secret to be less (and not more) frightened after is to take time to actually wait until the fear disappears. The brain needs time to learn that nothing happens. So we have to wait until the desire to look away, bail out or distract ourselves has disappeared. If you play like that, you'll not progress fast, but you'll lessen your fear significantly. If you just keep playing fast and stressed, constantly feeling like you're in danger and in constant alarm and avoidance mode.. then the game will probably make the phobia worse.
I really hope to see a whole playthrough of this game, and see your reactions to different kind of things, you can also leave stuff unedited, its entertaining and fun
This first episode was a blast
Thank you for checking out the video!!! Part 2 on its way 🙌
Please continue! You’re giving yourself exposure therapy with this game
Part 2 on its way!
Everyone: THIS is what an actual, true phobic reaction looks like. Props to my man @ButchX3, you're a goddamn hero for muscling through this. I absolutely love the game, I've recently started a re-run after several years. I know how eerie the game can get and let's say, I don't particularly like the idea of swimming in open seas, but I can manage. I can only imagine what it must've felt like to you. Mad respect. 👍
Seeing someone like you with thalassophobia play this game makes me really, truly happy. Because I beat this game, and I, too, have severe thalassophobia - Luckily not as bad as you, though. My Submechanphobia on the other hand severely destroys me.
This game haunted me and gave me nightmares, but it was also strangely therapeutic. I hope you have the same experience. I've subscribed to you and look forward to seeing the rest of your playthrough.
I really wanna see more of this! If you think the red biome area is deep, you are in for a real "treat". I recently completed the game and i've got 50.9 hours in it, fortunately i dont have thallassophobia, so i can only imagine, but there are certain times when i got terrified myself, so i simultaneously cant wait to see you get to those points, and also am terrified for you at those points. Have !!FUN!!
small tip from someone who's played this game a bunch and is also terrified by it: as long as you stay at the surface of the water (around 5m deep), you're generally speaking safe from the scary fish out there :). so if you need to get through a scary patch of water where you know there's more dangerous creatures, as long as you stay at the surface you should be good! (you can look up at the sky while swimming to avoid looking at the abyss xD)
Thank you for the helpful tip!
I try not to feel guilty about enjoying your struggle xP You are, after all, doing it for the views and here I am fulfilling my part by viewing! I do hope your body recovers well after recording, though.
Me getting scared but needing views + you enjoying me being scared and watching = a very productive friendship!!!
@@ButchX3 I smell PROFIT ha ha
Brother. I suffer from the phobia, and it took me close to a year to finally get to the point that I was able to finish the game.
I’d really love to see you finish this game, and the community is always here to answer questions you may have. The feeling you’ll get when you finally beat the game is unparalleled.
Rooting for you! And you got a new subscriber.
Every time you got better at exiting the pod made me so happy, I was clapping in celebration for you.
This game will get really bad at times for you if you keep going, but it can also be a form of exposure therapy. Just take it slow, baby steps.
Even if you don’t end up completing the game, I’d like to say that so many of us are proud of you for pushing through. You got a new subscriber out of me for your courage.
And please take breaks when it really gets to you.
I have really bad arachnophobia and I feel that absolute same way as you. My friends used to be like “how are you scared of spiders”. My honest answer is that I don’t know, it’s just how I am.
Really hope you play through the whole game, it's really cool if you ever are able to look past your fear!
Ill do my best!
the reaction when you realized there was NOTHING under the floating island went exsactly as expected.
i Admire your bravery
You are incredibly brave facing your fear like this. I came here just to say that since I was watching your video on the television
I don't necessarily enjoy watching you be scared, I'm more in awe that you can challenge yourself in this way. I don't think I could do it. Respect, man!