The idea was that Candace would be fueled by spite to fight harder than she had been. A lot of so-called attachment therapy revolves around the idea that the children being "treated" are vile little monsters with evil motives, so I guess the logic being employed by the doctor was that spite would be her only natural reaction.
RipleyandWeeds Pretty much. I remember when that news story broke. The "therapy" involved kids being wrapped in blankets and forced to fight their way out while yelling shit like that at them. Fuck if I know why they thought that would fix their emotional issues.
They thought the "rebirthing" process would mentally reset the child to a state of infancy in which they'd be able to form bonds with their caregivers or something pseudoscientific like that.
To Night Mind's viewers: If you ever find yourself in a strange supernatural situation, which you continually film and upload to RUclips for public record...please add these vids to a playlist in upload order. Thanks x
I actually like it when Nick goes fully into something and explains whats up. I'm terrible at finding these things out myself on top of being kind of a wuss. Half the things that Nick talks about are either too scary or too complicated for me to understand whats going on without him explaining it.
At the absolute least, it's a nod to Candace's case. My theory is that the writer of this series was likely deeply impacted by her story and used it as a basis for their plot, and decided to raise some awareness for the issue by using her name. I doubt the people who made this fantastic piece of art would claim a real deceased child is haunting their fake game for entertainment purposes.
Gotta disagree that the Candace Newmaker theory isn't relevant. I mean, you kinda conveniently left out that the game directly references being "reborn" too. Yeah the dates don't match, but I honestly think that's an intentional part of the mystery myself. I think it's not supposed to be specifically about Candace, but more just to push us in the direction of these themes about adoption and child abuse more strongly.
My theory is that the story of Candace Newmaker is the major source of inspiration for petscop, but its not the exact story of petscop. Could easily see the creator getting inspired by what happened to Candace to create his own horror story and so included multiple references to her and her story. But the story of petscop beyond such references and adopting ideas from it doesn't really have anything more to do with Candace Newmaker. Its certainly not a case of the ghost of Candace haunting the game
I'd like to point out that Daisy Head Mazy is also unflinished. (Dr. Suess died before he could finish it but his publisher released it.) There's also an animated version of it and I think things ended somewhat differently I think the flower took off it's own petals to make Daisy feel better. Also her health was effected when the flower was effected in the animated version. Also I thought the Tweezers were a tuning fork. The tool looked kind of like a violin.
Things to censor: "Something on a wall, in a black house." Toneth note: "-has a broken leg for some reason. I already hung him on a wall, too late to take it back. It makes me think about the dog actually." Oh shit.
I think you might be taking the Candace thing too literally, or too in-universe. You can view it as simply an inspiration for the project, not necessarily a direct part of the plot.
Yeah, it's way too heavily referenced to be coincidental. The Candace Newmaker story is definitely a deliberate theme of the series, even if it's not meant to be taken as a literal story element.
Plus, there was more evidence/quotes/names outside of the ones that Nick listed. I'd also expect him to understand that it's less of a theory and more of a point of thematic resonance, but I guess not. :T
I can see where you're coming from, Nick, with "Newmaker" being a coincidence, but the mirror writing "Do you remember being born?" does seem to me to be a pretty persuasive reference to the real life Newmaker story, since the girl died while actually failing to be "reborn" in therapy.
Tool also mentions that Care is 'past rebirthing' at one point. I think the whole thing is most likely inspired by both the Newmaker incident *and* Daisy-Head Mayzie, and most likely a few other sources, too.
Subscribed and rang their bell. One thing I really love (and never considered from a writing standpoint) is the use of a Let's Play format for suspense. As I was watching the videos, I noticed a few shadows and things flying through that Paul apparently didn't. That was a freaking brilliant move, and a great way to keep the player from feeling too 'in control' of the experience. Great read of it so far!
It would be if you like suspense in a Let's Play, but it is more on the comedy side than the horror side. It's seven people trying to complete a goal, but when someone dies in the game, they stay dead. If you're looking for the most suspenseful one, try the MineZ one, which is a zombie mod for Minecraft they try to beat. It's a hit or miss, but they get better as the series went on.
Hands down, the scariest part of Petscop (as of the posting of this video) was the bit with Marvin and the wind mill. I swear I was leaning back as he walked toward the camera and nearly flipped my shit when he moved it.
I would say it, so far, is the closest thing to a jump scare in the entire series. I did the same thing when I first saw it, expecting something horrific. Such a creepy tone set as it was happening.
i just think its too early to rule out CN. the references are strong and the quitters room is either intentional or a completely ridiculous coincidence.
I was getting bored of RUclips, like a second away from doing my homework and my boy Nick posts a vid. When it comes to Nick, everything gets pushed to the back burner
Hi NightMind! Longtime watcher, first time commenter. I have not watched all of this series yet, but hearing you describe one of the characters in this series hits really close to home -- and I might as well provide some information to viewers of Petscop that might explain some things in the series? This child character with no eyebrows? That sounds like something that lots of children develope as a reaction to stress/trauma! It's called Trich, and its an OCD related disorder. Basically, children (and adults) with Trich rip out their OWN hair. Oftentimes, it's in a localized place -- comment places are the eyelashes, certain areas of the scalp, legs, arms, and eyebrows. It causes a lot of embarrassment for these children (and adults) especially if where they pick is noticeable. But (and as someone who had this as a child) it actually feels *good* to pick (even though people without this disorder often comment things like, "doesn't it hurt to rip out your hair?"), it's sort of a "stress relieving" action some children and adults take on to sooth themselves. If anyone is theorizing that this no-eyebrow character is doing it to herself, and her parents are ignoring her... or worse, actively watching her hurt herself without doing anything to treat the underlying reason she's having this reaction, that would be a very, very accurate thing that happens to lots of people struggling with Trich. It could, and I think this ties in to the overall theme of child abuse, be a form of neglect.
I'm late to the party, but I have another theory about the lack of eyebrows. Considering we're dealing with childhood trauma, and there's a "father" figure excited about this lack of hair, I see a pretty clear pedophilia flag. Eyebrow hair is a bit thicker than head hair and very much resembles the early growth of pubic hair. No eyebrows = no pubic hair = prebuscent girl and presumed sexual abuse of same by the excited father figure.
I think the Candace-Newmaker-Theory shouldn't be ignored completely. From what you've shown and said, I definitely think that the game is referencing this tragedy. It may just have been an inspiration and have nothing to do with the actual story of the series - as at least one other commentor has pointed out - but that should be kept in mind aswell.
Paul's original mention that the game may be directed at someone seemed a bit suspicious and with the inclusion of the censorship I feel like the character may be trying to hide something. And the ending of petscop 8 made it obvious there's more to his side of the story that we don't know yet.
I agree--some of the connections are a little too strong to be just circumstantial imo, like the names "Newmaker" and "Tiara". While they may not be rare on their own, the pairing together definitely stands out.
I think the evidence behind the Candace Newmaker theory are way too strong for it to have no relevance in Petscop -- even with the three year time gap between the game and the incident.
Corrections: 6:35 The 4chan thread was made by a user on the petscop discord after reading about it on r/creepygaming. Paul made the reddit post, not the 4chan one. We know this because the reddit account was made on the same day as the youtube channel. 14:34 Nobody ever believed Petscop is about Candace. The point of the candace theory is that the death of candace is a connector, just like the daizy head mayzie connection. Its not the plot of the game, its extra information that can be used to tie the game's plot threads together I do have to give you credit though, you actually understood how the censoring ties into the plot of the series. ScareTheater's video completely missed the point and has given a ton of people misinformation because of it.
With the release of Petscop 11, I'm convinced that Paul is not the one censoring the videos. Paul isn't uploading them, either, some unknown group mentioned in the description of Petscop 11 is, and they seem to be coercing him to continue recording gameplay footage for them. I don't know who Paul's friend is, but I'm of the mind that they're not even in the picture yet.
It might not be *about* Candace Newmaker, but I thinks it's pretty possible for it to be heavily *inspired* by her tragedy. Just throwing that out there.
I don't think Nick disputes that. I understood him as saying that neither Petscop the (fictional) game nor the series Petscop is ONLY about Candace Newmaker.
There's more Candice evidence than you give credit for. It's called the *quitter's* room. Candice was repeatedly called a quitter before her imminent death. I just don't see how that added with all the rest of the stuff can be regarded as "coincidental". On the other hand, the game being made in '97 is indeed a flaw in the Candice Newmaker theory.
@Seven's Pensive - Yeah, he said that was when his mom received it. And I understand that, @RedLinkMasterOfFire, but to call every bit of the theory simply "coincidental" is a little too dismissive for me. There's too much that suggests Candice's unfortunate tale, to me at least, to just dismiss the whole thing.
Exactly. He's acting as if the haunted idea is more original than the RAD idea, and that's simply not true. And yeah I totally get all the evidence with Candice, I read the wiki article and stuff. I mean, sure, the game definitely isn't all about Candace, but it is *certainly* about RAD. Not some fucked up family. And even then, RAD has play in that scenario.
Not to mention he ignores that the game has dialogue about kids being damaged beyond rebirthing and stuff.... like there's a lot of connection to RAD and rebirthing therapy in there, even though I agree the game probably isn't about Candace herself
I think there are too many similarities between Petscop and the Newmaker case for it to be a coincidence. I think Petscop uses the Newmaker case to strengthen it's stories and themes but it's trying to tell it's own story.
It's not necessarily that the Candace Newmaker thing is what the game is all about, but like... It's a pretty big influence, elements of rebirth and adoption and child abuse specifically. It's not like her ghost is in there or anything, but her story just has to be in some sense a part of Petscop
I love your analysis, but I think it's just silly to totally write off the Candice Newmaker theory. There seems to be too much evidence and correlation to only be coincidence, even if it's not the central plot of the ARG.
Old Nick: HEY GUYS THIS IS MARBLE HORNETS AND THIS IS HOW TIM BECAME MASKY Nick now: *in quiet voice* petscop has now become one of the most popular web series out there right now I don't mean this to bash on Nick it's just that watching this video right after watching Marble hornets explained, I can't help but make the comparison
I just want to mention this, notice how in the purple room with the ABC blocks spelling CRE meaning Care. CRE has no A. In the paper with the faces and the A B NLM. The face with the A is fully sane, happy. Cre have no A meaning Care isn't happy or that somethings wrong.
A possible clue related to the eyebrows: There's this condition called Trichotillomania (AKA hair-pulling disorder.) it's an impulse disorder where the person pulls out their hair even if they don't want to. It could be scalp hair, eyelashes, or even eyebrow hairs. The pulling gets to the point where bald patches start to form. Usually, after a session, the person feels relived or satisfied. There's no known cause; but, it is believed to be related with depression and anxiety and can possibly run in the family.While I was never diagnosed with this i did have a period of time, just after my grandfather died, where I would pull out my eyebrows. It normally happened during school and I didn't even realize I was doing it until my mom saw me with them nearly gone over a week. Looking back, I think it was both the stress of school and the emotional issues my family was going through at the time which caused it to form (and my mom does rub her eyebrows until the hair falls out.)My point is, what if Care has this condition. It would fit with the daisy theme as you can pluck eyebrow hairs like daisy petals, it ties to the emotional distress portion if my history has any backing, and her father's surprise may come from him having the condition too.
This has to be done on purpose. Game Theory releases a new theory on Petscop yesterday then a new Petscop episode comes out today. It HAS to be on purpose.
Oh yes! Nick, I found Petscop a few weeks ago, and that led me down many rabbit holes, including discovering your channel. So a great little full circle for me. Glad it led me to your stuff!
I got this idea for a haunted game series; okay, so imagine your standard run of the mill let's player. He's not the worst, but it's obvious he's a real newbie to the let's play scene with content that is largely mediocre. Now imagine him playing a spooky game a friend sent him via email, something that's creepy and unnerving, but seemingly harmless. But after he finishes playing it, he begins to find that the game infiltrated his other games, documenting it via his videos. As he progresses, he starts to lose his mind and publishes increasingly disturbing videos before going completely haywire or something. Kinda like Allen tutorial which seems largely innocent at first before things go to shit. I dunno, I think it's a cool idea. Too bad I lack the skills to execute it.
I have been waiting for this analysis ever since the first Petscop was released. I was avoiding looking at the reddit threads made about this series because I was confident that our own NightMind would cover it. And just hours later after my treat from Nick, Petscop channel added a new video! This week is finally starting to go my way
A while back, Nick said something about working on an original series of his own. He said he'd be covering it in a video sometime during 2017, but that he wouldn't make his involvement known until later. I think colorfiction is theorizing that this could be Nick's original. I'm not convinced since there's really no proof, but I also wouldn't be surprised if I found out that this was his; the writing and the pacing of the story seem like they could be his work.
Olivia Rubin oh okay, i just got really confused because of his grammar but anyway, that's so fricking cool! i can't wait to see more about this, i hope it's true *fingers crossed* :D
this analysis and scaretheater's analysis put together create a really good and comprehensive story that is really hard to put together if you're just watching petscop and nothing else. good job nick, you really pulled this explanation off well (and i do agree, petscop is really cool and i'm already hooked)
Don't know if this means anything but that rubix cube in gold room around 21:40 is unsolvable. Two white tiles and two blue tiles right next to each other.
I'm really glad you covered this. Every time I try to find one, some one says, in short, it's creepy. No real time. I love your devotion to information AND entertainment. Please, always keep up the great work NightMind!
I thought I would mention, I have learned about Candace newmaker and “rebirthing” in classes and in my own research. The rebirthing therapy Candace was forced to undergo was never backed up and approved as an actual, successful therapy. I feel like whenever people talk about this they never mention that. I just thought it was important to note
Excellent recommendation. One of my favorite elements so far is actually the human player that's running through the game. The way he picked up every coin and systematically walks through the early "levels" is a really excellent and creative bit of non-verbal character introduction. You know the player is the completionist type that would have the patience and logical process to actually manage to navigate and advance through an utterly broken game from very early on. I think without this, it would be much harder to believe some kid could figure out the puzzles we've seen so far. Can't wait to see how things continue.
I think maybe some of her story is present here to remind us of what she went through, as a way to represent this specific childhood trauma, but like Nick said the whole story is probably not about her.
i was 100% sure that you were involved in making petscop because it's so well done! i lost like 3 bets when this video came out lol. this was a really interesting take on it & you really blew my mind again
Something you missed: Daisy-Head Mayzie was published after Seuss died, while his family was looking through his old papers. There was another unfinished book of his that was published as well in 2015: "What Pet Should I get?" i en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Pet_Should_I_Get%3F
Literally just watched and subbed to this channel this morning, after seeing Scare Theater's video on it. Perhaps this is fate. Whatever it is, I'm glad my favorite channel for the spooky and weird is covering this truly interesting series!
It's kind of neat seeing a Night Vision on something I'd already been keeping an eye on, nice stuff Nick! I wonder if we'll be seeing one on hiimmarymary in the future now as well, when that gets a bit more content to work with? edit: an letter
This series has got me really excited because there's honestly so much that can be done with it and it's also had a lot of work put into it. I can't wait for another upload!
The rebirthing process was actually mentioned in Care's room, right? And it was mentioned with the name Tiara. If the Candace Newmaker thing isn't what this is about, then what do you think the mention of rebirthing and Tiara has to do with Petscop?
Wow, the analysis in this is great. I'm glad I subbed to this channel. I've been nursing the theory that petscop is about a town abandoned due to a natural disaster, leaving behind pets, family mwmbers, etc. in just trying to survive
Thanks so much for recommending this.. This is one of those series that it's kind of difficult to explain to friends.. it's not like exciting or filled with thrills, but is more of a mixture of mystery, foreboding, and a delightful sort of frustration, which all comes together in a way to keep a person like me completely hooked and craving to see what happens next and where is it all going to ultimately go in the end. Mr. Nocturne you are THE go-to youtuber for the best stuff like this.
Yay I'm in the credits! (SleepyCarl). Nick, you're the only RUclipsr I've funded, and I want you to know it's because I believe in what you do and I want to be able to be one of the people who can say they supported you at the start when you hit 1 mil, 2mil, 10 mil. Because you sir, are going to go far. I discovered you through Alan Tutorial and I've been hooked ever since. Everything from the thorough research, to the wit, to the the objectively high production value that only keeps improving, I love it all. I'm only on the $1 tier right now because I work at a deli and don't make very much, but I only plan to share my success with you in the form of a higher pledge just like you share yours with us in the form of more great content! Yours truly, A fellow creature of the night
And this is why we support you on Patreon, Nick. I've been following this and beyond the theories in the comments I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I hope when the series concludes you do a nice big wrap up... so I understand wtf happened lol
I believe that the Newmaker theory has more ground than you are giving credit for. The note in the bedroom mentioned re-birthing. And If the game is like a limbo for tortured child's souls, such as Care and Michael, why not have another child too? Who is Tiara then if not Candace Newmaker?
Thank you so much for covering these sorts of channels. I might have never found this on my own, and I'm loving it so far. I have to say that with this and EverymanHYBRID both, they are series that either I'd have never discovered on my own or would otherwise not give it my attention because it doesn't look as exciting on the surface. You've helped me realize that there is a lot more to what meets the eye at times, and I should've already known that from Marble Hornets! Either way though, I guess I should say that you helped REMIND me that there's a lot of great artforms out there, and to keep my eyes peeled and be patient because great things come from some of the most unlikely of places. I'm really enjoying Petscop so far, and I really hope for the best. I instantly subscribed to them after watching only part of your video because I trusted your judgement on this recommendation, and when you said to go watch it before finishing your video, I damn well sure did! And I'm glad, too.
You know.. Both theories could be right. I don't think either one disproves the other. There's a lot of things going on within the story. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to consider both could have inspired Petscop.
I'm so happy to see Nick happy and not stressed after what happened with cabin fever dreams and Night Vale. I'm glad that you can finally get back to doing what you love without having to worry about too much. You're really awesome Nick, You really are.
I absolutely love your channel. You have a very Cecil-Palmer-esque voice, and it's so interesting to listen to. Your editing and voice-overs really add to the eerie essence of your channel.
Nic, while I agree any one of Newmaker, Tiara and Quitter's Room might've been a coincidence, I think all three together is a bit much to dismiss. But I agree Candace Newmaker isn't the unifying theme. Rather she probably represents one of the childhood traumas brought to life in the game. As the Quitter is a reflection of the player character, maybe the player character is supposed to be Candace's representation in the game? As for the game/note coming from 1997, maybe that date represents the first childhood trauma to enter the game (Michael Hammond likely since he died in 1995). Paul or whoever got this copy of the game first could've then received it in 2000 or after Candace's death, leading to the 'birth' of the Candace persona in the game somehow. My guess is Paul will soon see a childhood trauma representation of his own appearing in the game. Perhaps the censored items? The fact that he didn't completely freak out at seeing the first censored item indicates it's something generic enough to fit in the game, but maybe they'll escalate or all come together into something he doesn't want revealed until he's ready.
Exactly what I think those three together doesn't seem to be coincidence. But still it's weird why it says 1997 maybe this is when Garalina was founded. Also Nick's theory about Daisy Head Mayzie really makes sense too
I couldn't agree more- this series is something genuinely exciting and new. It's everything I want to see in horror- a genuinely original story, polished well enough to draw you in. I love the sense of tension, the sense of strangeness. And the voice acting is just phenomenal.
My personal theory is that there is an anti-twist and this "game" was made intentionally like this. The PS1 has a treasure trove of classic horror games, and this game was in production right after Neon Genesis Evangelion (one of the all time great deconstructionist works) finished airing. While there's no guarantee that the game is Japanese obviously, especially because it's in English, I could see some Yoko Taro-esque figure making a surreal horror game like this.
Does that mean you're assuming it's a real game, and not something invented for the sake of a web series? I thought it was basically confirmed that the developer credited in the splash screen was fictional. Or do you mean that within the fiction of the web series, the game was intended to be what's presented?
Within the fiction of the webseries. The "muh haunted game" thing is so boring, but a game that was never released because it was deemed just way too intense or convoluted would be an awesome structure. It wouldn't devalue the story of the webseries either as there are plenty of games with vague and dark stories that require interpretation. Soulsborne games and a lot of indie horror titles like Limbo or Inside come to mind.
You know, I hadn't considered that. For a time I was hoping it was going towards emergent AI rather than "OH NO A GHOST" for similar reasons, the whole haunted game thing being so played out and all, but when the player outright mentioned that idea I was less confident. But the idea that it's just what it seems to be on its face, an unnerving game designed to be unnerving, would be a great anti-twist, yeah.
That's my personal theory too, if for no other reason than the haunted game thing being done to death. I feel like Petscop is too original a story to fall back on something that's become a cliche at this point.
Thank you for getting me to know that existed. I love horror and video games. Watching petscop was really fun, as was listening to your analysis. It was pretty cool that they released a new episode the day after you put this out.
Have to say, it's not impossible for Candice to be trapped in the game after it was corrupted, especially if we assume more than one kid is trapped in their, or that the pre-existing corruption itself played some role in Candace's story. Marvin, Mike and Candace could easily have been trapped at different points in time, and it's easier to explain than to find a different explanation for all the similarities with the Candace Newmaker story (Rebirthing, Newmaker, Tiara, Quitter, remembering being born, etc.) All I'm saying is, don't rule out the Newmaker story.
I'm sorry Nick, I'm a big fan of yours and I love your work but I'm going to have to disagree about your views on the Newmaker theory. There are just WAY too many references on what happened for real for it to be a "coincidence". The names Tiara and Newmaker (with Tiara not being a very common name for a girl), the Quitter's Room, talks about rebirthing and being born, and a few others that all happen in the game are things that ALL happened in real life to Candace Newmaker. There are too many things for it to just be a coincidence. I could probably buy into your theory if only one or two things were similar to her but there were way more than two. This ARG is definitely about RAD and abused kids. Although I do agree that this series is not actually about Candace Newmaker, she most certainly inspired it.
What a treat this was! I swear Nick, if you were to narrate a Dr. Seuss book in full, I'd likely be unable to sleep that night. You make everything so eerie and scary, it's a helluva gift!
so good. definitely the best coverage of this series so far, especially compared to other people's recent attempts to do so. thank you for making engaging, exciting content with the spook too
You're too quick to dismiss the Newmaker connections. There is a lot that was strongly inspired by her story. That doesn't mean it has to be the only thing, though. It probably took inspiration from multiple sources and combined it into the general theme of the game- the abuse of adopted and foster children, and the feeling of being unwanted.
Petscop has gathered so much attention on the Newmaker tragedy, making us aware that this kind of abuse continues today. It's like in Basketball, where someone is playing dirty but the ref isn't watching, so you throw the ball to the person getting fouled (infracted against), forcing the ref to become aware of the abusive play.
To be honest, in my personal opinion, if the story isn't at least intentionally alluding to Candice Newmaker, it's a creepy coincidence. Like, actually real life creepy.
You seem to have forgotten that at some point it's written that the mom says 'some child's behaviour are 'beyound rebirth' which seem pretty specific to that Newmaker story. Maybe it's pushing it a lil far, But Candace sound a lot like Canvas, the thing you need to Make a new face on to open her room. Even tho it might not be the main theme, I find it hard to belive the Newmaker story wasn't an inspiration for the creator of the game. Obviously, it's strongly related to the Cat in the Hat story as well as you pointed out, but why not both?.
I think this might be NM's series. Think about it; -Praises it heavily -Has said he wants to see a Ben Drowned-esque ARG soon -Has some very stubborn and passionate opinions here, way more than usual -Is all for the censored box, which most people are against
I think the references to the Candace Newmaker case are too strong to ignore (especially with the quitters room), but they don't have to mean that the game is ABOUT Candace Newmaker or that it's haunted by her or something dumb like that. I think they're just there to reinforce the general themes of child abuse and the whole rebirthing therapy. Anyway, great video! You actually put a lot of thought and effort into this, it's not just clickbait like a lot of other game theory channels I could mention. The whole Dr. Seuss connection kind of blew my mind, honestly.
I love the way you explain things in your videos and how its not just from what is given directly and on paper but you also dig deeper and take even the littlest clues, would you ever consider doing a Little Nightmares explanation?
"Okay you want to die? Then die, die right now."
yo doc what the fuck
RipleyandWeeds that's the exact opposite of what therapists are supposed to do. They're supposed to help you not hurt yourself????
The idea was that Candace would be fueled by spite to fight harder than she had been. A lot of so-called attachment therapy revolves around the idea that the children being "treated" are vile little monsters with evil motives, so I guess the logic being employed by the doctor was that spite would be her only natural reaction.
RipleyandWeeds that's how I lost my medical license
RipleyandWeeds Pretty much. I remember when that news story broke. The "therapy" involved kids being wrapped in blankets and forced to fight their way out while yelling shit like that at them. Fuck if I know why they thought that would fix their emotional issues.
They thought the "rebirthing" process would mentally reset the child to a state of infancy in which they'd be able to form bonds with their caregivers or something pseudoscientific like that.
To Night Mind's viewers:
If you ever find yourself in a strange supernatural situation, which you continually film and upload to RUclips for public record...please add these vids to a playlist in upload order.
Thanks x
Yeah, sure, I'll definitely do that
I love you too!
I actually like it when Nick goes fully into something and explains whats up. I'm terrible at finding these things out myself on top of being kind of a wuss. Half the things that Nick talks about are either too scary or too complicated for me to understand whats going on without him explaining it.
I'm the same way! 😂
I like his videos cause it’s a lot easier than watching a massive series, though if it’s really interesting I tend to check it out later anyway
*relatable*
At the absolute least, it's a nod to Candace's case. My theory is that the writer of this series was likely deeply impacted by her story and used it as a basis for their plot, and decided to raise some awareness for the issue by using her name. I doubt the people who made this fantastic piece of art would claim a real deceased child is haunting their fake game for entertainment purposes.
Nick should make a series called "Nicks arg wet dreams come true"
TntCat5 true tbh xD
Yessss
YES
Call it "Web Dreams"
the asmr thing would just be the onlycans sounds mixed with audio from ARG vids
Gotta disagree that the Candace Newmaker theory isn't relevant. I mean, you kinda conveniently left out that the game directly references being "reborn" too. Yeah the dates don't match, but I honestly think that's an intentional part of the mystery myself. I think it's not supposed to be specifically about Candace, but more just to push us in the direction of these themes about adoption and child abuse more strongly.
^^^^^^^
late response, but Candance was adopted in 1997 also
agreed. also I watched the game theory video and i remember the game company's name had something to do with it too.
My theory is that the story of Candace Newmaker is the major source of inspiration for petscop, but its not the exact story of petscop. Could easily see the creator getting inspired by what happened to Candace to create his own horror story and so included multiple references to her and her story. But the story of petscop beyond such references and adopting ideas from it doesn't really have anything more to do with Candace Newmaker. Its certainly not a case of the ghost of Candace haunting the game
so if you ever go missing we have all we need to find your body
I'd like to point out that Daisy Head Mazy is also unflinished. (Dr. Suess died before he could finish it but his publisher released it.) There's also an animated version of it and I think things ended somewhat differently I think the flower took off it's own petals to make Daisy feel better. Also her health was effected when the flower was effected in the animated version. Also I thought the Tweezers were a tuning fork. The tool looked kind of like a violin.
Things to censor:
"Something on a wall, in a black house."
Toneth note:
"-has a broken leg for some reason. I already hung him on a wall, too late to take it back. It makes me think about the dog actually."
Oh shit.
I'm The Dude OH MY GOD
I'm The Dude but really that is a really great find/realization!
Do you think that what was on the wall in the recent upload? It's strange that Paul had painted over it and it suddenly was uncensored.
I think you might be taking the Candace thing too literally, or too in-universe. You can view it as simply an inspiration for the project, not necessarily a direct part of the plot.
That or perhaps there's something else going on in the plot.
Or it's just a red-herring and those elements all together actually make up some sort of symbolism in the story.
PlagueOfGripes woah you watch night mind? Love your videos btw.
Yeah, it's way too heavily referenced to be coincidental. The Candace Newmaker story is definitely a deliberate theme of the series, even if it's not meant to be taken as a literal story element.
Plus, there was more evidence/quotes/names outside of the ones that Nick listed. I'd also expect him to understand that it's less of a theory and more of a point of thematic resonance, but I guess not. :T
I can see where you're coming from, Nick, with "Newmaker" being a coincidence, but the mirror writing "Do you remember being born?" does seem to me to be a pretty persuasive reference to the real life Newmaker story, since the girl died while actually failing to be "reborn" in therapy.
Tool also mentions that Care is 'past rebirthing' at one point. I think the whole thing is most likely inspired by both the Newmaker incident *and* Daisy-Head Mayzie, and most likely a few other sources, too.
or the quitter's room
Subscribed and rang their bell.
One thing I really love (and never considered from a writing standpoint) is the use of a Let's Play format for suspense. As I was watching the videos, I noticed a few shadows and things flying through that Paul apparently didn't. That was a freaking brilliant move, and a great way to keep the player from feeling too 'in control' of the experience.
Great read of it so far!
You've clearly never seen PeanutButterGamer's Hardcore.
Melissa Jackson you're right, I haven't. Is it something I would enjoy based on this?
It would be if you like suspense in a Let's Play, but it is more on the comedy side than the horror side. It's seven people trying to complete a goal, but when someone dies in the game, they stay dead. If you're looking for the most suspenseful one, try the MineZ one, which is a zombie mod for Minecraft they try to beat.
It's a hit or miss, but they get better as the series went on.
O
Kara Dennison Guess what? A new video came out on Christmas.
Night Mind, 2017: We don't need to wait anymore
Night Mind, 2019: Please, stop making us wait, I'll do whatever you want
Hands down, the scariest part of Petscop (as of the posting of this video) was the bit with Marvin and the wind mill. I swear I was leaning back as he walked toward the camera and nearly flipped my shit when he moved it.
I would say it, so far, is the closest thing to a jump scare in the entire series. I did the same thing when I first saw it, expecting something horrific. Such a creepy tone set as it was happening.
isn't it possible to be based on multiple things including Candice Newmaker?
I was thinking about it. The game can have references of any child murdered, but I don't belive Petscop can forecast the future
i don't believe this is a real game from 1997 lmao
but to keep it believable you'd think the creator would try to keep any references inside the game realistic no?
i just think its too early to rule out CN. the references are strong and the quitters room is either intentional or a completely ridiculous coincidence.
The reference of quitters room is the "remember being born", a note related to Tiara. However, this is the only information about her in the game.
I was getting bored of RUclips, like a second away from doing my homework and my boy Nick posts a vid. When it comes to Nick, everything gets pushed to the back burner
This is a fact
Absolute fact
nick squad for life
Yup
Are you a neopet?
Hi NightMind! Longtime watcher, first time commenter. I have not watched all of this series yet, but hearing you describe one of the characters in this series hits really close to home -- and I might as well provide some information to viewers of Petscop that might explain some things in the series?
This child character with no eyebrows? That sounds like something that lots of children develope as a reaction to stress/trauma! It's called Trich, and its an OCD related disorder. Basically, children (and adults) with Trich rip out their OWN hair. Oftentimes, it's in a localized place -- comment places are the eyelashes, certain areas of the scalp, legs, arms, and eyebrows. It causes a lot of embarrassment for these children (and adults) especially if where they pick is noticeable. But (and as someone who had this as a child) it actually feels *good* to pick (even though people without this disorder often comment things like, "doesn't it hurt to rip out your hair?"), it's sort of a "stress relieving" action some children and adults take on to sooth themselves.
If anyone is theorizing that this no-eyebrow character is doing it to herself, and her parents are ignoring her... or worse, actively watching her hurt herself without doing anything to treat the underlying reason she's having this reaction, that would be a very, very accurate thing that happens to lots of people struggling with Trich. It could, and I think this ties in to the overall theme of child abuse, be a form of neglect.
I'm late to the party, but I have another theory about the lack of eyebrows. Considering we're dealing with childhood trauma, and there's a "father" figure excited about this lack of hair, I see a pretty clear pedophilia flag. Eyebrow hair is a bit thicker than head hair and very much resembles the early growth of pubic hair. No eyebrows = no pubic hair = prebuscent girl and presumed sexual abuse of same by the excited father figure.
I think the Candace-Newmaker-Theory shouldn't be ignored completely. From what you've shown and said, I definitely think that the game is referencing this tragedy. It may just have been an inspiration and have nothing to do with the actual story of the series - as at least one other commentor has pointed out - but that should be kept in mind aswell.
Paul's original mention that the game may be directed at someone seemed a bit suspicious and with the inclusion of the censorship I feel like the character may be trying to hide something. And the ending of petscop 8 made it obvious there's more to his side of the story that we don't know yet.
i think the game is just inspired by candance newmaker's story, but it isnt about her
I agree--some of the connections are a little too strong to be just circumstantial imo, like the names "Newmaker" and "Tiara". While they may not be rare on their own, the pairing together definitely stands out.
Olivia Rubin and Tiara actually said something about some people being too damaged for rebirthing...
Maeve Riden Yeah, it's definitely too much to just be coincidence.
during Candace's fatal rebirthing session, her caregivers also started calling her a "Quitter"
Hot Head it isn't
newmaker connection is still thematically appropriate, it may not have much narrative value but it seems to be very important thematically.
Skele tong it isn't
Skele tong where's ur icon from?
*Gets here the moment the notification pops up*
*Sees comments that were apparently made 12-13 hours ago*
RUclips pls--
It is
Patreon supporters get early access....
you got notified right, support him on patreon so you can get notified for real first posting
JawnGG it sucks being broke
found the edgy 12 year old
I think the evidence behind the Candace Newmaker theory are way too strong for it to have no relevance in Petscop -- even with the three year time gap between the game and the incident.
brudda exactly what I'm thinking
Developed in 1997 by the FICTIONAL COMPANY their is only one person has played this and put it on RUclips he created it and he "found it" aka made it
Candice was adopted in 1997.
Corrections:
6:35 The 4chan thread was made by a user on the petscop discord after reading about it on r/creepygaming. Paul made the reddit post, not the 4chan one. We know this because the reddit account was made on the same day as the youtube channel.
14:34 Nobody ever believed Petscop is about Candace. The point of the candace theory is that the death of candace is a connector, just like the daizy head mayzie connection. Its not the plot of the game, its extra information that can be used to tie the game's plot threads together
I do have to give you credit though, you actually understood how the censoring ties into the plot of the series. ScareTheater's video completely missed the point and has given a ton of people misinformation because of it.
Unown WHERE DO I GET AN INVITE TO THIS SERVER? TELL.
Unown your profile picture is cute
Unown
Petscop discord??? INVITE NOWWWWW PLS
Unown
Well unfortunately MatPat made a theory using the story as "evidence" and told his ten year old fans it was true.
I got here because I saw that theory, immediately saw pyros take on it, and how gts falls short in comparison
Nick, the fuck you doing? This isn't at 5 am. Nick you okay?
Charlotte of Sound some people are 'night' owls, we sleep almost all day and we're awake all night
that's...not what they were asking.
With the release of Petscop 11, I'm convinced that Paul is not the one censoring the videos. Paul isn't uploading them, either, some unknown group mentioned in the description of Petscop 11 is, and they seem to be coercing him to continue recording gameplay footage for them.
I don't know who Paul's friend is, but I'm of the mind that they're not even in the picture yet.
It might not be *about* Candace Newmaker, but I thinks it's pretty possible for it to be heavily *inspired* by her tragedy.
Just throwing that out there.
I don't think Nick disputes that. I understood him as saying that neither Petscop the (fictional) game nor the series Petscop is ONLY about Candace Newmaker.
There's more Candice evidence than you give credit for. It's called the *quitter's* room. Candice was repeatedly called a quitter before her imminent death. I just don't see how that added with all the rest of the stuff can be regarded as "coincidental". On the other hand, the game being made in '97 is indeed a flaw in the Candice Newmaker theory.
Doesn't the object at one point answer "You can't go back in time"?
@Seven's Pensive - Yeah, he said that was when his mom received it.
And I understand that, @RedLinkMasterOfFire, but to call every bit of the theory simply "coincidental" is a little too dismissive for me. There's too much that suggests Candice's unfortunate tale, to me at least, to just dismiss the whole thing.
Exactly. He's acting as if the haunted idea is more original than the RAD idea, and that's simply not true. And yeah I totally get all the evidence with Candice, I read the wiki article and stuff. I mean, sure, the game definitely isn't all about Candace, but it is *certainly* about RAD. Not some fucked up family. And even then, RAD has play in that scenario.
Indeed it is. It's definitely linked to Candice in one way or another, no doubt about it.
Not to mention he ignores that the game has dialogue about kids being damaged beyond rebirthing and stuff.... like there's a lot of connection to RAD and rebirthing therapy in there, even though I agree the game probably isn't about Candace herself
I think there are too many similarities between Petscop and the Newmaker case for it to be a coincidence. I think Petscop uses the Newmaker case to strengthen it's stories and themes but it's trying to tell it's own story.
It's not necessarily that the Candace Newmaker thing is what the game is all about, but like... It's a pretty big influence, elements of rebirth and adoption and child abuse specifically. It's not like her ghost is in there or anything, but her story just has to be in some sense a part of Petscop
I love your analysis, but I think it's just silly to totally write off the Candice Newmaker theory. There seems to be too much evidence and correlation to only be coincidence, even if it's not the central plot of the ARG.
Child: I'm dying!
Doc: THEN DIE!
Other adults:Lmao
Old Nick: HEY GUYS THIS IS MARBLE HORNETS AND THIS IS HOW TIM BECAME MASKY
Nick now: *in quiet voice* petscop has now become one of the most popular web series out there right now
I don't mean this to bash on Nick it's just that watching this video right after watching Marble hornets explained, I can't help but make the comparison
NightMind=NM
Newmaker=NM
coincidence!!?!?!???!
I THINK NUTT!
LordVane the girl had 8 years old
you know who else was 10 years once
Hitler
ILLUMINATTII
Cpt. Curlybeard i think abouts nuts to
Nmms😂💀
I think NOT! UwU
Your videos never get old, they're so well written and the voice that reads their script is just so soothing, keep up the good work Nick.
I just want to mention this, notice how in the purple room with the ABC blocks spelling CRE meaning Care. CRE has no A. In the paper with the faces and the A B NLM. The face with the A is fully sane, happy. Cre have no A meaning Care isn't happy or that somethings wrong.
A possible clue related to the eyebrows: There's this condition called Trichotillomania (AKA hair-pulling disorder.) it's an impulse disorder where the person pulls out their hair even if they don't want to. It could be scalp hair, eyelashes, or even eyebrow hairs. The pulling gets to the point where bald patches start to form. Usually, after a session, the person feels relived or satisfied. There's no known cause; but, it is believed to be related with depression and anxiety and can possibly run in the family.While I was never diagnosed with this i did have a period of time, just after my grandfather died, where I would pull out my eyebrows. It normally happened during school and I didn't even realize I was doing it until my mom saw me with them nearly gone over a week. Looking back, I think it was both the stress of school and the emotional issues my family was going through at the time which caused it to form (and my mom does rub her eyebrows until the hair falls out.)My point is, what if Care has this condition. It would fit with the daisy theme as you can pluck eyebrow hairs like daisy petals, it ties to the emotional distress portion if my history has any backing, and her father's surprise may come from him having the condition too.
Petscop 9 just happened guys, and a day after Nightmind's upload too!
Coincidence? I think not
11 just happened
13.
This has to be done on purpose. Game Theory releases a new theory on Petscop yesterday then a new Petscop episode comes out today. It HAS to be on purpose.
Where is your nose?
Nick should collab with Game Theory to tackle petscop
Oh yes! Nick, I found Petscop a few weeks ago, and that led me down many rabbit holes, including discovering your channel. So a great little full circle for me. Glad it led me to your stuff!
I got this idea for a haunted game series; okay, so imagine your standard run of the mill let's player. He's not the worst, but it's obvious he's a real newbie to the let's play scene with content that is largely mediocre. Now imagine him playing a spooky game a friend sent him via email, something that's creepy and unnerving, but seemingly harmless. But after he finishes playing it, he begins to find that the game infiltrated his other games, documenting it via his videos. As he progresses, he starts to lose his mind and publishes increasingly disturbing videos before going completely haywire or something. Kinda like Allen tutorial which seems largely innocent at first before things go to shit. I dunno, I think it's a cool idea. Too bad I lack the skills to execute it.
I would *love* to see something like that. I also unfortunately lack the skills to make it, but you never know, maybe it'll happen someday.
I have been waiting for this analysis ever since the first Petscop was released. I was avoiding looking at the reddit threads made about this series because I was confident that our own NightMind would cover it. And just hours later after my treat from Nick, Petscop channel added a new video! This week is finally starting to go my way
Watch Petscop be what Night Mind's first original is.
B L I N D S I D E D
colorfiction what?
A while back, Nick said something about working on an original series of his own. He said he'd be covering it in a video sometime during 2017, but that he wouldn't make his involvement known until later. I think colorfiction is theorizing that this could be Nick's original. I'm not convinced since there's really no proof, but I also wouldn't be surprised if I found out that this was his; the writing and the pacing of the story seem like they could be his work.
Olivia Rubin oh okay, i just got really confused because of his grammar but anyway, that's so fricking cool! i can't wait to see more about this, i hope it's true *fingers crossed* :D
that would be cool
He said in an earlier comment that he did not have part in this though he wishes he did. I have to take his word on that. lol.
this analysis and scaretheater's analysis put together create a really good and comprehensive story that is really hard to put together if you're just watching petscop and nothing else. good job nick, you really pulled this explanation off well (and i do agree, petscop is really cool and i'm already hooked)
Don't know if this means anything but that rubix cube in gold room around 21:40 is unsolvable. Two white tiles and two blue tiles right next to each other.
I'm really glad you covered this. Every time I try to find one, some one says, in short, it's creepy. No real time. I love your devotion to information AND entertainment. Please, always keep up the great work NightMind!
I thought I would mention, I have learned about Candace newmaker and “rebirthing” in classes and in my own research. The rebirthing therapy Candace was forced to undergo was never backed up and approved as an actual, successful therapy. I feel like whenever people talk about this they never mention that. I just thought it was important to note
Excellent recommendation. One of my favorite elements so far is actually the human player that's running through the game. The way he picked up every coin and systematically walks through the early "levels" is a really excellent and creative bit of non-verbal character introduction. You know the player is the completionist type that would have the patience and logical process to actually manage to navigate and advance through an utterly broken game from very early on. I think without this, it would be much harder to believe some kid could figure out the puzzles we've seen so far.
Can't wait to see how things continue.
I think the fact that rebirthing is mentioned in the game has to mean that Candace Newmaker has *something* to do with it
I think maybe some of her story is present here to remind us of what she went through, as a way to represent this specific childhood trauma, but like Nick said the whole story is probably not about her.
i was 100% sure that you were involved in making petscop because it's so well done! i lost like 3 bets when this video came out lol. this was a really interesting take on it & you really blew my mind again
Something you missed:
Daisy-Head Mayzie was published after Seuss died, while his family was looking through his old papers. There was another unfinished book of his that was published as well in 2015: "What Pet Should I get?" i en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Pet_Should_I_Get%3F
Literally just watched and subbed to this channel this morning, after seeing Scare Theater's video on it. Perhaps this is fate. Whatever it is, I'm glad my favorite channel for the spooky and weird is covering this truly interesting series!
It's kind of neat seeing a Night Vision on something I'd already been keeping an eye on, nice stuff Nick!
I wonder if we'll be seeing one on hiimmarymary in the future now as well, when that gets a bit more content to work with?
edit: an letter
What's hiimarymary? Google is giving me literally nothing to work with.
Hah, I missed out an m. It's actually hiimmarymary. Search that and you'll find it.
Thanks!
This series has got me really excited because there's honestly so much that can be done with it and it's also had a lot of work put into it. I can't wait for another upload!
Of course not even 24 hours after you post this, Petscop comes out with a new video... Whoops lol, it's still a great analysis!
I'm happy you covered this. I've been enjoying Petscop for a while now. it's nice seeing you weigh in on it.
The rebirthing process was actually mentioned in Care's room, right? And it was mentioned with the name Tiara. If the Candace Newmaker thing isn't what this is about, then what do you think the mention of rebirthing and Tiara has to do with Petscop?
Wow, the analysis in this is great. I'm glad I subbed to this channel.
I've been nursing the theory that petscop is about a town abandoned due to a natural disaster, leaving behind pets, family mwmbers, etc. in just trying to survive
The purple room's floor looks more like the DeviantArt logo.
That's the real horror!
Thanks so much for recommending this.. This is one of those series that it's kind of difficult to explain to friends.. it's not like exciting or filled with thrills, but is more of a mixture of mystery, foreboding, and a delightful sort of frustration, which all comes together in a way to keep a person like me completely hooked and craving to see what happens next and where is it all going to ultimately go in the end. Mr. Nocturne you are THE go-to youtuber for the best stuff like this.
Yay I'm in the credits! (SleepyCarl). Nick, you're the only RUclipsr I've funded, and I want you to know it's because I believe in what you do and I want to be able to be one of the people who can say they supported you at the start when you hit 1 mil, 2mil, 10 mil. Because you sir, are going to go far. I discovered you through Alan Tutorial and I've been hooked ever since. Everything from the thorough research, to the wit, to the the objectively high production value that only keeps improving, I love it all. I'm only on the $1 tier right now because I work at a deli and don't make very much, but I only plan to share my success with you in the form of a higher pledge just like you share yours with us in the form of more great content!
Yours truly,
A fellow creature of the night
And this is why we support you on Patreon, Nick. I've been following this and beyond the theories in the comments I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I hope when the series concludes you do a nice big wrap up... so I understand wtf happened lol
I believe that the Newmaker theory has more ground than you are giving credit for. The note in the bedroom mentioned re-birthing. And If the game is like a limbo for tortured child's souls, such as Care and Michael, why not have another child too? Who is Tiara then if not Candace Newmaker?
Thank you so much for covering these sorts of channels. I might have never found this on my own, and I'm loving it so far. I have to say that with this and EverymanHYBRID both, they are series that either I'd have never discovered on my own or would otherwise not give it my attention because it doesn't look as exciting on the surface. You've helped me realize that there is a lot more to what meets the eye at times, and I should've already known that from Marble Hornets! Either way though, I guess I should say that you helped REMIND me that there's a lot of great artforms out there, and to keep my eyes peeled and be patient because great things come from some of the most unlikely of places. I'm really enjoying Petscop so far, and I really hope for the best. I instantly subscribed to them after watching only part of your video because I trusted your judgement on this recommendation, and when you said to go watch it before finishing your video, I damn well sure did! And I'm glad, too.
Heya Nick, do you do all the intros for your different shows yourself?
Yup!
Wow, nice! They (along with this whole channel) are really high quality and I like them a lot. Keep up the amazing work! :0
Usami Animations I like your animations, I subbed :)
Hey cool, thank you so much! ^u^
I really like how you credited the original channel none of the other analysis videos I found did that.
You know.. Both theories could be right.
I don't think either one disproves the other. There's a lot of things going on within the story. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to consider both could have inspired Petscop.
I'm so happy to see Nick happy and not stressed after what happened with cabin fever dreams and Night Vale. I'm glad that you can finally get back to doing what you love without having to worry about too much. You're really awesome Nick, You really are.
I also think that the windmill will turn out to be a red herring. *cough* Don Quixote *cough*
I absolutely love your channel. You have a very Cecil-Palmer-esque voice, and it's so interesting to listen to. Your editing and voice-overs really add to the eerie essence of your channel.
Nic, while I agree any one of Newmaker, Tiara and Quitter's Room might've been a coincidence, I think all three together is a bit much to dismiss. But I agree Candace Newmaker isn't the unifying theme. Rather she probably represents one of the childhood traumas brought to life in the game. As the Quitter is a reflection of the player character, maybe the player character is supposed to be Candace's representation in the game?
As for the game/note coming from 1997, maybe that date represents the first childhood trauma to enter the game (Michael Hammond likely since he died in 1995). Paul or whoever got this copy of the game first could've then received it in 2000 or after Candace's death, leading to the 'birth' of the Candace persona in the game somehow.
My guess is Paul will soon see a childhood trauma representation of his own appearing in the game. Perhaps the censored items? The fact that he didn't completely freak out at seeing the first censored item indicates it's something generic enough to fit in the game, but maybe they'll escalate or all come together into something he doesn't want revealed until he's ready.
Andrew V. I was thinking that maybe development started in around 1997. Paul might have recovered an unfinished version of the game.
Exactly what I think those three together doesn't seem to be coincidence. But still it's weird why it says 1997 maybe this is when Garalina was founded. Also Nick's theory about Daisy Head Mayzie really makes sense too
Andrew V. But
I couldn't agree more- this series is something genuinely exciting and new. It's everything I want to see in horror- a genuinely original story, polished well enough to draw you in. I love the sense of tension, the sense of strangeness. And the voice acting is just phenomenal.
My personal theory is that there is an anti-twist and this "game" was made intentionally like this. The PS1 has a treasure trove of classic horror games, and this game was in production right after Neon Genesis Evangelion (one of the all time great deconstructionist works) finished airing. While there's no guarantee that the game is Japanese obviously, especially because it's in English, I could see some Yoko Taro-esque figure making a surreal horror game like this.
Does that mean you're assuming it's a real game, and not something invented for the sake of a web series? I thought it was basically confirmed that the developer credited in the splash screen was fictional. Or do you mean that within the fiction of the web series, the game was intended to be what's presented?
Within the fiction of the webseries. The "muh haunted game" thing is so boring, but a game that was never released because it was deemed just way too intense or convoluted would be an awesome structure. It wouldn't devalue the story of the webseries either as there are plenty of games with vague and dark stories that require interpretation. Soulsborne games and a lot of indie horror titles like Limbo or Inside come to mind.
You know, I hadn't considered that. For a time I was hoping it was going towards emergent AI rather than "OH NO A GHOST" for similar reasons, the whole haunted game thing being so played out and all, but when the player outright mentioned that idea I was less confident. But the idea that it's just what it seems to be on its face, an unnerving game designed to be unnerving, would be a great anti-twist, yeah.
That's my personal theory too, if for no other reason than the haunted game thing being done to death. I feel like Petscop is too original a story to fall back on something that's become a cliche at this point.
Thank you for getting me to know that existed. I love horror and video games. Watching petscop was really fun, as was listening to your analysis. It was pretty cool that they released a new episode the day after you put this out.
Have to say, it's not impossible for Candice to be trapped in the game after it was corrupted, especially if we assume more than one kid is trapped in their, or that the pre-existing corruption itself played some role in Candace's story.
Marvin, Mike and Candace could easily have been trapped at different points in time, and it's easier to explain than to find a different explanation for all the similarities with the Candace Newmaker story (Rebirthing, Newmaker, Tiara, Quitter, remembering being born, etc.)
All I'm saying is, don't rule out the Newmaker story.
Thanks for this one, I've felt your latest videos have been a bit lacking, but you've sure proved me wrong with this. Good job, Nick. Keep it up.
I'm sorry Nick, I'm a big fan of yours and I love your work but I'm going to have to disagree about your views on the Newmaker theory. There are just WAY too many references on what happened for real for it to be a "coincidence". The names Tiara and Newmaker (with Tiara not being a very common name for a girl), the Quitter's Room, talks about rebirthing and being born, and a few others that all happen in the game are things that ALL happened in real life to Candace Newmaker. There are too many things for it to just be a coincidence. I could probably buy into your theory if only one or two things were similar to her but there were way more than two. This ARG is definitely about RAD and abused kids. Although I do agree that this series is not actually about Candace Newmaker, she most certainly inspired it.
What a treat this was! I swear Nick, if you were to narrate a Dr. Seuss book in full, I'd likely be unable to sleep that night. You make everything so eerie and scary, it's a helluva gift!
Say Nick, would you ever consider doing an analysis of Killer 7? A surreal and creepy game like that seems to be right up your alley.
so good. definitely the best coverage of this series so far, especially compared to other people's recent attempts to do so. thank you for making engaging, exciting content with the spook too
Finally! i was wondering when you'd get on this topic!
R4z0r Lol you stole my old profile pic
CygnusProphet everyone had the same pfp
its so nice hearing nick get excited over something like this im glad he loves petscop
NM: I hope it gets mainstream
Me: ooppsss Game Theory made a video... ITS NOW MAINSTREAM
I love how you actually analyze content instead of Spewing it from the wikia's of the content. 🙌🏼🙌🏼👏🏼👏🏼
You're too quick to dismiss the Newmaker connections. There is a lot that was strongly inspired by her story. That doesn't mean it has to be the only thing, though. It probably took inspiration from multiple sources and combined it into the general theme of the game- the abuse of adopted and foster children, and the feeling of being unwanted.
Agreed.
I absolutely love this series. It's so well done and interesting. The Web Series field gained a master piece with this one!
You've gotta make a follow up to this, seeing as Pyrocynical won't deliver
well shit
@@skappitydappity3711 XD
Petscop has gathered so much attention on the Newmaker tragedy, making us aware that this kind of abuse continues today. It's like in Basketball, where someone is playing dirty but the ref isn't watching, so you throw the ball to the person getting fouled (infracted against), forcing the ref to become aware of the abusive play.
is it Pet's cop
or Pet scop?
x3
Temmie Plays!, Likely Pet's Cop because I doubt that the pet is an Anglosaxin Poet.
King Potato987 Scop also means scold or abuse.
I think it's supposed to be Petshop, mis-spelled.
Bewaretheopinions !!!, Really? I can only find its definition for an Anglosaxin Poet.
Is it Pet Smart or Pets Mart
I knew you would do this!
YEAH!
;D Can't wait to watch, waiting for my sis to watch together!
He's finally back
Nick, this video was amazing. A lot of the ideas you presented seemed really accurate and drew some connections others hadn't. Nice job.
To be honest, in my personal opinion, if the story isn't at least intentionally alluding to Candice Newmaker, it's a creepy coincidence. Like, actually real life creepy.
I was so hoping you'd do a video on this, stellar work! You even brought up points I hadn't even thought of yet! Bravo!
You seem to have forgotten that at some point it's written that the mom says 'some child's behaviour are 'beyound rebirth' which seem pretty specific to that Newmaker story. Maybe it's pushing it a lil far, But Candace sound a lot like Canvas, the thing you need to Make a new face on to open her room. Even tho it might not be the main theme, I find it hard to belive the Newmaker story wasn't an inspiration for the creator of the game. Obviously, it's strongly related to the Cat in the Hat story as well as you pointed out, but why not both?.
I'm calling it, this is the project Nick had a hand in. The timelines totally line up.
I think this might be NM's series. Think about it;
-Praises it heavily
-Has said he wants to see a Ben Drowned-esque ARG soon
-Has some very stubborn and passionate opinions here, way more than usual
-Is all for the censored box, which most people are against
I dunno, I think Nick's too clever to hint so strongly that this is his series. He could be doing this to intentionally misdirect us.
I think the references to the Candace Newmaker case are too strong to ignore (especially with the quitters room), but they don't have to mean that the game is ABOUT Candace Newmaker or that it's haunted by her or something dumb like that. I think they're just there to reinforce the general themes of child abuse and the whole rebirthing therapy.
Anyway, great video! You actually put a lot of thought and effort into this, it's not just clickbait like a lot of other game theory channels I could mention. The whole Dr. Seuss connection kind of blew my mind, honestly.
I watched ScareTheater's take on this. Now to watch yours. ;)
Kaiser9321 same
I love the way you explain things in your videos and how its not just from what is given directly and on paper but you also dig deeper and take even the littlest clues, would you ever consider doing a Little Nightmares explanation?
Was there always a star in the title?
Petscop impresses me, not because it's spooky, but because someone decided to write an entire game in order to make a fantastic creepypasta.
I only hope the creator will release the .exe file one day... unless it's just an animation. Then it's just dope.