I like how Harlan wanted to make a game that couldn’t be won, but instead, one that you could “lose better.” I’ve played the game, it’s a masterpiece. I wish there were more game that don’t have “happy endings,” but endings where you “lose better.”
I think Ellion operated under the misunderstanding of believing winning games to be the same as achieving a good ending. That just isn't true, a game is considered 'won' when you complete the main narrative, no matter if the ending is tragic or uplifting. It's fine that he didn't know this, his field of expertise was writing books and not games. It doesn't matter anyways, because IHNMAIMS is still one of the most narratively challenging games of all time and I believe he achieved most of what he wanted to express.
Don't understand all the comments saying HE is crazy or angry. He had a point of view that he expressed clearly and forcefully, and that's rarer and rarer these days.
The dude probably played the Jurassic Park point and click game so I can't say I blame him. Might as well have introduced him to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the NES and told him "this is what video games are."
When Harlan started writing sci-fi stories in his youth, American sci-fi was crap. Literally, turd. And look at his home, it was like a junkyard. So one can observe he was not really repelled by trash, no, not at all, quite the opposite ...
I was a close friend of Harlan’s from 1975 until his death. Underneath his abrasiveness and very sharp delivery, he was a kind and gentle soul. He loved dogs and most children!
Oh you can tell. He's a guy who made peace with his mortality and wanted to cut through the BS to make the most of his time. I'm autistic so I get him. CAN WE GET TO THE POINT ALREADY 😊!
Wisconsin cheese, flavored tampons, the comment on Wolfenstein...this might the most maddening, yet enlightening, interview by Harlan that stimulates the mind with his responses.
I was high on medication when I first encountered gameplay footage of I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream. It disturbed and terrified the crap out of me. I'd like to think if I told Ellison that he would reply, "Good".
In a weird way, I feel like the game Undertale by Toby Fox would have pleased Ellison. It's another game where your morality greatly affects the outcome, and that's a huge portion of what the game play is centered around.
He was alive for three years after it released. Did he play it? Almost certainly not. But it is in the realm of possibility that he could have heard about it, which I find delightful.
Funnily enough, he was right. A game that you cannot win but lose more ...softly or better as he said was a good idea, in fact in today's age it would be a hit and that is why it has gained so much recognition the last 5 years
Yeah, and then Return to Monkey Island comes out that challenges the notion of videogame endings, and 2/3rds of player base bitch about it for months afterwards. 🤷
The full version of this interview might just be the best interview of all time. Even in this chopped-up state it's still so fun to watch and went everywhere and nowhere! Also love this guy working with a medium he didn't like and still commited enough effort to it that it became one of the most profound game of all time.
The fact that he had a hand in the game makes me want to play it now. I originally thought some company was just profiting off of one of the most popular short stories of all time without consulting the author.
He's absolutely right about books in saying that they are interactive. With the book, the onus of time is on you, the onus of visualizing things is on you, but you're rewarded because you have to put forth effort.
Personally I think that Harlan just started digressing and ranting at some points and editors picked some of the juicer bits and added titles before those as if those were questions.
Years later, this game holds up as one of the most shocking. I wish he got to make it exactly how he wanted, but at least the good ending is really hard to get.
@@jesusgonzales9403 you have to use your imagination with a book. Some old games, pc games mostly, required you to use your head, but it’s a rare thing nowadays. Games like botw and elden ring are decent, but most are a waste of time.
I just discovered this author and everything he says is pure gold to me I could listen to him forever. The game great and the book is amazing. Just learned about him but love everything so far
Say this about Mr Ellison...he wasn't boring. He was abrasive and in your face...but he was a very talented writer. Surprisingly few of his works have translated into other media in relation to his contemporaries, like Bradbury, Dick, or Asimov...just to name a few examples.
Ellison sounds very much like a mad man. He sounds like he is always angry and frustrated at something he cannot (or can) tell. Maybe that’s one of the factors behind his nihilism and cynicism.
@Fuzzy McBabyHead Blunt people have it rough dog. I'm not exactly in the same boat as my personality is different but my "frankness" and forward way of approach cuases confusion with people who don't know me well and so I get called similar names.
You will find people who live on the edge of madness have very high interlect and IQ... There brain is hard wired different that makes them to the masses look Mad
Tho i disagree with him about video games being trash, but i respect every word out of him. I see why he lived so long, not a second did that fire fade.
Love him or Hate him - He made a lot of great stuff, from sci-fi stories to how he thinks, which is usually on full display. You always know where he stands and tells it like it is. I'd rather talk to someone that tells you exactly what they think of you, even if we agree to disagree, then so lots of others like the typical YES MAN or NO MAAM (Al Bundy for President!) that just pretend to be nice and act helpful when they certainly are not. You know, the ones who smile in front of you and then talk behind your back and laugh at you. Not this guy. Also, if anyone is a Star Trek fan, he wrote one of the best episodes from the original series. "City on the Edge of Forever." So he can imagine and write some amazing stories, from the heart or even pain, like he says. He's pulled from some very personal things for that. As a fellow writer, I can certainly agree from that. One of the best guides in Writing is "Write what you know" and let the Genre and Medium come later. What type of story are you going to tell? The rest can develop around it, like a character in its own right. Also, if you have read the short story or listened to the audio book 1st and then play the game, its really something deep and philisophical, shocking but stays with you, beautiful and yet tragic. Very deep stuff in the game and especially after reading (or listening) to the original story, it really connects. Both the audio book and some play-thrus for the game are here on youtube. The short story is only about 30 minutes or so? But its worth it. Then go check the game out. There are ones with or without commentary, your choice. You'll certainly walk away, as he has said, with something on your mind and something to think about.
Thank you for describing him much more eloquently than I could have. He was just who he was and expected everyone else to be who they were. If you didn't then too bad for you, life is too short and I think Ellison just did not suffer fools. In any case the proof is in the pudding. Read his work not his personality. Reading Ellison brings your level of Sci Fi quality taste to a pinnacle. After that a lot of the Sci Fi on the screen or paper will become mediocre in your mind. Be warned.
I really wish Ellison would have been in charge of more games other than this one. A dude with such a chip on his shoulder against the medium would have been extremely fascinating to see make the games he wants to make.
To anyone upset about the editing on this video: the I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream strategy guide has a more extensive interview (possibly a longer version of this exact one? Unsure though.) It can be found on the internet archive, right at the end of the book
i like at 9:07 he has friendship, but you can tell by his tone and wording that he almost regrets it and tries to make it sound more mature by using words like “brutality” and “degeneracy”
RIP. This short story was disturbing but excellent. You can sort of tell it was written in one night though. Lol about the game too, imagine if the only option was being turned into a slimy, featureless monster. Existential torture.
@@ohitsstar1241 in principle yes, but he goes a little too hard on the violent video games are turning kids into violent psychopaths lol. People said the same thing about books, movies and comics too. Honestly I think Harlan was so outspoken that his points could sometimes contradict previous things he said. Which is fine, we all do it. I admire his confidence in what he says at the end of the day. This man did not give a fuck what other people thought.
It is art, deal with it. Art can be literally anything. The only attack you antis have is gatekeeping which will inevitably fail. You lot tried to gatekeep photographers in the 1800s saying 'it's too easy! it's not real art!!!!!'. Losers.
I think he would've enjoyed the genre of point 'n click adventure games which I suppose his game fits in. I think he was a case of a person of an older generation who simply had not much contact with videogames and became disinterested in them due to what was popular at the time.
The Terminator and Fallout franchises wouldn’t exist without this guy, kinda sad that he almost certainly wouldn’t be able to appreciate them but it makes sense, he was from a different era
You know, reading this short story for the first time has deeply changed my view on immortality and death and helped me to understand the silliness of a afterlife according to the world's largest religions. Our mind isn't suited to comprehend large numbers, let alone an eternal existence beyond the grave in a place where the conception of time ends, or worse, is backed up by endless tortures. Continuing to exist without knowing what do next or if there will be an "after" is pointless, if not utterly terrifying. Especially after finding out Ted's ultimate date, I'd rather welcome death as an old friend" and accept eternal oblivion than taking my chances and risking to end up in "I have no mouth and I must scream" scenarios 🐌😱. Would you do the same?
Definitely. Although I've heard a lot of religious people claim that it is your "soul" that goes on to live forever, which may imply that it's not your human mind or personality that continues into the afterlife, but some other aspect of you. So maybe it wouldn't be so bad to live forever as long as you, as a creature, were altered heavily enough to be able to live like that, with only some essential aspect of you being the constant feature throughout your eternal life - like how you don't die with the same atoms you're born with. The atoms simply form into the shape of you and are shed and replaced constantly. Maybe this life is just one form that the eternal "soul" takes. I don't think that's the case, but it's an interesting idea
This interview is so different from most interviews I've watched for anything in general. Alot of things in this interview are actually educational outside the context of IHNMAIMS, or are at least something that makes you think. It's not "Hello person, how's your day?" "How did you enjoy your role in x movie and was it hard?". No, this interview is rigid, difficult to digest, and educated. I love this so much and I wish interviewees nowadays had minds like this.
Hey Guys, im a new Ellison fan, always more of a Stephen King and Shaun Hudson fan previously but i came across this guys name when searching for post apocalyptic material and i watch A boy and his Dog, loved it and then went on to read the short story which i loved more because of how much darker it came off. i heard his name connected to The Terminator (which i still need to resereach) and through out my life i always heard the phrase "I have no mouth and i must scream" which led me hear, looking forward to this Ellison journey.
Jefty is Five, A powerful, surprising story from him. He also wrote one of the most beloved Star Trek’s of all time that also happened to involve time travelers from the future fixing the past so that the future can exist. Hey where have I heard that before? Oh yeah that James Cameron movie...
Research his works. He is one of the best if not best Sci Fi writers. If you like more tha just robots and starships etc. and like Sci Fi that makes you think then you find one of the best at that genre. Many others out there especially from his era.
@@reginaldforthright805 what a totally ignorant comment. Ellison would have tore you to shreds intellectually. Obviously you were too busy playing video games all day and night and you could not be bothered looking at his bibliography. Do you even know what a bibliography is? How is your reading skill? What maybe at the level of a 3rd grader? Don't bother reading him then you would not understand. Wait until your brain cells grow a bit more and then maybe you will get his writings. Go away and go play your video games or read your comic books now.
@@reginaldforthright805 The nazis were far right, there's really no argument to be had here, the literal only argument you could make is "the nazis had the word 'socialist' in their name, therefore they're leftists." There isn't anything you could really point to that the nazis actually did that is in line with them being far left. They even sought out and killed socialists and communists. So I don't really understand why you would think that they're far left unless you're only looking at the name "national socialist."
I understand what H.E. wanted from the game. And i think it would have still worked. But having the "moon" ending was a good compromise. It doesn't lose its soul with a "good ending".
Having a good ending to IHNMAIMS, the most hopeless and depressing story in the world,makes no sense. And even if you get to the "moon people are dead" option they just go back to life in the good ending like nothing happened. They should've embraced Ellison's approach of making the game unwinnable, I personally would've appreciated it much more for that.
I love how the interview all of a sudden diagressed into talking about Oj Simpson and cheese and fashion for seemingly no reason.
can't say i was expecting the creator of some of the most horrific and bleakest stories ever to drop a "yo mama" joke in middle of a sentence
He also wrote some of the best light humor stories !
I like how Harlan wanted to make a game that couldn’t be won, but instead, one that you could “lose better.” I’ve played the game, it’s a masterpiece. I wish there were more game that don’t have “happy endings,” but endings where you “lose better.”
I think Ellion operated under the misunderstanding of believing winning games to be the same as achieving a good ending. That just isn't true, a game is considered 'won' when you complete the main narrative, no matter if the ending is tragic or uplifting.
It's fine that he didn't know this, his field of expertise was writing books and not games. It doesn't matter anyways, because IHNMAIMS is still one of the most narratively challenging games of all time and I believe he achieved most of what he wanted to express.
Cry of Fear fits the bill for "losing better" endings
Cyberpunk
Dwarf Fortress, Losing is Fun!
bloodborne
Don't understand all the comments saying HE is crazy or angry. He had a point of view that he expressed clearly and forcefully, and that's rarer and rarer these days.
God forbid a creative person is passionate or particular.
Well he channelled his anger into creative literature, art. I channel my anger into dreams.
exactly. even if you don’t agree with his sentiment, it’s admirable. and look at all of his amazing works.
It’s just people having fun, get that stick out of your ass, please and thank you with sugar on top.
I love how he thought video games were trash but he still worked on one.
They were trash back then.
Like the creator of The Witcher. And then he changed his mind, and was in full support of the show
Props to him though, he tried more than others did to get into gaming by actually making one, he's earned the right to say he doesn't like 'em
The dude probably played the Jurassic Park point and click game so I can't say I blame him. Might as well have introduced him to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the NES and told him "this is what video games are."
When Harlan started writing sci-fi stories in his youth, American sci-fi was crap. Literally, turd. And look at his home, it was like a junkyard. So one can observe he was not really repelled by trash, no, not at all, quite the opposite ...
He sounds mean at times yet very passionate,it's interesting to listen him speak.
I was a close friend of Harlan’s from 1975 until his death. Underneath his abrasiveness and very sharp delivery, he was a kind and gentle soul. He loved dogs and most children!
Most?
most is a good caveat - anyone that says they love “all” anything - is probably being disingenuous
@@predeterminedmeat5024some kids can be malicious and must be dealt with in self defense
He had to have known most "KKK" and "far-right" people are actually FBI informants. This is so fake.
Oh you can tell. He's a guy who made peace with his mortality and wanted to cut through the BS to make the most of his time. I'm autistic so I get him. CAN WE GET TO THE POINT ALREADY 😊!
I understand his hatred of video games at the time. He was just ahead of the curve. He would love Metal Gear, Dark Souls, etc.
The poor guy was forced to sit through the god damned point and click jurassic park game. I would hate life if I was forced to experience that.
Oh shit, Dark souls is probably the closest thing he is describing. The only thing he'll probably say is how it's too flashy
@@TheAlbinoBaskervilleI’m not disagreeing with you but why would he like dark souls
He's so passionate, it's such an interesting to listen to his point of view.
Hearing Ellison exclaim, "Yo mamma!" made my day.
I would like the comment but the it's at 69. So
Parts of this interview crack me up - I love how he hated video games, yet created a masterpiece one.
"Why do a computer game based on no mouth?"
"Well STUPID, because somebody asked me to do it"
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Intervewer: "Understandable, have a good day, sir."
His comment about upsetting parents' groups is one of the most based things I've ever heard.
You will always be immortalized to me as AM himself.
Wisconsin cheese, flavored tampons, the comment on Wolfenstein...this might the most maddening, yet enlightening, interview by Harlan that stimulates the mind with his responses.
@@ShinGarugamesh "AI still exactly the same as 30 years ago" go back to the 90s and try using a deep learning AI, my guy... you are wrong
Love how he gives such a detailed and passionate description of why there is cheese in Wisconsin.
I was high on medication when I first encountered gameplay footage of I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream. It disturbed and terrified the crap out of me. I'd like to think if I told Ellison that he would reply, "Good".
In a weird way, I feel like the game Undertale by Toby Fox would have pleased Ellison. It's another game where your morality greatly affects the outcome, and that's a huge portion of what the game play is centered around.
He was alive for three years after it released. Did he play it? Almost certainly not. But it is in the realm of possibility that he could have heard about it, which I find delightful.
He would hate its cloying message about morality in a world of literal monsters. But then again he loved the holocaust.
This dude is my favorite boomer.
He is getting a boomer pass from me
Actually Harlan was Silent Gen
He's cool af
I'll never understand why you guys call people boomers. Its honestly just cringe
@@pmc4life use your head.
Funnily enough, he was right. A game that you cannot win but lose more ...softly or better as he said was a good idea, in fact in today's age it would be a hit and that is why it has gained so much recognition the last 5 years
Yeah, and then Return to Monkey Island comes out that challenges the notion of videogame endings, and 2/3rds of player base bitch about it for months afterwards. 🤷
The full version of this interview might just be the best interview of all time. Even in this chopped-up state it's still so fun to watch and went everywhere and nowhere!
Also love this guy working with a medium he didn't like and still commited enough effort to it that it became one of the most profound game of all time.
From malevolent AI to Wisconsin cheese. Harlan Ellison is the very definition of profound insanity
The fact that he had a hand in the game makes me want to play it now. I originally thought some company was just profiting off of one of the most popular short stories of all time without consulting the author.
I'm glad he didn't let them even think about the sequel
He's absolutely right about books in saying that they are interactive. With the book, the onus of time is on you, the onus of visualizing things is on you, but you're rewarded because you have to put forth effort.
I just want to see the raw footage so bad. I'm just enthralled listening to him speak.
7:22 hearing AM say Donkey Kong is so fucking unreal
They even got a question in about the OJ trial... this is probably one of the most insane interviews I've ever seen! LOLOL
Personally I think that Harlan just started digressing and ranting at some points and editors picked some of the juicer bits and added titles before those as if those were questions.
Bro 💀 and I love the question about cheese in Wisconsin. Bro goes IN on it
"Wolfenstein is absolutely demented" - the guy who wrote I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream
How the hell did they go from describing characters to asking him if oj did it😂😂😂
and then cheese 😭
So tell us about the character Gorrister
- No
Now I wanna play this game. I was putting it off cause it kept weirding me out. Rest in peace Harlan.
I'm about halfway thorough it right now and it really is a wonderfully unique game in a good way.
hYBRYDcOBRA Oh cool thanks.
Bogdan Gordin np bro
At the very least watch someone play it. It is truly art.
listen to the audiobook first it's on youtube and it's only 40 minutes.
Years later, this game holds up as one of the most shocking. I wish he got to make it exactly how he wanted, but at least the good ending is really hard to get.
Indeed. Especially if you want to get the good ending with someone that isn’t nimdok
"What better fun is there than to frustrate game players?" We have this man to blame for roguelites.
I wish they didn't keep cutting off his replies.
"Raspberry flavored tampons" lol
This man is now my favorite person now,
Interesting how he mentioned the old Wolfenstein, because Wolfenstein 2 was very story based. Really shows the evolution.
👏👏👏
Making a game "story based" doesnt make the writing good or any less a waste of time
@@bigboysdotcom745 how is playing a game any more of a waste of time then reading a book?
@@jesusgonzales9403 you have to use your imagination with a book. Some old games, pc games mostly, required you to use your head, but it’s a rare thing nowadays. Games like botw and elden ring are decent, but most are a waste of time.
This guy has so much rage lmao
I just discovered this author and everything he says is pure gold to me I could listen to him forever. The game great and the book is amazing. Just learned about him but love everything so far
the way hes complaining about turned baseball caps, someting about it resonated with me
Say this about Mr Ellison...he wasn't boring.
He was abrasive and in your face...but he was a very talented writer. Surprisingly few of his works have translated into other media in relation to his contemporaries, like Bradbury, Dick, or Asimov...just to name a few examples.
Finally, I know why they produce cheese in Wisconsin.
I'm grateful I found his story suggested by someone on the comment section. He's so real. I love the way he answers the questions.
"What can you say about the character of Gorrister?" "Idk." Love this man.
Ellison sounds very much like a mad man. He sounds like he is always angry and frustrated at something he cannot (or can) tell. Maybe that’s one of the factors behind his nihilism and cynicism.
Almost like AM lol
@Fuzzy McBabyHead
Blunt people have it rough dog. I'm not exactly in the same boat as my personality is different but my "frankness" and forward way of approach cuases confusion with people who don't know me well and so I get called similar names.
Yuuuup
You will find people who live on the edge of madness have very high interlect and IQ... There brain is hard wired different that makes them to the masses look Mad
PerrySport no bro. We’re not crying bc we can’t endure your righteous fortitude... you’re just an ass 😂😂
Oof.. Listening to this interview without reading the interviewer cards is like having a late night conversation with my alcoholic father.
Ellison is constantly at 11 LOL
HARLAN COME BACK, PLEASE COME BACK!
Tho i disagree with him about video games being trash, but i respect every word out of him. I see why he lived so long, not a second did that fire fade.
Love him or Hate him - He made a lot of great stuff, from sci-fi stories to how he thinks, which is usually on full display. You always know where he stands and tells it like it is. I'd rather talk to someone that tells you exactly what they think of you, even if we agree to disagree, then so lots of others like the typical YES MAN or NO MAAM (Al Bundy for President!) that just pretend to be nice and act helpful when they certainly are not. You know, the ones who smile in front of you and then talk behind your back and laugh at you. Not this guy.
Also, if anyone is a Star Trek fan, he wrote one of the best episodes from the original series. "City on the Edge of Forever." So he can imagine and write some amazing stories, from the heart or even pain, like he says. He's pulled from some very personal things for that.
As a fellow writer, I can certainly agree from that. One of the best guides in Writing is "Write what you know" and let the Genre and Medium come later. What type of story are you going to tell? The rest can develop around it, like a character in its own right.
Also, if you have read the short story or listened to the audio book 1st and then play the game, its really something deep and philisophical, shocking but stays with you, beautiful and yet tragic. Very deep stuff in the game and especially after reading (or listening) to the original story, it really connects. Both the audio book and some play-thrus for the game are here on youtube. The short story is only about 30 minutes or so? But its worth it. Then go check the game out. There are ones with or without commentary, your choice.
You'll certainly walk away, as he has said, with something on your mind and something to think about.
Thank you for describing him much more eloquently than I could have. He was just who he was and expected everyone else to be who they were. If you didn't then too bad for you, life is too short and I think Ellison just did not suffer fools. In any case the proof is in the pudding. Read his work not his personality. Reading Ellison brings your level of Sci Fi quality taste to a pinnacle. After that a lot of the Sci Fi on the screen or paper will become mediocre in your mind. Be warned.
“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.”
― Franz Kafka
I really wish Ellison would have been in charge of more games other than this one. A dude with such a chip on his shoulder against the medium would have been extremely fascinating to see make the games he wants to make.
To anyone upset about the editing on this video: the I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream strategy guide has a more extensive interview (possibly a longer version of this exact one? Unsure though.) It can be found on the internet archive, right at the end of the book
4:14 I did not expect this much sass to come from the man who wrote what he wrote xD
I really wish there was more interviews, this guy is an awesome character
Check out the documentary "Dreams With Sharp Teeth" if you haven't already.
guy is just a jerk
@@smart422 he's arrogant for sure and kinda rude, but I find him quite fascinating.
@@smart422 his honesty arrogant or not may save the world one day.
I love and fear this man.
i like at 9:07 he has friendship, but you can tell by his tone and wording that he almost regrets it and tries to make it sound more mature by using words like “brutality” and “degeneracy”
Man, this interview is simply delightful! The whole backwards cap mumble could be a Seinfeld routine.
brother was yapping so much every question was answered with a deep breath the editior was fighting him lol
Ellison was one of the most gifted sci fi writers but has the most pretentious and abrasive personality.
He seems kind of snobby, but from what I've seen, he's not a terrible person, which is good, I guess.
Nvm he fucking sucks goddamn
@@funnylittlecreature After watching the interview, I don't think so. But he was quite rude tho.
He's just aggressive and brash like Quentin Tarantino
He was protecting his creation as far as I can tell. Nothing wrong with being opinionated
Rest in peace, Harlan. Watching this video now almost makes me tear up. He was a truly unique writer and person.
Love these answers, high respect for this man
RIP. This short story was disturbing but excellent. You can sort of tell it was written in one night though. Lol about the game too, imagine if the only option was being turned into a slimy, featureless monster. Existential torture.
This man is incredible. Thank you so much for this video.
Such an incredible idea for a short story, and executed so brilliantly. One of, if not THE greatest science fiction short story ever.
Harlan Ellison is definitely a writer that grounds his audience even with his views on the world we live in
I've never seen a man so simultaneously based and intelligent while also missing the target.
Where does he miss the target specifically?
@@ohitsstar1241 Very archaic thoughts on video games lol. He’s one of my favourite authors and I love the man but can’t say I agree with him.
@@RickySteels he takes it to the extreme yeah, but in principle he makes a few good points.
@@ohitsstar1241 in principle yes, but he goes a little too hard on the violent video games are turning kids into violent psychopaths lol. People said the same thing about books, movies and comics too. Honestly I think Harlan was so outspoken that his points could sometimes contradict previous things he said. Which is fine, we all do it. I admire his confidence in what he says at the end of the day. This man did not give a fuck what other people thought.
@@RickySteels yeah exactly
Harlan Jay Ellison May 27, 1934 - June 28, 2018
7:31
I am quoting this when people defend AI generated pictures as 'art.'
It is art, deal with it. Art can be literally anything. The only attack you antis have is gatekeeping which will inevitably fail. You lot tried to gatekeep photographers in the 1800s saying 'it's too easy! it's not real art!!!!!'.
Losers.
BRRRROOOO W Harlan Ellison
Harlan ellison is Guy that is basic the internet before the internet thing
This dudes quote about the nature of a game is great in hindsight with how far video games have become
I think Harlan Ellison would like Planescape Torment, Disco Elysieum, Pathologic 2. and other titles like them.
I was thinking the same thing
For sure BioShock, tell tale games, a lot of ethics games.
6:38, well we learned he likes to punch typewriters.
I think he would've enjoyed the genre of point 'n click adventure games which I suppose his game fits in. I think he was a case of a person of an older generation who simply had not much contact with videogames and became disinterested in them due to what was popular at the time.
A true free thinker. Viewpoints i wouldnt necessarily agree with, but viewpoints that are very respectable
One of the best book's I ever read!
The Terminator and Fallout franchises wouldn’t exist without this guy, kinda sad that he almost certainly wouldn’t be able to appreciate them but it makes sense, he was from a different era
This guy has such a goddamn amazing voice. Gives me Brain vibes from Animaniacs
Is the longer interview on youtube? What a brilliant guy.
You know, reading this short story for the first time has deeply changed my view on immortality and death and helped me to understand the silliness of a afterlife according to the world's largest religions. Our mind isn't suited to comprehend large numbers, let alone an eternal existence beyond the grave in a place where the conception of time ends, or worse, is backed up by endless tortures. Continuing to exist without knowing what do next or if there will be an "after" is pointless, if not utterly terrifying. Especially after finding out Ted's ultimate date, I'd rather welcome death as an old friend" and accept eternal oblivion than taking my chances and risking to end up in "I have no mouth and I must scream" scenarios 🐌😱. Would you do the same?
Definitely. Although I've heard a lot of religious people claim that it is your "soul" that goes on to live forever, which may imply that it's not your human mind or personality that continues into the afterlife, but some other aspect of you. So maybe it wouldn't be so bad to live forever as long as you, as a creature, were altered heavily enough to be able to live like that, with only some essential aspect of you being the constant feature throughout your eternal life - like how you don't die with the same atoms you're born with. The atoms simply form into the shape of you and are shed and replaced constantly. Maybe this life is just one form that the eternal "soul" takes. I don't think that's the case, but it's an interesting idea
I think a better question would have been, do you write to shock and by extension make your audience think, rather than just for shock value?
Yeeees
This interview is so different from most interviews I've watched for anything in general. Alot of things in this interview are actually educational outside the context of IHNMAIMS, or are at least something that makes you think. It's not "Hello person, how's your day?" "How did you enjoy your role in x movie and was it hard?". No, this interview is rigid, difficult to digest, and educated. I love this so much and I wish interviewees nowadays had minds like this.
Thank you for this interview so much!
I read 4 or 5 books a week and do not play video games and Ellison did shock me as a teenager and I have read it all since
"Wolfensteen"
Almost got it right!
Hey Guys, im a new Ellison fan, always more of a Stephen King and Shaun Hudson fan previously but i came across this guys name when searching for post apocalyptic material and i watch A boy and his Dog, loved it and then went on to read the short story which i loved more because of how much darker it came off. i heard his name connected to The Terminator (which i still need to resereach) and through out my life i always heard the phrase "I have no mouth and i must scream" which led me hear, looking forward to this Ellison journey.
Jefty is Five,
A powerful, surprising story from him.
He also wrote one of the most beloved Star Trek’s of all time that also happened to involve time travelers from the future fixing the past so that the future can exist.
Hey where have I heard that before? Oh yeah that James Cameron movie...
Research his works. He is one of the best if not best Sci Fi writers. If you like more tha just robots and starships etc. and like Sci Fi that makes you think then you find one of the best at that genre. Many others out there especially from his era.
@@jimlabos how good of a writer can he be if he didn’t write novels?
@@reginaldforthright805 what a totally ignorant comment. Ellison would have tore you to shreds intellectually. Obviously you were too busy playing video games all day and night and you could not be bothered looking at his bibliography. Do you even know what a bibliography is? How is your reading skill? What maybe at the level of a 3rd grader? Don't bother reading him then you would not understand. Wait until your brain cells grow a bit more and then maybe you will get his writings.
Go away and go play your video games or read your comic books now.
3:04 *_”b u u h”_*
i would sell my kidney to spend 15 minutes with harlan
They clearly never played dwarf fortress at that time.
3:01 made my night "Duuhhh."
damn besides his intellect hes very passive aggressive in a nice way. rip. and also kinda attractive
This guy has great political takes but bad gaming takes lol. Best boomer, fucking awesome writer
He seems a little overly focused on the “far right,” and can’t get over the Holocaust, even though the nazis were far left 🤷♂️
@@reginaldforthright805 The nazis were far right, there's really no argument to be had here, the literal only argument you could make is "the nazis had the word 'socialist' in their name, therefore they're leftists." There isn't anything you could really point to that the nazis actually did that is in line with them being far left. They even sought out and killed socialists and communists. So I don't really understand why you would think that they're far left unless you're only looking at the name "national socialist."
@@reginaldforthright805 lmao sure and the Chinese are socialists
@@reginaldforthright805How in the ever loving shit were the Nazis far left?
@@reginaldforthright805 Grow up, Fascism is inheritly far right.
8:35 Hit the nail on the head with that one
If Ellison could have seen Ancestors, the human kind odyssey, he would have said "okay I may have been a tiny bit wrong
Bro wanted the first dark souls
i guess he got what he wanted in terms of games with morals, storytelling and requirement of thought and not just power fantasies
Imagine how netflix would messed with the book if they adapted it
It's 13 pages long. It's a short story, not a book.
@@dosnostalgic wouldn't stop netflix
Fucking Harlan, you're as crazy as I imagined you.
Good stuff
This guys would have loved half-life.
Love this interview
I understand what H.E. wanted from the game. And i think it would have still worked. But having the "moon" ending was a good compromise. It doesn't lose its soul with a "good ending".
Having a good ending to IHNMAIMS, the most hopeless and depressing story in the world,makes no sense.
And even if you get to the "moon people are dead" option they just go back to life in the good ending like nothing happened.
They should've embraced Ellison's approach of making the game unwinnable, I personally would've appreciated it much more for that.