I thought I clicked on a video with hundreds of thousands of likes, i'm literally halfway through, only to scroll to the comments to see that you are very underrated. keep up the high quality content man.
@@kaistroup6898 ooo i'll have to check that game out. it's funny, i actually had a bit about cry of fear in here but cut it for time. the sewer bits are suuuuuper liminal imo + it's a source game lol
@@sorbino_ true, I think you'd really enjoy lost in vivo, its a fantastic game, using the classic ps1 graphics for an unsettling vibe, plus it has a great story. It's on steam
@Xxaphius everyone’s got different tastes 🤷🏾♀️ some people like games like superliminal, others would rather play something like call of duty or halo. I like really experimental, unique games
I'd say Portal is the perfect liminal space. You never see a single person apart from yourself for the whole game, yet you see the windows behind which they should be. That's why Portal is far scarier than something like Half-Life, even though it shouldn't, taken the backstory.
True, Portal follows the traditional description of Liminal Spaces because you use Portals to transition from one area to the next even if it's just in the same room. 2/3 of the way into the game you even escape to backroom areas after Glados totally tries to murder you.
Portal and Portal 2 are still insane to me. I feel like in 100 years we will still be questioning just how the hell Valve *did that.* I mean, even Valve itself is considered one of the most mysterious companies in the world, it's just downright fascinating.
It’s weird. I live in The Netherlands so I didn’t went to schools like that and malls like that, but they still feel very familiar. Liminal spaces are something different.
I'm also from the Netherlands, and I think it might be because a lot of media here is still from America. Cartoons, games, movies, etc. I might not have gone to a school that looks like that, but Ned Bigby did, and so did Phil Eggtree.
Well, i can actually imagine some 'liminal spaces' located here. Altough it's outside, all the typical dutch neighbourhoods look the same with all the 'row houses'. Everyone in the netherlands know environments like that. Or you could imagine being in an endless polder landscape with empty villages everywhere. Also some schools (especially elementary) look really simaler, altough not as much as in the US. I can also imagine a endless 'Bijlmer' like space. In some way it might be really interesting to have liminal spaces derived from spaces outside the US as well, there are so many spaces like this!
@Axel Maas only liminal space I've experienced myself here in the Netherlands was at like 3~4am right outside where I used to live. I lived next to a highway with a very busy road going under it. From like 5~6 am to 3~4 am there would always be something. Be it pedestrians, cyclists, or cars. But for a short hour or two it would often be completely devoid of any traffic. The only sound you'd hear was the ticking of the pedestrian and bicycle stop lights. It gave a very eerie, yet at the same time calming feeling.
Hey fellow Nederlander. I can relate. They feel incredibly familiar and/or comfortable. They're not creepy to me, rather places I'd love to visit. If you're ever in Rotterdam and looking for a really great liminal space, visit metro station Blijdorp. It's amazing when it's quiet.
I live in France, and none of the numerous liminal spaces I've seen in my journey through Internet have given me a sense of nostalgia. So they're not really "something different" to me, but I still enjoy their eery feeling.
Just a place that looks ''off'' I just cannot agree that that is the defenition of liminal space, because it's very vague. I study architecture and architectural engineering and we have a word for these spaces: traffic spaces. Not for cars usually, but for people on foot most of the time. It's the spaces in between places that you need to move through in order to get to the more fun places. Or actually the places that you're ''supposed to be in''. Naturally when designing buildings, the places where you'd spend less time in are less well lit, and there hasn't been put in so much effort as in the spaces you spend a lot longer in. That's why they can feel creepy, especially at night. But also nostalgic because people walk through these spaces hundreds of times in their life. Seeing them devoid of people only adds to the creepyness and indeed can feel like another dimension at times. They might feel ''unfinished'' while they are designed like that for a reason. A space therefore cannot neccessarily be called liminal, if it's just ''unfinished''. And when they are finished like the dining room of your favourite restaurant for example, devoid of people and at night when the lights are off cannot be called liminal space. Off? creepy? sure, but not liminal. An actual office room outfitted with desks and computers isn't liminal. The hallway with vending machines, waiting couches and elevators, is. Almost every hallway and room in a metro station for example is liminal space, except the table area of the small coffeshop inside. Liminal spaces are unavoidable in large buildings and they only get bigger in larger buildings like malls, hospitals and schools. But the reason videogames are even heavier on them in my view is that a LOT of games are constructed around the idea to go from place a to b to c etc. Naturally creating liminality.
Man this video was so good, I always feel nostalgic and relaxed with liminal spaces. I'm one of the people who hasn't really perceived it as something creepy, either due to its uncanniness and whatnot. The one single liminal space picture that gets me is the one from 3:15. I've never been in a mall like this before, but i've DREAMT of this place, before I ever encountered the picture. You can guess how I felt. A deja vu but it was real it was such a weird feeeling
i actually just watched both of solar sands liminal spaces vids and now youtube gave me this. i adore liminal spaces in games when done "right" what i mean by right is getting that perfect sense of being full of everything and devoid of anything at the same time the infinite space and the voids of nothing it gives off a certain sense hard to describe but you know the feeling when you get it
okay i'm watching this video and i have to say i really enjoy it a lot. this is a fantastic analysis of liminal spaces. however, one key thing i think you never ended up quite saying directly (instead being like 'you'll know it when you see it') about liminal spaces that i believe is important is: they are designed for humans, and they are empty. that's the key thing, to me, that really makes liminal spaces weird. it's not just the weird lighting or the design of the floor itself, though i won't deny the uncanny valley definitely has something to do with it, it's the fact that these are big open rooms built by human hands for human people in some way, shape, or form. they are designed to hold lots of people, or to transition people from one place to another, but either way the point is that they are meant for people. they were designed to be (at least somewhat) inviting, friendly, and i believe that we tend to subconsciously pick up on that. or consciously, in my case. either way, we are instinctually aware that these spaces are supposed to be full of people. but they are empty. there is no one there. they have been abandoned, left behind, lost in time, and so they are unnerving because they should not be empty. there is a sort of danger that pops up in the back of our minds, i think, when we look at these spaces. a warning of sorts. we are not welcome here, because there is no one else here with us in this space. there should be, but there isn't, and there's something terribly, uniquely wrong about that quality. it's a sense of loneliness, a quiet fear from our monkey brains of being truly alone, a sense of - loss, too. because those people that were here are gone. all that's left is the crust that they made, the empty shelves and the endless halls. this is also why, i think, you especially pointed out the source games as being liminal spaces, particularly at around 6:20. because to me, the gmod maps do not read as liminal spaces. spaces, yes, but many of them are not liminal to me. i do not have past experience with gmod multiplayer. however, they are to you, because you have the preexisting expectation of other people, and so when you no longer have the possibility of those people do you personally feel the emptiness, the liminality of that space. tl:dr: i believe what makes a liminal space liminal is, fundamentally, loneliness. or this could just be me being hopelessly poetic. perhaps i myself will make a video essay on these spaces someday. who knows!
I came to this video from searching "Stanley parable liminal space". I think the most liminal moment in the game was the escape pod ending. Also, I think games like The Beginners Guide and Superliminal are important games in this context.
This was a really great video! Loved all the edits and the mix of humour and storytelling with the great edits to boot. I’ve always been interested in The Stanley Parable, I remember thinking about making a video about the “horror” of the Stanley Parable a couple of years ago, that feeling of uncanny-ness, and how there’s a lot of potential to push a (potentially horror/existentialist) story forward. I know other examples that come to mind include Tenet, Omori, The Beginners Guide etc. There are also a lot of Euclidean concepts appearing in modern games such as Outer Wilds, puzzle games like Maquette and many others. I think you did a really good job covering both Liminal spaces as an idea and as a concept that people connect with. I hope your video blows up with the once again recent popularity of some liminal space like posts. I’ll make sure to watch your other vids and keep watching whatever content you make in the future! I can definitely see your channel growing, so good luck with it!
thank you for the kind words!! i think the stanley parable leans into that existential horror at points-the ending with the fake apartment and the confusion ending come to mind. i hadn't thought about the outer wilds as liminal/euclidean horror, but i definitely see it with the constantly-shifting solar system and structure of dark bramble/the ash twins. that'd be a really interesting topic to explore!
And no I don’t mean backroom games, I want games that don’t have monsters no jumpscares or scary elements. Just you in liminal spaces finding new locations and chilling in these liminal and very nostalgic spaces
I know this video is old, but I recommend checking "A beginner's guide" out as well, it's a game from developers of stanley's parable and has even more liminality in it.
Although this may not be the first game that comes to mind when thinking of liminal spaces, I really have to mention Gone Home. The entire story takes place in a house and all the family members are gone while a storm rages outside. Piecing together the narrative all the while wondering if there's something around the corner was such a great way of creating atmosphere. Even though it's just an empty house, it still feels really off, most likely there's so many personal items scattered about.
oh man, i haven't thought about that game in years - so much of the discussion around that game got poisoned by gamergate lol. but i totally agree with you! it feels liminal in that nostalgic, meme culture-y way. it feels like people used to live there, but decay and abandonment haven't totally suffused the house yet
@@sorbino_ I think the best part of the experience for me was going into it blind. I wasn't sure if it was a walking sim or a horror game - and the fake out when the lights go out as you pick up the crucifix - sooooo effective
Liminal spaces is a new concept for me. It's less about nostalgia or video games for me, and more about the environments in my dreams. Very often I'm entering some empty skyscraper at night, just exploring the empty hallways office spaces.
What a fantastic video! I've been intrigued by liminal spaces for a while now, and your breakdown fed that intrigue perfectly. You're a great speaker. I hope you channel grows.
I think a great example of Liminal Space in movies is in The Truman Show when Truman opens the elevator doors to find theres a set behind there, like he noclipped out of reality and saw the behind the scenes of how our world operates. It really encapsulates the feeling of just for a moment seeing the simulation go into power saving mode.
Hello.. I'm halfway through this video and I relate heavily to everything about this topic. At around 11:00 mark when Minecraft backrooms came in, It reminded of my world similar to that one. I've explored the liminal term and it's something I feel as though it's a part of my mind, that feeling the images instill on you. Edit: I finished the video. It was really good, it made me feeling things, especially the part about liminal spaces becoming a reality(?) (I'm bad with putting words together but) I really like this video and you, by the end that last sentence makes me want to continue building my liminal space backrooms-esque map in Minecraft
it blew my mind to read that something i made inspired such strong feelings in someone. i didn't think i could do that tbh! but, then again, that's the power of liminal spaces, right?? thank you so much for the comment, and i hope your liminal minecraft world can inspire that same feeling in you(:
This has destroy the barriers of my mind, DUDE, you've break through a new way to develop games that only a few people tried, I hope this video encourages people for the years to come creating games with this feel of Liminality, that this Industry only has scratch a little, creating moments between you and the developer, showing the back rooms of each game, with the creator being honest with you. Good decade for everyone🐓
Fantastic video. Sure we've heard liminal spaces being talked about in a broader sense plenty of times and a few people have tackled them in gaming but usually only as far as they can get a joke out of it. This was the first one I've seen devoted to gaming liminal spaces that acknowledges the memes and jokes but strives to actually tackle the topic in a thoughtful and educated way that I could show to someone who knows nothing about gaming and actually convey how they are applied in the medium. Well done! Edit: Also subscribed. I hope to see you tackle other topics in this manner. I'm not even sure what I want, I just know I really enjoyed how this was put together.
This video deserves much more recognition mate, nicely done, and I love it. Another thing I thought about the topic is that it is the exact reasoning behind why we want to visit and wander in (fe) Pripyat because of its Brutal liminal Soviet architecture and because of the fact it is now deserted ('50.000 people used to live here now it is a ghost town'). It feels nostalgic like we have been there before. The places that should be crowded but deserted and the liminal design these two are intertwined. This is also why (or any other source game for this matter) when you wander by yourself Gmod feels spooky. I was so hyped that I just wrote this midway through the video, I might have repeated you. Again thanks for the video.
Thank you for addressing this, I love just wandering source games, and empty places in real life like hotels, pools, empty gyms, abandoned houses, etc.
Cry Of Fear is one of the most liminal space esque games I’ve ever had played. It truly gives off the feeling of what a liminal space is trying to do both in it’s early 2010’s visuals and the story itself surrounding around how alone the protagonists feels throughout the duration of the game both physically and mentally
Wow, with content like this, I'm surprised your channel is so small. This content is very polished and nice! It's also great to see some love for the liminality of The Stanley Parable. I agree that it's one thing to see pictures of liminal spaces and another thing to interact with/explore them through games. Speaking of games, have you by any chance played "Enter The Backrooms"? ;)
thank you for the encouraging words! i haven't played Enter the Backrooms, but i did play a few backrooms games for this video. this game seems a little more in-depth with the lore and stuff - i'll have to check it out!
Yall ever heard of the word sonder? it means The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own....i feel like liminal spaces give the exact oppisite of that feeling
Following the liminal space definition I guess I can categorize this video itself as one because it has waaaay less people/views than it should. Absolutely great work, cant wait to see more stuff from you.
Great essay, really enjoyed. I would say for me noclipping around in half-life years ago, to fly into unused rooms, and get near to the briefcase man really gave me those vibes. The closest I got in real life was being a kid at theme parks and wondering what lay behind the fake windows in the mock victorian houses and western saloons in each of the themed 'village' areas, I would look at them wondering if they had an equally uncanny little interior that nobody saw...
i know exactly the uncanny feeling you're talking about! there was a little mom-and-pop fairytale theme park near where i grew up, and it had this mock renaissance village. animatronic villagers would pop out of second-story windows and enact little scenes behind some of the windows - it felt really strange knowing that 90% of those buildings were empty facades!
I suppose for me my first experience with liminal spaces was during my early-ish gaming period. During the days of CoD: Modern Warfare, World at War, Halo 3, etc... I'd often spend a lot of time either in Halo 3 forge or just exploring maps solo in the CoD series. Exploring those maps that my mind heavily associated with chaotic and noisy battles filled with angsty teens yelling into their microphone and to see it so quiet, so calm, with the unheard natural background ambience put something in me, especially Halo 3, I'd explore the maps in forge mode for hours, just listening to the distant ambience that (to my knowledge) no one else bothered to enjoy, and formulated a story around what caused said map to become said way. Doing this was surreal to me, I'll never forget it, thinking of it now it makes me want to dust off my old 360, plug it up and play Halo 3, not to play the campaign, not to play an online match (which is no longer possible) but to just explore all the maps again at a slow pace without all of the conundrum of online matchmaking.
One thing to note is that a liminal space is the time, space, or state of being between ‘what was’ and ‘what will be.’ It is a place of transition, a time of waiting and not knowing the future. That is part of why it often feels off to people. The human mind doesn't like being caught in the empty between unknowns.
Does anyone else feel really comforted by these places? They just don’t seem to have that ‘creepy’ vibe to me. To me, they represent a safe place, not something where I’m in danger.
I always figured it depends on that space presented. Some places are calming; an escape, yet others put you on edge due to unknowing whats behind that dark hallway.
This reminded me a bit of 999, where you spend the vast majority alone and wandering spaces where people should be--rooms, kitchens, things like that--and aside from a group of people growing rapidly more paranoid...that is it. Technically it falls into the detective side of things in figuring how to get out, but the atmosphere fits just fine.
I have an explanation why we feel "nostalgic" and "creepy" because of the liminal spaces. It feels off because something is off there, in most cases, people, then taking this in mind, the most terrifying thing for a human being is like you will be alone forever and you wonder just spending your whole eternity in there. It doesn't "boo" you or make you feel "anxious" it just feels off because there is no one, there will be no one in a place that always had someone. Just you, this place and the eternity
A note on liminal spaces in source games, i’ll never forget one time I stayed in a tf2 casual server for so long that I literally became the last person in the game. I think it was some king of the hill map that I was on but it felt so off, not only nostalgia from playing a game i’ve played for 12 years but also an odd feeling of emptiness and loneliness. The brief feeling of the game that i’ve loved for so long finally having its final player log off just for me to be the only person left. It was such a surreal experience and made me cry a bit honestly. This was right before every lobby became infested with bots so I doubt its even possible to have this happen anymore.
Liminal spaces are one of the reasons why the first couple of FEAR games were really effective, especially the first one. There were stretches of those games where you didn't fight any enemies, but were wandering through offices and industrial facilities where there should have been people, but there was nothing there beyond the occasional inexplicable bloodstain or dead body. The emptiness, the lack of humanity, and the awareness that something out there was watching and hunting you was fundamentally unnerving. It would reach a point where sensing another human - even if it was a Replica soldier trying to kill you or Alma stalking you - was a relief.
Gone Home is the first example that comes to mind for me when discussing liminal space in video games, besides Minecraft. Personally, I see liminal spaces as beautiful, and mysterious, full of questions. Places filled with people are now empty, letting the art of the place speak. I am really bad at art, but I can see it when I stop to look at it. In games specifically, I can see the textures used, the modeling. Liminal spaces, more often than not, don't give me the feeling of nostalgia or creepy- ness. That probably has to be with my curiosity with abandoned places though. (Please forgive this paragraph, it's really late at night and I'm just taking for no reason.)
Man, you should have included Superliminal, I mean, based on the title, it has the word "Liminal" in there. The game takes place in a dream, and each level feels surreal and uncanny. There is no life in the game and you wander around empty hallways, factories, hotels, and places that feel quite nostalgic. It is kind of the child of Stanley parable, portal, and Inception combined.
damn moments into the video i started doubting whether this even was the original upload of this video, it just feels so "uninteracted" with. like an unknown video that's just left to sit, with people coming by every other month, or years Hope to see more people finding you in the future, its incredible the amount of time and effort this could've taken to make.
i'm surprised (but glad, obv) that this is still popping up in peoples' recommended feeds. i'm also glad that so many people feel the same you do about this video. kind comments like yours are really encouraing(:
A type of liminal space i don't hear anyone talk about are the spaces around the stage in a theater, all the corridors that you have to squeeze trough to get from one side of the stage to the other without the audience spotting you, the crawlspaces under the floorboards that move, everything is just as functional as it has to be to serve it's purpose- the walls aren't painted, pipes and buttons everywhere, Styrofoam, horrible lightning because obivously you want all the light to be on the stage, and most of the things you're going to find there aren't going to feel real because, well they aren't, they're just props. Stage directions and scripts sticked to the walls, pieces of tape marking prop positions to a play that was showing years ago, not to mention every time someone uses any confetti in a play it gets *everywhere* The muffled voices, the colored lights, It just feels so unreal- and it's literally in the liminal space between the audience and the stage lol.
What I don’t get is that back when I was little everything felt nostalgic and liminal. When I was 4 I felt a sense of Nostalgia when I was in library that felt liminal and me and my mom would go to the nearest library so that she can use the computer and afterwards I’d check out movies and the librarian would give me snacks every time I left. The library had some sort of liminal architecture and it felt different. I remember getting lost but unlike other places I’ve been lost to this one felt satisfying in a way, like a safe space. I always remember the entire library would be playing some sort of soundtrack from a video game because the librarian is a gamer. I have no idea on what the soundtrack is but it definitely brought the library to life in some way. I’m addicted to Liminal Spaces as well as the backrooms. I would like to make a liminal space game.
One of the most liminal things I've ever seen is simply going back to old Minecraft worlds. You can see your old building style and how you have improved, the memories floating around in the empty void of the old, completely blocky structures. It feels like you have gone back in time.
I entered a rl liminal space consciously for the first time during the lockdown. I worked early mornings and was accustomed to driving to work around 3am everyday. During the short 10-minutes drive, I would encounter a few other vehicles on the road, but nothing that would put me at dis-ease. Then, when the lockdown was ordered, my work was deemed essential and I was given a pass from my employer to keep in my vehicle in case I got pulled over. In no time, those short 10-minute drives became a haunting, uncanny experience as I encountered no other vehicles on the roads/streets for days at a time. When thinking back to the initial months of Covid-19's hit, I remember the feeling well. No doubt, many people who live in rural areas are probably accustomed to early morning/late night secluded driving (I was as a kid). But living in a city made the whole experience strange and unfamiliar despite being an experience I could always reasonably conceive of. Maybe that's liminality: the threshhold between the familiar and the unfamiliar, when both are experienced at the same time.
at the start of the pandemic, i took a lot of walks to sort of stave off the anxiety and boredom of, well, living through a pandemic. i lived near one of my city's main arterial roads and would inevitably have to walk by it. in normal times, i always hated walking over there cause of all the noise and traffic and exhaust fumes-but in those early days there was hardly anyone driving there. got especially liminal at night; roads from nowhere, going nowhere, lit only by little spotlights. so i can definitely relate to your feelings! lol that threshold between familiar and unfamiliar is like, classic freudian uncanniness, as far as i understand it. and i agree that the act of something familiar warping into something unfamiliar is key to our current conception of liminal spaces. thanks for the comment!
i know a lot of people are creeped out by liminal spaces, but I find them to be really peaceful and calming, they give me a feeling that cant be replicated by a different artistic idea or medium.
I honestly never thought the Stanley parable was one but it makes so much sense the uneasy feeling as you traverse the empty office filled with its secrets and lies while a man narrates over your every move
I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot by now, but you’re crazy underrated!! I’ve never been this surprised looking at someone’s sub count after watching a video of theirs. Keep it up my friend, you’re going somewhere with this.
The most nostalgic game for me is What Remains of Edith Finch like i mean in the game your walking through your childhood house by yourself the whole time, and the music makes it so much better
The amount of effort and quality in this video is absolutely amazing. If the algorithm keeps in your favor I see you popping off fast. Subscribed and I'm in for the ride👌
Super interesting video ! I had not heard of the Stankey Parable before but now I definitely want to play it ! I think another perfect example of a video game full of liminal spaces is the Sims (especially 2 and 3) !! I never hear anyone mention the sims games when talking about liminal spaces but when you explore the neighborhood or zoom into the rabbit holes, you find a lot of it ! And the whole game itself feels like a liminal space, especially when you play in an empty neighborhood. These games used to scare me when I was younger because of that.
I cannot recommend Control enough. It is an absolutely excellent game and I am happy you spent time discussing its contribution to the history of liminal spaces in video games
just got recommended this video from a horror game vid. this is a great vid, your video quality is amazing! will be subscribing and watching your other videos
and thank you for enjoying it! i hope you enjoy those games, too. the stenley parable just rereleased and added EVEN MORE of those good good liminal spaces
To me, the throne room in drangleic castle from Dark souls 2 freaks me out. The darkness in a dirty white room makes me unneasy accompanied by the emptyness of the two thrones. I have literally had nightmares of Liminal spaces using the exact same lightning as in that room.
that's interesting because, as i understand the (famously obscure) lore, the world of dark souls is liminal. the old order of the world is on the cusp of collapsing, and time and space are breaking down/folding in on one another. i think it speaks to how well those games are designed that you're able to get that feeling of liminality by just inhabiting drangleic castle. thanks for the comment!
Absolutely top video mate, these documentary type of vids that are a good mixture of funny, serious and informative are great and super enjoyable. I would love to see a video on maybe exploring horror in the game -cry of fear- one game which I personally had a very "off" feeling experience while playing.
One of my favourite areas in a game ever is the back alley behind the mall in Silent Hill 3, you pass through there as you're transitioning from the "real" world and into the horror otherworld so it is literally a liminal space in that sense. There is nothing much there, just an alley with janky PS2 wall textures, some garbage and a parked car blocking your way. I think you're just meant to run through there to get to to the next area. But something about being there in the orange sunset glow with the chill 2000s guitar soundtrack just hits different and itches my brain the right way for whatever reason, and it's so long that when you run it feels like you could run forever. I always hang out there as long as I can when I play. It gives me a sense of nostalgia I can't even describe or explain as I was way too young for this game as a kid lol and didn't play it til adulthood. There are lots of liminal spaces in the Silent Hill games (you could argue the series is _about_ liminal spaces in a sense) but that one has a special place in my heart, and End of a Small Sanctuary is a straight banger lol
I love liminal spaces. They give me a warm and comforting feeling. I don't really get the fear people get from them, but it might just be a lifestage thing. Maybe electricity and cars and flying could seem terrifying to a child, but to an adult, sometimes it's mundane or even a blessed tool. When I see liminal spaces, I don't even ever consider they're full of monsters of weird creepy stuff. I see empty spaces that are mine and mine alone.
I’ve always though that Minecraft was so creepy, especially pocket edition where there used to be no music and just the occasional ambient noise, no sound or tool breaking. The still fog on the horizon which you know is just the render distance but is still freaky, and the repeating mundanity of the same blocks and biomes. Also the cave sounds are literally so terrifying lol. The complex is such a good example of liminal space games, it’s a backrooms inspired game that isn’t distinctly horror orientated but just makes you feel uneasy. The whole concept of the backrooms is terrifying if you look past the memes, falling out of reality into some form of parallel dimension where you are all alone in endless and repeating hallways and rooms, familiar elements occasionally appearing but nothing close to actual reality, you’d go insane. I find it so interesting the different reactions people have to the games and just images of liminal spaces paired with music, personally I find them oddly comforting. There’s something about the escapism of something so familiar and nostalgic that the introvert in me really wants to just be alone and explore. It reminds me of all the videos that people made during lockdown of empty streets and rooms that should be full. There is a really good video about the escapism of liminal images that I watched, I’ll try to find it and add it in but it talks about art work as well. There’s this one 3D designer who makes these ethereal spaces in the clouds of the backrooms level that has all of the swimming pools and tiles and I think they really encapsulate this feeling I’m trying to describe. It’s like just not wanting to exist for a little bit, not having to deal with money, food, people, jobs, just wanting to be gone for a while with no repercussions or people being worried about you. I think that the fandom and the memes have maybe taken the backrooms a bit to far with the now countless number of supposed levels and there specific dangers, but despite memes and trends moving quite quickly, people are still engaging with analogue/vhs/found footage horror which I think is great, they are such an amazing concept and I hope they stick around cause I’m enjoying them. I really want to at some point create an interactive art experience based around the theme of liminal spaces, using miniature models combined with sound and lighting to develop and capture these spaces and hopefully the feelings that they evoke with it. I thought it would be interesting to get people to record there emotions on a sheet or form to help understand the different ways people can feel about them. Or with a bigger budget, actual link making a full scale one that people can walk through. This video was great btw really added to thoughts that I have had and you are really engaging, keep it up x
glad you touched on gmaod. spent a lot of hours in vrgmod playing a lot of the very well made exploration maps. its so fun and I get lost in this vast imaginary worlds.
The editing is great! And the topic even better! I Wonder why you dont have more subs. The time you have propably put in this video is loooong, and oh i'm so happy that you did it. Keep making the content, I'm sure that you will someday get to your goal what ever it might be!
Ngl this is why I love the source engine 😂 the liminal space effect was seen really well in the game: The beginners guide. Soundtrack was beautiful through and the commentary really offsets the typical vibe that the liminal space should produce and I think that really helps us identify that what makes a space liminal is the distinct lack of humanity and presence of other people.
Just found your channel and absolutely love it so far. You asked to suggest ideas for videos and I have a good idea for you. What about talking about low fidelity graphics such as PlayStation 1 stuff and how that stuff can actually create a much scarier experience. It even connects back to this video because of how oddly chilling the old skyboxes of games used to be, like in spyro the dragon. Keep up the good work! 💜
I thought I clicked on a video with hundreds of thousands of likes, i'm literally halfway through, only to scroll to the comments to see that you are very underrated. keep up the high quality content man.
Also I thought i'd mention the horror game "lost in vivo". It uses these spaces in the best way possible, similar to "cry of fear"
@@kaistroup6898 ooo i'll have to check that game out. it's funny, i actually had a bit about cry of fear in here but cut it for time. the sewer bits are suuuuuper liminal imo + it's a source game lol
@@sorbino_ true, I think you'd really enjoy lost in vivo, its a fantastic game, using the classic ps1 graphics for an unsettling vibe, plus it has a great story. It's on steam
I thought that too!
Literally
Really surprised Superliminal wasn’t mentioned in this! The best example of liminal spaces in a videogame since the Stanley parable
yes!!
Damn, I went into comments looking for a mention of this. Glad I found it so soon
Right?! I love that game
That game is such a unique experience.
@Xxaphius everyone’s got different tastes 🤷🏾♀️ some people like games like superliminal, others would rather play something like call of duty or halo. I like really experimental, unique games
I'd say Portal is the perfect liminal space. You never see a single person apart from yourself for the whole game, yet you see the windows behind which they should be. That's why Portal is far scarier than something like Half-Life, even though it shouldn't, taken the backstory.
True, Portal follows the traditional description of Liminal Spaces because you use Portals to transition from one area to the next even if it's just in the same room. 2/3 of the way into the game you even escape to backroom areas after Glados totally tries to murder you.
Portal and Portal 2 are still insane to me. I feel like in 100 years we will still be questioning just how the hell Valve *did that.* I mean, even Valve itself is considered one of the most mysterious companies in the world, it's just downright fascinating.
Portal 1 was terrifying and the escape area of the game is just the definition of liminal space
@@dyslexicstoner2408 r/wooosh
@@Alexdragonmaster Not even close buddy
It’s weird. I live in The Netherlands so I didn’t went to schools like that and malls like that, but they still feel very familiar. Liminal spaces are something different.
I'm also from the Netherlands, and I think it might be because a lot of media here is still from America. Cartoons, games, movies, etc. I might not have gone to a school that looks like that, but Ned Bigby did, and so did Phil Eggtree.
Well, i can actually imagine some 'liminal spaces' located here. Altough it's outside, all the typical dutch neighbourhoods look the same with all the 'row houses'. Everyone in the netherlands know environments like that. Or you could imagine being in an endless polder landscape with empty villages everywhere. Also some schools (especially elementary) look really simaler, altough not as much as in the US. I can also imagine a endless 'Bijlmer' like space. In some way it might be really interesting to have liminal spaces derived from spaces outside the US as well, there are so many spaces like this!
@Axel Maas only liminal space I've experienced myself here in the Netherlands was at like 3~4am right outside where I used to live. I lived next to a highway with a very busy road going under it. From like 5~6 am to 3~4 am there would always be something. Be it pedestrians, cyclists, or cars. But for a short hour or two it would often be completely devoid of any traffic. The only sound you'd hear was the ticking of the pedestrian and bicycle stop lights.
It gave a very eerie, yet at the same time calming feeling.
Hey fellow Nederlander. I can relate. They feel incredibly familiar and/or comfortable. They're not creepy to me, rather places I'd love to visit. If you're ever in Rotterdam and looking for a really great liminal space, visit metro station Blijdorp. It's amazing when it's quiet.
I live in France, and none of the numerous liminal spaces I've seen in my journey through Internet have given me a sense of nostalgia. So they're not really "something different" to me, but I still enjoy their eery feeling.
Just a place that looks ''off'' I just cannot agree that that is the defenition of liminal space, because it's very vague. I study architecture and architectural engineering and we have a word for these spaces: traffic spaces. Not for cars usually, but for people on foot most of the time.
It's the spaces in between places that you need to move through in order to get to the more fun places. Or actually the places that you're ''supposed to be in''. Naturally when designing buildings, the places where you'd spend less time in are less well lit, and there hasn't been put in so much effort as in the spaces you spend a lot longer in. That's why they can feel creepy, especially at night. But also nostalgic because people walk through these spaces hundreds of times in their life. Seeing them devoid of people only adds to the creepyness and indeed can feel like another dimension at times. They might feel ''unfinished'' while they are designed like that for a reason.
A space therefore cannot neccessarily be called liminal, if it's just ''unfinished''. And when they are finished like the dining room of your favourite restaurant for example, devoid of people and at night when the lights are off cannot be called liminal space. Off? creepy? sure, but not liminal.
An actual office room outfitted with desks and computers isn't liminal. The hallway with vending machines, waiting couches and elevators, is.
Almost every hallway and room in a metro station for example is liminal space, except the table area of the small coffeshop inside.
Liminal spaces are unavoidable in large buildings and they only get bigger in larger buildings like malls, hospitals and schools. But the reason videogames are even heavier on them in my view is that a LOT of games are constructed around the idea to go from place a to b to c etc. Naturally creating liminality.
Man this video was so good, I always feel nostalgic and relaxed with liminal spaces. I'm one of the people who hasn't really perceived it as something creepy, either due to its uncanniness and whatnot.
The one single liminal space picture that gets me is the one from 3:15. I've never been in a mall like this before, but i've DREAMT of this place, before I ever encountered the picture. You can guess how I felt. A deja vu but it was real it was such a weird feeeling
i actually just watched both of solar sands liminal spaces vids and now youtube gave me this. i adore liminal spaces in games when done "right" what i mean by right is getting that perfect sense of being full of everything and devoid of anything at the same time the infinite space and the voids of nothing it gives off a certain sense hard to describe but you know the feeling when you get it
okay i'm watching this video and i have to say i really enjoy it a lot. this is a fantastic analysis of liminal spaces. however, one key thing i think you never ended up quite saying directly (instead being like 'you'll know it when you see it') about liminal spaces that i believe is important is: they are designed for humans, and they are empty.
that's the key thing, to me, that really makes liminal spaces weird. it's not just the weird lighting or the design of the floor itself, though i won't deny the uncanny valley definitely has something to do with it, it's the fact that these are big open rooms built by human hands for human people in some way, shape, or form. they are designed to hold lots of people, or to transition people from one place to another, but either way the point is that they are meant for people. they were designed to be (at least somewhat) inviting, friendly, and i believe that we tend to subconsciously pick up on that. or consciously, in my case.
either way, we are instinctually aware that these spaces are supposed to be full of people. but they are empty. there is no one there. they have been abandoned, left behind, lost in time, and so they are unnerving because they should not be empty. there is a sort of danger that pops up in the back of our minds, i think, when we look at these spaces. a warning of sorts. we are not welcome here, because there is no one else here with us in this space. there should be, but there isn't, and there's something terribly, uniquely wrong about that quality. it's a sense of loneliness, a quiet fear from our monkey brains of being truly alone, a sense of - loss, too. because those people that were here are gone. all that's left is the crust that they made, the empty shelves and the endless halls.
this is also why, i think, you especially pointed out the source games as being liminal spaces, particularly at around 6:20. because to me, the gmod maps do not read as liminal spaces. spaces, yes, but many of them are not liminal to me. i do not have past experience with gmod multiplayer. however, they are to you, because you have the preexisting expectation of other people, and so when you no longer have the possibility of those people do you personally feel the emptiness, the liminality of that space.
tl:dr: i believe what makes a liminal space liminal is, fundamentally, loneliness.
or this could just be me being hopelessly poetic. perhaps i myself will make a video essay on these spaces someday. who knows!
I came to this video from searching "Stanley parable liminal space".
I think the most liminal moment in the game was the escape pod ending.
Also, I think games like The Beginners Guide and Superliminal are important games in this context.
This was a really great video! Loved all the edits and the mix of humour and storytelling with the great edits to boot. I’ve always been interested in The Stanley Parable, I remember thinking about making a video about the “horror” of the Stanley Parable a couple of years ago, that feeling of uncanny-ness, and how there’s a lot of potential to push a (potentially horror/existentialist) story forward. I know other examples that come to mind include Tenet, Omori, The Beginners Guide etc. There are also a lot of Euclidean concepts appearing in modern games such as Outer Wilds, puzzle games like Maquette and many others. I think you did a really good job covering both Liminal spaces as an idea and as a concept that people connect with. I hope your video blows up with the once again recent popularity of some liminal space like posts. I’ll make sure to watch your other vids and keep watching whatever content you make in the future! I can definitely see your channel growing, so good luck with it!
thank you for the kind words!! i think the stanley parable leans into that existential horror at points-the ending with the fake apartment and the confusion ending come to mind. i hadn't thought about the outer wilds as liminal/euclidean horror, but i definitely see it with the constantly-shifting solar system and structure of dark bramble/the ash twins. that'd be a really interesting topic to explore!
I’ve never been unnerved by liminal spaces. Those pictures just make me wish I was there so I could explore beyond that corner or wall
For someone who doesnt even have 300 subs this is better qualtiy videos than ppl with millions of subs
And this is why we need more liminal space games, games made to be full of them or entirely themed on them.
We do not have enough games like this
And no I don’t mean backroom games, I want games that don’t have monsters no jumpscares or scary elements.
Just you in liminal spaces finding new locations and chilling in these liminal and very nostalgic spaces
Superluminal is also a great game that demonstrates that
I know this video is old, but I recommend checking "A beginner's guide" out as well, it's a game from developers of stanley's parable and has even more liminality in it.
Although this may not be the first game that comes to mind when thinking of liminal spaces, I really have to mention Gone Home. The entire story takes place in a house and all the family members are gone while a storm rages outside. Piecing together the narrative all the while wondering if there's something around the corner was such a great way of creating atmosphere. Even though it's just an empty house, it still feels really off, most likely there's so many personal items scattered about.
oh man, i haven't thought about that game in years - so much of the discussion around that game got poisoned by gamergate lol. but i totally agree with you! it feels liminal in that nostalgic, meme culture-y way. it feels like people used to live there, but decay and abandonment haven't totally suffused the house yet
@@sorbino_ I think the best part of the experience for me was going into it blind. I wasn't sure if it was a walking sim or a horror game - and the fake out when the lights go out as you pick up the crucifix - sooooo effective
3:05 pretty sure this is the Family Fun Center in Tukwila WA
Liminal spaces is a new concept for me. It's less about nostalgia or video games for me, and more about the environments in my dreams. Very often I'm entering some empty skyscraper at night, just exploring the empty hallways office spaces.
What a fantastic video! I've been intrigued by liminal spaces for a while now, and your breakdown fed that intrigue perfectly. You're a great speaker. I hope you channel grows.
You are underrated, your editing is too good for only 250 subs.
How do you only got 1.5k subs this content feels like a channel with millions of views.
Keep up the good work man.
I think a great example of Liminal Space in movies is in The Truman Show when Truman opens the elevator doors to find theres a set behind there, like he noclipped out of reality and saw the behind the scenes of how our world operates. It really encapsulates the feeling of just for a moment seeing the simulation go into power saving mode.
Hello..
I'm halfway through this video and I relate heavily to everything about this topic.
At around 11:00 mark when Minecraft backrooms came in, It reminded of my world similar to that one.
I've explored the liminal term and it's something I feel as though it's a part of my mind, that feeling the images instill on you.
Edit: I finished the video. It was really good, it made me feeling things, especially the part about liminal spaces becoming a reality(?)
(I'm bad with putting words together but)
I really like this video and you, by the end that last sentence makes me want to continue building my liminal space backrooms-esque map in Minecraft
it blew my mind to read that something i made inspired such strong feelings in someone. i didn't think i could do that tbh! but, then again, that's the power of liminal spaces, right??
thank you so much for the comment, and i hope your liminal minecraft world can inspire that same feeling in you(:
I think CONTROL didnt get enough love. Ive spent so much time just enjoying the environment, its probably my favourite game environment to date.
This has destroy the barriers of my mind, DUDE, you've break through a new way to develop games that only a few people tried, I hope this video encourages people for the years to come creating games with this feel of Liminality, that this Industry only has scratch a little, creating moments between you and the developer, showing the back rooms of each game, with the creator being honest with you. Good decade for everyone🐓
Fantastic video. Sure we've heard liminal spaces being talked about in a broader sense plenty of times and a few people have tackled them in gaming but usually only as far as they can get a joke out of it. This was the first one I've seen devoted to gaming liminal spaces that acknowledges the memes and jokes but strives to actually tackle the topic in a thoughtful and educated way that I could show to someone who knows nothing about gaming and actually convey how they are applied in the medium. Well done!
Edit: Also subscribed. I hope to see you tackle other topics in this manner. I'm not even sure what I want, I just know I really enjoyed how this was put together.
This video deserves much more recognition mate, nicely done, and I love it. Another thing I thought about the topic is that it is the exact reasoning behind why we want to visit and wander in (fe) Pripyat because of its Brutal liminal Soviet architecture and because of the fact it is now deserted ('50.000 people used to live here now it is a ghost town').
It feels nostalgic like we have been there before. The places that should be crowded but deserted and the liminal design these two are intertwined. This is also why (or any other source game for this matter) when you wander by yourself Gmod feels spooky. I was so hyped that I just wrote this midway through the video, I might have repeated you. Again thanks for the video.
Thank you for addressing this, I love just wandering source games, and empty places in real life like hotels, pools, empty gyms, abandoned houses, etc.
How you have 728 subscribers is beyond me, the production quality here is fucking brilliant. This is good, really good.
Cry Of Fear is one of the most liminal space esque games I’ve ever had played. It truly gives off the feeling of what a liminal space is trying to do both in it’s early 2010’s visuals and the story itself surrounding around how alone the protagonists feels throughout the duration of the game both physically and mentally
Wow, with content like this, I'm surprised your channel is so small. This content is very polished and nice!
It's also great to see some love for the liminality of The Stanley Parable. I agree that it's one thing to see pictures of liminal spaces and another thing to interact with/explore them through games. Speaking of games, have you by any chance played "Enter The Backrooms"? ;)
thank you for the encouraging words! i haven't played Enter the Backrooms, but i did play a few backrooms games for this video. this game seems a little more in-depth with the lore and stuff - i'll have to check it out!
the way he suddenly pauses in his narration fills me with an eerie feeling of sorts, it's probably the uncanny doing it's job
never in my life have i subscribed so fast! i love how your personality seeps through the narration, and this was very well written!!
I really enjoyed the vid! I was very surprised when I saw you only had around 150 subs. I think you really deserve more for a the great work you do!
I've been waiting for this!
Yall ever heard of the word sonder? it means The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own....i feel like liminal spaces give the exact oppisite of that feeling
Following the liminal space definition I guess I can categorize this video itself as one because it has waaaay less people/views than it should.
Absolutely great work, cant wait to see more stuff from you.
thank you!! reading these kinds of kind comments has been really encouraging(:
calling this video also gave me a laugh lol
dude i wouldve expected you to be at 100,000 subs
underrated asf
Great essay, really enjoyed.
I would say for me noclipping around in half-life years ago, to fly into unused rooms, and get near to the briefcase man really gave me those vibes.
The closest I got in real life was being a kid at theme parks and wondering what lay behind the fake windows in the mock victorian houses and western saloons in each of the themed 'village' areas, I would look at them wondering if they had an equally uncanny little interior that nobody saw...
i know exactly the uncanny feeling you're talking about! there was a little mom-and-pop fairytale theme park near where i grew up, and it had this mock renaissance village. animatronic villagers would pop out of second-story windows and enact little scenes behind some of the windows - it felt really strange knowing that 90% of those buildings were empty facades!
Wow, I’m about halfway through the video and I already love it! Great commentary and editing! You deserve more subscribers for sure!
This was a great video, you seem to have a real knack for this, hope to see this grow along with the channel!
thank you!
I suppose for me my first experience with liminal spaces was during my early-ish gaming period. During the days of CoD: Modern Warfare, World at War, Halo 3, etc... I'd often spend a lot of time either in Halo 3 forge or just exploring maps solo in the CoD series. Exploring those maps that my mind heavily associated with chaotic and noisy battles filled with angsty teens yelling into their microphone and to see it so quiet, so calm, with the unheard natural background ambience put something in me, especially Halo 3, I'd explore the maps in forge mode for hours, just listening to the distant ambience that (to my knowledge) no one else bothered to enjoy, and formulated a story around what caused said map to become said way. Doing this was surreal to me, I'll never forget it, thinking of it now it makes me want to dust off my old 360, plug it up and play Halo 3, not to play the campaign, not to play an online match (which is no longer possible) but to just explore all the maps again at a slow pace without all of the conundrum of online matchmaking.
I used to think liminal spaces were 'creepy' but now, I find some kind of solace in them. Also, awesome video! :)
One thing to note is that a liminal space is the time, space, or state of being between ‘what was’ and ‘what will be.’ It is a place of transition, a time of waiting and not knowing the future. That is part of why it often feels off to people. The human mind doesn't like being caught in the empty between unknowns.
Does anyone else feel really comforted by these places? They just don’t seem to have that ‘creepy’ vibe to me. To me, they represent a safe place, not something where I’m in danger.
I always figured it depends on that space presented. Some places are calming; an escape, yet others put you on edge due to unknowing whats behind that dark hallway.
10:00 I like how you wanted to greenscreen it and later decided not to
This reminded me a bit of 999, where you spend the vast majority alone and wandering spaces where people should be--rooms, kitchens, things like that--and aside from a group of people growing rapidly more paranoid...that is it. Technically it falls into the detective side of things in figuring how to get out, but the atmosphere fits just fine.
I have an explanation why we feel "nostalgic" and "creepy" because of the liminal spaces. It feels off because something is off there, in most cases, people, then taking this in mind, the most terrifying thing for a human being is like you will be alone forever and you wonder just spending your whole eternity in there. It doesn't "boo" you or make you feel "anxious" it just feels off because there is no one, there will be no one in a place that always had someone. Just you, this place and the eternity
donkey kong country underwater ambience is the perfect track for this, and i honestly didnt expect it to play
The fact that a video this good has this few views bothers me
A note on liminal spaces in source games, i’ll never forget one time I stayed in a tf2 casual server for so long that I literally became the last person in the game. I think it was some king of the hill map that I was on but it felt so off, not only nostalgia from playing a game i’ve played for 12 years but also an odd feeling of emptiness and loneliness. The brief feeling of the game that i’ve loved for so long finally having its final player log off just for me to be the only person left. It was such a surreal experience and made me cry a bit honestly. This was right before every lobby became infested with bots so I doubt its even possible to have this happen anymore.
The way this is structured and crafted is impeccable.
This was really well done. The editing was on point, keep doing stuff like this, and you'll go far!
thank you for the encouraging words, isabella!(:
You should definitely do something with the game Superliminal
Nuggies are done, mediocre 10-30 minute video essay is ready.
Liminal spaces are one of the reasons why the first couple of FEAR games were really effective, especially the first one. There were stretches of those games where you didn't fight any enemies, but were wandering through offices and industrial facilities where there should have been people, but there was nothing there beyond the occasional inexplicable bloodstain or dead body. The emptiness, the lack of humanity, and the awareness that something out there was watching and hunting you was fundamentally unnerving. It would reach a point where sensing another human - even if it was a Replica soldier trying to kill you or Alma stalking you - was a relief.
Gone Home is the first example that comes to mind for me when discussing liminal space in video games, besides Minecraft.
Personally, I see liminal spaces as beautiful, and mysterious, full of questions. Places filled with people are now empty, letting the art of the place speak. I am really bad at art, but I can see it when I stop to look at it. In games specifically, I can see the textures used, the modeling.
Liminal spaces, more often than not, don't give me the feeling of nostalgia or creepy- ness. That probably has to be with my curiosity with abandoned places though.
(Please forgive this paragraph, it's really late at night and I'm just taking for no reason.)
don't worry about writing a long paragraph - i love reading about how people experience liminal spaces! thanks for the comment
Man, you should have included Superliminal, I mean, based on the title, it has the word "Liminal" in there. The game takes place in a dream, and each level feels surreal and uncanny. There is no life in the game and you wander around empty hallways, factories, hotels, and places that feel quite nostalgic. It is kind of the child of Stanley parable, portal, and Inception combined.
Good memories of the Bullwinkle's at 3:03 a fun arcade place with mini golf and go karts
Your videos are criminally underrated, keep up the great work!
This made me appreciate how beautiful The Stanley Parable is.
damn moments into the video i started doubting whether this even was the original upload of this video, it just feels so "uninteracted" with.
like an unknown video that's just left to sit, with people coming by every other month, or years
Hope to see more people finding you in the future, its incredible the amount of time and effort this could've taken to make.
i'm surprised (but glad, obv) that this is still popping up in peoples' recommended feeds. i'm also glad that so many people feel the same you do about this video. kind comments like yours are really encouraing(:
Great video. I like your angle, and your script and editing is great. Hope to see more.
A type of liminal space i don't hear anyone talk about are the spaces around the stage in a theater, all the corridors that you have to squeeze trough to get from one side of the stage to the other without the audience spotting you, the crawlspaces under the floorboards that move, everything is just as functional as it has to be to serve it's purpose- the walls aren't painted, pipes and buttons everywhere, Styrofoam, horrible lightning because obivously you want all the light to be on the stage, and most of the things you're going to find there aren't going to feel real because, well they aren't, they're just props. Stage directions and scripts sticked to the walls, pieces of tape marking prop positions to a play that was showing years ago, not to mention every time someone uses any confetti in a play it gets *everywhere* The muffled voices, the colored lights, It just feels so unreal- and it's literally in the liminal space between the audience and the stage lol.
What I don’t get is that back when I was little everything felt nostalgic and liminal.
When I was 4 I felt a sense of Nostalgia when I was in library that felt liminal and me and my mom would go to the nearest library so that she can use the computer and afterwards I’d check out movies and the librarian would give me snacks every time I left.
The library had some sort of liminal architecture and it felt different. I remember getting lost but unlike other places I’ve been lost to this one felt satisfying in a way, like a safe space. I always remember the entire library would be playing some sort of soundtrack from a video game because the librarian is a gamer. I have no idea on what the soundtrack is but it definitely brought the library to life in some way.
I’m addicted to Liminal Spaces as well as the backrooms.
I would like to make a liminal space game.
One of the most liminal things I've ever seen is simply going back to old Minecraft worlds. You can see your old building style and how you have improved, the memories floating around in the empty void of the old, completely blocky structures. It feels like you have gone back in time.
just found you and already love the content brother
I entered a rl liminal space consciously for the first time during the lockdown. I worked early mornings and was accustomed to driving to work around 3am everyday. During the short 10-minutes drive, I would encounter a few other vehicles on the road, but nothing that would put me at dis-ease. Then, when the lockdown was ordered, my work was deemed essential and I was given a pass from my employer to keep in my vehicle in case I got pulled over. In no time, those short 10-minute drives became a haunting, uncanny experience as I encountered no other vehicles on the roads/streets for days at a time. When thinking back to the initial months of Covid-19's hit, I remember the feeling well. No doubt, many people who live in rural areas are probably accustomed to early morning/late night secluded driving (I was as a kid). But living in a city made the whole experience strange and unfamiliar despite being an experience I could always reasonably conceive of. Maybe that's liminality: the threshhold between the familiar and the unfamiliar, when both are experienced at the same time.
at the start of the pandemic, i took a lot of walks to sort of stave off the anxiety and boredom of, well, living through a pandemic. i lived near one of my city's main arterial roads and would inevitably have to walk by it. in normal times, i always hated walking over there cause of all the noise and traffic and exhaust fumes-but in those early days there was hardly anyone driving there. got especially liminal at night; roads from nowhere, going nowhere, lit only by little spotlights. so i can definitely relate to your feelings! lol
that threshold between familiar and unfamiliar is like, classic freudian uncanniness, as far as i understand it. and i agree that the act of something familiar warping into something unfamiliar is key to our current conception of liminal spaces.
thanks for the comment!
i enjoyed this video a lot! you’re way too underrated
i know a lot of people are creeped out by liminal spaces, but I find them to be really peaceful and calming, they give me a feeling that cant be replicated by a different artistic idea or medium.
I honestly never thought the Stanley parable was one but it makes so much sense the uneasy feeling as you traverse the empty office filled with its secrets and lies while a man narrates over your every move
This is why out of map glitching in games is soooo much fun. Playing within the rules of the game and still breaking out of its bounds is addicting.
Damn this guy'd do a great vid on dreamcore/weirdcore
I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot by now, but you’re crazy underrated!! I’ve never been this surprised looking at someone’s sub count after watching a video of theirs. Keep it up my friend, you’re going somewhere with this.
thanks for the kind words, friend(:
The most nostalgic game for me is What Remains of Edith Finch like i mean in the game your walking through your childhood house by yourself the whole time, and the music makes it so much better
The amount of effort and quality in this video is absolutely amazing. If the algorithm keeps in your favor I see you popping off fast. Subscribed and I'm in for the ride👌
thanks, man! glad to have you along for the ride(:
Super interesting video ! I had not heard of the Stankey Parable before but now I definitely want to play it !
I think another perfect example of a video game full of liminal spaces is the Sims (especially 2 and 3) !! I never hear anyone mention the sims games when talking about liminal spaces but when you explore the neighborhood or zoom into the rabbit holes, you find a lot of it ! And the whole game itself feels like a liminal space, especially when you play in an empty neighborhood. These games used to scare me when I was younger because of that.
I cannot recommend Control enough. It is an absolutely excellent game and I am happy you spent time discussing its contribution to the history of liminal spaces in video games
just got recommended this video from a horror game vid. this is a great vid, your video quality is amazing! will be subscribing and watching your other videos
thanks for watching and deciding to stick around! i should have a new video going up next week for ya(:
Dear God, it terrified me how good yet how so undiscovered your video is.
Woah, man, I'm gonna play those games, but I wanted to say that you made a very good video and thanks for making it!!
and thank you for enjoying it! i hope you enjoy those games, too. the stenley parable just rereleased and added EVEN MORE of those good good liminal spaces
To me, the throne room in drangleic castle from Dark souls 2 freaks me out. The darkness in a dirty white room makes me unneasy accompanied by the emptyness of the two thrones. I have literally had nightmares of Liminal spaces using the exact same lightning as in that room.
that's interesting because, as i understand the (famously obscure) lore, the world of dark souls is liminal. the old order of the world is on the cusp of collapsing, and time and space are breaking down/folding in on one another. i think it speaks to how well those games are designed that you're able to get that feeling of liminality by just inhabiting drangleic castle.
thanks for the comment!
Rare youtube algorithm W for recommending me this video right after watching the fake liminal spaces one
Absolutely top video mate, these documentary type of vids that are a good mixture of funny, serious and informative are great and super enjoyable. I would love to see a video on maybe exploring horror in the game -cry of fear- one game which I personally had a very "off" feeling experience while playing.
I crave for content like this and your style of videos, I hope you are continuing to upload soon!
That feeling of knowing those places can be likely traced back to series that we watched in childhood.
One of my favourite areas in a game ever is the back alley behind the mall in Silent Hill 3, you pass through there as you're transitioning from the "real" world and into the horror otherworld so it is literally a liminal space in that sense. There is nothing much there, just an alley with janky PS2 wall textures, some garbage and a parked car blocking your way. I think you're just meant to run through there to get to to the next area. But something about being there in the orange sunset glow with the chill 2000s guitar soundtrack just hits different and itches my brain the right way for whatever reason, and it's so long that when you run it feels like you could run forever. I always hang out there as long as I can when I play. It gives me a sense of nostalgia I can't even describe or explain as I was way too young for this game as a kid lol and didn't play it til adulthood. There are lots of liminal spaces in the Silent Hill games (you could argue the series is _about_ liminal spaces in a sense) but that one has a special place in my heart, and End of a Small Sanctuary is a straight banger lol
I like running on light spots except for dark ones
I love liminal spaces. They give me a warm and comforting feeling.
I don't really get the fear people get from them, but it might just be a lifestage thing. Maybe electricity and cars and flying could seem terrifying to a child, but to an adult, sometimes it's mundane or even a blessed tool.
When I see liminal spaces, I don't even ever consider they're full of monsters of weird creepy stuff. I see empty spaces that are mine and mine alone.
I’ve always though that Minecraft was so creepy, especially pocket edition where there used to be no music and just the occasional ambient noise, no sound or tool breaking. The still fog on the horizon which you know is just the render distance but is still freaky, and the repeating mundanity of the same blocks and biomes. Also the cave sounds are literally so terrifying lol. The complex is such a good example of liminal space games, it’s a backrooms inspired game that isn’t distinctly horror orientated but just makes you feel uneasy. The whole concept of the backrooms is terrifying if you look past the memes, falling out of reality into some form of parallel dimension where you are all alone in endless and repeating hallways and rooms, familiar elements occasionally appearing but nothing close to actual reality, you’d go insane. I find it so interesting the different reactions people have to the games and just images of liminal spaces paired with music, personally I find them oddly comforting. There’s something about the escapism of something so familiar and nostalgic that the introvert in me really wants to just be alone and explore. It reminds me of all the videos that people made during lockdown of empty streets and rooms that should be full. There is a really good video about the escapism of liminal images that I watched, I’ll try to find it and add it in but it talks about art work as well. There’s this one 3D designer who makes these ethereal spaces in the clouds of the backrooms level that has all of the swimming pools and tiles and I think they really encapsulate this feeling I’m trying to describe. It’s like just not wanting to exist for a little bit, not having to deal with money, food, people, jobs, just wanting to be gone for a while with no repercussions or people being worried about you. I think that the fandom and the memes have maybe taken the backrooms a bit to far with the now countless number of supposed levels and there specific dangers, but despite memes and trends moving quite quickly, people are still engaging with analogue/vhs/found footage horror which I think is great, they are such an amazing concept and I hope they stick around cause I’m enjoying them. I really want to at some point create an interactive art experience based around the theme of liminal spaces, using miniature models combined with sound and lighting to develop and capture these spaces and hopefully the feelings that they evoke with it. I thought it would be interesting to get people to record there emotions on a sheet or form to help understand the different ways people can feel about them. Or with a bigger budget, actual link making a full scale one that people can walk through. This video was great btw really added to thoughts that I have had and you are really engaging, keep it up x
This is the original video I watched ua-cam.com/video/t9OgLEUjz_g/v-deo.html
Also the Stanley parable is truly a masterpiece
Shoutout the Hide n Seek lobby from Roblox at 4:13
the meeting place of champions
its a crime you only have 590 subs, the editing is incredible, nice work
thank you for the kind words! more people should be arrested for not subbing to me lol
glad you touched on gmaod. spent a lot of hours in vrgmod playing a lot of the very well made exploration maps. its so fun and I get lost in this vast imaginary worlds.
Nicely produced video dude, enjoyed it a lot. 👍
I always brace myself before watching a new video essay youtuber because I hope I like their voice but yours is great 👌🏻 keep up the good content!
The editing is great! And the topic even better! I Wonder why you dont have more subs. The time you have propably put in this video is loooong, and oh i'm so happy that you did it. Keep making the content, I'm sure that you will someday get to your goal what ever it might be!
thank you for the encouraging words!(:
Ngl this is why I love the source engine 😂 the liminal space effect was seen really well in the game: The beginners guide. Soundtrack was beautiful through and the commentary really offsets the typical vibe that the liminal space should produce and I think that really helps us identify that what makes a space liminal is the distinct lack of humanity and presence of other people.
1:10 is the city upstairs in discovery
Just found your channel and absolutely love it so far. You asked to suggest ideas for videos and I have a good idea for you. What about talking about low fidelity graphics such as PlayStation 1 stuff and how that stuff can actually create a much scarier experience. It even connects back to this video because of how oddly chilling the old skyboxes of games used to be, like in spyro the dragon. Keep up the good work! 💜
Jet Set Radio Future has some eerie asf liminal spaces, back alleys, back streets, the tokyo sewage system... and the weird music can add to it