I feel like once the mask remover removes the mask and sends the body down the hole that it just starts all over again, like that’s where the bodies come from, both bodies and masks being recycled endlessly.
@@KanayaMaryam52 at the end of the game he’s sort of stuck. He’s at the bottom of the pit he was thrown down and can’t even climb back out to lord over anyone, the only way out is down the bottomless pit that we can only guess at the purpose of. He may already be god, but he’s the god of nothing. From that perspective it could even be an allegory for hell.
The De-masking person kind of is the Devil of this Hell in a way. At the bottom of a pit, has the seeming power of removing the masks and ‘freeing’ people, and has the most special mask, but is still just a prisoner of the place.
whoa... this game is really short but sweet. absolutely chilling ending. i love how kafkaesque this feels - some kind of hierarchy system is in place but no one really knows who's in charge or what they're supposed to do, all they CAN do is keep the system and their tasks going. the whole "that's not MY job" sentiment everyone echoes feels like the drag of bureaucracy and endlessly being transferred and referred to someone else for help.
I was almost expecting the main character's mask to be a defect and it would play out that there is no one actually forcing this hierarchal system. That at any point people could have questioned it and stopped or changed it, but didn't because they were doing what they were told by people who had done it before them, or by someone arbitrarily assigned to a higher position of power. Like the mask is still needed for them to survive and they have to wear it, but the mask you're given doesn't define you kinda deal.
@@MrGonq I mean, that seems to be what it is. There was no indication of a higher power of any kind forcing the mask system. It's just how they got told it is.
I also like how assuming this is a limbo type system their only escape is giving up. In a sense the prisoners who seem to be the most likely to do so are the ones in the best situation. The blacksmith guy who is the top of the hierarchy is the least likely to give up as he feels its his job to "save" people by masking them. Our player character isolated alone at the bottom of this well is the only one to know the truth of this place.
@@YoshiTheyosh123 Yeah that's true actually. Sort of gave me the same feeling I got from watching the film 'The Platform', that similar feeling of being part of a system where some benefit while others suffer and the hopelessness of trying to end that cycle.
Kafkaesque definitely feels like an appropriate descriptor. I assume that the dead bodies in the blacksmith's shop were for those who arrived without a mask being ready... and I guess that's the unmarked mask guy's motivation to keep sending masks down? Since if he doesn't then presumably everyone who is sent down just dies. I don't get how he got replaced, though. The only reason he wound up being thrown down the well was that one of the prison wings got randomly taken over by... someone? And they just seemed to be randomly clubbing people and leaving them there, with the one exception of the main character.
[SPOILERS] I liked how the special mask has the implication that you’re a higher rank and will eventually find some answers but the twist was that you just have another pointless job. The way in which he’s knocked out and carried to his task adds another layer of cruelty that makes the setting so strange and mysterious. Sometimes game jam horror games feel incomplete but I think this one had a strong beginning, middle and end and I think that’s pretty cool
@@buddy6507 That's not "enjoyable" nothing in that world looks enjoyable to anyone, everyone's pretty much driven to the brink of insanity in that world because they are forced to be ISOLATED even the guards when they are that close to one another likely still feel isolated which isn't good for the brain, you need some form of interaction with people in order to keep yourself sane and that world is all about making sure people are as separated from one another as much as possible.
@Cursed Hawkins You’re probably going to find some interaction via the groaning that likely accompanies pulling nails off people’s faces. You might even be able to find someone to talk to amongst the millions you help carry on. The fact that everyone’s still speaking fine, without delay within sentences, slurring, forgetting English, etc, indicates that there is at the very least semi-regular communication between many characters, so I don’t think it’s quite as isolated as you say. Also no one can force him to do anything. He’s alone in a pit filled with people who have given up on life. He could literally be sewing people together to make a ladder and no one would care.
Appreciate you muffling your voice when reading the dialogue of the other masked characters :) the attention payed to quality and details in your content is top tier
well if you've ever seriously f-ed up one side of your chest like by pulling a muscle or broken a rib, you'll know that the pain is lessened by holding that arm flat to the body. So the character bracing with his other arm like that actually makes a lot of sense.
@@JonDoe-uq1mk The injured side is in pain, so the arm on that side will worsen the pain if you move it. Bracing by holding the good arm immobilizes the arm on the bad side lessening the pain. It's confusing to explain XD
I liked how the camera angles added to the protagonist's delirium. I saw the game as a pretty good summary of people looking for a purpose, and the world ends with 'just doing my job'. I appreciate some good art! The only difference between the prisoner and guard is what the mask maker decided, and the two groups never thought to think outside of their rank. The guards just got a bigger cage.
I think the ending is perfect as-is. The world is fascinating but I think exploring it too much would erase the mystique that makes this narrative so good.
Yeah it seems so interesting you want to explore it more but in reality, there's nothing more in it. Nothing to do, nothing to explore. It's hell. You don't need to explore it more either way cause even if this place has some hidden secrets, the "satan" (or "the mask maker") who found this place or was the first one to end up there has propably already killed himself or is no different from everyone else. He might be a prisoner or the disposer of disposers which would be essentially another job that's "higher" in the hierarchy but equally as pointless as your job.
I like the hint at the start when MC is able to pull off the first prisoners mask for the key. Also the blacksmith and others said they never saw a mask with no markings before, which means the original no markings mask person was alive longer than all of them. I just don't know who the guy with no mask was o: Really cool story!
I was originally going to make a joke about how people are forced to wear masks in the sense that they don't show who they really are, but then I remembered it could be taken literally
Like, the prisoners and especially the guards are even trying to talk with each other despite sitting in the same room. You'd think they would go and work toghether to either escape or make this place not boring but no, they feel too pressured to do nothing for eternity. I can relate to this in a way, the feeling of pressure/responsibility that restrains you from doing something. You're thinking "maybe i could do [XYZ] but i am not supposed to..."
For such a short game it was really able to deliver its messages well which I think are about life and not death. There's: not questioning the status quo by just accepting the role (mask) given to you, class discrimination (even though the mask you got was chosen randomly and not based on anything), surviving vs. living, your worth is tied to your usefulness (once their minds went they were just thrown out), the hazards of forcing purpose/status quo (existentialism/mask nailed onto you so you can't remove it). That's just what I got out of it xP
This was the first horror game in a long time to genuinely give be a creeped-out feeling the entire time watching. "Stuck in limbo" type games almost always give that raw, disturbing feeling of helplessness, and the music and camera cuts just added to it. Kind of reminded me of Harlan Ellison's work in a way. Super cool! Game dev if you're reading this, I loved your work!
I also really like the camera angles in this game too. They’re always off kilter, and you always seem small in them. It really adds to the whole hellish limbo “rusty rot” vibe of the game.
@@durratulaishah3703 i think its called the dutch angle shot, dutch tilt shot or tilt angle shot! its where the camera is tilted sideways to make the viewer disoriented, unbalanced or that something isnt quite right if anyone knows this better please correct me, i took this from google
This is my second time seeing a playthrough of this game (It's rare that a game does that for me), and it's fun to see people come up with their interpretation. Extending from manly's comment about these people possibly believe in a non existent system, I also sense a theme of purposelessness (from the people that run the system), meaninglessness (you never chose what you want, the system chose you) and uselessness (their tasks). It's either that or the true purpose behind this is bigger than the people can comprehend (like a cargo cult). It's probably a commentary on how people won't question existing system and prefer to go along with this (reflected by dialog "That is my task, go away" "other guard assigned this"). I can imagine existing in that situation is exhausting for your soul. This non-questioning nature even brought to the (meta) title itself "the maker of masks". we are never revealed who they are, and across the two playthroughs I have seen, it was never brought up (is it because we are satisfied with our knowledge about the recycled masks?). We also never know who build that prison, that abysmal depth disposal. one of the comment here also brought up about what happened to the body after is was disposed? is that the beginning of the cycle again? Great game. Thanks for playing this one manly
Eh... I'm not sure what to make of the ending, really. I guess the main character's motivation to continue the system would be that if they don't drop masks down then whoever arrives just dies, but I'm rather confused about the bit where he got thrown down the well. As far as I can tell, the second prison wing area was taken over by one of the prisoners, who was going around clubbing people at random and leaving them there. With the sole exception of the main character, who he dragged out to the well without any of the prison guards seeming to notice. It's very Kafkaesque, at a minimum.
I feel like searching for the deeper pits and exploring this hell would be pointless for either reason. Like, from a game's perspective it would ruin this original version. Plus the "this is hell and everything sucks" is an oddly satisfying answer as to what's going on. The maker of masks might as well not exist, has already killed himself or is doing an equally pointless task as we and is essentially barely different from us and others.reminds me of a certain show where one of the main characters explore places that were supposedly "better", smarter and more advanced than theirs original one but each turned out to be equally as dense and pointless. They eventually stopped in one and when finally were convinced "This is the one. The place and a person that understands me" and hoped they'd get the answer for their questions. But that other person is also insane, says weird things and tells them to return, only for the character to return to their previous life and nothing changed in the end.
_"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful..."_ _~Ralph Waldo Emerson_ That also includes being honorable, to have compassion, to live and live well. The beings in this dreary dystopian world had none of that. They didn't even really understand their use in the world. They had tasks, but didn't understand why. Only the person who disposed of the bodies knew his purpose and finally had enough of it This fit perfectly with the short game jam format - slow to build, but a nice punch ending.
Huh? I thought you were going somewhere else with that quote. The blacksmith nails masks, the guards guard the prison and dispose the bodies. They have nothing else than their singular "use". Do hammers really need to understand their use to be "useful"? This world is the very embodiment of that quote.
@@exu7325 The quote was continued in my reply, not just the header "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you _have lived and lived well."_ Happiness is not a goal, it is the natural outcome of a life well lived. The guards and the ones in the cells questioned their purpose, saying "why". All the characters were half-dead things - the antithesis of live and live well. The game represented the futility and lack of purpose in life - they were just performing tasks. And perfunctorily performing tasks is not the same as having "purpose" in life.
Assuming this is a limbo type system their only escape is giving up. In a sense the prisoners who seem to be the most likely to do so are the ones in the best situation. The blacksmith guy who is the top of the hierarchy is the least likely to give up as he feels its his job to "save" people by masking them. Our player character isolated alone at the bottom of this well is the only one to know the truth of this place.
This reminds me of a short film called "The Maker" but it's much lighter compared to this game's story. It's about a creature with a task but unsure what it is but is aware it has a time limit. So it looks all around and tries to figure out its purpose and what it must do.
I always love the personality for all the character voices that manly does. Wether it be muffled(like this time),feminine,masculine,old,young, even job occupation (such as farmer or something)
It's really hard to describe just how perfect of a depressed, stuck feeling this game gives off while still leaving room for tons of theories and an entire universe hidden behind this game. Really well done!
This was a nice surreal horror, surrealism all the way to the twist. I usually don't like the creative camera angles, but here you aren't forced to complete puzzles or gunfight through them.
as the diary scene was playing I said to myself "is that what our mask is for? is that what the point of the mask is" and then I died I'm typing this from hell
I think the guy at the end without a mask isn't actually part of the system at all. He's gotten out of his cell and is going on a rampage. But it doesn't matter, because dropping the blank masked man into the hole just keeps the system going. More people will arrive on hooks all the same.
It really comes down to I'll probably just do my job because what is the alternative? And then when it does get the better of you, the question becomes should I really pass on this job to another or just let everyone exist in an even worse hell than they're living already? Because it's a miserable existence but at least there's someone to end the suffering at the end. Without the markless mask they would suffer indefinitely. What I find most fascinating is the way the dev was able to show this entire system of existence from one pov and in such a short amount of time, good storytelling.
This has to be one of my favorite games that you've played. Feels like a combination of Silent Hill and IHNMAIMS. Very nostalgic, very interesting. Would love to see fixed cameras and tank controls make a comeback.
I liked this one as a short game. I like that it's called Maker of Masks even though they aren't really made. I would be interested in more lore for sure. Where do the corpses go after masks are removed and thrown off the side of that room? What if you jump off and you have a mask that prevents you from dying? Is there really more to the mask/marks system or it is completely explained? What if one of the original arrivals lied about how the masks/tasks works in order to form his own system? Where did the masks originate? If someone gathers all of the masks from everyone and throws them into the abyss, does that "end" whatever this limbo system is?
I love how Manly can make things funny in his own way or super immersive (muffling his voice, emotion in voice in dialogue etc) He doesn't over do commentary and he doesn't under-do it. it just feels natural. He is a rare gem in gameplay, glad I found him and subbed. I just binge his content when I cant sleep.
I'm actually really fascinated with this game; the atmosphere is really powerful. It gives a very eerie feel, one that makes me curious to explore more of this world. The implications are pretty chilling as well.
This is the first indie title in a long time that I find to be absolutely awesome in terms of concept. If there was ever the perfect example of what "Kafkaesque" means, it's this. Which is exactly what you were trying to describe, Manly. Serious Sanitarium vibes though; I'd buy a full version.
I like it. I don't know what the original intent of it was (like if it was "just" a horror game or not) but it felt like it could have several connections to things like the cycle of abuse (with the original mask maker passing their suffering onto the player to dole out to others), traditions/rules no one questions, or the way society treats people because of something they can't control. I'd love to see more from the creator(s).
This is one of the most unanswered mystery horror game ever. What are they? What is the prison? Why are they there? Are they being punished? For what? How does the mask keep them from dying? Who built the place? Where do the bodies come from? Are they in purgatory? In hell? So many unanswered questions.
I love these kinds of stories where there are so many possible implications but no official answer, it allows for many interesting theories. I like how despite having the highest ranking among the masks the protagonist is just another cog in the wheel. The rankings create a feeling of authority over other inhabitants but ultimately mean nothing. They are all in the same hell, fueling the same pointless system, and being replaced when the time comes.
This game stylistically reminds me a bit of Silent Hill, what with the haze in the central room and the rusty metal aesthetic. Which is totally not a bad thing, makes me feel almost nostalgic. I thought the premise was creative!
I really love how this game is. The camera angles, the pacing, the story... especially the ending. It leaves it to your imagination. Something I'll think about from time to time.
The shots of the prison's exterior have the exact same energy as the wide shots of the megastructure from the series "Blame!" and it's really something else
God I love that rust-belt abandoned industry aesthetic. Just gives off this feeling of forlorn hopelessness while also just being aestheticly metal as hell. The eternal purgatory itself is also pretty hardcore as an idea, immortality, at a cost.
Another thing that could be a good attention to story as well (assuming it really is on purpose lol) is the fact that when you begin gameplay, there aren't any more bodies coming through even if you stand there for hours. You are the last one to arrive, in other words, you were the last body the mask maker dumped before taking off his own and restarting the cycle. It's also interesting to consider that they were all assigned a task by someone else before, and by the fact they are basically immortal in this world, and the prisoner said he hadn't seen anybody with your mask, I imagine there needed to be someone before all this to create some system to the world, possess this knowledge and pass it on. It's safe to assume the mask maker is the one who did it. He's the one who had been there longer than anyone, and created a system by "putting" himself at the starting point of the cycle so he could not be controlled. He made the masks with different markings randomly to be assigned to a person. But even him cannot understand why he is there or what's the point of staying in this limb place for eternity, just as we cannot understand our world fully and if there's any reason for our existence besides being born, reproducing and dying a few years later. That is the whole message of the game. Cool 😆
Main roblem with this world concept is :1) Who is build it? 2) Since mask isnt made, but recycled, there is constant number of "living" people. Amount of guards is seems to be fixed too. Most probably same with cells and prisoners, but since bodies is piling up there is shortage of masks. And what if protag would not be thrown in well?
I can't help but feel if the devs took inspiration from Little Nightmares. The body on the meat hook and the endless abyss reminds me of the Kitchen area of that game.
hey dude, i just wanted to say that I really like your videos and i'd love for you to play more games similar to this one :) i hope you're having a wonderful day/night
You know its nice to see something that doesn't feel the need to put an optimistic cherry on top of a shit situation. It feels like every piece of media needs to do that now for some sort of meaning atleast to me.
Welcome to the You're A Big Guy Club, how You're A Big Guy are ya?
You are, big M
Yes
Not
Me big
🤏
I feel like once the mask remover removes the mask and sends the body down the hole that it just starts all over again, like that’s where the bodies come from, both bodies and masks being recycled endlessly.
This is also what I interpreted.
So what is stopping the no marked mask from becoming god?
@@KanayaMaryam52 the lack of anything worth governing in that place
@@KanayaMaryam52 at the end of the game he’s sort of stuck. He’s at the bottom of the pit he was thrown down and can’t even climb back out to lord over anyone, the only way out is down the bottomless pit that we can only guess at the purpose of. He may already be god, but he’s the god of nothing. From that perspective it could even be an allegory for hell.
The De-masking person kind of is the Devil of this Hell in a way.
At the bottom of a pit, has the seeming power of removing the masks and ‘freeing’ people, and has the most special mask, but is still just a prisoner of the place.
whoa... this game is really short but sweet. absolutely chilling ending. i love how kafkaesque this feels - some kind of hierarchy system is in place but no one really knows who's in charge or what they're supposed to do, all they CAN do is keep the system and their tasks going. the whole "that's not MY job" sentiment everyone echoes feels like the drag of bureaucracy and endlessly being transferred and referred to someone else for help.
I was almost expecting the main character's mask to be a defect and it would play out that there is no one actually forcing this hierarchal system. That at any point people could have questioned it and stopped or changed it, but didn't because they were doing what they were told by people who had done it before them, or by someone arbitrarily assigned to a higher position of power. Like the mask is still needed for them to survive and they have to wear it, but the mask you're given doesn't define you kinda deal.
@@MrGonq I mean, that seems to be what it is. There was no indication of a higher power of any kind forcing the mask system. It's just how they got told it is.
I also like how assuming this is a limbo type system their only escape is giving up. In a sense the prisoners who seem to be the most likely to do so are the ones in the best situation. The blacksmith guy who is the top of the hierarchy is the least likely to give up as he feels its his job to "save" people by masking them. Our player character isolated alone at the bottom of this well is the only one to know the truth of this place.
@@YoshiTheyosh123 Yeah that's true actually. Sort of gave me the same feeling I got from watching the film 'The Platform', that similar feeling of being part of a system where some benefit while others suffer and the hopelessness of trying to end that cycle.
Kafkaesque definitely feels like an appropriate descriptor. I assume that the dead bodies in the blacksmith's shop were for those who arrived without a mask being ready... and I guess that's the unmarked mask guy's motivation to keep sending masks down? Since if he doesn't then presumably everyone who is sent down just dies.
I don't get how he got replaced, though. The only reason he wound up being thrown down the well was that one of the prison wings got randomly taken over by... someone? And they just seemed to be randomly clubbing people and leaving them there, with the one exception of the main character.
[SPOILERS] I liked how the special mask has the implication that you’re a higher rank and will eventually find some answers but the twist was that you just have another pointless job. The way in which he’s knocked out and carried to his task adds another layer of cruelty that makes the setting so strange and mysterious. Sometimes game jam horror games feel incomplete but I think this one had a strong beginning, middle and end and I think that’s pretty cool
At least his job seemed somewhat enjoyable, unlike the other jobs. I’d say that’s a plus.
@@buddy6507 What's exactly "enjoyable" about dumping corpses?
@Cursed Hawkins The repetitive process of peeling off the masks
@@buddy6507 That's not "enjoyable" nothing in that world looks enjoyable to anyone, everyone's pretty much driven to the brink of insanity in that world because they are forced to be ISOLATED even the guards when they are that close to one another likely still feel isolated which isn't good for the brain, you need some form of interaction with people in order to keep yourself sane and that world is all about making sure people are as separated from one another as much as possible.
@Cursed Hawkins
You’re probably going to find some interaction via the groaning that likely accompanies pulling nails off people’s faces. You might even be able to find someone to talk to amongst the millions you help carry on.
The fact that everyone’s still speaking fine, without delay within sentences, slurring, forgetting English, etc, indicates that there is at the very least semi-regular communication between many characters, so I don’t think it’s quite as isolated as you say. Also no one can force him to do anything. He’s alone in a pit filled with people who have given up on life. He could literally be sewing people together to make a ladder and no one would care.
Appreciate you muffling your voice when reading the dialogue of the other masked characters :) the attention payed to quality and details in your content is top tier
I thought it was voice acted ;-;
Paid*
@@eunhogarcia5293 It is! Manly is providing the voice acting for us. :P
@@michellesimmons2756 always someone like you
@@The-Original-TwT and like you xD
"They want to give up, they just want to stop existing... like cars"
10/10, quote of the year
For context:
Is Kars.
Deep words.
its probably a direct translation of the word machines.
@@יוגבמיצנגנדלר "Is this a JoJo reference?"
@@יוגבמיצנגנדלר It's not though. He's referring to the character Kara/Cars
Hey, thanks for playing my game
You should definitely continue making games! You have the talent for it, especially with narrative and camera angles.
Was the ranking system with unmarked masks at the top inspired by the Seguleh from Malazan Book of the Fallen?
Yo! This game is super cool! I'm way excited to see what else you make in the future :]
@@mfdesy4207 I've not heard of this book before, but after reading about it now, it sounds really interesting. I will give it a try :D
do you want us to tell our theories or would you tell us whats the story about?
I like how the moment he gets off the hook belt, he holds onto the arm that doesn't have a gaping hole in it like it's hurt. Lol
well if you've ever seriously f-ed up one side of your chest like by pulling a muscle or broken a rib, you'll know that the pain is lessened by holding that arm flat to the body. So the character bracing with his other arm like that actually makes a lot of sense.
@@hraefn1821
But he's holding his right arm and the hole is on his left side.
@@JonDoe-uq1mk The injured side is in pain, so the arm on that side will worsen the pain if you move it. Bracing by holding the good arm immobilizes the arm on the bad side lessening the pain.
It's confusing to explain XD
@@hraefn1821 yeah, biology is weird, innut?
@@hraefn1821 i feel like i just got dumber and smarter at the same time by just reading your comment.
I liked how the camera angles added to the protagonist's delirium. I saw the game as a pretty good summary of people looking for a purpose, and the world ends with 'just doing my job'. I appreciate some good art! The only difference between the prisoner and guard is what the mask maker decided, and the two groups never thought to think outside of their rank. The guards just got a bigger cage.
This makes me want a full release, although I understand that, this might've been the perfect ending. Nothing is going to change
I think the ending is perfect as-is.
The world is fascinating but I think exploring it too much would erase the mystique that makes this narrative so good.
Yeah it seems so interesting you want to explore it more but in reality, there's nothing more in it. Nothing to do, nothing to explore. It's hell.
You don't need to explore it more either way cause even if this place has some hidden secrets, the "satan" (or "the mask maker") who found this place or was the first one to end up there has propably already killed himself or is no different from everyone else. He might be a prisoner or the disposer of disposers which would be essentially another job that's "higher" in the hierarchy but equally as pointless as your job.
Manly covering his mouth to add the effect of having a mask on when reading npc dialogues... It's amazing indeed.👌
Manly is such a comfort UA-camr for me I fall asleep to these videos.
Same
Sameeee
Manly is honestly one of my favorite ASMRtists who is not actually an ASMRtist. Sooo sooothing
omg same!!!
Same!!
I like the hint at the start when MC is able to pull off the first prisoners mask for the key.
Also the blacksmith and others said they never saw a mask with no markings before, which means the original no markings mask person was alive longer than all of them.
I just don't know who the guy with no mask was o:
Really cool story!
I was originally going to make a joke about how people are forced to wear masks in the sense that they don't show who they really are, but then I remembered it could be taken literally
coz u in persona 5
@@XenomBeanz reveal your true form!
@@XenomBeanz where have you been.
Like, the prisoners and especially the guards are even trying to talk with each other despite sitting in the same room. You'd think they would go and work toghether to either escape or make this place not boring but no, they feel too pressured to do nothing for eternity.
I can relate to this in a way, the feeling of pressure/responsibility that restrains you from doing something. You're thinking "maybe i could do [XYZ] but i am not supposed to..."
This was depressing.
Very nice. Would love to see this dev make more.
Indeed, he does a great job at making everyone feel like they’re in hell.
For such a short game it was really able to deliver its messages well which I think are about life and not death. There's: not questioning the status quo by just accepting the role (mask) given to you, class discrimination (even though the mask you got was chosen randomly and not based on anything), surviving vs. living, your worth is tied to your usefulness (once their minds went they were just thrown out), the hazards of forcing purpose/status quo (existentialism/mask nailed onto you so you can't remove it).
That's just what I got out of it xP
That is an extremely good point to add! Very nicely done!
Great analysis!
i loved the concept of this one. you feel like someone special at the start but realize that nope, youre just another cog in the wheel . eerie.
This was the first horror game in a long time to genuinely give be a creeped-out feeling the entire time watching. "Stuck in limbo" type games almost always give that raw, disturbing feeling of helplessness, and the music and camera cuts just added to it. Kind of reminded me of Harlan Ellison's work in a way. Super cool! Game dev if you're reading this, I loved your work!
_"You wake up in a world where everyone is forced to wear masks."_
Hey I've seen this one before!
It's a classic!
reminds me of a couple years ago… hymmmmmm…
The perfect ones become robot hivemind
Ha! Yep we lived in..
*sigh*
⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄-⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄
@@viewer6152 u have to read the manga the art is beautiful also there's like 99% chance that the anime is not going to be finished
I also really like the camera angles in this game too. They’re always off kilter, and you always seem small in them. It really adds to the whole hellish limbo “rusty rot” vibe of the game.
What's the name of the camera angle in the game?
@@durratulaishah3703 i think its called the dutch angle shot, dutch tilt shot or tilt angle shot! its where the camera is tilted sideways to make the viewer disoriented, unbalanced or that something isnt quite right
if anyone knows this better please correct me, i took this from google
Reminds me of old Silent Hill games.
This is my second time seeing a playthrough of this game (It's rare that a game does that for me), and it's fun to see people come up with their interpretation.
Extending from manly's comment about these people possibly believe in a non existent system, I also sense a theme of purposelessness (from the people that run the system), meaninglessness (you never chose what you want, the system chose you) and uselessness (their tasks). It's either that or the true purpose behind this is bigger than the people can comprehend (like a cargo cult). It's probably a commentary on how people won't question existing system and prefer to go along with this (reflected by dialog "That is my task, go away" "other guard assigned this"). I can imagine existing in that situation is exhausting for your soul.
This non-questioning nature even brought to the (meta) title itself "the maker of masks". we are never revealed who they are, and across the two playthroughs I have seen, it was never brought up (is it because we are satisfied with our knowledge about the recycled masks?). We also never know who build that prison, that abysmal depth disposal. one of the comment here also brought up about what happened to the body after is was disposed? is that the beginning of the cycle again?
Great game. Thanks for playing this one manly
Eh... I'm not sure what to make of the ending, really. I guess the main character's motivation to continue the system would be that if they don't drop masks down then whoever arrives just dies, but I'm rather confused about the bit where he got thrown down the well. As far as I can tell, the second prison wing area was taken over by one of the prisoners, who was going around clubbing people at random and leaving them there. With the sole exception of the main character, who he dragged out to the well without any of the prison guards seeming to notice.
It's very Kafkaesque, at a minimum.
@@PhysicsGamer yeah good point there. Cant answer that part where the rogue prisoner brought mc to the well either.
@@PhysicsGamer I think he dragged them down there too eventually; he put on the Prison guard mask so that became his task.
I feel like searching for the deeper pits and exploring this hell would be pointless for either reason. Like, from a game's perspective it would ruin this original version. Plus the "this is hell and everything sucks" is an oddly satisfying answer as to what's going on.
The maker of masks might as well not exist, has already killed himself or is doing an equally pointless task as we and is essentially barely different from us and others.reminds me of a certain show where one of the main characters explore places that were supposedly "better", smarter and more advanced than theirs original one but each turned out to be equally as dense and pointless. They eventually stopped in one and when finally were convinced "This is the one. The place and a person that understands me" and hoped they'd get the answer for their questions. But that other person is also insane, says weird things and tells them to return, only for the character to return to their previous life and nothing changed in the end.
This is actually something special. This concept is deserving of a jacob's ladder style movie in my opinion...
I wonder if the body is also being recycle. After the body was dissposal perhaps their memory was reset
_"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful..."_
_~Ralph Waldo Emerson_
That also includes being honorable, to have compassion, to live and live well. The beings in this dreary dystopian world had none of that. They didn't even really understand their use in the world. They had tasks, but didn't understand why. Only the person who disposed of the bodies knew his purpose and finally had enough of it
This fit perfectly with the short game jam format - slow to build, but a nice punch ending.
I think the purpose of life is whatever you want it to be. You have the freedom to choose what to do with your life.
Huh? I thought you were going somewhere else with that quote. The blacksmith nails masks, the guards guard the prison and dispose the bodies. They have nothing else than their singular "use". Do hammers really need to understand their use to be "useful"? This world is the very embodiment of that quote.
@@exu7325 The quote was continued in my reply, not just the header "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you _have lived and lived well."_
Happiness is not a goal, it is the natural outcome of a life well lived. The guards and the ones in the cells questioned their purpose, saying "why". All the characters were half-dead things - the antithesis of live and live well. The game represented the futility and lack of purpose in life - they were just performing tasks. And perfunctorily performing tasks is not the same as having "purpose" in life.
Assuming this is a limbo type system their only escape is giving up. In a sense the prisoners who seem to be the most likely to do so are the ones in the best situation. The blacksmith guy who is the top of the hierarchy is the least likely to give up as he feels its his job to "save" people by masking them. Our player character isolated alone at the bottom of this well is the only one to know the truth of this place.
This reminds me of a short film called "The Maker" but it's much lighter compared to this game's story. It's about a creature with a task but unsure what it is but is aware it has a time limit. So it looks all around and tries to figure out its purpose and what it must do.
I love the sound design in this one! It's excellent compared to many that I've watched you play. The surreal games are my favorite by far
I always love the personality for all the character voices that manly does. Wether it be muffled(like this time),feminine,masculine,old,young, even job occupation (such as farmer or something)
This story reminds me of the faceless men in game of thrones where assassins use the faces of the dead for their missions.
Damn I really like this one. It’s so nostalgic in a mundane and macabre way. Also your muffled voicing for masked people is perfect
The scariest thing about this video was Manly reminding me of "10 years at least", almost spat out my coffee.
The atmosphere, the camera angles, the bizarre reality of it all. I'd love to see a longer version of this, but what's here is fantastic work.
I'd love to see more from this game, I hope they continue working on it and make a longer game based on this
Honestly, I think it’s perfect as it is. Adding anything more would ruin it.
i kinda wish it got a continuation, its fascinating and i wanna know more
It's really hard to describe just how perfect of a depressed, stuck feeling this game gives off while still leaving room for tons of theories and an entire universe hidden behind this game. Really well done!
feels like the right move is to just throw the masks in too, rather than recycling them
This was a nice surreal horror, surrealism all the way to the twist. I usually don't like the creative camera angles, but here you aren't forced to complete puzzles or gunfight through them.
"Please what did i do? I'm innocent-"
Manly- "thats what they always say"
Me: ... on second thought you're not wrong tho
as the diary scene was playing I said to myself "is that what our mask is for? is that what the point of the mask is" and then I died I'm typing this from hell
I think the guy at the end without a mask isn't actually part of the system at all. He's gotten out of his cell and is going on a rampage. But it doesn't matter, because dropping the blank masked man into the hole just keeps the system going. More people will arrive on hooks all the same.
Manly: What is my task?
Me: You make horror game let's plays.
It really comes down to I'll probably just do my job because what is the alternative? And then when it does get the better of you, the question becomes should I really pass on this job to another or just let everyone exist in an even worse hell than they're living already? Because it's a miserable existence but at least there's someone to end the suffering at the end. Without the markless mask they would suffer indefinitely. What I find most fascinating is the way the dev was able to show this entire system of existence from one pov and in such a short amount of time, good storytelling.
12:20 FOR TEN YEARS... AT LEAST! Didnt know manly was a yeageristchad
This game is really moving for some reason
I guess the search for purpose and feeling is kinda relatable
This has to be one of my favorite games that you've played. Feels like a combination of Silent Hill and IHNMAIMS. Very nostalgic, very interesting. Would love to see fixed cameras and tank controls make a comeback.
He runs around kinda like the going to the store guy and I love it
12:26 manly becoming a birb? NO I DON'T WANT THAT!
the maker of masks is one of my favorite horror games, its nice to see you play it!
I liked this one as a short game. I like that it's called Maker of Masks even though they aren't really made. I would be interested in more lore for sure. Where do the corpses go after masks are removed and thrown off the side of that room? What if you jump off and you have a mask that prevents you from dying? Is there really more to the mask/marks system or it is completely explained? What if one of the original arrivals lied about how the masks/tasks works in order to form his own system? Where did the masks originate? If someone gathers all of the masks from everyone and throws them into the abyss, does that "end" whatever this limbo system is?
I love how Manly can make things funny in his own way or super immersive (muffling his voice, emotion in voice in dialogue etc)
He doesn't over do commentary and he doesn't under-do it. it just feels natural.
He is a rare gem in gameplay, glad I found him and subbed. I just binge his content when I cant sleep.
Reminds of the claymation movie Mad God, super cool atmosphere and wish it was longer, just to explore the world
Watched that movie with my brother the other day, it was a very unique and interesting film.
Damn, good timing Manly. I was just about to watch yesterdays video when literally the second I clicked it I saw the notification for this.
Same.
Manly knows all. It’s a sign you must pay your dues in views
14:30 Reminds me of a quote from Pewdiepie: *"TELEPORTING NAKED GUY"*
Love the story here, it's like a short horror story.
This was super cool, gets your mind wandering in just the right way. It cuts at just the right time for the scope of the project, imo.
I'm actually really fascinated with this game; the atmosphere is really powerful. It gives a very eerie feel, one that makes me curious to explore more of this world. The implications are pretty chilling as well.
This is the first indie title in a long time that I find to be absolutely awesome in terms of concept.
If there was ever the perfect example of what "Kafkaesque" means, it's this. Which is exactly what you were trying to describe, Manly.
Serious Sanitarium vibes though; I'd buy a full version.
I loved that intro. Really, the whole environment, worldbuilding, camera angles, and sound design was perfect.
I like it. I don't know what the original intent of it was (like if it was "just" a horror game or not) but it felt like it could have several connections to things like the cycle of abuse (with the original mask maker passing their suffering onto the player to dole out to others), traditions/rules no one questions, or the way society treats people because of something they can't control.
I'd love to see more from the creator(s).
This is one of the most unanswered mystery horror game ever. What are they? What is the prison? Why are they there? Are they being punished? For what? How does the mask keep them from dying? Who built the place? Where do the bodies come from? Are they in purgatory? In hell? So many unanswered questions.
I love these kinds of stories where there are so many possible implications but no official answer, it allows for many interesting theories. I like how despite having the highest ranking among the masks the protagonist is just another cog in the wheel. The rankings create a feeling of authority over other inhabitants but ultimately mean nothing. They are all in the same hell, fueling the same pointless system, and being replaced when the time comes.
I love that this game has such a Silent Hill vibe that UA-cam incorrectly identified it as Silent Hill. It feels like someone's Silent Hill world.
This game stylistically reminds me a bit of Silent Hill, what with the haze in the central room and the rusty metal aesthetic. Which is totally not a bad thing, makes me feel almost nostalgic. I thought the premise was creative!
Man thaks for existing manly, i love your channel, right now i feel very sick but watching your videos will always make feel better
I really love how this game is. The camera angles, the pacing, the story... especially the ending. It leaves it to your imagination. Something I'll think about from time to time.
I'm glad that Manly found this. And I'm glad I clicked on it. This was a hidden gem.
For some reason, Manly's voice makes horror games less scary.
babe wake up, manly just posted a new video
The shots of the prison's exterior have the exact same energy as the wide shots of the megastructure from the series "Blame!" and it's really something else
God I love that rust-belt abandoned industry aesthetic. Just gives off this feeling of forlorn hopelessness while also just being aestheticly metal as hell.
The eternal purgatory itself is also pretty hardcore as an idea, immortality, at a cost.
Another thing that could be a good attention to story as well (assuming it really is on purpose lol) is the fact that when you begin gameplay, there aren't any more bodies coming through even if you stand there for hours. You are the last one to arrive, in other words, you were the last body the mask maker dumped before taking off his own and restarting the cycle.
It's also interesting to consider that they were all assigned a task by someone else before, and by the fact they are basically immortal in this world, and the prisoner said he hadn't seen anybody with your mask, I imagine there needed to be someone before all this to create some system to the world, possess this knowledge and pass it on. It's safe to assume the mask maker is the one who did it. He's the one who had been there longer than anyone, and created a system by "putting" himself at the starting point of the cycle so he could not be controlled. He made the masks with different markings randomly to be assigned to a person. But even him cannot understand why he is there or what's the point of staying in this limb place for eternity, just as we cannot understand our world fully and if there's any reason for our existence besides being born, reproducing and dying a few years later. That is the whole message of the game. Cool 😆
I love watching a recent video and then finding out one was uploaded while I watched the previous one
This is already what a 9 to 5 is lol. Everybody wears a fake smile and do Neverending mundane work
The social commentary is fairly simple, but I dig it.
Nail-head is the successor of Pin-head.
This idea of this game is Soo good. I would love to see it expanded
I thought that was fantastic. I'd love a longer one.
Main roblem with this world concept is :1) Who is build it? 2) Since mask isnt made, but recycled, there is constant number of "living" people. Amount of guards is seems to be fixed too. Most probably same with cells and prisoners, but since bodies is piling up there is shortage of masks.
And what if protag would not be thrown in well?
0:39 looks like that one area in little nightmares.
The look, the sounds, the camera angles, the dialogue: this almost feels like a world you didn't visit in Silent Hill 4.
This is top notch manly bad ass hero content. Thankyou manly, that was awesome
At first I thought:
Oh, well wearing a mask isn’t that bad.
Then I read that the title:
Oh wait, nailing them to your face is that bad.
Manly: Mmmm...camera angles
💀
The Atmosphere is PERFECT.
"..where you wake up in a world, where everyone is forced to wear masks." ...2020!?
I can't help but feel if the devs took inspiration from Little Nightmares. The body on the meat hook and the endless abyss reminds me of the Kitchen area of that game.
that’s exactly what i was thinking!
guy who has only played little nightmares: this is giving me major little nightmares vibes
Also “this is like a nightmare, but not in a scary way”
Manly, you’ve been doing this too long, your sense of fear has dulled.
I just found your channel, and I love it!! I really appreciate the effort you put into the voices of the characters
Oh boy a video at 9 AM!
Is it just me? I'm sensing a pattern of spiders & nails with Manly's recent videos. Heh, facing some fears are we?
I wear a mask with a smile for hours at a time
Didn't expect to get “Ballad of the Wind Fish” stuck in my head, while watching this video; thanks, Manly.
this game is so much better than i could have expected. fantastic concept with good execution and ending. instantly a new fave of mine
Wow the game looks amazing, the setting with the tons of open space reminds me of portal a lot, which is great
Manly muffling his voice because he's speaking with a "mask" on is just *chef's kiss*
hey dude, i just wanted to say that I really like your videos and i'd love for you to play more games similar to this one :) i hope you're having a wonderful day/night
Wow this is the earliest I’ve been to one of your videos
This game is awesome, wow. I really wasn't expect that ending, but I did love it.
You know its nice to see something that doesn't feel the need to put an optimistic cherry on top of a shit situation. It feels like every piece of media needs to do that now for some sort of meaning atleast to me.
And your voice adds so much