Thomas Was Alone - A Literary Analysis
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- How can a video game use concepts of minimalism to endear you to a bunch of colored rectangles? Let's find out!
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/ gamesaslit101
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Music:
Arcade Academy, by Pixel Head -
/ arcade-acadmey
Art:
Jimi Bonogofsky-Gronseth - jimidoodle@blogspot.com
Website: www.gamesasliterature.com
Facebook: / gamesasliterature
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More than friendship I think Thomas Was Alone speaks to fundamental issues of mortality and society towards the end. Some of the characters find meaning outside themselves before the revelation, but what ultimately unifies their actions is the drive to make a better life for someone else. They will not reap the benefits themselves, nor even meet the people that do. But they find purpose in this cause which serves as a catalyst to see value in their own imperfections and impermanence.
This is extrapolated to one of its natural conclusions in the form of religion. The way in which Team Jump reacts to Paul and his news has strong religious connotations, and their physical representation as 5 characters rather than 1 creates an instant 'following'.
Why am I crying to much from watching this
This game does that to me too. No shame in it.
Because you are alone and afraid. Come now ... step into the dark.
beuase you relate too it.
I think, both as a credit to the composer, but also a little sadly, a huge amount of the emotional impact comes from the music itself. It would be interesting to see an analysis of this game experienced with and without music.
When geometrical shapes make me cry
Is the first quote a Half-Life reference? "The right rectangle at the right time" - and the quoted person is named Gordon...
+Ludvig Janiuk Ha! Perhaps so. Hadn't occurred to me, actually.
9:00 I laughed my ass off. Lol, that would have been a great ending.
I was cringing at the length of this video. I watched the other 2 explanation vids and got nothing from them. So I watched this. Very good video, I wish I could look at things and understand the way you do.
Also the music had a lot to do with this game for me as well. Without this music that fit perfectly imo, it wouldn't have been the same game at all.
Very good video, subscribed.
One of the best watches I've had in the series up to now. That might be because there was some very nice music throughout the video, though. Hadn't actually played TWA but still really enjoyed your analysis!
I look forward to the next counterpoint and of course the counterarguments ;)
Yeah, the game's soundtrack is truly excellent. I've been trying to use the attached game's soundtrack more in the analyses. If it improves the experience that much, I may want to try and put music in the background of more episodes in general.
It certainly did in this case. Depends on the content and the music, I think.
wow. I downloaded this game from the PSN when I still played ps3 . it was from the "free" monthly game for PSN members. I just played the first few levels. I would never thought that Thomas Was Alone would have a deep in story and meaning. Thanks for the analysis of this game. It makes me want to play this game now. Almost every analysis you do makes me want to play these games all over again.
Literary Analysis: Thomas Was Alone was a great episode, and that game, though it was so simplistic, had a really compelling and complex characters/story. Better than Skyrim, even though I still love that for it's gameplay and beautiful scenery, etc. And that Skyrim reference was cool.
Maybe some day you'll do a literary analysis about the new Minecraft game?
Story Mode? You can bet I'll talk about it, at least, and I'd be surprised if it doesn't end up being good enough to analyze. Though I'll have to give the treatment to The Walking Dead before touching Telltale's other work, if only because I love it so, so much.
And I also have some points to make against those who say the choices don't matter...
I don't like how video games focus on realistic graphics, I think video games should lean more towards an animation style.
One person I talked to on UA-cam said that "Developers should stop trying to be the Martin Scorsese, and focus on being the John Lasseter or Hayao Miyazaki
Sean Johnson Very true. We'll always need our Scorseses, but at the moment we have so many of them it'd be really nice to have a few more Lassiters and Miyazakis.
Games As Literature Agree. And I'm not saying ALL games need to follow this principal. Some games do the gritty factor right, like The Last of Us and Spec Ops: The Line.
I'm just saying, it would be nice if someone brought something creative and unique to the table.
Sean Johnson Indeed. We do thankfully have some of that--visually speaking, we'd be remiss not to mention Journey, Okami, Telltale's games, Tearaway, a variety of Zelda titles, and a good many other games--but it's certainly a minority at the moment. Honestly, I think what we really need is the video game equivalent of Pixar, or perhaps Ghibli. A company that focuses on children's games, but makes them enjoyable and deep enough for adults to enjoy too.
I think Humongous Entertainment may have become that, given enough time, but sadly their run was cut short before video games were really looked at seriously as art.
Games As Literature Actually, I should mention Double Fine games, as well. Games like Broken Age, Candy Quest, and Psychonauts come close to what we're talking about here.
Games As Literature Exactly, I always wanted to start a game company of my own, with my friends. I always wanted be on of the directors of the company, and I told my friends that we should really focus on being more of Pixar of gaming. That doesn't mean our games won't be mature, they will, but we just wanted to add some creativity to an industry that is full of generic "realistic" games.
This is my favorite game of all time.
i like the TWA fan art in the background. James being in the “wrong” spot is a detail that i just needed to point out
Shapes and Beats also takes Notes from this Game as both of these games have Simplistic Styles and the Main Character is a Simple Cube that you can use to "Project" yourself in. Exept in Thomas was Alone's Case, You felt a Connection to the Character rather than being it. :3
And that's how digimon came to exist
Love ur vids man don't stop uploading
Moses Re:Booted Reviews Thanks! I have no plans to stop. ^_^
sorry for bugging you but what equipment do you use for your videos because i'm a beginning youtuber
Moses Re:Booted Reviews I use a Pentax K-5, which is actually a still camera but it takes excellent HD video. Mic is terrible though (check out my first analysis if you want to hear), so I have a Rode videomic that mounts on top of it and plugs in. For a format similar to my videos, a boom mic is the way to go, so you get good sound focused on your location instead of taking in ambient noise from everywhere ever.
And my lights are Interfit Super Cool-Lite 5s. You can find them in pairs for relatively cheap, which is how I managed to get them. They come with really nice covers to distribute the light and avoid glare.
I'm kind of a beginner myself, as this series is my first attempt and isn't yet a year old, but I got all this stuff for around $500 in total and it's served me quite well. Thankfully, I also have a wonderful wife who can help with my weak spots, like lighting and framing. I think production value (that is, something more than sitting at one's computer and talking) is pretty important to distinguish yourself, so even a bit of this will go a long way toward granting your videos credibility. ^_^
thank so very much i hope your very successful
I just replayed this game recently. I love it so much. It's not only fun to play, but the way the story is told.... So good! Have you ever thought of doing an episode on Benjamin's Flight? No pressure, just curious!
As for this episode you sum up the story nicely. I come back to this video often as nostalgia. As for your comment on "You won't cry if you hear me summarize it." Well I'll be the strange one here because... Well, I did. I personally don't mind spoilers and summaries. Especially if something I am interested in is on a platform I don't currently have. When I finally was able to play it on my Wii U all those years ago, I knew what was going to happen, but it still spoke to me. It was your video that led me to this game in the first place.
So for that, I say.... Thank you! Sorry it took so long to say it.
I’ve watched this a hundred times and I just noticed the characters in the background. Fookin love it
Sadly to some graphics are the most important thing and not much else matters.
I really enjoy how you analyse video games.
Perhaps next time you do the last of us?
Thanks! And be assured, The Last of Us is in the lineup. Excellent game. ^_^
If you're life was a video game, I would you play? How would you interpret the world or your life in case. A simple task could be seen to start out like Thomas would, like an infant's first steps. As you progress, you gain more techniques and abilities (Thomas and his friends). I thank video games for this perspective
My life game would be King's Field- a muddy lonesome trek through a dark dungeon full of despair.
Wow, i actually am a little blown away by this one. I heard about this game but never knew it had depth
It's sad that games like these aren't in the spotlight but instead crappy games like fortnite
I’m actually making comics with these guys!
I think I came home.
Amazing video. Well done!
Roughly 5%
[This comment is for my own purposes of making a playlist, and is not a judgement of quality.]
Please review the KOTOR series/SWTOR and then the Mass Effect series (Mass Effect 1-4).
Masterpice video.
now that i think of it the narrator of this game would make a good ttte narrator
young me though this game had something to do with thomas the tank engine
Would you chose this over Braid I only have the cash for one or the other.
Depends entirely on what you're feeling. Thomas Was Alone is a much more straightforward narrative, an emotive story to get invested in. Braid is more abstract and visually beautiful, meant less to be felt and more to be thought about. Braid if you want to think, Thomas if you want to feel, in short.
Both also go on sale regularly, so you can probably grab either easily later on.
@@GameProf Thomas was only £1.69 so I grabbed both, it had a 70% discount on.
- overly exited mode on- omg i need Psychonauts please please * _ *
+Pinco Pallino I've considered it, but I'd definitely need to replay it. Also a bit nervous because humor is a major element of that game, and it's a weak spot of mine; comedy is not something I understand as well as storytelling. But heck, they're making a sequel now, so maybe it'll be a good time for it soon.
+Games As Literature I know that feel :s Well just don't get stressed, if you feel like you really want to do it, well do it, so you'll have a challenge to overcome, if you think you should do it because of Psychonauts 2, maybe is better if you don't do it then
+Pinco Pallino More like Psychonauts 2 is a good excuse for me to gather the courage and put out the effort. I'd like to do it, insecurities or not. It's good to challenge myself.
That's what i meant with "a challenge to overcome", i definetly agree, so good luck
I respect Thomas Was Alone, but it didn't do much for me, for whatever reason.
Just watched this video for the first time, and I agree that this was an excellent game. However, I have to say that it was difficult for me to enjoy because I don't like platforming. This is an interesting issue with the medium, I have to say i couldn't really enjoy the game, because the effort to get to the story wasn't really worth it for me.
+Robin Allen That is a difficult element of video games, and part of why I don't have a problem with initiatives to make easier play modes or remove typical challenge-based play from a given work; its a shame when a certain style of play gets in the way of someone's ability to enjoy a game.
+Games As Literature Yeah... though it is a difficult issue to solve, if the gameplay is inherent to the story. Making easier gameplay will make it less enjoyable to people who like platformers, and choosing easier platforming just to get to the story defeats the game a little.
i cri evry tiem