Patreon, patreon. Patreon. I patreon if you want. I'm so tired. www.patreon.com/user?u=74033438 Edit: I also put the full size thumbnail image for free on the patreon if you want to use it as a desktop background or something similar.
@@jonaut5705wow I love rainworld the video game and voices of the void the video game, I wish i could watch more videos about rain world the video game and voices of the void the video game!!! algorithm begging reply!!
probably the worst scare ANY game has given me was from VoTV. Some signals i had been collecting were live feeds of my base, and each one got closer to me. First it was a birds eye view, then a view through the window, then through a vent on the ceiling, and finally, the inside of a locker, and a tooltip saying "Don't look inside the locker." Granted i usually don't find that sort of 4th wall breaking horror very scary, but my heart stopped when i read that. It might be the most perfect horror sequence i've ever seen executed. It took the Fear of the Unknown and turned it into "confront the unknown or let it be 15 feet away from you forever" and even though all that happened when I worked up the courage to open the locker was a game crash, it still sticks with me because I never actually got to see what was in it. God i love VoTV
loved how you circled back to previous topics as if we we're finding ourselves at an already seen point of interest in a trail or something, as if we were walking in circles, which is the thing to be most scared of when hiking through a forest
I also do a lot of deceptive editing to avoid sudden flashes of light otherwise. I have a friend who is severely epileptic and I want to make sure anyone who has that can watch my stuff.
At the moment your videos are the highest quality videogame essays I can think of off the top of my head. If god only knew what a compliment that is granted the amount of them I watch. The specific level of analysis is highly appreciated, and when I finally get my career off the ground your patreon is getting a new member. And now I have to play this damn horror game lmao
Thank you so much. Another note about Voices of the Void that adds to it is that the game can also be very funny. It is primarily a horror game, but has no obligation to always feel that way, and funny stuff happens often. Enjoy!
One thing I love about VotV is watching streamers or content creators play it. It becomes a lot less intense and isolating than playing the game yourself, but instead it becomes one of the most enjoyable games for me to watch. It's the closest thing to a big brother/truman show experience for a viewer that a video game stream can have in my opinion. Part of this is the meta aspects discussed in the video where the entire game itself feels like part of the experience, where a viewer is watching the streamer play the part of victim in a horror story directly rather than watching the streamer play a character in a video game playing the part of a victim in a horror story. Between the obtuse controls, the humor, the fourth wall breaks, and the spooks, the game always feels like its toying with the player directly. The other aspect is how this game is a sandbox/job simulator. The streamer you're watching will get bored and wander off, they will clean and organize their whole base, they will buy silly extraneous items and personify random objects. Every persons base ends up with a room full of something or an object stuck somewhere or a key item lost in some part of the map. Oddly enough it really feels like you're watching someone live their life, organize their apartment, settle in, and make the world their own. This is much more impactful than games that are sandbox, slice of life, or directly organization based since in this case the game has an entirely unrelated goal and threats. The streamer's gameplay motivations are earning points and seeing the events, they are only cleaning because they're human and we want to live in a nice space. The game itself feels like a place you're inhabiting rather than a place to pass through on your way to beat it. And of course I did all these things when I played it, but I think you don't really notice it as much when you're the one playing it. Watching someone else organize their apartment from afar is a lot more... strange than organizing your own apartment. This of course ties into the meta aspects and how the game toys with the player. There will be an explosion that throws all your carefully placed items around all the rooms, there will be a threat that subverts your perfectly laid defenses, there will be something making your day job more difficult, and you will be reminded that maybe your little apartment isn't as safe and nice as you once thought. The game doesn't just mess with the player as a game, it messes with them as a person. All the hard work you did that you thought was outside the main goal of the game, it stares directly at and screws with while you scramble to pick up the pieces. All of this makes for great drama and story arcs with the streamer. As a viewer you feel like you're sitting over the game's shoulder, watching the streamer try to go about a normal day, waiting for the game to flick the next switch and send them into a panic.
Rain World, Voices of the Void, AND Mollystar's Device Theory _mentioned all in one video?!_ Damn, now _that_ is delightful. ...By the by, if there's another game you'd like to interest yourself in for "Aimlessness," Yume Nikki is probably the grandmother of all experimental, exploration-based video games. And it's hundreds of cooler fangames. Like Yume 2kki, or .Flow, or Collective Unconscious. Games that explore the concepts Nikki presented far more than it did.
Holy fucking heck, this really is my place and people, i love all this stuff, I was just about to make a comment about Yume Nikki after 0*N 0*W was talked about and while just finding out about VOTV i know i love it already, heck i even recognized footage from that weird fish game Jacob Geller talked about once I love all of this The one game i didnt recognize tho was that one with the PS1 like textures it wasnt talked about but does anyone know what game it is? The one around 29:48 there are a few clips
@@tomas_iss7469 the game is "slide in the woods" Also, I would have to say my dream game would be something like VotV during the day, but when you go to sleep it turns into a yume nikki fangame. and some way to link the two.
@@tomas_iss7469 the game is "Slide in the woods" i believe. Also, my dream game would probably be something similar to VotV during the day, but turn into a yume-nikki-like when you go to sleep, with some way to interconnect both.
@@tomas_iss7469 The one i think you mean is "slide in the woods", i believe. also my comments keep disappearing on my end? hopefully they don't suddenly reappear and flood the replies.
your videos always manages to capture my heart, ever since i first discovered your channel. i find myself just turning off the light, lowering the brightness on my second screen and just... watching. especially in periods when the depression is harder than ever, i find myself drawn to your videos, again and again. thank you
Wow this was good, WOW THIS WAS GOOD. Your handle on topics, when to fold in a seemingly auxiliary idea before moving back to your central point, the way you move from game to game or BACK to games in a way that feels both natural and deserved... stellar writing, dude. I'm gonna need to play Voices of the Void, it sounds crazy.
it amazes me how I can watch a video for 45 minutes, not remember a single thing that's been said, yet understand it all at the end. your scripting is awe inspiring
@10:22 the slight drowned out jazzy notes really put you in a room with a friend whos having this conversation about the topic and you're there, warm, comfortable, listening awaiting your turn to speak once the argument has been made. Very comfortable, very very nice. 10/10
You always have the most interesting videos on this site. I almost never get exited when a creator I like releases a new video. I used to have that feeling back in the day but not anymore. You brought back that feeling entirely with your videos. Thank you Judge.
Votv is likely going to be one of my favorite games of the decade, but for pretty different reasons than outlined here. Its an incredible horror game for its horror and it uses the forest for that, as well as the isolating yet comforting feeling that comes along with it, but one thing not mentioned in the video is what a sense of humor the game has. It pulls practical jokes on the player (in a game design sense), but most of your time in game is spent doing a research job and literally doing housework and keeping yourself alive in a studio apartment. This does double duty in making an interesting game, it both adds a layer of immersion so thick that you can be sweeping or picking up trash or worrying about when to piss and something unnerving can happen at literally any moment without courtesy, but likewise just makes caring for your self and your living quarters part of gameplay. It has wonderful red herring moments of "A scary sound happened" or "The power went out" and its because of something entirely mundane. Your protag is a character, he's got a name (Dr. Kel, he's a femboy :3), he has little quirks like enjoying eating cockroaches n shit, so you, the player, getting spooked by your own shadow out in the forest can almost be read as both a metatextual horror aspect of the game, but also comedically as Dr. Kel being a jumpy little bastard. Sadly during my play experience that way Judge is talking about the forest fell away pretty quickly as my save file went on, and for me it felt intentional. A story is being told, and part of that story means to subvert your expectations of horror. At a certain point, scary events would put a smile on my face and make me go "Ha! That was a good one!". For a worse game this would be a bad thing, but votv wants you to feel that way. Its horror is not just its isolation, its spooky signals from beyond the stars, and its insistence that you have no say on whats going on, but that those moments happen only peppered in to you fighting and fucking around with the clunky physics engine. And without going into spoilers, this is the same trick the story is pulling too. Its great for that, I love it, but I do think Judge's mention of it here fails to put that as a central point in votv's favor. Its not just a horror game leveraging its medium as a game, with its weird convoluted engine, its just as much an occupation simulator that wants you to fight the interface. It isnt *just* terrifying, its funny.
its horror couldn't be nearly as effective without its silliness. you keep forgetting it's a horror game, the invisible alien catgirls seem scary at first but you learn what they are and that they're just pranksters and now you're friends. the horror fades, this game might be marked as it but it clearly doesn't take the idea of scaring you that seriously, right? hey, what's that distant yellow glow moving through the trees outside? where's that bassy rumbling coming from? did I just hear the locked door open up?
Big shame you don't seem to know about/didn't talk about Darkwood. Imo it is the scariest non-first person perspective game I've ever played that gives you weapons. It is also a game that gives you zero context or exposition, it is entirely on you to learn how to survive, what happened in the woods, and how to get back home.
Excellent video as always! I always learn of so many neat unknown games from these types of essays. Man, there are so many good artpieces in gaminggggg…
I haven't finished the video yet but I want to type it before I forget: the segment comparing call of duty and battlefield reminded me of military games like Foxhole, Squad, and Enlisted that lean much harder into realism, teamwork, and making you feel like a small part of a big war machine, like by having logistics partially managed by players (basically unheard of in any other genre). I haven't played any of them but their youtube community's videos kinda fascinate me, mainly foxhole and squad so far also good video nice video
I literally only ended up here because of Rain World, which I’ve played every day since loading it 7 days ago. That’s the small piece of my algorithm building that I was missing to find content like this.
Great job! I love when people dive into these topics. I've always loved the uncertainty which comes with woods and forests, and the psychology of why that's so. Keep up the great work :)
24:34 one of the coolest visuals ive seen yet, the script and video storytelling led to this moment perfectly. I had to do a digital double take thr moment my brain recognized it
The writing in this video was impeccable. I really appreciate the way you use your videos to elucidate larger topics while still retaining the personal connection that these topics have to you. The ending to this one left me in awe. Well done.
Another thing with VOTV using source engine sfx is also that it brings that creepy feeling from source games. The feeling of emptiness of the map and the disbelief that you're all alone, which fits well with the part you explained that the player isn't really in control of the world.
So I'm a bit late commenting on this but hope you see it. Im a psychotherapist with over a decade experience in mental health and this has been one of the best videogame essays for me to explore fear and anxiety. The aspects of the experience you chose to disucss and how you connected them was great. When treating generalised anxiety i talk about uncertainty so much, largely for reasons you touch on. A helpful way to think about uncertainty is its three factors which can exist in varying amounts- novelty (how new something is to our experience), ambiguity (how understandable it is) and predictable (which i wont bother to define). You discuss these factors but it can be helpful to clarify them in this way. A small aside, i remember working with a gentleman with paranoid schizophrenia and he saw people as having faces of a fox. He saw that as his experience telling him to trust such people. Anyway, as i say great video
@@TheCursedJudge really interesting video and games discussed for this. I assume you've played milkinsideabagofmilk... But if you haven't I would recommend for this factor
Great video! I feel the same, deeply fascinated and supportive of non standard experiences without necessarily favoring them myself. Rain world has been a deeply fascinating experience for me despite making almost 0 progress after 15 hours but it also makes me want to cuss out loud when slugcat trips and gets stuck in a crevice causing a game over after navigating the sanctuary.
I've put so much time into Voices of Void, more than I have into some polished and finished AAA games and this ones not even out of Alpha yet. I'm very hopeful it finds success on official release. It's that rare gem of atmospheric, but almost cozy and nostalgic horror. It always amazes me that despite how it runs and plays, it is in fact not a source engine / Gmod map but an Unreal 4 game emulating Source Engine in everything from game feel to sound effects.
the way you take mundane video game aesthetic and transcend it into a thought or theory i didnt know i believed in, is why you are my favorite youtuber.
You’re a magnificent writer, I really think you provide a level of thoughtfulness that very few people of similar ambitions are able to reach. It’s very interesting to watch something akin to literary theory in games be developed by regular people so intelligently in real time; I think you’re making very valuable contributions.
so good to see such a curious topic covered with amazing games as examples! I'm kinda surprised you haven't talked about Darkwood though, since it literally revolves around The Forest and handles it really well
Weirdly I always feel compelled to leave a comment on these videos. There’s something about them, that speaks to me. It is clear that so much time, thought and effort has gone into the script writing, every word feels carefully chosen and crafted to create a feeling. In an odd way, these videos make me feel as though I am part of something much bigger, they make me feel small, but not in a bad way, more in an awe-inspiring one. Thank you, for every one of these videos that you have chosen to make and every one that you make in the future.
It's worth noting that in some forms of combat, having consistency in animations actually makes a degree of sense. While real world combat is unpredictable and scary, training often is not. So if you have someone using a weapon that requires a lot of skill to use effectively (like a sword), you are likely to see and recognize elements of the forms they learned as students. One analogy I've heard (though given the lack of anyone still alive for whom learning swordfighting was a life-and-death situation, I'm not sure how true this is) - the intent of training with sword forms is to learn sequences of moves that flow together, how to choose which sequences to use based on what you're seeing, and how to smoothly switch to that chosen sequence. Then actual sparring or combat is just a matter of putting that into practice and correctly reading your opponent's choices. (And in a real match where one hit is probably going to at least open you up to a fatal followup, that doesn't actually take very long - the most evenly matched pair of HEMA swordfighters will reach that decisive blow in seconds in their sparring matches) Which means, yes, if you're fighting someone in Dark Souls who's a legendary swordsman of history like Knight Artorias, there's going to be certain strikes and positions that are foundational to how he was trained, and thus every time you see that move start, you know what happens next. (The unrealistic part is the fight dragging on for 5-10 minutes, the part where you die, respawn and walk back into the battle knowing more about his combat style, and the fact that he only knows a dozen or so sequences to shift through - the last of which is the biggest concession to player fun, if every boss knew a few hundred sequences of moves like a skilled fighter would, then you lose the fantasy of being able to read your enemy because you're a modern person, not an ancient skilled warrior who's spent their lives learning to read other skilled warriors.) Also, yes, this is exactly why some scholars suggested that an entirely untrained opponent with an intuitive weapon could be an extremely dangerous foe - without formal training, you don't have this system of choosing between discrete combat maneuvers, you just...wing it. And the skilled opponent who relies on their ability to read your every move is baffled. They're like a fighter pilot who's radar is jammed - suddenly you're working on raw instinct. (Of course, there's limits to this argument - most untrained opponents will do one of the same handful of things, and among those are surrendering and running away, it's just that a lucky few will come up with something truly novel.)
bro rain world and 0 n 0 w? some of my favs :) wondful way to explain rain world. you put good words to it. "snadbox horror?" oh baby here we go. hoh yes, thank you for bring this to our atention
I live in a forest village that's close enough to a highway that you can use its noises to find your way out of the woods if you get lost, but it's also given me an appreciation for how small human things are thanks to getting a good view of the place on my commute. When the place you live goes from taking up your entire field of view to a tiny speck on the horizon, while nature just keeps going... you feel how small and insignificant you really are.
Lovely video! I really like how you managed to encompass so many different angles and aspects of the concept! On a more personal note I find it interesting how a lot of the reasons why Voices of The Void was immersive for you were (nearly) the same reasons why it was not at all immersive for me and took me out of the experience (but that does not take away from the fact that you still made a lot of good points in that section). Thank you very much!
Voices of the void and rain world in the same video... unbelievably peak... it feels so nice to actually hear someone talk about voices of the void like this for once too I feel like there is so much to the game, it's probably just because it's still deep in development lol
Forest is like an ocean in many ways. Both of them are mysterious and full of animals we didn't yet discover. People tend to underestimate how huge both forest and an ocean can be so they wander and get lost never to be seen again.
One game I think would've fit perfectly into the horror segment is Chapter 2 of Slay the Princess called "The Beast." There's a frame of the Beast Princess staring at you with her glowing eyes from the forest that made me feel genuine horror like you described during the Voices of the Void segment. I really recommend you check it out if you haven't played it, seems right up your alley.
VOTV has interlaced with my brain unlike basically any other game I've played, even after having taken a break for a while it shows up in my dreams, with brand new features & places that I'm so excited to try, and then I wake up greatly dissapointed
I've been playing Borderlands (The first one) And it's so emotionless, I meet a character and later met another that was supposedly friends with them, who asked me to go back and check on them. The first character was dead, and that was the end No angry revenge, no mournful moment.
Rainworld mentioned for the second time on this channel? Suprizing, hope one day you’ll talk about downpour, but imma go check out voices of the void, you caught my interest.
you always manage to make your videos so fascinating to watch. I fondly remember the mirage garden and the out of bounds videos. This one will for sure be one of those fondly remembered ones. my best friend is a total votv geek, as well as I myself have played rain world before, so I knew a lot about what the video was going to be about. Even if so, the video was captivating all the way through, which you never fail to do! can't wait to see another one!
i played a 2014 game called darkwood. it focused heavily on the unknown and presented the forest as a force. the monsters and people within were merely a form of ecosystem trapped within this twisted world. the concept of the forest was the threat rather than just its inhabitants and that seemed interesting to me.
i honestly don't know if i've ever had a favorite game, but if someone were to ask me whether rainworld was my favorite game, i'd probably say that it was. everything about it is so special. i'm excited for the new dlc
It's a funny thing how one could 'like' an idea or concept, while the thing itself could be uncomfortable or distressing. That is to say, I would probably really 'like' Voices of the Void, while being absolutely terrified whenever I'm actually playing it. Horror and nature have an interesting relationship in video games, at least how you described it. To reiterate some of the points you mentioned: nature is unknowable, unpredictable, and doesn't care about you in the slightest. It creates an environment that doesn't feel "right", where you don't feel "safe"...Until you _do_ because you figured something out, and the feeling of horror fades away. But that can then lead into a different emotion: Curiosity. As someone who considers themself a scientist at heart, someone interested in learning. While it might be hampered by fear, I'm oftentimes more interested in what I can learn. And in that sense, nature isn't unknowable; it becomes something you don't know _yet_ . It becomes more of a journey to understanding this world being interacted with, and how to navigate it. And maybe that's part of what you were trying to say in this video? I don't know, I just had thoughts to ramble about I guess.
Patreon, patreon. Patreon. I patreon if you want. I'm so tired.
www.patreon.com/user?u=74033438
Edit: I also put the full size thumbnail image for free on the patreon if you want to use it as a desktop background or something similar.
How the hell does this link work
Busted a huge load to this video
saw rain world thumbnail, instinctive click response activated
@@ShinyLairon 🤨
@@tardigrademicroyes yes yes yes yes
VOTV AND Rain World? Sorry homework, peak dropped
Came for votv, got rain world AND votv!!! w slugwell!!!!
RIGHT?!?!?!!
peak
i saw the satellite in the thumbnail and was like" votv lol" then it actualyl was????? this is peak
SLug cattttttttt
BRO I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING TWO, THOSE ARE MY TWO FAVORITE GAMES
RAIN WORLD MENTIONED!!!!!!!!!! ALGORITHM BOOSTING COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@jonaut5705wow I love rainworld the video game and voices of the void the video game, I wish i could watch more videos about rain world the video game and voices of the void the video game!!! algorithm begging reply!!
Rainworld & VotV mentioned!
I actually jumped out of my seat when I saw the thumbnail
Chills.
Yeeeeeeeeeee baby wooooo
probably the worst scare ANY game has given me was from VoTV.
Some signals i had been collecting were live feeds of my base, and each one got closer to me. First it was a birds eye view, then a view through the window, then through a vent on the ceiling, and finally, the inside of a locker, and a tooltip saying "Don't look inside the locker." Granted i usually don't find that sort of 4th wall breaking horror very scary, but my heart stopped when i read that. It might be the most perfect horror sequence i've ever seen executed. It took the Fear of the Unknown and turned it into "confront the unknown or let it be 15 feet away from you forever" and even though all that happened when I worked up the courage to open the locker was a game crash, it still sticks with me because I never actually got to see what was in it. God i love VoTV
Yea that shit was fucking terrifying, glad VoTV is becoming more popular. Thank god for Charborg for bringing my attention to the game lol
I clicked for VOTV, and when I realized “RAIN WORLD TOO?” I was ecstatic. Amazing commentary on two awesome games!
I AM GLAD A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE ARE RAIN WORLD AND VOTV FANS
I clicked for rainworld
If rain world is mentioned, I will watch! 0.0
@@matthewboire6843 Fr same
Gotta take out my wallet cause every time I watch one of your videos I come out the other end with 2-3 new purchased games I hadn't heard of
Same. This time was nice because i already own rain world and Voices of the Void is free.99
real af
My favorite hole of rabbits is in this comment section? Truly he is a man of culture. I always knew it.
How many of those do you end up playing?
Real
loved how you circled back to previous topics as if we we're finding ourselves at an already seen point of interest in a trail or something, as if we were walking in circles, which is the thing to be most scared of when hiking through a forest
37:49 39:17 "Mild Jumpscare/Light Flash in 5..."
May the other side of your pillow always remain cool.
I also do a lot of deceptive editing to avoid sudden flashes of light otherwise. I have a friend who is severely epileptic and I want to make sure anyone who has that can watch my stuff.
@@TheCursedJudge Thanks for the reply! :D Amazing video as always.
@@TheCursedJudge Respect
Rainworld spotted let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
At the moment your videos are the highest quality videogame essays I can think of off the top of my head. If god only knew what a compliment that is granted the amount of them I watch. The specific level of analysis is highly appreciated, and when I finally get my career off the ground your patreon is getting a new member. And now I have to play this damn horror game lmao
Thank you so much. Another note about Voices of the Void that adds to it is that the game can also be very funny. It is primarily a horror game, but has no obligation to always feel that way, and funny stuff happens often. Enjoy!
One thing I love about VotV is watching streamers or content creators play it. It becomes a lot less intense and isolating than playing the game yourself, but instead it becomes one of the most enjoyable games for me to watch. It's the closest thing to a big brother/truman show experience for a viewer that a video game stream can have in my opinion. Part of this is the meta aspects discussed in the video where the entire game itself feels like part of the experience, where a viewer is watching the streamer play the part of victim in a horror story directly rather than watching the streamer play a character in a video game playing the part of a victim in a horror story. Between the obtuse controls, the humor, the fourth wall breaks, and the spooks, the game always feels like its toying with the player directly.
The other aspect is how this game is a sandbox/job simulator. The streamer you're watching will get bored and wander off, they will clean and organize their whole base, they will buy silly extraneous items and personify random objects. Every persons base ends up with a room full of something or an object stuck somewhere or a key item lost in some part of the map. Oddly enough it really feels like you're watching someone live their life, organize their apartment, settle in, and make the world their own. This is much more impactful than games that are sandbox, slice of life, or directly organization based since in this case the game has an entirely unrelated goal and threats. The streamer's gameplay motivations are earning points and seeing the events, they are only cleaning because they're human and we want to live in a nice space. The game itself feels like a place you're inhabiting rather than a place to pass through on your way to beat it. And of course I did all these things when I played it, but I think you don't really notice it as much when you're the one playing it. Watching someone else organize their apartment from afar is a lot more... strange than organizing your own apartment.
This of course ties into the meta aspects and how the game toys with the player. There will be an explosion that throws all your carefully placed items around all the rooms, there will be a threat that subverts your perfectly laid defenses, there will be something making your day job more difficult, and you will be reminded that maybe your little apartment isn't as safe and nice as you once thought. The game doesn't just mess with the player as a game, it messes with them as a person. All the hard work you did that you thought was outside the main goal of the game, it stares directly at and screws with while you scramble to pick up the pieces. All of this makes for great drama and story arcs with the streamer. As a viewer you feel like you're sitting over the game's shoulder, watching the streamer try to go about a normal day, waiting for the game to flick the next switch and send them into a panic.
Rain World, Voices of the Void, AND Mollystar's Device Theory _mentioned all in one video?!_
Damn, now _that_ is delightful.
...By the by, if there's another game you'd like to interest yourself in for "Aimlessness," Yume Nikki is probably the grandmother of all experimental, exploration-based video games.
And it's hundreds of cooler fangames. Like Yume 2kki, or .Flow, or Collective Unconscious. Games that explore the concepts Nikki presented far more than it did.
Holy fucking heck, this really is my place and people, i love all this stuff, I was just about to make a comment about Yume Nikki after 0*N 0*W was talked about and while just finding out about VOTV i know i love it already, heck i even recognized footage from that weird fish game Jacob Geller talked about once
I love all of this
The one game i didnt recognize tho was that one with the PS1 like textures it wasnt talked about but does anyone know what game it is? The one around 29:48 there are a few clips
@@tomas_iss7469 the game is "slide in the woods"
Also, I would have to say my dream game would be something like VotV during the day, but when you go to sleep it turns into a yume nikki fangame. and some way to link the two.
@@tomas_iss7469 the game is "Slide in the woods" i believe.
Also, my dream game would probably be something similar to VotV during the day, but turn into a yume-nikki-like when you go to sleep, with some way to interconnect both.
@@tomas_iss7469 The one i think you mean is "slide in the woods", i believe. also my comments keep disappearing on my end? hopefully they don't suddenly reappear and flood the replies.
@@RevorDragon thank you :3
your videos always manages to capture my heart, ever since i first discovered your channel. i find myself just turning off the light, lowering the brightness on my second screen and just... watching. especially in periods when the depression is harder than ever, i find myself drawn to your videos, again and again. thank you
new cursed judge my love
the video sucks dont even botheur
new cursed judge my lovdge
ro ramdin jumpscare...
It's so cool that you mentioned MollyStars' Device Theory. It's so good!
It's the only video essay series of that length I've ever watched and considered worth it
Wow this was good, WOW THIS WAS GOOD. Your handle on topics, when to fold in a seemingly auxiliary idea before moving back to your central point, the way you move from game to game or BACK to games in a way that feels both natural and deserved... stellar writing, dude. I'm gonna need to play Voices of the Void, it sounds crazy.
thank you so much!
That's a nice thumbnail ya got there.
it's my desktop wallpaper now (i love rain world and VotV)
it amazes me how I can watch a video for 45 minutes, not remember a single thing that's been said, yet understand it all at the end. your scripting is awe inspiring
Because they are speaking in concepts but not explaining anything. You'll just have to eventually "get it".
@@RuneKatashima Might you give more explanation to this? I'm curious by what you mean
RAIN WORLD SPOTTED!!!!!
BUT ALSO ECHO MENTIONED!!???
@10:22 the slight drowned out jazzy notes really put you in a room with a friend whos having this conversation about the topic and you're there, warm, comfortable, listening awaiting your turn to speak once the argument has been made. Very comfortable, very very nice. 10/10
you already know its fire when you see VOTV on the first frame 🔥
And i am here again. Here we go
You always have the most interesting videos on this site. I almost never get exited when a creator I like releases a new video. I used to have that feeling back in the day but not anymore. You brought back that feeling entirely with your videos. Thank you Judge.
Device theory mentioned? Rain World mentioned? This video's got it all! Awesome job!
Votv is likely going to be one of my favorite games of the decade, but for pretty different reasons than outlined here. Its an incredible horror game for its horror and it uses the forest for that, as well as the isolating yet comforting feeling that comes along with it, but one thing not mentioned in the video is what a sense of humor the game has. It pulls practical jokes on the player (in a game design sense), but most of your time in game is spent doing a research job and literally doing housework and keeping yourself alive in a studio apartment. This does double duty in making an interesting game, it both adds a layer of immersion so thick that you can be sweeping or picking up trash or worrying about when to piss and something unnerving can happen at literally any moment without courtesy, but likewise just makes caring for your self and your living quarters part of gameplay. It has wonderful red herring moments of "A scary sound happened" or "The power went out" and its because of something entirely mundane. Your protag is a character, he's got a name (Dr. Kel, he's a femboy :3), he has little quirks like enjoying eating cockroaches n shit, so you, the player, getting spooked by your own shadow out in the forest can almost be read as both a metatextual horror aspect of the game, but also comedically as Dr. Kel being a jumpy little bastard.
Sadly during my play experience that way Judge is talking about the forest fell away pretty quickly as my save file went on, and for me it felt intentional. A story is being told, and part of that story means to subvert your expectations of horror. At a certain point, scary events would put a smile on my face and make me go "Ha! That was a good one!". For a worse game this would be a bad thing, but votv wants you to feel that way. Its horror is not just its isolation, its spooky signals from beyond the stars, and its insistence that you have no say on whats going on, but that those moments happen only peppered in to you fighting and fucking around with the clunky physics engine. And without going into spoilers, this is the same trick the story is pulling too. Its great for that, I love it, but I do think Judge's mention of it here fails to put that as a central point in votv's favor. Its not just a horror game leveraging its medium as a game, with its weird convoluted engine, its just as much an occupation simulator that wants you to fight the interface. It isnt *just* terrifying, its funny.
its horror couldn't be nearly as effective without its silliness. you keep forgetting it's a horror game, the invisible alien catgirls seem scary at first but you learn what they are and that they're just pranksters and now you're friends. the horror fades, this game might be marked as it but it clearly doesn't take the idea of scaring you that seriously, right?
hey, what's that distant yellow glow moving through the trees outside? where's that bassy rumbling coming from? did I just hear the locked door open up?
@@uncroppedsoop Hey was this tree always in the way
@@pablopereyra7126 I mean the moving trees are super benign
Big shame you don't seem to know about/didn't talk about Darkwood.
Imo it is the scariest non-first person perspective game I've ever played that gives you weapons. It is also a game that gives you zero context or exposition, it is entirely on you to learn how to survive, what happened in the woods, and how to get back home.
How this guy make games so damn deep…
Great description of these legendary games, I like how you managed to capture the very essence of every single one of them, without heavy spoilers.
Excellent video as always! I always learn of so many neat unknown games from these types of essays.
Man, there are so many good artpieces in gaminggggg…
Hi Blue. I think you should try playing rain world, even if you don’t upload a video on it. It’s really fun.
holy shit, the sneaky Echo shout out
I haven't finished the video yet but I want to type it before I forget: the segment comparing call of duty and battlefield reminded me of military games like Foxhole, Squad, and Enlisted that lean much harder into realism, teamwork, and making you feel like a small part of a big war machine, like by having logistics partially managed by players (basically unheard of in any other genre). I haven't played any of them but their youtube community's videos kinda fascinate me, mainly foxhole and squad so far
also good video nice video
I literally only ended up here because of Rain World, which I’ve played every day since loading it 7 days ago. That’s the small piece of my algorithm building that I was missing to find content like this.
Great job! I love when people dive into these topics. I've always loved the uncertainty which comes with woods and forests, and the psychology of why that's so. Keep up the great work :)
All you need to mention now is oneshot and this is the best channel on youtube
truly a W video for not spoiling the best parts of rainworld /gen
Echo VN Jumpscare. Amazing video though , I’ve been absolutely hooked to VotV since early this year. Incredible game.
You have quickly made your way into my top 5 favorite UA-camrs. Your commentary is insightful and I love your presentation.
24:34 one of the coolest visuals ive seen yet, the script and video storytelling led to this moment perfectly. I had to do a digital double take thr moment my brain recognized it
The writing in this video was impeccable. I really appreciate the way you use your videos to elucidate larger topics while still retaining the personal connection that these topics have to you. The ending to this one left me in awe. Well done.
Wow. This may genuinely be my favourite game essay. Well deserved break! ❤️
Another thing with VOTV using source engine sfx is also that it brings that creepy feeling from source games. The feeling of emptiness of the map and the disbelief that you're all alone, which fits well with the part you explained that the player isn't really in control of the world.
Absolutely incredible. Legitimately one of my favorite content creators. Keep up the good work
Thank you so much.
So I'm a bit late commenting on this but hope you see it. Im a psychotherapist with over a decade experience in mental health and this has been one of the best videogame essays for me to explore fear and anxiety. The aspects of the experience you chose to disucss and how you connected them was great. When treating generalised anxiety i talk about uncertainty so much, largely for reasons you touch on.
A helpful way to think about uncertainty is its three factors which can exist in varying amounts- novelty (how new something is to our experience), ambiguity (how understandable it is) and predictable (which i wont bother to define). You discuss these factors but it can be helpful to clarify them in this way.
A small aside, i remember working with a gentleman with paranoid schizophrenia and he saw people as having faces of a fox. He saw that as his experience telling him to trust such people.
Anyway, as i say great video
Thank you!! I've had an interest in perception for a long time and use it in videos a lot as a frame of thought, it's really nice to hear this.
@@TheCursedJudge really interesting video and games discussed for this. I assume you've played milkinsideabagofmilk... But if you haven't I would recommend for this factor
Great video! I feel the same, deeply fascinated and supportive of non standard experiences without necessarily favoring them myself. Rain world has been a deeply fascinating experience for me despite making almost 0 progress after 15 hours but it also makes me want to cuss out loud when slugcat trips and gets stuck in a crevice causing a game over after navigating the sanctuary.
I jump for joy whenever this guy uploads. Also i feel like you could make a nice video on the game Justant
I've put so much time into Voices of Void, more than I have into some polished and finished AAA games and this ones not even out of Alpha yet. I'm very hopeful it finds success on official release. It's that rare gem of atmospheric, but almost cozy and nostalgic horror.
It always amazes me that despite how it runs and plays, it is in fact not a source engine / Gmod map but an Unreal 4 game emulating Source Engine in everything from game feel to sound effects.
You've hit it out of the park once again, really really great video!
the way you take mundane video game aesthetic and transcend it into a thought or theory i didnt know i believed in, is why you are my favorite youtuber.
i’m so happy you explained so well what i love about voices of the void, excellently done
Maybe your best video so far? Could be, yep.
I really like it!!! Thank you!
Always a joy to see someone mention VOTV, I've been following that game for a while, and it's great to see it get more attention
You’re a magnificent writer, I really think you provide a level of thoughtfulness that very few people of similar ambitions are able to reach. It’s very interesting to watch something akin to literary theory in games be developed by regular people so intelligently in real time; I think you’re making very valuable contributions.
so good to see such a curious topic covered with amazing games as examples! I'm kinda surprised you haven't talked about Darkwood though, since it literally revolves around The Forest and handles it really well
dude ive been playing voices of the void and i love it so much
holy shit vova is my uncle's name
Let's go! Voices of the Void mentioned!
Poggers!
Weirdly I always feel compelled to leave a comment on these videos. There’s something about them, that speaks to me. It is clear that so much time, thought and effort has gone into the script writing, every word feels carefully chosen and crafted to create a feeling. In an odd way, these videos make me feel as though I am part of something much bigger, they make me feel small, but not in a bad way, more in an awe-inspiring one. Thank you, for every one of these videos that you have chosen to make and every one that you make in the future.
Come on algorithm this deserves more love!!
It's worth noting that in some forms of combat, having consistency in animations actually makes a degree of sense. While real world combat is unpredictable and scary, training often is not. So if you have someone using a weapon that requires a lot of skill to use effectively (like a sword), you are likely to see and recognize elements of the forms they learned as students. One analogy I've heard (though given the lack of anyone still alive for whom learning swordfighting was a life-and-death situation, I'm not sure how true this is) - the intent of training with sword forms is to learn sequences of moves that flow together, how to choose which sequences to use based on what you're seeing, and how to smoothly switch to that chosen sequence. Then actual sparring or combat is just a matter of putting that into practice and correctly reading your opponent's choices. (And in a real match where one hit is probably going to at least open you up to a fatal followup, that doesn't actually take very long - the most evenly matched pair of HEMA swordfighters will reach that decisive blow in seconds in their sparring matches)
Which means, yes, if you're fighting someone in Dark Souls who's a legendary swordsman of history like Knight Artorias, there's going to be certain strikes and positions that are foundational to how he was trained, and thus every time you see that move start, you know what happens next. (The unrealistic part is the fight dragging on for 5-10 minutes, the part where you die, respawn and walk back into the battle knowing more about his combat style, and the fact that he only knows a dozen or so sequences to shift through - the last of which is the biggest concession to player fun, if every boss knew a few hundred sequences of moves like a skilled fighter would, then you lose the fantasy of being able to read your enemy because you're a modern person, not an ancient skilled warrior who's spent their lives learning to read other skilled warriors.)
Also, yes, this is exactly why some scholars suggested that an entirely untrained opponent with an intuitive weapon could be an extremely dangerous foe - without formal training, you don't have this system of choosing between discrete combat maneuvers, you just...wing it. And the skilled opponent who relies on their ability to read your every move is baffled. They're like a fighter pilot who's radar is jammed - suddenly you're working on raw instinct. (Of course, there's limits to this argument - most untrained opponents will do one of the same handful of things, and among those are surrendering and running away, it's just that a lucky few will come up with something truly novel.)
I'd like you to keep doing the commission thumbnails, they're fun to look at
Both VOTV AND Rain World?! Hell yeah! I wish you the best, Judge!
I saw you talking about Super Mario Galaxy some days ago. Now you're doing it with Rain World. I always love these kind of unusual games
bro rain world and 0 n 0 w? some of my favs :)
wondful way to explain rain world. you put good words to it.
"snadbox horror?" oh baby here we go.
hoh yes, thank you for bring this to our atention
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@@usering1 eh?
I was legit expecting just another video essay, but what I got was quite thought provoking on an existential level.
Another banger as always. Finally got around to playing VotV so I could finish it. Time to revisit every other video I skipped that mentions it.
I live in a forest village that's close enough to a highway that you can use its noises to find your way out of the woods if you get lost, but it's also given me an appreciation for how small human things are thanks to getting a good view of the place on my commute. When the place you live goes from taking up your entire field of view to a tiny speck on the horizon, while nature just keeps going... you feel how small and insignificant you really are.
Lovely video! I really like how you managed to encompass so many different angles and aspects of the concept! On a more personal note I find it interesting how a lot of the reasons why Voices of The Void was immersive for you were (nearly) the same reasons why it was not at all immersive for me and took me out of the experience (but that does not take away from the fact that you still made a lot of good points in that section). Thank you very much!
Voices of the void and rain world in the same video... unbelievably peak... it feels so nice to actually hear someone talk about voices of the void like this for once too I feel like there is so much to the game, it's probably just because it's still deep in development lol
Passion. You have true passion. Your videos make me happy, thank you
Absolutely perfect 👌🏿💯
Edit: I've already heard of RainWorld (and love it), but ive nvr heard of Voices of the Void. thnx 4 putting it on my map 👍🏿
For a video talking about creepy concepts, it sure felt comfy
Yesss my favourite essayist is back. Missed you, mate, hope you doing well
Fun fact:votv actually had a de-sourcification update
It’s still incredibly like source
Watched this on Nebula the other day, what a magnificent piece of content. Subscribed
You deserve more subs. I hope you are doing amazing. You are definitely one of my favorite youtubers to watch.
thank you, wyatt
Forest is like an ocean in many ways. Both of them are mysterious and full of animals we didn't yet discover. People tend to underestimate how huge both forest and an ocean can be so they wander and get lost never to be seen again.
I kinda love how the video can break down to: go touch grass, with trees
One game I think would've fit perfectly into the horror segment is Chapter 2 of Slay the Princess called "The Beast." There's a frame of the Beast Princess staring at you with her glowing eyes from the forest that made me feel genuine horror like you described during the Voices of the Void segment. I really recommend you check it out if you haven't played it, seems right up your alley.
39:00 glad to hear that, thought of playing this game for some time, was worried about potential spoilers
Awesome video as usual, I have been eyeing rain world for a bit now and I think I’m gonna try it. Game has such an interesting vibe to it
VOTV has interlaced with my brain unlike basically any other game I've played, even after having taken a break for a while it shows up in my dreams, with brand new features & places that I'm so excited to try, and then I wake up greatly dissapointed
I've been playing Borderlands
(The first one)
And it's so emotionless, I meet a character and later met another that was supposedly friends with them, who asked me to go back and check on them.
The first character was dead, and that was the end
No angry revenge, no mournful moment.
The king has returned!
Rainworld mentioned for the second time on this channel? Suprizing, hope one day you’ll talk about downpour, but imma go check out voices of the void, you caught my interest.
Mods, make sure this guys video makes it to everyones recomended? thank you.
Gonna watch this tmrw morning to a fresh mind. I now dont have the mental space for horrors beyond my comprehension
Voices of the void rain world crossover art wasn't in my bingo card for this year but I welcome it
you always manage to make your videos so fascinating to watch. I fondly remember the mirage garden and the out of bounds videos. This one will for sure be one of those fondly remembered ones. my best friend is a total votv geek, as well as I myself have played rain world before, so I knew a lot about what the video was going to be about. Even if so, the video was captivating all the way through, which you never fail to do! can't wait to see another one!
Just got here, can’t wait to watch this excellent video :D
i played a 2014 game called darkwood. it focused heavily on the unknown and presented the forest as a force. the monsters and people within were merely a form of ecosystem trapped within this twisted world. the concept of the forest was the threat rather than just its inhabitants and that seemed interesting to me.
Another awesome video! We would expect nothing less from you
14:28 a yes air and sky
U have summoned the rain world community
I love your voice dude. It’s so relaxing
i honestly don't know if i've ever had a favorite game, but if someone were to ask me whether rainworld was my favorite game, i'd probably say that it was. everything about it is so special. i'm excited for the new dlc
I love video essays like this, you have one new subscriber
Of course he's gonna talk about Rain World! There's no Cursed Judge video without it being atleast mentioned :)
Love it!
TCJ knocks it out of the park yet again. A huge inspiration 🙌
It's a funny thing how one could 'like' an idea or concept, while the thing itself could be uncomfortable or distressing. That is to say, I would probably really 'like' Voices of the Void, while being absolutely terrified whenever I'm actually playing it.
Horror and nature have an interesting relationship in video games, at least how you described it. To reiterate some of the points you mentioned: nature is unknowable, unpredictable, and doesn't care about you in the slightest. It creates an environment that doesn't feel "right", where you don't feel "safe"...Until you _do_ because you figured something out, and the feeling of horror fades away.
But that can then lead into a different emotion: Curiosity. As someone who considers themself a scientist at heart, someone interested in learning. While it might be hampered by fear, I'm oftentimes more interested in what I can learn. And in that sense, nature isn't unknowable; it becomes something you don't know _yet_ . It becomes more of a journey to understanding this world being interacted with, and how to navigate it.
And maybe that's part of what you were trying to say in this video? I don't know, I just had thoughts to ramble about I guess.
These video essays always have such a beautiful ending dam
Superb, this might be your best video yet