An Agony of Effort, The True Story of Bloodborne - Part II: The Healing Blood

The powerful, cosmic blood at the heart of Bloodborne remains a mystery to this day. But the Healing Blood that flows through the city of Yharnam appears to have been influenced by an intoxicating substance of the Victorian era. The primary clues can be found in the game's opening cutscene.
Text is available here: docs.google.co...
#bloodborne
#lore

[@haishiaprilis2957]

The similarity between the opening cut scene and Cooper's painting gave me goosebumps...

[@andreaskoulierakis7208]

A note on this and the mechanics of the blood vials. While in every other From game you sit at the checkpoint and replenish your healing in bb you constantly recovering your healing from your victims or buying them at increasing prices over the span of the game. I find it really relevant that you ,as a player, are literally searching and craving for your healing item throughout the game! Cheers

[@S_raB]

A lot of people hate this healing method, namely you have to farm blood vials & they don't replenish upon resting, but thematically it is perfect. It further draws me into the feeling of your character - you can't just get a break from the nightmare, or make it easier by running past enemies to get a refill at a lamp... no, you must go out and kill some beasts; otherwise, they'll consume you (see his 1st video Paleblood = Consumption/Tuberculosis). It's so freaking well thought out & I don't get the hate. Bloodborne was my first FromSoft game & one of my first games since I was a kid in the 90's. It was equal parts suffering & elation - exactly what Miyazaki wanted each player to experience amidst a horror setting.

[@mariecarie1]

I’m convinced the people who made Bloodborne were too freaking smart and cultured for their own good. Like, share some of those brains and talent, would ya? This is so cool

[@djvg7607]

It’s not even that. All you have to do is simply be open to exploring new subjects and ideas, even ones that seem esoteric or boring.

[@mariecarie1]

@@djvg7607 sure, but implementing those subjects and ideas in such an engrossing way takes talent.

[@djvg7607]

@@mariecarie1 I truly believe, Any developer could make a bloodborne quality game if they are passionate and knowledgeable enough. Fromsoft has been grinding for the last decade while honing their craft. Yes they are talented. But their hard work ethic and commitment to bettering themselves is what truly got them there.

[@mariecarie1]

@@djvg7607 it’s true. You need all of the above, absolutely. I think passion, knowledge, ethic and commitment to bettering themselves can be incorporated into “talent” when it comes to game design, but yes, these are all qualities you need to make or do anything. I don’t disagree with you at all. I’m just saying the ability to hone those traits into a niche art form such as creating a video game (or really, anything in life at all) is what makes “talent,” at least imo.

[@djvg7607]

@@mariecarie1 I do think Miyazaki and FS are very talented ofc. You have a bunch of “talented” developers plus a visionary at the helm. If I was a game developer, I’d wanna work for them!

[@NightDocs]

This series is a masterpiece. I’ve watched it several times and find something new to fixate on every time I go through it

[@ShuToshio]

You can add to the fact the "ebriety" means the condition of being drunk, and thus one of the sources of healing blood is probably Ebrietas.

[@TodoroSuiyaki]

There’s another occasion we players heard about our unique smell. Queen Annalise called us “moon-scented hunter” when we approached her for the first time. So the blood of moon presence/pale blood should smell sweet? Or it’s just the chemical base’s smell, however the pale blood’s blood is another special type of blood which won’t trigger beast transformation but a proof that the hunter is chosen by moon presence.

[@slopyardjoe]

"ah.. moonlit scents" - imposter iosefka

[@Galdenberry_Lamphuck]

The Moon feeds upon the impurities and will of blood. As it's servants we are free from this, so long as we continue the Hunt. The red moon increases the rate at which humans fall to beasthood at an accelerated rate because beasts will kill and consume every drop of blood around them until the Hunter slays them and feeds their blood to the Moon Presence. Celestial Children likewise serve as it's prey.

[@bettergetdave]

14:34 Who in the heck would be skeptical at this point?? This is the most fantastic piece of VG disection and analysis I have ever watched...bar none!

[@jasonglaser825]

5:35 That’s it. I’m calling it. Bloodborne is actually a game where you play as a Victorian-era hobo, high as a mfing kite on ether, running around stabbing and shooting people in a completely blacked out state. You often are found outside a toy shop, shouting at a doll or are seen attempting to do cartwheels around the elderly while highly intoxicated, which, undoubtedly, deeply disturbs the locals who quickly round up an angry mob to chase you out of the town with pitchforks and torches. Your character is wanted for numerous counts of animal cruelty, including sodomizing a pig, destruction of property (don’t you dare tell me you never once rolled around a room full of jars/vases just for funsies), and for the unrelenting harassment and assault of clergymen (RIGHT OUTSIDE OF THEIR CHURCH NO LESS). You are considered armed and extremely dangerous and there is a hefty bounty on your head, dead or alive (explains all the hostile hunters). Your story ends with the authorities discovering you lying naked in the meadow of some aristocrat’s manor, howling “BRUH MOON PRESENCE WAS A JOKE,” as two dozen officers tackle and restrain you while you shout, “NOOOO!! I ONLY COLLECTED 2 THIRD OF AN UMBILICAL CORD!!! I NEED TO KILL ARIANNA’S COSMIC FETUS AND EAT THEM ALL!!!!” Which causes several people to start vomiting. You await trial in a straitjacket 24/7, but the courts, the public’s heated opinion over your case, hell, the Queen herself agrees to just send your ass straight to the gallows. Even the executioner is a bit disturbed when you mutter, “I wonder if these crows will drop antidotes or just more pebbles if I crush them with a hammer…” as you walk up the stairs to be hanged. Yup. Bloodborne’s main message is that drugs are bad. Stay in school kids.

[@TheHi-NoteFunClub-BeatsByMike]

Bravo. Plot Twist: that hobo? Jack the Ripper. ... ... ... (Farts)

[@Alfred_bb]

The best man is back❤😊

[@dtinsured1158]

This series is criminally underrated. Outstanding work.

[@chriswright2923]

My theory after watching these is that Miyazaki started with the idea of basing a game on Jekyll and Hyde (being that it’s the most widely culturally known of all these influences) and then in exploring that story further, discovered Stevenson’s real-life influences and then used those to create the more extensive lore of the game. In other words Bloodborne is actually Jekyll & Hyde: The Game

[@jetalininer1996]

Never thought there was a way to go even deeper into bloodborne's lore. Well done sir.

[@katienichole6905]

Once again, it is time to chill and listen to Agony of Effort (I've watched this series at least three times.)

[@farted161]

i somewhat prefer these videos as opposed to eye candy stimulating visuals, they're like audiobooks and are quite pleasing to listen to as well as easier to pay attention to without the barrage of stimuli 👍

[@DougDavenport-lu6ri]

Yeah that’s kinda how I treat it and honestly defense prefer this and (on Spotify) the “audiobook” pale blood story of booodborne which is also on KZbin.

[@beansnrice321]

Wow, the points about the smell of Ether being the sent of hunters is amazing! =)

[@lucanegri3505]

I was hoping for ur return before an eventual remaster/remake, thanks to all the eldrich beings that made it possible. Must rewatch, ur analysis are incredible, waiting for ur new projects for sure!

[@Andrew_the_Worthy_Shield]

I am going to continue, but these videos are bringing back memories of a surgery of my own, one where my butterfly was taken.

[@dillonqaphsiel7977]

Damn what a video

[@jeffb-c]

While normally I hate the idea of a story being all within the protagonist’s head, I kind of appreciate it in Bloodborne’s case. The narcotic dream is a very popular trend in gothic victorian literature, so I can appreciate Bloodborne doing the same thing as a further allusion

[@jasonglaser825]

1:44 I knew we all had to be high on something to love this game so dearly lol 😂

[@PluckThrives]

What's that smell? That sweet intoxicating aroma....

[@joaomatheus6222]

11:41 Wait. The numbing mist prevents healing. How come it, AND the HEALING blood, are the same (ether)?

[@ukiuki3834]

That painting is haunting

[@beansnrice321]

For so long I have always felt that Bloodborne felt like a drug-induced hallucination. Now I feel far more justified in that viewpoint. =)

[@etinarcadiaego7424]

Awww....that's boring though

[@beansnrice321]

@@etinarcadiaego7424 speak for yourself. lol.

[@beansnrice321]

@@etinarcadiaego7424 If it's any consolation, to me, a big part of the hallucination is that we look normal and fine. All over the game you see weird, misshapen humans and hunters. Characters like Ludwig, the Axe executioners and the nightmare executioners are probably closer what the player characters look like that how we see ourselves in game. =)

[@SuperAmaton]

It's so fascinating that this game was made by a japanese company! Like sure, I've never been big into poetry but how did they come across some 19th century poems?

[@TheOneGreat]

The internet, bookshops, videos, literary classes, classical education in general. The list goes on.

[@chriswright2923]

I posted my explanation of this as a comment but I think Miyazaki started with Jekyll & Hyde (which is a very famous tale) and then worked backwards & outwards from there

[@micolashcarc]

WOOOW

[@ChucklesMcGee780]

comment for the algo!

[@jasonglaser825]

14:42 No, I’m totally on board with your findings. I just find my interpretation of the events of Bloodborne more appealing ^^ liking and subbing 🫡

[@blumiu2426]

Hmm. In gothic literature, especially that with vampire, blood is commonly referred to as sweet in smell and taste. I could see something like ether being used in the game as an item instead of blood itself. We see what's in the vials we consume and the equipment around us when we wake up in the clinic. If anything, there are multiple inspirations, symbolism birthed from Victorian times and specifically gothic literature. Lovecraft is somewhat removed from that time, but his works have been used in about every game Miyazaki has worked on except Armored Core.

[@giovanniprovost]

The Coral mass/convergence strikes me as an eldritch color out of space type entity tbh.

[@blumiu2426]

@@giovanniprovost The coral was from Rubicon and a hivemind lifeform, so a bit different in that regard.