Celeste's Biggest Mod (and why it's interesting)

[@KeithBallardA]

This game is great. It made me want to scream and I am not emotionally prepared for the idea that people wanted it to be harder.

[@ramenstreamchildminecraft9354]

reall so much was agonizing but i loved it

[@stinkzsys4995]

"Madeline herself is thoroughly explored as a character by this mod. Not Madeline the plucky trans mountain climber, I'm talking about Madeline the bunch of pixels that jumps and dashes in a direction and is also trans" so true bestie

[@SiobhanYmeow]

YOU FUCKIN CREATURE THOSE ARE THE EXACT WORDS IS SAID WHEN SHE SAID THAT

[@stinkzsys4995]

@@SiobhanYmeow correct I am a creachur

[@Pulvite]

Omg hi!

[@stinkzsys4995]

@@Pulvite HAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

[@8lec_R]

@@stinkzsys4995 hey oo

[@xhq82395]

"Crumbling Castle. My beloved Crumbling Castle." ...You are probably the only person who- "It's almost unplayably bad" -yeah

[@Rickfernello]

40:08 Oh hey it's me !! :o I also love how you don't even mention how I use keyboard and controller at the same time, despite focusing on the input display. quidhuidhw

[@Ninjakitten_314]

Wait what Please explain

[@nintendo_penguin3133]

@@Ninjakitten_314 seems like keyboard for movement controller for actions

[@jamesnomos8472]

I mean this in the kindest and most positive way possible - I am so excited for the videos you'll be making in 3-5 years. There's a sensibility to your vids that feels very resonant with me, and for as good as what you're doing now is, I feel like you've got so much further to grow, and that thrills me.

[@GALL0WSHUM0R]

Absolutely! I was watching a video essay a couple weeks ago, and the thought struck me that all of these essayists will one day be looked back on by future generations. I'm so interested to see what all of my favorite essayists will be up to in twenty or thirty years, when I'm almost as old as my parents are now, and I can look to them like my parents look to the actors and musicians whose works they grew up with. So many essayists are in their twenties or early thirties, and they're already putting out incredibly thoughtful works of art. I just can't imagine what's yet to come from them!

[@matty3501]

Patricia is one of those people i could listen to talk about literally anything shes remotely paasionate about and be thoroughly entertained and fascinated the entire time.

[@Ezel_142]

Correction about Tripeak Trail: it was originally red difficulty because the map used to be a lot harder. It got rebalanced in an update, because it was really finicky and a lot of people didn't find it fun. They just forgot to change the meter in one of the updates Good video, really enjoyed your analysis of the collab :)

[@sprigtherecluse6741]

good timing releasing a celeste mod video essay right after strawberry jam released

[@oldchannel1312]

hi just saying you seem rlly cool bc your pfp so i subscribed

[@dahdumbguy]

id argue really bad timing lolll

[@amberglass7397]

yeah, i thought this was going to be a video about strawberry jam at first, not because it just released but because of the video title and that strawberry jam is celeste's biggest mod, afaik

[@amberglass7397]

LOL, watch the video all the way through

[@dahdumbguy]

@@amberglass7397 LMAO I JUST GOT THERE THATS AMAZING

[@cipocreep1050]

I'm not that familliar with the celeste modding scene, but I had heard of the release of the strawberry jam collab, so I thought it was the one you were talking about. So I was like "Wow, Patricia Taxxon made a 50 minutes video essay in 5 days???". It made the ending stinger a lot better.

[@awah4676]

"Feels like pressing the right buttons to watch a movie" is such a good line. If I find an opportunity to plagiarize it, I will!

[@Trashley652]

I only did the beginner lobby and part of the intermediate lobby, and then I decided that's where i wanted to stop, i didn't care to see what was beyond that. The beginner heartside was so good and fun. I loved every bit of it, as far I can remember, and I felt so proud of doing it. I went on to brag to my friends about "Hey look at this cool level I beat! This video is of somebody doing it deathless which i most certainly did not do, but look at how cool it is! I beat that!" Where for you it felt like a step towards what was coming ahead, for me it felt like such a triumphant climax. I loved in space jam fever where, for the second hidden strawberry, as I demodashed through the wall spikes, Badeline warned me against going further, that she had a bad feeling about it, and then fully told me to stop, that this isn't a good idea. So I did, I went back. Not because I didn't think I could beat it, I didn't know if i could but i wasn't scared to find out. But because it reminded me of the story of Celeste. I actually couldn't bring myself to ignore Badeline. I trust her, and I promised I'd be listening to her more. This video is so fucking funny and also very good.

[@tachyonsls9692]

That is such a heartfelt story. I am just now experiencing the modding scene for the first time, but even in the base game plus dlc... It just feels like Celeste is a game where you feel yourself grow, learn to listen to yourself. Sometimes be stubborn, sometimes be cautious. But there is always the encouragement of "you can do it!" that keeps you moving forward. Truly a lesson for life!

[@NullWes10]

But Larry wants shiny

[@brombo]

This was seriously brilliant. You dont often see someone analyze a piece of internet media with the same nuance you would a museum exhibit.

[@ScrotumusMaximus]

When you're on a Patty Taxxon binge and she strikes from the shadows with another video 🤠

[@alensimp]

@@comrade_cat303 eric was the deadname of pre-transition Patricia

[@oldchannel1312]

@@Gregorycook17 yeah, that is indeed what happened, she used to be that guy, shes patricia now, do you have an issue with it 😭

[@comrade_cat303]

@@alensimp oh thanks

[@stellalieff6607]

FACTS

[@SeymourDisapproves]

It's a great feeling!

[@tourtle1497]

I don’t understand how a entity this good exists. So articulate, perfect at explaining every nuance of a work of art that I can only begin to hardly grasp on my own, so comedically hilarious yet so mind wrenching in the commentary they provide. I struggle to come up with words to describe the pure ethereal experience achieved by not just watching the video, but understanding that I doubt I could ever achieve anything close to this, while simultaneously knowing this content is egging me on to follow in its footsteps, and scale a mountain of my own to make a work of art as enjoyable as the one I enjoy today. Also, how are you so *fucking* good at video games I cannot fucking beat farewell I’ve been trying forever- Edit: Finally beat Farewell. I’ve got a lot more catching up to do, but It’s another milestone on the climb.

[@Leszczomen]

It's the autism i think

[@bananapantsu8855]

First, you articulate your words very well, like VERY well. Second, farewell is really hard, it took me two days but it felt amazing once you finish it.

[@TP3200]

I've finished Farewell 3 times now, but Strawberry Jam still scares me. The levels seem to have all twitch challenges with little breathing room. I'll try more though

[@GoodrichT6]

You said it better than I ever could haha

[@SoapKing835]

​@@bananapantsu8855 He's right, you really do have an amazing way with words, you articulated your point incredibly. The mountain might not be as tall as you think.

[@skippycoulter]

Ooooh Patty comparing difficulty to spiciness is inspired. Never thought of that before, that's super useful

[@2rocketguy]

I'm not sure if I've ever been jumpscared by the music of one my maps before, but now that I have it's certainly a cool experience also it was absolutely my fault that the music for desecration doesn't fit the actual map, I gave thegur built to scale 2 from rhythm heaven fever as an example of what it should sound like, which is a rather different vibe of factory compared to desecration.

[@_dan1715]

lol i thought it fit fine, with the kind of blocky synth and very defined rhythm it gave sort of a mechanical feel tbh

[@goblinacorn1843]

I swear watching you talk about something you're interested in is the most fun thing. This entire video I couldn't take my eyes of the screen... I wanna play Celeste now

[@HopDances]

Do it! The game is incredible!

[@protogen-posting]

DO IT

[@necrolog3797]

Since the interweb law states there must be a contrarian in every comment section, i demand you not play Celeste under any circumstance.

[@goblinacorn1843]

I DID IT! Yall convinced me.

[@des4929]

If you still haven't it's on Xbox gamepass if you have that

[@CrownedAnarchy]

I appreciate the mini-essay so much, I've gone back to the marble blast video just for that part like a dozen times and seeing it fleshed out is awesome.

[@shmeee8458]

The fanfiction analogy is honestly really fun, definitely gonna think about it that way when I try this mod!

[@Honly]

Really well put together video! I was one of the lead devs on this project, and I really enjoyed having a well worded view from the outside on it. Especially loved the talk about difficulty and tech!

[@minemahssolariseveryday5752]

You love to see an artist’s interpretation of something you really enjoy, and i’m glad you seem to have enjoyed your time with it. Coming back to this project with a different lens is interesting because at least for me so much has changed since working on this project it’s bizarre, not only when it comes to game and level design but also i’m literally a girl now among other life changes. It’s oddly nostalgic for something that’s just 3 years old at this point. Thanks for this Patricia :3

[@donker19]

Hiiiii Minemah :3

[@minemahssolariseveryday5752]

@@donker19 HAAIIII donker hiiiii hai :3

[@TheZahirNT2]

Out of nowhere Patricia Taxxon drops a full length video essay about one of my favorite games of all time?? I was waiting the whole time for some mention of Strawberry Jam. I just installed and started playing it last night. Absolutely in love.

[@con3879]

Really dig the animated furry creature in your videos, makes me pay attention even if it's a few static frames :3

[@nunyabiznes7446]

And how there are poses for it that are barely ever used, always a nice treat when it does something you don't expect. Admirable restraint *thumbs up emoji*

[@emilyrln]

@@nunyabiznes7446 the frazzled angry pose with spiky fur is my favorite!

[@Electrolux219]

@@emilyrln I love the happy one where she has her paws on her face! *Staminamanagement*

[@drawnoutrandom5953]

​@@Electrolux21930:24

[@nekole]

yeah the dog girl is really cute

[@donker19]

Amazing video. I am so glad you enjoyed the project we all put together! I also hope you enjoyed my map, City of Tears :)

[@tear959]

You fooled me, I thought it would be Hollow Knight inspired

[@captaincheese776]

i dont know how or why but when patty said the “very old and very slow” thing at the end of the ligament segment it shot a bolt of terror through me severe enough to make me feel as if the level was alive. despite me not even being the one playing it. a couple images shot through my head, first the house from anatomy, speaking through those tapes, its hatred seething out from every wall around me. second, the oldest house from control, its vast concrete landscapes twisting inwards and folding in on themselves, trying to drive everyone inside to the brink of madness. and last the crawlspace from Coraline,sinking inwards down into something unknowable and alive. like a door was blown open in my head and something just happened to slip inside as i closed it. plus the way the music cuts and the delivery of the quote changes comepared to every line that came before it sends a chill down my spine. good on you patty

[@Funky.S]

hello other person who has seen Jacob Geller's video essay Control, Anatomy, and the Legacy of the Haunted House if you havent, then uhhhhhh pls pls pls pls pls

[@extremepayne]

Wow. Just, wow. I really like people analyzing rhetoric in places or in ways I would not think of myself, Dan Olson of Folding Ideas chief among them. And this is that, and its amazing. You’ve given me an entire new perspective to work with as I play celeste mods-no, any game really. I especially appreciate you talking a bunch about the emotional experience of the grandmasters-I myself will never play them, due to a combination of skill issue and wanting to play other games at some point. I was fascinated by watching them on youtube-in fact, I still occasionally search up theo hell silver by Natalie and watch it because its just so interesting-and you’ve allowed me to see a dimension of the work that was entirely obscured by watching clears online. A dimension I may never experience for myself, but one I now have some meager access to. I think this might be my favorite video essay on youtube. It’s so niche yet speaks to me so much, it’s finally a video essay about a game I’ve actually played (Hbomberguy talks about genres that are just entirely foreign to me, a kid raised on flash games to whom the concept of 3d 3rd person rpgs is still a little alien) and its just so good. I’ll have to wait for the recency bias to wear off some more to say for sure, but either way. Thank you for making this. I love it

[@extremepayne]

also yeah fuck chillout mountain least fun experience in the beginner lobby and also maybe the only one that makes me actually feel frustrated like how the game is supposed to be about depression n shit so maybe its secretly the best one but still fuck it

[@coolbread99]

My thoughts exactly!

[@shoug6555]

The look of The Climb and your articulation of its vibes has me thinking you need to play Rain World. That sense of purposelessness, of abandonment, of unimaginable scale, it's so core to the Rain World experience.

[@truetimewatcher]

lmao not my dinky little level design experiment getting put on blast! /j, in hindsight ancient engine was a bit too ambitious for my skill and game literacy level. anyways, great video! as someone who was part of the spring collab i really appreciate such a thorough peek into a different perspective!

[@ewanstewart2001]

"There is a grave scale to this map that I didn't think could ever be expressed in a game with just two dimensions." Rain World. It's an artistic experience unlike any other, primarily due to the main developer being an artist who had to learn how to code as he made the game, and it captures such a similar feeling to this at certain points within the game.

[@Honly]

It's really funny because Rain World was the inspiration for that map

[@ewanstewart2001]

@@Honly Wow, that makes so much sense!

[@altrivotzck6565]

@@ewanstewart2001 As I was watching that part of the video, and she was talking about how that map's vibe was completely unfamiliar to anything else in platformers, I had this little feeling inside of me like.. "Are you sure? It doesn't feel that unfamiliar to me." and I didn't realize why until I read these comments.

[@yahirdoesbadvids]

Glad I wasn't the only person who thought that map was reminiscent of rain world.

[@des4929]

Hello fellow rain world fans I swear I find at least one everywhere online RT game had the wall vid where someone made rw stuff and I've found way to many comments from rw fans in places you don't expect

[@AliceInRemnant]

Almost all of your work resonates with me on a deep level that's hard to describe and doesn't always make logical sense, and this video is no exception. I'm very bad at video games and just barely scraped through celestes main story, and haven't seen anything about the modding scene outside of quick mentions in your videos on on your twitter. But I am a huge fan of weird ambitious and kinda bad fanfiction and fanworks and it was beautiful to see a tribute to such a project and an honest expression of the value in janky, too-ambitious-for-its-own-good art. I cried at the end of your marble blast video and the ending of this video probably would've if i was in a different emotional state. This video was another amazing piece in your catalog and I hope you keep making your own beautiful art.

[@sandro7]

“It’s terrible, I love it” is such an amazing and heartwarming line

[@andleepfarooqui7874]

I think that the reason Celeste is seen as a puzzle platformer is that planning sequences of actions and reasoning about your movement like a puzzle game is a useful strategy to get through the main game if you're not fast at thinking on your feet. Binoculars that let you see the entire stage at once even encourage this.

[@andleepfarooqui7874]

That's how I played it anyways. It is honestly pretty surprising to see someone who does not view the basegame as a puzzle platformer.

[@PangolinPyrrhic]

You and Noah Caldwell Gervais are creators I could, and do, listen to all day. I was one of the Celeste players who beat the main game, ran some of the bonus B sides until I ran into a little bit of a wall, and then phased out. But a 50min video talking about it? Hell yeah. Also I see what you mean about Echo now.

[@bloopledoop9989]

I appreciate you going out of your way to say that being good at Celeste doesn’t make you better than anyone. As someone who has motor issues, just beating the beginner lobby was a huge accomplishment and I plan on trying the harder ones with a bunch of assist mode and I’m tired of people saying using assist mode to see the pretty art and cool tech they came up with.

[@randobeantv7712]

If anyone who worked on this mod reads this, it's amazing how you made all this come together! It's wonderful to see so many people come together and make something so cool.

[@snolls105]

I didn't work on SC, but I did work on SJ, and I definitely agree with that sentiment.

[@retsag9977]

To be perfectly honest, I’m quitte new in this community and when I saw the video title I thought you were refering to Strawberry Jam, which made me curious. But then, as I started watching the video and realised that this wasn’t Strawberry Jam, I became even more curious. I kept wondering: "Who the hell are the people that made this and why does it look so familiar ? Are all level compilation like that ? "(For reference Strawberry Jam is the only Celest mod I’ve played) Only to loop back around to the reveal that it was kind of Strawberry Jam older sibling made me burst out in laughter. It was like a side story to the video, like a background character arc that introduces the story, gets quite in the midle only to dramatically come back. But, beyond that, it’s a really good video, I agree with most points as a Celest player, gamer (I feel cring for saying that word), and somewhat of an artist. Good job :] Ps: sorry for the many typos, I’m writting on my phone, am not a native english speaker and my french auto-correction keeps breaking every word I write. Sincerely Retsag99

[@snolls105]

yeah, SC is 100% worth checking out if you liked SJ. a lot of the people who made SC went on to work on SJ and SC was very influential on Celeste's modding scene.

[@FireyDeath4]

The way you described this reminds me a lot of Yume 2kki. The way it's a community mod, apparently the biggest in fact (not anymore probably), with lots of little individual sections having unique styles and approaches by different developers, and coheres into a singular art piece but not a singular story, just screams like Yume 2kki. And it's funny, because, I think a Celeste: Nikki mod would be loads of fun, and I have a lot of ideas for it as well as two other Celeste/Yume Nikki ideas, but I don't even have Celeste :/

[@gogoajojo]

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING. I love 2kki and the other fangames so much

[@Wilker_uwu]

for some reason this is the one comment that made me realize the 2 in "2kki" is meant to be the syllable "ni" meaning "2" in japanese

[@ProbablyBarney]

i really appreciate the little tail wag at 30:35

[@FuZZ_lol]

Genuinely so happy this video exists. I love seeing people talk about obscure stuff like this. Particularly the spring 2020 collab is a super important piece of art for me, I’ve had love confessions and breakups happen while I was just running around in the beginner lobby, and to this day I still boot it up sometimes just to fuck around and listen to the music. Celeste and especially its modding scene have had such an impact on me, they were part in helping me realize I was non-binary. Particularly, Marshall H’s music (namely the Glyph ost and their work on the spring collab) has helped me through the lowest points of my life. So once again I’m incredibly happy to see some love for this amazing work.

[@nodrance]

The whole video I was just waiting for a strawberry jam reference to drop. Like the worlds biggest checkovs gun. It almost feels like she aggressively refused to acknowledge that she chose the worst possible time to start this project and then had to scramble to put it out in a timely manner.

[@TheV8Ninja]

Erica's clear of the Grandmaster Heartside was uploaded to her channel over 7 months ago. She even mentions that, during the scripting of this video, she finally got around to clearing said level. Erica has been sitting on this idea for a while, her production schedule just coincided with Strawberry Jam's completion.

[@thelastcarnival]

There are a couple of channels in the "babe, wake up, new upload" tier for me. You're the only one in the "babe, we're pulling the car over" tier.

[@sk_lxr2920]

I don't know what it is about you and your voice that always manages to put me in a trance. LIke, I can't fucking believe I entered hyperfocus mode while watching an almost-hour-long video about a game I've never heard about in my life and left completely satisfied and ready to finally get seven hours of sleep. You have the best KZbin channel out there for my adrenaline-ridden autistic brain.

[@marz9487]

It's been well over a year since I watched this video now, and since then I've spent 700 hours grinding away at Spring Collab and Strawberry Jam. And now that I'm finally wrapping up the Grandmaster Heartside for SJ, looking back on this video is giving me a lot of nostalgia. At 60 hours, I made it through the Spring Collab advanced lobby and thought, surely, that that would be my limit. I kept surprising myself as to how far I could push it if I was determined enough, and now I'm halfway up the hardlist. I have to thank you for encouraging me down the modded Celeste rabbit hole. This has been the most fulfilling and exciting journey I think I've ever been on, and if I never watched this video I never would have been convinced to start. I would be a different person if I never watched this video. I never would have found my calling. This video is a genuine piece of my development as a human being. Thank you

[@an0therW]

Congratulations on making the first video essay that i cried at. I dont even play Celeste but the sheer expression of beauty that came across in this video really opened my eyes.

[@kireitonsi]

I’m liking that the furry art is here to stay

[@TheGerkuman]

The rantsona seems important to Patricia, and rightfully so :)

[@space_bound]

​@TheGerkuman same. I love the rantsona Patricia has, it's really cute.

[@Gregorycook17]

It’s pretty disgusting. Not everyone is a fan of that crap.

[@ONIONPANIKC]

@@Gregorycook17 ok 🥱

[@bobbie3713]

its so cuteeee

[@Yesnomu]

This was such a fun video! Base Celeste was hard enough for me but I'm really glad things like this exist, thanks for the peek into this world! Very cute avatar, too.

[@cellularautomaton.]

you should give the spring collab a try! the first three lobbies are no harder than farewell

[@Yesnomu]

@@cellularautomaton. going to expose my casualness here: even farewell (and the core tbh) were too hard for me! I was playing the base game for the narrative and the sense of accomplishment from completing it, so adding more level packs would be counter to why I was even playing, haha. But I'm thrilled it exists for the people who want more.

[@cellularautomaton.]

@@Yesnomu beginner lobby is around the same difficulty as the pre-core chapters! it's ok if platforming just isn't your thing, but i wouldn't want anyone to miss the experience solely because they think it would be too difficult

[@justpotato8119]

Can't believe a video essay about a bunch of fan project's for a game could be this interesting and well thought out, I hope you cover the Strawberry collab next because I absolutely loved this one!

[@nautil_us]

For future reference: the recommended maps from this video Beginner Azurite ascend, blast processing, desolate spire Intermediate Claustrophobia, circular platform clutter, flooded waterways Advanced Satellite, the climb, mural skies Expert Starlit grotto, electric exuberance, ligament Grandmaster Error 418, temporal tower, heart of the storm

[@10kRats]

My experience with Dustforce is pretty much what you described. The Difficult series of levels in that game are maybe not a significant jump up in difficulty, but all the stuff you've learned in S-ranking the regular levels means that the artifice is clear to you now. It's a direct conversation. In the final level of the game, about halfway through the level, the devs speak directly to you to wish you good luck. I've gone back to that game maybe once a year since 2014~, It's definetely worth talking about wrt difficulty as spice.

[@Lugmillord]

"It's 3 screens long, I died 3000 times and I loved every second of it." I used to think I was actually good at games. Thanks for crushing that thought.

[@hildamistwater8206]

27:50 I just noticed this sprite has a little tail wag animation that's so CUTE

[@portal7910]

This is genuinely one of the best videos I have watched, both related to celeste, mods in gaming, difficulty, speedrunning tech, textless storytelling, and Art itself, there is so much good about this, I've shared it to a lot of people and hope this will bring more eyes to this beauty of a video

[@mooneye2]

seeing your fursona holding a stimmy makes me want to play with a stimmy like it XD I only recently found your videos, but they're awesome, keep up the good work!!

[@TooFatTooFurious]

13 minutes in I just want to say that your videos are absolutely incredible. I am in utter awe of your ability to dissect so many forms of art in such detail. I am glad I found your work.

[@TooFatTooFurious]

also, how are you this good at Celeste?! All this shit you have to do in these levels, goddamn.

[@FluffiBois]

I honestly thought at first that the spring 2020 collab WAS the Strawberry Jam collab and I laughed out loud when you YELLED at the end at having to do it all again. So when’s the stream Ms Dog? (All jokes aside really nice essay, the points about “gameplay narrative” is really good and I really respect you for focusing on something that most people can only describe as “gamefeel” for narrative. Good shit patricia ♥️)

[@IsaGoodFriend]

As the person responsible for accidentally making this "bug/feature/whatever the fuck" at 5:56, I have no clue why someone decided to add that into their level, but I'm here for it This one thing caused many more headaches than I'm proud to admit

[@cubiccalico5019]

the "THEY MADE ANOTHER ONE?" at the end killed me, great video :D

[@iamveryconfusedabout]

I'm glad I watched this video instead of going to sleep, I feel my understanding of fan content has been enriched a little

[@eleanorking2971]

I really appreciate you making videos like this because this kind of difficulty goes against my personal design ethos and it’s great to get an articulate and entertaining explanation for why people enjoy it

[@VexWerewolf]

I will watch Patricia talk about anything so long as I get to watch the doggy avatar

[@quantumblauthor7300]

Checks out

[@hunterjohnson7]

This video inspired me to go back to Celeste. My first play through, I felt like I couldn’t do the C sides: they felt too hard, too impossible. But after this, it made me realize that.. I could do it. I’m currently on the Core C side, and going to do Farewell next. Thank you Patty ❤

[@Aravestia]

Wow I've never thought of modding as "gameplay fanfiction", that makes soo much sense now

[@askerror1987]

I always get this sort of awe whenever I stumble into videos like this as someone who had to play Celeste on assist mode because of chronic wrist pain. While I don't plan on implementing this sort of difficulty into any of my games, it has made me reconsider the kind of story that gameplay itself can tell

[@bluebeartired]

Describing Ligament as "very old and very slow" is such a perfect reference jfc

[@vicenteisaaclopezvaldez2450]

This mod is extremely cute in aestheticd for what is metatextually Madeline mourning the death of a god.

[@brookejohnson9914]

I don't think I have the determination to beat even a moderately difficult platformer but your joy is so infectious and I like anything that's incredibly thorough analysis

[@jamesdowler9297]

I feel like this video does a good job of explaining several different points of appeal in fan made content such as this, particularly in a way that helps me personally put words to feelings that i didn't know how to clarify beforehand. I've recently been playing custom content for doom 2 and Keep talking and nobody explodes, and in both cases i feel like my main interest in them is the sheer variety of what you can find for each, so thanks for helping me figure out why that might be the case

[@muranki4150]

I absolutely loved The Climb. The fact that the level doesn't feel tailored to the player's needs. The fact that you never know if you're navigating it the way it was intended, or rather the feeling that no matter how you do it, if you're advancing, you're doing the right thing was by far the best thing i felt playing Celeste. I still get happy from just seeing the map hahaha

[@user-cu9tl1ky8o]

Thank you Patricia. A fun video to listen too in work.

[@theblockhead8097]

The word “speedrunner” is used in this vid like how modern day ironic usage of “gamer” is. I love it.

[@SKIN121]

Its nice to see you finally give fan mods the analysis as art they deserve. same with the marble blast video

[@ender691]

40:58 the way patty stands in this picture is literally the most thug-gangster ass-shit like holy hell it's so badass /ref

[@epicninjafork2866]

I haven't played much of strawberry jam beyond thoroughly exploring the lobbies, trying to understand the library of tech, and systematically clearing the beginner levels (I'm not quite done with the reds yet), but as someone who enjoys easier difficulties and more exploration and experience than accomplishment, I love how strawberry jam cares SO MUCH about its easier levels. Spring Collab felt like a few in the beginner lobby had heart (I LOVE the genuine goofiness of Temple of the Kevins) but most seemed like they just wanted to be over so you could move on to the next step up in difficulty where things are supposed to get REALLY fun. But then Strawberry jam decided to take every level in the beginner lobby and pump so much heart into it that each one made me want a whole game dedicated to them.

[@epicninjafork2866]

The genius and intuitive new tech of Loopy Lagoon, Rose Garden, and Forest Path; the mysterious and unique vibes of Midnight Spire, Collapsing Skyline, and Soap; Potential for Anything with the reference to a game that is very nostalgic for me; Switchtube Vista with a perfectly executed retro aesthetic; and of course, Paint. Hands down the best Celeste level I have ever played, I could talk about it for hours. The aesthetic is perfect. The story resonates deeply with me as an artist. The secrets are wonderfully hidden and interestingly rewarded, I love how some give you intriguing poems and most just give you a little secret area that you can hang out in. The music is fucking amazing and the way it times out with the gameplay is perfectly done and fixes the awkward clunkiness of Cassette Cliffs. I love this level so much it is everything to me right now.

[@epicninjafork2866]

I can't wait to finish the beginner lobby and see what the other lobby's levels have in store, I really hope they hold up.

[@Patricia_Taxxon]

I've cleared the first three lobbies, I think beginner is the best one because there's a lot of room to explore "conventional" design and the mappers knew the assignment, but intermediate and advanced seem to be where the "meta" starts to take hold. between spring collab and strawberry jam i think modders have really figured out how to make intuitive flowing frictionless gameplay, and that's most of the collab so far. like every map is Satellite, it's entertaining in the moment but I'm having trouble picking favorites. There's a few ambitious experiments though, especially starting in advanced & i'm told even moreso in expert and grandmaster.

[@Nearigami]

This video made me check out Spring Collab and I recently finished the expert heartside. I was intensely captivated by how you created this. It’s also funny that after playing a lot of the Collab I ended up disagreeing with you on a lot of stuff. Ah well! Glad you made this video. It helped me understand my own opinions and how I view fan content better.

[@marz9487]

Same! I'm getting to the end of the Advanced Lobby and finding a few things that stuck out to me: a lot of the maps she said she hated, like Booster in Orbit, Mobius Temple, and Ferocious Temple, I ended up liking, and some of those she said were amazing, like Claustrophobia, I hated! I know it's not possible for something this intense and diverse to be universally appealing, so I think it's kind of beautiful the wide diversity of opinions this collab can have. It's oddly validating for the video essay, that if you disagree with some of her individual opinions, the core idea that a work of art like this can explore so many fanmade facets of a piece of media and result in such a wildly inconsistent, but ultimately satisfying and worthwhile experience.

[@snolls105]

​@@marz9487 It's definitely interesting how varied opinions on SC maps can get. Like, some of her favorite maps were some of my least favorite and vice versa.

[@ahomestucker]

this makes me want to do more as an artist thank you

[@rambunctant556]

This may be the best video essay I've ever seen. Thank you. Perhaps I really DO have a spare 200 hours I'm not using...

[@Dr._Geno]

I've been into fanifictions , specifically crossovers for a few years now, and you've explained the reasoning perfectly, I gues it's the same reason people like to listen to music covers and remixes that summoning salt reference was golden

[@screamingcactus1753]

The water segment where you gain a bunch of speed by passing through vertical stripes of water would be like a fanfic where a goofy sidekick experiments with their seemingly useless abilities and becomes the most overpowered character in the setting through creative application of them

[@asocksual4910]

As someone who's still stuck on the earlier parts of Farewell, all of this footage and the descriptions of the required moves are causing me physical pain

[@einargs]

"the hot space surrounding Madeline" is such good phrasing. I think this video captures why I like fanfiction and fanworks so much. By existing within the context of another work, and as works that do not need broad appeal, you can get tightly focused things built around exploring one aspect of the broader work, exploring or inverting it. You can write short fanfics that have intense emotional weight because you can pull on the larger context of the base work. This is common with art; drawing on mythology or religion to give context to a message. And with this, it's illustrated in how difficult you can make a section of something. Kaizo levels cannot exist in such a pure form without a base game to draw from and to introduce those mechanics. In the last half of the video it captures the flip side of fanfic -- the almost masochistic love you develop while reading things normally completely impenetrable. Fanfic chock full of obscure lore that still needs the author to spend an equal word count explaining. Fanfic that stops even being about the base work and is instead about other fanfic and trends in the community. People writing fanfiction to illustrate inter-community political arguments. Fanfic that engages with meta knowledge of the base work, or other fanfiction, becoming bizarre recursive commentaries on the community as a whole. The emergence of fanfic communities for fanfic -- recursive fanfiction. They become celebrations of the community, of the shared experience built through engaging with these fanworks.

[@CassiusStelar]

I like that the fanon stories kind of play off each other. Maybe if I ever get the pc version I might comment on game banana like a recommended set of levels.

[@frissyn]

Posting an essay about Celeste's largest collaborative mod shortly after that title has been usurped by the Strawberry Jam Collab is so funny to me, like the stars of fate just did not align your favor lol anyways much love from the Celeste Community 💜

[@HopDances]

This really reminds me of what I love about I Wanna Be The Guy fangames so much. Great video Patty

[@noahtoadmyer]

This is easily one of the freshest and most informed video essays ever. I loved it. Off to watch your marble blast vid now

[@KimBryanArt]

I am surprised I've caught one of your videos 1 min after release! Will have to watch more closely after some sleep.

[@sp_1029]

Idk how you managed to make a video essay about something without an actual narrative at all but you somehow did, good job, I loved it and you earned yourself a new sub

[@sp_1029]

Also btw I absolutely love that Twitter thread analogy for olden ruins

[@boxothefemboy]

i just realized that you are patrictia taxxon, i listen to your music all the time!

[@tiramasu5205]

for the fanfiction analogy of dashing through blocks of water; I think of it like a character which has been so heavily changed to fit the authors taste to the point that they might as well be an OC

[@T3sl4]

Your comments ~ 22:17 about Ligament, and 2D platformers in general, feels eerily relevant to the game I've been playing a lot lately: Rain World. I don't know if you're interested in other games right now, but it seems applicable here in several ways. It develops a unique atmosphere; an environment that is, not merely indifferent to the player, but pervasively, overwhelmingly indifferent -- to you and every other creature with you. Indeed whereas most games have enemies to overcome, the creatures are going about their daily struggles just as you are. It's also interesting in this context, as it's... kind of an anti-Celeste. It's one of those kinds of hard games that tells you an utter minimum of what you need to know, then shoves you out the door with a great big "HAVE FUN!" [SLAM]. Whereas Celeste is generous and gentle -- even when it's being as difficult as it can be, that grace is subtle yet palpable -- Rain World is entirely... it just doesn't care. It's manifestly indifferent. It's a tonal clash, a jarring contrast. To top it off, it incorporates Buddhist themes; in time, you find acceptance with your environment, and, ultimately, can choose to ascend from it. Also, the ending is weird. And you play a cute?, cat-like? creature.

[@blueboytube]

15:18 Cause it’s great. It adds so much to the visuals and I always say “If you’re a speedrunner who can’t handle a bit of screen shake you shouldn’t be a speedrunner” and I stand by it!

[@sophesque]

love the dustforce recognition! one of my favorites, i go back to it a lot as a comfort game c:

[@sophesque]

definitely need to get into the custom levels more for both df and celeste

[@someone8689]

excellent video!! people have said things more elegantly than i can so let me just say i was left repeating "stamina management" for a good while. 30:26 my beloved

[@GreenTengu97]

This video inspired me to finally play Celeste. (and also the Spring Collab right after) And beating Farewell got me the jolt of inspiration needed to schedule an appointment I'd been putting off with my doctor to check in about my HRT. Sooooo thank you for that.

[@SuperBox_Ray]

I wasn't paying attention to when this video released and thought you were going to talk about Strawberry Jam, which is the new biggest Celeste Mod. I'm still going to watch this though.

[@roramdin]

LET'S GOOOO

[@YoMothar]

oh hey i didn't expect to see you here, ro

[@fntthesmth423]

I'd say that Celeste's lack of frustration could also be seen as a marketing move--for my part, if I hadn't heard about Assist Mode I never would have played the game at all. Whether it decreases Celeste's artistic message aside, (I'm currently replaying the game without assist mode and it feels plenty trying to me) avoiding frustration probably allowed the game to become as insanely popular as it did.

[@damprat141]

I don't know why "staminamanagement" got to me so hard

[@LimeyLassen]

It's the rantsona, that's what makes it

[@wyaumann]

ooh. The Climb heavily reminds me of Rain World the base game too (it has a constant "ruined utopia" vibe), but there's also this parkour map mod for Rain World just like The Climb - seemingly impossible without knowledge of a few special tricks and a lot of patience, with no danger other than falling to your death; unreasonably difficult at times; a little bit lonely; frustrating, but also thrilling, each obstacle becoming a good friend as you pass it over and over again, improving each time. "Slug King!" it's a Jump King parody, but it still makes me feel things whenever i boot it up to go climbing for a while. its super tight/precise/infuriating/awesome obstacles are hard to find in the base game environments, so mashing them all together is... an interesting time. :>

[@sockducttape9681]

After watching this for the first time I was inspired to get back into celeste and try out the spring 2020 collab, I just managed to beat the expert heartside which is way further then I thought I would make it and i am for some reason going to go for the grandmaster levels because god damn it the grandmaster heartside looks like too perfect of a conclusion to stop the climb at the expert heartside!

[@gravitysilence]

This video got me to start playing the 2020 spring collab mod. So far, I've cleared the Beginner lobby and have just began the Intermediate lobby and everything that I've experienced up to this point has been incredibly fun and beautiful. I probably won't be progressing beyond the Advanced lobby, if I even manage to get to that point, but I've been enjoying the hell out of the challenges that I have been able to rise up to thus far. Thank you for creating this video essay and pointing your viewers in the direction of the mod, Patricia!