The Psychology of Psychonauts - Brain Tumbler Experiment

[@theman6422]

I love how a game about a ten year old circus boy being able to enter other’s minds has helped me become a better writer

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

That's good to hear! Finding new and creative ways to explore characterization has absolutely helped me create characters better too.

[@whilhelmormonde1681]

“Put the egg in the basket, the old egg in the box, and place the basket in the ocean.” - The True Antagonist of Psychonauts 2

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I still mix them up lol.

[@heyoyo10gaming4]

"Put the egg in a box, and put that box in another box, and mail the box to me, and when it arrives I'll SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER!" I can't be the only one who thinks Maligula looks like Yzma, can I?

[@JacobSheehan-s1l]

​@@heyoyo10gaming4 no you are not the only one

[@gatorshark0870]

I didn't noticed the tower was wearing a straight jacket, and I didn't even noticed the bath tub! They really put a lot of thought into this game, pun intended.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

The detail put into the level design here is incredible. I could talk about it for hours.

[@MadDannyWest]

It blows my mind how tightly written the story is in this game, I played it for the first time last year and I couldn't believe how well it's held up. Literally a perfect game.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I fully agree! I've played it maybe 4 or 5 times and each time I find new things inside of it. Even as I make these videos I have Psychonauts fans inform me of things I never saw or thought about before. Definitely a wonderful game worth exploring.

[@GATOxNORTE]

Bro u missed out in 2006 as a kid i was so stuck on this game its alot easier now

[@Mrbird321]

The second games story is just as good but everythings pumped up to 10. It expands and closes some stories up, all while leaving new mysteries

[@dontoverthink4766]

what about the lungfish fight or the 800 arrow grind? both of those are painful to complete.

[@MadDannyWest]

@@dontoverthink4766 I just got all the arrow I could find from the start And the lungfish fight was confusing at first but I understood it pretty quickly I had the hardest time fighting the nightmare in the milkman level

[@QuestionDeca]

The Brain Tumbler experiment shows a couple things, that Raz and Oleander's minds are "compatible", and that with amplification Oleander almost completely overrides Raz's... it's the "Last Level" that shows what happens when the two are one an even playing field (Name not provided to prevent spoiling). Not much about the Experiment more needs to be said as you already said it, it's the dark and twisted mindscape of a dark and twisted man, a bitter man who at the beginning of Psychonauts lives up to his namesake, Oleander, a "harmless" looking plant that is ultimately bitter and poisonous in large doses or prolonged exposure. (As a shrub it's shorter than other trees too). Says more about what RAZ could of become if he hadn't come to Whispering Rock and addressed his own inner demons.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

That's an interesting thought about what Raz would have become if he hadn't gone through this experience. In the last world we exactly exactly how similar they are. I always considered the thorny path to simply be an extension of the Thorny Towers Asylum but that is certainly another way to look at it.

[@greenstuff3706]

@Bluespirit I thought Oleander’s schemes were mostly a byproduct of Nick’s, as there was no connection shown between them other than the egg metaphor, which Oleander likely got from Loboto.

[@candlestone5397]

​@Bluespirit There is at least 3 different characters who use egg as a euphemism for brain, oleander and that guy. But also Hollis uses eggbeater as raz's codename. Immediately after he learns how easy it is to break someone's mind.

[@FutureBoyEXE]

Man, I can't wait to see how you go about psychoanalyzing a giant fish. XD

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Ou fish minds are not so different according to Elton lol. Lunfishopolis is in the works already!

[@mutanttepig4759]

One thing that I noticed about the 'demon' as you called it is that it has the eyes, mouth, and general shape of Linda the lungfish. The demon could be a reference and foreshadowing to Raz's fear of deep water and how he will use Linda to get across the lake to the Asylum(with it throwing a scuba helmet at him that has a strangely similar shape to the bathasphere that he uses to go into the lungfish's lung to confront the kidnapper). It also could be a representation of his fear of deep water itself and how he will have to use other things to get past it.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

It 100% is Linda. Not sure why but I chose not to mention it much because we haven't gotten to her world yet. Trying to not spoil too much. Most likely she is her because Oleander had her in his mind and this is an echo of that.

[@ge789]

One has to wonder why Linda is shrouded in shadow though. Since Oleander is the only one between him and Raz who knows about the Lungfish, why would he see it as a “demon”, when it is integral to his plan? Perhaps it’s only shrouded due to mixing with Raz and only letting a part of it come through, but I’m curious to think if they is a deeper reason for it.

[@noisyphilosopherkrk522]

@@ge789 He uses it to stealthily kidnap the campers so its vagueness during the tumbler is fitting one could say that Linda is shrouded and practically inscrutable mayhaps as well And considering the tumbler interlinked the various minds it could be a combination of raz associations with water and oleanders perception of Linda and quite possibly all the other people's perception of her The brain tumbler does as its name suggests and ultimately like any fluid tumbler can mix things together, a more concentrated form of the errant thought of whisperings rocks camp, the asylum inmates, lobotos crew, the wildlife and oleander One could say the tumbler level is the collective unconcious mindscape for the area I could imagine if used in a wild life refuge it'd be a bit of size differential wonderland caused by the perspective of big and small animals and in the city..... It'd be a god damned mess of conflicting perspectives Pardon the tangent but the fact that oleanders and rasputins mind subconsciously interfaced is interesting

[@ge789]

I suppose that makes sense. If general psychic thoughts can influence the mind, it stands to reason that all the campers thinking about the Lungfish without a form to attach it to could influence Raz’s mind and give the Lungfish it’s shrouded darkness, but only to a lesser degree than Oleander, who actually does know the look of the lungfish, and as such, allows it to have some of its more prominent features.

[@jillcrungus]

@@GamingUniversityUoG I wonder if it'd interest you to know that at one point in development, this level was actually *Lili's* mind. Specifically, it was her nightmare. Milla would've guided you through it instead of Sasha. Lili would be trapped in some way and you'd have to defeat the lungfish in an actual boss battle (accessed by pulling some sort of plug, presumably in the bathtub. It'd take you to an arena where a bunny would morph into the lungfish) to get a key to free her. Obviously this is all *very* old pre-release stuff and probably not relevant to the final game though I think for the most part a lot of the level elements and theming did remain the same (as seen in the E3 2002 trailer) and I think it's really interesting to see how they recontextualised the existing assets.

[@DBZfan41]

Holy shit 😂 I never knew what that chicken and the egg vault meant untill now. Crazy how detailed this game really is

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

That one took me a while to figure out. Thank you Psychonauts wiki site lol.

[@localloser7415]

I really wish Raz got his own brain level I just can't get enough of this Psychonauts

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I'd love to see how his mindscape would function. We only saw the mixture of his and oleanders.

[@milksjustice]

@@GamingUniversityUoG I also wish we could see Lili’s. Her character needs to be explored more. Like why is she so mad all the time??? Why is she and her dad so close???

[@SuperSwordman1]

@@milksjustice maybe in Psychonauts 3...in like 2040

[@prod.slitface]

@@milksjustice for real dude

[@Vicemir]

It's been more than 15 years when I've played this game for the first time, how on earth it still contains unique unnoticed well-thought details and concepts, aaaahhhhh! Fascinating. Thank you very much for this analysis!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

My absolute pleasure! I'm always finding new stuff when I go back to this game.

[@megadog9305]

Minor correction: The "chickens" are actually brains rotated to have the frontal lobe as the "head".

[@WikiSorcerer]

Do you think Oleander used the Asylum patients as amplifiers to construct the dreamscape? Would make sense why he and Loboto keeps Fred, Gloria and Edgar around.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I honestly haven't thought about it in those terms. I always figured they were simple obstacles for anyone trying to get in. I'll have to think about it.

[@AsylumDog]

@@GamingUniversityUoG I always had my own theories as to why the inmates are all there. The log in the parking lot of camp says that Thorny Towers shut down 50 years ago. Most of the inmates don't seem to be in their 60s so I always figured Oleander and Loboto brought them here for specific reasons. Like how Boyd was turned into "the guard" to protect the Asylum and then "The Milkman" to destroy it once they were done. This is just my speculation but I figured maybe Oleander had plans to manipulate them hypnotically like he did Boyd. Maybe he'd use Gloria's acting talents to create propaganda films for him, use Fred/Napoleon as a second General or strategist when he would wage war on the world. Now this last one's a big stretch, but Edgar is one of (if not the only) character who can resist being lifted by Telekinesis, as he says "nobody lifts Edgar Teglee". Maybe Oleander could enhance this to make him resistant to other psychic powers? If Oleander could somehow do that, that'd make Edgar an ABSURDLY powerful asset against the Psychonauts when Oleander enacted his world domination plan. Like I said, this is all just crazy theorizing on my part.

[@lou626]

@@AsylumDog OMFG DUDE

[@hingadinga5694]

@@AsylumDog EXACTLY! I’ve been thinking the same thing! Even if all of the inmates have been at Thorney Towers since it closed down, how would they have survived, and found food and water? My theory is that they were all part of a still functioning insane asylum, and that Oleander and Dr Loboto kidnapped them for their own purposes, as you explained.

[@Wolfmansgeneralchannel]

7:50 OH MY GOD, I swear the writing in this game is almost out of this world

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Double Fine is a master at this type of writing.

[@Wolfmansgeneralchannel]

@@GamingUniversityUoG I’m actually replaying the 1st game right now and trying to find all these different cutscenes that I never saw before, I love how interactive everything is in this in order to better understand everyone and everything

[@Daisy-Everfree]

Loving this so far!! I've played this game upwards of fifteen or twenty times since my first playthrough in 2011, and I never noticed how Raz calls the bunny Mr. Bun being indicative of a mental link between him and Oleander!! I adore how there's STILL new things to notice and uncover in this game almost 16 years later, gosh!! Looking forward to the rest of this series!! Found you from tumblr!!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I've played it maybe 5 or 6 times and I agree, each time I find new things. Hearing from you all in the comments has given me different perspectives on the game too! I didn't know these were shared to Tumbler lol. Glad you found it and could stop by.

[@quasanchez6179]

The only channel who explores this amazing game, thank you

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

You got it! I wish more people talked about it. There is some much juicy topics inside it.

[@quasanchez6179]

@@GamingUniversityUoG yes sir, thank you for responding. I played this game way back when and it left me really confused, but with you diving deep (sorry for the pun) it's really made me wanna play it again

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Considering the sequel should be releases this year, I think it is a perfect time to replay it!

[@noisyphilosopherkrk522]

I wonder could the rabbit be the part of oleander that is his actual kindness and goodness his conscience Maybe it showed itself to rasputin as a subconscious cry for help from oleander

[@gavinfishman4714]

For those who don’t know, the person who gave raz the he pamphlet was the grandma, which is confirmed in sychonauts 2

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Yep. Now we know the identity of this individual as of the sequel.

[@hoogachakahoogahooga]

I like how “the Big Monster” has the face of Linda, similar to how she is the gateway between Whispering Rock and Thorny Towers (which was also made an omelette out of in The World Shall Taste My Eggs). That’s some master-class subtlety.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

And as soon as you pass the 'demon' that looks like linda, you go through a valley with figments of underwater plant life.

[@user-ov2fc5sd1e]

Never heard of this game but it sounds intriguing

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

It is one of the only 3d platformers that has an engaging story to it. I'd definitely check it out on steam. Especially since the sequel is set to be releases this year.

[@jesternario]

The game has a pretty good story, humor that is more hit than miss, some decent exploration, tight controls (very needed for a platformer), and graphics that have aged fairly well. It is worth a look.

[@nicholascordero6600]

If you have gamepass, you can download it

[@dontoverthink4766]

yeah the game is really good BUT there are some bad parts...... like really awful parts. there's a reason almost no one talks about the gameplay :/

[@Santoryu90]

@@dontoverthink4766 There are reasons but that’s not one of them.

[@nobelphoenix]

This game gave me so much appreciation about psychology. The entire game feels like a single, cohesive tutorial about a therapeutic process and how psychologists act and what do they aim. It gave me a chance to experience what it feels like to heal someone else mentally. Oftentimes I was just trying to achieve my own goal in the game, but removing an obstacle here and there suddenly made the mind I'm inside much better. Then I realized that traumas are like obstacles in a river, they block emotions and what you need to do is not force the person in front of you to gush with emotions but either remove that obstacle carefully or let that person do that if they can.

[@DrrZed]

Something I didn't pay attention until this video - all the chicken figments in the level have a brain-shaped hole in their heads.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I didn't notice that easier. I'll have to go back and take a look. Makes perfect sense though.

[@Techhunter_Talon]

3:00 Not anymore. Can't saying anything because that's spoilers for Psychonauts 2.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

So far I've noticed this character pop up in one of Lobato's Vaults. Still no identity though.

[@Cypher121]

@@GamingUniversityUoG It's waaaaay at the end of the game

[@goosemann4011]

It's occurred to me that the referral of brains as "eggs" is very similar to the old "this is your brain on drugs" PSA P.S. can anyone tell me what song is used for the outro, it sounds very familiar to me but I can think of where I've heard it

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

It is Frog's Theme from Chrono Trigger. I grew up on that game.

[@goosemann4011]

@@GamingUniversityUoG thank you, however I have a new problem now, I've never played Chrono Trigger so now I need to find out how I recognized the song 😂

[@dicyanoacetylene6220]

@@goosemann4011 easy answer, millions of people have played the game, a few dozen of which made various KZbin videos that had that song in the background. In short, it's a very good song in a highly acclaimed game from 1995, you absorbed it through pop culture osmosis.

[@dicyanoacetylene6220]

Well, now the the second game is out, 1 detail in this video can be updated. But you can discuss that quilted flea circus when you get there.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

That's always something I'm concerned about with a franchise. Wondering I'd the new game will give new info.

[@JHANNA5702]

Mysterious scratches but it's for Psychonauts for me if I'm getting a release date for the next game this will keep me sane

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Hopefully soon! I just got notification about the end credits being put together. I backed the kickstarter so they send out routine emails with progress updates.

[@Barakon]

Also Loboto has had memories in a bathtub, meaning this is a 3 way of minds 1 level.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I'm curious if this involves having an open mind so it gets info from other brains. Or if it has a memory of everyone previously using it. Suggesting Loboto was in this brain scrambler before.

[@Tucutino]

I didn’t notice the unique figments! And woah, the details in this level are amazing!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Double fine really puts a lot of details in these. Most go unnoticed

[@twikki9071]

Really enjoying these videos :]

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy them.

[@Fragmentsinfractals488]

Minds within Minds. Superconscious inception.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Now that you say that, I wonder how Psychonauts would handle someone with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

[@QuestionDeca]

@@GamingUniversityUoG I have the sinking feeling we will see that in Psychonauts 2, even the teaser/trailer image shows how that'll appear... within Ford Cruller's Mind. Even so, Ford's D.I.D. may not be typical D.I.D. considering it was psychic "Battle Damage" that caused it.

[@Ragnarockalypse]

The word 'Inception' truly has become one of the most misused words since the movie of the same name was made. What it really means is the beginning or creation of something. There is already a word for something which contains itself or references itself: meta. A dream in which you dream about having another dream is is a meta-dream. A mind containing other minds is a meta-mind. A real world example is a meta-analysis, an analysis of several other analyses.

[@Fragmentsinfractals488]

@@Ragnarockalypse Yes. Creation of a dream implanted from the outside..

[@illusionist1872]

the unenlightened masses they cannot make the judgement call

[@-Commit-arson-]

To think this game started out as an idea… although that idea was a ostrich with multiple personality disorder

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Wait really?

[@HorseEater]

Does t everything start as an idea

[@amandaalvis5958]

Liking the analysis! BTW, any ideas as to the Alice series by American McGee? Both the original game and the sequel, Alice: Madness Returns?

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I've played both back in the day. Incredible games and representations of how a fantasy filled Wonderland can be corrupted with life experience.

[@jesternario]

What is it with this series and eggs? The Big bad of the second game uses the same terminology when speaking in code to the Loboto.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I noticed that. This influence might be shown here with Loboto.

[@FruityGroovy]

One detail in the memory vault that further ties it into Oleander's plan is that the birds in it are detailed to kind of look like brains. The patterns of the feathers are meant to be the folds and creases of the brain.

[@jamiegeorge4171]

In a lot of the minds of psyconauts 2 we find a lot more of raz adopting characteristics of people whose minds he enters or at least thier memories of his heritage

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

The sequel seems to deal a lot more with the empathy aspect so it doesn't surprise me

[@heliummaster6628]

i just realized that those fern figments are bones

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Fish bones maybe

[@rhuali-6006]

Thoughts on the sudden appearance of the censors: You discussed them here on a Doyleist level, talking about the purpose they serve in the narrative and how it relates to the Hero's Journey, but how about on a Watsonian level? They are basically the immune system of the psyche; being able to recognize and not harm 'self' is just as important to their function as recognizing and attacking the 'other'. My immediate thoughts when I was playing were that either something *very wrong* was happening to Raz's mind (mad science gone awry?)- or that somehow it wasn't just his own mind that we were running around in. With the hindsight of knowing the full plot, it's a great bit of foreshadowing.

[@BanishedSilentShadow3318]

When we saw the censors came out Raz did comment "you are my creation" but the censors didn't listen to him so it's pretty clear it wasn't Raz's mind 100% we know it was the coaches mind as well which would foreshadow both his and Raz's mind would come together

[@מאורקולמן]

6:53 somehow, this exact moment in the video, when dr.lobotos name is said, is the first time i realize its LOBOTO as in lobotoMY. im so stupid. then of course he says what he does. which i didnt even hear before commenting.

[@PhantomXI]

loving these videos, and judging by a revent post on double fine's twitter, think the sequel is near...

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I cannot wait until the sequel! I donated to the kickstarter back in the day and am excited to see how it all comes together.

[@MysteriumArcanum]

Form what I remember in their most recent video the game is scheduled to release in the summer of this year at the earliest.

[@phineasfacingforward3460]

Awesome vid!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Thanks buddy!

[@JamiHeart]

OMG...they are flying brains! My nutty butt sees them as cats.....LOL.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Haha yeah. We news more cats in this game though

[@jonmcknight18]

Recently got the plat in this game probably going to start 2 sometime early next year.

[@ednascissorhands7398]

I’m so glad someone finally explained the egg things. I’ve been confused for ever. Also it’s funny that the 2 main game major antagonist are obsessed w eggs.

[@lazyliongames6660]

WE PUTTING THE BASKET IN THE OCEAN WITH THIS ONE 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@groovygrover6178]

love these video's :D

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy.

[@lou626]

Im late to the party but to me the line "ok mr bun , you and i are gonna be tight , wherever you go i go" its a foreshadowing of the escort mission

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

That is very likely. The writers really do give us a lot of foreshadowing. I was floored when I first heard Oleander explaining his plan at the start of the game while mumbling in his sleep.

[@lou626]

@@GamingUniversityUoG EXACTLY. My mom and me were disccusing about that the other day . She think that thats a sintomp/? or sequel of his trauma Good video

[@gamerheart8148]

How did you find out what Oleander was mumbling about?

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

If you stand next to one of the speakers long enough he starts talking in his sleep.

[@MagicalMaster]

An interesting thing of note is that in Psychonauts 2 the egg themes continue. The true villain The Gzar has an egg obsession, in particular Faberge Eggs and Caviar. Now the question is, is this coincidence or was this always there implying the Gzar influenced Oleander without his knowledge? Likely considering his position and what the man has shown himself capable of.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

It is really hard to say. There is some influence here from Lobato, specifically the bathtub, so it may have come from him. It is possible Gristol was already working with Lobato at that time.

[@lou626]

@@GamingUniversityUoG yeah its confirmed . Loboto first work with gristol , and then meet oleander Cant wait to the meat circus btw

[@mevb]

One thing that is not mentioned is that some of the chick fragments have holes in the middle of their heads symbolizing Oleander's plan to get the brains out of the kids in order to put them inside his brain tanks. Another thing is that the "chick" in The World Shall Taste My Eggs, resemblles a brain more than a chick. On a side note, when you're at the Main Lodge, Quentin asks Phoebe if she ever had a dream with a bathtub in it, referring to the one in The Brain Tumbler Experiment. Although, Quentin indirectly admits it was meant as a setup for a drummer joke (which Phoebe don't like hence why he never told the punchline, afraid of the consequence of such action), it might be that he also did see this vision in a dream as Coach Oleander inadveritly broadcasts it all over the camp.

[@mozarteanchaos]

2:34 g-psy is generally considered to be a slur/offensive term, ffr ^^

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I understand what you're referring to, however, in this context it simply refers to laborers who travel from place to place as demanded by their employment. Aka Raz's circus family. English is weird where it has multiple meanings for the same word. I just looked it up and it is also used to mean a wide-brimmed women's hat or a winch used to operate a crank. Never heard those ones before. I can use 'nomadic in the future of that helps.

[@lou626]

why that?

[@SioxGreyWolf]

Minor Spoiler for Psychonauts 2: We find out who is the mysterious figure that gave the flyer to Rasputin.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

So far I have seen the shadow of this individual in Lobato's first Mental Vault. Still haven't found out who it is yet. Just this knowledge alone makes me wonder what the deal is. Did he want Raz away from his family, or send him to the Camp for some unknown reason? What's the deal?!

[@SioxGreyWolf]

@@GamingUniversityUoG I can give you a hint. :3

[@NashTheBlade]

Cannot wait for the psychology of Psychonauts 2...Hell, especially both Nona and Nick Johnsmith...Uhh..Spoilers BTW

[@teamcyeborg]

My very first thought at him waking up in an egg was "Oh my god, Raz is trans!?"

[@carelesswhisker4155]

2:30 you would be forgiven for not knowing this as a North American but the G word you use here is a racial slur that is still used derisively within Europe. The ethnic group it describes more accurately refer to themselves as "Romani". References to the word were changed in the sequel to "Fortune Tellers" for this reason

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

This has been pointed out to me previously. Thanks though! And yeah the context I used it was a different definition than the Romani. Before being applied to them it had another meaning. 'A group/person that wanders or roams from place to place.' Usually for work. As a traveling circus that is what the Aquatos do. Calling them Nomads would have been easier on my part I admit.

[@babbisp1]

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