How Interface Screws Mess With You

Have you ever been playing a game and something happens that reverses your controls? Moving up makes you move down, moving left makes you move left, and you’re suddenly thoroughly confused? Or has your screen ever flipped upside down on you or blocked your view of the action? If so, you’ve come across something called an interface screw. These create some of the strangest feelings you’ll experience in a game. And today on Psych of Play, we’re going to take a look at how these mechanics make you feel absolutely silly.
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Games Shown:
Super Mario Odyssey (2017) - Nintendo
Celeste (2018) - Matt Makes Games
Shadow of the Colossus (2005) - Team Ico
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017) - Nintendo
Limbo (2010) - PlayDead
Shovel Knight (2014) - Yacht Club Games
Rogue Legacy (2013) - Cellar Door Games
Sea of Thieves (2018) - Rare
Yoshi’s Island (1995) - Nintendo
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004) - Nintendo, Retro Studios
Mario Party 2 (1999) - Hudson Soft
Mario Party 6 (2004) - Hudson Soft
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011) - Nintendo
Earthbound (1994) - Hal Laboratory
Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) - Rocksteady
Bomberman (1987) - Hudson Soft
Hotline Miami (2012) - Devolver Digital
Samurai Shodown II (1994) - SNK
Super Mario 3D World (2013) - Nintendo
Monster Hunter Generations (2015) - Capcom
F-Zero GX (2003) - Nintendo
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011) - Capcom
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006) - Midway Games
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000) - Capcom
Crypt of the NecroDancer (2015) - Brace Yourself Games
Skate 3 (2010) - EA Blackbox
Eternal Darkness (2002) - Silicon Knights
Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010) - Frictional Games
Movies/TV/Clips:
Liar Liar (1997)
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Predator (1987)
Home Alone (1990)
• WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ...
• Super Mario 3D World's...
• Nintendo Switch Pro Co...
Music Sources:
Funk Drum Loop 96 BPM - Golden Drums
Spear Pillar Music - Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate OST
Main Menu Theme - Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate OST
If Loving You is Wrong - Luther Ingram
Flower Garden (Fuzzy) - Yoshi’s Island OST
Creative Exercise - Mario Paint OST
Sandstorm - Derude
Chateau de Chucklehuck - Mario&Luigi Superstar Saga OST
Dragonborn - Skyrim OST
Overworld (Fuzzy) - Yoshi’s Island OST
Otherworldly Foe - Earthbound OST
Rogueport Sewers - Paper Mario - The Thousand Year Door OST
Crawling - Linkin Park
Beware the Forest’s Mushrooms - Super Mario RPG OST
Tech Toys - Lee Rosevere
Research Sources:
Mirror Drawing how to:
students.washi...
Mirror drawing study:
www.ncbi.nlm.n...
Interface Screws:
tvtropes.org/p...
Fake Difficulty:
tvtropes.org/p...
Limbo Screws:
tvtropes.org/p...
Welcome to Daryl Talks Games
Hi! I’m Daryl, and on this channel I explore the intersection between video games, psychology, and real life.
I’ve talked about how Pokemon and the Generation Effect can make you a better student. I’ve made a video on why game developers really should understand functional fixedness. And I’ve interviewed some of the best speedrunners on Earth to find out how exactly they make setting world records look so easy.
Primacy and Recency, subconscious associations, classical conditioning, divergent thinking, amnesia (the disorder not the game), if its psychological concept that relates to games, I’ve probably talked about it before or will in the future. But to be clear, psychology isn’t all I talk about. Every now and then I’ll dabble in a little bit of game design and sometimes I’ll just talk about life and how games really can make it better... and for some people are the best way to relate to the world around us.
So if all that sounds like a good time to you, subscribe to my channel, watch my videos, and if you feel so inclined, show a friend! If you take a look at my videos, I truly hope that you learn something or are entertained and that your day is better after watching!
*All images, graphics, and fonts created or found with postermywall.com, Pexels.com, Videvo.net, and Lightworks v14 editing software.*
#PsychofPlay #InterfaceScrews #gaming

[@AshnSilvercorp]

thing is tho... the ink screen never stops me... feed me your rage, it makes me more powerful.

[@ok-yv9dd]

Me neither and i love it

[@tophatoctopus1997]

people who are stopped by the ink are fucking peasants

[@TwilightWolf032]

The ink is easy to get around, just keep running and don't change directions. You can still guide yourself via the parts that are not inked on the screen. Frankly, it's annoying, but not disorienting as he says it is.

[@oui7171]

I always found the ink easy to deal with until Mario kart 8 where it may annoy me sometimes, dunno why

[@Solrex_the_Sun_King]

What ink? I’ve never been hit by such a thing. Do you mean when my glasses smudge a little? My mom claims my glasses are filthy, but they really aren’t unless I take them off.

[@stuffedanimalwars7692]

I haven’t met a single person who’s actually struggled when they get inked in Mario Kart

[@elllieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee]

It's the most useless item in the game next to the coin.

[@sebastiangudino9377]

@@elllieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Coins make you go faster

[@Stirdix]

@@sebastiangudino9377 Also make a great buffer against item stealing, if you're good enough for that to matter

[@tabeatamm3594]

It never bothered me until the Switch version. Suddenly it works like it's supposed to and makes the game difficult for me.

[@tonyrox5]

Especially in the DS version where there was essentially a zoomed in map of your current location

[@monagee9340]

I wouldn't call this the "weirdest" interface screw I've encountered, but the one that stands out in my mind even more than the entirety of Eternal Darkness is That One Door in Amnesia: The Dark Descent. For anyone reading this that's unaware, Amnesia has you use mouse movements to do things like open doors. At first, this felt tedious. I thought it was an example of bad design, of just having a gimmick to have a gimmick. I was soooo wrong. At a certain point in the game, you're being chased by an unseen monster. You're led into a series of rooms with only a single door in your way to exist them. Tension mounts as you use your mouse to open each and every door, way too slowly for your liking (as it's a one hit death for you). About 4 or 5 doors in, suddenly the door won't open. So you instinctively use the mouse movement you've learned again, and again, and again. Then it occurs to you. What happens if you try this backwards and oh crap oh crap the monster is almost here? So you try it backwards. And that's when you realize this door opens inward, not outward, so the motion you needed to use was reversed. You run through and slam the door behind you. You're safe. Brilliant moment. Simply brilliant.

[@DarylTalksGames]

YES, such a great way to subvert expectation and keep you on your toes. That design is just *chef kiss*

[@kwisowofer9872]

how can you reverse click

[@_gremlinboy]

@@kwisowofer9872 it's a click and drag motion so you can invert it

[@Zamtrios245]

When the climax of the game is pushing a pull door

[@dkskcjfjswwwwwws413]

I also like the moment where the servant grunt spawns and you instinctively go into a room to hide as youd expect him to spawn outside in a hallway, and then you hear the terror meter and realize he was in the room all along

[@jgn]

Nobody has ever been affected by ink screen ever tho

[@morgankasper5227]

true

[@ProjectEchoshadow]

I am trying to pretend I can relate to his problems... why is he pretending ink matters¿

[@feesh1101]

the worst part is in his luigi ink clip he would have fallen off even without the ink...

[@muddycalendar3292]

Toast. yes in some games (ds i think) it blocks the whole screen but in others (wii) it doesn’t block anytging

[@morgankasper5227]

@@feesh1101 true

[@Benedict416]

I remember when games would flip my controls, I would just flip the whole controller

[@MrMoon-hy6pn]

That's how REAL men play games

[@Jevmin]

*Modern problems require modern solutions.*

[@morgankasper5227]

*_S T O N K S_*

[@nerdychocobo]

Big brain

[@pennysantana247]

This madlad

[@17raysplays29]

I love how people's reaction to the Mario Kart Ink Debuff is either- "MOST HEINOUS OF ATTACKS, I SUFFER THE WROST OF PAINS WHEN THIS HORRIBLY OP ITEM IS DEPLOYED!!!!!!!!" or "This is the easiest item to avoid. Why does it even exist?"

[@deadturret4049]

Probably comes down to muscle memory. If you know a track inside out, you can operate at near normal performance when your screen is partially blocked.

[@senza4591]

"Shuckle knight"- Daryl

[@spartanwar1185]

DON'T FUCKLE WITH SHUCKLE!

[@electrophoenix7977]

Both of these are underrated THEY NEED MORE RECOGNITION!

[@nyieshalinae831]

Ass Ketchum.

[@EchoBlox]

chuckles

[@Juanguar]

i dont even remember how i stumbled upon your channel but boi am i glad that i did

[@DarylTalksGames]

I'm glad you did too :)

[@TerrariaGolem]

but... *boi* I am glad.

[@xxx1x47x41x3]

same here

[@ivythay4259]

Who settles things in Smash without getting rid of hazards? What are you?

[@ProjectEchoshadow]

Ivoroon Θ a madlad

[@outtakefiend6839]

The type of guy who is effected by ink

[@vincentmuyo]

People who think fighting games should involve all the elements, obviously. It's not mastery if you take a huge chunk out of the game, for that there's always other fighting games...

[@sebastiangudino9377]

@@vincentmuyo It's not mastery of you win using a completety random element that happened to work on your favor

[@mikuenjoyerXD]

@@outtakefiend6839 the type of guy that uses the wrong affect

[@MsHojat]

I'm interested in seeing some crazy interface screws in VR, like reversed arms, or reversed arm input. I suppose some other things like visual distortions could be in there too, but I suppose it may have potential to cause sickness.

[@slendeaway7730]

Please no

[@vinnyfromvenus8188]

How to feel like you're high as fuck in 3 simple stels

[@nevanada2961]

Yeah, with the amount of motion sickness people can suffer from, visual distortions seems like a bad idea.

[@solsystem1342]

Maybe once people are more acclimated to it?

[@ttchme9816]

This could be a great way to simulate an out of body experience

[@LouveAsterion]

i play mario kart 8 using almost only muscle memory, so the ink doesn't change a thing

[@FerousFolly]

Right?

[@CalebWillden]

Same. Being familiar with the track layout is a huge part of that.

[@pass6749]

Same i can Play with my eyes closed and open it every few seconds

[@DarylTalksGames]

Yeah I will say that it's not as bad as I make it seem here, the visuals you can see around the ink make it very manageable. I may be slightly jaded from one or two critical rounds from a while back playing with some friends 😅

[@Phantasmen]

@@DarylTalksGames the 150cc reverse tracks are an insane example for me, I just cant do it, it might be due to my ADHD, or its just the muscle memory, but as soon as I stop concentrating on turning the other way, I screw it up at the next turn.

[@Jevmin]

Is anyone gonna point out how Daryl said "It does absolutely nothing" at 7:15 and then showed Luigi? That was genious.

[@cosmiclatte3065]

My airpods are messing up as I'm listening to this video and the audio keeps switching from side to side. At first I thought you did that intentionally

[@imdone8243]

You bought air pods. That's the problem

[@baratacom]

Huh, the ink never did more than mildly annoy me. Regardless, I can indeed see it as a friend of mine, who is considerably better than me at MK8 due to owning the game for much longer (he had the WiiU), suddenly gets quite bad when hit with the ink. But what really screws with him is the mirror mode. Usually I have to really struggle to snag the first spot from him as he knows all the shortcuts and has a fairly optimized path; come the mirrored courses and suddenly all his practice is his worst enemy and I easily get 1st while he flops around on 4th or worse.

[@aaricbro.]

Omg the mirror mode, I cannot express how much I can’t play on that due to it flipping all I know of the map to the opposite side Kinda reminds me how out of place the April Fools joke on Among Us makes everyone feel where it flips the map

[@CurtisJensenGames]

Dude, you laid it on thicc with the memes this time! I like a quick meme every once in a while, but your insight as a psychology major is definitely the best thing about your channel.

[@DarylTalksGames]

Haha yeah I thought I'd try and mix things up since interface screws are kinda silly themselves. Proooobably will tone it down a bit in the future lol, but the psych is here to stay :)

[@CurtisJensenGames]

Daryl Talks Games That makes perfect sense, good to hear it :)

[@ninjapotatolorf6237]

I'd play Shuckle Knight

[@nyieshalinae831]

Pokesouls.

[@dddmemaybe]

@@nyieshalinae831 That's either a dystopian future or a deviantart.

[@JarrenCrist]

The pizza story killed me

[@Asrashas]

The delivery on that was great. Best part of the video, in terms of humor for me.

[@Adam-cq2yo]

It also killed the pizza delivery guy.

[@sneeznoodle]

Geometry Dash is like someone saw the words "Interface Screws" and just made a whole game out of them.

[@EGRJ]

Smarter everyday had a video about this sort of stuff, "The backwards brain bicycle", iirc.

[@EtraGames]

Having a second set of controls essentialy stored in your head is fascinating. This makes my wonder how far you could take this as a game mechanic. Think maybe a boss fight where your actions are constantlly being re-mapped and you have to adapt to your movement being swapped to the other joystick. face buttons, or d-pad, and the button input locations being shuffled. Anyway thanks for another interesting video!

[@boltstrikes429]

The best interface screw I've experienced is Geometry Dash's reverse gravity, especially in the ship. As you get better, you literally develop a second mode of control you switch to as you enter a reverse portal. In very hard stages, the game can rapidly shift between normal and flipped gravity forcing you to adapt very fast.

[@ruolbu]

11:18 Invert vertical axis is possibly the most common workaround for people developing and using different input methods for different games but being unable or rather unwilling to learn the other way. And still many people are copying with that regardless. In a first person flying game I wanna push the nose down when pressing up on the stick. In a third person flying game, I wanna move up when I push up on the stick. And a game that allows me to switch camera perspective is one I either mess up all the time or in some cases flawlessly switch from one input method to the other. It's really just about how you conceptualize what the finger movement is supposed to represent on screen.

[@DarylTalksGames]

Absolutely man. I think it also comes down to what kind of experience you have in games. If you've only ever played platformers or games with a 3rd person perspective, or if just the large majority of games you've played fall in that category, movement will almost always be "conceptualized" as move in the direction you want to go. So I'd bet that for those like you that have run into the inverted vertical axis several times before would be much quicker to adapt to reversed controls. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@justaredhead154]

5:20 I recognized the music directly and really like, how you use music as insiders with the watcher and to emphasize your words

[@TravenTalks]

Am I the only one who that that even the title for this video felt a little screwy? Or maybe my brain's just going haywire, lol And great video! It's pretty interesting how simple so many of these screws are, but how easily and how much they end up messing with people. Also liked the jokier approach for this vid, works weirdly well with the topic. And thanks for the end screen shoutout, man :D

[@DarylTalksGames]

Haha yeah the thumbnail may have been by design to mess with folks ;) thanks man! And of course! That video is way too good, I had to share it. I hope this sends some views that way! It’s criminally underrated

[@cosmicsans67]

my favorite interface screws are the ones in metroid prime. theyre practically a main mechanic of the UI, and i love that. great video!

[@zembelle]

I'm 2 years late to this party as I've just recently discovered your channel, but this video reminds me of Thomas Was Alone! You switch between playing as blocks with different "abilities" (one jumps higher, one floats in water, etc) to solve platforming puzzles. At one point you're introduced to a new block whose "ability" is that gravity is reversed so the ceiling is the floor and your movements are all upside down! In addition to figuring out how to navigate, you also need to work in conjunction with the other characters to solve puzzles. Such an excellent game.

[@deft3studio]

As a programmer I can tell you computers just can't handle an "interface screws". It just either won't do anything or do stupid things.

[@bigdoggo5827]

Obligatory I'm not a programmer but I think that programmers don't give a crap about making the interface screws affect NPCs because there won't be any effect anyways in most "screws".

[@The_Gronne]

As a programmer, I agree. These things take some insane amount of time to program because if you just try to invert something, shit will fuck up and you'll end up in another dimension with only half the graphic design and all but 1 control will work

[@redpepper74]

If you mean the computer _players,_ could you make an “adaption” score that increases as the level progresses, and they shift from moving in semi-random directions to moving towards the goal? (I guess this only applies if they’re trying to reach a goal, but something similar could happen for other purposes)

[@dddmemaybe]

if you program in the ai as if it uses controls like a player does, you can just rng for the %chance you want it to mess up an input.

[@deadturret4049]

Technically a computer could handle it provided the ai is using minimax for decision making. Just reduce how far it can predict so that otherwise invalid decisions get interpreted as valid. Also a programmer.

[@player042]

I really enjoy all the little gags you scatter throughout the video :)) This is quality stuff

[@seiishin2766]

your videos are pretty great and well edited, i'm shocked you don't have a bigger audience

[@DarylTalksGames]

Thank you so much! I'm just happy to have the one I have :)

[@ArtFreak17]

A bit old video for me to comment on, but talking about IRL interface screws reminds me of the fun challenge of drawing with non-dominant hand. It's very clear that you are nowhere NEAR as automatic/fine in your control of the pen. But I see that as a great way to let loose and not let perfectionism get to you. I think there's some carry-over if you're already an experienced artist with the dominant hand, but not 1:1. It's fun how weird it feels, but also how you get a bit more comfortable doing it with practice! I do acknowledge that I haven't really tried this exercise digitally because that adds more complex actions like keyboard shortcuts to the mix. So much more simple with traditional art.

[@benjaminbrady2385]

I don't know how I only found this channel now, this is a very entertaining video. You just got another sub my boi

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

Okay, "Shuckle Knight" is a game I never thought I needed until now...

[@steelers0398]

Ah yes interface screws like what some Touhou bosses like to do. Looking at you Seija and Sakuya

[@zturtle1630]

I was waiting on someone to mention Seija. That last spell is BULLSHIT

[@Jawslehoff]

I love Seija, she's one of my favorite boss to fight in the Touhou series. Once you get used to the interface screws, she's really fun and actually easier to beat than the previous stage 4 boss. IMO her last spell is her easiest spell, as the screen rotates while letting your controls intact

[@zturtle1630]

@@Jawslehoff The hard part about it is repressing the want to move a different direction. When she flips the screen I wanna press left+down not right+up. It's screws with my hand-eye coordination

[@PALWolfOS]

Honestly, reversed controls in fighting games aren’t that big of a deal because the very nature of crossing up someone requires a player to get good at adapting to swapping directions on the fly, since controls reverse laterally for attack inputs and blocking whenever you switch positions with your opponent Having an attack that does that is just another thing that does that in a match that you have to look for i.e it’s part of the matchup

[@benjaminbrady2385]

As far as NPC interface screws go, it depends on what the programmer wants to do. In Mario Kart, because the CPU's don't have screens, their movement isn't hindered at all but they get a slight speed decrease. In Mario party, they because ridiculously stupid and in other games it may well do literally nothing for challenge

[@GiantBrother]

Can we talk about interface screws in horror games? Interface screws really messed my mind in horror games when it subverted my expectation of the game. I've seen several good examples in Doki Doki Literature Club, like (spoiler down below) Monika went out of the dialogue box and she knew your real name, Yuri's eyes moved all of sudden, the music often went nuts in some important scenes, etc.

[@DarylTalksGames]

Honestly the only thing that stopped me from adding it was trying to avoid spoilers, I really don't want to ruin that experience for anyone. Such a great example though man. Eternal Darkness had some good ones too

[@GiantBrother]

@@DarylTalksGames I really appreciate your decision on not spoiling the experience. And I like Eternal Darkness too!

[@DarylTalksGames]

Exactly! It really made you question things you wouldn't normally question

[@tophatoctopus1997]

@@GiantBrother dont forget that time your mouse auto moves to a certain diologue option

[@whiteface513abandonedchann8]

Just gonna say this right now, DDLC failed in execution. Good concept, but WAYYYYYYY too 2012 shitty video game creepypasta-esque. It tried too hard and ruined its own pacing because of it

[@jeromeciarkowski1367]

Hey, Daryl! I never interface screw were called just that... interface screws. Thanks for the informative video! I like you extended this video game concept outside the realm of video games. Gives it a more practical application and an outside-the-box-ish view.

[@DarylTalksGames]

Thanks Jerome! I really appreciate that and I'm pumped to hear you enjoyed. I do all I can to craft these videos to make you think outside the box ;)

[@zombiesauce9886]

The automaticity part is so interesting to me, I recently read about a study where they put special glasses on people that would invert the way the light hits your eye so the participants would see everything upside down, and in 4 hours the brain somehow managed to flip the image so the would see normally

[@jackyhii5655]

okok just wanted to say you combined like my two fav subjects of gaming and psych together into an awesome channel so you are hella cool and i love your channel and yea keep going man!

[@Stephen-Fox]

I got pretty good at dealing with reverse controls in Bomberman in the early 90s. Weirdly I think I was worse at dealing with reverse controls wearing off than coming on, and unsurprisingly worse at both transitions than the majority of the time with them reversed. I think my favourite interface screw of all time is how Confusion is implemented in what was released as Digimon World 2003 in the UK (I think it's Digimon World 3 in the US). Instead of 'act randomly' it rewords every command and randomizes what they all do. Which has the same effect as 'act randomly' but feels very different when instead of you're character being out of control you're instead trying to choose between dance and sing commands and hoping the one you pick corresponds to 'attack the enemy' (...The immunity item for it is the ring of soberness which is... A choice and a half for a kids game)

[@niconavall]

Great work Daryl! Enjoyed the funny but also informative approach of the subject. A mechanic that I never really thought about and didn't know i would enjoy to see in deep, love it!

[@DarylTalksGames]

Thanks so much Nicolas! It’s definitely a fun mechanic to talk about :)

[@Sera-F1nn]

7:35 OK, I'M NOT HERE FOR GETTING CALLED OUT DARYL. THAT GOT TOO REAL.

[@nyperold7530]

Sonic Adventure, Amy's story, Twinkle Park. Certain sections of the stage have you controlling Amy -- who's being pursued by Zero, mind -- while your view is focused on a mirror. One section flips your view vertically, so when you push up or down on the Control Stick, it's reversed in the mirror, and another section does it horizontally. Oh, and spiked balls are rising and slamming down. This is a kind of interface screw that only causes problems because it's a third-person view. If you were controlling Amy in first-person, it wouldn't be a problem at all. (Then again, it would be a problem in that one part where some sections of floor open up to drop you into a pit when you stand on them, and the "mirror" version of that tile just shows a pit, so you know where it is.)

[@naenoart]

Fun and interesting video! Loved the edits, haha. Your content never disappoints. ;')

[@DarylTalksGames]

Thank you!! :)

[@pilgrimspromise1132]

I was not prepared for the nostalgic kick of Mario Paint music

[@punklingyt]

Bruh, the Befuddle debuff in MapleStory that flips your controls is absolutely killer. It's in the middle of boss fights with numerous things that need to be dodged and oh man it's hard

[@andrewprahst2529]

You forgot that the rambling mushroom continually change you controls slightly over time.

[@alephnullproductions881]

A lot of good thoughts. I think the reason we "adapt" is because we must experience and learn to understand how it works. Our brain functions with actions and expectations. When our reality matches our expectations, we receive satisfaction, when it doesn't we find it confusing and uncomfortable. However, once you have experienced backwards controls a few times you can "get it". The problem is simply knowing the controls are reversed is not enough to fully understand the pitfalls and changes in thought process needed to perform the task with the new controls. After a few tries you experience where you go wrong, and what the reaction is. Once you mentally work your way through it all that is left is to identify the schema, remember the correct one, and swap to it. I don't really liken it to hockey vs golf as those are totally different objectives. It seems more like swapping languages on the fly. You understand you are trying to do about the same thing either way, but you have to load in the correct protocols for the context, and the more you practice the easier that becomes. As far as competitive nature and fairness goes, it has to do with expectation and what is being tested. If your testing ability to perform the task, such as a platformer, or puzzler like Tetris, you may be testing their ability to react to the change. This is why "fair" changes are ones that impact everyone, it changes what the competition is about for a short period of time. If only some people are impacted, then it is simply a handy-cap for those who are. However, if it impacts everyone, then it becomes a test of your ability to adapt to the change itself and overcome it quickly. Finally, the way you handle it for an NPC is to simply simulate the handy-cap, if not the actual experience. If the job of the obstacle is to slow down reaction time, then simply add that delay to the AI process. If you are blinding them, make them miss more. More often then not the AI is not playing the same way as the players anyways. Their objective isn't the same as the player, their objective is to make sure the player is having a good time. For this reason, a lot of logical trickery may be going on to simulate the effects of conditions rather than the conditions themselves. Not to mention the fact that anything that isn't on the screen should take as little processing as possible. The exact behavior of an inked character no one is viewing isn't important, only its delay in position.

[@timursimanko7174]

Daryl: In Celeste [...] you respawn quickly and won't have to restart the entire chapter. Me: *sweating in golden Berry*

[@Lulink013]

How is wind pushing you in one direction an interface screw in Celeste? It's a physics obstacle. It doesn't change how the game controls so much as a treadmill in any platformer does.

[@Lulink013]

Realm of the Mad God has a very brutal case of this with one of it's status effects: Confused. The game is a top down bullet hell MMORPG with permadeath and rather than reversing the controls they mirror them along a diagonal: up and right switch with eachother and down and left do also. This makes learning this second control style very hard, but also adds a cope-out: going up right or down left is the same wether you are confused or not, so if you know you can get hit by a Confuse effect and you are going in one of these directions nothing changes.

[@Crimson-Hat]

Ink on my screen in Mario Kart? I can handle that. Reversed controls in Smash and trying to recover as Ness? B O I

[@LrdVnm]

Ah yes, the first time I encountered an Interface Screw was in Lego Racers for the N64. When fully upgrading the yellow brick weapon, the 'traps' if you will, it turns into a curse trap that inverts steering. There's one level where there's always one of these traps as a stage hazard and I remember seeking that out to get used to the reverse steering so my brother wouldn't be able to get me with that particular trick.

[@kamil118]

I've played one game with a certain skill that boosted your damage by 120% (pretty standard numbers for that game) but reversed your controlls permanently. After using it for around a month i got completely accustomed to reverse movement, and only time it confuses me is the moment the control scheme changes

[@Rapidashisaunicorn]

My little bro and I had this Burger King branded pocket bike racing game, which is pretty strange but besides the point. The in-game battle items come in the form of a bar you fill up to different levels to get better attacks, with the full meter attack reversing your opponents controls. My brother and I started getting really good at the reversed controls though, so we started using the second highest attack instead

[@netob4758]

Your channel is awesome, Daryl! Subscribed!

[@rehab_herr]

Imagine when a game suddenly kills you "cough random crits cough cough"

[@VampPhoenix99]

The disorientation from reversed controls sounds like my executive dysfunction lol. Press the button, your character doesn't do what you intended, you get confused and frustrated. (Unrelated but my favourite reversal mindfuck in games is Inverse Battles in Pokémon. Showdown doesn't have them outside of OM of the Month and it makes me really sad.)

[@Dekunutcase]

Makes you wonder if someone is used to interface screws and meets a new one they aren't used to, if they are quicker to overcome the confusion.

[@JunkExplorer]

"Duke it out like men" >Doesn't play exclusively on Omega stages without stage hazards Hmm... makes you think....

[@imdone8243]

Trans

[@masterzoroark6664]

Anibriated dinosaur with an infant One of those out of context quotes that create a whole different story

[@billylanpowell8265]

My man so clean that he said bass ackward at 10:06 Legendary

[@MsHojat]

It's not a well known game, but *Tetanus on Drugs* is like the epitome of interface screws. It's super fun though! Would be hilarious to see it implemented in a VR Tetris.

[@donvoltonus8898]

It's not something he mentioned, but Ice Physics can also be a sort of interface screw. You're used to stopping when you let go of a direction, and having to account for that, or the drag time when changing direction, can really mess you up.

[@ccs8847]

i was literally beggining to make a comment about the confusion in crypt of the necrodancer and then 8:29 happened... Either way, i think the game handles the confusion in that game really good, as you only get confused if you mess up, and tells you immediately when it begins, and because the only 4 buttons are up down left right, its very easy to adapt to that.

[@RosheenQuynh]

The way you explained automaticity explains why I hate using a keyboard and mouse. It feels so unnatural that I have to use and remember the function of SO many keys to do things...

[@jeang6588]

I don't know if this has been addressed already, but in MK8 and MK8 Deluxe, getting hit by ink DOES indeed slightly reduce your handling, making your car or bike be a bit more slippery, that's something that I noticed right away within my first times getting hit, as in MK Wii it simply covered the screen in ink.

[@lrgogo1517]

The first thirty seconds were surprisingly entertaining.

[@ScottySR]

The only time I felt like control reverse was unfair was during Touhou 13 (a bullet hell game). There is no 'safe' environment to introduce the reverse and the game requires a decent amount of concentration without control reverse, so you can imagine how unfair that is. Especially since sometimes the reverse is on vertical axis, sometimes on horizontal axis and sometimes both. If I remember correctly there is a part where the control reverse goes on and off every 5 or so seconds. Good luck dodging those bullets!

[@acat5770]

"So you decide to duke it out in smash" dang i can no longer relate cause i play rivals

[@skullsmitten]

thank you for geno forest music at the end of such a nice video

[@Lugmillord]

These two minigames in Mario Party 2 and 6 are actually pretty easy to win. You just rotate the control stick until you move into the desired direction and then just hold it. Simple as that.

[@RamHoot]

YO this video was good AF As per your request for weird interface screws at the end though, you do you remember the MGS3 and MGS4 sniper battle screws? In both those games’ sniper battles, when the enemy sniper spots you the camera switches to the perspective of their scope before they shoot you, so for a split moment you get to watch yourself run around with reversed controls like a headless chicken before getting popped. Ouf

[@DarylTalksGames]

Yes I do! I've never played myself, but I do remember watching a friend go through that exact sequence awhile back, I didn't realize it reversed your controls though, that's such a great one. Kojima is just tremendous at what he does man, it's unreal

[@DocDrowsy]

Bro that sound at 3:13 was so beefy I had to listen to it twice cause it sounded like someone opening my door

[@DocDrowsy]

Should mention that I'm wearing headphones

[@txen-eht-nepo]

It's kind of like in Guitar Hero when the fifth color hits you and you have to learn to play with your fingers on 2-3-4-5 instead of 1-2-3-4. At first it feels impossible but after some time it's kind of like an internal gear change happens every time you change the position of your hand.

[@Rainbowmon]

~4:27 "...Relax. You respawn quickly and won't have to restart the entire chapter." ...Unless you're going for the Golden Strawberry like I'm currently trying to... *shudders*

[@DarylTalksGames]

Valid. Point. Godspeed my friend

[@Rainbowmon]

@@DarylTalksGames Thanks. I've gotten the first 4 so far...

[@azazellon]

"It bridges. The gap between every physical button press and every digital--" wWEEEHOOOO~

[@TheRealHedgehogSonic]

The most frustrating interface screws come from online Nintendo games, because they erratically lag and eat your inputs so you never know when to time actions.

[@Antifrost]

You can boost to get rid of the Blooper Ink in Mario Kart. It doesn't need to be a mushroom, driving over a boost pad will do the trick too. I know it's being pedantic to point out that one part, but since I've yet to find another comment that mentioned this, I felt the need to say that there's at least a few options to deal with Bloopers :v

[@biscuitslash5443]

An interesting example of interface screw that sticks out in my memory is in Rockman 4 Minus Infinity. The game has a boss rush mode with multiple difficulties, with the hardest one being inhumane and ridiculous. Almost as if the game expects nobody to be able to actually complete it, the last battle is exclusive, and is nigh impossible even if you mod the game to repetitively attempt only that battle (I've tried, and I didn't get far). One of the many things that makes the battle so difficult is how some of the attacks inflict status effects, which never happens anywhere else in the game. Stuff like "Sap" which makes your life deplete, "Darkness" which makes your vision of the room fade in and out, and even "Petrify" which turns you to stone. You're screwed if that happens. One of these many effects is Confusion, which is indeed another control scramble. It doesn't reverse your controls though. It instead takes all your inputs (the 4 moves buttons, attack and jump), and scrambles them all. Imagine having to hold jump to move right, or hold left to aim down. It's as screwy as it sounds, and by the time you've maybe figured out one or two new commands, the boss has likely killed you.

[@Architector_4]

7:32 Duuude, I didn't expect "hollywood" script to make an appearance in this video! lol

[@DisKorruptd]

Ink screen is only mildly impeding, you can see above and below and on the sides of the ink to accurately line up your kart

[@fieratheproud]

Super unrelated to the subject but Kudos for the FMAB clip

[@truji2582]

9:43 using the pro controller D-pad is already going to screw you up by itself though

[@gen157]

In Guitar Hero's battle mode, there's a Lefty Flip power that you can send to your opponent. When me and my cousin would play against each other, that quickly become the most useless power against me. I learned to play with the notes reversed pretty quickly. At this point, nearly 15 years later, we both know each other inside and out and have a pretty good idea what kind of scheme the other has in their head to mess with the other. Be it cooperative to competitive, we got it. Another instance is in Mario Party 2, there's a minigame where you get spun around on a music record, becoming dizzy. As you get up, you find your controls are changed and you need to figure them out to reach the city for the goal. Edit: This was in the video, oops. Should have finished before commenting. :)

[@Allplussomeminus]

Squid Ink in MK8 can easily be seen through if you just look at the curves, patterns, and obstacles on the road that aren't obscured. Since we always know the character is always roughly center screen, estimate your vector from wherever you are.

[@ivythay4259]

Blooper

[@LeafLeaf219]

when you get confused in Realm of the mad god in a verry late game dungeon is just a death sentence (almost)

[@funeralruiner]

the ink screen is like if you took off my glasses while driving there are no laws in Mario kart I can still see

[@samuels7228]

This man definitely has tunnel vision.

[@MoreImbaThanYou]

The ink screen in Mario Cart doesn't bother me at all. You have knowledge of the map and periphery vision, thats more than enough.

[@morgankasper5227]

and you can see past the ink

[@michaelwilliams7140]

And a mini map

[@tinycatfriend]

i've been playing Hades and sometimes you get to choose an interface screw to deal with for a while in order to get a reward! i'm not sure if they're exactly interface screws, but they do things like slow you down or you take damage if you use a certain attack. it can be a fun and frustrating challenge! and you get to decide which one to experience out of 3 options (i'm talking about the boons from Chaos)

[@inazumatan7050]

Malfestio's greatest weakness is an upside down joy-con

[@DoubleWSpeedruns]

As an aspiring game dev, these videos are great.

[@DarylTalksGames]

Thank you! I hope they help in some way

[@bencebalint1956]

Thanks for telling me I'm the best kind of person. I needed that today.

[@Wanderingcacti]

Speaking of shuckle nmknight. Im sure yall know but shuckle being the pokemom in a certaim gen to deal the most damage under the right circumstances is hysterical

[@chip5892]

Struggle, Bernard. *STRUGGLE* .

[@Joh447]

the squid ink has literally never been a problem to me. but I guess I'm just good at seeing through it.

[@killaknight12]

*Cries in Rocket League* where you have to learn to fly upside down, sideways, diagonal while the camera is also moving LMAO. But other than in Mario Party or Smash as soon as you can aerial you train this basically hundrets of hours until you have no more blank moments.

[@trisciense]

It makes total sense to me that we are getting better at control screws little by little, I get better at driving or riding a bike after all.

[@hapz_6636]

"let you get used to being an inebriated dinosaur with an infant"