Killswitch: Haunted Lost Media Or Hoax?

[@ZackC]

I’m always somewhat amused by the “mysterious lost games” which were apparently the most technologically advanced creations of their time, going so far as to add physical capabilities to the hardware they were installed on. It’s like someone saying “found this lost 1990 Game Boy cartridge” and it’s just full-color Ridge Racer.

[@ZackC]

Quick note: this isn’t a dig on the extremely well-written original, but rather people glossing over the clear alternate-universe nature of it to drop it into the real-life 1989.

[@NonsenseOblige]

Yeah, the thing is that anyone that has any memory of the 90s would be well aware of what a game looked like back then, both artistically and aesthetically. But it's hard for someone born in 2002, who's first console was a Nintendo DS, to be aware of how explosive were the changes in technological and artistic paradigms in game making during the 90s. It's more an issue with period pieces in general, the past isn't just old, it's alien, and I don't think people would be too interested in something actually realistic like a mysterious 1990 FMV game with painfully bad acting. EDIT: Inb4 someone makes a fake snuff FMV game lost media.

[@chadwickjdillon]

I always think the same thing. The amount of parallax scrolling, colors, NARRATIVE, in these games screams "this is what I imagine the past was like." It's a wonderful if... endearingly dumb phenomenon. The godzilla one always made me chuckle for the same reasons. Edit: No disrespect to anyone's version of fun by the way. I grew up with ghost stories and urban legends too. They just weren't so... digital! Lol. Izzzy does great work with these topics. I love it!

[@NonsenseOblige]

​@@chadwickjdillon Oh yeah, the parallax scrolling with the light effect really pops out, specially when you contrast it with the sprite work, like, this is 1989, Prince of Persia came out in 1989, Castlevania 3 came out in 1989. How can you have such cutting edge technology to have parallax scrolling but your sprite work looks like it's from a 1985 console game? And also, if we're talking game preservation here, how did no one mention the manual?? 90% of game stories back then were written either on the back of the box or on the manual, we have supposed images of the game but not a single scan of the manual?

[@Sky-pg8jm]

Hell it doesn't even look like any East Bloc videogames. Like compare this to the GDR's "Jungle" or "Welltris" and "Perestroika" from the USSR (all released in 1989)

[@snazzy9175]

It always annoys me when obvious creepypastas are treated as lost media mysteries, because it distracts from what they really are- fascinating works of fiction. I don't care that Killswitch and the rest of invisible games aren't "real", because they're well written pieces of short horror. I'd love to see a full playable recreation of Killswitch honestly

[@emiliobustamante2401]

Like, all of these is a wondefuly done narrative, gold star to the author! But how on earth can people POSSIBLY even for a seconf believe this stuff is real??? You can google all of this stuff!

[@thebeetleball]

Exactly! Then you also have ppl who treat these works of fiction like they're "hoaxes" or "fake" or whatever cuz of ppl trying to pass them off as real mysteries. Like, you wouldn't call a book or movie a hoax, you'd just call it a book or movie, idk why online fiction isn't treated the same way

[@avinoired]

common emu pfp W

[@ddjsoyenby]

agreed.

[@appleg.3218]

It also takes focus away from actual lost media which can be a bit annoying for actual archivists

[@PrincessYaura]

You’re the only person I trust to talk about horror content without scaring me

[@SteveDice21]

You should give Wendigoon a try

[@caligulasAquarius]

Same

[@意地悪ちゃん]

@Wolfish The hoax was this disease that made people have purple eyes, pale skin, and no body hair. Basically early 2010s mary-sue syndrome lol

[@umbrellaisaac]

@@SteveDice21 agreed

[@kermits_sexier_brother]

@Wolfish I can tell you about the momo thing😌✋

[@Eeeklizabeth]

I find it really amusing the way the narrator of “What Happened to Agent Small?” explains in quite a bit of detail the plot and revolutionary aspects of the game only to immediately follow it up with “but it was a bad game and you shouldn’t really care about it at all.”

[@literallyafishhook]

gaming journalism at its finest lol

[@bees9342]

your comment immediately reminds me of hbomberguys video “Pathologic is Genius,” where he explores the fascinating way the mechanics and philosophy of the game work together and push the boundaries of what a game can be, praises it for well over an hour… and then tells you not to play it 😂 (I’m dramatically over simplifying, but it’s a good video)

[@Eeeklizabeth]

@@bees9342 I’ll have to check that one out! I’ve watched some of his videos and enjoyed them, but not that one. Thanks for giving me a reason to check it out!

[@nyanlathotep3214]

Holy fuck. The whiplash I felt when you revealed that Catherynne Valente had created the kill switch story was jarring. She’s one of my favorite authors and I was not expecting her name to pop up at all, let alone find out she was the man behind the curtain of this whole mystery.

[@chloecho2448]

I’d like to read some of her work. Do you have any recs for somebody unfamiliar with her stories aside from the killswitch urban legend?

[@ajxx9987]

So the game is just a creepypasta

[@NoGoodNik1]

@@chloecho2448 Space Opera is a fun one, but if you're looking for something more in line with these I'd suggest starting with something like the Orphans Tales series

[@nyanlathotep3214]

@@chloecho2448 my favorite of hers is “the past is red” it’s a kind of post apocalyptic coming of age story, it’s a quick read and the first time I read it I cried a little bit. It’s not much like killswitch but it’s good stuff.

[@karlyl7616]

Same!! I love her The Girl Who series. Her range is incredible

[@SwaggyG_2102]

10:47 "Yamamoto is crying." If I spent nearly three-quarters of a million dollars on a long lost game from the late 80s, only to learn that it could only be played once and never again after that, I'd be crying too.

[@lilstich8402]

Same

[@timohara7717]

He didn't snow

[@GlockenWhale]

yep thats....the point

[@miserablepumpkin9453]

It's interesting that the story of the woman's descent into madness as told through arcade machines uses finnish in the titles. "Eksynyt Morsian" translates to "Lost Bride", "Mielipaha" is a bit more vague as it doesn't quite translate to english but means something roughly like "Bad Mood" or "Displeasure" or "Resentment", and "Keskenään kotona Ankea" seems to be a janky translation literally translating to "awkward at home with each other". I'm guessing they meant something like "Together in Our Gloomy Home"? Also, the woman's name, Sisko, is quite literally the finnish word for sister and it is a rather old name. I appreciate the effort that went into all this, even if it is janky at times.

[@fieratheproud]

I noticed the same thing! Was kinda surprised to see Finnish words and phrases just so casually around. Since Ankea is capitalized in "Keskenään kotona Ankea" I figured it was supposed to be the name of a character or something, but it does seem like it could just be a janky translation.

[@gemwolfz2860]

yep! if you look at the story on the website, it's set in finland.

[@Sproutpies]

Torilleee

[@Rose_Haw]

It was definitely surprising!

[@alexandra_strelka]

Holy shit. Valente has been my favourite author for about 5 years now, I had no idea she created this It honestly makes a lot of sense though, I can see her writing style shine through lol

[@necrodeus6811]

I'm glad that I've been introduced to a cool new author

[@madeline4712]

I audibly gasped at the Valente reveal. Wow!!!!! Just when I thought I couldn't love her any more than I already do. Literally such a genius.

[@Dhdjksjsnsnsnnsnsna]

you and i both!! and i cant find that book anywhere :(

[@februaryfever]

Me too!! I should’ve guessed with all the Soviet factory stuff, it completely reminds me of Deathless lol

[@superoriginalusername.]

I love these videos on horror media, I often end up going down rabbitholes because of them

[@WhitneyDahlin]

Yes! I love the horror game videos!

[@Scorpiofrfr]

Every video Izzy makes is masterpiece. One of the best content creator on KZbin.

[@sophie________]

@Be Straight no

[@marly3257]

i agree, she is 100% my favorite youtuber right now

[@Periwinkleaccount]

Very very good comment grammar. True perfect.

[@kiroswife]

@@Periwinkleaccount who the hell cares? you can comprehend the sentence, no?

[@Periwinkleaccount]

@@kiroswife wel then, I wil. I gues I do agreee with yoo.

[@phyllotaxis]

I remember reading this back in like 2010, it never really seemed fake at the time because "obscure foreign game with a mysterious creator and history" could describe plenty of very real games like Yume Nikki.

[@RedSpade37]

Speaking of Yume Nikki, I think that game and its various spinoffs would be perfect for Izzzy to cover. It would fit very well with the rest of her content.

[@fizzytoast383]

Gotta love how nice Izzy is to watch! It's really relaxing to listen to her describe/read games, fandoms, books, anything it is, she does an amazing job.

[@vanilla7349]

yeah! i've only discovered her recently but love listening to her vids while gaming

[@mariefryzelkova7927]

Fun fact: Karviná after which Karvina Corporation is named is city in moravian-silesian region on the north side of Czech Republic known for its coal mining (heck I can see at least three disused coal mine headframes from my living room window). And is also like next town from where I live (Ostrava).

[@x-fun3149]

Damn bro stay safe from the coal dæmons

[@mariefryzelkova7927]

@@x-fun3149 in this though region we are not scared of them. We invite them to drink with us. On the serious note here in Ostrava the previously abandoned mining and smelting complex is now used as turist atraction and entertaining venue - Dolní oblast Vítkovice. Plus two coal mines you can visit as tourist and even get in the underground on one of them.

[@fallenaither]

Izzy, I am genuinely so glad you’re doing a video on Killswitch! I forgot about it for a while, but my god I remember being really into this when it was more of a thing! Like I remember when there was a KZbin channel that had apparently “found” the game and everything! Edit because I finally finished the video: I never even knew just how deep the history behind Killswitch is. It’s genuinely so interesting, and I never knew about the InvisibleGames aspect of it! I’m glad you discussed this because I feel like InvisibleGames and its creator deserve proper credit!

[@coyoteartist]

It was probably one of the first gaming stories I read and one of the best. I never thought it real but I loved the atmosphere of it because it depicted so well the cold dark image of Soviet oppression. I didn't think Five Nights At Freddy was real either when I first heard that story and sadly it was real because it really kinda of ruined it.

[@fallenaither]

@@coyoteartist I won’t lie, 13 year old me was *invested* in Ghast 1989’s videos around the time they were being posted. I wasn’t fully convinced they were real, but it was my first dive into the whole idea of lost media and the whole IRL creepy pasta thing. It was almost my Marble Hornets in a way. It’s just so satisfying after all these years to finally know the full *real* story of Killswitch, and I just wish I could tell my younger self about the whole thing.

[@coyoteartist]

@@fallenaither I sometimes wish I'd been much younger when all this started so that I could see it from a younger eye. I was in my 30s in the early 2010s. It is satisfying to know the full story and I loved the feeling of getting lost in the original pasta because it appealed so much to my imagination and childhood view of Eastern Europe as a place of secrets hidden behind the curtain. That does show the timelessness of the concept of the story. In another age, it would have been about a book or a movie. I also know of the feeling of wishing I could go back a moment and tell my younger self what I've found out since about something from then. I use to go to our main downtown library in Orlando, FL and sit on the floor for hours in various sections reading random things. That often seems like the perfect setting to mysteriously appear to my younger self and say "you won't believe this story"

[@ShallowVA]

As someone who played a lot of adventure games back in the day, I knew it had to be fake when it took the players a long time to figure out they had to eat the coal coke. That's like one of the first things a player would have tried!

[@melancolielupine2023]

Same here. I mean, I may have not thought about eating it, but *someone* on the forum should have at some point lol

[@writershard5065]

Also, someone would've bought the game and scraped the code from wherever the files were hiding. Like, if it had any significant amount of following, someone would've been ready to grab the code as soon as it became clear that the game deletes itself. This is also the 1980s, when it was supremely easy to copy games. That said, this was still an awesome story.

[@KawaiiBabyTragon]

I think the idea is they tried eating it but they didn't realize eating it kept your size consistent for the last parts of the game.

[@userofthegoogle]

Killswitch is actually something that is really inspiring to me. Knowing that someone making an elaborate horror project/story can get their project seen by so many people is nice, considering I’ve always wanted to write a short horror story or creepypasta. Fantastic work by that writer, and amazing vid as always Izzy!

[@familiaandromeda6850]

Hi there, would you like to bring peace to the world?

[@userofthegoogle]

@@familiaandromeda6850 What do you mean?

[@familiaandromeda6850]

@@userofthegoogle I think you know what we mean.

[@Lunar_Spell]

I get why the creator doesn't want to put Invisible Games to print, but I would *die* for a fleshed-out novel about it. Their writing is amazing. Fantastic video as always, Iz! 💕

[@kedsarama]

I've actually never heard of this one before, but seeing that gameplay I pretty much immediately realized the game could not have existed in 1989, lol.

[@SaltpeterTaffy]

Man, that concept of a game where you select a character and play cards to form and direct a narrative where you become your opponent's character is as cool as it is Nomic-flavored. I imagine in practice it would destroy friendships faster than Risk.

[@melasnexperience]

Thank you, I finally know who wrote the only video game creepypasta that I ever liked. That it trafficked in mood & general unease instead of "whoa, Mario's real & he's crying blood" like most of that subgenre made it stand out in my mind for years now.

[@collectorofchaos6594]

I still don’t understand

[@billblaski9523]

@@collectorofchaos6594 Melancholy of Mecha Girl

[@igotboredthinking]

I’ve had such a stressful shitty day and seeing this notification made me physically relax. Thank you for good timing

[@snowglobe4784]

ALL OF THE COMMENTS HAVE BOT REPLIES UNDER THEM

[@LikaLaruku]

@@snowglobe4784 I am getting so tired of reporting them & their stupid accounts. It's like cutting off a hydra's head; more just grow back.

[@DEFxRECON]

I love that Izzy is like the somewhat more SFW and niche subject reviewer compared to other creators like Whang lol

[@chocobear4078]

Ah, a fellow Whang enjoyer I take it?

[@greenhowie]

Izzy in the streets, Whang in the sheets

[@jammer9rtglz]

u put my thoughts exactly into words

[@Kiss_My_Aspergers]

And I mean, that depends what your preferred niches are, right? I might have suggestions depending on your answer..... no promises, though.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

Allow me to explain.

[@SkyshadowXx]

I don't usually comment, but dang Izzy. you've been serving absolute bangers for so long. Bravo on the dedication and passion that I can see you put into not only your amazing, creative, and unique makeup and sets, but truly in-depth documentaries about nostalgic media from so many of our pasts. Thank you for showing up and showing out each and every time. 👏

[@familiaandromeda6850]

Hello there, What scares you more than anything?

[@solidcoffee1643]

Ahhh! This was one of my favorite weird rabbit holes to passively research when I was in highschool -- I'm so excited for you to cover it! (Edit: I think I even remember designing fake arcade cabinets for Killswitch bc that was also around the time I was working on my comic *and* was suuuper into the Polybius legend)

[@papermouse_9]

for so long now i've had "story about a bizarre early PC game that deletes itself" hovering in the back of my mind trying to remember what the story was and then Izzzy comes out with a whole retrospective on it

[@VaqueroCoyote]

10:50 Yamamoto's crying in the video because he realized he blew a fortune he could have retired on on a crappy game that will delete itself

[@StudioScheppen]

VIDEO SPOILERS I wasn't expecting to hear my immediate cousin's name in such a pivotal role in an Izzzyzzz video it literally gave me a spit take when you said Cat's full name LOLLL this is so weird what the fuck. I didn't know this at all, but once you mentioned it, the mixture of haunting/elegant elements all started to fit perfectly into her authorial voice. (Due to our age difference and living on opposite sides of the country we don't chatter very often, but I see her every year or so for weddings or holidays! We're both writers so it's always fun to hear what she's got in the works.) Great video as always I love all ur stuff so much!!!!!

[@valorzard]

you should get her to contact izzyzz for an interview

[@lpfun1494]

That is so cool! I overanalyzed your cousin's site massively back in the day and dragged my friends in to read the stories too. I love that you're also a writer, too!

[@Dhdjksjsnsnsnnsnsna]

please tell her i LOVE her fairyland series! its easily my fav serious, above harry potter (even if jkr isnt an insane, horrible person) and the howl's moving castle series!! too bad her books q literally dont exist where i am. :(

[@gemwolfz2860]

has she seen this video? go give her some kudos on behalf of all of us!!!

[@CatValenteLive]

@@valorzard Would be happy to do an interview. Hey cuz ;)

[@runemiksu4735]

Just wanted to give some translations starting from 16:07 Eksynyt Morsian = The Lost Bride Mielipaha depends of the context, but can mean resentmenr, regret, spite annoyance or all of them Keskenään kotoa Ankea can mean a lot of things, Keskenään kotoa could be translated as ”with each other at home” while Sisko and Ankea have meanings, most likely due to capital letters they were meant as names, Sisko meaning sister and Ankea meaning dreary Sorry, my Finnish brain just rambling but wanted to explain this

[@Sproutpies]

I love it when finnnish stuff comes up in a video and all od us Finnish people immediately translate everything and stuff. You explained everything a lot better than I couldve

[@citrusune]

@@Sproutpies I know!

[@MadDannyWest]

How does Izzy make content so quickly, their turnover is UNREAL

[@choicethetaurus]

i love this

[@pepperthe2008]

Dedication

[@emdrake04]

I can always trust them for good content and on a good schedule 😌

[@Soup69God]

Slaves

[@van_codes]

fr fr

[@Mockthenerd]

A game that "removes itself with no trace" and "Cannot be copied". I'm sure the government would be interested in this technology... But no really, is dumb what we used to believe.

[@griffinraynor8425]

I'd be ready to believe it was able to delete itself IF it wasn't from the eighties, because there have been modern games that can edit their own files and without knowing much at all about programming deleting the files doesn't sound like too much of a stretch - but 'cannot be copied' though. I was really wondering what the explanation was for a game that you could play on your computer but not copy or backup in any way, lol. I guess that's one of the hallmarks of creepypastas; the plotholes.

[@lilbluecaboose]

Yeah, the "cannot be copied" thing is the first thing that really fully tipped me into "well, that's fake" tier of things.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

Being the 80's, they'd by on floppy disks. While they do have copy protection features, they can be circumvented if you know where to cut or drill a hole. Copy protection back then was mechanical - a notch cut into the disk being filled in.

[@emiliobustamante2401]

Or you know, taking the story at face value Killswitch was supposed to be a "real game" published and sold by a "real compnay" not some rom going around for free...that the idea of a game that totally erases itself from the users computer, unrecoverable for ever is... basically theft? Like not to be dramatic or anything and I sure consumer protection laws in the games industry where quite weak in the 80s but come on people.

[@tiffany15O5]

I mean, steam can fully remove games from your library even if youve bought it, like with that assassins creed game

[@Dicearoo]

I find it really wholesome that this basically concluded as an appreciation video for an underrated author

[@lilm0nix3]

your videos have completely eliminated any self-consciousness i had about my interests. it was extremely reassuring to hear that it's okay to like what makes you happy, and that people shouldn't judge you for it. everything you talk about holds extreme nostalgia for me because i partook in a majority of it as a kid as well. i go through depressive episodes where i can't stop thinking about how much i wish i could go back to when i didn't have any responsibility, and be a child again. i'm 23 years old now but i have so many regrets from when i was growing up that i desperately wish i could go back and fix; re-experience. there are so many things i miss, like school and being around my family all the time. i was neglecting myself for a really long time, both physically and mentally. i spent most of my time in bed and on youtube. i found your channel and the more i watched, the better i started feeling- and eventually i decided that i was going to try and get back into some of the stuff that i used to love so much as a kid. my little pony, steven universe, undertale, homestuck, and a lot of other things. it's done WONDERS for my mental health. i feel so much more productive and motivated to take care of myself and my responsibilities as an adult, while also feeling like a free spirit again. ironically, reality feels a lot more clear now. i'll always be grateful for the love and effort that you put into your content, because it's one of the biggest reasons that i'm able to start making my life better. thank you so much from the bottom of my heart♥

[@magmasajerk]

I remember seeing something about this ages ago, but the only thing I really remembered about it was that it supposedly deleted itself and the part about Ghast being invisible and nobody being able to complete the game in that mode. Neat to finally see the rest of the story.

[@nooramarttinen5989]

At 16:12 The names are in Finnish! :D Eksynyt Morsian = Lost Bride Sisko = Sister Mielipaha = Recentment (according to dictionary) Keskenään kotona = Alone at home/Home alone Ankea = Dreary

[@sipsi7801]

In this case Sisko is a name so the meaning of it does not really matter.

[@damianthorne2532]

The biggest tell that Killswitch is a story is that no one, NO ONE, bothered to burn the ROM to a computer or something and play around with it. Come on, this was when the Internet was enthusiast-only, SOMEONE had to have thought of it when they heard of the game deleting itself!

[@WyrmsOfWonder]

on the note of internet folklore and authorship, I always find it funny as someone who was really into creepypastas in my teens to stumble across the author of a work I was really into. Recently I learned a guy whose podcast I listen to was the writer of smile.dog, a favourite of mine from when I was young, and it really caught me off guard, but it was so funny to me.

[@mooncherrie]

whats the name of the podcast?

[@WyrmsOfWonder]

@@mooncherrie homestuck made this world by Ranged Touch

[@sydposting]

I remember being linked to the Invisible Machines site by a writer-friend in 2007, when only a few stories had been posted. When I tried to look it up in a search engine a few years later, I couldn't find it, and had to sort through my bookmarks to share with another friend. Turns out, the site - when it existed - had completely opted out from search terms. You could only find it if you knew what you were looking for, with a direct link from a friend-of-a-friend. It added to the metafiction extremely well! I was convinced I'd just imagined the site existed, inspired by other unfiction like Candle Cove, until I found that bookmark.

[@FenrisRM]

you made my day by covering this. Kill Switch and Pale Luna hold a weirdy nostalgic place in my head. keep up the good work izzy

[@scabby.knees99]

The one thing that always stops me from really getting immersed in works like these is, despite how intricate and imaginative they are, they don't hold up well to light scrutiny and seem to rely too heavily on an audience's naivete. I do, however, LOVE Izzzyzzz's videos and the way they spotlight fascinating communities and topics I would have never come across on my own 🥰

[@thatcat1391]

I love when izzzy talks about obscure-ish horror games or legends it feeds a curiousity that i didnt think i had

[@DodecahedronBroke]

The true internet historian, archiver of a generation

[@paadoxal]

i started watching and was surprised when you said "czech folk music" and thought it was just a coincidence but nope! it's another legendary game from the czech game development community of the 80's, i'm czech and i'm impressed

[@Kaiularalei]

I’ve been watching too much Drawfee. Saw the name of the game company and just instantly had the thought of ‘Karina? What’s Karina got to do with it??’ Took me too long to realise it most likely wasn’t meant to be read as Karina

[@aboreal]

Damn this is the second time Izzy covers a obscure horror topic from the 2010s I haven't seen anyone discuss (with the first being The Path) and I absolutely love it, Killswitch was one of my favorite creepypastas just because it felt so... Real? No weird demons in your room no hyper realistic blood, just a somewhat fucked up and extremely obscure Russian indie game that deleted itself (and in the pre internet days that would be the equivalent of a book that burned itself after reading it)

[@irregularstuff5290]

Only one thing: it's not russian game, but Czech one. Very different countries.

[@soviwave]

literally nowhere did it say it was russian...?

[@irregularstuff5290]

@@soviwave > obscure Russian indie game that deleted itself From starting comment.

[@soviwave]

@@irregularstuff5290 then it's wrong bc russian =/= czech, russian doesn't even mean soviet. it's not hard to use the right word yk

[@irregularstuff5290]

@@soviwave...that's exactly what I said. You can just read all comments above to figure out who said what. Including the fact that in previous comment I quoted part of starting comment.

[@mewtuwa]

Killswitch is my favorite video game creepypasta, because it doesn't go overboard with the spookiness. I never knew about Invisible games and it was very interesting to hear about it.

[@awcolorcat]

I first read killswitch in a printed book of short horror stories about video games called "Game over". I didn't know of its online rumor status! Very cool to see you cover it!

[@lpfun1494]

Hey, this is one of those creepypastas I've read before it was a viral creepypasta! I don't get to say that often! I remember wayyy back in high school I stumbled across Invisible Games and was obsessed with the articles there. What's funny is Killswitch was one of them I overlooked a bit at the time because the other stories were just so interesting and creative. I remember Brightshaupt Devices and for some reason, I had remembered it as the first Simon Says game. I also vividly remember The Loneliness Engine. For Guest at the Table of Heaven, I believe that has always been an Access Denied page. I remember back then having the same page show up because I remember obsessing how to get access to it. Looking back, I like to think that was part of the mystery the author has made, like the only way you can be granted access is if you are dead or something along those lines. I was surprised when Killswitch became a viral creepypasta a bit later and no one talked about Invisible Games because of how cool the other articles were! I thought for sure others would stumble across the site and start making wild theories about the other articles, but as far as I know, that didn't happen. I'm glad to know who the author is now so I can check out her other works. When I saw your video pop up, I was hopeful you would go into Invisible Games since your videos are always so detailed, but you went above and beyond. Not only with the images of What Happened to Agent Small? which was really fun to see what the game could've looked like if it were real, but you also went over Viagra-gate. I remember when the site got filled with spam of viagra which was annoying at the time. Sorry for such a long post, but I'm so excited to see someone mention Invisible Games and praising the other stories on there. I highly encourage those who are interested in the Killswitch story to look at the other stories on the Invisible Games website, because they are so haunting yet creative. Thank you so much for going over this, Izzy!

[@DanileSawn]

the fact that it's very possible the first ARG ended when the creator got bored and didn't follow through is maybe the most perfect origin story for ARGs I can think of

[@Marm3ladi]

16:14 The names are actually in Finnish. ”Eksynyt morsian” means “The lost fiancé(female)”, “Sisko” means “sister” but it’s also used as a female name, the closest thing “Mielipaha” translates to is maybe “resentment” and “Keskenään kotona ankea” means “Together at the home dismal”. Also your pronunciation was nigh unrecognizable but it’s all good especially since Finnish is so hard to pronounce.

[@TheZackofSpades]

I really respect the Author giving up Killswitch “to the Internet” but she should totally have the right to grow/monetize it if the mood strikes her.

[@MagiciteHeart]

Oh man, I used to LOVE Insible Games. I had totally forgotten it. I discovered it in the early days before this kind of thing was popular and honestly couldn't tell if it were real or not. My favorite is the Lenentine cards, always wanted to make a set.

[@lpfun1494]

I love that someone else found the site before Killswitch took off, too! This video really took me down memory lane.

[@LoreSeamstress]

Valente is one of my favorite writers of all time so finding out that she was behind such a fascinating story was genuinely amazing. She really has a knack for emulating the mannerisms of whatever genre she's writing, from fairy tales to apparently creepy pastas and unfiction. I would highly recommend anyone who was at all intrigued by this video go check out her work. You wont be disappointed.

[@gigicatkinz]

IZZY I AM BEGGING YOU!! i would absolutely LOVE if you could do a video on the deep dive into littlest pet shop online. i used to play the game religiously as a child before hasbro shut it down forever in 2011. i'm SO nostalgic when it comes to that game but i can never find enough history on the topic ANYWHERE on the internet and if anyone can properly unearth it all and give me my childhood back it's you. i know that sounds dramatic but i would do literally anything to go back!!!

[@LEEHAMLOL]

I just discovered your content and now I'm intent on binging every video, well done 😤

[@Stevenwinrar]

You are the prettiest youtuber, and i often forget this because i usually just treat your videos as an interesting backround audio. love the subject matter, always something obscure to me.

[@harley951]

I was startled to hear Catherynne Valente come up because she wrote my favorite middle grade/ young adult series and dare I say my favorite book ever: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. I deeply recommend it to you as it exhibits more of Valente's incredible way of writing and a way of constructing whimsy without making it fluff.

[@Saturn-gs6wl]

That's my favorite book too (to the point where I took my name from one of the characters!)

[@harley951]

@@Saturn-gs6wl Oh my gosh that's so sweet!! It definitely made me love month names and wyverns more 🥰

[@Saturn-gs6wl]

@@harley951 Sooooooo true! It's such a pleasure to see another fan of the books. I actually went as September for Halloween one year, and the Green WInd the year before! (also, to satisfy my anxiety, Saturn is short for Saturday in case it wasn't clear)

[@lavernebennet7395]

OH MY GOD THAT WAS HER???

[@lavernebennet7395]

i think about those books every time something alphabetized is divided into "A-L"

[@charlieb4993]

Love how much was explained before confirming that the game wasn't real. The suspension of disbelief really added to the video. Also I normally hate horror stuff but you explain it all so well and in a way which I find really nice and friendly to listen to so thank you for that :)

[@claireanela]

14:49 The writing in this one random snippet alone is so good and real-feeling that it gave me goosebumps.

[@cinemaraye4839]

I'm currently reading through the blog posts on the Invisible Games website now and suddenly something clicked. I have to wonder if Catherynne M. Valente was inspired by Italo Calvino's "Invisible Cities" (1972). This excerpt from the site Ekostories sums up the the overall concept behind the book much better than I could as... "Invisible Cities is a travelogue to places that do not exist. It is a work that brushes aside conventions of form and narrative to ruminate on ideas of memory and place, touching on everything from trajectory of civilizations to the limits of communication" It's a philosophical mindfuck between the fictionalized Marco Polo and Kublai Khan that (from what I've seen so far with Valente's work) is going about asking questions in a similar way as Invisible Games. Plus, I mean, come on, the name similarity is notable. There may be no correlation but that one semester in college I had to read this book came back to me while looking through Valente's writings.

[@elibrooks69]

im not big on horror but everytime u post a horror ish video its so interesting and entertaining ! it makes me weirdly nostalgic for a community i was never apart of

[@Lunar_DeBrie]

Right?? I had never even heard of Purble Place until she spoke about it, and when I met someone who actually played it, I made it sound like I had played it because of the way I spoke about it!

[@elibrooks69]

@@Lunar_DeBrie YOU HADNT HEARD OF PURBLE PLACE BEFORE ?3?3?2?2 THAT GAME WAS MY CHILDHOOD OMLLLLL i loved it sm

[@starjellyfishh]

Izzzyzzz, you never fail to entertain me when i'm drawing, your videos are perfect for whenever i'm drawing/animating

[@Kurtonator]

The way you handle horror related gaming stuff is very nostalgic and feels good to me, this is the kinda stuff I will spend hours trying to find on KZbin only to end up disappointed most of the time, and very rarely I come across a rare gem. You make this stuff so well, that it’s always a pleasure to see your videos. Especially the old creepy/obscure games! Definitely one of my favourite KZbinrs.

[@SsnakeBite]

I find it fascinating that Catherynne M. Valente is uncomfortable with publishing the Invisible Games stories, or at least Killswitch, due to feeling it evolved into something that ought to remain a public story (and while I understand her perspective, I sitll think it'd be nice to have it collected for posterity. It doesn't forbid others from creating their own lore around it), in contrast to people like, say, Eric Knudsen a.k.a. Victor Surge, who is taking full credit for the entire Slenderman mythos, despite he fact that most of it was not invented by him. Hell, in his early pictures, Slenderman didn't even have his trademark blank face. It was an edited picture of The Tall Man from the _Phantasm_ films.

[@christinegovas-robert4378]

As a computer engineer, I knew the game was fake as soon as it was claimed that the game would erase itself, couldn't be copied, and would leave no trace of its existence behind. The first two are possible (although difficult given the technology of 1989), the third one isn't. Regardless, the lore surrounding this "game" is very rich and well-done so I don't blame anyone for believing it.

[@mushroomst3w322]

when you revealed about catheryne m valente... i was so excited. she's the author of my favourite book series of al time, and her writing is utterly ENCHANTING. if you like whimsical, dark, fairytale content, please read "the girl who circumnavigated fairyland in a ship of her own making" and its sequels, they are amazing and full of imagination and whimsy, they definitely do not get talked about enough!!

[@tylociraptor8131]

This was so good and so cool to find out more of the creators work. Killswitch was one of my favorites back in the day, and her work is simply amazing! I hope you'll also do a video on the Gilbert Garfield ARG. 8D

[@vwts]

It was one of my favorite games as well, even though I only played it once! Sad people are saying the game was fake, glad you also remember it!

[@Styxintheriver]

Woah, Gomo did incredibly on those graphics!! They were very convincing

[@madamebunbun3479]

Okay now this has to be the most interesting topic I have ever heard involving games this takes the cake props to the maker of killswitch and the other stories

[@WeCanCos]

I love when Izzy makes a video on something I've never heard of and yet is a slice of everything I love.

[@lilizarka2260]

Hey Izzy! I stumbled upon your videos a few weeks ago with the sims 2 one, and ever since then they became my new hyperfixation (i have adhd so its fairly common). I just wanted to tell you how much i love your attention to detail, the structures of your videos, the topics you make them about, and also, your makeup is so mesmerizing in each and every one, that i cant listen to it without visuals. I love your personal style, keep making videos, you are so good at this!❤️❤️❤️

[@rauncheal]

The story of Killswitch reminds me of the disappearing $2000 book! A super interesting concept. Once again an awesome video

[@roxxxydubois]

I have to say, the creativity you have with your makeup in all your videos always impresses me

[@syphonstick]

finally someone made a video about killswitch, i love this topic and it’s sad how underappreciated it is

[@theskyischill]

Your lip color here looks SO EXPRESSIVE and adorable. Love it!!

[@grubfriend]

I remember reading the story as a teen and generally thinking 'okay, this one isn't real, that game couldn't exist with that technology back then' etc, but thinking it was still pretty cool and enjoying the story... thanks for going into the backstory of it though, it's wonderful to hear about the author behind it all after all these years.

[@EmployeeKB]

i find it interesting a lot of stories on the website mentions lovers of some kind, whether romantic or familial, or in the case of killswitch, becoming part of the other

[@occultwife.666]

omg Izzy you have 700k subs??! thats awesome. I started watching when you were a smaller creator and im really happy for you! Your videos and makeup are always fantastic

[@occultwife.666]

??? the garfield that says "im watching you" is staring directly into your camera

[@Nerdorkgeek]

I’ve been having a terrible chronic pain flare up today and was so relieved when this came out! Your videos really suck me into the topics they’re about and I find them really soothing (which make them great distractions from severe pain). I really appreciate your work and of course I’m really excited for your next video! In the mean time I’ll just binge your old content again lol

[@Vicky87_o.O_]

When Izzy uploads my happiness goes from -10 to +1000 in seconds 💜

[@robynmiller7996]

Love it when you cover obscure horror games! Also the look you crafted for this video? *Chef's kiss*

[@societycrumbles]

Maybe you could cover the history of "Thrill Kill"? It was an unfinished, unreleased PlayStation game from early 2000's and it's pretty wild.

[@ddjsoyenby]

yeah that'd be cool.

[@rabbitheartreads]

I read Valente's book "Comfort Me With Apples" earlier this year and LOVED IT! To find out she was also the mastermind of a brilliant creepypasta is so cool! Thank you for making this video and bringing attention to this project! Am def going to check out The Invisible Games project

[@chadwickjdillon]

I love this channel, and the work you do Izzzy. Your coverage of these things from a time a bit younger than me, helps me understand a lot about the internet Now. That said, as a 36 year old interested in actual gaming history... seeing these "lost" games? Lol. I imagine it's what biologists must feel, when Ripley's Believe It or Not wheels out a taxidermy "mermaid" and the crowd eats it up. Its infuriating and hilarious all at once. 😅 Keep up the good work! (And do you know Sarah Z? Seems like you two might be a crossover event of the decade if you ever collaborated!)

[@Idran]

I mean, I don't think the intention of the stories (or the videos for that matter) were to trick people into thinking it was real; that's the key difference between those two things, really, one's meant to con people and the other's meant to tell a neat story one way or another :P

[@pastelguts6182]

Hey I just wanted to comment that, for every video of yours, your makeup pops off. Always so creative and colorful. Just thought I'd comment on it.

[@zhangtthew]

kinda boomed that Valente is not going to write about the story. it's so interesting and well made, it does sound like a real game who got lost in time, might pick up one of her books. great video again, izzy!

[@MrDrDiablo]

Its impressive how interesting you make things I've never heard of before

[@auser6727]

Can’t wait to watch this!!! I’m normally a lurker but I really love your videos and really look forward to them - I watch them while working and they put me in such a good mood :)

[@fireflowerfilms2010]

Yamamoto is crying is the most unsettling line in any creepypasta I believe the game was already used and the person who sold it re-shrink wrapped it and sold it to the highest bidder or sucker I bet that guy is enjoying the money he made off of some guys life savings.

[@Perski08]

Love the video! I was wondering if maybe you could do a video on all the lore surrounding don’t hug me I’m scared cuz it’s a pretty cool series thing and new episodes were just released :)))

[@GordieLouv]

gomo's art fit right in, i was surprised to hear it wasnt originally apart of the website! great job to the both of you, loved the video.

[@Zixea_a]

I remember the Instagram spooky story accounts. I was OBSESSED with them as a kid

[@super-quantumunitintelproc8107]

I just realized that to play Ghast (theoretically): You just need to put a sticker into the middle of the screen. If the movement is centered, that's how you can make him visible

[@HizuiSneazel]

I always love content made by Izzy :) Can't help but wonder what the ending for completing Ghast's route would have been, tho.

[@Hell0fri3nd]

MY GIRL GOT ON TRENDIIIIIIIING 😭❤️ your uploads always make my day. I listen to old ones to go to sleep. I’ve been having a really hard time lately, and this is exactly what I needed. Thank you izzzyzzz!

[@tailsknuxfan101]

For spooky videos, Izzy brings their 2016 clown look 🤡👻

[@Man-ej6uv]

HELL YEAAAAA

[@tg9580]

You definitely got me! I was literally Googling the Rumyanstev Recorder, thinking it was cool and wanting to find more about it LOL.

[@RoryMajule]

It seems impossible no one would be able to finish ghast since, at least according to the “play throughs,” it doesn’t look like the characters ever appear anywhere but the center of the screen. You could presumably then just tape something directly onto your monitor where ghast *should* be, and use that as your ghast sprite since it should always remain in the center of the screen anyway

[@mekman4]

Thank you for being our guide and Great Stuff, as always!

[@MythicMachina]

I have two minds when it comes to this story. The first is that these stories are really well made and honestly feel real. Even if they aren't all the creepy, there was this part of me just thinking "damn, what if this was real"? The other part of me feels like the subject matter of lost games and gaming artifacts can feel a little dubious considering how hard it is to preserve a lot of gaming's history and this kind of story can spread information and make the job so much harder.

[@rubbish_kat]

Izzy you've helped fill the void of some of my favourite youtubers that have left the platform. Thankyou and as always fantastic video.