Rediscovering the Mystery of Video Games

[@CrossfacePanda]

"How do you kill the ghost!?" * cuts to the next scene before Yu can open his mouth * Well played, lads. Well played.

[@NoclipDocs]

For those wondering - this contains NO spoilers for the mysteries within The Witness or Frog Fractions. Feel free to watch without worry. Subscribe now to get updates when our full documentaries for Frog Fractions, The Witness, and Spelunky as they go live later this month.

[@st3amb0a7]

This is great, Danny. Best thing you've done so far. Spelunky is my favourite game of all time and the The Witness isn't a million miles away, so this series is 100% my jam. This is more like some of your eps of The Point, where you're looking at a particular concept, rather than just the story of x game

[@Nors2Ka]

It did contain a what I would consider a spoiler for Dark Souls III.

[@slatanek]

Noclip this was great as usual. thank you sir!

[@NoclipDocs]

Yea our bad. Didn't realize that was pre-release. That's gotta be the definition of irony. Or maybe an intensional flavor to proof our point...?......nah, we fucked up. Sorry. Thanks for watching though!

[@johnladen6514]

Noclips setting all the new high-scores in this type of games coverage. 😜

[@MmmDoggy]

i could watch jon blow talk about games all fuckin day. great stuff so far danny!

[@LB767]

Ha eBunny, funny seeing you here! You have good taste ;D

[@LB767]

Luetin :p you've been a follower for a long time I think

[@leedavis1944]

I really hope we get an extended interview with him

[@stephenkamenar]

you can watch him on twitch

[@A-Milkdromeda-Laniakea-Hominid]

While my fave game The Witness is a bit pretentious, Jon Blow is down to earth and I too love listening to his mind. I'm told his Xcrements are where you find the pretentious middle finger with a bowtie and a glass of wine, but I don't go near that Xithole so..

[@pampamtamtam4001]

I am guilty of looking up guides for every single moment I get stuck in a game. This video has made me want to start changing that. It's as simple as an example like this. I am playing Resident Evil 0 for the first time right now. I got stuck on this scorpion enemy, I was very tempted to just look up how to beat that enemy. I abstained and eventually found out the really simple solution of just aiming at a certain part of the enemy, but the satisfaction from figuring out even that small of an obstacle felt immense. Very nice video!

[@charlesajones77]

I actually saw somebody trying to do the Sheng Long trick. The amazing thing was, he was up to round 5 against Bison when I got there. I informed him that it was an April Fools joke from EGM. Needless to say, he was pissed. I used to walk to that arcade all the time. Like every other arcade that used to be around here, it's long gone.

[@ladambell]

That point Derek makes about the Miyamoto cave story that everyone's heard is a perspective I've genuinely never considered-the cave was what mattered, not whatever was inside. The exploration was its own reward.

[@zetetick395]

Castle Cainhurst is a great modern secret area in _Bloodborne_ - You had to find a letter left on a side table in a certain building, decode the poem, and work out where it is describing and go there, and only at midnight, when a rickety carriage pulls up, pulled by skeletal horses, and takes you away to Castle Cainhurst... - I found it myself (rather than finding out from a KZbin video, or WIKI or whatever) and it was a *fabulous* 'secret discovery' moment!

[@YuriSizov]

I just love how Danny gets developers so relaxed. Regardless of the subject those polite and engaged conversations are simply brilliant! Here's to not stopping to support Noclip in 2017!

[@Funkopedia]

It's the accent

[@luciddre4m]

This video came out at the perfect time as Breath of the Wild is a great example of a game that creates an environment for true, unabashed exploration.

[@CeliriaRose]

I was thinking about this kind of topic literally 5 minutes before watching this video. I went to gamespot this morning and upon loading up the front page the first thing I see is a series of headlines: Horizon Zero Dawn Beginners Guide Horizon Zero Dawn Opening Cinematic Horizon Zero Dawn Hides a ________________ Easter Egg ( I removed specifics so as not to spoil for others) Some of Horizon Zero Dawn's Most Badass Enemies Horizon Zero Dawn Rare Armor Showcase The First 30 Minutes of Horizon Zero Dawn New Horizon Zero Dawn Video Shows Off Skills and Abilities And as I'm looking at these headlines I'm just thinking about this subject because I'm just like "The game isn't even out yet people. Can you just let players have a chance to discover stuff for a change? Just let people be surprised by what's in the game rather than plastering your front page with it the day before launch." It's something I've noticed a lot with games journalism and games marketing in recent years. Everyone is so obsessed with getting clicks or trying to get people to buy their game that they ruin half the game in the process rather than letting the mystery survive and letting people have the chance to experience that. Before launch we are told every single feature that's in the game and a ton of the various details that would have been so great to just stumble across without knowing. I still remember playing games when I was younger and just running into the this special feature in a certain level or stumbling across this rare weapon drop, or picking a skill on a tree that sounds interesting and then realizing that it is a really awesome skill. And now it feels like half the time I have to be afraid of games marketing and journalism because they are doing everything they can to take that experience away from me before I've even had a chance to get the game.

[@Trashware]

The only way to avoid spoilers is to avoid the internet and all game media altogether. Oh, and never talk with friends who don't do the same :p

[@EggEnjoyer]

CeliriaRose One of the coolest experiences I've had in video games was when I discovered a Ray gun Easter egg in Call of duty blacks ops 2 zombies. While this isn't the mysterious game, just getting that ray gun blew my mind. Im like "wow where did this weapon come?! What did I just discovered?!" It felt as though I had unlocked a secret to the call of duty universe. Of course i wasn't the first person to find this Easter egg but it was nice to discover it for myself instead of just watching a KZbin video about it.

[@Trashware]

Had that experience with the alien gun in Fallout 3. Got there before I decided to look stuff up on the internet, it was pretty neat. And then eventually there came the Mothership Zeta DLC and.. oh well.

[@EggEnjoyer]

Trashware At least you're one of the lucky few who can say they've uncovered a mystery.

[@metafuel]

This was excellent. What great bunch of Devs to chat too. Thanks for this.

[@Pontypants]

Best video on the internet.

[@UWORunner]

Your work at NoClip, has been very unique and exciting up this point, but I gotta tell ya man, this was just plain fun. Brought back a lot of fond memories. More of this, please :) Well worth it...

[@Weighty68]

With work like this, you're setting a new standard for video game journalism and documentaries, keep up the incredible work Danny!

[@MikeysBasement]

Killin it dude. I remember hearing about the negative levels in Mario but we could never get to them. Then in Mario 3 my sister heard in school about the hidden flutes that would take you to the other worlds and we tried to get those. When we actually found one it was like magic had just happened.

[@notoriousbmc1]

I hate hand holding in games (even though I could do with help sometimes). It is so much more rewarding to turn off all hints, mini map, instinct etc in Hitman and discover all the different opportunities. I also love the way P.T used the internet to its advantage by letting the community work together to make sense of it all. Also great video Danny and team!

[@blade6321]

God damn. I didn't expect much, and was kinda expecting to be bored by this one- but it blew me away. Every time, the editing is just perfect, nevermind the subjects you choose to cover! Keep it up Danny and crew.

[@NoclipDocs]

Thanks so much for your kind words. And for watching!

[@robch8693]

Yesss! Love loading up KZbin to find a new NoClip documentary. Keep up the fantastic work, Danny.

[@brotherhood9398]

I don't know how you do it, Danny. These docs just get better and better. Favourite quote from Derek "If Everest had an elevator, a lot less people would try to get to the top." Also, Jonathan Blow is such an insightful, intelligent person, can't wait for The Witness/Braid video.

[@TMTindustries]

Wow. This is already my favorite doc so far. Proud to be a patron and so so excited to see every doc topping the last one- nothing but amazing work coming from Noclip, and it was awesome that I got to be in the doc as well!

[@kumatorahaltmanndreemurr]

Videos like this are why I love Noclip. Just a bunch of artists who are passionate about their medium having deep, intricate discussions.

[@babomb2100]

"How do you kill the ghost?" *Cut!* Love it.

[@samueldowney2806]

fantastic thanks Danny! Noclip just keeps getting better and better.

[@beefknuckles]

The highest quality games journalism there is. This was great. Thanks Danny

[@gavin_is_gavin6292]

Cool vid. I agree with Jonathan Blow, the game should be the reward, not a gold start at the end, i.e. trophy or achievement. Not that I think that trophies or achievements are completely without value, I think they can enhance a game, maybe they might give you something fun thing to try and complete in a game you love and want to keep playing. But I would never try to get trophies in a game I don't enjoy playing

[@dannyfitzgerald1593]

Gavin S it's crazy the Avatar game on he Xbox is one of the most rented games because you can get all trophy's within 15 minutes. I've never understood the appeal of achievements at all.

[@Funkopedia]

I love it when the achievements are crazy things that encourage you to play in strange ways.

[@186bingo]

Finally getting to watch this series Danny. I'm a supporter on Patreon but simply haven't had the time. Absolutely great stuff man. Can't wait to see what you're gonna come up with as the channel gets more popular.

[@thanfede]

I love what he's saying at 36:00, leads me to the thought that that experience of a game can give you models of how to think about the reality we share.

[@Radcroc]

Great stuff, Derek Yu and Jonathan Blow are very insightful. A topic I haven't really thought about in a while. Great video!

[@nanookgjr02]

Awesome work here Danny. Loved the video. I haven't played Spelunky or Frog Fractions yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed Braid and The Witness. Mr. Blow is a force to be reckoned with. Great to see him in this.

[@asarcagatay]

this is an incredibly helpful video for game designers

[@suldailhagsp]

This channel is the best thing on the internet about video games. Great Work Danny!

[@olavhegnar6777]

Thank you so much Danny! This is now my all time favorite KZbin channel! Keep up the good work buddy!

[@adamplechaty]

Fantastic theme, great guests and production values, thank you for rolling this out to the public for... well free! So much value. To add to the topic, I think this lost mystery in games nowadays is the reason for the rise of the Let's play phenomenon. Because you no longer need to play the game since everyone treads the same path and experiences the very same setpieces. And because most of these games are linear (even open world games to some degree), it doesn't matter whether it is you pushing the button or someone else. I think that's kind of sad.

[@Exigentable]

These mysteries and rumors were a big part of my life growing up with video games, so it's especially nostalgic to revisit some of these classic tall tales. A very inspired concept for a documentary! Well done everyone who worked on this.

[@krissklein]

Thank you, Danny 7 the Noclip team. So far every single episode has been wonderful. Thoroughly enjoying all the content you create.

[@28Pluto]

A good example of a modern mystery would be "The Pendant" from Dark Souls... After one small comment that the creator (Miyazaki) would choose it as his starting gift sent the Souls community on a huge hunt to unravel the secret of The Pendant. It was eventually revealed to have no purpose or secret, but it sparked our imaginations like crazy! That is pretty neat.

[@jasmine-ruff-puff9951]

Pluto28 That reminds me of how Todd Howard said there was a hidden terminal in Fallout 4 that hadn't been found more than a year after release. It definitely seems like he was messing with us, lol.

[@SunderCR]

Wonderful work, Discovery is one of my favorite elements of video game design and is the core of most of my favorite games, glad to see it discussed at length and with great game designers!

[@mrpandabites]

This channel is incredible. How do you guys not have more subs? The production value is fantastic and the interviews are so interesting to watch. Excellent documentary film-making.

[@pa7ri0t]

Another great documentary by noclip. Thanks again Danny for great work. Keep it up...

[@MarioNotBros]

You are creating some of the most amazing video game content out there, Danny. Continues to blow my mind on how good these are the more I watch. This one's my favorite yet, can't wait to watch the rest.

[@adamgarms3727]

Followed you from The Point, and your new content is just as good, if not better! Thanks for putting in real effort for quality gaming journalism! Love it!

[@TizzyLento]

This video was so great! I'd love to see a followup to it now years later!

[@drBROner]

I'm very happy you started NoClip. Thank you

[@jordanfinnegan7997]

Thank you, this massive project is awesome. All of it. I'm very excited to see the individual doc's on the games

[@FreemaN4851]

another great documentary to add to this great channel, thanks for all the good work! keep on it

[@mikeb6410]

Great episode. Love what Blow was talking about regarding hand holding. The industry realllly needs to get away from that entire trend. He's completely right that you can complete a lot of games by basically just looking at the HUD and that is not fun at all. I tend to turn off 80% of the HUD nowadays and just use what is really necessary.

[@Legatoblue87]

Excellent video. The thrill of discovery has always been my favorite part of games and it's absolutely why I cherish the Souls series. I love looking off into the distance and seeing a large enemy or something glowing, and feeling my brain trying to suss out just what the hell it could be. Then to be filled with equal parts fear and excitement as I die while finding something new. Also this takes me back to when I was a kid and seeing people argue that the Triforce was definitely NOT in Ocarina of Time because it's embossed compared to the other medallions. Great times.

[@krftkrft4495]

Another amazing video! Nice to see you are growing quickly as deserved

[@CurtisMassey]

This makes me want to play games the way I used to, without the Internet for help "gasp!" I remember that feeling of repeatedly beating your head on a game, maybe for whole days or weeks!, and the satisfaction of figuring it out! It's really something special. I tell myself that as an adult I don't have the time to play that way, and in doing so deny myself some wonderful gratification. Great, great episode! Thanks.

[@ThousandRealms]

Yes Indeed! Exactly the same thing we aim for in creating our games. Feeling inspired today. Great job putting this video together!

[@PhilHagan]

Noclip is really coming into its own. This was great!

[@qapitan]

This is channel has probably one the best content about videogames

[@flackbyte]

You're awesome Danny. These docs are amazing.

[@AF-dm1sg]

This was straight up wonderful, thanks NoClip!

[@ShredST]

18:08 "I don't...like that." lol You can tell he was trying to be polite there.

[@TheSethcast]

Man, I love Derek Yu. So glad I discovered this channel :) Spelunky is the GOAT

[@danparsons1423]

This was awesome. Thanks Danny / NocLip

[@corwinchapman8270]

im always so stoked for these man. you guys are doing real quality work, thank you!

[@dancog2719]

Great video. I remember reading plenty of the false rumors about games back then and it was a nice nostalgia kick from this episode. Keep up the great topics!

[@gray41462]

Great documentary, I couldn't agree more about the value of mystery in games, I'm reminded of childhood memories, there was no internet for a quick answer. I also realize now how much Breath of the Wild brings back so much of that mystery. So many things for other devs to learn in that game about how to create a mysterious open world game much to discover, experience and feel. Great job Noclip.

[@mat8448]

I really love these danny, I recently became a patron just to support you! I always look forward to the next documentary and I'll be so sad when the series eventually ends!

[@AndrewJH93]

Your documentaries are just on another level, Danny! Really fun, informative and interesting to watch. I can't wait for more! Keep up the incredible work guys!

[@wasdwasd5234]

Noclip, I strongly appreciate your effort. Not many people understand this.

[@shevek161]

This was such a joy to watch, and a strong reminder of why I'll always love this wonderful medium. Thank you, Danny

[@ivanburgos6227]

Great documentary. Great idea and very creative in your presentation. This brought me back to being a kid and actually gave me a lot of incite into why I continue to play games as an adult. Can't wait for the next show, keep em coming.:)

[@snikesblue]

Danny you've outdone yourself yet again! Thank you so much for spreading so many old and forgotten notions that most people nowadays just don't know about.. More power to ya!

[@BurakCYldz]

Your documentaries make me happy as a gamer who tries to be intellectual about this stuff Danny. Money well spent indeed :)

[@Sammo212]

I really need to get back to The Witness. I was really, really into that game for like a week. I didn't fall out because its bad or lacking...I just fell out. I WILL get back to it before the end of the year and I WILL get the platinum. (Another)Great video, Danny. You really found your calling with Noclip.

[@simongreve]

One of the greatest things about the new zelda game is exactly how it went back to the mysteries of the first game. Very little handholding and almost no map markers meant that you really had to scale a mountain or climb a tall tower and just search the horizon for where you might find the next shrine or village.

[@Tarrax7]

Thank you so much for including Adventure. I remember doing all that stuff with the dot and making things flash as a kid on my 2600. I still have it stored away in a box somewhere.

[@yemre2092]

This documentary is well executed both cinematographically and content wise.

[@ConductorRyan]

Wait, is this Danny's new gig? This is awesome. Can't wait for more from Derek Yu as well.

[@junkjouster]

nice Danny keep it up man i really like your stuff like your personality and how genuine you are about what you do.

[@baritoneboye]

This was awesome! Great work Danny! Although I was a little surprised at the lack of even a mention of Fez. That game had some amazing secrets in it.

[@Optimus6128]

Handholding in games is like those annoying moments when you want to enjoy a lunch in the restaurant and the waitress constantly asking you if everything is ok :P

[@MattHall]

Catching up on your older videos, A+ work every time!

[@kasaipanda9622]

This documentary is great and very well put together

[@Caparrini81]

Such a great quality content!! Thanks for your hard work. Is truly worthy

[@c0mmanderKeen]

Thank you Danny (& crew) for another fantastic piece of VG documentary!! You WILL want to put an annotation before that DS3 DLC trailer footage though :P

[@niespeludo]

excellent video, I'm a big Jonathan Blow fan and can always spend a day or 2 watching his talks. this video could have easily been one of GDC'S gamedev videos, very interesting topic indeed. I do remember the mysteries of pre-internet days. We used to do tons of things and as heritage from that time I still try to break all games I play to varying degrees of success.

[@JayborinoPlays]

Awesome documentary, very well made! These mysteries are so important to the foundational nostalgia many gamers hold on to today.

[@LauraMarieAlix]

Everyone's talking about spoilers for Dark Souls 3 DLC, I'm here wondering why the developer of Spelunky just totally spoiled the whole eggplant thing.

[@DragonDoFogo]

Fantastic video Danny with great insights. I agree that we need a bit more mystery in our games.

[@abdulm9812]

Great episode. Would love to see more of Danny on screen and hear some of his "the point" style thoughts and summations in interstitial segments

[@Wunkerful]

very nice video, the spelunky guy is super cool, and i was continually gobsmacked by the witness' art design when i played it.

[@TheUndeadGamr]

Nice can't wait for more! Great job Danny!

[@hobmarg]

This is freaking amazing. The nostalgia is real! Thank you!

[@rednax3333]

Another awesome doc- great job Danny! Your content is always wonderful, thanks! 😃👍

[@Cirina_K]

Man, this one has me all nostalgic. Great stuff, and very interesting things coming from these devs.

[@strider0303]

I have always loved your work Danny, this video is awesome.. keep up the good work.

[@starhew2868]

The Chefs Table of video game coverage, 5 out of 5, for real though, these are great, look forward to the next one and your next appearance on the bombcast

[@boregardjeperson5916]

This was just incredible.. thank you so much for the awesome content!

[@skeith804]

31:39 "Would you actually play that game if you didn't hear the cool thing about it?" Super valid, but rentals filled in a nice niche here back in the day where you could play the game at little cost and still experience these surprises yourself.

[@Fangornmmc]

Jon and Danny, now that's a treat!

[@casedistorted]

I don’t understand wtf Jon Blow is trying to say, feel like he’s trying to sound smart but he just sounds condescending instead. Whereas Derek Yu is intelligent and what he says is simple, but you can tell he’s smart as hell. Weird contrast lol, also that Giant Bomb hat wearing announcer guy drove me nuts

[@DeltaLeader035]

Was finally able to get the time to watch this and damn keep up the great work please! I have enjoyed listening and watching these videos.

[@F0bius]

Thank you, Danny! I think Dark Souls did a great job of making the world as mysterious as possible. Lore, Stats and progression are all a mystery to the player which rubbed many of them the wrong way but the concept really grew on me.

[@reprisler]

this reminds me a lot of trying to get the "flying saddle" for epona in ocarina of time. kids at school (i was in 6th grade) always talked about how if you did good enough at the archery range in the desert area you could unlock a saddle that let you fly around on epona. i spent so much time trying to do that hahaha. stuff like that doesn't happen any more, everyone knows everything

[@62694alexable]

always look forward to your videos. great work can't wait to see more

[@Thuriazs]

this is such a fucking beast of a concept. real kudos to you. I wouldn't even know where to start if I was to write a two-page report about mysteries in video games.