RetroFuture Fever Dream | Gadget: Past As Future (PC)

[@doyleharken3477]

in case you're wondering, "horselover" because that's a direct translation of the ancient greek name of the macedonian kings "phílippos" from which philip is derived

[@Jane-ow7sr]

That's...a very unfortunate name

[@Player-10]

I have an uncomfortable feeling about learning this, and remembering Philip K. Dick chose that as part of a pen name

[@Jane-ow7sr]

@@Player-10 what does the K stand for?

[@Player-10]

@@Jane-ow7sr no klue

[@Jane-ow7sr]

@@Player-10 aaaahhh

[@freakyzed8467]

Calls himself Horselover but takes a picture with a cat. Can't trust anyone, can you?

[@jamesrussell2936]

this world is getting worse by the hour

[@fishmix2439]

So i saw this comment the same like 15 minutes it was posted and I just now stopped laughing to tell you thank you.

[@thishandleistacken]

Philip K Dick also is obsessed with cats... I've seen no photos of him with a horse yet most pics of him he has a kitty. I smell... a conspiracy!

[@refundreplay]

PKD nerd, here.... He called himself Horselover Fat because when he was a young, struggling author, he couldn't afford beef at the local butcher, so he bought the horse meat which was intended to be fed to dogs.

[@jamesrussell2936]

@@refundreplay huh. I'm sure the name also helped sell books.

[@キネズミ]

IIRC one of the voice actors who worked on this game is Warden Sexton, the same guy who yells "RESIDENT EVIL" in a few Resident Evil games.

[@rafe9852]

Dang I wish my parents named me “Warden Sexton”. Such a cool name.

[@idontwantahandlethough]

@@rafe9852 Trust me: as someone with a cool name, it kinda sucks. You have to explain it, and talk about it, and people will be like "ooo what's the story with that?!" and you don't want to tell the story for the 3130th time but you do anyway because otherwise you look like a crab apple. Most importantly though, if you have a cool name people *EXPECT* you to be interesting. And some days, I'm not feelin' all that interesting, ya know?! I don't WANT to be interesting all the time, nobody can do that! Sometimes I wish I was named like.. Jim Thomas or something.. ahhh that sounds relaxing. Maybe I'm just complaining? idk, I've never had an uncool name so I guess I can't know. (that is a dope name though, you aren't wrong)

[@theghostsofgiants]

Weird little tangent about this game is that David Lynch was a fan and was working with Synergy on a game of his own in 1998 called Woodcutters From Fiery Ships but the plans got scrapped.

[@dungeonchill]

I want to live in the alternate timeline where that got made.

[@KaijuAKD]

@@dungeonchillThat'd definitely be a game for your channel

[@theghostsofgiants]

@@dungeonchillThe plot of it seems to have been incorporated into the lyrics of the Thought Gang (Lynch and Badalamenti) song of the same name, and maybe loosely adapted into the Woodsmen from The Return as well. But yeah, a game written/designed by Lynch is something the world needs.

[@100Servings]

​@@dungeonchillI've been to that dimension, and it's not so great. It led to Woodcutterology becoming the state religion and mass executions where cultists would David Lynch the heretics. Also, there's no grapefruit.

[@handlebarsmustache]

That title sounds less like a video game and more like a cult indie album.

[@brainworm205]

I work third shift at a small neighborhood gas station. Your videos help get me through my slow nights, homie. Ive even had customers interested in what I was watching, even though they know nothing about games. It's your awesome, relaxed presentation that I think people take notice of, even if they're not sure what you're talking about lol

[@brainworm205]

I often just watch videos like this while working and ringing up customers. Sometimes they're v curious about whatever game my man is talking about lol

[@Zenzov]

Oh man, I'm excited for your Haunting Ground episode. One of my favorite ps2 games of all time

[@happilyisolated]

OOOOO! Fantastic game!

[@amivicky_]

My parents had this game and I remember playing it a lot as a kid. It was so eerie and fascinating. I never knew there was supplemental media for it, and a remaster! (remake? Director’s cut?) Thanks for covering this.

[@jakedizzle]

All of my years alive and on the Internet I’ve never heard of the Pipin. Crazy.

[@planescaped]

The whole 3DO, Pippin, CDI multimedia entertainment system fad was hilarious in hindsight. Let's sell consoles that are over 1000$ in today's money to non gamers who can use it to tour virtual art galleries and play absolute garbage video games! uhh...

[@YTKeepsDeletingAllMyComments]

​​@@planescapedSpoken like a true clueless person who has never experienced the enthralling photos of Robert Mapplethorpe's flowers.

[@planescaped]

@@YTKeepsDeletingAllMyComments I suppose I am too much of a peasant to enjoy the haute couture of a CDI. But in all seriousness, the Wii actually succeeded at being that novelty toy electronic non-gamers added to their home entertainment systems that the 3DO/CDI/Pippin were trying to be.

[@diamondhamster4320]

Wait till you hear of Dendi, brother.

[@nessdragon]

Not surprised; it was a blip on the radar even compared to the other "multimedia entertainment systems" of the time. I've never seen one in the wild myself (in comparison, I have gone hands-on with both a 3DO and Philips CD-i when they were still on the market), just promotional materials in an Apple-focused retailer (this was before Apple decided to just open up their own retail stores). Being in an Apple-using household at the time, I thought "An Apple console? That's a pretty cool idea," and then promptly forgot about it and didn't think of the thing again until years later. Seems like I didn't miss much.

[@andreaslundin4850]

17:20 Slowslop has gotta be a reference to Tyrone Slothrop from Gravity's Rainbow right? The themes, historical era and overall paranoid atmosphere in this game feels very reminiscent of Pynchon. Ps: you should cover Baroque for the Saturn.

[@AlexSparrow2501]

these names seem to be very similar in kana

[@andreaslundin4850]

@@AlexSparrow2501 damn, interesting find!

[@Kiezkollege]

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your videos. Your in-depth but mellow style hits just right. Keep up the good work!

[@cormoran2303]

The game where you have to track down Horselo... errr... Vaush.

[@3L_B4R7O]

That's what I thought too.

[@bobross7977]

You beat me to it 😩

[@aname3576]

he just loves horses so much, man….

[@diamondhamster4320]

@@aname3576 Who does not brother??? Them UmaMusume girls are hawt!!!

[@thishandleistacken]

Let the man ride 😅

[@LemanRussVanquisher]

Love your content man, ever since I played Myst as a kid on my dad's PC in the 90's I've had a love for these weird ,slow paced, puzzle games. (I know Myst is quite a well known game in and of itself but we all start somewhere). Your channel just feels like this hidden archive of lost lore on the verge of slipping into the unknown. You're doing good work.

[@Joseph-fy4nh]

Feels like a relative to the Pathologic games. Surreal, dreamlike, apocalypse, eastern bloc sensibilities, post-industrialist.

[@TJF588]

"It's okay. No sign of activity yet." Is this the guy talking aloud outside of your character's experience, like a doctor or other administrator commenting on the progress of this sensory experiment, his words coalescing in your mind as the abrupt, disconnected visage of the man sitting in the midst of the induced hallway?

[@bluelblock]

I loved this game. My uncle gave my mom and myself the Invention, Travel & Adventure (first version) and my mom loved it. I ended up getting the Past as Future version later and really enjoyed it for the enhanced cutscenes. It really had a hold on me for the story and its visuals. I loved the soundtrack so much I went hunting for it in 2005 and found it out of print. I found Koji Ueno's email address and asked if I could buy a copy from *him* and I thought I was going to explode with happiness when I did! I still love getting so lost in the world of GADGET. I have GADGET TRIPS/MINDSCAPES--uncle made a copy from his LD version and I eventually got the DVD. The physical art book is something to behold too. I even picked up The Third Force. I loved how unsettling everything felt. Especially the control being yanked from the player, the visuals, the distrust! One of those special things that has definitely shaped my path. I always get a little crazy when I see it covered as in-depth like this!

[@demiurgentcare]

I had a cdrom game from the same era called Drowned God. Never got far in it but this definitely reminds me of that. You might be interested if you haven't seen it before.

[@fidelio9301]

The guy that made that whacked his wife and killed himself, or they were both murdered.

[@Player-10]

Perfect game for you to cover next!!! Garage: Bad Dream Adventure Rereleased recently, Japanese auteur, dark and surreal, point and click. Check it out!

[@dungeonchill]

I own it on Steam and have played a bit. It will be covered at some point in the future for sure!

[@Player-10]

@@dungeonchill I should have known you already had it on the list!

[@hesiolite]

But you already reviewed it no?

[@Player-10]

@@hesiolite you see it amongst his videos?

[@hesiolite]

@@Player-10 i'm almost 100% sure it was among his videos but he must have deleted it to remake it. Or i'm confusing with another youtuber who makes similar videos

[@najinceil8943]

This is the kind of content I use youtube for, can't wait to see more and more from you this year.

[@Crowley9]

That Cryo published this game in Europe is the part that makes the most sense about any of this.

[@SUSLTD]

holy hell, that game menu @ 21:50 is like a Joseph Cornell sculpture come to (video game) life-so rad.

[@Valkbg]

Im currently reading Valis. I was actually surprised when you said Horselover

[@null8fuffzn199]

Very interesting to learn that you are living in Japan. I and (i assume) many other subscribers would be interested in a video about your experiences there. Also i love this channel and every upload is a straight up classic

[@EugenijusKrenis]

Honestly the setting feels more interwar than Cold War era to me, there's this unease and paranoia, sure, but they begun to phase out steam trains for diesel quite some after war, plus that was the time of surrealism and impressionism kicking off and dominating arts, really matching the vibes of this game. Heck a lot of devices while rough and with their functional parts exposed had that luxurious vibe that was abandoned for a time after war.

[@D0Gdidthemath]

Its nice to see Gadget getting some more attention, its one of the most engrossing experiences I've ever had playing a video game(s). I do think that both versions of the game are worth playing to get the full experience (probably with a break in between), and there are actually some things I prefer in Past As Future, like the transition between the hotel and the train station near the start, the scene with the boy in the tunnel, or the way some characters only turn their eyes to face you instead of turning their whole head, and I know the black and white cutscenes are probably a limitation, but I think something about them being black and white actually adds to the experience in a way (one thing I definitely prefer in Past As Future is the maze section, it was really tedious in the original).

[@100Servings]

That's interesting that you live in Japan. I was stationed there in the late 1990s when I was in the military. It was great to visit, but not all that wonderful to live there in my opinion. Getting access to a ton of games before they came out in the US was nice though, and I learned the language and writing rapidly. One of my favorites was a game called Cyber-Org, published by Squaresoft on the original PlayStation. It was inspired by American comics, had English dialog, and was an action dungeon crawler where you played as three different characters with different skills. It strangely never came out in the US, which makes it great to have a favorite game that I have no one to talk about it with.🤔 Ever had an experience like that?

[@ericknorskr8568]

Thank you for your service!

[@j.2512]

@@ericknorskr8568 to Israel

[@100Servings]

@@j.2512 Yikes.

[@egoborder3203]

this game is ahead of its time, most kids I know are floating and creepy nowadays

[@goranisacson2502]

I didn't think you could make a game that felt bleaker and more empty than Myst (in a non-derogatory way), but man if this guy didn't go and pull it off. Haven't heard of this game or it's designer before, but knowing a multimedia artist could just do stuff like this and get localized and sell all over the world feels wild. Sure, these days all sorts of media gets far more widespread too, but something about this guy's works feel even more impressive than that. He didn't have internet. He had to do it in a time where being noticed was so much harder... and yet, despite all this? He's basically an unknown now. You'd think there'd be something using his works as an inspiration, but instead it feels like he did so much, and got so little spread... it's both impressive he succeeded back in those days, and sad that he doesn't have a more well-known legacy. Also, an idea: could it be that instead of "pervert", the japanese script meant "hentai" as in weirdo or general deviant, or madman? That word has quite a lot of meanings, after all.

[@rofflesvanwagon]

This is gonna go great with playing dragons dogma 2 on my Saturday morning, thank you.

[@grubbiez]

Yeah the intro theme is back! 🎉

[@hiddenknowledge6333]

This was my favorite game as a kid, still have all the art books and everything for it.

[@enistoja]

Gonna share this one with some friends, sounds right up our alley. Looking forward to baroque!

[@TJF588]

The fidelity and style of that music at the start of the story setup threw me back to _Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance_ on the Game Boy Advance. Rough, but distinct.

[@musicobsessive123]

the nova express is a novel by william burroughs, which definitely fits the themes in this game. love those little easter egg references in here

[@Lucirby93]

Man I love your videos about these strange games. Also a great little history lesson about the Pippin. I like when systems like these become some recognition. They may have failed but are still a valuable lesson for gaming and technology history.

[@megaelixir_elix]

I know this might be odd to say, but I enjoy listening to Dungeon Chill talk about the video games. You be funny too 🤣

[@cc_chris]

What a bizarre game. Thanks for your great content

[@bloodrunsclear]

I have the art book for this. Of course it’s full of journals from the scientists in the game you need to understand the game’s story…why?

[@LJW1912]

Love this channel, keeps putting out quality stuff

[@catchifyoucan232]

I ALWAYS love the “Shining in the Darkness” title card you use every video!!!

[@SweetLuups]

Thanks for the video! I appreciate your hard work. You are one of my favourite youtubers!

[@Weezynya]

Very nice youtube after 3 hours later gives me notification when Dungeon chill video shows up.

[@tumest]

Whoa man, I always got the sense you were in Japan but wasn’t sure. That’s awesome. My spouse and I are pursuing jobs with visa sponsorship for the HSP PR route… little anxious about the entire process of expatriation but appreciate knowing creators I like made it.

[@neurohack9038]

It’ll never happen. Don’t even get your hopes up.

[@InvadeNormandy]

@@neurohack9038 Don't take out your 10 years of being mid on other peoples dreams.

[@dungeonchill]

Good luck man. I had to live here for 10 years before I could get PR, so if you can get on the fast track, good on ya. Hope it all goes smoothly.

[@tumest]

@@neurohack9038I am either good natured or super petty but regardless, when it happens I promise I’ll post a video in your honor.

[@barneybetsington7501]

Move to a place with a less shitty work culture.

[@adrianinha19]

I really like your narration in this video. It sounds much more authentic, mature... More you. Great job.

[@mariecarie1]

11:12 “I realized as I fell into the fissure that the Book would not be destroyed as I had planned….”

[@SomethingEls]

This is the first video of yours I watch. That's a good review. Depending on how much time I have I might take a look at more of your videos.

[@TravNash]

This is some David Lynch level dream logic.

[@rossmarshall566]

You're great at coming up with endings to your videos. 👍

[@eh_retro]

Great video dude 👍 Can't wait to see you grow as a channel Keep up the great work

[@TitoSilvey]

It's almost hard to believe this was made by a Japanese man, this has SlavJank written all over it

[@ninryu4]

The biggest twist is that it was a denpa game all along.

[@napoleonfeanor]

Seems like they were fans of PKD (obviously), Lynch and Kafka.

[@DonovanOmega]

I love that you take me to really good abandonware pages with lots of games that even being form when i was a child never heard off, thx man.

[@H45556]

I’ve entered the L-Zone more than I care to admit 😔

[@Fenrisson]

That game's music sure does itself no favors.

[@kinghrath]

Kinda felt pointless to have the spoiler section. I don't know about anyone else, but even with that information I still have no idea what's going on.

[@TheChronozoan]

WOOHOO, it's my first time seeing one of your vids on release day!!

[@AvalancheReviews]

I've been listening to your videos while I edit for a while now. Dope to hear you live in Japan too. Keep up the good work dawg!

[@dungeonchill]

Thank you! Hope you and yours are doing well in this crazy country. I dig your videos too. Often keep an eye out for new uploads.

[@kidneytheft8285]

Another banger. I couldn't imagine playing this game in a dark room at night. Those head turns give me the chills.

[@diamondhamster4320]

Horselover Frost is actually not (in)famous political commentator Vaush but just an old gramps weeb who likes Uma Musume very, very much.

[@monkeykid61]

I only just found this channel and enjoy it. Great!

[@oneinathousand2156]

I was SO excited to see this in my recommendations, I’ve been waiting for a longer video to actually engage with the game’s choices and meet it on its own terms rather than just going “Wow this game sure is weird and creepy but pretty boring” and you did not disappoint! I’d try writing what I personally think happened in the story, but it would take me forever, and the beauty of a game like this is that everyone can have their own interpretation.

[@JHanrahan]

Love this channel. “These names are a… treat” 😂

[@digadigado]

nice vids dude, youtube rec'd you like 1 or 2 days ago, been watching a bunch of your vids and you've gone up like 4k subs since then

[@creepytwig]

Pynchon is famous for his unique and hilarious character naming conventions! I haven't even read Gravity's Rainbow (It's so dense and I don't feel ready ;_;) but this is the most obvious homage to Pynchon that I've ever seen! "Slowslop" is basically indistinguishable from "Slothrup" in katakana. Although you don't play as Slowslop and the focus is shifted to kind of a self-insert blank slate protagonist, everything that happens to you is analogous to what happens to Slothrup in Gravity's Rainbow, and the same themes echo in both--the human experimentation to unknown ends, anticipating a comet (V2 rocket) strike, traveling all over Europe by train (GR opens with an iconic train travel scene and it pops up all over the place)...the little boy haunting your consciousness reminds me of the little boy who is doomed to be sealed INSIDE a V2 rocket and launched, and also of Slothrup being groomed since childhood as a human guinea pig and future intelligence asset. "Past as Future" is also a huge thematic aspect of GR, because while GR takes place during WW2, it is a lens through which to view the 1960s (Pynchon's modernity at the time), the all-enveloping control of American intelligence (the OSS and the CIA), and the paranoia of the arms race spurred on by American capitalism. Having the villain of Gadget be a Soviet guy strikes me as Cold War fearmongering, but if I were to be very generous, maybe Shono felt he HAD to make the evil dudes Soviets in the same way Pynchon had to abstract and obscure the things he was actually talking about for his own safety. I'm not sure if I'm personally feeling that generous. I think Shono took mostly only aesthetic inspiration from Pynchon, and Gadget ends up thematically incoherent, unless I'm really not seeing something. Again, I haven't even read GR OR played Gadget, and I'd love for someone to point out stuff I've missed! It seems like Shono is suggesting the Soviet dudes are trying to brainwash the population/intelligence assets using the Sensorama, and exert control with the looming threat of the comet of dubious existence. I think if it weren't for the Soviet branding, I would think this were a little more poignant and an interesting distillation of Pynchon into video game form, but because of the evil communist implications it just comes off as reactionary BS. Nonetheless, I really love seeing anything Pynchon in media.

[@gabby3036]

2:56 My girl has that glass of orange juice WAY too close to the very expensive, brand-new electronics equipment there.

[@kourrierich1474]

40:25 Oh god I hope we get 'I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream', thank you again for the great oddity, and as a fellow stuffy nose suffer, I hope you feel better soon.

[@gabby3036]

15:54 "I'll see you in the Red Room." I caught that and I approve.

[@straydogfreedom7795]

Great channel, I'm enjoying your videos a lot. Ever considered doing a video on The Void? Seems like something that would fit your vibe.

[@deekadiko]

another point and click game discovered, thanks for covering this dude. great video

[@incognitoomen7898]

Dungeon Chill uploaded! Maybe I don't have to be sad today.

[@samwareing5667]

Baroque AND Haunting Ground next?! DC, you're spoiling us 😍

[@this_connor_guy]

I streamed this one awhile back. This is such a wild game. Quite a unique and bizarre experience.

[@vava4743]

Character in 18:11 is very alike to Robert Blake's portray in Lost Highway which is from the same year and directed by Lynch

[@rageisalotofwork]

Awesome video! Hey, did you used to be the voice on the channel pseudiom a few years ago?

[@captain_legend7551]

It's giving "Color from Outer Space" vibes. The comet and mother ship may be one and the same...effecting humanity. Or its all part of a vision hallucination due to experimentation.

[@HorseTeethModano]

16:20 You missed an opportunity for a Bobby Hill "That's my purse" joke. I'll let it slide this once.

[@MuyCiertoMafy]

Nice one dude, really a fan of your content!

[@Condeycon]

Also can you keep using the original intro theme? Its really good, I think its a good trademark for you.

[@ffdm_]

34:28 so you're telling me slowslop blowsup?

[@zer0rei_]

Honestly I have some pretty similar-looking retro CGI artwork if you're serious about wanting something like that on your wall.

[@CUDBRINO]

that's so cool to learn you live in japan, as always love your channel :)

[@leavestrace5493]

4:01 "Mom found the Fish Drawer"

[@chloemariebaker9754]

I love your stuff, always so interesting, funny, and strangly relaxing ❤🤔

[@D0Gdidthemath]

25:43 I'm pretty sure that's actually the man who the doctor asked you to look for, when you first talk to him he says "A doctors looking for me? I escaped from an insane asylum? this is all a terrible mistake" and then he says that the other man has been chasing him since officers school, when he talks about torturing a man later, he's talking about that doctor. 34:07 Also that's not the national observatory, that's a different building. Slowslop refers to it at one point as "the lead grey tower" you can see a picture of it in the hotel room, and there's also a model of it in the museum of science. 38:40 Don't you see that ship a few times before the final cutscene?

[@arknark]

An interesting find. Thanks for the video dude

[@CKyHC2]

I recently found out about this game and here is a review))By the way, there is also a French film clearly inspired by this game- Bunker Palace Hôtel 1989

[@arandomidiot1593]

I appreciate the dogy clip at the end.

[@paulloughlin3732]

I think this might be weirder than that weird Robert De Nero game.

[@RaphaToInfinity]

So much personal backstory 😊 the plot thickens....

[@DESTRUCTOR12500]

Just wanted to tell you guernica the u is silent, great video btw

[@vladandnobody]

it's reportedly del Toro favourite game

[@musicobsessive123]

this tracks ngl

[@DilbertDoubloon]

It's like the Japanese 1984.

[@gabby3036]

0:05 Jeez, might as well name him "Fidel Stalin".

[@GrimoireOfJank]

This is exactly the sort of thing I love in concept but could never finish actually playing. Eerie, intruiging, mysterious- Agonizing to play (for my impatientness)

[@dungeonchill]

That pretty much describes most of the games I cover on this channel: interesting in all ways but agonizing to play.

[@Sisren86]

"Slaves to Horselover" sounds like a subject for an entirely different kind of video.

[@nessdragon]

Funny as that Steve Jobs clip is, you can't lay the blame for the Pippin at his feet. Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985 and didn't return until 1997, after the Pippin was already defunct. If anything, it was probably one of the contributing factors that led to Apple's near-bankruptcy that prompted Jobs to return and make the company into what it is today. Which isn't too surprising. Say what you will about Jobs (and there is PLENTY to say), it's pretty obvious the Pippin would have gone against every business and design instinct the man had. An open, licenseable hardware platform that could just be manufactured by whoever, in an already-saturated market (that was already failing)? No way he would have signed off on that.

[@Beeyo176]

Its a good day

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Feel better!Very cool looking game.

[@MrGabilonia]

Reminded me of Pathologic

[@AlexIvanov]

When I think Japanese games couldn't get any weirder Japan shows they have a lot more up their sleeve.