Proximity Voice Chat in "Horror Comedy" Games

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I've talked about proximity voice chat's role in horror games before, but what changes about building such a system when a game is trying to be scary and funny? Thankfully we have two brilliant examples of "horror comedy" games, Lethal Company and Content Warning, to help us find out!
Thanks to PhilipIONO, who created the Blender model of the Coil-head that I used in this video! philipiono.gumroad.com/
Here's my previous video on proximity voice chat in horror games, which looks at Phasmophobia and In Silence: • Proximity Voice Chat i...
{ ? I ♥ }

[@saqvobase4301]

The voice chat being cut off when someone dies is pretty funny

[@theclockman775]

That’s the highlight of it for me. “Hey, man, what the hell is that?” “OH ITS RUNNING TOWA- *bzzzzzzzt*”

[@JackCabbit20]

perfectly cut screams: the game

[@Tenebris-]

I also feel like the VC helps the horror, imagen you and a friend are together, you're leading the way cause you have the only flashlight, you decide you go over a jump part, and when you turn around to light the way, they aren't there, all you can see is a pair of beady eyes retreating into the darkness, it really makes you feel alone, abandoned, nobody will even know what happened to you, that is arguably where LC gets it's horror from, being relaxed then suddenly that relaxation is taken away.

[@probablywrong3816]

"Anything else?" "Yeah someone dropped a gold bar at the top of the stairs. I think-" *CRUSHER TRAP CLANG* "Oh. Okay."

[@jospwasp3504]

my friend in god knows where- “SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT AA-“ (me in a different room dancing) well hes dead.

[@twosoup3252]

The first time I ever played content warning, one of my friends’ mics was SUPER loud, so the intro of the video was him screaming gibberish at the camera, followed by him immediately getting taken away by the water creature and going *”OH NOOOO OH NOOOO”* followed by his voice going *”CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME”* somewhere in the distance at a volume so loud it practically echoed throughout the map. 10/10 game

[@MasT0]

bro YOU GOTTA SHOW US THE VIDEO!

[@oshawott4544]

I need to see this

[@Shythalia]

There's a water creature?

[@Xode_25]

please upload the video and send the link

[@TGG104]

@@ShythaliaMy assumption is they're referring to the slime creature that can capture players with their body and bring the player with them to wherever they move. It's a bit of a goofy experience

[@superspider64]

TheRussianBadger said it best in his video on Lethal Company, the Proximity voice chat takes the game from a flat 2D discord call to a dynamic 3D environment that you genuinely feel like you're inside, especially once it's taken away from you either by your friend suddenly getting snatched away for one reason or another or, as you said, playing it by yourself

[@velvetdraws3452]

oh god not the russian badger

[@NoppyOwO]

​@@velvetdraws3452yes the badjur

[@personperson8199]

sadge mentioned

[@b0x-guy]

“When you’re around others, the game make you feel like you’re around others. And when you’re by yourself, it makes you feel like you’re by yourself.”

[@pentheclickety]

"Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger. Mushrooms! Mushrooms!"

[@kuroblakka3786]

The laser is the funniest thing in CW because you instantly give your last breath the moment you touch it. Not even a visual cue that someone touched it, not even a little "bzzt", just instant death. The first time someone in our group touched a laser and he stopped talking it was the funniest moment we had together in the voice chat, we were crying from laughter

[@AMan-xz7tx]

also the lazer in LC which is the opposite, you trick your friends into thinking they're about to die only to reveal that it was, in fact, NOT a turret

[@alexcleveland6071]

You can also find a radioactive canister, and it doesnt visually damage you, so you just drop dead while carrying it

[@kuroblakka3786]

@@alexcleveland6071 I never saw that holy shit lmao

[@CrtvftyFall]

"He didn't even fuck around, he just found out!"

[@Spicygoats]

One thing I think sets LC appart from Phas is how you manage your own volume. In Phas, keeping your voice down is crucial during a hunt. When you're being chased by the ghost, you are trying your best to panic silently and prioritize a hiding spot to keep both you and your friends safe. Any peep will send an unseen horror straight to your location. But the ghost is slow enough and easy to calculate. With good composure, you could easily lose them. In LC, the attacks are much more violent and fast (depending on the enemy of course) making you more likely to panic. Let's say you're being chased by a spider, an angry lootbug, or a thumper with no defensive items. Once they are on your tail, keeping quiet won't help you anymore. Combined with the large map and maze layout, you're less concerned with "I need to escape while keeping this thing away from my friends" and more concerned with "Holy crap, can I even recover from this?!" All the while, you're friend is just in the other room hearing monster noises and frantic high pitched screams, totally safe (for now) getting the best audio show of their life.

[@apupthatdraws1001]

It also helps that the only creature that weaponizes the your voices, the eyeless dog, only spawns late in the day when the danger and panic is at its highest already and the comedy might be dwindling trying to actually meet quota. You only get quiet when you have to be serious and the comedy isn’t lost. Also interacts with eyeless dogs are typically hilarious anyway because reflecting on the aftermath in the death chat or leaving on the ship reveals how chaotic the interaction was, typically with several other monsters and player errors. My favorite is when natural selection takes the mechanical keyboard users!

[@TextualDeviant]

There's potential for a horror game that does everything it can to elicit fear and panic from you, only to severely punish you for losing your cool, but Phas just executed a lot of things badly in general so it's not gonna be the one to take the W.

[@Whenpigfly666]

A similar thing can happen in Content Warning with the Ear monster (drawn by our host Scruffy). This monster works like the classic blind-but-sensitive-to-sound kind of horror monster, and you could keep quiet and it will leave you alone... But it's much more efficient to scream your mic out until the monster runs away in pain. It's not detrimental to scream like a madman, it's actually useful. (Honourable mention goes to a little monster which sneaks up behind you and screams, so my friend decided to get his revenge by chasing it down and yelling at it.)

[@FlamingSnowflakeProductions]

The idea that the game monsters take their role seriously, while the player characters absolutely do not, kind of reminds me of live actors in Muppet movies- like Michael Cane playing Muppet Christmas Carol’s Scrooge as serious as possible, while his rat employees sing “this is my island in the sun!” It’s truly spectacular.

[@phineas81707]

Just... the exact opposite.

[@Rasminger]

another thing about lethal company are DOORS into and out of the building. Some of the funniest moments come from people entering a door and immediately disappearing from one side into the other. They‘re carrying all their emotions from whats on the other side and surprise you with it even though you don‘t have an idea why for example they sound so scared and then maybe even looking for yourself and coming back out with a sudden change in voice / expression

[@Limomon]

Very true! It's hilarious when you are in front and somebody from outside comes by and says "Hey, I'm going back in", only to come out two seconds later, bleeding and screaming.

[@thechickenmafia5315]

The opposite is funny too. When you don't know if inside/outside is safe and one of you goes "ok I'm gonna check. If I'm not back in X seconds, I'm dead" and is promptly never seen again.

[@flaris0706]

Doors? Like the roblox game?

[@arkane1732]

I hope this doesn't come off as too advertisey but this video is one of my favourite clips that shows what you're talking about perfectly kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHnXe6V7ZdqFnrMsi=YMH7IzUBX0z9EeP4

[@Maxidonis208]

@@arkane1732 Twas actually a funny and relevant example. So I'm fine with it lol.

[@alfonshedstrom9859]

Lethal Company has an incredible mod which lets the masked human enemies be able to copy player voices and removes their mask. You'll still be able to tell that they're fake fairly quickly with the way they ominously move and don't properly respond that gives them just a second or two to approach and kill you. The combination of hearing someone say some nonsense and then the "Wait arent you dead oh shit" realization is absolutely perfect. It makes me wish it was a basegame feature but it alone highlights why proximity chat is so underutilized for social co-op games. There's another mod which make Brakkens not have a 100% chance to kill you but to instead drag you off into the darkness, so you'll be able to hear you friends voice be dragged away. It's the abrupt chaos this brings compared to the "Oh no I'm alone" that I really like

[@Orangecreem]

content warning has an unused entity called the angler that creates clones of other players that try to lead you into the giant angler fishes mouth and its such a cool idea with such genius symbolism that its sad to not see in the game

[@endershr000m3]

Omg I need that masked mod what is it called?

[@squeedles_1943]

Is it the mirage mod or skinwalker+masked overhaul mod ?

[@Tim-Shaw]

​​​@@squeedles_1943​ It may also be the Wendigos Voice Cloning mod that I made! It uses AI to clone everyone's voice, and I'm currently setting up ChatGPT to respond to what you say in real time

[@ry6554]

I think the comedy actually amplifies the horror of these games. One moment you’re joking with your buddies, and the next moment you’re fearing the monster that recently snapped their necks. It really rips you out of the false sense of security you make with your fellow players, creating a more intense horror situation. Your friends are dead. It’s Solo Company now.

[@sunshowers3838]

I get it, I agree, and I appreciate the impact that you were going for with the last line - but shouldn't the word 'company' be the one to get replaced by a word meaning you're alone, rather than 'lethal'?

[@guitarskill]

​@@sunshowers3838 Spoilers, but Company is not using the "group" definition here. Company is what you work for.

[@Manavine]

what I like is, CW is meant to be comedic in design, but Lethal Company was designed to actually be a horror game. It shows because in CW, you might get spooked towards the end if you're alone, but at the end, you'll still do some level of stupid shit because you're still wanting to fuck around and find out. And well, it is technically your fault you're here. Meanwhile, in LC, you're... *alone*. That roleplaying of the role suddenly flips on its head. No one alive will help, never mind wants to. There's no one to bounce off of, and your mission is a lot harder regardless of where you are.

[@TheTweedler]

Another factor may be that when you are in danger in a game like Phasmophobia, you need to be quite and hide. Where as in Lethal it's actually helpful to yell as loud as you can and sprint around when you are in danger to alert teammates that there is a monster in case you die.

[@AMan-xz7tx]

my favorite way to describe these games is that they're emulating the entire experience of not only watching a horror movie but simultaneously being in one too: -Act 1: everyone is aloof and doesn't take anything seriously (save, perhaps, for a couple of people), with small hints of foreshadowing dotted about, anyone dead is left to watch on as if they're the viewer and not a participant -Act 2: the monster(s)/horror is revealed and everything slowly devolves, meanwhile your friends that died that round get to watch and laugh as if it were a producer's commentary -Act 3: the lone survivors are left to finish the job and escape the nightmare, only to have their friends come back (either through death or success) to give a recap and make a plan for the next "film", thus wrapping up the horror comedy experience

[@Fab_Cat]

The "Friendly Fire" in Lethal Company is usually lot less friendly for me and my friends, which usually always ends in a test of strength for our friendships lol.

[@AMan-xz7tx]

"hey, guess what?" "wha-" *"FLASHBANG!"* "oh, you fucker!"

[@da_real_bup]

Fr, you give one of my friends a weapon and he's probably gonna kill one of us 😂

[@xavierbehrens3015]

Probably the worst part for me is the fact that my friends always prioritize shovels over flashlights. We have three shovels that we'll probably only use once or twice per quota, one person who knows how to use them, and a hundred dollars, but instead of getting flashlights they tell me to "just hold scan and hug the wall". The lobby consists of someone who can see in the dark due to brightness settings, a professional, me, and the one with a dollar store router and computer,

[@Fab_Cat]

@@xavierbehrens3015 Lmao but its these kinda conditions that make for the most stupid yet fun times.

[@Idiotdragon8]

@@xavierbehrens3015People with high brightness are just ruining the game for themselves and I don’t understand why they do it.

[@lauren-kitsuneroach]

“knee destruction tutorial by scruffy” ROFL the attention to detail and thoughtful insight in your videos always astounds me. love it

[@twosoup3252]

I genuinely don’t think I would’ve noticed this if it weren’t for this comment; Scruffy is always teaching the masses what’s important

[@maxomega3]

wait i cant find it what's the time stamp

[@ARandomTrout356]

6:00

[@frid7434]

one of the main reasons i like content warning more than lethal company is because of the comments

[@r0b0t_32]

I’d like to add that phasmophobia also has the same humor/horror I think it’s just something about the voice chat itself and how we reflect on it later. Like for example when you do something embarrassing in the moment it’s super humiliating but telling the story to people later or reminding them of it usually puts it in a more positive light. But if you have no one to tell it to or laugh about it with it isn’t such a great memory.

[@minerharry]

Doesn’t it feel like LC is just way more of that though? Maybe it’s just because it’s newer but I remember when LC came out there were hours of truly hilarious content… phasmophobia’s humor still feels a lot more tied in to the game play and horror, so you don’t get as many abject three stooges moments

[@r0b0t_32]

⁠​⁠@@minerharry yeah I think what he said about the cartoony characters and gameplay being funny still applies and makes phasmophobia not as funny as Lethal Company and Content warning

[@jpyanity443]

Yes one of the funniest moments my friend group has had playing games was In Phasmophobia. I was showing it to them for the first time and I was the only one in the group of 4 who had played before. One of my friends Charlie picked up the music box and started playing it. I immediately freaked out and started shouting to drop it… and then the ghost killed me. After five minutes of nonstop laughing they then had to figure out the game without me for a whole round. Something that wouldn’t have happened if we were just in a Discord call

[@grapefruittango4707]

agreed, my friends once lost their minds laughing because i let out a genuine scream of terror as the ghost appeared directly in front of me to kill me, right after i insulted it through the spirit box trying to get a response while they stood just outside

[@crimsonDestroyer]

When I think of "horror comedy proximity chat", I instantly think of SCP: Secret Laboratory, which has its own unique take on what's been discussed here. I mentioned this in the comments of the last video about a year ago, but I wanted to voice my thoughts in more depth. Secret Lab isn't EXACTLY a horror game, since (depending on what role you get) you may or may not have weaponry to fight back against the monsters with. However, even the most powerful weapons a single person can carry are only capable of dispatching monsters under incredibly specific circumstances, usually requiring you to keep the monster where you want them to be for an extended period of time (such as waiting out a grenade's fuse, or charging up the powerful MicroHID). However, most of the monsters are more than capable of taking on large groups of people, and a single person is almost never able to deal significant damage to their enemies before being taken down. The reason I refer to Secret Lab as "horror comedy" is because of what makes it unique: - Absolutely everyone is a player, including the two heavily-armed opposing task forces, the two groups of (initially) unarmed civilians trapped inside the facility (whom the task forces want to rescue), and the monsters trying to kill all of them. - The two task forces can take the other team's targets hostage and convert them to their side. - The mere existence of three warring factions means that sometimes, the best course of action is to work with one of the others against the third. When you put all of this together, you get a game that simultaneously has incredible potential for bone-chilling horror, high-octane action, and some of the funniest interactions I've seen in a video game. On the horror end of the spectrum, when you're lost and alone, wandering a section of the facility, it can be nerve-wracking. Several of the monsters have abilities that force you to act in certain ways if you think they could be around, such as avoiding eye contact or trying to remain silent. The latter, especially, can even turn ordinary, large groups of people into silent, white-knuckle horror, especially since the very same monster has an ability that's very similar to what you described as a hypothetical alternate ability for In Silence in the previous video: being able to record the last few seconds of voice chat from a player they've killed, and replay them, either directly, or remotely from a pre-set location. When it comes to action, you get the few situations where you can genuinely fight back against the monsters. Be it a crowd of armed soldiers gunning down an unearthly abomination and overpowering it through sheer numbers, or a small pack of self-armed players going up against something far more powerful than them and beating the odds, or even a lone hostage figuring out a clever strategy to take down an overwhelming threat, getting to fight back against the horrors and WIN is always exciting. And then, of course, you have the comedy. Since literally everyone is a player, the kind of "playing off of the other players" comedy inherent in the games discussed in this video is present in almost every interaction. Even when you're going up against an armed soldier trying to blow your head off, or an otherworldly abomination trying to crush you into paste, you know there's a real human behind the screen. You can outplay them. You can outsmart them. You can *reason* with them. And that makes every interaction into a punchline waiting to happen. Maybe you and one of the monsters get stuck going up and down a pair of elevators over and over, as the monster tries to catch you and you refuse to be caught. Maybe one of the monsters makes a stupid mistake, and you get to lock them in a room and take off running. Maybe you convince the monster to spare you. you're able to reason with the opposing faction and let yourself be taken hostage so you can join the winning side. Hell, maybe you even team up with the monsters themselves. One of them is able to convert recently dead human players into additional teammates, and even besides that, sometimes the other faction is too much to handle, and the best move is to call a truce and team up against them. There's something inherently funny about standing around next to a monster that should be trying to kill you, complete with the game playing the constant scare chords that accompany their appearance, and knowing that you can trust them. It's a lot of the same kind of comedy you get from a game like Team Fortress 2, when you encounter a friendly on the opposing team - someone you'd expect to be a threat who instead chooses to be kind. When every single enemy is human, you get that many more opportunities for funny, human interactions. It's a very unique kind of "horror" game, and it's a lot of fun. Secret Lab really is is a great game.

[@mediocreindigo9422]

I was waiting for someone to mention SCP:SL.

[@dustylizard]

Not even to mention the unhinged pre-game voice chat

[@luc7794]

Don’t forget the intercom room and SCP-079’s speakers! There’s also an item that allows a living player to talk with the spectator VC for a few seconds, which is genius.

[@frid7434]

me trying to actually use my brain and not instantly scroll down to reply with "not reading allat"

[@jasonreed7522]

Horror prox chat is amazing and gives some real gems of emergent experiences. My favorite is the cutoff, someone is either talking normally or screaming in terror and suddenly goes silent with only 1 implication. You also get disembodied conversations where you can hear someone but be unable to find them. Distant panic as you combine these two with you hear someone screaming in terror but otherwise don't know where they are. (Related to just hearing scary monsters like the thumper) And of course unnerving silence, where you having been able go hear anyone for a long time and you don't know if you are just super lost in the depths of the labyrinth, everyone else left, or if everyone else died.

[@Quicksilvir]

Content Warning is fascinating because it is a game made clearly in response to Lethal Company that ends up with an entirely different play pattern. Lethal Company is like 1st person Pac-man where your team is trying to collect enough pellets without all getting caught by the ghosts. Content Warning is like removing all the pellets, but giving a graze bonus for getting as close to the ghosts as possible. (Game and Watch Octopus might be a more apt comparison). One thing I think Lethal Company has that few others do is it limits each players information that captures comedic and dramatic irony in a way usually seen mostly in social deduction games. It makes death spectating much more enjoyable because you now have considerably information than the people you are spectating.

[@TheHotDogGuy.]

I love how the intro comes off "scary" then you just get the friendliest "hello :)" to follow up the spooky start

[@steverman2312]

the best part of lethal company will forever be having everybody point at one random person for no reason at all

[@itsumikoroko]

🫵

[@progamreli]

🫵

[@thorny_aloe2263]

one of my favorite monsters in lethal company when it comes to comedy is the braken or “flowerman” specifically because if you don’t notice him and he sneaks up while you’re distracted, you get to hear one of your friend’s voices get cut off abruptly with a snap and you can see them getting dragged away (also great for horror). it’s even better when they’re ranting about the enemies or cursing out a thumper and SNAP. they’re gone

[@Limomon]

Also absolutely hilarious (from a spectator perspective) if there are two people walking together only for one to get Brackened while the other doesn't notice. The disappearence of the other person seemingly out of nowhere is terrifying for the alive person, but it's oh so funny for the people spectating. "Yeah Fred, I saw the fire exit over here, just go left here." *walks back around the corner where Fred last was* "Left here, Fred." *looks down an empty hallway* "...Fred?"

[@easysqweasy]

One thing I like about content warning is the fact that there is a defibrillator in the base game, and using it on a dead player (either taking their last breaths due to just now dying, or someone who died a while ago) will re-activate their voice chat, as they're alive again you can also defib yourself if you wield it while you're dying, however if you're the last one alive or solo, it will immediately kill you again as the diving bell would rise

[@easysqweasy]

Another thing about both games is that most creatures can hear you At least in lethal company, most creatures can hear you speak and can figure out where you are by your voice alone In content warning, there is a monster, Ears, which will attack you, but one of the ways to get rid of them is by yelling as loud as you can near them, which will cause them to flee, probably in pain due to how many ears there are on them.

[@easysqweasy]

ok after doing some testing, most of the creatures in content warning can also hear you. if you're behind them and make a loud noise with your mic, they will turn around to try and spot you, and if they don't, they will go back to what they were doing

[@easysqweasy]

I've also heard that a certain item, the Shroom, infects a player that holds it, and causes their voice effect to change (while also causing them to forcefully attack their allies), but I haven't tested that out yet.

[@strangejune]

Reactivates voice chat... sometimes. RIP for bugs. Also yeah, there are very few monsters in Content Warning that can't hear you (the giant being one) and there is at least one monster that always knows where you are.

[@KynG5]

That riff off the _Turkey in the Straw_ leitmotif right there at the end was great!

[@triangulum_mori]

i feel like scp:secret lab is a really really good example of a funny horror game, and i think a lot of that aspect comes from the fact that both the players and the monsters are played by…players! you can be the SCPs, and that way, you can do something funny. like if you’re peanut (which can only move through teleportation every 3 seconds if it wants, or when nothing is looking at it), you can chase down a player into a corner. often they’ll try to make a deal with you, so they don’t die, but i like to wait until they’ve talked for quite a long time to kill them. it’s extremely funny! i’d say at least looking at SCPSL as an example of this would be fun, but keep in mind since most servers are public, so no huge friend group, some people can say really weird shit 😭

[@Titanic-wo6bq]

its even funnier considering that 939 can steal 4 second clips of the last things players it has killed have said

[@paintball_2]

I always try to negotiate when I get backed into a corner by peanut or 106

[@KazikoWhite]

I love in Content Warning when me and my friends get caught in a bit. And then we use up 30% of the footage on the pointless bit and then we still somehow meet viewer quota. Or we lose, but it's still worth it, for the bit. We need more "bit" generators.

[@chalkwarrior5542]

the abruptness of death in these games is also a significant factor. first time i played lethal company, i was navigating with the 2 other members of the group with some loot on us and we encountered a bracken. i immediately started backing up out of panic and backed *right into a landmine,* killing us all instantly. there was just an explosion and then an instant cutaway to the ship taking off as all 3 of us sat in the death vc laughing our asses off, with just one "dammit, now we're getting fired!" from the leader of the party.

[@wigglaustin]

my favorite part of these systems is how instantaneously Lethal Company puts you into the dead players voice chat. you'd expect there to be a short transition, but without one, death becomes an even more effective punchline: you go from the stress of being chased to immediately hearing your friends laughing at you, and that relief of tension is just inherently funny

[@ianfairfield8373]

There was one guy who made a video-noting the ambient music of Lethal company plays such an unspoken part of the game. That many wouldn’t even notice until you are either completely alone-or observing a specific monster or time of day. It’s definitely worth a watch “Uncovering lethal company’s strange soundtrack”

[@Limomon]

I second this!

[@Imirui]

4:05 Part of what makes Lethal Company's voice chat hilarious is the immediate cut off when someone dies. Someone can miss a jump and scream, and when they die it immediately ends with no proper conclusion. Also seeing people run the hell away from whatever ridiculous ps1 design that is chasing them is extremely funny.

[@theinsaneone_]

For my friends and me, I think the best comedy part is that unknown element and once we escape it. Our first play through of Lethal Company, we had only encountered the slime. So we found a fire escape, made note, and decided to head back to the entryway to get our loot. As we walked back we heard the slime, call out to each other, and when we finally got past him, on the other side of the hallway we say it. The Thumper. And he charged at us. All three of us screamed in pure panic and ran to escape. The two of them ran for the fire escape, while I tried to make my way back to the entry. Thumper followed them, and as soon as he arrived, he left. The hallways grew dead quiet, and I called out for my friends, worried I would be left alone in this game to bring back everything. While debating on going to the fire escape or the entry, I had my first run in with Braken. I yelled at him to back off, trying to be intimidating before saying “Fuck this…” and running out the exit. I had enough time to get back to the ship just as they were about to take off. All they heard was me shouting “WAIT FOR ME!!! Don’t leave me here!!!” They opened the door in time for me to run in as they were in under shock asking me “YOU WERE ALIVE??? We thought you died!!!” As I was saying the same thing back. We paused for a moment before the three of us started dying in laughter at the situation and what happened. And that has been my favorite part of vanilla Unsafe Union

[@WrathOfTheHydra]

I just want to say that the visuals in this video are so well done. Your 2D artstyle captures the games well, and the 3D emulates the look of Content Warning perfectly at 5:00. :> Also with Murky Divers coming out as another example, I think we're going to be seeing the horror-comedy proximity chat genre continue for a while.

[@thinkingfubuki]

The horror is when the voice chat immerse you, the comedy is when your friends panic in hilarious ways or die in dumb ways, such as a classic for Lethal Company: falling down a pit "Did David fall AGAIN?!" [uproar of laughter ensues]

[@alfonshedstrom9859]

I hope with Lethal Company and Content Warning we'll have a resurgence in proximity chat games because they sort of died down ever since Skype and Discord became so prevalent. Survival games used to be the king of proximity chat but I feel like that has died down as well which make them far less immersive and more 'gamey'. Having a survival game where aquiring methods of communication be part of the progression, and having a pressing goal you have to fulfill together in a certain amount of time would be a recipe for an interesting game. Have emergent events be part of the gameplay where someone goes to collect berries, only to realise there's a big monster in the woods that will makes its way to the main base.

[@HaHAjax]

Hitman does something similar to how Lethal Company and Content Warning plays off the setting as horror while having the players stand out and be very cartoonish; it plays off the story and setting as something very serious, but offers a lot of stuff the player can do that makes the situation seem rather silly, and the game goes about making it seem like what the player does is something serious, when in reality it's actually comedic. Off the top of my head, RTGame's Hitman playlist is a very good example of this, and I'm sure you can find more that demonstrates this well.

[@jerberverc5959]

Aw fuck yeah

[@gaelya0738]

It reminds me of the first time I played lethal company with my friend : (Me)-Hey go grab that thing over there my hands are full ! (Him)-isn't that a landmine ?? (Me)-Nahhh it's a roomba (Him)-Oh oka-*Explosion*

[@Benzo7]

I think it would be cool if you delved more into Lethal Company's sound design in general (you briefly touched on the Coilhead which was nice) One favourite of mine is the eclipsed moon ambience. It is beyond eerie and is one of the most "you should NOT have come here" sounds I've ever heard.

[@palithepancake2873]

in lethal company one of my friends doesn't use voice chat and communicates exclusively through the horn modded to sound like the noot noot. and I will tell you, nothing is more terrifying to experience and hilarious to watch from death cam than the noot nooting suddenly stopping and panicked running around screaming "NOOT NOOT?!?!?!?!??!" trying to find her

[@renthewerecat]

i will never forget the time i was playing content warning, and one of those slug creatures got stuck, so i mocked it's suffering, walked off, and it TELEPORTED out just to grab me, and everyone can just hear my voice pick up and then fade off as i scream "OH GOD IT TOOK ME! IT TOOK ME!" while it drags me off

[@aaronl19]

In Lethal Company, monitoring is perhaps one of the funniest things You don’t exactly know what’s happening, all that you know is that your friend’s body is being thrown around and he is not moving. You can hear your friends frantically asking you to direct them out and help them. Sometimes you just see a friend’s body stop moving and you don’t entirely know if they’re dead. If your friends were recording or having clipping enabled, watching what chaos actually happened when you were just seeing dots on a screen is hilarious

[@pallukun]

on my first playthrough of content warning, playing with experienced friends, we were joking to each other about certain hazards being safe - "jump down there" "touch that" and one of them was walking into a large set of gears friend tells me its safe to walk into them so i do, and get completely disoriented while the others laugh, he tries to 'prove' its safe by walking in as well, he gets flung across the room and the rest of us laugh, i ask "is that what happened to me" and the other friend says "yeah uh hes dead" and i laugh again

[@beenis08]

Content Warning may be one of the funniest games ive played. Being encouraged by the game to just goof around and make fun/light of things makes for a really nice game with friends lol

[@sleepvines]

I must say I really appreciate you dissecting the design of a jump scare without showing the actual footage of it. Your deconstructions are interesting and fun without setting off the good 'ol anxiety. Kudos! :]

[@garettjohnson6978]

I am home alone, at night-WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF 😭. Feels like every time Scruffy uploads I just HAAAVE to watch it at night while my door is wide open lol. Anyhow, amazing video!

[@autumnsprite]

One of my favorite moments recently has been from a wendigoon vod of him playing lethal company. Moistcritikal is talking about something when he suddenly falls off a ledge to his death, and he's like "AH-" which gets cut off as he dies. Makes me cry laughing every time

[@CoolattasLab]

Zeekers is an incredible game dev, I'm so glad he finally got recognition via LC! CW is openly inspired by LC and theyre both amazing games. I love the little silly items in CW like the soundboard with its strangely eerie laugh track. I also love this video, as usual! The little animation of the Eyeless Dog is so good.

[@dinoaurus1]

Theres a laugh track? I thought it was just metal pipe falling sound effect because thats all you need *clonk* *clonk* *clonk* *clonk* *clonk* *clonk*

[@LittleParade_]

I really enjoy Content Warning, seeking out the creatures instead of fully avoiding them, getting your friends to get on camera with them, the proximity voice chat allows for players to take an active role in the comedy! Starting the clip with "WHAT is UP guys back at it again with another video-" cut to running and screaming, straight into the shaken up voice of the sole survivor picking up the camera and walking back to the ship, like a cold wet cat in the rain, finishing off the clip with "and please don't forget to subscribe... And check out our merch-"

[@VeryRGOTI]

You couldn't have described it any better! Another neat thing about designing games like this is that it's quite flexible, one moment you're screwing around with your buddies and the next minute or so you're walking back to ship alone as you carry your friend's body and discover your other pal that's supposed to be watching the both of you being dead too. In a nutshell, it really makes players become movie characters!

[@justtheocean3198]

i love the way scruffy actually uses the the techniques they’re talking about AS they explain the concept. very creative.

[@omegaotaku1342]

4:20 The one on the left looks very nice >:]

[@lazysomnumbula511]

Man, why does no one seem to talk about just how great your videos are? The way you present everything is a work of art in itself. This amount of work is not necessary for getting the idea to the viewer, but it makes each video feel so unique and interesting, like a little book. Not only do you bother with all these little animations and drawings, the structure of your videos is immensely satisfying too, and you always try to capture the atmosphere of what you're talking about while keeping your own character. It's so amazing how everything comes together, the visuals, all the sounds, and your calm voice. I just want you to know that your style is something very very special. I can't get enough of it)

[@bitter-bit]

Lethal Company muffling players when the scarf worm lands on them is the funniest thing

[@ButterScotch210]

seeing a Scruffy upload is like seeing that uncle you really like but he barely comes around :)

[@creeperstkoed6282]

I think part of it is the abruptness the sounds specifically it creates enviornmental story telling almost just with audio, like in LC hoe you can hear your friend screaming from a couple of halls down followed by a faint sound of a mine being triggers, an explosion then silence, all of that can happen in less then 5 seconds and it practially forces putside listeners to imagine the scenario mentally like a tom and jerryesc short

[@Ari05741]

Promixty voice horror games on top!

[@strangejune]

Small correction: Content Warning is not proceedurally generated. It has three maps, and these maps have geometry in certain areas that can be randomly active or inactive depending on your current day, which make certain paths inaccessible.

[@pillowmoment]

LETHAL COMPANY MENTIONED 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 i love hearing ominous heavy steps in the distance and racing towards the source with unmatched speed and excitement 🔥🔥🔥 i love turning around every 5 seconds 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 i love big fucking spiders 🔥🔥🔥🔥 I LOVE LETHAL COMPANY

[@DolphineerYT]

thank you scruffy im a huge content warning fan, and this explanation only made me love the game more

[@Stiftoad]

Another game ive found the in-game proximity chat to be very enjoyable in is Abiotic Factor. More like a coop survival game but it has a great effect on the way you interact, you yell across hallways, between rooms, in different areas you organize via walkie talkies (technically a disadvantage as it takes up a slot). Without a walkie talkie you can still find one another with a pager, which is also a great way to notify your friends that you got lost Personally this has a great effect on the way you think and plan together, how you explore new areas, increasing immersion and fun when stuff gets chaotic. More of a logistical game element than used as satire... though youre always free to roleplay a hl1 scientist

[@S1rL3m0n]

I can distinctly remember playing lethal company and being very exited to find a hubcap, I did not know mines existed

[@EggyGrace]

Just wanted to say that I only recently found your channel but I absolutely love your style and the way you do videos. They provide a fun way to learn about sound design, game design, and music design all while talking about fun games and getting to watch the creative editing. I love the immersive way you explain things, and the effort you put into your content really shows. Maybe it’s just the visual learner in me, but something about your videos sets yours part from others! :D

[@thewiseoldfox]

So what I'm gathering, these games are best done as a roleplay. Getting your friends grouped together for a pointless and probably less than 2 hour long sesh of filling a role in a team. From there, comedy is ensured through the horror

[@tastycakes1339]

Still in my top 5 KZbin channels, you bring up so many good points, editing styling is just perfect, and voice is very soothing :) keep up the good work man frfr

[@tranthien3932]

The outro BGM is the combination of the two games and "what I love"... You dropped this King 👑

[@soledrop]

one of my fav bits from playing lethal company was me and a friend were taking things back to the ship, when another friend over the walkie was singing "George George George of the Jungle", only to immediately hear a turret start and him scream so loud it was so incredibly funny

[@Inferno144]

A friend of mine has described these experiences as 'Scooby Doo Ass Games' and its very apt.

[@Thundereus]

The funny part is really the situation comedy. But you have to be in the mood for it. I can image all agreeing to play dead serious for the horror and not make fun and instead fill each other fears. But it is way more funny when you scream like crazy, trying to flee a monster, running past a friend and scream "SPIDER!!!" and die to a landmine you forgot on your way out. "AAAAAA - beeep beeep - BOOOM!" Your friend will die from the spider because he will rofl hard from this cartoon moment and you will all meet in the other chat and find out your third friend is already dead for ages because a monster gave him a visit a few hours after landing. Then you all laugh much about this and start a new round. Wweeeeee loooove the company~~~ *Dances like a coward*

[@kooferkoo4969]

Aww you didnt talk about how Lethal Company cuts off the proximity voice abruptly with an echo when you leave the building. It leads to some SERIOUSLY funny moments where someone screams due to a monster, and because you're at the door your first instinct is to just leave making their scream cut out with a pretty funny effect.

[@LoadingError0]

i think the best part about lethal company is the ability to piece together what might have happened a couple of rooms away based on audio cues. one of my favorite clips of the game is two players (woops and skullvolver) inverse teleporting into the mansion, only for woops to hear a muffled "huh? AAAH-" and gunfire from a couple of rooms away. stuff like that is comedy gold.

[@MeloniestNeon]

Glad you're talking about Content Warning as well! I feel like besides Landfall's recurring audio troubles (Seriously, they've not made a game in recent memory with good audio balancing LOL) it does proximity voice chat in an even more isolating way than LC, because of how huge and open the spaces can be, suddenly being shoved into a tiny Lethal Company style corridor and hearing your friends disappear is even more of a shock sometimes

[@Zolerian]

I love the new iterations of your spooky intro theme. And I need an isolated version of that outro, it is so fun.

[@Somefox5]

I will alwaye remember when I was playing lethal company and I got separated completely from my friends for the first time. The complete silence mixed with the winding dark hallways and impending doom was such a strong whiplash that shook me to my core

[@drachir7146]

"Ayo is that a mine?" *BOOOM* "Guess it was"

[@frakanazz]

I would genuinely love to see scruffy play theses, I'm sure he's the silliest of the gang

[@tonylovesmusic6806]

'{What I love}' is one of my favorite series always make my day hope you'll have a great day too ❤

[@elimann9989]

Tldr: Game funny because “do it for the vine” energy

[@quinntessentialskill7414]

Something you sorta brushed over that I find interesting is how, after all other players are dead in a respective game, it gets serious. You mentioned playing alone is a different experience, but joking and laughing with your friends, only for you to find yourself completely alone, nobody responding in the walkie-talkie, trying to escape alive, is such a powerful contrast from the comedy you were experiencing with your friends. Sometimes, people continue to joke and laugh on their own, but most of the time, that last person has to go through a climactic last-person-alive-in-a-horror-movie moment, and it's thrilling and scary. Otherwise, great video as always.

[@euosvarietychannel6986]

The first time I played Lethal Company, a friend was watching me and guiding me through the facility. I tried to jump over a railing as a shortcut and fell down a pit. I voted to leave and sent both of my friends running back to the ship in a panic thinking I was attacked by a monster. The first time I played Content Warning, I was pulled up by a starfish with an exploding enemy below. I was freed by my friend but was exploded off the cliff to the very bottom of the map. Somehow I survived this, and managed to recover the camera from my dead friend.

[@3DFella]

Should’ve talked about SCP Secret Lab, that game had proximity chat back in 2017, way before it was the new “trendy” thing.

[@klortikterra4423]

the sprinkling of Lethal company music bits is... perfect.

[@foureyesisafish7968]

“Hmm, I wonder what the tag is gonna be this time…” >The lethal company delivery shuttle song comes on >instant laughter

[@ryaneas5957]

I love these videos! I loved the previous proximity voice chat video, I remember when it came out, and still go back to it! Please keep making them!

[@25thEffect]

it's a flavor of comedy via action, but for sure one of the funniest things in lethal company is hearing a friend screaming in the distance, slowly get louder, and eventually pass by your field of view being chased by god-knows-what, only to continue fo fade out as they lead a scooby doo-esque chase

[@c0der23]

Honestly playing lethal company with more than 4 players may have been the funniest thing I’ve done, just hearing the screams through the walls and abruptly stop or spectating the most epic chase of all time ending in a failed jump is so incredibly entertaining.

[@enderlands3373]

Started watching this on my phone, then remembered it was a Scruffy video and put on headphones

[@ebola6353]

The quality of every video you do is outstanding. Your one of a kind and it’s amazing what you do

[@itsfionaur]

“We love you scruffy” we all say in unison

[@TindraSan]

can't forget the bubbly voice filter you get when drowning in Lethal Company! that shit's hilarious

[@skittstuff]

CLICKED ON THIS SO FAST SCRUFFY SWEEEEPPPPP!!!!!!! SCRUFFY NEVER MISSES AMEN I finally got to play Lethal with some friends for the first time a while back and there were SO many moments that were scary as hell in-game, but then afterwards we were in the ship laughing our asses off. Like one time both of my friends died, it was (again) my first time playing the game, and they were spectating me watching me slooooowly turn my camera to look at my friend's corpse, repeatedly muttering 'what the fuck, what the fuck' into my mic, and hauling ass out of there. In that moment I was SUPER scared because I still had to learn the mechanics of the game and now my companions were gone, but looking back on it that was unintentionally really funny. There was also a moment where my one friend was being attacked by one of those bugs that lands on your head, and our other friend was dead and spectating, and I went 'oh dude the bug is on you' and whacked him with the stop sign. Bug gone, we moved on etc. Our other friend rejoins when the round is over and she goes 'why did you hit him lol' and I'm like ??? 'There was a bug on his head' and she goes 'i couldn't see it while I was spectating, I thought you just told him to hold still so you could hit him for no reason' so even the glitches (or. bugs lol) are made funnier by the voices/lack thereof. I want to give Content Warning a try someday too. I really love games like this, they're such an unexpected treat

[@DeoxTew]

Yayyy, a new Scruffy video! Edit: my favorite thing about the proxi voice chat is the abrupt stop in the voice or scream of your teammate when they die.

[@thegoofygoblin2081]

The echo of the voice sells it.

[@dylan18215]

Always love it when you do videos about video game sound design, the visuals you use are always entertaining.

[@mintmango0]

These 2 videos have been perfect for my horror game pipeline of Phasmophobia -> Lethal Company -> Content Warning haha Great video as always 🥳

[@patheticseal]

Also, the way players become professional voice actors when being chased down by monsters is hilarious

[@conjim]

as an addition to the lethal company analysis, when someone enters the facility, their audio cuts off for anyone still outside - and anything they are saying whilst coming out from the facility will be cut in for the listeners at the outside door. It's never failed to make me laugh when someone goes "alright I'll check for monsters", steps in, and after a moment's silence, they reappear, and their scream cuts in as they flee the monster waiting for them.

[@Aron25746]

MA! MA! Scruffy uploaded a video!

[@jpnona3544]

i love how you incorporated the ost of the games into the video's music

[@shadowsoftheinfinite]

See, what makes the voice chat in these games even funnier, is that they give you a reason to keep talking. Getting separated from your friends in Lethal Company? Keep shouting and saying random stuff until someone hears you and responds. For the person that does hear you, the conversation being eavesdropped can be so random it becomes automatically funny. Also, its just great to be doing your own thing, then hear your friend distantly through the walls: "ooh whats in here- THATS A TURRET-"...followed by gunshots. I love lethal company

[@invertedsoul25]

When you are alone in lethal company, you really feel alone. It’s so scary to be chatting with your friends get panicked and run, finding yourself lost in the dark

[@marenjones6665]

Horror and comedy are very closely related. Much of what we find frightening - surprises, contrast, inappropriate reactions - are essential elements of comedy. Often, the only difference between comedy and horror is the threat of pain and suffering. Seeing a character crushed by an anvil in a cartoon is funny because we don't anticipate anyone coming to harm that won't be better soon. Seeing it play out realistically is horrifying, because we understand the pain and finality of it.