The Rise of Digital Horror: Making Nostalgia Scary

[@SaganHawkes]

For those wondering: The soundtrack for this video is now up on my Spotify, as well as a bunch of different streaming services. open.spotify.com/album/5i80Qh55oYe0bcRtW257EP?si=6V-b59--QiSpiYLj_n8ATw

[@jaydenalva8232]

Thank you

[@Ryuu28_voidgames]

@@jaydenalva8232 Thank you

[@anaveragejoe3918]

Thank you

[@coriddiganyonathan]

i like the cover of the horror sounds

[@s1arspiral]

Aahh thank u! Theyre awesome atmospheric tracks will totally use them for dnd

[@its_Aurelia_]

Brandon saying “feel free to scream and shout, and let it all out” while could be referencing an abusive household, it also references that popular song from 2013 scream and shout, thus making it even more 2010s than it already is

[@anonjohn9224]

But it was made in 2009

[@its_Aurelia_]

@@anonjohn9224 Brandon was a trendsetter

[@anonjohn9224]

@@its_Aurelia_ he's been in a 9 year long lawsuit with lmfao and thats why he hasn't been seen

[@stevebutters306]

Very possible it's a reference to the 1985 song by tears for fears. This just being an arg and not a real archive of videos, it's entirely possible the lyrics were mixed up by the creator who had the 2013 song lyrics stuck in mind but meant to reference the 1985 song.

[@Sch1z0gam1ng]

Lmao I just thought of stand up and shout by dio

[@lemon64k49]

GoldMario quitting as soon as he heard that breath sound's probably the smartest thing I've seen a protagonist do in an ARG.

[@Titanic-wo6bq]

Finally a protagonist in any scary situation does something sensible.

[@tyb1329]

@@Titanic-wo6bq finally

[@ElectrikStatik900]

@@seanrobison8558 bro what 💀💀

[@justmaple4425]

@@seanrobison8558 wtf man 💀💀💀💀

[@pooppgod]

@@seanrobison8558 brain damage victim

[@stateofconfusion5640]

Theres something so eerie about the small detail of Brandons mother, assumed to be locked in the bedroom, not having a health bar

[@fionagilman.]

Something probably happened to his mom during that period of time, I would say shes most likely dead. I would think this, because even on the glitched out health bars, there is still some health remaining.

[@angryboi595]

@@fionagilman. I thought the shotgun hinted Brandon shot her mother

[@fionagilman.]

@@angryboi595 That would 100% make sense but with the dad

[@ursidae97]

She might have succumbed to the same depression as Brandon. She might have been locked away. She might have gotten up and left, leaving Brandon confused and alone. She might be dead in there.

[@handsomejack4094]

if there was a cult then the kid probably got sold by his father and chopped up or forced into being a member

[@ringkunmori]

Brandonworks: Most realistic Old Minecraft Reuploads: Most anxiety-inducing Gunslingerpro2009: Most terrifying premise June Archives: The best production

[@emberblazethelyriccat1293]

Agreed

[@notapplicable6985]

deergA

[@thetelpho2176]

deergA

[@Fnaffan2004]

deergA

[@MINGUS-g6i]

deergA

[@imapurplehoodie]

Dude, someone NEEDS to make a digital horror series with Sims 2. Because with the amount of messed up things in that game, it's just asking to be turned into a digital horror story.

[@FoxyWolfMeerkat]

If anything a 'gunslingerpro2009' kind of situation is almost baked into the Sims 2 - The Sims series in general I think taking the community's "uncaring god" jokes and playing it uncomfortably straight would be absolutely incredible if done right. Especially considering some of the... interesting mods that existed for the Sims 2.

[@taxcollector9543]

@@FoxyWolfMeerkat i think that if we had a "1st person" mod where you could see into the sims vision it would make it a little bit better

[@FoxyWolfMeerkat]

@@taxcollector9543 That would be neat. While the camera can get down to Sim level, it's not quite the same as first-person - Though to pull the concept off properly, I think it would also end up needing some additional animations. Worth it to do, I would think, but miles and miles beyond my capabilities so I dunno how viable it is or not.

[@taxcollector9543]

@@FoxyWolfMeerkat imagine a situation like this, instead of the player's perspective, every time a sim looks to the player, we just see a figure who could scare anyone, but the simseems fine, like he is used to it, it would be awesome

[@hi-gh1ss]

im pretty sure there are "stories" like this, but they're all shitty

[@SSD_Penumbra]

"Sundowner" or "Sundowning" may be a reference to the medical term, but it's also a slang term for an alcoholic in the UK. "A sundowner" is a drink taken in the evening, or someone who drinks a lot after work, like a high functioning alcoholic. EDIT: Or his dad is actually a FUCKIN INVINCIBLE mercenary with scissors.

[@prettyradhandle]

you mean someone who's... *FUCKIN' INVINCIBLE!*

[@anabominationagainstman3597]

​@@prettyradhandle WHEN RHE WIND IS SLOW AND THE FIRES HOT

[@pentagonyx]

@@anabominationagainstman3597 THE VULTURE WAITS TO SEE WHAT ROTS

[@ya_dude_himself]

​@@pentagonyxOH HOW PRETTY, ALL THE SCENERY, THIS IS NATURE'S SACRIFICE!

[@kiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

@@ya_dude_himself WHEN THE AIR BLOWS THROUGH WITH A BRISK ATTACK THE REPTILE TAIL RIPPED FROM ITS BACK

[@kingbash6466]

The gunslingerpro2009 videos kinda freak me out the most, since Gmod already has this uncanny, bizarre vibe around it, so seeing character models the are supposed to lifeless be given subtle hints of sentience gives me a level of paranoia I've never thought I'd had before.

[@dangercrue]

honestly before watching it i was considering redownloading gmod but now i'm spooked 😭

[@chriscofer6780]

It's called the source engine

[@minegabyyt]

Same, I already hate the "fate worse than death" concept but to apply it on beings that aren't even supposed to be sentient and so considered as "lesser" beings just freaks me out.

[@GarryTale]

@@dangercrue nah you should redownload it, gmod is fire 🔥🔥

[@dangercrue]

@@GarryTale i most likely will at some point, i played it a bit last year for the cinema servers since i don't have anyone else to play with

[@HawkTeevs]

The living ragdolls concept in gunslingerpro2009 is such a great solution to how cheesy the concept of “sentient computer programs” can get. Instead of us somehow supposed to be scared of a literal computer program, it puts into perspective just what it would be like for a program to be sentient. It’s constantly at the mercy of the user, forced to do whatever they want it to do without having any say in the matter. And the fact that the player seems to not care makes it even more disturbing. Of course they wouldn’t care, why would they? It’s just a game after all. But put sentience into the mix, and it becomes a torture horror story where the torturer likely has no idea what they’re doing to those things. Instead of you being concerned for the player, you’re concerned about the things that are supposed to be simple lines of code.

[@FrogmaskMusic]

It’s like a more evolved rendition of IMSCARED (2014)’s horror: a living thing is inside your machine, and is terrified that you can destroy it. Whereas IMSCARED was pretty entangled with the early 2010’s horror indie boom, we can see here that there’s much more horror to be drawn out of the average computer user being able to slowly, procedurally, and efficiently go about the torture and exploitation of sentient digital humanoids. We’ve had plenty of “elephants terrified by mice” horror, and now we’re seeing the logical conclusion of those same elephants being able to easily trample a mouse to death.

[@Crackedcripple]

Monika…. *Do you feel like a hero yet?*

[@MaKo_CRAZ]

Me farming echos in Bloodborne: 😳

[@GarryTale]

@@Crackedcripple is that a spec ops the line reference?

[@Crackedcripple]

@@GarryTale *if you were a better person, you wouldn’t recognize that quote*

[@gigabytegaming4815]

I think that the light bins are hiding spots because the number of bins increase as the updates go by meaning that the dad's episodes can happen at any time, so he has to find spots to prepare for it. also, them being "light bins" might mean he sees them as a safe spot because we typically see light as safety. oh, and the bins getting rid of his legs? that might mean that he has to spend long amounts of time in these spots making his legs hurt.

[@KS-zx7yk]

Oh this is a great theory! That or his legs go numb from sitting on them so long, either way I love this idea 👏

[@JackEverfree]

Could be that being invisible is meant to symbolize being hidden. Because you can only stand in the hiding spots, it only hides your legs.

[@trungmaximlowqualitygaming9427]

I'm still wondering why the light bin in the bottom of the pit in brandon's dream has "captured light" in it Is this a reference for Brandon's joy being taken away?

[@stannosaurus]

Maybe that was him trying to code it to hide him, but he couldn't figure out how to do it without removing the limbs completely.

[@stannosaurus]

​@@trungmaximlowqualitygaming9427 Perhaps that's his favorite hiding spot and the only one where his dad can never find him?

[@Juku19FR]

DUDE... The Soldier going wide-eyed and shaking his head "no" during the gunslingerpro2009 part is so good. It's so simple but so unsettling.

[@Twigs929]

Time stamp?

[@raviolipals7463]

​@@Twigs929 1:07:19

[@dspeg3095]

I wonder how he sets up a lot of those scenes cuz holy shit that's crazy like the scene with the heavy and scout with the TV

[@sickntired7459]

I wasn't expecting to feel the level of discomfort I did during the gunslinger overview. The 'punishment' for blue spy really struck me. It's a unique perspective coming from the creator who is actually some sort of tyrant rather than a guy in a weird situation looking for a way out. The characters faces of fear bothered me more than I expected. It really does just feel like it could be a glitch, but something about it is too human to shrug it off entirely.

[@freakonaIeash]

I'm halfway through the gunslinger overview and I feel the same way. I've never even played TF2 and even then for some reason this part is making me really uncomfortable and weirdly upset. The characters' faces are like significantly unsettling me I even feel a little sick. That just serves as praise towards the creator though.

[@Eldritchg0d]

Haha donut boi

[@ElixirBlue9]

gunslinger makes me somewhat angry because of the direction of his videos are trying to portray, and its genius

[@soluna4784]

oh goodness, same and i don't know if my decision to stick it out (just listening, i covered the visuals) just traumatized me more, or if the closure of finishing it was worth it

[@soluna4784]

after consulting my sister, i've realised the closure wasn't worth the extra and deepening trauma, so i hope to remember that in future scenarios

[@sagaq2]

The horror of minecraft has been ingrained in me since I started playing at 9 years old, I’m now 22 and I had such a hard time watching the minecraft portion of this video. It makes me incredibly uneasy because I remember how scared I was playing alone with the thick fog and the potential threats looming in it.

[@comyuse9103]

honestly minecraft is uniquely horrifying and i have no god damned idea why. i know i am a little bitch, but the game is just so unsettling sometimes.

[@mistahchad220]

@@comyuse9103 I'd argue that out of all of the survival sandbox games out there, MC is one of the few that truly mastered that feeling of unease and solitude in singleplayer mode. You have an entire randomly generated world to explore, all while utterly alone, and no playthrough is ever the same. You never have a true sense of /control/, you know? As soon as you click "Generate World", you're given a world with challenges that were never meant to end. Not to mention how amplified this feeling gets when you turn off the calming music. Nothing but pure silence to further that pure existentialism. 👍

[@marcuswestphal4955]

Your telling me! I feel the exact same way! The mc bit freaked me out!

[@asriel3564]

I would always quit and delete the world I was in if I heard any of the ambient and creepy cave noises. I’ve learned to just play without any sound Buuut I still every dislike playing by myself

[@LucidWeedy]

That's how I felt when Endermen were added! haha

[@bulkypigeon]

I used to be fucking terrified of Herobrine. Catching wind of this, an admin on the server I played on with my friends used to use /disguise Herobrine and vanish mode to stalk us while mining to pop out and stare menacingly at us from a distance. In hindsight I really appreciate it because it’s one of the most memorable moments in all of my tens of thousands of hours playing minecraft.

[@bulkypigeon]

i also did make a herobrine hunting club like sagan did hahaha

[@malakicochran3888]

When i was a very young kid I used to believe that if you played disk 11 and there was dirt breaking at the end that meant herobrine was in your world. I was a dumb kid but I always had a "checking over my shoulder" way of playing minecraft. I'd never use doors and instead cobblestone blocks to "give myself more time to react" in case I was attacked. Good times

[@randomlycombust2664]

Another thing I really appreciate about the Old Minecraft Reuploads is the authenticity of younger minecraft players’ actions. Things like building your house on top of a big mountain and not bothering to build a pathway down, the wide area with the low roof, and the tunnels leading into the mine being built straight into the house all coming from GoldMario’s world. Similarly, I appreciate that Anthony’s house is way taller than is necessary. It gives kind of an inconsequential look into the personalities and building styles of each character, which just adds that little extra bit of realism. I remember building houses just like Anthony’s, unnecessarily tall rectangular pillars, whereas other friends of mine built like goldmario. Just something that immerses me personally :)

[@ringkunmori]

Brandonworks hits me hard man. Not only is it relatable trying to rekindle and reminisce on a friendship you formed online, being a kid and not seeing the clear signs that they went through some hardship that you'll never could comprehend nor being able to do anything is a minor tragedy everyone goes through. It's like going back to talk to a friend online only to be responded to by their parents telling you that their child had passed away due to a terminal disease. Only then does it dawn on you how special those moments were yet you never faced them face to face.

[@krymsun3134]

it just ended. What do you think about it

[@ringkunmori]

@@krymsun3134 wait really?

[@krymsun3134]

@@ringkunmori go check. What do you think

[@killermetalwolf2843]

i find the reversal of the spawn locations on the valentines day thing really interesting. maybe it's a way of showing him walking back on his crush?

[@dededetheboi9913]

The scenario shown happened to both me and my friend (although the friend that i’m talking about that passed away was closer with my other friend), needless to say it really broke my friend.

[@ranfang779]

I can't wait until the next generation grows old enough for creepy analysis videos and video essays to become nostalgic. I can picture a channel in the future 'covering' a fictional horrifying event as if it actually happened in an hour long analysis video in similar style to the ones we have now. Or a fictional 'unsolved crime analysis' where the narrator accidently slips at various points, implying that they had something to do with the crime in question. Or a 'Rise and Fall of' video about a made up show, which gets more bizarre in the later seasons, while the narrator goes over disturbing production issues.

[@kitteninsanityki2122]

holy shit that would be so cool to see like 5 to 10 years down the line

[@khaymenbrock645]

Catastrophe Crow actually goes into this a little bit!

[@tittlediddle6899]

That first scenario reminds me of the Navidson Record from House of Leaves. Sounds like such a cool idea.

[@acidnine3692]

Interesting ideas! *takes notes*

[@coalkingryan881]

Search up Monument Mythos

[@jamesbone7515]

Herobrine never scared me directly, but it did plant the idea that I was never alone in Minecraft, and the thought of playing single player and not being alone terrifies me. Now every game I play alone I can't help but feel like someone is watching me, whether virtually or physically. It reminds me of my favorite short horror story, "The last man on earth hears a knock on his door"

[@Weeklong_Seagull]

Bro same. After I found the Herobrine thing when It first got started I always pause when the cave sound cones

[@Cliffy_Deluna]

The idea of never truly being alone didn't scare me as a kid, I even made homes and talked to imaginary friends in minecraft (I was a very lonely boy)

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

It didn't help when they went and made Endermen, which are basically those sorta creepy myths of Minecraft given something proper to work off of. I already had enough trouble with caves and such and now *the caves can just enter my bunker*

[@ferraz1962]

X minus one actuality did a pretty cool twist on the last man on earth hearing a knock at the door story. You should check it out.

[@jamesbone7515]

@@ferraz1962 imma go check it out right now :)

[@JaxxMCC]

Another interesting detail about gunslingerpro2009 - he's represented by a RED engineer, whilst the ragdoll that's caused him the most "trouble" and endured the worst punishments is a BLU spy, a counter to the RED engineer in the game

[@marcuswestphal4955]

Interesting..

[@caramel9154]

And in the last entry shown in the video he's shown trying to buddy up with a RED pyro who seems kind of disinterested

[@EngineerTeamFortress2]

🙂

[@NeonWasInUse]

Well, intended counter at least. From what I've heard the community nowadays considers Demoman Engie's hardest counter.

[@iseeyou709]

The movements of the "rogue spy" were actually done via Kinect, a surprisingly creative use of the Kinect to not only bring the character to life but also add a surreal element to it.

[@doughboywhine]

enough lollygaggin'

[@justtherabbithole2577]

Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll.

[@beargron422]

Let me guess, somebody ate the last piece of you're chicken.​@@justtherabbithole2577

[@beargron422]

​@@doughboywhineThat's right, be sad.

[@xreverse_f1ash]

I like the gunslingerpro2009 one the most. I've always found the "protagonist being the horror" much more interesting, as you get to see from the eyes of the horror inducer. It as well doesn't usually have the jumpscare/sudden type of horror, but more of the looming fear/dread type. You get to see from the eyes of the horror as the beings of the world are being helplessly tortured, and despite being much more connected to the horror's side of the story, you can't do anything about it. Sudden horror might leave you shocked for a few minutes, but the build up in terror types of horror will probably leave you with fear for days/weeks inspiring your nightmares.

[@boredhuman6512]

I'm only through brandonworks part of the video but I gotta say I enjoy that this isn't just like "wooo game is hunted" but rather a report of creations of a kid that was in a abusive household, the game itself is not trying to scare you, its slowly reconstructing the idea of his life and psyche of a kid that disappeared but not really disappeared just in general in life but rather disappeared from the place this one person reporting knew him. Maybe he simply kept living and his father took away his computer, maybe something way more awful happened we can only wonder and I think thats way more unsettling that just "haunted game"

[@CalamitasCalliope]

Honestly. Supernatural stuff in games can be fun, like I think the other projects in this video show, but if it's used in every single story it gets really boring really fast. BrandonWorks is genuinely unique and I'm excited to see where it goes

[@exotic1405]

@@CalamitasCalliope I think Brandon works was discontinued but the source is just trust me bro so take it with salt

[@hyjinx1889]

he already discussed this in the video, but yeah, i can see how this makes the brandenworks series unique to other horror series

[@S1lliest_Beanz]

@@exotic1405 nope, new video released 2 weeks ago

[@mossball5615]

I've always thought that this side to horror was looked over way too much. It's visceral and personal in ways that the 'haunted games' have to work hard to get close to.

[@finnthechosenone4268]

the last line when you were talking about brandonworks made me think about something from a really long time ago. There was a kid that I knew in kindergarten and first grade before he disappeared, presumable to go to a different school. There was a time when the guidance councilor came and had us sit in a circle and explain times where we felt hurt by someone. Most kids described petty things like crayons being stolen but this kid talked about his brother hitting him and yelling after getting a "secret drink" from the top cabinet. I then remember one time where his brother came to pick him up and saw that he was a grown adult, and possibly his caretaker. It never registered in my mind that he might of been abused and his guardian could have been an alcoholic.

[@Xx_Oleander_xX]

I feel that about a friend of mine, They would be the one taking care of the house, the cleaning was (from what i could see) all done by one 12 year old. the siblings didnt have house work spread evenly despite being similar ages. one day I remember seen a whole in their wall that was punched in. looking back I cant tell if im being paranoid of not because they didnt act like my other friends with terrible home life's.

[@starry4471]

This comment made me think of a friend I had in 4th grade. The school I went to was a small Christian private school. I remember the kid’s name was Ryan. He was one of my best friends at the time. His behavior was often erratic and he was very rebellious and mischievous. I have literally never considered until this very moment that those behaviors could have had an incredibly dark and terrible causality. His behavior and tendencies could have resulted from an abusive and neglectful home life, where he could be free to act on his resulting anger at school. Although most found him annoying and irresponsible, I, for whatever reason, gravitated toward him and saw it in a positive light. All I hope is that my friendship helped him through whatever he may have been going through at home.

[@PerishingPurplePulsar]

@@starry4471 Dude, this is uncannily similar to a friend I had as a kid. We went to a small town christian school, his name was Ryan, he often acted in ways that lead to him being labelled an "outsider" compared to the rest of the class, deriving from a likely abusive or at the very least severely neglectful home life (I went to his place sometimes, it wasn't well kept up at all, his mom seemed nice enough but how she acted when I was over didn't mean that was how she always was). I doubt we have the same friend, but just in case, did his last name start with Z?

[@jaynestrange]

I've never played roblox, but the brandonworks bit really hit me hard. It seems like it captures the feeling of being a kid looking into an abusive family from the outside & not understanding what you're seeing, which is familiar to me. I was homeschooled, and I hung out almost exclusively with other homeschooled kids. My life was pretty average, and at the time I mostly assumed the other kids had lives a lot like mine. Except there were some kids that would often do and say things that were a bit weird & different. Like there was a kid who's family "didn't believe in doctors" even when she probably should have gone to the hospital for a head injury, or a girl who got married a week after she turned 18 to a guy in college. Looking back as an adult, I can identify like 5 or 6 families who were probably abusing their kids in some way or another. I haven't had any contact with any of them for over a decade now, so I don't know if they're okay now.

[@jagodakit]

“is that mf'ing VEGGIE TALES ??” that felt so genuine it would have been like a slap to the face if it didn’t already make me choke on dr pepper. you’ve cursed me with a fizzy nose but blessed me with a lovely vid, sagan. not sure whether to condemn or thank you, lmao.

[@trachea7870]

We found the Dr pepper guy 🤢

[@nebulashitpostprodubtions5971]

@@trachea7870 it's just a soda my Boot Shaped Head Friend.

[@trachea7870]

@@nebulashitpostprodubtions5971 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

[@kingpig8732]

@@trachea7870 all fizzy drinks and soda and stuff like that taste like crap anyways. So tbh i wouldn't judge anyone for enjoying a specific one cause either way my taste buds are built different

[@trachea7870]

@@kingpig8732 😐😐😐😐🤥🤥🤥🤥🤮🤮🤮🤮😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️

[@flowergarden6887]

The first one he covers doesn't feel like a horror until you look closely, it just feels so real.

[@turquoisesnowflake4613]

I feel like herobrine is a right of passage for every minecraft player. There's just that moment in your game after you see those pictures that you play the game a little more on edge, always looking behind you

[@IceWulfSpirit]

About the red vials in the June archives: a common thing to see in flipnotes (especially high quality ones with a quite a bit of detail) was a bar with red in it to show how much space, or memory, was left to be used in the animation. It was often used as a way to show that the animator couldn’t keep doing as much animation because they had barely any space left. Although, most of the time when they were showing it, it was a black bar with only a small amount of red left, to show it had almost ran out. This whole memory issue was only a problem with those with a ton of animations on their dsi as far as I’m aware. So maybe that will be important to this story later, or I could be completely wrong. Perhaps the red vials are literally vials of memory.

[@atlassolid5946]

page limits were the death of everyone

[@four-en-tee]

As an avid Flipnote user back when i was 12, I completely support this theory.

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

Considering the theme of the platform dying, it could also be more symbolic representation of the fact, with the flipbook memory full and thus at the end of it's life.

[@OnlyKarlos]

As someone born in 2001 this new genre of horror, Digital Horror, speaks to me in a way that Analogue Horror tried to, but failed. To me Analogue always felt like something from a distant past, from a time before I was even born. There's a big disconnection to me, it doesn't speak to me, it just looks like something that could be from that time. But Digital is completely different. I played Minecraft in my early teens. It's suddenly connected to my past, to me, to something real, but twisted. I was terrified of Herobrine as a kid, almost paranoid of it. Playing single player I would always look for him at the edge of my render distance, no matter what game version. I hoped that if I was able to spot him before he got close, that I could fight him off or close the game. I was specially terrified of Swamps and Jungles because of how slow it is to cross one. Caves were similar in a way that I never wanted to be somewhere with only one or two exists. And I loved tall, pointy mountains for the sole reason of making castles and towers, fortified bases on plains, all against an attacker that could come at any moment. It's quite curious, looking back. I made the game more exciting and fun by playing this way. Now I create and throw away worlds on a whim because I know every challenge the game has can be avoided. You have to summon the Wither, search for the Ender Dragon, go to the Nether or a massive cave, to be in danger. Even then, you know what to expect everytime. But a constant hidden threat, always lurking just beyond your view, waiting for the perfect moment to strike? It gave me a reason to gear up, a reason to build castles, a reason to explore and discover. MC Reuploads brings those fears to life, a childhoold nightmare turned real. I know now that I was wrong about it, that my fears and paranoia were unfounded. But what if they weren't? What if I really wasn't alone? Would my castles and towers be enough? Would my armour be strong enough? Would I spot him far in the distance or right behind me? I love Digital Horror now. Thank you for informing me of its existence.

[@minerturtle45]

besides actively preparing myself for an attack by herobrine, this puts everything i've been feeling both when i was younger playing minecraft and during that part of the video into words. i was always a bit of a scaredy cat, and things that aren't right in a video game always creep me out. i personally always knew herobrine and the like weren't real, but always had that nagging thought in the back of my mind of "but what if he was, though? what would i do if my singleplayer world was invaded by some unknown entity?" and MC Reuploads is bringing those thoughts back to the forefront of my mind, just not as paranoia and instead just mostly harmless what-if scenarios.

[@lovecraft2745]

Well done, that summed up so many of the emotions i felt during that section. It really is a strange feeling looking back on it like you said, it gave this visceral fear of the unknown that had gone away completely as a grew up (except cave sounds they still give me goosebumps).

[@gaston_rem]

Dude, your writing is amazing! Great story telling also.

[@LegioXXI]

Idk, the VHS era never really stuck with me and yet analouge horror still achieves more for me. I guess its because most of the "digital horror" was too creepy-pasta-stylish and this never was even remotely scary to me. If horror is too cheesy, it dosen't work for me... but each to their own :D Glad you found the style of Horror that works for you 😊

[@louisaniathemagnificent8246]

Damn, I was born in 2002 and analogue is scarier to me than digital horror. Heck, digital horror doesn’t even scare me at all, mostly because like the commentator above me said, digital horror is more often than not just spooky creepypasta that usually appeals to kids, akin to Jeff the Killer. Like I remember being invested in the creepypasta fandom when it was at its peak, Suicide Squidward, made up images of Tom killing and even eating Jerry, Ed Edd and Eddy purgatory theory, lost episode of the Amazing World or Gumball, etc etc. Heck I even knew about Herobrine even tho I didn’t play Minecraft. Things that scared and excited me as a child but now are just mere fond memories of pretty cringey stuff lol. So digital horror just reminds me of that era, and from what I’ve seen many digital horror games nowadays even follow the same trends as these spooky scary stories used. Analogue on the other hand doesn’t have that sort of childish horror, and while it was over by the time I was born I was still familiar with that sort of “media” especially since it was used by the majority of people at one point to watch tv, movies, the news, advertisements, etc. It’s scary to me because it was mainstream and something people used in their day to day life, something that my parents used when they were my age and younger. It’s a relic of the past, something familiar yet unknown, intimately known by our parents and obscure to us. Digital horror appeals to the child's want to be scared, but analogue horror is about distorting something that was the normal at one point. Really interesting how people of the same generation can have widely different views on the same subject.

[@Paradoxical_96]

As someone who used to spend a lot of time on Flipnote, when I heard the Mario "Smooth Criminal" parody cut to something new, it sent a chill down my spine. It's an odd sensation, but an interesting one for sure.

[@dragonusmolamola4140]

i read this comment earlier and when i got to that point i got goosebumps and a feeling of coldness across my body

[@cinotrashductions744]

Fr. I grew up with flipnote as well and every little reference I got like, did stuff to me

[@LordLux]

yeah same

[@kalipsy5700]

Y'all have low standards ngl I found that shit pretty comedic

[@LordLux]

@@kalipsy5700 nah is just strange that someone still remember Flipnote

[@fIorapetals]

I've never been on Flipnote in my life but WOW that was the thing that got me good. The just slightly too unsettling scribbled art style? Perfection. Creepy audio distortions? Nicely done. Maybe it's just because I have anxiety and the existential dread of time constantly fading away and being alone forever is a constant. I don't know. But that 'why are you still living in the past' inner monologue cut off by a perfectly normal "Hey kid? Here's your hotdog." was the strangest mix of terrifying and relatable. Nostalgia is wild man.

[@keyboardoracle4436]

That part honestly gave me the chills, Flipnote shut down when I was eleven and I was inconsolable for weeks. Don't think I ever really got over it, to be honest. I remember the night of the shutdown, people commenting back and forth on pretty much every flipnote goodbyes and contact info and the like. It was one of the first times in my life I truly realized how impermanent things can be. Later seeing that Flipnote 3D didn't even turn out to be "worth it" crushed me. Really glad the Sudomemo has the Flipnote archive, the panic of accidentally wiping one of my old sd cards and thinking that those notes from old friends were gone forever was pretty jarring.

[@MaximumADHD]

I seriously respect how much research you did on the old school Roblox terminology and history, not a lot of people these days fully understand it! As someone who was there in 2009, these descriptions are spot-on. Fascinating story for sure.

[@DylanZeee]

wtf the creator of stalker reborn

[@exotic1405]

@@DylanZeee wtf

[@w1sperr_728]

most people nowadays would think Roblox is a new gen game with no history, wrong

[@doorjpeg]

I’ve been playing roblox since early 2014, and I honestly miss “old” roblox

[@mozarteanchaos]

@@doorjpeg yeah, it's cool how advanced some of the games have gotten these days, but it feels like roblox has been sanitized and commodified so much that it's almost soulless. the whole site is just blank greys and smooth edges. the logo's completely disconnected from anything, just a slightly tilted grey square. almost every game i see people playing is a cash-grab, a super high-effort game that newbies can't really hope to compete with, or both. and honestly, while i don't think it's bad that teens and adults also play roblox, it's feeling less and less like a space for kids. it's sad.

[@genocaustic]

Being an Apostolic Christian, the brandon works story is very interesting. I especially took note of the version number never changing from 6 after that version. In the Bible during creation, it says that God worked creating the world across 6 days, and rested on the 7th. The version number never changing could mean that Brandon never got days of rest because of the overwhelming tension and constant talk of an apocalypse of some kind. I dunno I'm just some nerd on the internet but this makes the most sense to me.

[@ConnieCrow]

Ohh, very interesting idea.

[@cloudywillowshome]

Ayy, fellow Christian ARG fan! I actually agree with this theory. It makes so much sense

[@humbleschmumble]

just so ya know in a new video posted on the brandonworks channel, it shows that the number has changed to 2

[@genocaustic]

@@humbleschmumble Well I guess I'm completely wrong lol

[@humbleschmumble]

@@genocaustic W

[@BrightPage174]

As you said this is a bit Game Theory-y, but theres a few straws I can reach for. BrandonWorks might be a story about how a news station radicalized brandons father seeing as the tv is showing news broadcasts depicting a hostage situation, potentially causing him to acquire more weapons out of fear, climate denial from an unnamed "recent study" , remarks about how "nothing could possibly go wrong" in a situation that famously went wrong and even the lower housing prices part may be a bit of foreshadowing for his home falling apart. Seeing all the trees around the house leads me to believe that they may have been living in a rural area that may have been decaying pretty quickly after the housing crisis. The father's yelling getting more intense could show him getting more angry after repeatedly seeing those broadcasts over and over as the same stuff is reported every week getting him more and more worked up over time. The focus on christianity is probably from the news station pushing it too, and it also helps explain the rural location. Brandon's mother disappearing and the door locking might symbolize her having left his father due to his behavior and the room is now like a "dad's room ONLY" kind of thing. Also might tie into the house breaking down as he might just not care about taking care of it anymore since she left Other than that, everything else about the series life seems to be spot on. I'll be keeping an eye on this one

[@c0nfracto]

woah that's a really interesting and thoughtful analysis, cheers

[@catoi6324]

I mean, too be fair, brandon is going straight through the 2008 recession, which was famous for house prices collapsing. could be another metaphor for the house falling apart

[@atlassolid5946]

notice also that the model for brandon's father appears to be faceless. a common visual metaphor for someone with dementia is them having no face. brandon also mentions sundowning, another attribute of dementia. someone with that kind of mental state could be very suggestible, and could easily be convinced to believe all those radical talking points that the news is pushing on them. this could also connect to the faceless "Citizen NPC" in some way. maybe brandon has fears of genetically inheriting whatever disease gave his father dementia.

[@g-manalt2709]

It’s always a good day when you come out with a analysis related to horror. There my favorite.

[@uwuiosIII]

i have a feeling that i know what part was your favourite

[@JasonSucks]

They're*

[@bungiecrimes7247]

I thought this was about an edgy kid making a Roblox map. I completely forgot the whole point of the video 😂

[@bluemoonhub]

I think it's worth noting in gunslingerpro's videos that specifically the blue spy is a repeat offender, and as a personal lover of TF2 and knowing the personalities of the classes well, the fact that the blue spy is ballsy enough to try to go against gunslingerpro fits really well for a character who believes he is better than everyone else, yet still different from the red spy, who knows his limits, which makes you wonder if these characters have their original personalities that were previously baked into them

[@harbour2118]

The thing is the blu spy isn’t really being ballsy, he seems to be the most desperate for escape, heck he is the only one who broke the 4th wall to call for help, everybody else was either succumbing to gunslinger’s cruelty (soldier) or trying to appease gunslinger (heavy), but spy had only one thing on his mind here “escape”

[@ShutUpJayke]

The animation in the June Archives is incredible. I didn’t really grow up with Flipnote, but I’m aware of the influence it had on so many animators, I think the series portrays really well how these animators must of felt when the service was ended, even if a little overdramatic

[@lukarikid9001]

bro, ok so imagine that your entire social window to the world is through that. for me it was like suddenly the apocalypse is happening and you have no ability to react to the fact that literally everything and everyone you know is being annihilated in front of you. I waited for half a decade for the 3d flipnote online, and they never delivered.... a whole half decade of shock, meaninglessness and betrayal

[@NukedKnight]

I like how the brandonworks doesnt throw everything at you at once, It spends time building up a creepy atmosphere

[@killerbryne]

the brandon files...

[@NukedKnight]

@@killerbryne I am a stupid fucking idiot omg lol

[@NukedKnight]

@@killerbryne god is dead

[@auraguardianred4771]

5:30 Not even a Roblox kid but as a 17 year old growing up with the internet, I’ve felt this feeling many times and wished there was a word to describe it. Looking through my old Discord DMs from a year and a half of two years ago, when I was still figuring out who I am and didn’t have many irl friends, gives me this exact feeling. So many other teens that were in my same position, and we talked for months before many of them just randomly vanished. Thankfully I’m doing a lot better now as I go into my Senior year of HS, and I even have a couple really cool friend groups. I just really hope those I formed such close connections with can say the same

[@auraguardianred4771]

Update: I really the the Roblox project. One thing that I found really relatable is meeting people on virtual worlds to escape the shitty time your having in real life

[@oh-no-not-me]

Fr. Except it wasn't discord DMs for me but a website that allowed for chats and profiles and story making.

[@TheKnizzine]

The streamer Vinny has used to stream himself playing some of these old proto Robloxs games like Active Worlds and Second Life and stuff. They all gave big spooky liminal vibes, it only got weirder when he would occasionally run into npcs or even players that just kept playing. Like a werid kind of digital anthropology/archology...also a pretty fun spooky ass bit in one of em if you were there in chat.

[@niqsy6116]

Im 16 and I have the exact same experience as you, I found myself in the quarantine period, after talking to other and having other stuff happening, then after the quarantine ended all the servers with hundreds of active people just became quite it really baffles me how things can easily dies off and my GC in discord had gone quiet even after I started a call

[@yupekosi413]

the minecraft videos are the scariest to me because i remember playing the game as a kid and being so terrified of the in-game night that i would start up new games only to quit them when it started to get dark for the first time. i was genuinely convinced herobrine was real, i think because of those 'herobrine removed' lines notch would add to update logs. i still play the game now and it feels silly that i would ever be scared of the goofy models, but to be fair there is something kind of eerily liminal about a lot of the game, the old alpha especially. single player mode feels really lonely, being the only person in this huge world- the idea of thinking you're alone but something being in there with you is genuinely haunting.

[@MinecraftWorld1954]

I feel like the closest thing nowadays that manages to recapture that fear was the Deep Dark Biome, and even then, it’s not really the same

[@keroppiew]

this is the main reason why i stopped playing minecraft, i love minecraft but the game makes me feel so lonely and playing it without any friends just gives me a weird feeling idk

[@MaKo_CRAZ]

Dude I used to hate Minecraft but it was also my favorite game when I was younger, the reason is because I was so scared to play a solo world because I thought Herobrine was real

[@marcuswestphal4955]

​@@keroppiew sounds like you need some friends.

[@keroppiew]

@@marcuswestphal4955 you're not wrong pal

[@TheNightmareAngelYT]

For the "memory viruses" in the Flipnote ARG, it could be possible that the "memory viruses" are Fuzz's interpretation of forgetting things, growing up, and moving on. Like how people moved on from Flipnote.

[@makeshiftlolwut]

you should make an updated and separate video on brandon works, it seems like the series has finally concluded, and its last half is really dark

[@ConnieCrow]

WHY DID YOU HAVE TO COMMENT THIS NOW IM GONNA CRY EVERY TIME I SEE THE NAME BRADON

[@survivalisttt1566]

@@ConnieCrow Brandon. :troll:

[@thesiderian4700]

gunslingerpro seemed like the least creepy one when you first described them, but it turned out to be the most upsetting. i'd have never thought to make a haunted video game creepypasta where the person is the villain.

[@marcuswestphal4955]

EXACTLY! And it perfectly creeps me out. It made me think of all the times I would kill Sims in a Sims game. If I knew their pain was real? Idk man.. spooky. That's sort of how gunslingerpro really gets to you. It makes you consider all the times you did something purely cruel to game sprites because they were simply not alive. Like making death coasters in roller coaster tycoon. It was all in fun, every human would act the same, but what if their pain was real? It makes you feel guilty for stuff you have done. It makes you worry that to a group of game characters you were a gunslinger. And that's where the horror comes from. And of course, here is your friendly reminder that videogame characters are not alive and basically exist as stress balls for humanity.

[@Kevin-lv8wv]

I think its interesting there seems to be a fixation on keeping things clean inside Brandon’s house, so much so that his punishment is being put in the dirt room, something dirty. Its almost like this is a punishment used by the supposed cult as a whole to create this correlation between being dirty and literal sin.

[@FrogmaskMusic]

It's not uncommon in religions to practice ritual cleanliness, and arguably conventional christian baptism counts as a form of ritually cleaning oneself with water-- punishing people by making them dirty or confining them in dirt, however, is not something (to my knowledge) that pops up as much. there's the implication that the cult's mode of control is determining who's "clean" and who's "dirty," and condemning someone to being dirty is basically condemning them to hell

[@Vesperad0]

I have nothing of real value to add, but being raised in a non-denominational Christian household I've always heard my mother say "cleanliness is next to godliness", a somewhat indirect response to mental illness. Also, I think it's in the old testament but I believe women were temporarily exiled from their villages/camp settlements for menstruating, another association with the theme of clean = good and dirty = bad

[@GulteusMaxwell]

Also the green block being in the ctf game with the "sword" (aka fists) just seems to show the physical punishment for Brandon not keeping clean, especially since that green block was out of reach so punishment was inevitable.

[@Kevin-lv8wv]

@@Vesperad0 good point, I also think of how after we sneeze (something dirty) we are usually told bless you, from my understanding this is because sneezing has some association with the devil for some people? Just another weird link

[@notapplicable6985]

@@Kevin-lv8wvSneazing was associated with bad spiritis since for a while people thought air was the same thing as a soul. When people stoped breathing, they stopped living. So a they thouggt sudden expulsion of air could let bad spirits into a body

[@Evelyn_onfire]

the June Archives are so cool oh my god?!?! The voice acting, the animation, the storyline. It’s all so well put together!!!

[@pigeonman6434]

Gunslinger just hits all the right notes for me.I remember spending hours watching Dasbooshit,kitty and other Gmod animators.Good times

[@leeum20real]

rip kitty. you were good. maybe even the best.

[@fishgirl341]

i watched vanoss gaming secretly as a kid because i wasn’t used to watching youtubers cussing. gunslingers part struck home for me

[@gfn6656]

Love the surreal horror meme direction for Flipnote Hatena, I’ve never seen it used for absurd nostalgia memes but I’d love to see it become a thing.

[@ladyzoe5734]

Damn. I can’t speak for everyone raised in Christian fundamentalism, and I shouldn’t overshare, but for a horror KZbin series, there are many elements of BrandonWorks that are pretty recognizable and bring back a lot of memories. The isolation and paranoia and when you do socialize w other kids, what you think is normal home life, alienates you from others your own age. Wow. Did not expect to feel so strongly about…a Roblox ar series? Lol

[@MaKo_CRAZ]

As a Christian, I cannot relate

[@keroppiew]

@@MaKo_CRAZ ok :|

[@ladyzoe5734]

@@MaKo_CRAZ good for you? Congrats?

[@foggy_nights]

@@MaKo_CRAZ you'll understand when ur older

[@StudioHannah]

The fundamentalist part of it is more telling than the Christian part of it. I was slightly sheltered as a kid, but still interacted with all kinds of people. 32 now and still Christian, but definitely not fundamentalist haha - sorry you felt alienated from peers, that’s not ever a good feeling ❤

[@colinjfordham]

I think Spy Is Sandvich would have been better placed towards the end of the series. You see all these subtle, uncanny things that the characters do, but you can ultimately brush it off as glitches or physics. But then you see this one video where one of the characters starts banging on the screen, begging for help, and it suddenly recontextualizes everything you've seen.

[@mememachine6658]

I totally agree, but apart of me thinks it probably would've been better if it was done differently too, ya know more subtle

[@itzshortie9481]

This hits a little to close to home. My grandpa has Alzheimer’s, before he got it he got decently good at navigating the internet through his laptop. However as it’s progress he managed to get himself into some kinda of cult like community. Some of the head people in this community run discords, KZbin channels and stuff like that (my grandpa is in those discords) they are very religious based but are very out there with their beliefs. For almost 3 years they have been scamming my grandpa out of thousands in his retirement and he just doesn’t understand it, he thinks they are his friends, he even thinks one of them is a profit of the “father” I’ve been trying to convince him that this is simply not true and they are taking his money, with no luck of course. My grandpa will often go off on these religious fueled rants talking about some kinda beast and the father and the government chipping us, he often talks about how the government is going to kill off all the old people because they are useless. It’s very sad and scary to watch. He had concrete bunker built behind his house and keeps guns and several containers of rice in it for when the world ends and he’s bought several thousands in silver because apparently these people told him that in the end times we will trade for goods with silver because our currency now will mean nothing when the world ends. My grandpa was a really smart man before Alzheimer’s got to him. It’s only getting worse for him as it never gets better only worse until it eventually kills you. This is the sad truth of Alzheimer’s, you just completely lose people.

[@coopialflowbow]

discord grandpa

[@Mr._Zook]

@@coopialflowbow funny, but cruel

[@coopialflowbow]

@@Mr._Zook 😀

[@jamesbailey6257]

I know this is maybe a little out of pocket, but I would seriously recommend looking into getting a power of attorney over him or something, as you said, unfortunately it just gets worse and having control over purchases may be the only way to stop this. If you're able to afford one I'd seriously consider talking to a lawyer after getting power of attorney too, if you have the names of these people I feel like there has to be some sort of legal recourse

[@bitbit5598]

It takes a special kind of evil to scam people who are going through something so horrible as Alzheimer's...

[@GSPScorp]

*I love Fuzz as A villain. He is obviously pretty scary, but he had A sense of comedy and charm to him. With what he’s saying becoming literal, (Like him melting when he mentions memories crumbling and A clock gesture when he mentions turning back time) and him pulling up A hand puppet when he asks about the present being changed. He kinda reminds me of Bill Cipher, with him being comedic but kinda horrifying. Fuzz is kinda the opposite, being horrifying but kinda comedic.*

[@Noobnormality]

Another thing to note for Jun's Archives is the fact that it uses a similar concept as of the thought experiment "Roko's Basilisk" which what attracted me to the series in the first place. Although it's technically the same kinda thing mentioned on the video, the point is that unlike the ones mentioned on the video, this thought experiment isn't fiction and is very real, and has happened IN the real world and has actually affected several minds of several people, further implying the connection between these series as a whole, although the series amplyfies the concept a bit more. And i thought it's a great concept for horror that works really well in this narrative, really good work for the creative team behind it. DISCLAIMER: If you're sensitive to urban myths and predictions, I DO NOT ADVISE to google Roko's Basilisk. Thank you for your understanding.

[@potatoesstarch2376]

I have NEVER understood roko's basilisk. Shit just doesn not make any goddamn sense.

[@Noobnormality]

@@potatoesstarch2376 Just as how the cart experiment doesn't. Thought experiments don't have to be grounded, since it's a question of morality.

[@potatoesstarch2376]

​@@Noobnormality The cart experiment? Are you referring to the trolley problem or shopping cart theory? I mean both those make sense though. Neither rely on a shotgun blast of sci-fi concepts, or a mind that doesn't make sense in it's operation. Personally I think it's something of an ego-trap. It'll only freak you out if you're rather narcissistic. 'oh no the omnipotent ai will totally torture me because i'm such a special boy' yeah ok bro. proof perfect is the place from which it derives. Reading about the LessWrong forum makes it pretty clear that they're a bunch of fucking annoying dweebs who like to hear themselves talk and all think they're the main character. They're all chugging vitamins in order to 'reach the singularity' and think cryonics is going to get them there. They're a skip and a jump away from being some sort of tech bro cult, but with little actual practical knowledge. Hence the vitamin chugging and belief in the viability of cryogenics. (look up 'Kurzweil supplements' and Yudkowskey and Peter Thiel if you're curious about those plot points) It reads like a poorly written SCP. Morality is not involved in it in the slightest, it's just a boogeyman thought up to scare a bunch of egotistical nerds who were already obsessed with living forever and sci-fi novels.

[@conarcoin]

hell yes rabbit hole time

[@Winasaurus]

The acting in the minecraft one is really really really good. The issue with most game creepypasta stuff (Especially source engine) is that the people playing treat it like an E3 tech demo, giving slow, sweeping camera shots and aiming directly at where the action is, or is going to be. But if you're playing for real, you're likely making jerky, twitchy movements, since there's no need for slow sweeps (especially if you're paranoid), and the really nice detail is that when he only heard something but had no way of seeing it, he turned his character such that it was side-on. Which would make it play better through your headphones, making it easier to hear. (Since minecraft handles diagonals strangely and they sound much further away than cardinals, even if they're technically the same distance.)

[@marist1079]

Gunslingerpro is a super interesting idea, making the player the centerpiece of the horror because the player has full control over everything. Really shows how terrifying something like a sandbox game would be in reality that we never consider.

[@djtheskeleton]

The spy amalgam is likely a reference to the "Spy Crab", an animation quirk with the where when you crouch while holding the disguise kit and looking up in the air the spy walks like a crab. It's been a long running meme that first started in 2008 with a video by a KZbin named Zealot

[@jyotshak]

Admitting that you aren't super familiar with something and straight up telling viewers to check out another creators video on said topic is such an awesome thing to do.

[@clydemarlee]

little brandonworks update: !!! PART 2 IN REPLIES !!! after the events that transpired, ozolog seems to have grown far more rational and seems to actually be maturing a bit. here are the events of Update + Last house place version (the next episode.) ozolog joins the game and apologizes of his brief absence since he has been overwhelmed by all that's happening. he actually starts to narrate this time, treating brandon's house like a foreign place to him he begins by showing that you no longer spawn outside the house, instead you spawn in brandon himself has some new dialog, one about a dream and the other about "join us in downing/raising safety countdown", implying that the sundowning was indeed a cult or even confirming it the house has been worn down significantly, the gaps in the walls are nearly large enough to fit a 1 stud tile in them the father upstairs has grabbed the shotgun and pointed it upward, with his screams and yells instead being replaced by the word "Ready", ready im not sure of but likely the downing because of this next piece of information the sign that said 6 on the outside, indicating of the version number, has now moved inside, and it has been labeled as a countdown that slowly goes down, although ozolog has not reached the end of said countdown there are far more crosses, light bins and green parts, likely due to the increased superstition within either the father or the father and brandon the atmosphere of the house has changed drastically, because the time of day has been set to the transitional period inbetween day and sunset, likely another reference to "sundowning" in a literal manner brandon's room otherwise has not changed much, although the windows have been sealed off when entering brandon's dream world, there are "good" npcs freeroaming around the dream world, which itself is a depiction of a strange white realm with trees, a dance floor, a bouncy castle and a massive white block that occupies most of the middle space everything here is white, there are also white flames and even the npcs are white, you'll hear more about them later when he returned to the normal house, he tells us what made him take the brandon situation far more seriously, a checklist that tells you "how to be a good downer" which ill copy paste down here ✅ TV stays ON with authorized DVDs ✅ House stays PROTECTED with Light & cleaning ✅ Check in with crosses every night ✅ Track personal Raising progress however seen fit ❌ NO touching TV remote without written permission ❌ NO unauthorized persons into home ❌ NO outside playtime during final countdown quarter ❌ NO premature Downing before designated month this basically confirms brandon being stuck inside, not having access to the old games he had and losing contact with all of his friends, along with all of the superstitious beliefs with downing and raising accumulated to the cult ozolog then goes on to show us the next version, which hasn't changed much aside for the countdown and brandon losing more of his npc form, now only being a right arm and a head the last house place version was in the middle of november, and it completely changed to the old default house, we're not given a reason or an in depth look at the place since it is likely just the default house ozolog shares a message he got from an anonymous user (who has been blacked out) over youtube, talking about brandon, how his friend is in the same area of town as brandon was, and his friend thinks he ran away from home since there was a kid who went missing the same month of brandon's last login, his dad making a big fuss about it, and the sundowning stuff sounding like local legend, and the user urging him to contact him back for more details here's the next episode they're two unfinished videos of brandon, ozolog and some other friends in a building game, showing off buildings to eachother when a robot with twitching eyes made out of trusses and one big metal part shows up, everyone gives their opinions on how it looks, but brandon is the only one who says with full confidence that the robot is mad, which may have been an early sign of him recognizing anger as the easiest emotion to find due to his father; we see green parts and crosses in the background, which itself is already strange but i'll talk about that later we turn around to see there are far more crosses and green parts, which is a slightly disturbing sight to behold because this cult was in their face for so long but they didn't recognize it brandon himself shows the rest of the group his tower, an accumulation of yellow and black parts, with 2 crosses on the tower, the rest of the friends show off normal builds like an empty room and a playstation optical illusion, they play on a catapult and a swing before we see a brief image of a boat in the water, moving speaking of said boat, there is one other player that isnt in the group, isnt talking, but is in the game, the user in question is icedlatte, we do not know their affiliations yet though when showing off a heli wars building one of the players just made, brandon walks over and places a green part on it saying "clean", the rest of the group shrug it off after ozolog says he "just does that" brandon thanks ozolog for sticking up for him (presumably) with a simple "thx" and then leaves right near the end of the video, saying "brb dads calling" the next video is just a heavily edited montage of heli wars, which simply showcases the two having fun this next episode is arguably the one with more of a higher impact, titled first meeting first meeting goes into ozolog being extremely ecstatic because he finally got in contact with brandon on a new account, after he lost the password to his old account after running away (the youtube pmer previously mentioned said), brandon seems to have developed grammar while in his absence and oddly enough wants to skip the questions for their next meeting the video goes on to showcase the two having a brief talk while ozolog shows him around the place they've been building, and then brandon leaving the next episode is also equally as important, titled questions brandon is put up on a stage infront of a microphone with a fake audience listening to him while ozolog asks him questions, mainly "where were you all that time you were away" and "why did you disappear" these are answered with "i was at home for a little while, then i ran away" and "i got grounded really badly" respectively ozolog brings up "so it was much worse than the old time with the secret phrase i guess" which brandon doesnt seem to remember, but ozolog dismisses it ozolog asks what he got grounded for, which brandon doesn't want to say, and that there was another reason to him leaving, him not liking his dad & his belief brandon says he's at his aunts home who protects him from dad the turning point is when ozolog starts asking more personal questions, which brandon hesitates and seemingly doesnt have words to answer, namely "what were those rules in your old home" about the downing and the raising, which brandon says something along the lines of "stuff my dad made me do to keep me safe", and then "what were those shadow people in your dreams" refering to the old realm with the pit, which brandon responds with "why would i remember a dream from years ago", ozolog growing more suspicious and asking some more trauma inducing or personal questions, one about the "dirt room" which brandon, again, doesnt seem to remember, just "another thing dad made me do", ozolog being even more suspicious then brandon starting with "it was traumatic stuff, you're being weird" of which ozolog responds "oh im the weird one? you cant even answer basic questions" to which brandon responds "you're not even listening", ozolog then asks him "then whats my irl last name that i told you" brandon hesitates to answer and then goes blank, ozolog having enough of brandon, unfriending him and then leaving the game

[@clydemarlee]

next episode, titled explanation ozolog says he got a message from brandon saying to give him another chance and to meet up, of which he does, and then the two have a conversation about him lying, brandon decides to say the truth and reveals he's one of ozolog's friends, sparten862, the two then start arguing, sparten saying ozolog is obviously obsessed over brandon and that he just wanted to give him some closure, but in the middle of their arguments footsteps grow and intensify only for the actual brandon account to come into frame, saying he can only speak through menu chats, ozolog is hesitant and talks with him anyway, brandon talking about how "dad is kinda mad" and then contradicts it with "dad ok me ok", he talks about how he has to go and he'll be online sometime next week, apologizing profusely to ozolog and then leaving before he could respond the next four episodes are about ozolog exploring brandon's place approximately next week, saying his friends no longer want to be involved and that he's fine with that once ozolog joins the game, brandon has made a castle with large walls of dirt surrounding it, although weirdly the stuff is still unanchored there is also nothing in the castle and nothing major in detail things of note: a big gate infront of the house with a mailbox, ozolog thinks that brandon's information is controlled a short well, ozolog says they're usually deep but this one is short and you get stuck in it (could be part of the belief he's gotten tangled into) a ufo which also plays into brandon's downing/raising then a horse stable for an UNstable house next episode, titled week 2 the castle has finally gotten an interior, even if it's still unanchored i'll start using ozolog's notes because i cant find the inspiration to make new ones everything being unanchored in the house could be a nod to a broken home there is a car outside the home but it's anchored, implying brandon cant leave (likely true) nothing is working in his life, the game physics are messed up and the dance floor wont work, the kill bricks wont work and none of the stamper wiring tools work next episode, titled "more updates already?" ozolog shows footage from the past 3 days of the place being updated in day 1, everything has been anchored and the game actually works now, there is a new entirely wood room being worked on but the most interesting part is the extremely sophisticated mountain/temple in the corner of the map with no clear meaning, this also looks far too advanced for only brandon to build in a day on day 2 the wood room has been turned into a small house, and a big blue sign tells the audience that brandon is hosting a "last week party", there are now small spikes that jag upward across the map, and two massive spikes loom to the left and right of the previously mentioned temple, water flowing down them, there is also a construction site which has been heavily isolated on day 3 there's a small red sign next to the blue sign about the last week party, saying "then clean", the construction site has been turned into a dance floor but the most disturbing thing here is a large black sign which reads "meeting goods soon !! : )", ozolog doesnt bother to analyze it that much and he will "just wait for the week party to end" the last change here are walls around the temple that prevent anyone not on the path from coming in the last episode titled "." is rather depressing and or disturbing there is no flashy intro or outro, just jump to the clip of ozolog coming onto brandon's place, which has all been wiped except for a small structure with brandon and 2 good npcs near it (previously mentioned), brandon says it will be the last update because he will "finally be meeting goods soon" and "got to high level for next life with the last raise" when you interact with him, it prompts you to "where are you going", brandon saying "its a secret, but you could join me, its like paradise, wanna learn and even join me some day? click the link www.[____].com" the link itself has been blacked out with the caption "I AM NOT LETTING ANYONE ELSE FALL INTO THAT LINK" when you interact further, he says he wont be online anytime youll be able to see, when you ask him why he has to leave us behind he says "it doesnt have to be like that forever if you learn too, the first life just doesnt have the right power" the conversation ends with "thanks to all my friends on here, please dont be sad because its the best for me, goodbye and see you on the other side" ozolog turns around to reveal a second brandon npc, which has been made specifically for his friends, after ozolog goes through all the available conversations, the conversation goes "what game are you playing" - "heli wars" - "lol ozo is that you? it must be, hope you still get out there and get pwn, so much fun" with ozolog seeming to lament brandon's implied death before the video cuts out this last episode is very crucial to the entire storyline since it confirms the religious cult, brandon likely being dead and gone forever, and the cult probably taking his account to preach their beliefs to everyone else due to the sudden change in how brandon speaks and (forgot to mention) their clothes being fully black, like how one would wear black to a funeral, in this case, brandon's funeral we haven't recieved any updates since then but i'd be fine if thats how it ends i just decided to make this comment in the hopes brandonworks would get the spotlight again and maybe some new episodes, thank you for reading

[@luna-du9nq]

another note on the choice of the engineer, I think the fact that he's one of the only characters you can't see the eyes of is interesting as well, since the eyes of the characters are used to show how scared they are and what gunslinger is doing, while the engineer representing him shows no vulnerability with the goggles covering the eyes that represent so much in the others.

[@pseudonym1515]

When I hear the "God's sons" line, I immediately think of the Branch Davidians. The founder believed that "son of God" was a title of some sort that was given to certain important figures (such as himself). The Davidians also had a lot of guns, which is worth mentioning. But, I don't remember televangelism connecting to the Davidians, and they were all killed off by the ATF long before Roblox, so that theory is an apparent dead end.

[@TotallyNotJustCynical]

They were killed in the raid but there are still splinter groups out there, always possible maybe?

[@fangirlstampede3065]

From what I read, there are a bunch of groups that claim to be descended from the original Branch Davidians. It’s not too much of a stretch to think Brandon’s family is a part of one of them.

[@thelittleredhairedgirlfrom6527]

There are still surviving Branch Davidians who still maintain the site at Waco to this day, though they seem to have mellowed out and stopped hoarding guns

[@ohdearroedeer4115]

I watched a lot of flip notes as a kid- specifically very edgy, emo ones and omg the effects, the editing, the transitions- they’re all so perfect. AND those minecraft videos? That unlocked a feral childhood fear- I was convinced that herobrian burned my house down in old minecraft when I was little. I was so terrified.

[@order60000000000]

Lmao herobrian

[@denni8271]

About the sawblades in the walking machine, those are just the best fit for the machine because they’re very thin and allow the legs to sit in a natural way. If you were to use a different wheel, the legs would bow to much.

[@GermanKinsmen]

"This hasn't led to a robot uprising like we'd see in another piece of media, or at least not yet" Me, back after watching gunslinger's most recent upload: Well.

[@steelstrider2624]

I was born 2002, and I really enjoy analog horror, it doesn’t speak to my nostalgia but I like the aesthetic. So I’m excited to see this new digital horror develop

[@ThoseGirlsOverThere]

I think the roblox one, brandonworks, is about being a homeschooled christian kid in an abusive family. Esp a fundamentalist evangelical baptist family. I was homeschooled as a kid, and while my family wasn't as fundie as a lot of the other ones I knew (We were offshoot mormon, not evangelical baptist), I knew some kids who had a really messed up home life with no way of escaping it because they couldn't leave, didn't have school, couldn't drive, they were always with their parents. And their parents were always super strict and controlling with media. There was a girl in one of the homeschooling groups I was with who got in trouble because I lent her a book with the word 'cantrip' in it. A lot of us would use things like minecraft, roblox, and other online games (I used club penguin and neopets, but my siblings and friends played minecraft) as an escape method, because it was one of the only ways they could get interaction with people outside of a highly controlled fundie setting. It's actually a common joke in homeschool settings, that we all play minecraft/roblox There's some very specific elements here that really remind me of my childhood as a religious homeschooler and of the fundie kids I hung out with. Most of the ones I knew have gone through some horrific abuse, especially the queer and disabled ones. It's unsettling to me, to see that reflected in this work, but I hope that the creator is doing okay, if they are what I think they are. A lot of the kids I knew aren't.

[@kardoxfabricanus7590]

Really good comment. I was raised in a city as a Buddhist religious minority so i did have people that i could talk to who were different but my mother was on a different level of abusive, more prone to threatening me by putting me in a mental hospital known for abusing people. As well as constantly making threats of throwing me out on the streets to make me homeless. Claiming that i was reducing her lifespan which would force me to be on my own (because i played video games to try and cope with the abuse and couldn't get sleep due to the stress from abuse as well as the lack of help with learning for shitty standardized tests) She also was incredibly ableist by always claiming that (this is the reason why you're autistic because you're not doing things that I want you to do) she also claimed that the reason I'm autistic is because i was vaccinated and that it was my fault because i decided to be born in her body (warped understanding of Buddhism) I also didn't receive much nourishment. Most of the food i consumed was chilli Doritos and 2L of coka cola. Needless to say my teeth have never recovered and my body has only recently started healing after the damage from everything. I am pole dancing which is good for physical health as well as having eaten healthy expensive food for 8 years after i finally got my benefits and for 3 years i have been living in an apartment which doesn't feel like solitary confinement. And can at least move my legs to dance but i still feel like i need way more space to truly feel free. Both my parents were alcoholic but i was raised by a single mother incidentally the only times i actually managed to really open up about everything was when I went to bars to socialize and be tipsy or drunk enough to remove the filters that kept me from telling people what i went through, thankfully my father always had the fun activities with me when I was young when i could visit him. I really want to talk about so much more since this is less then a fraction of my story but this is already pretty lengthy so if you're interested i can write more.

[@shartcy]

i was homeschooled for a majority of my life, and although my childhood was nothing comparable to what brandon's supposed family situation is like, i can still heavily relate to the use of games such as minecraft and roblox as a way to cope with the constant isolation, since all i really got were sundays and visiting my church friends every once in a while. it conveys that feeling of being "trapped" in your household and your religion through a childs eyes very well

[@mistaketm4711]

I physically can't watch most horror stuff because I'm terribly paranoid and will straight up believe it's real even though I know it's not. Which is is why I love your your channel and others like it, it gives me a way to experience genuinely cool media without causing me too much distress. My guess is that it feels more grounded when I am watching someone else say out loud that its a spooky youtube series, or maybe it's like how explaining a joke makes it less funny talking about these makes them less scary. Either way I physically wouldn't be able to look at almost any of these series without your videos so thank you for what you do.

[@SnoFitzroy]

omg it's in words now

[@kuroihitsuji444]

tfw you grow up inside the internet watching youtube videos so now the format of a youtuber explaining a story feels more real to you than the story itself so what you said in the comment doesn't happen therefore you have no escape (you see, this is me describing my situation, isn't that great)

[@GracefulMage3089]

I used to be like that as well, eventually I grew out of it the more I dived in. It's not that they stopped be creepy or anything. Just that I became able to enjoy it without becoming paranoid.

[@mistaketm4711]

@@kuroihitsuji444 I am sorry that has happened to you I hope you find ways to cope/get around these feelings.

[@sackfu7952]

The first to videos for Gunslingerpro are like the pitch pilot for a series where things haven't been completely figured out yet and are a little rough around the edges, but provide a nice jumping off point for what to expect from the series proper

[@maryanne1830]

Digital horror, analog horror and unfiction is such a generous act of art! I'm floored that people decide they will create this experience for communities to take part in, for no other reason than they love to do it. This creativity and generosity is seems unique to horror. If I'm wrong I'd love to know other examples :)

[@shps8609]

59:35 this is actually one of my biggest fears when it comes to anything paranormal. Even in the context of Minecraft, footsteps with no discernable origin freaks me out so bad.

[@greengus6909]

I actually remember the Mario in the kitchen flip note from when I was a kid, and watching it change and "corrupt" right before the song gets to its more memorable part was really impactful, especially the echoing of "you can't find them" I really think the use of classic memorable flipnotes is one of The June Archive's strongest creative pillars

[@brensnorf]

I think of the 4, BrandonWorks is the most interesting. I only have a few memories of playing ROBLOX as a kid. But, I think I like it most because of how grounded in reality it is. Anything that shows you something horrific through a child's perspective is genuinely frightening. That, added with the knowledge that Brandon seemed to have gone silent one day... creepy, knowing how grounded in reality the series is. Makes you think even harder about those online friends who you haven't heard from in years.

[@cremator-2fort]

1:14:00 truly shows how cruel and evil gunslinger is. The heavy model gets up, not to run away, but to show his kindness and compliment gunslinger. In response gunslinger just grabs the heavy and flies away to torture or kill him. Even those who show kindness to gunslinger are killed.

[@ir6734]

I don't know why, but that was the funniest shit to me. Maybe because the whole idea is so silly that I can't as immersed as with other series, but it is absolutely hilarious, the way gunslinger rushes towards him and angrily flings him in a random direction

[@DogBearCat]

Green makes the place clean is a reference to the rough side of a sponge. The grit is how you keep things clean.

[@DogBearCat]

which maybe means the yellow is a desire for the soft side of a sponge. Clean but not harsh.

[@alwayssleepy2476]

1:19:48 gunslingerpro2009 really reminded of another series called Animal crossing shorts by animator densle. The shorts also uses the “shift of perspective” trope that the videogame is alive and that the characters within the game has some form of Sentience. What I love about the shorts is that they show how the villager’s would realistically react to the players actions by the use of time travel or villager auctions. As the series goes on, progressively the villagers’ start to become afraid and angry with the players actions which also gives the viewer that sense of “what if I was doing that” and guilt like shown at 1:22:14 I recommend watching the series, the shorts have a hint of horror elements and they’re really well animated.

[@barple367]

got a link to any of that? sounds genuinely interesting.

[@alwayssleepy2476]

@@barple367 Here’s a link to densle’s playlist for the animal crossing shorts. The final short is coming out in a few weeks I believe. So it’s worth checking out the rest of the shorts to get caught up for the finale kzbin.info/aero/PLxQhSYU39PpJWgM5qC2Eo2gBOXDyNpCTn

[@barple367]

@@alwayssleepy2476 this rocks. thanks for showin this.

[@someoneawesome8717]

Well the good news is that I the only "messed up" thing I do is the time travel and that'd probably just make my character disappear for a while

[@SighFi]

god damn, another absolute banger of a video as usual...... ESPECIALLY digging the flipnote archive one as someone who was a creator way back when myself, holy shit. everything legitimately is SO well done and my jaw absolutely dropped at the first echoing of "you can't find them" - partially because i vividly DO remember the original flipnote, but also because the execution is SO good...... it really did feel like a sort of armageddon, waiting for the clock to tick down to the site's closure - and it's not only deeply unnerving to see that terror reflected by the flipnotes and characters within them as sentient beings, but also kind of heartbreaking, especially because flipnote 3d as an online service...... never even really HAPPENED outside of japan. so in a lot of ways.......... flipnote hatena's worldwide closure WAS a sort of end to it all. aside, of course, from the memories we still have of them. but it's really been so long. memory in the brain, much like the limited space on those shitty old sd cards...... it's far from infallible. in time, any given flipnote that wasn't preserved in an archive one way or another will one day fade, finer details reduced to well. fuzz.

[@vxlley_flower5672]

That ending of your comment literally gave me chills. Bravo!

[@SighFi]

haha, i was initially afraid it came off as sounding kinda cheesy - i'm really glad people seem to like it!!

[@Ikcatcher]

Nothing scared me more than 144p gameplay of a game, X-Files theme in the background and strange occurrence happening in the game

[@pot_ato1234]

Illuminati spotted in club penguin???!!?!??!

[@stevebutters306]

I sold my copy of San Andreas when I was little because of that video of the two dumb alien things in the tunnel in the desert. It terrified me that I could be attacked by monsters at any moment, despite carrying around a personal armory.

[@Overposting]

@@stevebutters306 similar thing happened to me. I had gta sa for pc but after watching one myth video with some monsters under a lake I became so afraid of playing I ended up giving the game to my friend 😭 I was a dumb kid

[@MaKo_CRAZ]

Bro I remember those videos

[@KoalaProductions]

It's crazy how I remember that same exact health glitch occurring in games. Whoever made this really put work into being authentic.

[@someoneawesome8717]

The scariest part of Fuzz the Cat is that he feels like something that would have been popular on Hatena, like someone's OC that would have said "don't forget to give a star if you like this content!"

[@ratkinzluver33]

Analogue horror is somewhat nostalgic to me, but this is where the real nostalgia lies. This is fantastic and I'm gonna need about five hundred more of these. I love the execution here, great picks, and I love your analysis. Seriously excited and hopeful for this genre to get popular.

[@SnooksProd]

The roblox story gives me heavy "The Binding of Isaac" vibes. Brandon's dad and Isaac's mom have alot of similarities

[@klinxium8627]

iahmlaiashoah

[@SnooksProd]

@@klinxium8627 what

[@lucidity8060]

About the June Archive (plus a theory) Around the end of Hatena's service, there were dramatic Flipnotes which depicted "the end of the world" in a city. I remember there was a Flipnote which actually depicted a sign in the sky of the "city of Hatena," which was a looming reminder about the end. Also, the mysterious black figure who asks the one stick figure "why they live in the past" has a later design in the series which parallels a popular "stick figure fight" Flipnote based on the head shape having these spikes. This is further enhanced by one of the last videos uploaded so far having a stick figure with a sword and a certain song playing being a further reference. A current theory of mine is that this black figure is one of the residents of Hatena who gained awareness of Fuzz (in a similar way to how some of the other residents are aware that something is wrong) and is trying to stop them from knowing the truth in order to stop them from giving Fuzz power. If you aren't "living in the past" or if you don't remember something ("did it ever really exist") then a memory virus can't have as much power. To me, Fuzz not only relies on people knowing he exists, but constantly thinking about him. He wants people to constantly be thinking about the past, so he can get more power and eventually break from the Archive itself and become a real entity. We'll have to see what happens next in this series.

[@spppon]

Something about Brandonworks that made me a bit paranoid; is that throughout the entire thing, almost every single texture is slightly moving. Either from the quality of the recordings themselves, or from the game engine being old and buggy.

[@mrmarcleman322]

mr.hawkes PLEASE make another video like this , its so interesting listening to someone's thoughts about these ARG-like series. this video is exactly what im looking for on youtube every day and ive rewatched this so many times.

[@MVSteven.]

When I played Minecraft as a kid, one world I had randomly generated a cross shape in the ground. Later in that server, Lightning struck that same spot

[@MaKo_CRAZ]

Dude 8yr me would have deleted that world so fast

[@coopialflowbow]

Same, I had this one world where I think there were like 4 in my tender distance at once, weird.

[@FrogmaskMusic]

Something really important to note about June Archive is that even the novel elements (even Fuzz) are in line with the predominant aesthetics of Flipnote content: boldly outlined figures that were sometimes stick figures, sprite animations transparently inspired by mid-2000s sprite flash animations and sprite webcomics, anime-esque expressions that were somewhere between ascii mona cat memes and the prevailing deviantart trends of the time, and crunchy crunchy compressed DSi microphone audio with wacky pitch bends. High production value indeed, because there's a serious dedication to craft there fuzzy's the evil mode of someone's fucked up 2011 deviantart cat oc and i love 'em for that

[@ethanimatronic]

this was really really good! I'm glad Sagan is talking about digital horror, I don't think it's talked about enough since Analog sorta sky rocketed, plus it's gonna be the new next internet horror. my favorite series on this list has to be Old Minecraft Reuploads, my interest is peaked

[@MissusAnon]

in Brandonworks, 'green keeps the place clean' and its square, and dark green... it really looks like a heavy duty scour pad to me, a lot of them are that dark green color. Quite possibly part of his faith is also LITERALLY cleaning/keeping the place absolutely spotless.

[@wigwam32]

Hey, the sixth deadly sin is Wrath, or Anger, so the six creeping closer towards the house in Brandonworks could be representative of his father's wrath, or anger.

[@klourdes6068]

I can relate a lot to Brandon in the Brandon works story. Growing up in a highly religious household, growing up Jehovah's Witness at most, was very much.... Uncomfortable for me. My family was a strange mix of baptist and JW and we followed most rules, but my parents broke many and claimed they could. Me and my siblings we were all very isolated til very recently. My sisters and I, it was rare to go out to hang with friends, social media and mmorpgs and such were either not allowed, constantly monitored, or looked down upon. I had online friends but I always was the one who disappeared nland never came back because I was constantly abused for being on it. I thought it was out of love, I really did, and thought it was out of my family wanting me to be a good child of God. I, like Brandon, lost myself after a while. I used to think I was possessed by something because I used to do something wrong in Gods eyes or my parents eyes, which was a lot of pressure. I was very much depressed and felt alone and scared of a lot of things but I thought it was for good because "I didn't need people I have God". It hits home to me and makes me wonder if this is how the people I met felt about my disappearances.

[@mx.viscera2247]

Hey, thank you so much for sharing. It’s incredibly brave to talk about experiences like this and I hope you’re doing well.

[@MrFurro-uu7je]

Damm i really don’t know what to say but i just hope you’re doing good now

[@Kazuya918]

As one of Jehovah's witnesses, gotta say, they didn't do things right, I'm sorry that things were so disorganized and uncomfortable and that's not how it's supposed to be

[@paranormeow]

@@Kazuya918 i wish you the best dude, you’ll get out eventually

[@10Gpixels]

I feel like we're in an internet horror golden age, where people innovate on ideas old and new to create some really cool horror projects. So many people are giving a try at their first horror series with the knowledge of all that came before it, and I'm just excited to see what comes next.

[@oscollective]

"Green keeps the room clean" and "feel free to scream and shout and let it all out" could also be references to thought-terminating cliches. They're repeated phrases used by abusers, especially cults, to keep someone from thinking for themselves and shut down all critical thinking.

[@ScrimmyBingus42]

The spy at the end of sandvitch is spy still really freaks me out. The fact that he's overlayed on top of the video, combined with how there's almost no sound, makes it really unsettling.

[@TheArmyOfDucks]

Watching the Herobrine part made me remember years ago I was playing the Xbox 360 edition, making a mini game map in creative, and when I went into a cave, heard something break (turned out to be a mushroom), broke a block into another cave, and saw legs like it’s from a zombie, but after jumping and breaking another block to get in, there wasn’t anything there, and I was playing solo

[@justas423]

Given how GunslingerPro is using the remover tool as a threat tactic against the red soldier, I think he's trying to use the sentience of the models to make better videos.

[@AetherSomerset]

It's always interesting to me to hear nostalgia referred to as a positive thing. I don't know if it's a symptom of anxiety or what, but I've always found memories of a time I can't recapture to be saddening and in some cases harrowing. Nostalgic horror, and digital horror in particular, is so cool to me in that way, especially with how differently people view what the works are playing off. Most of these weren't part of my childhood directly, and Minecraft I only started playing when I was twelve or so, but they still land because they're things I learned about through osmosis, even if later on (I only learned much about Flipnote from KZbin videos after its shutdown, for instance). That and I think almost everyone has stumbled across TF2 gmod videos at some point, haha. I think it'll be great when digital nostalgic horror reaches a more modern point, too. I grew up with games like Oblivion, which I think is ripe for deconstructing in a horror work. The 'I HAVE NO GREETING' error message and the creeping silence of the testing hall, among many other quirks of the game, scared me to death as a kid and activate that fear in me to this day. Can't wait to have my own childhood distorted, seems like a lot of fun!

[@DeXyfero]

I completely agree with this. I have had nearly this exact same experience, with starting minecraft (and some other games, like terraria and roblox) not when i was super young, but a little later. Nostalgia is, for me, only sad, and sometimes scary, because sometimes i’ll think back and realize, part of my life is just missing from my memory, and ill only remember fragments, before or after it. Im sure most of you will agree that minecraft music perfectly encapsulates the sad part of nostalgia, with videos like Ballad Of The Minecraft Dog perfectly, perfectly putting this concept that only exists in certain peoples minds, into a physical media that people can experience in real time. Analogue horror like these four, especially for me the minecraft and the roblox ones, since i played those, makes me feel such a multitude of feelings. There is, of course, the fear they are intended for, but there is also a greyish melancholy, like a fleeting windchime as you walk past a store you remember going to once with your family. Its like opening a wardrobe door into a past experience that cant be recreated in any other way. This form of media is incredibly mystical to me.

[@madeofmeats]

I’m genuinely surprised there aren’t any Oblivion based internet horror series, at least as far as I know. That game is horrifying by itself, the atmosphere in hostile areas like ruins and caves, the weird stiff animations of the npcs, and the hazy dreamlike dialogue. It’s seriously a treasure trove of untapped potential. I’m an adult now, but I still have a mini heart attack any time the combat music kicks in and there’s no enemies in sight.

[@AetherSomerset]

@@madeofmeats My thoughts exactly. You'd barely even have to change anything for Oblivion to make a horror series! I'm sure mixing the already surreal dialogue around could make for some good storytelling.

[@lesbiangregorsamsa507]

I ADORE the June Archive Project, and am excited to see other channels talking about it. As someone who grew up using Flipnote Hatena, it really nails the aspect of "familiar, yet different" in terms of horror. I appreciate how they used some of the most popular flipnotes to tell the story, too. It's clear the creators did their research, and were familiar with the community. Great stuff!

[@crispyjoe8919]

You should totally do a sequel to this

[@Jwllyfsh]

Hey for anyone wondering about the current state of BrandonWorks; There were more episodes uploaded. It depicts Ozo meeting up with "Brandon" again, but turns out to be a fake run by his friends, then they run into the REAL Brandon Again, but I think you all should go watch the last episode for yourself. Just kinda for-- the real reaction you'd have

[@carnival5458]

Wasnt expecting an I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream reference today!! I adore that story and while I’m not familiar with tf2 the story you describe definitely seems more compelling knowing this connection! I may not have checked it out in other circumstances!

[@mafu9352]

I really appreciate you covering The June Archive. Flipnote and Hatena were HUGE parts of my childhood, especially when I was 9-11 in the Sonic community, but I feel like its not something I see a lot of people talk about since it is very niche. So when I saw The June Archive, it really got me excited cause it is something I grew up with. This video actually inspired me to look into that legitimate archive you mentioned and I ended up finding my original account, which of course has filled me with both happiness and cringe. I look forward to where The June Archive goes and to seeing more people look at Flipnote Hatena retrospectively.

[@ARDIZsq]

I'm actually kinda inspired. I was born in '02, so this kind of stuff resonates with me a lot. I was never really into horror growing up, and I still wouldn't say I am, but it's becoming more and more intriguing to me. I've been having increasingly weird and disturbing dreams recently, leaning a lot into the horror aspect of nostalgia with things like corrupted characters chasing me down or just staring at me from a distance, getting ever closer with each blink or turn away. I even wrote a BIT of horror into my recent web novel that I'm writing for a contest. I actually might start up some sort of a horror series of my own at some point. I don't know what form it will take, or even if it'll include nostalgia, but if I ever do go down that path, THIS is the video that inspired me.

[@wall_ees]

This is literally my favorite video. Ive watched this 10+ times. All of these hit close to me as i grew up in the late 2010s. These web series' are not only innovative but are incredibly beautiful as art. They're living time capsules!