The Slow Burn Arthouse Horror of The Space Between

[@axelprino]

Ok, I haven't finished the video yet but if I don't write this comment now I'll probably forget. You can totally end up inside a wall accidentaly in a construction, it does happen to the point that the insurrance for some big projects like bridges cover it as one of the possible causes of death during work, I remember a pofessor once telling me about how a professor of his died by being crushed inside a column (fell inside while the concrete was being poured) during a visit to a building site right infront of the students. That said, everyone will notice immediately when it happens, it's not a subtle way to die at all.

[@ErrantSignal]

TIL

[@The_Jovian]

Jesus fuck

[@JMJackMcNally]

i barely remember monster house please don't bring it back for me don't destroy me with that specific detail

[@akwilson1676]

God damn that's horrible. I feel sick just by imagining that.

[@kebostek]

For a brief moment near the end I felt I was watching an analysis of Evangelion

[@kakizakichannel]

To be fair, Evangelion is kind of about the space between

[@Personal_Chizo]

I know that my name is literally the male version of Hermione, and I hate to point it out, but I think it's *VÁCUI* , not *VACUÍ*

[@ErrantSignal]

My latin is bad and I should feel bad

[@Personal_Chizo]

@@ErrantSignal You only get a pass because your videos are always dope.

[@michaelseery5588]

@@Personal_Chizo Dopé

[@marleybishop9649]

@@michaelseery5588 Dópe

[@minsklit5811]

@@ErrantSignal You can pronounce things however you want as long as you keep making these stellar videos

[@Apolita1987]

Now, I haven't played this, but I have a hot take: There was never a Clara - she was Daniel all along. Clara is derived from the Latin "claro" which means "to illuminate" or "to clarify". Notice the light theme and her thematic bluntness. When the lights go out, the player character no longer calls out to Clara, but to Daniel. I mean, she's associated with a literal lighter. One of the first lines in the game is "Don't you want to come out?" Given the fact that Clara has a very boyish haircut and that her sexual characteristics are de-emphasized, I find it plausible to argue that she is used as a representation of Martin's buried homosexual desires. Hell, maybe she literally *is* what Daniel looks like as an out gay man - or possibly a trans woman. That might be why he tells Daniel he loved him. Maybe that's why Daniel is never shown (as far as I know). Also note that the voices are never heard which further obfuscates the speaker's gender or trans status. The links with the theater - performance - and walls - being closeted - also make sense. He also cuts what looks like a glory hole in the blanket. Glory holes are associated with closeted gay culture. And a final piece of homoerotic theming - the dialog speed being so slow is a dick move.

[@grumspf3340]

god damn that last line got a laugh out of me.

[@TheManinBlack9054]

Well, you know there are heterosexual men who genuinely like boyish women and tomboys. It's called Role Reversal. Seriously, look it up.

[@Apolita1987]

@@TheManinBlack9054 Really? I had no idea. But I'm sure it's relevant.

[@Mr.En1gm4]

Literally the first words in the game are: "Don't you want to come out?" 6:47

[@Apolita1987]

@@Mr.En1gm4 Have you played the game?. Like I said, I haven't, but based on the video, this seems incorrect. The opening exchange is at 4:22. The first line seems to be "Hey Martin, are you still in there?", followed by "....";"Ok..."; "Thank you", and "I'm glad, (sic) you are here at this moment. I don't see you, but I know you are there behind. (sic)", and "Hey Martin, are you still there?" - which is a frankly bizarre thing to ask - to which Martin answers "Yes" - and only then does the question "Don't you want to come out?" occur. So unless it's repeated twice, it isn't the first line in the game.

[@siddsen95]

As a follow up to a literal comatose haze simulator, this game seems to recreate an elaborate lucid nightmare.

[@scrustle]

Horror Vacui looks incredibly reminiscent of the experience of hypnagogic hallucinations. In other words, near-sleep, semi-lucid dreams. I've experienced them and they are very similar to that look and feel. A lack of colour, a sense of ambiguity and changing space that is often quite threatening, and overpowering visual noise. That must have been an influence.

[@tassiomiranda2985]

the lack of giant robots in this story about intimacy doesn't make sense to me

[@blarg2429]

IKR.

[@perhaps1094]

Trans humanists RISE UP

[@Maradrafts]

I thought this was in reference to Heaven Will Be Mine, but then again I've only come across Errant Signal's channel ten-ish minutes ago and am not up to the lore. :) An excellent remark, in any case!

[@danatronics9039]

I want to be torn apart by the tidal forces of the Krun Macula

[@SageofStars]

I'm not sure whether to make a Gundam, Voltron, or Robotech/Macross Reference to this one, as all 3 had people with weird love for the bots...I'll go with Voltron. Slow down there Dr. Maahox, the lion robots need to consent before you break out the tentacles.

[@Erone]

My interpretation of this game comes from my personal experiences. I struggle with social anxiety, and I can relate to some of the feelings the game is trying to convey. Putting imaginary barriers between you and the people you appreciate. Trying to stay in your own "safe space" away from anyone, and yet craving your close ones' attention. Feeling like you're pretending to be someone else for the sake of protecting yourself. It's a vicious cycle that can lead to depression and suicide in the worst cases. Martin loved Daniel, but never found the courage to tell him. That's why he's so devastated at the crematorium. His architectures are just replicas of the pillow fort he built in his childhood. He found in Clara someone that could finally accept him as he is, but as he got closer to her, he panicked and slowly lost his sanity. Sex (represented by the holes cut through the curtain) might be the most intimate thing two people could share, and Martin couldn't handle it. He either killed himself or Clara, because he felt like this relationship violated him in some way, destroying all the walls he had built in his career to protect himself.

[@ATG913]

"I believe this is yours, Captain Video Games Need More Thematic Cohesion."

[@zoidsfan12]

It's amazing how horrifying the end of this game truly is. Because I actively started groaning, feeling uncomfortable, and before pulling the curtain away I actually distanced my phone away from my face because I was about to do the whole cover my eyes and look through the slits of my fingers thing. I haven't done that in probably a decade. I haven't felt that unnerved by media in so long. Fucking bravo dude, this guy knows how to make an utterly terrifying game just with implications.

[@katherinehemken5544]

I think the funeral scene suggests that the fear of tearing down your "walls" is not paranoid, as it is the only instance of dialogue where we know for certain who speaking, where there is no corruption of the sentiment expressed by the ability of another to speak. When another person is not there to reflect Martin's expression, they also cannot refract and distort it, or encroach on his space of self-defnition.

[@a_lethe_ion]

15:25 its braille.. something one sees with one's hands but it's so distorted.

[@LE0NSKA]

thats a great line to put that there. like the wall between you and knowledge is your skill and or touch?

[@paulorommel3075]

I was thinking just about that... I can read "if" and a lot of scrambled letters but can't tell if there's an actual message there...

[@sharkofjoy]

Whoa

[@toximan2008]

I played through the game and didn't get the same "braille configuration" when I got to that part.

[@KajiCarson]

I bought the game on the basis of this video, and enjoyed the hell out of it. Loved the minimalism, music, and weird PS1 Silent Hill-esque graphics. Personally I see the opening text newspaper crawl as purely metaphorical and thematic: Martin was engulfed by his work to the extent that he was "buried inside" or smothered by the walls he erected around himself as part of his architectural work - which, in the end, conveniently served as an excuse for his emotional distancing. The fact that "people" close to him (i. e. Clara) are now "suspects" is that they were the very reason he fled into this obsession to begin with, and tragically caused his doom by proxy. Martin's relationship to Daniel is a mini-version of his relationship to Clara and both showed vast potential but failed as a result of Martin's introversion and obsession with distance and artifice. Yeah, I really liked this game. Thanks for a great video.

[@theshuman100]

in the pillow fort scene "are you ready to come out" ah so he's gay *edit: ah so he is gay*

[@TheBloodswordsman]

Every time I come across one of Errant Signal's videos, it's like listening to a Professor from University. One who is actually interested in the material he is teaching, and as such, passes that interest along to his students.

[@Ootachiful]

Your editing in these last two videos has been astoundingly good and it really lends well to horror

[@whitezerko7783]

Absolutely. That jumpcut at 14:59? I was gooped.

[@ehsanmohammadi3675]

I keep coming back to this video. Quality and the video itself beside, there's something hunting about this game; visuals, writing, thematic presentation, all of them create a melancholic atmosphere that can't be forgotten. Just like Lynch movies.

[@axelprino]

Oh wow, I don't know if I want to play this game, the story and themes resonated with my a bit too much. To a point beyond comfort. Specially the part about building walls between one and the people in one's life... and my best friend dying suddenly with me feeling like I never got to tell him what I truly felt. Even the visuals of urban spaces out of context look like something right out of some of my dreams.

[@chasederringer]

Obligatory “haven’t played the game yet” but the ending and Martin’s death reads to me like he just sort of willed himself into the walls of the theater. He reacted so badly to a relationship breaking out of his frame of reference that in moving to protect himself again he literally encased himself in walls. The closest thing I can think of in slow burn horror would be the last shot of The Shining, where the camera zooms in on the old picture of a party at the Overlook and Jack Torrance is there front and center. There isn’t a realistic explanation, but instead the Overlook sort of swallowed him whole. In a similar way, Martin needs so badly to maintain distance from everyone that his desire to have relationships on his terms swallows him in a more literal way.

[@FlexNTube]

8:20 its understandable to also be a complaint. It takes the subtext and place it on the text level. As somebody that also loves thematic analysis this can cause me drive my head into my desk because it FEELS like it is trying too hard to be deep. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt and it also depends on the person experiencing it (it fails more than it succeeds though).

[@nanardeurlambda]

"I'm captain video games need more thematic cohesion" you should put that into your social media bios.

[@Acidlib]

I don’t remember subscribing to this channel, but it appears I must have at some point, although, after scrolling through you videos, I don’t recognize any of them. Despite all that, I’m glad this showed up in my recommendations. Back in 2017 I had two best friends, one I had been friends with for about a decade passed away due to an overdose, on the same night the other friend confessed his attraction towards me (I identified as gay, he identifies as straight) and we soon became intimately involved over the course of the following months. Because of these events and all the emotions that followed, this video and the game you described struck a deep chord with me. I would elaborate further, but I need to go back to sleep and this also seems like an idea I could explore further after playing The Space Between myself, possibly in the form of a video.

[@MxGerryNava]

Errant signal double feature? I LOVE THIS

[@ivanvelcro5692]

No esperaba encontrarte aquí.

[@adamsfusion]

Wow, look 9 months ago. Time for my 2 cents. Many people have mentioned the character being gay and the relationship between Daniel and Martin. That's what I'm building on. I don't think Clara existed. I think she's a rebellious manifestation of Martin's mind, and that feeling comes from how she looks, her pixie cut hair, her smoking habit, and most of all her frequent cold and mechanical "responses" to Martin. She feels alien, yet Martin clings onto her. On top of that, and I think this is most important, the news article only mentions Martin. It doesn't reach out to someone else, or a bigger event like a murder suicide. It's only Martin. I feel that's an important detail. Also equally important, there's no distinction on who's speaking. This has been stated as intentional, and it feels obvious: Because it's only Martin.

[@acdenh]

He wanted to tear down the walls but ended up only with holes where his mouth an crotch are. It is the idea that all we have to protect is our sexual self and our opinions. It is like saying that in looking for more he could find nothing else. That there is nothing else. That we are cremated with a hole that carries on our words but that kills our sexual self. That the higher levels of intimacy are mediated by these holes, but ultimately it must all happen in our own tents. That our relationships are strictly speaking not with other persons but with our imagining of them, that while they exist in a physical world it is not any part of them that can enter, but that rather every relationship involves two persons and two ghosts. That in trying to tear down the barriers he was only confronted with the reality of two holes, dissolving the illusory ghost behind the curtain and finding himself only alone. And to this we attach some sense of horror because the walls made it all seem real, because the person hiding behind a curtain is more vividly real to us than the flesh creature standing before us.

[@ForzaRoma2]

I wonder if it's possible to read the space between (barrier in whatever form - wall, sheet, death, etc.) not as an artificial separation or failure but as the necessary structure of experiencing another human being. The Other cannot be dominated through knowledge like inert matter, their "unknowability" is essential to who they are and must be preserved in all of our relationships. We come to know an Other not in spite of the space between us but through it. This would better explain why Martin feels both the cloth and Daniel's hand, why Clara disappears when the curtain is drawn, and lines like "sometime closeness comes through separation." Martin's death would represent our desire to push through the space between and know an Other in their immediacy, but it is not possible and he dies in the barrier itself without reaching the Other. I really enjoyed this video, thanks for making it. The themes you discussed reminded me of Levinas, Magritte's "The Lovers," and the beginning of Rushdie's "Midnight Children." The space between is such a rich metaphor.

[@Stonehawk]

I think it was a murder suicide. I think after Daniel died, and the architect became fixated on only feeling people through barriers, he murdered Clara and embedded her into the walls of his theater, then sealed himself in as well - he externalized his identity into the barriers around him, after all... So by BECOMING the walls of the theater, he can become one with Clara and also feel all the people who visit the theater.

[@andrewjerome8729]

I feel like you would enjoy Pathologic 2

[@seaweed5269]

He already referenced Pathologic in his videos before (The Outer Wilds one). Probably just reluctant to talk about it. It is a lot.

[@AlSweigartDotCom]

Also, curtains/blankets/walls are a lot easier to draw that the complex figures standing behind them. I used to do the same thing in my cartoons, where characters just happen to always have their hands in their pockets. :)

[@jeffk6548]

Idk how I felt about this after coming out of a relationship that failed because of the walls I put up and lack of communication because I was too afraid to express myself.

[@JBX07]

I read a theme of repressed homosexuality in what your showed of Space Between. I'll have to play it for myself to be sure but saying that, nothing is more horrifying that what you don't want to know about yourself.

[@hugoponders]

J Brook 100%. And did he tell Daniel (only after he died) “I love you”? Also, it was Daniel who first asked Martin “are you in there”, the same question Martin then asks the figure behind the sheet (who I’m not convinced is Clara). “It’s a matter of perspective”. Dead. Alive. In. Out. I dunno.

[@TerribleInThOriginal]

Oooo man and that would be why he maybe started a breakdown when the suggestion to get closer was made-- and the closeness was implied sexual in nature. If he's only interested in men or aro/ace then no wonder that panic would arise. And why he can only feel safe to Daniel after his death; if he's aro/ace, a confession mightve ruined the relationship by implying he wanted "more". But now that daniel's dead, that can't happen, and he can confess and very literally, nothing can change.

[@clmaoo]

Beabaseball can y’all stop looking at blatant coding of gay men and pretending it’s romantic and sexual repulsion? Like..... it’s very obviously about a gay man who was deeply closeted and never got those feelings out until his lifetime love was dead.

[@gabriellefriesen2559]

I love the editing tricks you've done in these Halloween videos, like your voice going creepy and roboty in the Faith one, and you cutting to abrupt silence here.

[@chibikonatsu]

Unsettling stuff. Very nice. Thanks as always for sharing.

[@nastasharomanenko7852]

Wow, I just played the space between and your reading about everything, makes me like it even more. Now every thought lingers in my mind.

[@sleepysappho3306]

Describing Martin and Daniel as "friends" after Martin just confessed his love over Daniel's coffin while describing his rather cold, platonic scene in the opera house as "romantic" seems like rather a heteronormative choice

[@ErrantSignal]

This is fair - the text *definitely* supports a read where Martin has a more than platonic relationship with/feelings for Daniel.

[@legendaryburritodotcom]

You could absolutely make the case that Martin and Daniel's separation by the blanket fort is allegorical to being closeted, the idea of intimacy being hampered by a barrier as it is with Martin and Daniel's hands touching, and yet being separated at the same time. also he literally says "don't you want to come out" at one point as if my gay ass can't pick up on that

[@mushymcmushington7176]

I got a similar feeling out of it, though I think that a good chunk of the game is left entirely to personal interpretation, as a lot of good art is.

[@enochbranard]

Glad I wasn't the only one who thought that. I'd love to now see a video or article of someone offering a gay/bisexual analytical reading of this game that builds off the themes discussed in this video (emotional closeness/separation, walls, safety, and so on).

[@badradish2116]

i think the game intentionally plays on this. the date / secret room are obviously meant to be a romantic scene / setting, but the actual interactions with clara are anything but. likewise, the blanket fort isnt exactly romantic since they're separated, but that's the most intimate scene in the game. probably the genders of the characters were chosen to reinforce this assumption in order to get the message across more easily. we need to make this mistake in understanding in order for the piece to have its full effect. the author, not the critic, set up this "heteronormative" point of view. the author is playing on our assumptions to make his point. but my point is i think ES's take on it was warranted here. pretty fair to argue the author intended and created this perspective for the audience. not a societal assumption or anything. although thats very likely why it was so effective. plus its pretty clear the character does have sex with her. and ES also entertains the idea at several points that the relationship with daniel isnt platonic. so its really not fair to write ES's take off so easily. good observation about how romantic the funeral scene was, though. that scene really recontextualizes everything. :)

[@DozyBinsh]

If that noise is a cigarette lighter, then the figure you see is Martin's own shadow cast on the wall, implying that Clara is standing behind him.

[@sharkofjoy]

The floor in front of Martin at that time has no shadow extending from him, meaning that can't be his shadow.

[@timothymclean]

7:35: Sure, "A builder of walls?" is "Oops! All Allegory!", but "Walls don't have to be made of matter" crosses the line into "I know writers who use subtext, and they're all cowards." Now, Garth Merengi quotes aside, there's definitely room in this world for that kind of story. If The Space Between wasn't so blunt about its themes, I'm not sure it could get away with being so vague about its plot. Themes provide a lens through which to analyze ambiguity, and making your themes obvious allows even people who scorned their high school lit classes to participate in the analysis. But at the same time...how many people like that are going to keep playing a game that's so obviously lit-class material?

[@epicgamingrevolution2935]

>3:00 it is the terror of blankness of sysiphean tasks of neither progress nor ends I bet retail workers are numb to this sorta horror.

[@thequeenofswords7230]

And the Great Pumpkin will rise up out of the Pumpkin Patch and sneak all the good little boys and girls and enbys an extra helping of Errant Signal.

[@GmodPlusWoW]

Horror Vacui looks a lot like some of the "intrusive" videos from the webseries TribeTwelve. Which is fitting, since Campster does look like he could be the protagonist of a Slenderverse webseries. If you've seen his more recent photos, you could easily see him as being the camera guy from The West Records. And that's meant in a good way, just in case someone misreads the text.

[@Goldiloxz]

Holy shit. This (video of this) game brought up something within me. Both the horror and the horror parts. I'm not going to sleep well tonight

[@ironcladshade1]

So, something I noticed that you didn't really touch on: The game has a post processing filter to make the screen look like a curtain billowing in the wind ( noticed mostly because the slow text speed gives my mind time to wander). That, and the utter stillness scenes and characters have for most of the dialogue (there's rarely animated objects. Clara has no idle animation to stimulate breathing) makes it feel like you're looking at a photo of a conversation rather than something living, and the post processing kind of makes it feel like there's a barrier between you and what's going on. It's a very dissociative feeling from my perspective. Like you're a participant, feeling the protagonist's mentality in how he keeps a membrane between himself and the world, and a reminder that you're a voyeur, separate from the players entirely

[@logansmith1227]

I’d say that your Halloween videos are my favorite, and I’d be right, but then all of your other videos are my favorite. Thank you so much for the vid.

[@aquanecromancer5776]

I have this haze of static over my vision, HPPD from the psychoactive drugs I've done, which makes it very difficult to see in the dark. Like I'm always looking into an old TV screen. Something about the way these games look, Horror Vacuis especially really speaks to me. They don't really look like what I see, but that corrosion over everything you see is so constant and upsetting if you allow yourself to focus on it. It's like your vision might fail or just keep getting worse at any time. I love to see something like it in games.

[@BloodySteel]

2 horror videos back to back? You are spoiling us!

[@AdrenalineL1fe]

that's a halloween marathon

[@robertdochter277]

After watching your video realized that this game feels like the horror films I enjoy to procure and watch. I decided to examine more of what arthouse horror films (and games) consist of. I was surprised to find that many of my favorite horror flicks fall into the sub genre of arthouse. Thank you for your excellent examination of arthouse horror and this weirdly interesting game.

[@aeternalslime9670]

i've played and beaten a handful of horror games in my time, and genuinely one of the scariest moments for me was in this game, near the end when the game asks you to enter the space under the stage. I knew there wasn't anything in there, I just couldn't enter that darkness. i froze for a long time.

[@MrRoyBurns]

Since the game's creator is Austrian I'm pretty sure his last name is pronounced like "to fry".

[@ErrantSignal]

*blinks, sighs, resets counter on "Hours Since Campster Last Mispronounced Something" from 6 to zero* Edit: I forgot that in KZbin comments asterisks are bold and not actually printed

[@BlazeHedgehog]

Wow, watching this video on my PS4, it completely barfed on the Horror Vacui footage three times, essentially freezing the video playback (so I was just getting audio), forcing me to seek ahead or back to get it to start playing again. That's... kind of rad, in a way.

[@VoidBaronJules]

Nailed it on the pacing, absolutely love how you ratcheted the tension.

[@TandT89]

Someone really needs to tell this man about When The Darkness Comes seems right up your alley and it's free!

[@computersocsci]

These videos are so great! I love how they give interesting insight into games that I would probably never know of or play.

[@Baiano29]

Very interesting interpretation at the end, and basically what I was thinking half way during the video. You can even argue that this is todays society's biggest problem, wanting to be loved but afraid of being too vulnerable and hurt. So the prominent use of Instagram and other social media act as a wall of that interaction, you have somewhat feel connecting to other people, but it's not quite the same. Great video! Btw, thanks for the recommendation of Outer Wilds. Until then I only knew as " not Outer World's" and I decided to give a shot as soon as I watched half of your first video :)

[@axios4702]

Havent finished the video yet, just wanted to say "buried in wall" followed by the word "friend" reminded me of Edgar Alan Poe's "A casket of Montillado"

[@checkmate058]

Im so glad you made this vid so i didnt have to play the game. Art can be made with as many third layer subtextual conflicting interpretative meanings as one desires but that does not make it profound. We can have art that is both enjoyable and rich in meaning.

[@dans1884]

I don't know why but I have been watching lots of video game analysis channels yet it took youtube 3 years to show me your channel.

[@angelluna9599]

Sia's "The Space Between" would be fitting for the closing credits of the game.

[@Disciple_82]

It that’s thing with shows and movies too. Like, I understand the theme, I am all for thematic cohesion. But the eye rolling happens when you go “people don’t talk like that”.

[@TempestDacine]

You did a fantastic job with narration added alot to the experience

[@hd0ggg]

Brilliant game, brilliant analysis. Awesome job, gave me a lot to think about.

[@DayOfCasual]

This was one of your fuckin' best. I mean, this "worked" on me. I wish you added more videos of this style to your channel. Bravo. Brilliant.

[@ethanffischer]

Really solid review. Nice to here someone dig into some themes in a video game. Also a very interesting game. Played it for the first time tonight. Peace.

[@joearnold6881]

Now I have Dave Matthews stuck in my head

[@sharkofjoy]

Thank you for making these videos!

[@alexanderking5676]

God I love these videos, best part of Halloween!

[@AlexDenton0451]

Just finished the last video and this comes out. Nice timing.

[@endless_universe2023]

Death Stranding review, PLEASE. that game screams for some strong slap on the butt

[@Spleemce]

Check thorhighheels

[@acethirtysix8378]

Maybe sex is the only way they could experience intimacy, since those are the only holes in the barrier. Isn't that imagery of the sheet with holes in it based off an old jewish tradition where a couple has sex through a cloth?

[@p_ecora6647]

2 VIDEOS IN LESS THAN A WEEK?? FUCKING LOVE YA

[@alan2here]

Standing in the wrong place when the concrete is poured in. :/

[@guardiane]

I'm all for self-interpretation of some things...like the meaning of life, Sure, nobody knows for certain what it is, but most can speculate and feel content with that. For things like this, when I know there is an answer somewhere out there that's attainable, but I simply cannot have it, just bugs me. I think this sort of game would drive me mad not knowing the answer. Using my imagination isn't good enough in this case. Regardless, what a creepy "game".

[@iredomi3733]

thank you for this

[@ezzbbj8]

I played this game and unfortunately, despite my love of alt-horror games making it an easy decision to play, was constantly bumping up against this game's design. I mean, like you said, the game deliberately eschews many folkways of games, and while I find that a respectable goal, it ended up making this already languid game unbearable. I would walk into invisible walls, or be led astray by one of the game's many grabs at camera control. I straight up took an extra 5 minutes encountering Clara for the first time because the apartment exterior is so nebulous. This video does an exceptional job of discussing the game's interesting bits while (sometimes literally) fast-forwarding through the parts that eroded away my goodwill.

[@TheNoodleGod9001]

It's probably interesting as a... exploration of themes. It's... well, it's not a good *story*, but it is a good excercise for dissecting stories. Something you can pick apart and think of all the different interpretations and wonder how things change if you take certain things as metaphors and certain things as literal. But it's not a good story, and it's utterly abysmal as a videogame. I think the only reason it's not a student film is the fact that it'd too expensive

[@ezzbbj8]

@@TheNoodleGod9001 I usually don't care for the "why is this a video game" line of thought (the answer is usually as simple as "because they it made a game"), but I definitely do think this game tries to punch above its weight, craft-wise. With such a sparse script and low-fi aesthetic, it really has to deliver where it can. Instead, it hinges a Lot of its gravitas to the ambiguity of everything, which sometimes works (like the end), but mostly is just... Insufferable seems mean, but I checked the clock a lot during this short game, so maybe it's appropriate.

[@TheNoodleGod9001]

@@ezzbbj8 Yeah, I feel there's maybe a difference between "interesting" and "good". Or, at least, between "interesting" and "entertaining" Usually, a good piece of media does both; where the interestingness of it is doled out at a steady enough rate to keep the audience actively engaged, but the slowness and the awkwardness of The Space Between makes the interestingness only really engaging once you've already finished it and are picking through your memories of it at your own pace. It really feels like a game where the ideal way to experience it is just... reading about it. Or watching an annotated video of it playing a 3x speed, or just reading a transcript, or anything other than actually sitting down and booting up the .exe and playing from start to finish.

[@TheNoodleGod9001]

Yeah, it's a game with bad gameplay, and I can understand wanting to put it in that format and I wouldn't want to gatekeep it like that, but it's much like a film with awful cinematography or pacing or acting, or a book with dreadful, unreadable prose. There's some interesting ideas buried in deep in there, and it might be interesting to read an essay about that, but the act of actually experiencing it the way it's designed to be experienced is incredibly boring. I guess you could argue that art doesn't have to be fun or entertaining or likeable to be valid, and... I guess, sorta? But it does definitely erode an audience's goodwill, as you said.

[@badradish2116]

do the cig lighter and scissors use the same sound effect??

[@benjoe1993]

extreme unease...thank you Chris

[@VahnCruz]

It seems very much like a game that actively does not want to be 'played' but 'heard'.

[@QuintessentialWalrus]

I got the same impression, this really seems like another one of those pretentious "art games" that doesn't want to take advantage of its medium. It really says it all when Campster talked about his "readings" of the game's "text." As someone with an English degree, this video is much more like a literary analysis than a game analysis. Shit gives me flashbacks.

[@HelloWorld-xd5mi]

This is exactly why I think we should label games like this as interactive experiences, there is no real game here. Despite that though, I think there is room for both and I think that the interactivity does add to the experience even if it doesn't take much advantage of it. It still helps you feel more immersed and connected to the characters.

[@EinFelsbrocken]

Sooo, Ive seen you cover obscure games often now. You should give "grim to idle" a look. Its on itch aswell. Its not great, not even good. But theres some kind of story going on I dont think I get, and the world is...idk, crude, somehow badly made, but shows big detail in unexpected places. Its really strange. Maybe if you have time; you might like it.

[@Dayglodaydreams]

You should do a video (or a blip) on Super Blood Hockey.

[@LoudCity025]

I know the halloween videos are color coded, but can you start a playlist specifically for them?

[@ErrantSignal]

I think this includes all of them? kzbin.info/aero/PLvTOVWzS1f6-A-zySTWvz4Wodthg358Dn

[@5dollars237]

14:58 *KING CRIMSON!*

[@hhhhhhyy]

I'm writing this comment to help the channel and circumvent yotube's dumb new algorithm. I got nothing else to say.

[@rocko7711]

❤❤

[@Adrischa]

Such a weird game

[@cuentadeyoutube5903]

Horror Vacui VR

[@jameselrick6698]

Why does it say Silent hill for the game?

[@thegamemechanic187]

Omg, a game that uses my last name? This is a first (Melanson)

[@gustavocosta7304]

he lived his whole life worshipping separation but when his partners died he died with them.

[@mercurialhypersprite9556]

Vah-kyoo-aye

[@jabberw0k812]

After 0:48, it sounds like you are saying 'to and thro' instead of 'to and fro'. Could be my imagination.....

[@ErrantSignal]

I'm just a mispronouncin' machine today

[@vfxninja5503]

WANT TO HANG OUT?

[@aminasworld8524]

الله يعطيك العافيه 🥬🥬🥦⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩👍👍👍👍 الله يبارك فيك يارب 👍⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩⁦❤️⁩

[@airbornmartin3238]

thats hot

[@deadlandplacebo1695]

Game link?

[@blarg2429]

chrstphfr.itch.io/the-space-between

[@gustavocosta7304]

are you trying to tell me "chrstphfr" is NOT you

[@zamuy12479]

E

[@michaelkindt3288]

@7:50-.-All-egory?

[@seenundercygnus6870]

Horror with Kingdom Hearts dialogue pacing.

[@WaxyLT]

Hey dude you've gotta have less spoilers in the videos I've been put off by so many of your videos because of them

[@kermitfry1]

You see, this is all actually about orthodox jewish sex rituals.

[@TheCraziestFox]

Are these really games, though? 'Seems to me like the creator is more comfortable making movies, but just uses a interactive medium to show them...

[@Multi_Plays]

Games are kinda nebulous. But i dont think youd have as much personal worry and fear in the non interactive media of a movie? He wants you to question things, and games force you to identify with the point of view character in ways movies cant do.

[@radomirvranjkovic7502]

How would any of these games work in movie form exactly?

[@TheCraziestFox]

@@radomirvranjkovic7502 The exact same way, just without the freedom of movement.

[@TheCraziestFox]

@@Multi_Plays Call me a purist, but an interactive medium does not a game make. I do agree, that interaction increases immersion, but none of these really step outside of what a virtual tour would give you. You can use your TV to listen to music (if you bought it in the last decade), but it just means you are using an audio-visual medium to convey an auditory experience. Same limitation goes for these experiences. They're not games, as much as they're more of an interactive machinima.

[@MCain-ky2yv]

@@TheCraziestFox bad take