The 90s PC Game with Subliminal Music: Endorfun

[@harkeofficial]

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[@prodbyshuri666]

​@@chandlerbing7570 come on.. its her first sponsor + its a educational one!

[@harkeofficial]

I’ve turned down a lot of sponsorships over the past couple years, but I genuinely didn’t feel this innocuous learning app would raise any red flags. If it helps to know, the sponsor didn’t choose my content or have any say in what I created. I get that ads aren’t everyone’s favorite, but they help me buy software and equipment to make these videos… for you. I’m sorry if skipping past it feels like too much of a hassle.

[@Futil1ty]

@@harkeofficial Honestly I've become kind of obsessed with your content, so seeing the sponsor in this video made me say, "Yes! She's getting rewarded for her efforts!" Brilliant is definitely not sketchy, so don't listen to the basement dwellers.

[@pagodrink]

Not gonna lie, the affirmations appearing at the of the levels makes it seem like an indie horror game, where everything seems normal until the program gets messed up. The messages are so disconnected and not related to each other that it feels fake and cooperate, like this is a program used to keep the player unaware of the horrors of the world.

[@harkeofficial]

I feel like there could have been better ways to integrate the positive messaging without making it feel so disconnected, like you said. Maybe just as text in the background while you’re playing or something??

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@pagodrink I wonder what they’d say… “Nothing is fine :)” “Breathe. (While you still can)” “You are powerless, give in” “The time is now!” (maybe that one’s in the real thing)

[@photoelectron]

The horror is realizing the fact that you can literally transform your mind, but you don't quite know how.

[@Herbit-k4j]

​@@harkeofficial maybe an old man whispering them on loop while you play

[@Naedlus]

All of the messages are stored in a plain text file... make the game the existential horror that you want it to be

[@MusicFromAnotherTime]

I swear to God this is the same game that appeared in that one episode of Star Trek The Next Generation where everyone got high on the Enterprise and it was really some mind control trick.

[@harkeofficial]

YES 🤯

[@MusicFromAnotherTime]

@harkeofficial it's ok Wesley, just play it. You'll feel good son... MOM NO....

[@harkeofficial]

@@MusicFromAnotherTimeit’s so awkward 😂

[@mromutt]

That episode made me so uncomfortable and uneasy lol

[@UnanimousDelivers]

Needs more cones and disks. Fun fact: they made fun of that episode not just in Lower Decks but also on the star trek kids show Prodigy.

My local gaming magazine at the time gave it a record 104%, highest score in its 20+ year history.

[@harkeofficial]

That’s crazy! I wonder if the game told them to do that… 👀

[@JimboDoomface]

That's gotta be a joke based on the subliminal thingy haha. It looked reasonably entertaining. not 104% hahaha

[@michaelk.3715]

Endor Fun sounds like it'd be some kind of licensed Star Wars game revolving around ewoks

[@NosManJr]

It's nice to see the insanity of people hasn't changed much "how dare you try to make people feel better about themselves!!?"

[@harkeofficial]

Right?? I kind of feel bad for the developers!

[@lucyddream]

i can’t believe they encapsulated the feeling of reading the dr bronner’s label into a game

[@harkeofficial]

This is the most accurate comment of them all 😂

[@tlucas7031]

The closest we ever got to a real life Polybius.

[@Solano1111]

way better than that guy.

[@lulairenoroub3869]

Polybius is a real life Polybius. Didn't you see the AVGN documentary? ... in case not clear, am joke. This am joke

[@Thiesi]

0:15 - I'm an audiophile, but I'd prefer you didn't take a trip into me. Thanks.

[@harkeofficial]

Duly noted 😅

[@jordantomblin2302]

Some of the mottos from this game give off “80s subliminal messaging cassettes for your motivation” vibes. Also, the Weird Al shirt is wonderful.

[@tairad9474]

4:19 The greatest shock was learning that after the events in the Delta Quadrant, Starfleet's best pilot decided to become an adorable bird.

[@alizardincrimson]

He became the Great Bird/salamander of the Galaxy.

[@harkeofficial]

@@tairad9474 I almost named him Odo, but he was such a good flyer/pilot that I went with Mr. Paris instead 😂

[@GoodInTheHighest]

“Winners don’t use drugs!” on coin-op arcade games in the 90s. Classic subliminal message.

[@jess648]

lmao

[@brentfisher902]

Sword of Sodan on Sega Genesis when you use all the potions at once...the player's avatar dies and it shows the message "Winners don't do drugs."

[@RusyChicken]

Wasn't expecting to see Tom Paris today 👀

[@FavaroLeone]

90s psychedelic was something different.

[@brackishorigin]

i noticed mini harke's voice is less bitcrush-y and more like how my old computer mic from 2009 sounded like! she's evolving :0 also love the parrot friend, what a cutie, the cherry on top to an already great video

[@harkeofficial]

Why thank you for noticing! I decided to try something different- I want to keep the overall vibe, but without hurting anyone's eardrums as much (hopefully) with the Bitcrusher. 😅

[@AlbertoSalviaNovella]

@@harkeofficial/videos Then maybe something that sounds like Sanitarium (kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpWvYpWrppqnotUsi=nWxQ14b20aWZVZZ2) - Channels: Mono - Sample rate: 22050 Hz - Bits per sample: 16 A low bitrate may be creating most of the distortion, but I don't know which is it.

[@andromaeda24]

It makes me smile to see your Patreon supporters list get bigger every video!! I hadn't heard of this game but I love how unintentionally creepy it is. It makes me wonder if any of the supposed subliminal messages are actually contained in the spectrograms of the songs? Similar to how musicians like Aphex Twin would hide images in their music - you'd hear weird glitchy noises but when run through an appropriate program you'd see something.

[@harkeofficial]

Thank you so much- I can't believe I'm up to 65 Patrons at this moment- I'm incredibly grateful! I did run one or two of the loops through a spectrogram, but then I realized I had no idea how to read a spectrogram. So I started researching how to read one, and then I decided to just leave that part out of the video because I was taking up too much time figuring it all out 😂 Perhaps I should have included the Spectrogram, though, for someone else to analyze...

[@andromaeda24]

@harkeofficial If you ever post the spectrograms to your Patreon someone might be able to read them!! They'd at least be something fun and nerdy to look at.

[@harkeofficial]

@@andromaeda24 oooooo good idea! I will get some screenshots together!

[@FarmerSlideJoeBob]

Editing glorius, Weird Al Shirt it's so over 9000 :D

[@nintendolunchbox]

I wonder if this game was inspired by the Star Trek TNG episode The Game, where it brainwashed the whole crew until Weasley and his girlfriend saved the day.

[@JimboDoomface]

Weasley :')

[@BIayne]

I love this channel.

[@harkeofficial]

thank you!!

[@ravenfrank]

I discovered your channel a few months back. I swear I cannot get through any of your videos without laughing so hard my eyes water. It helps that you’re channeling 1993 for me when I was on my Everex 486 pc at work sneaking crude video games while pretending to be working on my Lotus 1-2-3 accounting spreadsheet mess 😅 thank you so much!

[@harkeofficial]

I think you might be the first person I've seen that said they actually used Lotus 1-2-3... that's incredible! Thanks for stopping by! :)

[@ravenfrank]

@ and what’s REALLY weird is I used it instead of Word or WordPerfect for my inter office memos and communications… it was that flexible! I was also one of the “dos command line holdout” nuts. I actually thought using a mouse was stupid. I still love keyboard shortcuts. Trackpads make me seasick 🤮😂😂😂😂🤪

[@AsterixLiangVEVO]

I am not sure about this game but kinda challenging and simulated. The editing looks majestic. 10:38 retroharke trying to scare us 😂

[@harkeofficial]

It was like a time warp… I’d play for 5 minutes but then look at the clock and it was 45 minutes later…

[@AsterixLiangVEVO]

@@harkeofficialYOU JUST HIT 40.1K SUBSCRIBERS HARKE! 🎉

[@harkeofficial]

@@AsterixLiangVEVO 😄🎉🎉🎉

[@cbl7333]

@@AsterixLiangVEVO does that mean she can retire? lol (no, please don't)

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@harkeofficial damn, like practicing music. Guess it really did get you into a flow state!

[@AdamBarnett256]

I was watching old Vinesauce streams last week and I remembered seeing Vinny play this on that one Windows demo disk with the 3D hub world game launcher. Pretty cool to hear more of the history about it here!

[@NinjaxCad]

Me and my sister played this game SO MUCH back in the day!

[@notpingu]

"I lost but I love myself" - wow, that one hit me. Just what I needed today!

[@WrestlingWithGaming]

I played this game SO much when it came out. This video was for good. I had no idea there was an uproar about subliminal messages. Like you said, you kind of zen out after playing for a while and the game almost plays itself. Kind of like the game from the TNG episode, "The Game." Minus the, uh, "rewards" of that game.

[@g-starthefirst]

I zen out when I play Terraria. It’s just something that happens when we play a game that we enjoy.

[@JariNuukaa]

End or fun? When sayd out loud fast enough, sounds like edorfin and fun combined. *X-Files theme song playing* Love your videos!

[@vashx22]

I require that you blow up, your videos are absolutely amazing. I am so glad to stumbled across them because I just love the nostalgia feeling I get. What a simpler yet weird time!

[@harkeofficial]

thanks so much for stopping by!

[@els1f]

3:37 aww so cute.🥰 Remember when we used to believe things

[@Microsofts_Windows_95]

Love Toms name. I named my cockatiels Birdward Boimler and Shax

[@hdufort]

I'm glad you had fun playing it. 😁 Your review is super deep and thorough, and I've learned a thing or two! And it's the first time I see an analysis of the game's music. I still have my original CD of Endorfun (although I prefer playing in a Windows 98 emulator to get the music and the color cycling right).

[@mrpotatohead34]

this is the content I live for, obscure 90's pc gaming, music theory, and conspiracies!

[@burttight2865]

Stumbled apon your channel and I gotta say it's absolutely amazing! Keep up the great work !

[@harkeofficial]

thank you so much, that means a lot!

[@tipcentric]

This one passed me by somehow! Very interesting!

[@landosmusic]

oh my god endorfun!!! my mum told me all about this game!!! i'm actually using those subliminal messages in a project i'm working on.. thank you for this video

[@harkeofficial]

@@landosmusic good luck on your project! 😄

[@iamhuld]

I remember this! I had a demo from a magazine and honestly it didn’t really catch me but I loved how fascinating and quite funny the marketing and conversation about it was.

[@DerViking]

Praise the cube!

[@JohnnyWednesday]

Cube zealot. The sphere is the one true form!

[@dinsfire8489]

​​@@JohnnyWednesday Cube Zealot would be such a cool band name... or video game

[@BoomennialX]

The dodecahedron is your one true savior from the horrors of both cube and sphere. The light is not one facet of life, but twelve. Glory be to the dodecahedron and all those who know the truth!

[@JohnnyWednesday]

@@BoomennialX - Heretic! All platonic solids are impure. You speak of twelve because you fear the infinity of the sphere!

[@danlscan]

You're correct in you're assertion that the mid 90's was the wrong time for this. I don't think many people my age believe the subconscious can be affected by things the conscious mind can't perceive. Thanks for another thoroughly enjoyable dive into old tech. Your production work was sublime as always. I really enjoyed it.

[@Boco_Corwin]

4:17 Well, you know what they say, "if you love something, set it-" oh, they're gone...

[@bluebaby30]

Won't somebody please think of the children!

[@harkeofficial]

This game is IMMORAL and should be BANNED! 👹

[@hugovangalen]

Loving the throwback to the 90s scare about subliminal messaging, which in fact has later been proven not being an actual thing that works. 😅

[@boboboy8189]

But today with DEI is real towards child

[@Jedindy]

Great outro!

[@robertpaulson8290]

The music at 8:34 was my favorite when I was a kid. It seemed and felt calming, serene, and secure in my isolated space of comfort

[@harkeofficial]

I found it kind of creepy (in a serene way, like you said), but I liked it nonetheless!

[@redheadsg1]

Fun on Endor ... such a missed opportunity.

[@jordana4910]

Loving Tom Paris the bird!

[@UnanimousDelivers]

I'm reminded of when members of Throbbing Gristle made albums that supposedly had subliminal messages. I seriously doubt there were any, that it was just a marketing ploy to sell the records.

[@zzco]

Such amazing content here! 😁

[@soadfanbob]

Whoa, I'd never heard of this. Super interesting video, only wish there was more!

[@AnkoPanko]

All times amazing videos form another time, i love that! thx ^^ back in 1996

[@atomyoung4573]

Amazing finding

[@lostwave_yt]

Can you also make a video about Neverhood too? Pls

[@harkeofficial]

That game looks amazing!!

[@SlenterendeBeer]

THANK YOU for reminding me Neverhood exists, I absolutely loved that game. I don't think I ever finished it, but I was so enamoured with it. Definitely recommended @harkeofficial

[@Old299dfk]

Paul Coleman seems to be the only guy from this project who went on to continue making games. Working for codemasters, creating a few colin McRae games and leading the design for most DiRT games. The others faded into obscurity. Which just raises more questions than it answers.

[@harkeofficial]

I tried looking more into the developers and people involved, but I came to the same conclusion...

[@spootyfrog]

Hard swing to the other spectrum of video games from the early 90s. My suggestion: Quarantine

[@BeTheAeroplane]

Fantastic video. I am like 90% sure that a lot of this game's music was from the Spectrasonics' Distorted Reality sample CDs.

[@harkeofficial]

I looked it up to hear the samples and you’re probably right 😂 Thank you for stopping by!

[@battlepants5818]

Interesting video!

[@boriscat1999]

The game Devil Dice for the original Playstation had kind of a similar mechanic of rolling and matching a cube (a die in this case), but it came a few years after Endorfun did.

[@saturngamerx77]

Hey you should do a video about that XP pinball game. I love your videos not only are they fun and interesting to watch but you do have good look

[@chloer893]

This reminds me of how Bejeweled also has subliminal messages integrated into one of it's games. I think "zen mode" on Bejeweled 3? Kind of interesting how there's multiple puzzle games with this "feature."

[@MarkTheMagnificent]

I am desperate to know where to get that Weird Al shirt

[@harkeofficial]

I get most of my shirts from Redbubble or TeePublic! I can’t remember which one I got this from, but if you search “UHF” or “Weird Al” you’ll find some amazing choices!

[@MarkTheMagnificent]

@harkeofficial absolutely sick, thank you!

[@MusicFromAnotherTime]

I was wondering the same thing haha.

[@MarcLeblanc]

@6:16 - Cubes need love too..

[@vinapocalypse]

I only had the demo but really enjoyed it as a kid (even if it was a bit too easy), and the music was a vibe.

[@harkeofficial]

The first 10 minutes or so, I thought I’d never instinctively “get it”, but then, I entered a time warp and it was 45 minutes later and I didn’t even realize it while playing 😂

[@BinnisRetro]

Ooh I played and loved a PC Gamer demo of this game. Never found it afterwards, even though I looked. Had no idea of the controversy :)

[@paulbarnett5056]

I love your videos

[@QUANTUMJOKER]

Endorfun reminds me a little of a game series called Journey To Wild Divine, which taught meditation practices and had a unique USB biofeedback controller that you strap to your fingertips. I first heard of Journey To Wild Divine through an ad in a science magazine, oddly enough, and finally bought a copy on Gumtree (like an Australian Craigslist) a few years ago.

[@tetronimike]

You should check out the game Hypnospace Outlaw, it's not technically from the 90's but it's based on an alternate reality 1999 and shares a lot of the DNA of the software and stuff you've shared on your channel :)

[@burtcolk]

Michael Feinberg’s previous game, Heaven & Earth, was one of the very best puzzle games of the time, and I spent many hours with it. It also aspired to be meditative and had various “spiritual” ideas in it, but they were presented in a simpler and less intrusive way, and in my opinion the aesthetics were a lot more appealing.

[@harkeofficial]

I haven’t heard of that one! Gotta go look it up now 🏃‍♀️

[@ryders333]

OMG I came here to say this is very much like a game heaven and earth. Very cool to find out made by same guy! The card game was so unique and fun. Def recommend.

[@burtcolk]

@ Yeah, the card game was neat - it was based on Hanafuda but I think only loosely? - but it was the "Illusion" puzzles by Scott Kim that really blew me away. They had so much variety, and a lot of really clever ideas that were completely new to me at the time. And the "Pilgrimage" that combined all the parts together was really satisfying to complete. Plus the beautiful artwork by Mark Ferrari! Definitely a game that isn't as well remembered as it ought to be.

[@HowlinAndyDE]

Harke is such a green flag. Plus.... that Weird Al Shirt is epic.

[@MundoYui]

I opened the Endorfun sountrack video and I was already somehow on minute 30 but I swear this is the first time I ever hear of this, now that's scary...

[@xIJudaS]

Bro that's how youtube linking works. If you forget to remove the "Start at minute xx:xx" it will open where Harke stopped the video

[@MundoYui]

@@xIJudaS oh lol thanks makes sense now

[@MargarineKnife]

The combination of puzzles and strange, inhuman music reminds me of a game called Lumines

[@emmittmorgans8076]

In the words of Thomas Dolby: "May The Cube Be With You!"

[@badtrane]

Holy hell i played Endorfun back then but forgot the name, thanks for the lost memory ;)

[@JohnnyWednesday]

Endorfun is a gateway to star projectors and prisms! say no!

[@ArgentIcon]

9:42 - sorry you're cursed now 😔

[@DerekWilsonProgrammer]

There was a similar game, but it was first person and you go through a maze and shoot stuff, it also was marketed as having some subliminal messages. It also had some suggestive name. Similar to 'battlezone' and it used sounds like a ringing phone to make you anxious and other sounds. btw I also read the manuals cover to cover, but that's because I was the youngest, so when we got a new game, the older siblings would play it, and I would only have the manual. Inevitably when they got stuck, I knew how to play the game better than they did.

[@harkeofficial]

Smart strategy though 😂

[@LonelyDistance]

I feel like I'm too sober for the ~*aesthetics*~ of this game's graphics.

[@TehButterflyEffect]

Weeeeird. This is what that one singular episode of the Simpsons that I saw in the 90's was referencing. I always wondered. Also love the bird and the Voyager reference. 😁

[@TehButterflyEffect]

Love the Al shirt too.

[@travisnorman]

Interesting video! Would've been cool if it'd been included with Windows 95. Maybe a video on all those games that _were_ included with Windows 95? Especially if you've got the hardware to run them natively!

[@Platypi007]

So... this is the precursor to the addictive VR game in that TNG episode.

[@MrHumbuck]

I feel like you could make this both less creepy and more effective by just, y'know...Not obscuring the messages. Just make the background music calming and upbeat and give it some simple, positive lyrics. I mean, imagine your significant other started hiding from you and sneaking around the house leaving bits of paper lying around, each with an individual letter on them. The first is an 'I', the next is an 'L', and so forth until the scraps can potentially be put together to spell out 'I LOVE YOU.' It would be more memorable than just walking up to you and saying it, yes, but I don't think too many people would appreciate it 🤣

[@tony6795]

The messages weren’t obscured. That’s what I don’t get every time this game gets brought up. There’s literally no “subliminal” messages. The game plays the audio lines clearly and as I recall you can just turn them off.

[@BronzedTube]

Frig you make awesome videos.

[@harkeofficial]

Why thank you! This was a fun one to make!

[@crimsonforest]

this would be a fire ass horror game story

[@MikeCrain]

I played this game as a kid back in the late 90s. I only recently realized it's actually pronounced "endorphin" instead of "indoor fun".

[@harkeofficial]

I’m honestly not even sure- maybe they meant us to pronounce it the “wrong” way to match the hidden messages vibe? Who knows 🤣

[@StuntedSlime]

Endor fun is what they call it when ewoks get to eat them aliens.

[@gregorymatheson1409]

Getting 'Polybius' vibes... which strangely enough was allegedly from Seattle.

[@jess648]

the LaserDisc game Cube Quest and this are the closest there'll be to a real life Polybius honestly

[@marcusaureliusf]

This came with my Windows 95 IBM Aptiva 😂

[@grathapilot]

hmmm I was thinking about this game just a couple of days ago... and I don't think I'd ever 'thought back' to it before... maybe it subliminally programmed everyone to remember it right about now 😵‍💫

[@harkeofficial]

🫠

[@MantasticHams]

WTH this is TOO relevant to my interests RN lol. I'm working on a plot for a game i want to make and it includes a "Cubearth" and revolves a lot around 90s aesthetics and conspiracy theories!

[@harkeofficial]

Ooooooo that sounds amazing!

[@MantasticHams]

@@harkeofficial Thanks! It'll be a long time 'til i actually enter full production, i work really slow and its a huge 1-person passion project, but if/when i do I'll be sure to shoot you some early builds!

[@TheeObscure]

Drinking a bottle of Fruitopia while listening to Deep Forest and playing Endorfun would fix me

[@Sarato]

I've never heard of this game. This was really interesting!

[@harkeofficial]

thank you! I had never heard of it either before recently. I doubt I’ll be playing it too much, but it was kind of fun 😆

[@Sarato]

@harkeofficial I agree with the part in the video where i think this could work really well as a mindfullness game on a phone.

[@nutherefurlong]

I think I played the demo way back when and I remember the gameplay being annoying, and the looped songs that were included were often having the opposite effect than what I think they wanted. I think there was at least one that had some fun instruments in it, though. Wasn't there text that flashed briefly on the screen that could be edited in a text file?

[@RetroGamingNook]

I do feel compelled to “get it” and play while I “eat popcorn” and “drink Coke”… But is that really different than any day? Otherwise, this episode was “Brilliant”. Cheers!

[@harkeofficial]

thank you! It was a fun one! I played for a few hours total and most of the footage was me staring at the screen, emotionless, as it really did kind of “zen” you out 😅😂

[@RebrandSoon0000]

The version of the game I had, did have the messages vocally, not sure if you need to enable them on yours or not.

[@R.Daneel]

All that wasted energy over subliminal messages that were discredited almost upon invention. Of course rather than parent kids themselves, people want government to get outraged over video-games. Makes for a good news story to sell advertising. Doesn't hurt the game sales, either. Why would advertisers spend money on something complicated when humans are so easy to manipulate overtly.

[@harkeofficial]

The audacity of her to say it’s “immoral” in that news segment… calm down lady 😂

[@justinwilliam4644]

Harke = cuteness infinite

[@nwvr-za]

Oh wow, I completely forgot about that game. I wonder if I still have it somewhere, but I can't recall how a got it. Not sure if it came with a sample disk, or 1 of those promotional CDs that you got with NAG Magazine or PCFormat, etc. That music was annoying. I think I used to play without it.

[@Martinike]

Full two minute uplifting messages cut when?

[@harkeofficial]

If I read all 100 messages, it would probably take more like 5 minutes. I think I only read half of them 😅

[@LynnHermione]

The "subconcious" wont pick on altered sounds. It needs to be readable but too low on volume or too short to capture consciously

[@HermanLoud]

I saw your videos on TikTok, I am glad I found you here too yay!

[@harkeofficial]

Thanks for stopping over! 😄

[@SnailNick00]

So I don't really see a problem with a game that ECLOSES that it has these messages, lists them and all of them are basically positive. Not sure what the issue was in the 90ies about this. But. The actual soundtrack sounds so scary at times?? It's not music that makes me feel safe and free, it makes me anxious and/or overstimulated. Really weird choices. But very cool video, love weird old media like this, keep em coming!

[@OMJames]

Weird Al and Tom Eugene Paris?? Yup. I'm in the right place.

[@harkeofficial]

The other two birds in the flock, Garak and Sisko, are not quite as sociable and will not likely be joining me (willingly) for future videos 😂🖖

[@TehButterflyEffect]

​@@harkeofficialGarak isn't known for being too sociable anyway. I'm sure Sisko has better things to do.

[@MagusFlorren]

wild stuff