The Story of OldRoot: Minecraft's Strangest Mystery

[@AlexBaleFilms]

Hey there, I made Oldroot. Weird that it's getting so much attention now. I make much better ARGs and webseries on my channel now. Nice vid RGN!

[@RetroGamingNow]

Welcome back! This video was a ton of fun to make, and all this time working on this has caused me to kick around some new ideas about where to go next. Even if this is never solved, this was a really enjoyable story, and I'm happy to get to tell that to you! I will check out your channel and see what you've been working on now! Also, for the people who see this, I've made a document that compiles my research for this video. It's a little bit rough, but you should at least be able to see links to the images all in one place. Check it out here: docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MTptGGsWdBNw5I3STFooaz7R-HRDaszc_e48gO6voe8/edit?usp=sharing

[@kazumakiryu8231]

@@nytrogyen sorry man I'm going to end your little cringy game here. Reported for spam

[@beaclaster]

bruh

[@waitthatscopyrighted3198]

So...OldRoot was just supposed to teach people about decoding messages? In that case: Gallant Offense Obviously Dead [space] Jay Ocean Building (It’s a code, decode it)

[@Alx-di6pt]

WHAAAAAAAATTT!!!!!!! I know you're dark and smart but DAMN ALEX!!

[@grace1753]

I'd like to point out that "LENORE" isn't just it's own poem, it's also the name of the girl who died in "The Raven". Likely nothing new, but wasn't mentioned in the video.

[@M3rk420]

nevermore

[@lorrainetimm8577]

Ooo!! Also in some indigenous cultures the raven symbolizes loss and is an omen of death.

[@sboy2044]

The name is also mentioned in OldRoot’s KZbin account in the “About” section.

[@Coalgate_frsh]

My class did a poem reading project, I got the second hardest "The Raven" or something. I had to read it. Lenore was the authors wife, who died in the night. It was a metaphor of death. He said things like how death knocked on the door to take his wife and things like that. Yeah thats it

[@celina9301]

@@Coalgate_frsh maybe that has to do with walters? honestly i dont know lol

[@ash_dies_alone1940]

while I struggle with creating a simple password, this guy makes a whole series of ciphers

[@IloveRumania]

100th like!

[@user-it9gq5dq6e]

Making a cipher isn't too hard tbh Easiest way is to make a encryption grid/grid lock

[@oshawott5308]

genuine tein user moment.

[@DK-tv6rk]

@@user-it9gq5dq6eThat’s easy to decode tho

[@max_punch]

True chads make up an entire new language

[@RealliveactualUnknown]

The reason why OldRoot kept on saying that we need to know the past before future was because in order to solve the whole mystery, we must look back. There was probably something EVERYONE missed. There may have been a few missing pieces to the mystery, but they all could've been vital to solving it. It really could have been easier than we thought.

[@swizzamane8775]

WHY was only ONE png file seen as zipped, but the rest werent checked for that ? I'd be unzipping EVERY png sent xD

[@Nikineedstoknow]

some pictures said ''CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?'' ''HE'LL WE(L)COME''?

[@AntonioBertisJr]

i did a bit of search and noticed from the pictures of the shadows of the past, i noticed there are a lot of missing pointers such as the X1, F2 and other more that could lead to a new clue

[@tylerzubero]

@@Nikineedstoknow maybe its not he'll welcome but here we come

[@GCSMGamerYT]

@@AntonioBertisJr I might have to look into it myself, i found that really weird too

[@jakesharpe275]

Captcha: you have 30 seconds to solve this puzzle. the puzzle:

[@tomass7550]

:D

[@balls457]

Lol

[@deleted-something]

Haha

[@ThisAVaporeon_3333]

@GeoSongs wth are u here

[@khanhtypo]

lmao

[@sludgy5134]

It could be scary until you realize this dude had to go into block game, build or find creepy areas, find a good angle for a screen shot, then photoshop and edit the screen shot, For every image

[@pulatelephonics]

The dedication makes it even creepier

[@sludgy5134]

@@pulatelephonics no but like... he used a block game to scare people, you can’t not find that kinda funny

[@sludgy5134]

Heck, he built a temple out of melons in a block game to scare people

[@unknownboi3824]

@@sludgy5134 That was my favorite part. It was creepy af but for some reason it started to look cool

[@mip5944]

Those images be lookin better than some of my bases

[@Pixelcraftian]

It's funny how this goes from a strange minecraft player in the void to a red staring eye. Wow

[@ex0spher_e]

wow

[@archienoir]

Yea wow

[@an0rmaluser339]

wow

[@devashishsharma8561]

wOw

[@joelhoon1707]

woW

[@DedicatedCaffeineUser]

5:00 If I had to guess, I’d wager that the message within the poem wasn’t meant to be read based on where they appear in the lines of the original poem, but based on where the sections of the poem appear in the word “Raven”. Thus, the message wouldn’t be “The hidden truth is”, which appears incomplete, but “The truth is hidden”, which is a complete phrase.

[@ambyandony]

exactly what i was yelling at my screen lol

[@gaelgarcia6933]

Is the moment in 1:29 minut mark the victory theme of pac man plays cuz it sounds like

[@allisonacosta5368]

I came to the comments to say this 😂

[@livideggplantlady]

Best commenters in 2024: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^!!!!!!!

[@diacosiapentacontahex]

I could practically feel the frustration of OldRoot having to DM the followers clues trying to make it clear that it's solvable and they just aren't trying hard enough. It was hilarious, really

[@beanboy5963]

I feel like he was reading people's posts like "Seriously? THAT'S what you got stuck on???".

[@cyqry]

@@beanboy5963 Honestly as a game designer, it amazes me what people get stuck on that you yourself think is so obvious. I suppose its just hind-sight being 20/20, that is to say everything is obvious when you see the full(er) picture, but an important part of our role as the method behind the madness is to make sure that madness is in fact navigable. Its frustrating, especially since we'd hope that our players are smart enough to figure it out themselves, but at the end of the day we do need to throw them a bone once in a while.

[@cericat]

@@cyqry yeah sometimes what seems obvious to us is missed by people without the full context. It's also a good argument against skipping cutscenes players, sometimes you find information you need if you don't rush.

[@vgamedude12]

I mean plenty of the puzzles this video author didn't even know how they were solved. Something like this needs many eyes if it wants to be solved and you have to captivate many to pull that off.

[@borico62]

Considering the difficulty of the puzzles that DID got solved... I can also feel the frustration of the people who tried to progress in the ARG and found nothing but dead ends. I mean... If somebody has to program a script to brute-force the Imgur link because the image that provided it was too blurry to be read (time 6:00), I would have interpreted it as a sign that the puzzles are too cryptic and need to be toned down. And overall the puzzles are too much at Cicada-3301 level, which I find excessive for an ARG like this (let's remember that the purpose of Cicada-3301 was to recruit exceptionally intelligent minds). This video was essentially 34 minutes of puzzles that ended up leading nowhere, with only some vague hints starting at minute 29 at a history behind it. The creator may deserve praise for his patience of keeping up the ARG for so long, but the players also deserve it for solving so many puzzles AND keeping interest even after they led nowhere. I feel it's too easy to say "you just had to look back at the previous puzzles, you morons", when you're just watching a video that already tells you the answers to the puzzles that did got solved, and aren't solving them yourself.

[@KptKosmit91]

Herobrine looks like a child's toy when compared with this

[@salaarfarooq4841]

Yeah lol.

[@greentheshinyumbreon]

* yeah

[@lorrainetimm8577]

Omg yes

[@K2KOfcoursegg]

Yes you think like that bcus your now grown up but when we we’re a kid do we all remember getting scared to go to cave alone? 🤣

[@amvymavy]

@@K2KOfcoursegg i am still kinda scared to go alone because minecraft likes to throw around some caves noises at me more frequently than the average person, even if I'm above ground. Maybe because I'm playing Bedrock Edition?

[@Hexra_]

OldRoot: *sends any image* Everyone: "So anyways, I started brightening"

[@mhz163]

obviously

[@johnjohn7261]

@regular youtube account ?

[@alexandserahglick7599]

@Franky Franker I always wondered what this means, can you explain please?

[@bapple8693]

@@alexandserahglick7599 they say it when someone doesn’t understand a joke.

[@turquoisescreen7917]

@regular youtube account r/wooosh

[@umlaut_loser]

If I had a nickel for every time an ARG related to Minecraft referenced Edgar Allan Poe's poetry I would have two nickels which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's happened twice

[@hypnotised-clover]

Did you know that the Poe in Edgar Allan Poe stands for poetry?

[@tglzr]

literally just came across this vid and it was the first thing i thought of, theres no way will didnt get inspiration from this suurelyyyyy

[@phantomluigi2087]

If I had a nickel for every time someone did this meme, I would be crushed by nickels because this meme is used a lot[not saying its old, and i like the meme a lot because it makes sense]

[@hypnotised-clover]

@@phantomluigi2087 That is kind of how memes work.

[@EvanKiesewetter]

@@hypnotised-clover nononono it's a Teletubbies reference

[@hamster8706]

I like how Oldroot said "If you wish to know the future you must know the past" yet they still didn't solve any of the previous puzzles

[@Ponera-Sama]

They tried to but couldn't

[@disrespecc9678]

@@KB7tm He didn’t? It was quite obvious it would happen. It’s not a hard prediction to make if you’re living in 2014.

[@nmotschidontwannagivemyrea8932]

I think that was his point. He was saying that the solutions themselves are needed to be known in order to figure out the later ones.

[@mikemo1993]

Great point - *IMO, I was convinced that more digging was needed to be done into the Sea of Galilee, The Dutch Golden age, The Italian Cipher manuscript text, etc. it seemed like the narrative really peaked when all those great works of literature and cryptography were thematically woven into the shared history of the Boston Painting Heist and what not.

[@commonwealthmapping]

@@KB7tm how did he?

[@avxrage5926]

OldRoot knows how to make some SoundCloud bangers

[@jakecothbert8716]

Ya

[@JudeOhHecc]

Fax 📠

[@pentag0nkidd067]

block dj

[@user-lg9cf4sw4x]

i love listening to screeching everyday

[@jay1v176]

Ikr

[@dyjhjfrtt6607]

Someday, I’m going to make something like this and it will be the most elaborate rickroll ever.

[@agustbab]

i will help if that is allowed ✋

[@karinajolee]

That’s what I was hoping this was

[@CrimsonAkato]

I don't even understand how stuff like this happen if I one day posted some random distorted image with hidden text I doubt anyone would look at it .. idk I just feel like that would happen this days

[@jakeplaysyt6695]

I would do that but it would lead to something just as good called *YOU JUST GOT COCONUT MALLED*

[@bruhno3712]

I would like to help!

[@burstness]

He could have pulled the biggest rickroll ever created with this

[@moyai6618]

he had the entire thing to do it

[@jasxyx]

that would be so smart

[@BeamNGLynx]

You know the ruuules and soo do iiiii

[@jasxyx]

@@BeamNGLynx say goodbye

[@BeamNGLynx]

@@jasxyx oh Shit

[@danthewoodman8558]

I feel like the "look in the past to know the future" was OldRoot trying to tell us to check again on the clues.

[@JinnaiT]

Yeah, but the people looking at the clues werent all that brilliant and oldroot really wanted to keep people interested

[@Ribbons0121R121]

yep

[@Moxustz]

Or consider what happened before and do it that way

[@k_taaro]

@@Moxustz yeah I feel like there could be some ciphers that might have to be reused Also nobody was backtracking too much, dismissing a lot of things as dead ends instead of keeping them in mind as potential puzzle pieces

[@NamHoang-oy7lj]

Me: "looks back at 2021' Me: *Yeah it's hard to unsee*

[@70Lu07]

I love how they got so familiar with OldRoot that one of them got to call him Oldy

[@kacperkonieczny7333]

Where?

[@theguywithticon5360]

@@kacperkonieczny7333 27:51

[@Gaminginvrrr]

i am now calling it root boy

[@Gameplayer555]

Mom, can we go to an escape room? No, we have an escape room at home. *The escape room at home:*

[@justchillin3846]

This is the most underrated and best unsolved minecraft mystery I’ve ever seen! This is so good!

[@gudboi_ofthestars]

I haven’t finished watching but... it’s unsolved?!

[@justchillin3846]

@@gudboi_ofthestars Yes, sorry for the spoiler

[@lorrainetimm8577]

Ikr!!! I was legit looking around my room making sure there was nothing there. ITS SO CREEPY!!!

[@NARUTODSSG]

No

[@joshstudiospresent]

@@gudboi_ofthestars finish watching then 😑😑

[@alexman3669]

"How could they even be numbers, they have letters too" -Every 3rd grader when letters were added to math in school

[@ธนาเดชศุภนัทนพร]

The day Many Dumb People Who has low wis Like me Has An Brain Stroke moment

[@pomelo9518]

But it cannot be hex, hex uses capital letters

[@vecipheragain]

-every child when introduced to algebra

[@explosivesraspberry6795]

@@vecipheragain i disagree i caught on real quick and i only learned about variables in like the 5 grade

[@bonelessbooks9263]

Nice pfp, I’m learning python this summer

[@Bossman50.]

As long as I’m not in full screen, nothing can hurt me.

[@_Killkor]

Faceless Steve behind you:

[@savetheevo]

Yes

[@justaguywhodraws]

I can't like this, it has 69 likes

[@slashxred]

Same bro I am not full screening

[@mr.thumbhead8101]

SAME!

[@Not_C64]

I'm pretty sure the "If you wish to know the future, you must know the past" is saying that you should use new ways (Exteacting files or the block of text used as a decoder) to find new clues in past/unsolved images.

[@welcometochiles6156]

One day, there will be an ARG that is "forever unsolved." And an analysis video will cover it. But, it will then be discovered that the analysis video was secretly a collaboration with the ARG maker, and that the analysis video was the next clue in and of itself.

[@user-hv9he6jc1v]

Alex Bale (OldRoot) actually has a couple ARGs going on rn that are almost like this idea

[@tilialcani5644]

Lad five nights at freddys is not solved no body can slove it fr

[@user-hv9he6jc1v]

@@tilialcani5644 fnaf isnt an ARG

[@tilialcani5644]

@N I mean yea you are right ✅ but it is still unsolved or the Wilbur arg still not solved and it has been still 2017 or 2018 idk

[@plinplinplon_]

@@tilialcani5644 ok bro

[@you59tube59]

"A link to a new image" **Cheetos ad pops up** Ah yes, Cheetos

[@reidvillage]

LMFBAOOMFC translation: laugh my fucking bitch ass off of my fucking chair

[@GarGhuul]

Funny you should mention this. At 36:37 (Let me show you) or so I got an ad for something promising me how to earn more money per month.

[@chipotleguest690]

I got two for coffee

[@dancelikean1diot]

cheeto

[@clericwhomakes]

Mine A Friendly Biscuit

[@justjade256]

Idk why, but “a green temple of melon” was just so funny to me

[@ThatQingMapper]

Ya me too 😂

[@randm5753]

Wadzze: im four parrarel universes a head you

[@anonymoose4700]

im watching this while i have a 2000 word essay due in 11:59pm

[@bluebaconYT1809]

Thers a green steve but how knows how its made

[@levirodgers4087]

I AM MELON LORD

[@_u2]

5:02 Pretty sure it's "The truth is hidden." That's what it is in order.

[@tracymiller1787]

🍌 [MAKE A CHAIN 👇]

[@DiamondNoobie]

Yeah, that makes more sense

[@EnverWasHere]

imagine all of this leading to a rick roll

[@kmnaaaa]

not funny edit: stop replying LMAO THIS IS A 7 MONTH OLD REPLY STOP

[@giothesavage8204]

Mega epic

[@whos.aspiire]

I wouldn't even be mad. That would be so smart.

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

Or possibly there is another clue in the rickroll link. But that would be the most epic rickroll link ever

[@theobaldvongoebben234]

I‘d like this :D

[@soiltastesgood4166]

I like how oldroot started as a very omnimous and scary guy to a man making fire spongebob theories

[@ahistoryfanatic5683]

said spongebob theories connecting to some shit about a farm conducting weird experiments, sonc the blue rat, and the dude that reviewed parasite

[@KamenriderCrusher]

It's more complex than that, check out inside a mind's channel on the spongebob theories

[@ChaosKorp]

@@ahistoryfanatic5683 happy meat farms? Experiments? They would do no such thing! Its all in your head!

[@mythinvestigators.augustus1458]

@@KamenriderCrusher fucking "skin theory" is a thing.

[@comradegarrett1202]

the SpongeBob theories are an ARG

[@mintfn4379]

Just that beginning gave me goosebumps holy shit this series is amazing

[@ItsTheMagicMelon]

Honestly yes it is

[@fanaticpage0122]

I know right? I was watching other video when this video came out and I clicked it then paused. Why? Because it's currently 1:16 am and I suddenly wrapped myself in my blanket and I said "You know what, I'm gonna watch it in the morning. Sorry Retro but this video will have to wait."

[@tetta2956]

@@fanaticpage0122 its fucking day and im at 3:24 shaking Bro im never gonna play mc again

[@mistycomet9760]

One of my favorite things is that despite the scary content and imagery the messages themselves are often quite friendly and helpful. "Hello friend" "It's easier than you think" "I'll show you" "Good luck" "I realize that this is difficult to hear" The speaker seems friendly towards Wester. It's possible the person he says "I understand this is difficult to hear" to ma be one of Wester's family or friends. Whoever the speaker is--OldRoot or the faceless man--at least one of them doesn't seem to be dangerous of unfriendly. Mysterious, but ultimately seeking to help us.

[@thonys_lg_gaming7629]

Old root keeps saying "to discover the future you must know the past" hes talking about the supposed dead ends that people got stumble all the way back to the first clue people couldn't read. He wants people to go back and decipher, only then will it be solved , I know nobody will see this but this is just my thought

[@elliottkennell7735]

i did i wonder if that's true

[@kudanilterbang6692]

Yea i think its true because in one of many oldroot's messages,it says "Its easier than you think". Maybe he just want to show that the answer is in the previous messages that people still can't solve.

[@victor_0cp]

I was thinking this as well. If only the people investigating this went back and tried to decipher old puzzles again, they may have figured out the mystery. Alas, the phrase, “To discover the future, you must know the past,” was maybe a bit too cryptic for them.

[@no-one-1]

89 people saw this

[@alogona]

you have biggest brain in all of humanity

[@chlovember]

To be honest, I wasn’t surprised that Alex was old root. He’s extremely good at making args, so no wonder it was him. I mean he literally made pizza time pizza (my personal favourite arg) and several other similar ones. Maybe this even links to his other ones, as some args he did were linked, sharing references, scenes, and characters.

[@mix3k818]

Plot twist: This whole mystery was made to make young people browse old art, scriptures and cyphers

[@NeonWasInUse]

better plot twist: this is gonna lead to the biggest case of getting gnomed in human history.

[@Terratomere]

@@NeonWasInUse even better plot twist: it will also lead to the biggest case of getting stickbugged in the whole history of reality

[@petamerican2588]

@@Terratomere God of Plot Twists: it's the smartest rick roll in the history of the multiverse

[@lolcate]

@@petamerican2588 even bigger plot twist : this was created by skillshare

[@mrpineapple3942]

@@lolcate oh no

[@MiHe-t7e]

Man i love the poem "the raven" and creepy stuff. This is a dream come true

[@MiHe-t7e]

"quoth the raven, nevermore."

[@higuy1324]

“You can do a lot more than that, wester” “Like what?” Gets an add for pregnancy…

[@viperv1bes661]

Lol

[@falseillusin9197]

Sus

[@skrybspryt]

LOL

[@krytonaus4793]

Lmao

[@nubsandchubs3932]

Yea, excellent place for an ad break

[@JediPlays0309]

I've already seen it on some ordinary gamers but I'm gonna watch it again just for the editing lol

[@hornetisvoider]

AHEM THIS DUDE IS A NOT A FURRY IT'S ENDER DRAGON FAN ART that's what he told me

[@JediPlays0309]

@@hornetisvoider it's true though, I asked someone for enderdragon art

[@hornetisvoider]

@@JediPlays0309 people just kept calling you a furry and insulting you for that so.i needed to say that so people stop insulting you

[@RetroGamingNow]

I hope you enjoy it - I think there was a lot of stuff he missed, and I did my best to be comprehensive

[@hornetisvoider]

@@RetroGamingNow ah ok then

[@matryoshka2151]

This was just "how many different code types can we use" - The ARG

[@matryoshka2151]

I feel like I'm watching a Professor Layton playthrough 😭

[@quagmiretoiletgaming]

Most ARGs are like this sadly

[@bittersweetvictory8541]

quite a few do this, especially the older games. i don’t think i’ve ever seen one use pigpen though purely because it’s so simple, so much so that club penguin’s tic tac toe cipher was based on it.

[@Chara_27]

yeah

[@alexfc679]

@@quagmiretoiletgaming wtf quagmire again? Hey!

[@l_rbuttons]

OK, can we agree that the family photo is the most disturbing picture in this entire thing? It didn't make things better when Retro said that the family's faces were crossed out, except for the youngest kid, who had NO face. That's horrifying.

[@ANASMatap]

Yea

[@freyaMcPhilli]

SO CREEPY .

[@gatortime8368]

He won't be able to see, hear or communicate. he'll be practically braindead... I realize this is difficult to hear,

[@improbablyfur]

@@gatortime8368 skibidi toilet fan syndrome

[@what3954]

What I expected: some strange theories about a simple minecraft experience or something. What I got: Literally the most bizarre thing I have ever witnessed, which is saying A LOT.

[@flamingdog9207]

I was expecting some old Herobrine-esque creepypasta stuff, instead got an interesting ARG

[@akiradkcn]

@@flamingdog9207 noice

[@marindeveloper]

Same lol

[@cezaryandrzejewski5793]

Wasn't the dust dots 12:07, correspnding to the numeric matrix from the 9:40?

[@truebruhmoment4667]

same

[@rainboworange]

I am pretty sure the "one must know the past" line was dropped in the hints because something in the first images was missed entirely, and Oldroot/Alex grew tired of the communtiy not getting it and not reexamining the older stuff. also, the capitalisation on the numbers-on-a-keyboard clue was in not unknown, it was in the color. red=upper case, white=lower case.

[@beanboy5963]

I was thinking that oldroot was desperately watching people bumble around trying to figure out the codes, and thinking cmon guys I just told you what to do. And the redditors are like wow, can't figure it out, better wait for more clues :p

[@BenoHourglass]

Like when they opened an image to reveal another image I wondered why nobody bothered to recheck any of the old images to see if there was the same thing happening with them.

[@PIKL_Creep]

That's why I was thinking honestly I'd get pissed off and use a different account and tell people to check old pictures that guy has a lot of patience.

[@bibikarmoeddien]

@@beanboy5963 4chan would of solved if it reached there

[@kylestergaming]

For the kids who are scared easily, there is no jump scares, and barely any creepy imagery. Edit 1: wtf i come back after a year and it has like 4k likes Edit 2: 2 years now, 4.1k likes. Been looking at some of the comments, and let me rework what I said for those just tuning in. NO JUMPSCARES, SOME DISTURBING IMAGERY. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED

[@echolocation1]

Thank you

[@echolocation1]

There’s also creepy sounds btw

[@cesaarkaan4354]

@@echolocation1 if you change the sound to despacito its not scary

[@echolocation1]

@@cesaarkaan4354 thanks for the advice

[@cesaarkaan4354]

@@echolocation1 maybe play a background music and turn on subtitles

[@TroupeMasterGrimmFan43]

I think the lore behind what OldRoot could be is a person who's able to look into the future, but, as a tester of knowledge, he's trying to make the public learn of past things before he opens the future to us

[@NezzNHLive]

This is probably one of the best Minecraft mysteries of all time. Period.

[@amilliarde1234]

period? stop being weird

[@Immortal_dragon]

@@amilliarde1234 your perverted they mean end of story

[@amilliarde1234]

@@Immortal_dragon period

[@Mapbim]

green amogus

[@quagmiretoiletgaming]

red amogus

[@IgorNetoAnimation]

I would NEVER have the patience to play around with all of the decoding.

[@0Blueaura]

night mind clearly stated that cryptic messages need a purpose and this guy over done it to hell and it turned out cringe

[@shamelessshadow707]

@Sharad Kumar Singh yup defeats the whole purpose

[@macaylacayton2915]

oh boy, the Cipher Hunt(a gravity falls worldwide treasure hunt) would not be for you, even though it is already done.

[@affirmationsraisevibration1984]

SAME

[@falseillusin9197]

SaMeEe

[@OfficialDiRT]

The Raven code wasn't "The hidden truth is" but "The truth is hidden." You read it by focusing on each letter cutout, not per line of the story.

[@angelapuzzle]

What if it has to be extracted like the other one

[@basswitch525]

@@angelapuzzle but howwwww

[@angelapuzzle]

@@basswitch525 I meant, what if it's like the other one that when opened with WinRAR or 7zip can be extracted a hidden file

[@basswitch525]

​@@angelapuzzleidk its that simple, also why would he use the same technique for two different hints.. still worth a try doe idk

[@zacharycarr8560]

Thats what im saying as well

[@monikaowczarek4354]

The research needed to record this video is just beyond my imaginaton. Good job dude

[@hungryeyes2786]

4:48 RetroGamingNow: "The hidden truth is" Me: "The truth is hidden"

[@daydream_comet]

This changes everything

[@nomsterdude]

Ikr

[@CanisterManister]

Same here man

[@picehere]

same

[@hysby9588]

lol

[@cabcostudios]

It's kinda funny that this creepy guy was just a person who makes strange spongebob theories

[@hydra9738]

I heard the name alex bale and I immedietly thought "Isnt that the guy who makes spongebob theories"

[@justjade256]

lmao

[@8Stuff]

holup

[@aresknight12]

lmao...WAIT THAT WAS HIM?

[@uzaeir22]

@@hydra9738 or is it a false prophet?

[@origamifox2996]

am i the only one that felt like whenever the sentence "if you wish to know the future, you must know the past" showed up it meant that oldroot wanted us to look at old deciphered images/codes etc and possibly redo them? i dunno

[@commenterforfun5154]

@PACOMOKA most arg end up being just a joke or some kind of social experiment so i doubt people would take a arg from a block game seriously lmao

[@breakfaith3031]

@PACOMOKA yea, it seems like they mostly just sat around with their thumbs up their arses waiting for new messages from oldroot

[@gooberuploadsinc]

no i think he means to figure out the old clues and hints, and find the roots to what happend to this man. thus the name old root

[@metalskirmish]

he definitely meant to say that people missed something he allready put out for sure

[@prest01]

i mean even i saw shit no one thought about according to the video, they really didnt try with this huh. thats why we need 4chan, reddit is full of idiots

[@Ame_Fan_128]

I found myself looking for Minecraft Mysteries because they’re so interesting, spooky or not. This channel delivered content beyond my expectations. Keep it up!

[@trk.is.trippin]

I never thought in a million years that spongebob theory guy was old root

[@llewelynshingler2173]

I mean he did make Pizza Time Pizza, but it is still a surprise.

[@crptic9925]

@@llewelynshingler2173 a surprise but a welcome one

[@Handle2hot]

It’s funny how it went from disturbing minecraft things to literally Master/Expert level of Decoding.

[@p0landwastak3n]

the last 20 minutes f video becomse csary

[@funwithtommyandmore]

Its not that hard

[@sterlinsilver]

I don't care how scary this may try to be, minecraft is just inherently calming

[@jjuj-i4z]

Have you heard the minecraft cave sounds orrr..?

[@arizonagreenbee]

Minecraft is a calm game with some fucked up lore

[@sterlinsilver]

@@jjuj-i4z I stand corrected...

[@jjuj-i4z]

@@sterlinsilver It is calm at one point the scary as hell at odd times- especially then cave ambient

[@grogu9215]

Except for the nether.

[@patrykborowczyk4874]

i allways like when Retro casually says "furthermore", for the ol' razzle dazzle

[@notoriouswhitemoth]

The fact that they kept repeating 'if you wish to know the future you must know the past' tells me there were a lot of clues that got missed

[@Cuboidao]

At 8:04 you can see in the top left there's an imigur code he didn't talk about

[@gallaxyk9095]

"he won't be able to see, hear, or communicate. He will be practically braindead." And "I realize this may be hard to hear" Sounds distinctly like something a doctor would tell family members when a patient falls into a coma/is being kept alive by machines. Not to go out on a limp here, but that could relate to the falsified death certificate.

[@krispianna]

woah

[@VerseOW]

Also, it can be looked at as a doctor telling a family about the effects a certain procedure could have, potentially the child with no face has no face because of a medical procedure. This could have to be done if the child's body is inexplicably attacking itself due to an infection that occured in the eyes, as the eyes have a separate nervous system. Maybe the real cause of death was the procedure going wrong, and the hairstyles in the pictures make me think of much older times, and a long while ago, it was popular to take family photos of dead people, setting up the corpses to look normal. The death certificate could also be false because the child is in fact living, and the family picture that we see in one video is of him and his family's corpses. I'm just going on a whim here really though

[@icebuildsrobots]

@@VerseOW That's what I was thinking.

[@neoselket562]

"I realize this may be hard to hear" Yeah cuz he can't see or hear Like for more bad jokes

[@hel.pm.e]

The red text in the same image reads "Can anyone hear me?" And "He's wrong" essentially meaning that the patient in a "comatose state" can still think and understand meaning that they're not dead, just trapped in their own body

[@RaynmanPlays]

"You can do a lot more than that, Wester." "Like what?" "Let me show you." >Ad for KeVita

[@nomsterdude]

Lol

[@nomsterdude]

I got a cue card ad

[@aokifuuu263]

Perhaps its a. Clue :0

[@SauceTart]

Mine showed an ad for a toothpaste Might be telling me to brush my teeth

[@GornGornStudios]

I got GeT a FrEe TaCo ToDaY

[@JarharaJaiArik]

How am I only now learning about this? This would have been 100% my thing to go along with. Minecraft, cyphers, Edgar Allen Poe? All stuff I was obsessed with at that time

[@catlass]

You ain't

[@greeno_productions9932]

@@catlass Don’t tell people what they do

[@catlass]

@@greeno_productions9932 I don't even know what the context of that comment anymore. I am gravely sorry.

[@gois3r]

the video production in all of your vids is so insanely good and i never get bored watching any of your videos. subscribed.

[@SurgeProtector1236]

"the raven is watching" *grammarly ad pops up*

[@dutopp2]

Lol

[@09schannelofentertainment95]

the grammarly is watching you

[@DarkShadic9632]

Itz Maya Grammarly sees all

[@MCFinalNinja]

I got duolingo, which is even worse, because a van pulled up to my neighbor's house at the right time.

[@SurgeProtector1236]

@@MCFinalNinja holy crap its like that one picture that went "You missed spanish class, you know what happens now!" "You are being robbed" or something and duolingo got the wrong house

[@sunnykpoppie]

a few things i noticed: - the edited “melon church” photo that oldroot sent looked a lot like a matrix-esque setting, and (iirc) the matrix has been mentioned previously in a clue. maybe things hidden in that photo connect to the clue in which the matrix was previously mentioned. - the bits of red text reading things along the lines of (paraphrasing here) “he’ll be brain dead, he won’t be able to see hear or think” “i know this is hard to hear” etc. sound a lot like parts of a conversation a doctor might have with a patient/patients family, and the part about brain death specifically probably ties into the falsified death certificate on which parkinson’s disease (a disorder of the central nervous system) was listed as the “cause of death.” something to note is that parkinson’s does not directly cause people to die, but it can greatly strain the human body and make people with parkinson’s more susceptible to life threatening infections, which is like why the death certificate was deemed as “falsified,” because parkinson’s was not the legitimate cause of death, but rather something likely a result OF parkinson’s.

[@njnjco]

And then Allen said to the voice, "I can hear you?" "You can do a lot more than that, Wester" "Like what?" "Let me show you"

[@DatWunGie]

How long did you work on that🤯

[@CommanderWof]

I'm pretty sure the "Raven" typo clue is meant to be read in the order of the letters, so "The truth is hidden" not "The hidden truth is." Not sure if that'll actually make a difference, but I figured I'd point it out.

[@rainswings1190]

that's my gut feeling too. Either that and there's reason it's out of order, or it's correctly "the hidden truth is" and then there's something supposed to be directly after it that was missed

[@Shaanthemicroraptorfan]

Yes, it's in order

[@grace1753]

Worth mentioning.

[@allynotfound4208]

Right that makes so much more sense

[@wolfyyy09]

Yeah, it links to ‘hidden inside’, so it says, the answer is hidden inside

[@Mariodasus]

"Friends forever spongebob!" -Patrick

[@jrgenw4795]

The fact that we will never know if this just leads to a Rick roll is scary

[@iAmTheOreo69]

😖😖

[@bababooie9420]

Let’s hope we don’t find out

[@enderknightproductions403]

Imagine that. The most elaborate rickroll ever

[@gingerfann67]

Holy shit that would be so hilarious

[@crescentmooncrafts2241]

Never gonna give you up-

[@XTRA_YT]

"You need to know the past, to know the future!" Old Root was telling everyone they had come to a dead end, and that they need to go back to go forward, everything past the first time he said it was a hint to past content, not what was coming next! So, in order to solve it, everything past the first reference needs to be ignored, and we only need to look at everything before it! That's my guess, but what do I know!...

[@HopePapernacky]

!!! Yes!

[@TIBKProductions]

Maybe “Give us back the old Minecraft graphics!”

[@aricreech498]

has the investigation picked up on this and continued or is it halted atm?

[@XTRA_YT]

Idk, I haven't kept up to date! Though I think about it all the time, and am anxiously awaiting a sequel (fingers crossed)/hopefully!...

[@TyroTyro_]

@@XTRA_YT yea, i'm really curious to know the answer. maybe the hints from the poem and painting and stuff aren't what we thought, what if there was something in the stories of those things were part of the clue that people were asking for. maybe those were there to help us figure out the first few things sent? not more parts of the story?

[@ProGremlinPlayer]

The guy who made Oldroot ended up making wacky SpongeBob theories years later. Awesome.

[@pleasantox7655]

Those SpongeBob theories are the thing keeping me going rn ngl

[@Paulo-qo3qe]

Gremlin wtf

[@ProGremlinPlayer]

@@Paulo-qo3qe what's wrong

[@Paulo-qo3qe]

@@ProGremlinPlayer you here, didnt expect

[@ianeons9278]

Where? Pls link

[@lifeiscats1337]

6:05 for anyone who doesn’t know brute force is a hacking method to create an algorithm that basically checks for literally every possibility of a 7-letter code in existence and check the validity of the codes to see if it’s an actual picture and then check the picture to see if it’s the right one. Do this process enough times and you’re eventually guaranteed to find it.

[@guts2048]

I already knew that but thanks for typing it out

[@lifeiscats1337]

@@guts2048yw

[@randomplushybrothers8939]

"Nice hat!" "Thanks!" "I was being sarcastic." " *WELL I STOLE YOUR FACE!* "

[@AlqhemyA]

Ah, I see you are also a man of culture

[@aquariumfish-i4h]

Asdfmovie

[@XboxTF2Tidbits]

Ah a fellow asdfwatcher

[@pillarp1441]

Asdf moment also when you said I stole your face it reminds me of the scene when it said my face was stolen

[@Y33T3RB0T]

*face slap*

[@Juicy7878]

So, no one thought about some of the closer things? "He will not be able to hear or communicate, i know this is hard to hear" sounds like a doctor telling the parents about a surgeryor a disability, many images with words "CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?" The weird video of the man being confused on being able to hear the distorted voice, "they took my face" the death report being parkinsons, the answer definitely has to do with the child with no face from the picture with the blurred family, it must be something like petscop, cryptically telling the sad story of a childs disappearance/death/murder etc.

[@Anton_1234]

My theory is that the main character has Parkinsons disease.

[@vulpritprooze]

damn... I imagine that the mystery has ended because the main character died who's the one that's giving us these cryptic messages therefore oldroot. He must be telling us that someone is after his life and so he wants someone to help him. Unfortunately, no one has ever solved the mystery therefore the author died and thus we failed. If this was real then it is such a sad ending.

[@official-obama]

@@vulpritprooze Alex (the creator) commented after it was released.

[@tentilol]

aw man i hate it when a raven steals my face and i have to start up an arg to save myself and then die cause people couldn't finish it, i died like 10 times already, it's getting tiring

[@charlie-yp2oq]

@@tentilol actually, I think either ravens or crows, I don't remember which, Steal eye balls

[@angelsh0t]

Why do I have the feeling that this ARG is about a faceless author that was deemed deceased? The facelessness could be metaphorical or literal but I have a feeling that the story is about an author who's death was faked,and he is trying to reveal to people what actually happened. There are details that I think were just overlooked because the changes were so subtle and slight that people thought they didn't have any clues when they were there the entire time. It also is weird to me that the plague doctor picture and the sentience >CAN ANYONE HELP ME? were overlooked. I feel like we are so close but so far because we relied on the oldroot accounts too much.

[@seporahrushing7216]

With the "CAN ANYONE HELP ME", are you referring to the image on 33:12 ? Because it looks more like "CAN ANYONE HEAR ME" The "HE'S WRONG" was also overlooked

[@angelsh0t]

@@seporahrushing7216 Yeah, I think it's definitely along one of those lines. And I didn't see the "HE'S WRONG" text at all. Thank you for letting me know about it.

[@charliebeaux4059]

yees this

[@kiracomments-chca2747]

I feel the same way.

[@agent8399]

When Oldroot says “If you want to know the future you must know the path he means they have to solve the old puzzles before they can what really happens meaning everything after the first time he says that is a dead end

[@arielgarel7699]

Love how every time you say "that same mysterious figure" it's just Steve

[@TomOrSMTidk]

Someone had to go onto Minecraft and build a chapel of melons JUST to scare people This is definitely the most in depth rickroll ever

[@person44222]

Lol

[@SkyQuakee]

19:10 the fact that a extremely clever code is named "bacon cipher" made me laugh so much

[@robertdixon3592]

Plot twist: the guys behind this just wanted to give people something to do Edit:you fool you thought I would say something cringe!

[@Papapsoso]

It’s not a plot twist, everyone knows it now

[@minorcomet282]

I feel like that's the goal for most ARGs

[@pastaplays3341]

@@Papapsoso ya

[@pastaplays3341]

@@minorcomet282 ?

[@pastaplays3341]

@@minorcomet282 creepy

[@Chaotic_Overlord]

I have watched your Minecraft icebergs and that ending with old root really got me interested so I decided to watch this video. This arg was really cool and really interesting. The reveal at the end that Old root was actually Alex Bale had to be the most predictable yet surprising reveal, I learned about them with the Spongebob theories and this arg has some similarities with how both started with very commonly liked stuff (minecraft/Spongebob) and then devolved in to it's original story (something which can also be somewhat applied to Pizza time pizza; going from a random funny video about a weird pizza man to what It Is now). I can definatly see why he wanted to stop this thoug, as It definatly did feel like It really wasn't going anywhere and that later on it ended up relying on multiple hints for It to continue. Overall I really enjoyed both the iceberg videos and this arg and I learned a few new things too.

[@MaybeNotARobot]

"The *Raven* is watching" "We are the *Answer* " KNEW IT, IT'S GUILTY GEAR

[@GuyWithAGreatsword]

What?

[@jakebeansboy3755]

I never noticed that Someone's bullshit is blazing today :)

[@xTheMLPGodx]

If this was done in current year, everybody would’ve just called oldroot an “edgelord” and call them cringe and move on

[@savetheevo]

Fr lmao

[@ironbackplays7861]

OldRoot: “For gods sake let me do my ARG!”

[@TOMNICE]

Not really. Back in those days they called Minecraft "cringe" and nowdays they praise it.

[@acompletelynormalbobsimp8468]

Sadly, now everything that is dark is something ""edgy""

[@imfeelinghomosexual]

True

[@beaniecakes124]

Dude I’m so fucking high this is scaring the shit out of me lmao

[@drfries172]

lmao same bro

[@edgygoat1258]

Big mood

[@kaig.7063]

Its even scarier if you watch, alone, on ur bed while its raining, and while its 2:30 in the night.

[@kcapila]

@@kaig.7063 Thats... strangely specific.

[@IndrasChildDeepAsleep]

Hahaa

[@iPhony_16]

I absolutely love the pigpen cipher. There are so many variations. I've never seen this *exact* one before though.

[@mylescarley32]

Plot twist: RetroGaming is actually OldRoot.

[@saltycelery2045]

@@nytrogyen no

[@randyhernandez515]

WOAH

[@RetroGamingNow]

I'm definitely not haha

[@StuckDuck]

@@RetroGamingNow 18 seconds ago ಠ_ಠ

[@poshpash622]

@@RetroGamingNow yeah totally not... wait a minute...

[@BoogerFart956]

I feel if this had coconut mall in the background, the vid would be a lot less ominous.

[@k_taaro]

Everything is less ominous with coconut mall in teh background

[@dutopp2]

When you get last place in mario kart:

[@vlaai6997]

Something I just thought of: During the Dutch Golden Age, Tulips gained their popularity as luxurious products and tulip sales reached their peak. Just something that came to me when thinking about how "Tip Toe Through the Tulips" played in the first video, truly food for thought in the end.

[@aurin_komak]

Oo it's all connected

[@RetroGamingNow]

This is interesting

[@YNGSMO]

@Rebecca Saunders as a german i can not confirm this the word seems pretty unnatural to me it reads its more like dutch or hungarian

[@banana_man_101]

@@YNGSMO I'm not German, nor am I dutch, but it looks pretty Dutch to me, especially the "hijt" at the end

[@modern6750]

Nevermore

[@lunarlullaby05]

I love how I had chills this entire video, and the thing that made me literally laugh out loud was you talking about the museum heist, simply because I've seen shane and ryan's video on it about a million times, and I could only imagine the damn security guard being the man behind old root, and that all of this shit somehow ended up leading to where the art is.

[@enderknight1442]

When the Warden is added to the game, I think you should do a Deep Dives episode on it. I personally think it could be a sort of prototype for the Iron Golem that the Villgaers or the Ancient Builders used that eventually went haywire and attacked innocent people, thus they were buried underground, never to see the light of day again.

[@RetroGamingNow]

I definitely will, but I want to wait until the full release so that I can get the best information

[@pixelator5312]

i mean, the name "warden" implies that they're keeping something in check... perhaps whatever's creating the sculk growths?

[@ReelOfHighlights]

@@pixelator5312 matpat has a theory on it

[@nwut]

@@pixelator5312 and then got corrupted themselves

[@enderknight1442]

@@RetroGamingNow Okay.

[@amilliarde1234]

people who do these: *lets wait 6 years for someone to find this out* 🥶🥶👌😎

[@jzv.71]

period

[@scanbbb]

@@jzv.71 shhhh

[@justlixian293]

The pinned comment lol

[@916hz]

@@jzv.71 "period" - ☝🤓

[@ธนาเดชศุภนัทนพร]

@@jzv.71 The Emoji they wrote overwritten it

[@K4GELBLLTZ]

absolutely insane that this is minecraft related

[@chiaochunwang]

At some point we forgot this was a Minecraft mystery.

[@ST-RTheProtogen]

I used to be obsessed with those "magic eye" books as a kid (you know the ones where you unfocus and then focus your eye on an image to reveal a 3d shape) and that image at 20:32 instantly caught my attention. Dunno if this is just a random byproduct of the colors but I could kinda make out a shape the letters. Might be worth checking out, and I'm not the best at focusing on images that jumbled. The image following that one also had a 3d effect, but no shape that I could see.

[@reki2703]

I used real 3D glasses on the image and what you were seeing appears to just be a byproduct of the colors in the image

[@comradegarrett1202]

I'm pretty good at magic eye pictures so I spent a minute with my eyes crossed looking for something before realizing that it can't be one. they always have some kind of repeating tiled background to trick the eyes into focusing when the fields of view are overlapping. that pattern looks fully random, with no repeating parts. I think he just used the noise to make these harder to read without adjusting the brightness.

[@sadawjameed]

I defo see an x above the q and a w below it but who knows

[@lidelse666]

it’s a sailboat

[@PonyBeads.twinbro]

@@reki2703 AIRY??:>

[@egg_404]

The reveal that Oldroot was actually Alex Bale is so awesome. I love the guy's stuff and have been watching since the Pizza Time Pizza series

[@auramaster8763]

But the real question is, is Pizza Time Pizza a cult?

[@idekanymorefr]

@@auramaster8763 No, it's a family.

[@Kawamagi]

@@auramaster8763 pizza time pizza is definitely not a cult. papa johns is a cult. this hat is not a cult. pizza time pizza is not this hat, therefore pizza time pizza is not a cult.

[@jackeral109]

Pizza tower

[@marbleWRKS]

@@jackeral109why the frick did you have the urge to say that? that topic has people obsessed with it now

[@connermcauley6115]

Imagine if the last link was a rickroll.

[@goldbloxxer8833]

OldRoot: GOOD JOB ON MAKING IT THIS FAR. YES EVEN THE RICKROLL HAS CLUES. PLEASE TRY DECODING IT.

[@connermcauley6115]

how to rickroll the entire world

[@Randomnameidk]

I would cry

[@HollylandProductions]

Lol

[@fantasticgood5403]

"Well great we came all this way for a Rickroll"

[@ZaidMustafa-bq2qq]

I love your channel, it's a [[EXTREMELY]] enjoyment

[@kalvingato7]

I was honestly hoping everything would lead to a Rick Roll

[@Dillahbr]

The best rickroll on this universe

[@personman2346]

YEAAAAS

[@yareyare9605]

The greatest Rickroll in existence

[@ThatOneMF_]

“Remembers How to basic’s “face reveal” Mini ARG”

[@blank_home1229]

what gives people feelings of power. money, fame, being able to read the starting text without pausing.

[@g_qb5371]

Nice pfp

[@perfectcuppourer5319]

True Memer Collect all meme formats

[@jph1159]

No

[@fallshd6992]

the moment i saw "Lenore" i immediately remembered that the "maiden" in The Raven was named Lenore. this wasnt mentioned here but im sure someone realized it.

[@wvvj_animates]

I thought of the poem “Lenore” by Edgar Allen Poe

[@ienarii6123]

I thought of my friend named Lenore

[@Timmering]

i thought of... uh... Lenore!

[@jamesgroccia644]

The rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore. Nameless _here_, for evermore.

[@buddyholly855]

nah cuz i love how this man incorporated edgar alen poe

[@Mr.Pilgrammed]

My man really teaching us one of the scariest minecraft creepypasta

[@videogameKid124]

🕺🏿

[@videogameKid124]

Sorry I’m weird

[@mrwhite9010]

'And then it finally happened - OldRoot posted to reddit' - why does this line make me laugh?

[@Turbs94945]

Probably because of reddit's not very good reputation

[@Charlse_main]

Your pfp is more scarier than the video

[@Turbs94945]

@@Charlse_main I've seen far more disturbing things than that lol

[@eof6270]

Truly an elon musk keanu reeves big chungus wholesome 100 epic reddit moment

[@Kyle_Reese]

@@eof6270 *K e v i n .*

[@luftwaffle9029]

finally! reading "The Raven" 400 times to analyze it in school has paid off!

[@thezombiekat7506]

Hah same English is useless no more!

[@crptic9925]

Now when I think of Herobriane I think of Old Raven for some reason

[@luftwaffle9029]

I feel that herobrian is like the protagonist of "The Raven" He lost his "lenore" and (kinda going off the poema little) but is saddend with greif, so, he takes his anger and sadness on innocent 10 yr olds

[@crptic9925]

@@luftwaffle9029 lmao, hes old and he’s always said to be watching like ravens. But he rarely stricks so it think the name Old Raven is a good fit it doesn’t replace herobriane but it seems catchy and good

[@katherineshowalter8352]

Haha lol

[@Maverick-hf1pe]

Getting some classic herobrine mystery vibes from this, i miss back when people made full documentary investigations about him

[@diobrando1882]

I like how the guy behind the ARG is constantly forced to give new clues because nobody could figure out what old ones meant