[Vinesauce] Vinny - Gmod Liminal Space Maps #1

[@agwellin]

My take on a well-done liminal space map is that you shouldn't ever feel comfortable to stay in one place. There should be blind corners, open spaces, open thresholds. You should never feel cozy. You should never be "scared" but you should likewise never think it would be a good place to lay down a cot and sleep for the night.

[@burgbass]

I’m one of those weirdos that would love to be alone in those places lol

[@Aeduo]

I think a lot of retail and business spaces are almost intentionally like this, either because of extreme cheapness and a weird semi-standardized cookie-cutter construction, or they literally want people shuffling through just quickly enough that they're looking at things but not so long that other customers can't make their way through, too, so they're just kinda quick to pay and get out too.

[@gamerly.gamer69]

I like liminal spaces for how comfy they look

[@gamerly.gamer69]

I like liminal spaces for how comfy they look

[@BierBart12]

@@Aeduo That honestly describes the concept really well. You don't want people to be completely immersed and never stop looking at your commercial space, you want it to move them and draw them towards wanting to purchase. Which inevitably leads to them being uncomfortable if it remains for too long.

[@shirakutenshi]

I think once you start putting bloodsplatters and spooky shadow figures in the map, it's not really a liminal space anymore, it's just a very tame horror map.

[@MatthewT394]

Now, if you put soldiers in the map with guns. It just became a surreal close-quarters combat map.

[@plasmaxander912]

@@MatthewT394 I like the idea of an FPS with all the maps being liminal spaces, imagine a GM_Liminal save where you use the parkour mod and CW 2.0 to like, jump around the grocery store section to take cover behind shelves but as like a full game, lots of potential with that concept.

[@nah456]

@@plasmaxander912 i love doing that shit

[@marsshadow117]

​@@plasmaxander912 The Shadgrimgrvy trilogy of maps (Paranoia, Insomnia, and Hypnophobia) are probably my favorite Garry's Mod maps that are close to what you're asking for. They're more outright surreal than liminal spaces usually are but they're sets of beautifully constructed combat arenas with some of the best usages of default Half Life 2 assets I've ever seen.

[@Electric0eye]

I generally agree, I think part of the charm of liminal spaces is that you can't really put a finger on *why* it unsettles you, by all rights there's nothing *really* scary about them, they're just, unnerving. That said, I would definitely enjoy some creepy little, very subtle things to find in maps like these. Make it especially worth exploring. EDIT: That mini playground at around an hour in is a perfect example of what I mean, holy fuck.

[@Alfenium]

Vinny looks for food for an hour and 16 minutes.

[@dissonanceparadiddle]

Oh please tell me he does more than one map

[@bluthian]

First thing a human being will try to do in an unfamiliar environment

[@vrabo3026]

He could just order takeout, no need to look for food. Silly.

[@mr80s81]

And 31 seconds

[@Matt-ot9nx]

“Vinny’s hungry”

[@painwheel_1337]

In the end of a day the best liminal space map is default G-mod map.

[@nubbe8986]

GM_Construct is one hell of a creepy map Thats why TONS and i mean TONS of early gmod "rumors" and "myths" is located on that map Love the painwheel pfp btw

[@Tuchpi]

Real, I never liked going inside that building

[@0opsAllKobolds]

18:00 Following Vinny's theory of being trapped in this liminal area and searching for food. When he randomly switched to the pistol, I just thought, "Imaging being there and searching for days for food, and then in a space, you've been several times already you find a pistol with a full mag."

[@mycocodog47]

Worse would be finding a pistol with half a magazine, you can't see any spent shells near where you found it either. And it's warm when you pick it up.

[@Anodoni]

@@mycocodog47 At that point, I'd probably believe I'm in some sort of unknown experiment.

[@shadowboy0126]

No. even worse. A mag with 1 bullet. The implication is a bit terrifying.

[@AlejandroSilva-mr7yy]

"thank god!" And blow my brains out

[@pootislord3112]

it's sort of the concept behind the backrooms wiki.

[@Dougie-Jones]

The *You’re playing on Garry’s Mod, enjoy your stay!* message made this oddly enough more affective.

[@GigglebunsUV]

it gave me chills tbh

[@Vekette]

Imagine it just playing once every few minutes over a loudspeaker in an abandoned building

[@LeudieBlues]

Would be unsettling yet funny if the message continued to persist no matter what you did.

[@GigglebunsUV]

@@Vekette i hate the idea of that happening irl if not for the fact that it mentions playing something

[@Anodoni]

@@GigglebunsUV Imagine playing Garry's Mod while walking around an abandoned building in real-life and every few minutes a voice says "You’re playing on Garry’s Mod, enjoy your stay!" over the building's loudspeakers.

[@gangalot]

i like how throughout the vod vinny starts getting more and more into the concept of liminal spaces, and starts to get out of his way to find the reference images the creators of the map used, pretty good maps too. Also, sussy shadow at 22:51

[@Templarfreak]

there was a few he missed like that, like one around 38:02

[@LolaTheGardevoir]

The hotel map has a few shadow figures hidden inside of it.

[@shantaeisbae]

@@LolaTheGardevoir it's weird not seeing you in a mother 3 or earthbound video Hi

[@cabecinha4987]

@@LolaTheGardevoir hey you're one of my favourite commenters on youtube, I always see you in Mother or Yume Nikki OST

[@LolaTheGardevoir]

@@cabecinha4987 I also comment on LSD Dream Emulator and Space Funeral but I’m honestly surprised people find me as one of their favorite commenters

[@anankos795]

For anyone wondering, the song at 22:47 is called “Drifting time misplaced” by Leyland Kirby/The Caretaker. Specifically, it is a part of STAGE 3 of "Everywhere at the End of Time" (F2 even more specifically). It is an edited version of the song “Lullaby of the Leaves” by Layton & Johnstone, in the sense that the song is manipulated in such a way as to not only create a new experience but also to tie in with the intention and themes of the album series as a whole.

[@YokaiDisorder]

So wait, is it from EATEOT or AEBBTW?

[@Jaded_AF]

I had a feeling it was from EATOET but I couldn't remember which one it was. Thanks.

[@thag_simmons]

you're not wrong to say it's an edit but I find it a bit disingenuous to just call sampling, chopping, and screwing an "edit." I guess it's the baggage "edit" has in this context combined with the debated validity of sampling in music?

[@anankos795]

@@YokaiDisorder It is from "Everywhere at the End of Time". I apologize for not originally specifying this and have edited my original comment to do such. Thank you for wondering!

[@anankos795]

@@thag_simmons I do understand what you mean, and I apologize if my use of the word "edited" implied any sort of discrediting or negative connotation towards The Caretaker. That was not my intention, as I really respect his work and have even made a tribute piece of my own. I have edited my original comment to provide an explanation towards what I meant by that word. Thank you for the comment!

[@aneasteregg8171]

I think what makes liminal spaces creepy, to me, is it feels like someplace you shouldn't be, like you're trespassing. They're places that are meant to have a lot of people in them, and instead there isn't. Like you've broken into an abandoned mall and you're worried maybe you AREN'T alone. Whether that means a security guard or a serial killer or a ghost or some kind of monster, doesn't really matter. I kinda get the same feeling in the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time. There's something so unnaturally empty about it.

[@karma6970]

This. Also the fact some spaces can feel familiar. Sometimes you can have an eerie feeling simply walking around your house in the dark. That's how it is for me anyways

[@funnyfroggiealert1816]

another thing what makes a liminal space so creepy is that you're not meant to be in them for a long time. you enter an airport or a parking garage for the sole purpose of going somewhere else. then being *stuck* in a place that wasn't designed for any human to remain there, but rather be part of a consistent design formula to funnel people from one place to the next... is eerie!

[@deltaf.2005]

A bunch of them looks like they're supposed to be some filming locations from a spooky movie except the ghost/murderer/devil/etc. just isn't there.. Not even the camera man, director, actors. Not a single soul. Like you're just revisiting the project for nostalgically but also don't remember it at all at the same time. It's just that weird.

[@zeeteepippi275]

The fact that it's not abandoned, it's still open and being maintained. The lights are still working, just nobody's there anymore.

[@Anodoni]

Old games in general are a _goldmine_ for this sort of thing. It's the reason I always found Super Mario 64 eerie as a kid, and I still can, when I play that game alone at night. It's not so bad when you're outside the castle; the sound of the butterflies, the birds, the ocean, the waterfall, etc. make you feel not alone in a way that's pleasant and calming, but inside of the castle there's absolutely _nobody._ Yes, there's the Toads, but they don't really help because they're these weird 'specters' that fade away the farther you are from them, and we learn from dialogue that's because they are actually trapped in the walls and what we see are their 'projections' of themselves to communicate to Mario. This is made even creepier by the name of that bombastic, grandiose music playing throughout the castle (which by itself adds to the liminal space factor, like you'd need a whole-ass orchestra to play this music but there it is, just playing throughout the _entire_ castle), the name of the song is "Inside the Castle Walls," which can either refer to Mario walking through the castle or, more creepily, the Toads and Peach trapped in the walls. Not to mention Wet-Dry World, which is liminal space incarnate. I mean, it's definitely left an impression on me, that's actually why I like it; it's solidified itself as my favorite SM64 level. Just this big ol' underwater city looming above you, and this abandoned town underground, and there are just puzzles everywhere for some reason. A lot of people made fun of the SM64 "secrets" last year, like the Wario Apparition and the creepy 1995/07/29 (DO NOT RESEARCH) stuff, but I fucking loved that shit. Not just as a kid who grew up playing SM64 and found it to be downright eerie at points, but also as someone who grew up on the internet _loving_ stuff such as going through KZbin and finding videos about Polybius, Ben Drowned, Herobrine, the Luigi's Mansion phone room thing, and all these other weird internet gaming "ghost stories." A lot of it was obviously dumb, such as Herobrine and the Luigi's Mansion shadow, but it's just _fun_ to look at it through the eyes of, like, a kid who doesn't know any better.

[@elvenham1]

The pools are what really get me. I used to have dreams like this as a child where there would be these huge, open rooms covered in yellowish-green tile, weird pipes and platforms, and stairs leading down into clear water that filled half the rooms. It was like a huge, empty factory that went on forever, and I'd be trying to get from one platform to another. I think a good idea could be a "fun house.." with mirror mazes hooked to those Nerf-lined indoor obstacle courses that even go up and down, as well as other directions. I got stuck in one of these when I was little, and it put a sort of claustrophobic fear in me. It was like there was no way out, and some ways just felt as if they couldn't be traversed.

[@feralroach7019]

I also had weird pool dreams as a kid, but one where it was dark inside and it was a really nasty pool, yet my family always wanted to go there. This was a reoccurring dream and every time there was this weird "portal" that I would get sucked into every time in the dream and could never escape. Awful dreams lol

[@Boamere]

I had similar dreams, in mine the tiles were green. The roof was tiled and very low and there was a little square sauna in the middle of a giant knee high pool that had 3 godlike beings in it. I’d jump out the sauna when I woke up. This is weird but I used to think that the dream was something I saw before I was born

[@Jack_Woods]

There's just some... specific vibe that pools give to any space like it's a relaxation spot, amidst the weird aura these spaces give

[@balikiller]

i had very very similar dreams, usually focused around an abandoned, decrepit location, with some sort of foreign body of water, and for whatever reason the water specifically gave me such a strange feeling

[@papermartin879]

did u astral project into the backrooms as a kid or something

[@hoffer_moment]

Vinny's hypothetical scenario at ~ 9:00 is very similar to the premise of a long lost indie movie that aired on the SyFy channel in like 2005 called Purgatory, where a woman dies and is left to wander aimlessly around a creepy blue-tinted distorted house/facility with interesting spaces and lighting. No real survival aspects though afaik I've searched hard for this movie online and found nothing. The feeling it evoked has stayed in my head all this time

[@NTripleOne]

I am so incredibly intrigued by the premise of this movie, sucks that it may be lost media at this point. :(

[@awesmpossm]

Just dropping a comment here so I can be notified if anybody finds it. This sounds like a really interesting movie.

[@TanakaMoon]

I'll check the Lost Media Wiki to see if anything strikes a bell. You might wanna make a post on the forums or their Discord as well.

[@rustypatriot4335]

b

[@hoffer_moment]

@@rustypatriot4335 b

[@dominikjohann]

Story time: I took the original picture of that hotel! It's been a few years since I 'discovered' it and it's absolutely wild seeing it show up in so many places. It was all due to a weird coincidence - at the time I'd been on a trip to a game developers conference in the US with my team. Our flight from Berlin had a massive delay and we missed our connecting flight from London. Our luggage had already gone, but without another flight that day we were stuck in limbo for the night. The airline gave each of us a complimentary bag with a toothbrush, a t-shirt, and so on, and they booked us into a Holiday Inn Express hotel at London Heathrow Terminal 4. Walking into the building, what immediately struck me was that, apart from the entrance, there were no windows or openings to the outside, so the entire building had essentially fallen out of time. I assume this is so it's easier to deal with jet lag on layovers. These strange nightmare qualities aside, the place wasn't all that bad. Once we were checked in, a friend and I explored the different floors and areas. We crossed a little bridge right above the reception area, I looked into the 'courtyard' and the view stopped me in my tracks. I remember thinking: this looks like a miniature or a video game level, there's no detail or any small things to describe the relative scale. So I snapped a quick picture with my iPhone. In the photo, in one of the windows opposite the camera, you can see the reflections of two people - that's me and my co-worker Joe! I posted the picture to my Twitter the next morning and it made quite a splash - whenever I mention that I'm responsible for it, people usually don't believe me. That's okay though, since then it's developed a life of its own. I'm just really glad that I could contribute a small part to this fascinating internet subculture, and seeing that it inspired so many people to create art, stories and virtual spaces based on it is just the best. I'm unable to post a link to my original tweet as that'll block my comment, but if you search for my handle 'zerstoerer' and 'on the way to america', you'll find it. Thanks for reading!

[@StereoTyp0]

Huh, it is you. Thanks for capturing a space capable of causing so much unease.

[@sleeper_cell_sol]

Your picture has contributed so much to represent liminal space. Its one of the better ones I’ve seen really and I hope to actually go to that hotel in person. Thanks for writing this.

[@kargaroc386]

I think I once described it as, its kinda like what you'd think a building on the moon would look like. Like a lunar city would have a hotel that looks like that.

[@Vextrove]

I believe you. It's a great photograph

[@zxcasf]

Bruh, I just watched Skinamarink, saw this comment, checked your channel and found out you made that Skinamarink shitpost I watched not even an hour prior. What a small world we live in sometimes, makes me wanna run full tilt at a wall in awe.

[@hlavco]

The office-type liminal spaces remind me of a place I worked at as an intern. It was a small business, but my boss owned the entire sparsely-rented building. It was actually two old office buildings attached to one another, and the layout never made any sense in my head. One day he gathered everyone up for a Christmas party, and led us through what seemed like a maze of rooms and corridors to finally get to the room he had picked for the party. It was just so weird. On one occasion when my apartment needed some emergency maintenance, he told me that there were showers in the building that I could use if I needed them. And I was just thinking to myself, "Where could there be showers in here? WHY would there be showers in here?"

[@SignumImperativ]

"I don't see a purpose" And this is the exact nature of a liminal space and why it feels slightly unsettling.

[@Biodeamon]

unfortunately you're wrong there. there is a purpose, you just never factored into it. that's what's so disturbing about the backrooms. you're not supposed to be here

[@Templarfreak]

@@Biodeamon ??? im not sure what you're on about, that's not what a liminal space is at all, and that's especially strange because the definition of a liminal space is actually quite broad, but not really that. it is a transition. a hallway or a door connecting two rooms. or a span of time a place is empty between uses. as an extension of that second one, a room that is meant to be generic where its purpose is to be used as the user sees fit (like, a rentable space, for example for conventions). hence why a purpose for liminal spaces is often quite vague and hard to pinpoint, because they often dont have a specific purpose, they are just a space. and one that is not being used, or is in a period between usage. there isnt exactly anything WRONG with a liminal space out-right, and that is what the real deal is. nothing is actually wrong, but there is no context to understand, so our mind runs wild with ideas. in the case of the Backrooms, its an area that is *only* Liminal spaces. All places not being used, or all places are just connections between other places. all hallways and doors, connecting no rooms.

[@evandotson6975]

@@Templarfreak basically to put it way more simply, it’s places between locations, ones not really intended to lingered in especially, like the empty areas in malls that usually have the lights low for some reason.

[@hangry3102]

@@evandotson6975 Chefs kiss summery. Whenever I walk through those "Mall Halls" just as you described, I genuinely feel like that walkway could lead anywhere, literally so vague your imagination runs wild in there. I always think of a zombie apocalypse breaking out for some reason. It might just be the fact a lot of zombie movies use liminal spaces as their settings, but also because you subconsciously don't want to be trapped in a space without any use and think of the worst case scenarios, like Vinny did in these maps.

[@nullpoint3346]

Transitory places.

[@theborg6327]

56:20 i used to work for an archive and the archive part of the building itself looked pretty much like that, it was just a subterranean room with tons of rows of cabinets and once you closed the door it was dead silent, i remember one of my co-workers telling me that people always went there in pair since if you went alone the silence could lead you to imagine sounds and movements

[@Thinzy]

4:00 "this is where we started" "is it?", this is what sums up liminal space for me

[@PolyesterMoustache]

Playing as skull kid while being lost in liminal spaces actually feels really appropriate

[@agoosed3281]

Seeing him miss every jumpscare in Liminal Hotel was hilarious, made my day. Was so glad to see that he played it after seeing the tribute it had in the first map.

[@Jullan-M]

22:50 Shadowy figure behind the pillar. Kind of wish he played that map more thoroughly. There were a couple of more spots he could have noticed them stalking him, such as in the hotel room when he walks across the one of the bridges.

[@audixas1]

I was switching windows when it happened, thought it was just a result of that. Went back and NOPE

[@ArtFell_YT]

i came just to post that! i was like WTF was that a bug? rewinded and just like Audixas... NOPE!

[@sumguy3687]

.

[@Adamulos]

More than one pair of steps at 25:00

[@lineriderrulz]

@@Adamulos I was shocked that he didn't notice that

[@Dom9606]

my understanding of liminal spaces are places you just pass through rather than linger, they're usually full of people such as hallways or airports, which is why it's creepy when you're there by yourself

[@CypressDahlia]

yeah they're spaces that are meant to be "moved thru". So you get the emotional anticipation of things moving thru there, but you're by yourself. Your brain kinda tricks you into feeling like you aren't actually alone there. I feel like it probably wouldn't work on people or young kids who haven't experienced large spaces, tho, because it kinda relies on triggering that memory.

[@Poolboy001]

I think that 'liminal space' to most people has evolved from being things like hallways and airports to any spaces that tickle the uncanny valley.

[@AnxietyOpossum]

Yes this, but also the concept that the *place itself* is in the process of shifting between states, e.g. an old building with no furniture as it's been abandoned, and will eventually be used for something else, or be destroyed

[@TheScrootch]

I think the factor that there's usually people is just as important as the architecture itself. Like an empty school at night

[@ArtForSwans]

I feel like the server messages somehow add to the feeling that these maps are trying to convey. It makes it feel like you're in a long-dead server in some forgotten corner of a computer game. Strangely nostalgic, yet slightly unsettling. Never knowing if you'd randomly see a chat message from someone you didn't even know was there. I got the same feeling from Worlds.

[@gothwafflez]

ooooh like playing on all the long-dead half-life deathmatch servers. most of them are completely empty or have a few bots in them and nothing else. definitely very eerie

[@userfromspace8952]

Oh my, someone still remember about worlds. It was very long time since I last heard about 'em.

[@zeallust8542]

@@gothwafflez ah man you just gave me flashbacks to playing Half Life 2 death match as a kid, despite the servers being empty

[@gothwafflez]

@@zeallust8542 oh yeah, I was mainly talking about the original half life's deathmatch mode but half life 2 deathmatch is also pretty eerie

[@gorganaut4090]

@@gothwafflez fr its like your exploring old ruins of a bygone era.

[@Glory2Snowstar]

Oh man, Gmod's kinda perfect for this, isn't it? Hoping to see a surreal maze of pool tiles and water. I don't know why but I LOVE any liminal space related to waterparks or pools.

[@simplename1064]

Me too

[@DeaconPain]

Ever had dreams of large places like water parks of malls that go on forever or you cant find the exit to?

[@macrohotline8834]

@@irabbit_ meaty or WATCHER ~

[@viscidvioletdisgustingverm1020]

I think it's cause a place that's mostly submerged in water is inherently liminal in a sense. As a human you're not really supposed to constantly be in water, so a place that's an endless standing pool is just. Not comfortable.

[@FlavorTownResident]

@@DeaconPain The bad/nightmare version of this is endless giant dark public washroom that has no exit that has randomly placed sinks, urinals and toilet stalls. Just the plumbing and logistics of a place like that sounds scary enough lol

[@kever905]

The message of "You're playing on Gmod, enjoy your stay!" and it never leaving despite messing with game files. I feel like fits well with Liminal spaces.

[@ThisUsernameSystemF-ckingSucks]

Its a ulib, ulx thing lol. XGUI, lets you turn the adverts off.

[@TehSkullKid]

I like liminal space images in threads or on youtube videos with music or ambiance, but as lots of people point out, the terror comes from the idea of being alone in and stuck in a space that’s usually full of people and transient. Having a relatively talkative streamer like Vinny play it makes it feel more like you’re urban exploring with a friend.

[@Templarfreak]

liminal spaces aren't all just freaky and terrifying, sometimes it does just feel like that, like you're trying to piece together a puzzle and understand what a given liminal space _is_ :D

[@JuiceCroosder]

I always thought liminal spaces are what alien's trying to replicate human architecture would look like.

[@tacothedank]

A really good way I've heard liminal spaces described is they're oftentimes places that look like they were designed FOR humans, but not BY humans

[@SauloA333]

That's just modern and contemporary architecture bro

[@kaylievinchenstein9987]

I love how vin goes from not getting it, to letting his imagination run wild as he basically comes up with the premise of project zomboid.

[@cr1msonriver]

god this makes me wanna play project zomboid again, or like try to find a first person version of it. a backrooms survival game or a survival game with liminal spaces would be a game i play for hours

[@DarkClaws914]

@@cr1msonriver 7 days to die?

[@Aeduo]

38:02 vinny misses a spook. Kinda poor design though, it's only there for 4 frames. It almost looks like a visual glitch like something loading in or a culling issue than something spooky. It would be a tough balance though because you wouldn't want to make it TOO blatant, especially on a map that isn't specifically intended to be spooky.

[@Evaisa]

I noticed it lol

[@ProfessorSnack]

@@Evaisa 22:49 on the left side of the screen when he looks up you see a figure behind the pillar/where the blood spot now is

[@TheHeavyModd]

@@ProfessorSnack wow good eye, it's there for a fraction of a second

[@radcliffe2192]

There are couple more spooks and a little secret if you break the record player.

[@PanAthens]

My brain caught onto something suspicious being there at first but it was so short and Vinny was going so fast that I just *didn't care* and that absolutely tickles me knowing there was indeed a spook

[@Hikarmeme]

The first map is probably one of my favorites of the genre because it almost perfectly replicates the world we see in our dreams. Foreign in some ways yet familiar in others, with little to no cohesion. One moment you're in your old school's common area, the next you're in a dingy green indoor swimming pool.

[@Jojje94]

Exactly what came to my mind when I saw the first map. It looks like places you'd remember from a half-forgotten dream.

[@najwan3672]

the stanley parable was probably my first ever exposure to liminal spaces. when i was a kid, i saw a video of some youtuber playing the game and got really, really uneased by it but i couldn't put my finger on why. my conception for a "3D first-person game" was so primitive that i expected the game to give you a weapon or something but that's not the game was about and got really offput by it. there were these semi-realistic corridors that never lead to anywhere and this omnipotent narrator telling you stuff and it made me really unsettled. nowadays, i just think it's a really funny and witty game but i avoided that game for 6 years of my life purely because of those reasons alone which goes to show how unsettling liminal spaces can be

[@vacuumboots]

The Beginners Guide, made by one of the Parable designers, is another good example of this (also in the Source engine)

[@memesarekeem]

@@vacuumboots The Beginner's Guide goes crazy, super underrated game with a fantastic subtext.

[@Aurora-pi6jr]

55:45 I think this one would be very interesting to be stuck in you have the possibility of being able to open these drawers, with there being a chance each one is empty or each one has something inside of them (if not all, a select few) that, or, they could all be locked and it would drive you insane checking them all, taking hours or even days at a time clanging metal drawers to the point where you'll hear it in your sleep. At the very worst, only one drawer is useful towards your escape from this place. It could be an elaborate puzzle, or a treasure trove of valuables that you would have no use for if you can't escape, or each drawer could contain memoirs of the long gone dead, the possibilities are endless.

[@AdmiralChimp]

And then there's that vent that leads to a secret room where someone presumably lived in before you got there. And that'll leave you wondering what happened to that person? Did they find a way to escape and how? Or did something else happen to them?

[@DukDolan]

that could be an episode of the twilight zone lol

[@ringer1324]

I really loved this. Just listening to vin talk while walking through atmospheric weird Gmod maps couldn’t ask for more. Weirdly calming

[@MasterSwordRemix]

Man, I love this stuff. There's a 90's PC game based on the Titanic called "Adventure Out of Time" that oozes this strange, lonely feeling. It's a great game.

[@JohnSmith-fq3rg]

Myst has a similar feeling at times, also another classic, I recommend the original point and click, the remake loses a bit of the charm of the original rendera

[@sabotabo7476]

one day when i was in high school, our photography class went down to the basement to take pictures that played with lighting and what not, and in that basement i saw the only area i would describe as a "liminal space." the school i went to was very large (in fact, i believe it's the largest in america measured by indoor area), and when we got down there, the teacher told us we could go anywhere in the basement except for one part-- a strange, small room completely filled with nothing but a mess of pipes that rounded a corner out of view. she then divided us into groups of three and sent us off. my group, of course, decided to let curiosity get the best of us and take a look in the pipe room. when the teacher wasn't looking, we climbed in. the inside was an absolute maze. it was one straight hallway, well lit, with brick walls, a dirt floor, and a ceiling so low we couldn't stand up. there was no clear area meant for humans to move through, just a maze of pipes. but what struck me the most was how *long* the hall was-- even fully lit, i could not see the end. it appeared to go on forever. naturally, we decided to go further in. we trekked down the hallway, ducking, climbing, crawling over and under pipes of various sizes. the further in we went, the quieter the sounds of the other students became, yet we never seemed to get closer to the end. we kept going just to sate our curiosity, hoping we'd make it to the end, but as we went deeper, an unsettling feeling grew-- a feeling of loneliness, a kind of confusion, and a very subtle... creepiness. this feeling grew and grew the longer we stayed in that room. it became hot and stuffy. the air was stale and we began to sweat. we could not hear the others anymore. there was no sound at all except for the shuffling of our feet. when that discomfort finally became too much, we all decided to turn back-- only this time, we hurried. soon we heard our classmates again, and we managed to slip back in just seconds before the bell rang. we left the pipe room and i never saw it again. but that strange unease that i have only experienced once is, in my mind, what a liminal space should ideally feel like.

[@JacobKinsley]

Why is anyone even trying when bigcity is the best liminal space map ever designed

[@Qweba]

28:17 skull kid in the mirror scared me

[@goobusmcgee684]

I KNOW HE WALKED INTO THE BATHROOM AND I JUMPED

[@sherprix_8889]

I am so here for this. The one thing i love about gmod/ half life is the creepy liminal feeling about them, and i'd literally eat up hours long vids/ vods of just maps like this.

[@TheHeavyModd]

Something about the Source engine has an unnerving atmosphere to it

[@nickm5419]

@@TheHeavyModd it feels dystopian and totalitarian, with a somehow far future sci fi with a Russian late 60s/80s Eastern Bloc aesthetic

[@TheHeavyModd]

@@nickm5419 Yeah, I totally get what you mean! The colors and graphics give themselves well to a bleak, oppressive world. Source works very well with functionalist/brutalist architecture.

[@pumaman7072]

I'd recommend a channel called "The Librarian". He does various horror/spooky related stuff, including tons of spooky Gmod map exploration videos, one of my favorites being his rp/Asheville video.

[@wantedwario2621]

What Vinny doesn't realize is that every Gmod map is a liminal space

[@LightningLee77]

I'm interested in a series now where's it's just the protagonist wandering around these liminal spaces with monologues, life stories, and creating stories of what they think these liminal spaces are. One point comes where they decide to take a step into the water inside the room that they've been avoiding out of unease like Vinny, only to realize there really isn't that much else inside those pools, which of itself is fairly unsettling.

[@fabianoyaga8610]

There's a game called NaissanceE, which is free and it's the closest thing there is to what you ask for, except that there is no dialogue.

[@crystalalumina]

I don't know if it helps, but there's this anime named Blame! That kinda uses these empty spaces to give you unease

[@jonothanrennert3098]

Me and my friends are writing a book rn, and at one point the characters are in a place called the great indoors where it’s miles and miles of building and room smushed together. It’s practically just liminal space after liminal space. Can’t wait to write that part

[@Mecheye]

Search for The Librarian on youtube. He goes through several maps a lot slower and in VR. it really changes the dynamic.

[@C_Kiri]

I love this aesthetic of just, slowly walking through maps designed to have no purpose, trying to contextualize a space utterly devoid of meaning by nature. 'What would you do to escape here', 'how would you try and live in this building'. Definitely wanna see more if there's any more good ones.

[@Lagdroid]

liminal space and vinny sound like an odd but somehow fitting combo

[@SireNukerre]

Honestly the "quirky" little graffiti on the wall actually contributes to that liminal space feeling for me-- I had that experience when I was younger when my dad drove by a street of dimly lit factory blocks and I spotted this weird graffiti on a staircase landing that my mind kept seeing as a warped :O face and it gave me the weird vibes ever since. Doesn't help that it's an industrial area at night, when you normally see industrial areas filled with people casually working are now unsettlingly empty. Thinking back it's probably an errant spray on the wall or someone trying to mark 606 on the wall or something. Another thing is the dream-like feeling in some places like an open courtyard where the ground floor cannot be seen at many angles, giving you the feeling that you're in an enclosed box in the sky or something. That said, I love these.

[@DetournementArc]

I think a lot of Liminality (at least in the online sense) is the Aesthetic of Purpose, bereft of purpose. Empty workstations, halls leading nowhere, etc My kid brother used to have this Child Misconception that city skyscrapers were just weird office cubicles with no entry or exit. That is the vibe I think speaks to this

[@motionsuggests]

situationist reference in username? I feel that fits in very well here lol

[@SkeleKats]

I like the little "What if you lived in this place" stories he made

[@ChefBarry]

I know what I’m doing for the next hour, loving the Halloween stuff this year! Thanks Mr.Vincent Sauce

[@blobbem]

I've seen videos on some of these maps already and I can already tell you that the Hotel map has some ghostly figures that pop up, which Vinny completely missed. 1:03:12 - Yep, the Winchester House. The widow of the "firearms magnate William Wirt Winchester", Sarah Winchester, had the house built with many rooms, stairs that lead to nowhere and even a door that led to the outside on the second floor of the house to confuse the spirits of those who died from Winchester rifles, of which she thought was haunting her family.

[@valordelink]

at 22:51 you can see someone there, behind the pillar

[@visceral8293]

As a child, I used to explore the multiplayer maps in Turok 2 by myself, because the game let you start a multiplayer game by yourself. It was a very eerie and creepy feeling when exploring them alone, like someone was watching you, but always out of sight. I suppose that would be a good example of liminal spaces.

[@JiF28]

Vinny and gmod is an all time favorite combination especially in october

[@Robit17]

5:45 If you break the window in this room and jump through, you can enter a little portal room that takes you to the bottom section of the map

[@Sir_Bone-Head]

Vinny saying to imagine yourself in the first map he played, and genuinely trying to survive, while not knowing if someone else is there with you is probably the best description for what a liminal space is. I actually did try to imagine myself in that sort of scenario, and it definitely would put me on edge.

[@bufogeist]

My personal definition of liminal spaces is a place that makes you feel uneasy due to the fact that it feels distantly familiar, like you've been there in a dream once, or visited somewhere like there as a child and your brain wasn't developed enough to quite recollect everything. The feeling of vague, foggy memories. You have the dreadful, overwhelming feeling of familiarity but you know you've never been there. The gaps in your memory are full of fog and the scent of mildew. The sensation of carpet on your tongue lingers. The yellow florescent lights overhead mingle with the distant buzz of wires.

[@SC_3]

Limmy-nal Spaces - *tries to open door down a creepy hallway* IT'S SHUT

[@ArmoredChocoboLPs]

The most unsettling thing about Limmynal Spaces is all the purple burglar alarms

[@ForgottenDawn]

There's a comforting quality to these spaces, I think. Some of them may seem eerie or off-putting, but for all the negativity these past couple of years have brought, I can see why these vast expanses might feel cathartic to some people. Like cleansing.

[@feralroach7019]

Thats what I was thinking a bit. They're eerie, but nostalgic. I almost want to keep going in them to uncover something I've forgotten or lost. Maybe its that idea that theres something missing (be it the people, or larger details than just the bare minimum needed to identify a kind of space) and the sense of curiosity to be satiated that lends itself to people being drawn back to these spaces, despite the seeming possibility of a 'threat'. Personally i think the liminal spaces thing is super interesting because of this and as an artist i almost want to explore my own version of it in some pieces, yknow?

[@trulyinfamous]

One of the things of note about liminal spaces is that they are EXTREMELY subjective. Someone who grew up in Russia is going to have a completely different idea of a liminal space to someone who grew up in the USA. I wouldn't get any reaction to Russian liminal spaces and vice versa. Liminal spaces are in transitional spaces by nature, so they feel wrong. Solar Sands made a great video on KZbin about them, it's worth a watch.

[@Dadaskis]

You are right. I've created those rooms in gm_liminal_space with carpets and etc. Here, in Belarus (which is close to Russia you know) we would not place carpets in that way. It seems to be weird for us, because we think that we will need to spend more money and time to just clean that thing all the time someone goes on with shoes

[@nitropig618]

Man am I ever thankful that Vinny will just have an open mind about things. Just makes everything so much more enjoyable and refreshing to watch and listen to. It's a shame his outlook isn't more common, but I'm glad I know where to find it. Thanks Vin!

[@thethrashyone]

I don't blame Vinny for finding "liminal space" hard to define, considering the actual 'definition' is so vague and obtuse that it borders on quasi new-age religious. Maybe the _real_ liminal spaces were the friends we made along the way!

[@deadturret4049]

I think a lot of people who make liminal space maps don't quite understand that its not about making weird impossible spaces, but rather spaces that exist for a very specific purpose, but aren't currently being used for said purpose. It's why dead malls for instance are like the epitome of liminal spaces.

[@Aeduo]

This may be the case, but I think there's value in going out of technical exactness and expanding out. Maybe to call a lot of these derivative genres liminal spaces is incorrect but it falls under a similar umbrella and people may lack the words to describe it.

[@moronicalmeister]

Unrealistic geometry or architecture takes me out of it, it just becomes a cool fun house, but I lose the liminal feel. Just me, but eh, i just want an abandoned facility with ambiance

[@Dogy0909]

@@Aeduo I’d just use the word Escherian for impossible spaces, liminal means specifically that it’s transient.

[@TheSmilingCynic]

Vinny missed a bunch of scares here lol 38:01 look down the hallway.

[@Izunundara]

Jesus christ Vinny describing "You gotta just live here" sounds like an absolutely horrifying book/movie etc

[@HomeByMidnight]

22:43 oh god, i got a shiver down my spine when i heard that

[@sneakyfurret]

Nexpo beginning part of his new video involves liminal spaces, ironically Vinny does liminal spaces gmod maps. What a day to be alive lmao

[@loosemoose5217]

huh nexpo has a new video? his last one appears to be a month old are you talking about that?

[@ThePhantom4516]

coincidentally I think you mean

[@KhanCrete]

I remember playing on a gmod map in like 2012 or so that was sort of like a a minimalist, concrete version of a luxury home set in an infinite flat plain of water. Kinda like city by Michael heizer but not in a desert. Definitely a similar vibe

[@omnisel]

To me, a "liminal space" gives off the same feeling that being in a building or public space that's usually always loud and busy when it's completely quiet and empty.

[@gunkwizardry]

the best thing about liminal spaces (imo) is those images where they Really evoke some sort of half-remembered memory from your childhood and you're not sure if you dreamed being there or you actually went there

[@duplicake]

22:50 there is a guy behind the pillar

[@xXGambleXx]

9:11 great way to try and immerse oneself into this map. Idk why but whenever i would load up a source map on gmod i get that same feeling. Nostalgic and solitude, knowing that im the only one on the map. I still believe that source maps are interactive works of art when done right like these.

[@redline1916]

This map is basically having your fridge empty from the food you really want to eat and then you're indecisive on what you actually want to eat

[@mattleo3211]

Is that a... *LIMINAL SPACE?* OH GOD!

[@Freak80MC]

I'm imagining that first map as like a place that was created on an alien's spaceship to house the humans inside and be like "oh this will be like home, this will calm them down" except they had no idea how humans actually think so they made it feel really off unintentionally.

[@WolfmanDude]

Really enjoy this new thing! I always liked rooms that have strange "vibes". My favorite example are rooms that were new, high-tech and alive in the 70s/80s. Strange green carpet and those buzzing square ceiling lights. Our local power plant has a bunch of those. Built in 1973, shut down 10 years ago.

[@Mushroomhead671]

It makes me really happy Vinny is experiencing liminal spaces for the first time and finding the beauty in them

[@codybaird4811]

My take on Vinny's thought experiment: I would eventually question if I were dead. After seeing those prison cells with fire and blood and stuff I probably would believe I was.

[@azizabdul8914]

your bloom setting on the first map makes the map experience eerily beautiful. i don't know why it's just me but it makes me think of the good old days that happens long ago, but never left us all this time just to haunt us how we miss them.

[@supertoasting1011]

Vin thank you for continuing to stream occasionally and produce content because your streams always gave me something to look forward to every week. Also any time you touch the Source engine I know it's gonna be good.

[@ReddBoi64]

Liminal spaces are something hard to define or explain. It’s almost like there’s two different kinds of liminal space, the ones that bring a nostalgic deja vu, or the ones that bring unnameable unease. The latter is commonly said to be a sort of uncanny valley of space, where it’s not quite natural and not quite human inhabited. It’s abandoned, empty, undecorated, quiet. It’s a human made space that should look lived in and used by people but simply isn’t. Abandoned malls are a prime example as they were buildings made to serve a purpose, but now that the purpose is gone, all that’s left is empty halls and rooms lit up only by reserve power.

[@davimag2071]

I love your comment! I totally agree with you, Liminal Space is not always a sense of unease, there's also something nostalgic, amiable like a distant memory about them. Or even a third aspect: spaces that feel almost dreamlike, some liminal spaces are very like our dreams too. And for dead spaces, like dead malls, there's a very specific word: *kenopsia*

[@AlternativeSack123]

It's funny because I've never been creeped out by most liminal spaces, I actually find them quite comforting. Years before the liminal space stuff became popular on the internet I can remember thinking that my dreams always took place in locations that had that feel to them. In my opinion the main factor is actually the lighting, specifically a total lack of natural lighting and only artificial light in an indoor space. Something like an office block with no windows, no outside light, and only bright yellow fluorescent lighting feels so unnatural that it gives you that strange feeling. The more that you would expect the location to have windows or natural light and it doesn't, the more liminal it feels, at least to me. The ones that include windows never give me the same sensation. There's also something very late 90s/early 2000s about most of those liminal space images, I feel like the architecture and interior decorating of that time have something to do with it. I also feel like a lot of Charlie Kaufman movies capture liminal spaces perfectly, even the ones he didn't direct himself. "I'm thinking of ending things" in particular REALLY had some strong liminal vibes, especially all those scenes towards the end in the high school and that snowy parking lot. Probably the most liminal movie I've ever seen. For anyone who loves liminal spaces and hasn't seen that movie, I would really recommend it.

[@L30NBL4NK]

54:52 I've already seen those kind of "inner hotels" in France, near Paris, it kinda exists. They are a bit higher than this (the first "stairs" are like the passageways), and there are actually windows like on the photo floating over the main entry, and I think it's a train station with hotels inside. Or something like that.

[@Avossk]

1:05:45 Vin says "hewwo" out of fear

[@emimoon1712]

This takes me back to like 10 years ago or so when I'd just download a bunch of Gmod maps and go exploring, often it'd be maps like this. Empty streets, maybe subway tunnels or empty corridors, often meant for online play but in singleplayer they'd have this eerie feel to them, especially the horror or apocalypse-themed maps like the Silent Hill ones, or just regular rp maps with some underground locations.

[@damagaz]

I really like how Vinny came up with a story that fits to the map, making it a little more immersive. It kinda reminded me of a game called 'The Light' in which the protagonist has to explore an abandoned area.

[@youlose7293]

Any source game goes perfect with luminal spaces. They just have that eerie feeling of “what once was” and “what now is” Especially half life 2. That game is perfect with atmosphere, setting, scenic views and spots, and especially liminal spaces

[@germanulrich]

Vinny didn't saw the guy looking at him from the left at 22:51

[@SuperHornetX]

also figures randomly appearing for a few frames, like at 38:01

[@imperialguard451]

i know these are supposed to be unsettling but something about this stream was so calming it literally put me in the sleep mood, when your whole body feels comfortable and heavy. i literally fuckin fell asleep *in a good way*

[@nonungus]

Discovered this stuff through The Librarian channel and now Binyot from the Vinesauce Series is playing these Gmod maps??? This is truly a Spoopytober.

[@RiverSomethingOrOther]

37:44 with this whole scene, it’s turned this map into a psychological horror map 38:02 this exact frame for those wondering

[@splnter648]

This map has so many places that have been used for the backrooms levels for source images and all. The: The End library part gave it up to me. Either it was inspired by the backrooms or the opposite. I found it cool honestly!

[@conspiracypanda1200]

Here's everything I know about The End library, for your reading pleasure: - The library was originally attached to a larger building, so the End sign was basically an entrance sign for those walking through the main building. - As the library/bookstore was closing down, its workers decided to rearrange the sign as a joke. - If I'm remembering correctly, one of said workers (or a worker's friend) took the original photo. This was clarrified in a comment on one of SolarSand's videos on liminal spaces. (He may have an origin video on the photo as well). - The photo gained traction as a liminal space because of how vaguely threatening the sign looked despite its innocuous intentions, elevating it above many other liminal space photos for the extra element. - The photo was then adopted into the lore of The Backrooms, most likely because no one could resist the cruel temptation of adding false ends into an "endless" series of levels. Bonus: Not all liminal spaces in the first map are a part of The Backrooms, but many are similar enough to feel familiar and the Backrooms certainly source a lot of ideas from Liminal Space image collections. This is probably why you couldn't pinpoint if it was a Backrooms reference or not - it kinda is and kinda isn't. It's simply a fully moddled highlight reel of the most popular liminal space photos mixed into one map.

[@splnter648]

@@conspiracypanda1200 Damn, good to know, thanks for the info

[@ArkAngelXVG]

This is my favorite stream in a while, this is great

[@sirrealism7300]

37:57 Theres a secret jumpscare that appears for a second when vinny turns back from the curved hallway

[@balao32]

I like to think he just ignored it

[@SpeedyHedgehog64]

God I love liminal spaces. This is my favorite video from Vinny in awhile. They just intrigue me so much

[@dailydelphox]

I love seeing you play stuff like this! Surreal exploration streams you've done are some of my favorites. Just going through weird, freaky, creative environments with lots of different atmospheres. It reminds me of games like Jazzpunk or Yume Nikki.

[@sunnyapartmentroom2038]

I totally second this, there’s a weirdly comfy vibe of just watching vinny explore weird ass shit. I think that’s why the “gettin weird with it” series is one of my faves cause there’s lots of what you mentioned!

[@mrsubject1]

that forth one really tells a tory with the writing and the paintings, when we saw the map in the "garden" area that really hit home like someone had just been sitting there trying to figure out the area they were trapped in. Very well done

[@infamoushacker4chan883]

There's an old game called "Star Wars: Dark Forces 2" for PC that has these long unsettling corridors with no enemies or NPCs of any kind. I think that one of the first times I was ever unsettled by nothing.

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

I love vinny just ramble on and explore those wieird places please if you enjoy it continue

[@GLITCH_-.-]

15:10 Vinny, why do you find it strange that a parking garage with no way in has no cars? How are they supposed to get in?

[@Dadaskis]

I love to create illogical stuff to expect which questions people will ask, and, what is suprising, people are not asking questions as much as i do

[@shauni9108]

Watching the liminal hotel part brought back a really old memory from ~20 years ago of an eerily similar real life example.. There's a DoubleTree Suites in Cambridge, MA that has a huge open area in the middle, apartment-style suites lined around the perimeter and a big glass-sided elevator. I think the center was even more open back then than I can find pictures of now, though, as I remember an indoor pool in the middle of it.. Never would've even remembered that prior to this..

[@Meatyexplosions]

starting spooptober?! hell yesss

[@Crazak53]

I’ve been watching a ton of liminal space style videos lately so this is perfect.

[@wafflyironic4865]

38:01 bruh that shadow demon actually scared me edit: Thats hard to notice im not surprised Vinny didnt comment on it

[@velma403]

This was nice. It felt oddly personal like being there with Vinny and no one else. The quiet with only Vinny’s voice to fill the void was rather peaceful.

[@Shemmet]

"something about carpet" i get it man

[@CattyMintgum]

I used to play gmod so much back in the day unaware of the term "liminal spaces" But now after watching tons of videos on them, It really opened my eyes when I played Gmod just how amazing it is for isolation lol. So seeing you playing these really warms the heart. Also when you turned on the music in the hotel shame you didn't see the ghost.