In a game so strongly reminiscent of Lovecraftian horror, being left unsure exactly *what* you just experienced and saw, is probably the most intentional aspect. Scorn is like peering into a world where almost nothing can be comprehended fully. Where futility is the ultimate realization. This world is already dead; there is no escaping it and no saving it.

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

I recall someone mentioning in the past that Lovecraftian horror heavily focuses on things "beyond human comprehension" so connecting Scorn to the unfathomably hopeless is a really potent interpretation. Thank you for that insight.

It would be wrong to say it was rushed out the door because of how long it took to make but there was huge amounts of content and ideas cut from it judging by the really great art book. I don't know if it was mismanagement or what but look at how the kickstarter says part 1 of 2 yet this is confirmed to be all of it, most of the alpha and demo not in the game, etc. Kicked out the door so that something would actually make it to fulfillment is noble but I wish for the 'full scope' scorn.

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

This game's development is definitely something I'd love to hear more about down the line, because yeah, the art book shows a LOT of ideas. Maybe a sequel would bring everything together?

Huh, I felt like this was just the introduction to a full video. I was surprised it was over so soon. Maybe some more examples of the stuff you were talking about might have helped me with this one. Thanks for uploading and looking forward to more!

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

For everything I say in this video, what kind of creator would I be if I couldn't take feedback myself? Thank you for the comment either way. I appreciate it. :)

Also ive put in a good 15 hours into this game and havent even gotten close to the end, i always find myself just forgetting the task and walking around taking in all the horrifically beautiful scenery, it feels like it scratches that morbid curiosity itch when i explore, but it might work a little too well, since i never make any progress 😂

On a positive note. I share this post from another channel who has done extensive research on Scorn. Scorn and Hellraiser commonalities: Scorn Guy - Frank Cotton from 1987's Hellraiser after absorbing his first victim and revealing his restordness to Julia. The Flying Head - The Chatterer from Hellraiser and Hellraiser Hellbound. The Piston Jacket Hammer Thing - Pseudo Cenobite Camerahead from Hellraiser Hell on Earth. The Crater Queen and The Initial Scorn Guy Parasite Hybridization - Possibly The Engineer from Hellraiser and Hellraiser Hellbound and possibly the tentacle from Hellraiser Hellbound. Interesting how that tentacle is parasitic in so many ways. The Brutes - The Chatterer Beast from Hellraiser IV Bloodline. Do keep in mind The Chatterer Beast is not from any animal since animals are sinless and have no desire for the pleasures of the human flesh. The Chatterer Beast is either The Original Chatterer reincarnated or a bunch of human beings literally mushed/mashed together/melded into becoming The Chatterer Beast. Lol kinda like when the Moldman and The Mold People are used to become reconstituted bio-organic fuel or into the beasts of Scorn World. The Mechanisms That Scorn Guy Sticks His Finger In - Frank Cotton and Julia Cotton jamming their fingers into their victims necks to absorb their lifeforce/blood/essence. *I'd like to point out the same process happened in 1982's The Thing towards the end of the movie when Blair corners Gary and jams his fingers into Garry's mouth area to absorb him* Scorn's creekiness and ambient sound design - Hellraiser's Lament Configuration after being fiddled with and the surrounding area starts to morph gateways to The Leviathan's Dimension. Doug Bradley's Pinhead and all time favorite line when he appears behind Kirsty - We Have Such Sights To Show You in the first Hellraiser movie. *The Scorn World Is Such Sights To Be Shown* Moldman's appearance mirrors the incomplete assimilation of the mangled bodies 1982's The Thing when they search the Norwegian Site Post. And might as well include The Siamese Twins Cenobites from Hellraiser Bloodline for good measure. The Ceiling Penis Worm Thing - The Tentacle from Hellraiser Hellbound that converts the doctor into a full fledged Cenobite. Scorn Genesis Wall - After Larry Cotton spills his blood on the attic floorboard, then afterwards you start to see the floorboards move violently, as if something is about to give birth. Which is Frank Cotton coming back to life from the Leviathan's Dimension and from the endless torture of the Cenobites. KZread it and you'll see what I mean. And I get it's a stretch but noteworthy nonetheless. The Grey Mold People - Frank Cotton's rebirth and seeing Julia in the attic. Especially when he says to her "Julia. It's me Frank. No. Don't look at me. I said don't look at me". The aesthetic design of Frank Cotton's resurrection is oh so obviously The Mold People in Scorn. And I'll keep adding more down the line in the future.

Whoa, I'm surprised more of the usual crowd haven't covered Scorn. The world looks *sick* in every possible definition of the word. If nothing else, it sounds like the devs put together a real passion project and I can't help but respect that. It's a bit disheartening to hear the combat / puzzles might fall short of the mark, but you've discussed the overall piece in such good faith I'm still curious to try it at some point anyway. It's a tough position to critique from, so hats off.

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

I've made an effort to critique things in good faith moving forward. In the past, it was the hip thing to totally tear down games and I'd like to imagine that me and many other creators have moved beyond that. It's good to know that attitudes can change and shift into something more constructive over time. Thank you. :)

Speaking as someone who has a side project in the horror genre ... it is intentional to want to design the game to ask more questions than it answers. Balancing answering enough questions to keep people going but not enough to ruin the mystique is the sign of a good horror game. I'm not sure that Scorn entirely nails it, but I will say that the way it manages it is *interesting* - and that's something that I've not had in many games in this genre, honestly.

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

There's definitely a noticeable blandness to a certain section of games these days, so seeing something different, even if it doesn't fully nail it, it's worth celebrating. I wouldn't be talking about this game unless there was SOMEthing curious about it. Thanks!

Man, I almost forgot how good the game looks not just from an artistic standpoint, but from a rendering standpoint. Scorn feels like all of those fabricated "trailers" of games promising next-gen fidelity, only here it was made real. Of course, they can achieve that due to a number of shortcuts and other considerations, but it doesn't stop the game from just looking great. In regards to interpretations, I'll confess to falling into that myself, and my biggest regret of my recent videos was including an assumption of Hideaki Anno's intent regarding a specific scene, moment, and/or character in Shin Godzilla. Once you begin things like film studies and documented evidence of what film directors were trying to convey, or even read interviews by creators like Hideo Kojima, it becomes almost intoxicating to try and read more into something, and it then becomes all too easy to project meaning. I think the big mistake is assuming that someone's work of art is specifically trying to deliver a message or statement. Art has a tendency to reflect the philosophy and worldview of its creator, even if they're trying to make some simple action and fun. A simple story of good vs. evil will inherently reflect that author's perspective of what is good and what is evil. When you transfer one culture's type of story into another culture's, you can even result in fascinating differences. My Hero Academia takes super heroes, but rather than be vigilantes they becomes social workers with government approval. That's an interesting twist that, were it interpreted by someone from Western, English-speaking culture, would likely be darker (see how Alan Moore handled the government hiring heroes in Watchmen, for example). Is the author making a statement? No, but his own culture and life experience is reflected in his work and that's interesting. To bring this back to Scorn, I don't know if the game is specifically saying something, and because any potential lore or history is told visually and through the environment rather than any sort of verbal or written communication, it's all the easier to take hints of what the story could be and try to draw some deeper meaning from them. To me, Scorn's world is one where its people had become so prosperous as to seek perfection, and specifically perfection through the creation of life. This included biological experimentation and the fusing with machine, but ultimately these experiments became their downfall. Our protagonist's journey is one to escape his current body and enter a new one, yet it is a biological parasite (I think it's purely biological, I don't recall any machinery in it) takes over and consumes that protagonist. Now, it's been a year since I played the game so my mind is fuzzy, so I could be wrong. I could also be projecting since I find a similar fascinating story in Bloodborne, where the search for ascendance instead leads to one's downfall. But even if this is the story the creators intended, can I draw some kind of "message" from that? No, not really, because it would require too much speculation, conjecture, and projection to assume what this would be metaphorical or allegorical to, assuming it is to any. We can study all the things that influenced Tolkien, for example, but he hated the concept of story as allegory, so if we know anything it's that Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit are not an allegory for anything via authorial intent. Anyway, that was a long response to a comment very early in the video, but that's also because I'm largely just nodding in agreement to everything else. This was an interesting game that I'd like to play again, but remembering specific puzzles, moments, and the occasionally forced combat suppress that desire to return. It's a shame, that.

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

This is a game that I hope receives some kind of GDC post-mortem or a developer interview series down the line. I think hearing the devs' perspectives would contribute a lot to figuring out what's going on in the game. Or maybe they'd simply leave it up to the player's interpretation, which would be fine too. Lots to think about! Thank you!

@RamblePak64

9 ай бұрын

@@PostMesmeric Given the game's lengthy development history, any kind of post-mortem would certainly be fascinating. Since it wasn't a critical darling, though, I'm not certain GDC would be willing to offer it one. Hopefully they will in 2024, though.

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

It wasn't a critical darling, but those that liked it ended up liking it for reasons that might have contradicted the game's origins, if that makes sense. It was tough to call that it'd be more Myst than Doom upon release, but I've heard fans of Scorn actually appreciate the puzzles more over time.

I still need to play Scorn, but it's like... will I ever feel like playing Scorn? It's a paradox... This is the first content I've seen on the game so far, and it looks fascinating but deeply unpleasant...

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

I'll say this much: it's not a feel-good game by any account.

Your videos have been getting a lot better in quality recently, theyve always been really good, but it seems like youre hitting your stride now and really perfecting your style of content, keep it up!

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

Thank you. I'm happy to hear that you believe I'm improving. I'm very conscientious about my work, so feedback like that is encouraging. It keeps me going!

Yes, thank you, nice video. Some enemies are changed and some are missing, and what we have are too boring to fight. They were better in alpha demo, weapons too. I wanted it to be similar to doom 3, but it's more like Journey, sadly. No mods.

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

Never thought I'd hear a comparison between Scorn and Journey. Thank you for the compliment!

What a wonderful video dude! Admittedly I couldn't get into Scorn because where I love the concept of the H.R. Giger aesthetically, sometimes it's just too much for me. Gotta be in the right mood to get into it

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

Yeah, it's a "certain kinda vibe" game. If you can handle depressing and grimly constructed worlds, it's tough to find a better visual representation of one than Scorn. If not, then I'd pass. Thank you for watching!

Scorn had a pretty openly troubled development, and while I don't know what the actual consequences of it were I feel like that helps explain why it feels like two distinct and unfinished games grafted together. I want to play each of those some day. I don't want to play Scorn again.

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

Yeah, its development was troubled, absolutely. I'm hoping that, down the line, the light is shed on what exactly was going on. Over time, I've grown interested in how games change throughout their development, and this one is high up on the list for wanting to know more about it.

Never played this game but I was always fascinated by the art design. Really good breakdown and critique of the game!

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

I appreciate it, king. Thank you.

Amazing video. Well done.

@PostMesmeric

8 ай бұрын

Thanks. I appreciate it.

i love the lazy ad lib

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

You gotta break the tension somehow!

I'd play scorn but with my sensitive stomach I'd probably vomit. Most horror media don't scare me. But by god does scorn petrify me.

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

It's a different kind of horror for sure. Definitely not for everyone.

It would make more sense if almost 50% of what was supposed to make it into the game wasn't cut.

@PostMesmeric

8 ай бұрын

Yeah, I'd love it if more of the game's development history was discussed publicly, but I doubt we'll find out anytime soon. Maybe in a few years, we'll find out what Scorn "could have been."

What, no "brace yourself"? Or was that another game analyst?

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

That was me, but I haven't used that intro for a while now. XD

@EGRJ

9 ай бұрын

@@PostMesmeric Seems like it would be appropriate from this one. Especially if you were the sort who uses a content warning. Just record a "spooky" version. I always wondered; what's it from?

@PostMesmeric

9 ай бұрын

I do appreciate the feedback on content warnings, as I'm trying to get better at that, especially for games where it's not super apparent that it would need one. As for the vocal sample, that's from Viewtiful Joe 2.

@EGRJ

9 ай бұрын

@@PostMesmeric Huh. I own that game, IIRC, but never finished it.