Today we’ll be analyzing AI Builds, and Sheriff Domestic, and explaining how Petscop influenced the ‘The Game I Found’ subgenre. We’ll also be discussing originality in art, and how it connects to Analog Horror. Can a parody, or a ‘copy’ ever be something more than the sum of its parts? Is it even worth trying to be original?
– Sheriff Domestic: https://youtu.be/BXnLams68lE
– AI Builds: https://youtu.be/wfE1cZXMuP8
Thank you to @DiminishGame , @AIBuilds , @AdamButcher , @parsonhexparsonhex , @MandelaCatalogue for answering my questions and providing some incredible insight! I’ve included more of their links in the sources doc below!!
• SOURCES: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19inXXnH4J4E3SWs0bSaTyu2MEXZMrV657DpFJA99F9Q/edit?usp=sharing
• PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/saganhawkes
• SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3tYN0aD5MYboKohIw2lsdx
SOCIAL MEDIA
Tweets by saganhawkes
https://www.twitch.tv/saganhawkes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoxDtkNE2-aAS31762rTRPA
Opening: (0:00)
Sheriff Domestic Breakdown: (7:35)
Sheriff Domestic Analysis: (36:21)
AI Builds Breakdown: (45:20)
AI Builds Analysis: (1:44:59)
Originality in Art: (2:04:10)
Interviews: (2:18:47)
Ending: (2:37:10)
30 Comments
I follow the same creative mindset as Seirea
I really vibe with what SeireaSong has made. It's hard to make something when all you hear that someone else has already done it. What he said made me have more hope about my art.
Pppp pop
1:51:41 as someone with ADHD, most of this theory makes sense. The idea of abusing stimulants doesn’t. Stimulants have a completely different effect on people with ADHD, and as someone who takes methylphenidate myself, I’d be more likely to take a break from my pills than take more of them. I’d end up vomiting if I did try to take more, and if I really needed a higher dose, I’d just call my doctor. It’s surprisingly easy to adjust your dose. After the age of maybe 13 or 14 years old, your doctor doesn’t know much better than you do about what kind of dosage you need, and will up your dose if you ask, as long as it’s safe.
However, there is a point at which taking too much actually would make you less productive. For years, I was taking too high of a dose, and it made me less social, more anxious, and slightly malnourished. Like I said, it’s difficult to abuse prescription adhd pills (with the exception of Aderall) for someone who actually has ADHD, but it’s definitely easy to end up with an excessive prescription. Being over medicated often has the effect of making someone feel distant from themselves, as though they aren’t experiencing their actual self but an altered state of mind. It’s incredibly uncomfortable, and could very well play into Nicholas’ experience.
“Right now? I mean it’s so early in the mornin-“
“HEY LOOK ITS NIGHT, LETS GO SEE MOUNTAIN FACE!”
This series made me laugh almost as often as it made me cry
7:22 Honestly, isn’t that just what happened with Undertale being based on Earthbound?
Just a random thing I picked up, not sure if intended or not, with AI builds, the shadow of the mobile on the ceiling has a small resemblance to the way mr eye is depicted. As this all centres around Nicolas’s childhood, this could be where mr eye gets his appearance from, to add to this association the fence around the area he’s often in could be the crib, as the fence is very high up, that would be the perspective of a child inside the crib.
I like how experience really changed the meaning of this entire story, i see things so differently than how you explained it. I love this kinda stuff.
Maybe there shouldn't be another Petscop to be fair, might be better to not use real life stuff like it did.
I love watching these "Game Theory"/video essays about small YouTube projects, I also love video essays in general. This was a double "Game Theory" wrapped in a video essay about the meaning of art in the digital era and an interview with some great creators. 10/10
"It's really hard, to make things, when it feels that everything has been done before." Jesus Christ, AI builds has to be one of the most impactful things I've seen, it just, shows what a lot of people who want to create something, who want to DO something, are going through and perfectly explains it through emotion.
I think Nicholas' story is mostly about depression. He's supposed to take medication, which Nicholas hates not only because of the effect they have on him, but also the fear of overdosing like his father.
Mr. Eye represents his depression and general negative thoughts, he knows getting help and taking the medication would end him, so he exploits Nicholas' fear and tries to convince him that he needs Mr. Eye (AKA, his suffering) to be creative and be worth something. It's about supposed "good damage"
Ai builds is literally a philosophical interpretation for ADHD, being forced to using meds by life, constant depression that is being caused by work overload and being hyperemotional. Also, know that ADHD is a hereditary disease and it can make your life go into chaos if its not treated.
What was that mario movie romhack thing?
something that fascinates me is how the various creators all mention eachother as inspo. it just…yeah
1:52:37 this brings some insight on the line in Gilbert Garfield where he realizes he's become an anomaly due to overconsumption of ground veal
What do you know, I have depression, ADHD, and insomnia!
I will preface, though, by saying that I don't actually take stimulants for my ADHD, as I also have an anxiety condition that they would just make worse. I do have other meds that help with my ADHD, they just don't do it by stimulating. That said, I think the ADHD theory for AI builds is definitely a more interesting way of thinking about it, and I definitely like it the most. I take fluoxetine for my depression, and honestly, I've never really had an experience where taking it made me feel any "better", at least not enough to do what's described in the theory. Could just be because of my dosage (though I doubt it, I have a pretty standard prescription), but I dunno, never really been an impulse to take more than what I've been prescribed. The ADHD one, though, really hit home for me. A lot of what's detailed in the theory makes a whole lot of sense from the perspective of an artist with ADHD. The gifted kid burnout stuff is also just, straight from my experience. My ADHD has probably caused a lot of my other mental weirdness, purely from the fact that I didn't know I had it until recently. I can definitely see the scenario of someone struggling with ADHD to the point they put themselves into stimulant psychosis. I won't go on and on about how hard it is to live with ADHD, but I think you get my point. I honestly kind of hope that AI Builds is taking the ADHD route, since it's still pretty stigmatized as something not as serious as anxiety or depression (trust me, I have all three, they are definitely all very serious).
Sorry for rambling, just thought I might be able to add to the discussion a lil. 🙂
Haven’t seen the rest of AI builds yet but holy shit, I’ve never related more to a character in a YouTube story like this. The crushing weight of expectations set for yourself compound and combine with innate feelings of dread experienced on a daily basis to create a suffering worse than damnation
Gods damn, Animal Investigator hits hard as someone who has buried their depression and trauma in their work and has at the same time come to terms with their trauma via their work
cool
1:51:47 I accidentally double dosed on my adhd meds once, and by midday I had become convinced that my bedroom was infested with bugs (it wasn’t) to the point where I started experiencing tactile hallucinations of them crawling on my skin. You probably won’t die from stimulant psychosis like you would a fluoxetine overdose, but you will trip balls (and not in the fun way) and scare the crap out of your mom. Also it feels like your heart is trying to escape your body.
Please do Buddy Simulator 1984. Please please please please please.
The feeling I get is the same as how I feel about A.I. Art or James Patterson. Mr. Brainwash didn't makes these pieces. He at most commissioned them and then stole the credit. Its stolen valor.
As for originality, A good artist borrows, a great artist steals (NOT what Mr. Brainwash did, this is all about ideas not labor) It doesn't matter that this takes inspiration from or retells a story. What matters is the work put into it and the handprints of the maker. Watch "Steamed Hams but every blank is a new art style." It is fascinating and entertaining to watch the little flourishes and differing techniques of each creator.
Still waiting for Petscop 2 – wait, wait…. wrong channel
Petscop reminds me of yume nikki for some reason
Gun in bullet🎶🎤
Wow , that sheriff domestic game is pure absurdist humor and it's kinda unironically funny
i genuinely loved seireasong's monologue, honestly a really, really uplifting talk
As an artist too afraid of rejection or worse—not being noticed—I think the best way to be original is:
1. Know what you want to say.
2. Be as articulate and intentional as possible.
3. Show; don’t tell.
These, especially the second, can be very widely interpreted. What you want to say can be literally anything—a mood, an idea, a color, a revelation, an event in your past, or nothing at all. It is whatever you want it to be.
The second can be even more broadly interpreted. You may need different forms of media to convey what you want to say—you may need a video, and audio clip, music, a livestream, words on a page, paint on paper. Whatever your idea is, convey that idea as clearly as possible without being too on the nose.
A.I. Build is a perfect example of this. He uses video, gameplay, and audio combined in a way to address the points he’s trying to communicate—fear, dread, apprehension, loneliness, as results of abuse—from others, from within, and possibly because of what you do to yourself. His message isn’t just “abuse is a big bad nono” but he uses other art forms to articulately express the nuances he wants to communicate—the confusion, the isolation, the dread, the icky creepy feeling we get when we’re dealing with subjects that are taboo and how they relate specifically to him. He articulately expresses these ideas in deceptively vague ways, by making a video about a stressed game developer. Even if you don’t know why you’re feeling creeped out, the fact that you ARE means the creator is succeeding in conveying his message of fear. As RedLetterMedia puts it, “You didn’t notice it, but your brain did.”
For number 3: *use mediums intentionally*. Only include the things you need to convey your message (unless you want your message to be vague or about nothing in particular). How do you convey parody? You include things specific to what you’re trying to parody—concepts, characters, story arcs, whatever. How do you convey fear? You include things specific to the kind of fear you want—you want a startle reflex, add a pop scare; you want a slow burn of suspense, add tiny details your brain might not notice at first (a crow in the middle of the forest) then gradually add more (the sun suddenly turns to dark gray clouds) then more (the animal noises suddenly stop) until you’ve led your audience where you want them to be (afraid—of an unknown threat, or isolation in the forest, or whatever).
This is rambly, but I think intentionality is the vehicle behind “new” or “inspiring” works. Know first what you want to say. Then, using whatever means necessary, say it.
The animal investigator guy is a really good actor