The process of creating altered items could be almost selfsustaining. Every altered item somewhat strengthens it's own urban legend or creates a new one.
Exactly. There is a note about how AWEs are rising and the amount of Altered Items they are locating keeps going up on an exponential curve. That is likely part of the reason why.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I see that as a correlation between Altered Item creation and population growth than anything. Population growth is exponential, under the circumstances of unlimited resources and few limiting factors.
Right, and as the FBC was founded with the intend of researching and dealing with these Objects, at the end of the day they are actually fueling the creation of more items. Somehow this makes me think of Akemi Homura trying to save Madoka but instead making her even more powerful in each time-loop.
I fully believe the new Arena game for Control will involve regular agents. Also that it is ser before the Hiss Invasion some the image they showed has them without HRAs.
I'm realizing this is a really easy set up for a sequel: As Director of the FBC, Jesse may need to stop paracriminals from making more Altered Items. Or, this could be that 4 player coop game Remedy said they were making in the Control-verse
From the promotional art I believe the Project Condor game is a prequel. but I agree that the sequel will focus on para-criminal organizations. They prepped it too much. Maybe even the antagonist being the Blessed Organization
Love theses videos putting together pieces of the puzzle so we can get a bigger picture! Also never heard before of this link between said fungus and collective hallucinations. It could explain a lot of legends in many parts of the world. Keep up the good work!
This game has so many threads untangling will take a while lol. And yeah that is the running theory on why this stuff happened. They even tied Ergot Poisoning to the Salem Witch Trials.
I remember hearing about this ergot poisoning theory on Mythical Beasts. I really like how you connect real world concepts to the things in video games like Control.
One thing I try to do with literature in general is find ways to relate it to real life. Whether that be mythology, history, or something more personal. I feel that by personalizing the story it helps to enjoy it more.
Remedy also heavily connects its lore into real life, especially mythology, so it's only par for the course for us to draw from real life as well, when formulating our theories.
Always feel like I’m learning an entire layer of lore I missed with each of your video! I completely ignored the altered materials, assuming they were just thrown in as an upgrade mechanic… hopefully they gain more explanation and significance in the sequel!
It would be interesting to see if this is expanded upon in the sequel for sure. I frankly would have skipped past it if it were not for a few mentions in the official documents.
Just finished binging the entire Playlist thank God someone has taken it upon themselves to document this multifaceted and deeply tangled lore so much that it easy to miss or misunderstand because of lacking context.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I would have to agree. I do have a suggestion for future videos though I think the lore surrounding Alan wake should be added to the Playlist for 3 main reasons. 1 many people playing control havent played Alan wake since it was an exclusive. 2 how Alan is bringing the stories together makes it not just lore relevant but constantly hitting on rather metaphysical aspects. 3 Thomas Zane is an elusive character a man who is sometimes a poet and sometimes a filmmaker. Some speculate that Zane created wake but other speculate the opposite. An ambiguous and important character that requires further clarification for people who's introduction to the remedyverse is control.
@@GamingUniversityUoG just looked at your other Playlists and realized I don't know what I'm talking about. Now if you don't mind I have more lore to binge on the alan wake Playlist lol
I feel that is the true genius of Control. It was less about the Hiss Invasion and Jesse but more about making a Universe to tell all their stories in.
Excellent video . Looking at the Threshold Remnant and the Vanguard door sign in the Oceanview Motel (one has a dot it between the other a line) , its pretty certain that the upcoming vanguard game is about travelling to Thresholds and closing them .
Someone might’ve posited this theory already but it seems to me that the waters of Cauldron Lake are almost certainly one of these altered/conceptual materials; both the moonshine brewed by the Anderson brothers and the coffee from the nearby Oh Deer Diner exhibit anomalous properties. The moonshine, whose main ingredient is “unfiltered water from cauldron lake”, is self-explanatory, and given the cycle of evaporation and rainfall, it’s not out of the question that some of bright falls’s well water comes from the lake itself, altering the thermoses you see in both Alan wake and control. It’s notable that the moonshine’s main property is that it allows one “to see”, to have clear visions of both past and future, and that the ODD thermoses are used to save your game in Alan Wake 2; memory, and thought. Recurrent themes.
It is true that on the initial release there was a lot of optimization issues. With the PS5 upgrade and PC with decent specs a lot of the quality of life has been improved. I'd definitely recommend it. One of those games you need to take your time and digest though.
Love these videos man! I replied the full game on ps5 and am excited for the 4p coop for this in the future ! But had to let you know these make so much more immersed in it’s crazy. Thank yoi
I love how it is one of those games that can be enjoyed on multiple levels. You can enjoy it on surface level and enjoy it by diving deep into the lore.
You should do videos on Returnal as well. I think it has many of the same themes as Control and the story is just as immersive and captivating. You would kill breaking down that content.
I got a feeling that the Blessed "Corporation" might be a significant antagonist on the next Control game and might even appear in one form or the other in Alan Wake 2.
My gut is telling me Control 2 is going to involve these para-criminal organizations in some form. It would be cool to see hints of then in AW2 as well.
Do someone remember the unfortunate Fox tv serie "The lost room" from 2006? Archetipal artifacts of power, an old 60's motel room as a way to connect realities, collectors and governative forces battling together to find those artifacts, the search for a missing family member... 🤔
I don’t know if you’re gonna cover this in the next video but the fbc created an altered item by filming ahti cleaning, after that they concluded that the creation of altered items is not something the fbc should do
The weird thing is they could not replicate the event. We see them doing it but it was kind of an accident. It is possible they kept trying but who knows.
I found those comparisons as well. Such a fun show. I think it is more taken from a show called The Lost Room which had a similar concept as Warehouse 13.
I find it interesting how remedy has taken the ideas behind stuff like the SCP fandom, X files, and warehouse 13 and ran with it to make this game, there is so much potential in the ideas we don't really need Jesse to return to get a new game in the setting, and while both this and Alan wake have both been third person shooters we could see any genre in the setting, a point and click the likes of broken sword or sherlock homes, a puzzle game like the room, heck if the AWE is big enough we could see game ideas like Xcom or even full on RTS games all it takes is a little thinking outside the box (this is one of the things that bugged me about the mass effect games, they could do so much with the IP they don't have to stick with the same game with new faces, the setting is big enough to cope with other ideas)
At this point I have a feeling that the FBC is the remedy verse equivalent of FBI UIU from the SCP Wiki so that then makes me think is there an equivalent of the SCP Foundation that contains anomalous locations, individuals, and objects which surprises me that the FBC don’t have anomalous individuals such as the SCP wikis Reality benders but it can be argued that parautilitiarians such the FBC director and Alan Wake
I wonder if esseJ is an Altered Version of Jesse. Remember you had to enter a Mirror World to fight her. Perhaps such an actual dimension is a result of Jesse's plain of existence being altered. This would explain the Remedyverse.
esseJ is certainly a darker version of Jesse. Her words when flipped backward is, "I'm wilder than you." Which is both a reference to beth wilder, Courtney's character in another Remedy game, but also showing an unleashed version of the character.
Here’s a thought, Since the FBC is a federal branch, how many government officials in Washington are aware of the nature of the Oldest house? Because during A.W.E.’s the FBC has full authority over any local police or other branches of government obviously that makes sense. They need to deal with the aftermath interview witnesses and send them to intensive therapy if needed, censor any local media, etc I read during one report that the FBC has butted heads with local law enforcement before over their blanket authority and a call to someone in a suit usually resolves the situation. So obviously someone in Washington is aware of what the FBC is they obviously receive some funding, and have deals with NASA, but do they truly understand the reality of the situation? (The suits in Washington) And another thing, how does the FBC hire and retain workers/researchers cause I’m pretty sure they couldn’t make public postings, Obviously there aren’t any walk-in hires, we know how langston was hired through a friend/family recommendation, Is Ahti like part of a dimensional janitor’s union?
Urban legends are things that happened in history that were once unexplained. For example a meteor falling to earth before the time of science and man. At one point, people didnt know where the rock came from.
I think the main ingredient to creating Altered Items is neglect/loss or forgotten/misplaced . Maybe that is why no one sees how they are birthed as it were . They all demand attention and care , hence why the panopticon seems to keep them calm . Sounds a little Monty Python (prophet in the street) .
Well alan exists in the same universe as himself. Jack is 100% from a different universe and we see a version of Beth and the cab driver as jesse/dylan.
And sorry to be annoying but altered items are categorized by 4 or 5 categories. UE, PK and other I cant remember off the top of my head. But if you go into the containment sector, the 3rd floor sign is redacted too.
@@GamingUniversityUoG hey, the third floor sign says "possessed items" theres an opening on the other side of the third floor where the sign isnt redacted.
Personally, I think that the Hand Chair was not influnced by werewolves stories, but from the full moon: a much more powerful symbol, that has influnced the human life from the dawn of time. Think baout it: the chair can produce gravitational fields, and the Moon's gravity produces the tides. So, the Human Hand Chair... is a Bloodbender
I think it is mentioned that they are instrumental in all Objects of Power. Not sure about the Altered Item part. Check out Pope's counteressay on the topic. She doesn't agree that the Board's involvement is 100% accurate.
I hope we can play 2 player coop. In Control 2. One character would be Jesse and the other Dylan. Also, talking about altered items. Anyone else felt super bad for that poor train ? It just wanted to safely do its job 😭
Archetypal objects are really just things that have a long history in the collective consciousness. For example the French may resonate with a Guillotine because of the revolution and executions. Rubber ducks are very common children toys used in the bathtub. So we all kind of know the image.
Iv been thinking more about the Altered Items and Ahti, He gives Jesse the "Headphones" to navigate the "Ashtray maze", These "Headphones"(cassette tape player) must also be an O.O.P. with the affect of getting the user where they most want to be, Which means he can create these intentionality? Unless the Headphones he gave Jesse were already altered and he was using them to navigate the oldest house from the start, which would explain his absence after he gifts them to Jesse. if It is an O.O.P it is the only one that doesn't need a link to the board for usage?! PS Ahti does appear again but only in Jesse's head (Hiss trap).
my personal theory on some of these para-criminals is that they are creating them to cause some kind of event or situation that puts the FBC in the position of having to either reveal the existence of all this or they have to remain hidden but at the cost of civilian lives and potentially end up being shut down by the government
Well the only known Altered Item they created was done accidently. Down in the Pit of the Foundation they created the VHS Tape that shows Ahti mopping the floor and singing. They were unable to recreate the process though.
@@GamingUniversityUoG so recording ahti made the item? That's very interesting. That makes me wonder what is ahti indefinitely and what are all the ash act laws.
6:34 lowkey, that's not fully right. The willow and ordinary awe are connected. The werewolf could be jessie and dylans friend that the unmother turned into a werewolf.
I wish we could have some form of experience, game, or video series of the FBC in normal operation before the Hiss invasion. The only way we currently see this is through some of Darlings videos and that version of the FBC seems SO COOL!!!
Oh, totally! I never thought of that, though I had wondered what it was like. One thing I really enjoy about just being in the game world is piecing together the puzzles of the remnants... different iterations of the FBC in the progression, both pre- and post- 'Board' era FBC have some significant chapters... 'milestones' where the whole thing forever changes. Subtly, at first. And then comes cataclysm. Much is lost, sometimes so buried in calamity that it is functionally as if it never was. It may have mattered then, but no longer stands out in the spurious whorls of monolithic, non-euclidean forces, ever-shifting through unseen pockets of space and time. And you kind of wonder WHAT even was, you know? What was it really? It all seems so grandiose, but beneath the heavy miasmas of mystique and information stalwarts, it's hard for me to make distinctions on certain matters regarding how the bureau really used to be. Everything is BIG and IMPORTANT. And that may very well be true. We are talking about forces that shape entire universes and beyond here. But when I presume that, I feel as though I am standing at the foot of the mountain, trying to intuit what the top is like, or what that distance really is. It's vertigo inducing. Like trying to understand the distance from the earth to the sun. Or the fact that it is so big, that not only can you still see it, but it lights half of the planet from that inhuman amount of distance. Its energy burns you and gives you cancer. That same energy stimulates your body to produce a vital nutrient. It's ambivalent, yet understandable. And somehow still not comprehensible in any direct sense. Really, understanding any of the past FBC's feels much like I imagine standing at the foot of Mt. Oldest House would feel like, if you were allowed to see its true scale. So I'd welcome a game about that. Other times, it seems so clear. You really do have so much information, but you just know there could be more. Yeah... I can dig something delving into Trench's FBC. It could even be cool to be able to play as a ranger... maybe get hands on with some of the places and events referenced in the game. I mean... there are plenty of things to build up that world around, too. You could explore it from different parts of the bureau. They're entire entities unto their own. Different ecosystems... largely discreet social and physical biomes. Plenty to write about. Or, I personally see a whole lot of things to write about. I just think the effort would go much further if they did it instead :P I mean, even something more lighthearted... maybe something gearing more towards the slice-of-life aspects generously peppered in, would be pretty cool. Cool idea. I'll think about that next time I play.
I have a feeling that you will get exactly what you're looking for sooner rather than later. I have an unplanned video/podcast going live soon that brings up what Remedy is working on currently. Hope that will give you an idea!
Does that mean if Nokia 3310 exists in the Oldest House it might cause the urban legend of "Nokia 3310 being indestructible" to become an Altered Item?
Always love the these puzzles you piece together. This is actually the first time I have heard of this Ergot Poisoning Theory. I will definitely do my own dive into that. Fascinating!
Another ingredient that I think is important for the formation of altered items and AWEs is ley-lines/ dragon-veins. Which is why the oldest house is a hotspot for them and such an important asset even for the board. It literally sits on top of a major convergence of them
Incredible work again, can't wait for the next video 👍. Another question about those companies is : if they can create Altered Objects, can they control the way they're altered? For example, Did they plan the power of the Jukebox or did they just tested what "event/poer" surfaced in those condition?
In terms of 100% creating an effect they intend? Probably not. There are likely too many variables. But without giving too much away I'll discuss the Jukebox more next episode.
I doubt the Oldest House is the only reliable source of altered materials. I'd expect any Place of Power would serve, and I highly doubt that the Oldest House is the only one.
Remedy has already announced they are in the very early stages of pre-development for it. Currently they are focused on Alan Wake 2 and Condor from what I understand.
this reminds me of scp the reports fully remind me of scp reports in a lot of ways. even how the bureau acts and deals with incidents i found the whole thing incredibly funny because it feels like an in joke.
You Didn't cover the fact that when A F.B.C. Researcher Once hid and tried to record Ahti (The Janitor) it resulted in the creation of an A.W.E. "The Tape" when he reviewed it the effect was that it stops people from thinking hearing and seeing... was this item created intentionally by Ahti or a side affect from the action it self?
I honestly could not say if it was intentional or not. The process is still somewhat of a mystery and we only have the bits and pieces of information presented here to give us an idea. I feel we may dive deeper into this lore in the sequel.
@@GamingUniversityUoG Iv been thinking more about the Altered Items and Ahti, He gives Jesse the "Headphones" to navigate the "Ashtray maze", These "Headphones"(cassette tape player) must also be an O.O.P. with the affect of getting the user where they most want to be, Which means he can create these intentionality? Unless the Headphones he gave Jesse were already altered and he was using them to navigate the oldest house from the start, which would explain his absence after he gifts them to Jesse. if It is an O.O.P it is the only one that doesn't need a link to the board for usage?
I wouldn't say that all were made this way. Some had to have been accidental. Some from other sources. Personally, I look at it like man learning to control. Fire wasn't made by us, we just learned how to manipulate it.
I found it interesting that there are no dates on the redacted pages or forms explaining anything aside from incidents with items or events outside the house. This had to be done on purpose, but my knowledge of theory is so weak, I wouldn't know to guess on why aside from the dimensional travel and influence. Such a great game. Great video to.
My hypothesis: Blessed Org is working with the Former to "seed" the world with altered materials to gain a foothold in the world or to wrest control away from the Board in the Astral plane.
I LOVE how, instead of spelling it all out, the game left us clues to parse out on our own. Its a shame most gamers are too stupid for this type of thinking. It really makes Control that much more of a masterpiece.
I adore the archeology style of storytelling. Making us search for it. This way we get years of enjoyment going over all the details rather than a quick 15 hour playthrough and calling it done.
It's not always about being too stupid, but rather not having the information/tools to parse the clues. A lot of the stuff in Control, I feel, requires a lot of prior knowledge about mythology and Jungian psychology, for example, for us to be able to parse the stuff together. Additionally, I think this kind of story telling is best suited for those who truly become hooked with the story. When you're passionate about the story, you are willing to go through all the game's documents scattered across the bureau and connect the dots between the ones related with each other. The rest of the players didn't either become engrossed enough to start looking into the mysteries or just don't have the time... Or they're just stupid/ignorant. xD
People not wanting to search for details in order to understand a story doesn't make them stupid. The point of a story is it is told to you. The Who, What, When, Where, Why. That's the basics of storytelling. Honestly you can understand the story of Control just fine without reading any of the documents but if you want to learn more then the option is there. It has nothing to do with being stupid. What kind of logic is that?
