If you think about it, it may re-textualize why he was so disgusted by, y'know. Besides the obvious reasons, I mean. If he likes "genuine" lamps, but dislikes "bootleg" lamps, that may mean he associates the lamps with his parents relationship - he isn't opposed to a loving, genuine relationship. But that moment of clairvoyance showed him that his father viewed his mother more as an object of desire then a lovable partner? (Feels like a bit of a reach but could be cool)
Love how Campbell’s character designs reflect their personalities. Sasha is angular, straightforward, and made up of rectangles. Milla is curved, matches the 70’s mid century psychedelic dance party in her head. Also I just want to say how much I love the repeated use of mid century art in Psychonauts. It’s so cool. We have Bahaus in Sasha’s head, 70’s psychedelia in Milla’s, Cold War brutalist architecture in Oleander’s, and mid century atomic in Boyd’s American Dream suburbia. It’s so cool and it fits the kind of action cartoon/ comic book/ James Bond feel. I could talk about the art and music for hours I swear.
Same here. Their art design was absolutely incredible in so many ways. This game deserves more attention because it is begging to be explored in the ways you're describing. I'd love to look at the music as it's own thing too. As someone who has studied music for 20 years I can't help but notice it.
@@GamingUniversityUoG oh I love the soundtrack! McConnell did an amazing job. I could talk about it for hours, especially since I’ve got a lot of experience in different ensembles. I love the use of sax and clarinet and all of the different motifs. I’ve insert the ‘mental’ motif into a few things I’ve written. I’d love to play stuff like this and McConnell’s work has motivated me to start learning to compose and arrange.
I wish more composers utilized double reed instruments in some of their works. Oboe and Bassoon always had a unique sound that I enjoyed. I studied Piano primarily with Trumpet on the side so the use of woodwinds is something I need to work on more.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I absolutely love the use of double reeds in the asylum theme. the timbre lends itself really well to the atmosphere. Quirky and weird and kind of unhinged but also still serious and creepy. McConnell has always utilized double reeds well (ex: most of the Sly Cooper soundtracks). I also really like his use of use of baritone and euph in stuff like Ford's sanctuary. I've really only ever composed stuff for sax ensembles and i'm very interested in doing more with brass.
11:45 is genuinely one of my favorite Sasha moments. Instead of getting(rightfully) angry with Raz, he recognizes the danger and immediately tries to get his student to leave for his own safety.
And then he goes on to deliver one of the best lines in Psychonauts: “You are my own creation! I command you to STOP!” Heck, that line’s so good that Raz said it in Psychonauts 2!
I'd like to point out something else that happens here. If you revisit Sasha's mind later on, he'll admit that the situation you went through was set up on purpose, in order to better train you. Except for the boss fight, of course. That bit got a little out of hand. All in all, I think this shows that Sasha is more accepting of his past than one might think at first.
Yeah I remembered that part after the fact. Sasha really has incredible control over his mind. If it was just him this problem would never have popped up but he needed a crisis for Raz to solve. Sasha was able to let his mind go chaotic just enough for a training course but also bring it back when needed. Not only create a more ordered mind but a more chaotic mind at will.
@@GamingUniversityUoG That could be the case, or, it might have been an after the fact, 'Ummm... I meant to do that.' moment. Sasha does not seem to be one to readily admit weaknesses or faults.
I do love this because it implies that the levels being centered around his trauma/past burdens was likely on purpose. so essentially hes just kinda awkwardly venting to raz? i mean its possible that thats not the case but still kinda funny
I was about to say this. I don't think he repressed his memories or anything like that. He literally showed it all to raz on purpose so yeah like some else said, it's probably him venting to raz.
I know that Sasha’s reason for leaving home gets memed on a bit, but I feel like it has a lot more significance than at first glance. Unless he can actually actively remember his infant years, Sasha never really knew his mom. She was always this mysterious, bright, good figure that at one point existed. Angelic almost. So seeing this person you’ve built up as this symbol of goodness and purity in a… risqué situation, would surely be more than just awkward. I could see it even mentally damaging, at least a little bit, to have that staunch worldview shattered. Almost as if you just found out a truth to a long-believed lie.
this is a reference to a phenomenon called the "Madonna whore complex". It refers to men's inability to integrate the sexual and motherly/nurturing aspects of women, resulting in intense psychological splitting.
@@grigoryalexandrovitchpecho6934 im not sure that's exactly the same, it's referring to mens inability to sexually desire a woman he also sees as a fulfilling life Partner. That's not Sasha's Problem, it's his mom not his own wife.
@@exiledrabbit generally yes, the endpoint of the dysfunction is men's difficulty with romantic partners and not their mothers, but the whole complex starts with problems integrating the "good" and "bad" parts of the mother. This is what causes men to have problems later in their life with romantic partners. That being said, he isn't explicitly exhibiting the Madonna whore complex during the game, but he literally lived through the origin story of someone who would. Furthermore, he'd be likely to exhibit the pattern later I'd wager.
I mean i'd be fucked up too if I telepathically witnessed my parents having sex... I think most things witnessed through Clairvoyance are extremely difficult to forget, and Sasha has censored himself to a point that he seems almost... Well like a box
I always loved how Agent Nine's reason got leaving his home is just him Nope-ing the heck out of there because he saw intercourse with his mother through (most likely) a first person perspective.
I expected him to see the death of his mother or something, from his father's perspective which would likely intensify it. But nope, just sexytimes lol.
I love Sasha's story The man could have very easily ended up ruined, mentally unstable and out of control, or deeply poisoned like Coach Oli'. But he mastered himself well enough to become a more stable person, and pass on some helpful lessons to the younger generation.
@@GamingUniversityUoG I know right? It's bloody brilliant, and the sequel is even better! 😃 EDIT: Also, in the sequel you can find one of those tacky lamps in Sasha's office, which is a nice little Easter Egg.
Good observation. Yes 90 degree angles by definition reflect concious control. Right Angles like these don't occur naturally in nature. It is one thing archeologists look for when determining if a rock is a rock or a man made structure. Nature also abhors symmetry so a perfect cube with 90 degree angles is perfect for mental control.
It is also noted that Sasha once worked in a lamp factory in his bio according to the notes about the character. That is where the generator comes from; it was the factory where those tacky lamps were also made. Guess we all have that one job in our C.V.s that we hate with a passion...however, I do also see what was mentioned as well.
Someone else pointed out that in his first memory, you can see the tacky lamp nearby in the scene where his mother dies: implying that he either associates the lamp with his mothers death or inserted it in his memory as an indicator of ‘things that were bad/wrong’. I’m more inclined to the former, though.
@@TheEepyMagi most likely agent modello or however you say her name gave it to him and he kept it to atleast show that he loves her (or something) even if he can’t show it in a emotionally way well enough to her. Kinda like my inability to show that I’m blushing unless I’m extremely embarrassed or flustered, which if I think I should be blushing I’d normally have to tell whoever I’m talking to that I’m basically wanting to blush.
My own theory why Sasha finding those memories is so traumatic is that maybe if you use that ability you don't only see memories, but experience them. Yknow, *all your senses can make up a memory*. And that's a whole other dimension of f'ed up. (Note: writing this comment based on other comments before watching the video)
Honestly I never really thought about if this was a purely visual/mental method of witnessing these events or as you say one that has him experience them. That would be even more traumatic.
And considering his own memories of his mother are from when he was an infant, it’s likely that his father’s adult memory was more structured and “complete.” So it would make it so Sasha’s most vivid memory of his mother is having sex with her…especially since the memory was first person POV
I'm surprised Sasha didn't warn Hollis about Rasputin inclination to mess with the mind, then again, she left a bunch of kids roams freely inside her mind while she was taking care of different stuff, if it wasn't Raz, it would be someone else.
I doubt any of the others would have done it. Then they would have had to take the fall for it. They had the perfect excuse. Haze the new kid and if anything went wrong they were clear.
@@GamingUniversityUoG What's significant about Razputin isn't just that he's a psychic prodigy, but also that he's decisive. He'd rather make a wrong decision than no decision. It's his greatest strength and his biggest weakness.
I just noticed, Sasha's glasses are uneven. The lenses are the same size and shape, but the left one is lower on his face than the other one. How I never noticed this until now, I have NO IDEA.
I think I remember something about the flaming side of the cube being called lamp factory in the files, if I'm not mistaken, the lamp thing is likely about a shitty job he got after running away from home.
I think the traits of the lamp could mean something. It’s made to look tacky and so he literally can’t look at. and its also not identical to the original lamp. So (in my own theory) after seeing his mother have intercourse with his dad, his image of said lamp morphed into something he was much less comfortable with.
I think that bit of my theory is based upon some commentary from a couple developers. One i think worked on the artwork for the mental vault sections. I'll have to go back and listen to it again to confirm.
Actually, if you revisit the word, Sasha tells Raz that 90% of what happened in the level was meant to happen, and it was all a test. The only thing that wasn't meant to happen was the Mega Censor.
Actually, even if you set the Censor Spawn to lvl 6 [the fastest before it goes out of control], eventually the machine says "You've hit your daily training limit, come tomorrow!" So you can actually never blast 1000 Censors, sadly. Yes I tried! So if we go with FutureBoyEXEs reply on Sasha actually setting it up, he set it up so Raz would actually set it off since even at the fastest setting he'd hit a limit no matter what. ALSO, I noticed during the first vaulted memories had a small angel flying away from Sashas mother as she passed away. And then in the second vault, it's labelled "Sashas Second Sight." While the name Second Sight could be used to describe his ability to see the visions of his mother that his father had, maybe it could be a double meaning, as Sasha couldve potentially seen his mothers spirit leaving her body as a child? That may be a stretch, but with how many abilities a psychic has in the world of Psychonauts, seeing the dead isn't exactly something that could be outright denied. [Though again, very loose explanation with little to back it up, as the angel couldve just been an artistic thing or to outright state she died.]
Haha you actually tried to shoot 1,000?! You have far more patience then me. That's great that is locks you out of it and forces you to dial it up to 11. Yeah it is a great way to force Raz into having this experience by creating a crisis for him to solve. I agree it was likely setup by Sasha but at the end of the day, Raz got the lesson and that's all that matters.
@@GamingUniversityUoG Yea i had a hunch it actually would lock you out after a bit, but morbid curiosity got to me. I do like how they figured someone would try to see how far you could go and added the limiter anyway.
@@GamingUniversityUoG so turns out in a hidden cutscene you get when you re enter Neins brain after he and Milla were kidnapped, he outright tells you he set it up! Wild huh?
i noticed if you hit him in the real world, he monotonely says "yes ouch", but hitting him in the mental world gets a much more vocal reaction out of him.
Another thing I think is interesting about the final section, the factory, is that most of the figments there are, as you pointed out, of workers either doing their jobs or taking a break. If Sasha did work in a factory like that, chances are he was in contact with a lot of people just about every day. Aside from learning the value of releasing pressure, as you also pointed out, he also learned from those other workers, who probably tried to include him in their conversations at the very least, that there is some merit in having a relationship with other people. Granted, positive interaction with other people doesn't solve everything, Sasha still obviously has his hang-ups, but fact is he DOES work reasonably well with his other camp councilors, Milla especially. It's probably a long shot, and a bit overly sentimental for a guy like Sasha, but I like to think that those figments show that he still at least thinks about his fellow workers every now and again, however distant those thoughts may be.
I feel a lot of people who grew up in a single parent household can empathize with him a lot. Specifically if the parent is distant. My best friend only grew up with his father too.
I have a small theory. Most of Sasha's mind is monotone/brown but there are brightly colored platforms that strongly resemble those in Milla's Dance Party which I think represents her influence on him.
The crazy part is some sources claim the factory Sasha worked at made the same "tacky lamps" that were by his mother's bedside when she died, but he didn't work well with his old boss before joining the psychonauts. On some subconcious level, he was trying to cope with the uncomfortable parts of the memories of her he read in his father's mind, face them like an adult while learning "control", but ended up finding new reasons to dislike and destroy the symbol of his own discomfort.
I think that lamp factory was in the lipo backstory document. I didn't know it existed at the time I made this one. Makes sense though since he had a factory area in his mind.
Actually the lamps are connected to the factory section of the level cause according to a piece of concept art the factory is a lamp factory, so the lamps have nothing to do with his mom cause if so why would there be one of theses lamp in his office at the Motherlobe in the sequel?
I haven't gone through the trailers for the sequel in the while. Honestly, that bit regarding the lamp in his mothers room was from one of the Double Fine artists bringing it up when discussing the Mental Vaults. I think he was one of the ones who made them.
I feel like something nobody is bringing up is the theory that Sasha's mother died due to a sexually transmitted disease. The real reason Sasha leaves is because he discovered his father's true source of shame and guilt.
The next one should be coming within the next month or so! I'm super excited to get back to this series too. Honestly I have done 101% three times and I'm always discovering new stuff.
@@GamingUniversityUoG but I'm referring to the things they lost Sasha loss his mother someone who was supposed to protect him milla had children who she was supposed to protect die
I appreciate it. This game deserves more recognition. I hope when the sequel comes out it will bring in new gamers back to experience this and Rhombus of Ruin.
12:03 im guilty of suppressing my emotions. Not as long as Sasha. Usually just a few hours while I'm at school or work. Or at a party. When I'm alone my venting involves either a lot of swearing and saying exactly what I think about someone or something. Or sliently letting tears out and emailing my friend for comfort. Not exactly trusting my mom with my emotions. If I don't trust you with my emotions you won't see them unless they force their way out.
I really like how on the second game it shows that milla and sasha are genuinely some of the best psychonauts in the organization. They get to show off a bit. On a related note i like how coach oleander, having resolved his childhood trauma, has clearly grown since the first game.
When i first saw the images in Sasha's father's mind, I thought the image after the angel was a completely different woman, giving the idea that his father had moved on and was dating a new woman, thus disgusting Sasha that his father was having those thoughts.
My parents devorced when i was very young. Possibly like when i wss 5 or so. I don't know but i font remember much of my childhood but the day my father argued with my mother and laid his hands on her in front of me. I was worried. Next memory is being in a car looking out and seeing the two talking. A police man coming over and seeming to arrest my dad. That's all i remember of that time. I grew up with my dad mostly home alone with my younger brothers, sometimes with a babysitter but at some point I needed to care for them myself. I had to pretty much grow up early for my brothers sometime before middle school.
I have a personal doubt concerning the Mega-Censor and its true meaning. It definitely has to do with emotional repression, as it bursts out right after Sasha touches the subject with Raz. However, I've always depicted emotional outbursts caused by mental repression to be extremely violent or passionate, as the supressed emotion is trying to take over or simply to saciate its needs at any cost. What does have to do with the role of a mind censor, though? I'm genuinely curious, since it also might have to do with Sasha's obsession with keeping his own mind and thoughts under strict control, to the point that it's no longer healthy. But is that really a consequence of emotional repression, or a cause? I'd really like to read your thoughts on the question. As a fan of Psychonauts, I love the character's insight you've provided us with this video series. Keep up the good work!
I really appreciate it! And yes for the Mega Censor it was largely a construct of Sasha's made to test Raz. This entire scenario was played off like him losing control but it was a way to toss the boy in the deep end. The big censor was just a build-up of censor energy since they turned off his mind's ability to create them during this trial. I don't see it as an emotional outburst but more his mind desperately trying to regain control.
@@GamingUniversityUoG That makes more sense, then! And, in that desperate attempt, I pressume Sasha's mind was no longer able to distinguish its own owner from an intruder. Lucky for him and Raz that it only took the boy a few tries before putting everything back in line. Thank you for clearing that up!
Thank you so much! And the answer is absolutely yes! I will be going through every level in the game In this style. Currently working on our favorite Levitating Master!
What’s interesting is that in his first Intro Spectrum video on Kingpin and Riddler, Suede mentioned that one known characteristic of autism is experiencing higher levels of emotions to the point that it can be overwhelming. When he described the behavior of stimming, I was reminded of this video’s theory that Sasha applied what he presumably learned about pressure control to emotions leading to his mastery of PSI-Blast. Suede’s description made the behavior sound like a emotional release valve to me.
I must admit, I never thought of the shape of Sasha's mind as repressing his memories. I saw it as more compartmentalized. The geometric shapes on the cube looked to me like boxes and drawers where he keeps everything neat and tidy.
Love this video! Might watch more of your work, it's well organized, your voice is quite level and calming (not that it needs to be, though), and it just... feels really nice.
Thank you so much! Let me know what you think of some of the other ones. Yeah my voice in these are mostly because I'm a bad speaker in general so talking in a slow, even voice helps me be understood better. I'm glad you enjoy how it turned out.
We all could say that the minds of characters of Psychonauts 1, Rhombus of Ruin, & 2 we do enter are basically a part of the writers’ own psyches and such.
That's one way to put it. The writers imagined these in the first place so either they themselves have similar mindscapes, they know someone, or just are good at thinking up these scenarios.
I wonder if Sasha used his own traumas to train Raz to dig and learn about these things. Given how much control he shows, I think its plausible I think he likely reflected that this was an important element for Raz to experience.
Very minor spoilers for Psychonauts 2: Sasha has a lamp identical to the one seen here, in his office. I don't think it's confirmed, but my headcanon is that it was a gift from Milla but he couldn't bring himself to tell her he hated it, so instead he uses it to train his own negative emotions.
If I looked through my dads head and saw that I'd leave too, because of how damned awkward it would be, and If I experienced the memory in full Pass go and take the whole damned bank in order to get away
Substance abuse may actually make sense for Sasha. He doesn't do anything like opium, but I can't remember him not smoking a cigarette. Like, when there's a fight of some sort, that's probably when he's NOT holding a cigarette. And uh . . . they don't fight often onscreen
@@GamingUniversityUoG Awesome! I ironically stumbled upon this while watching Nerdcubed's complete series and I think your vids are great for those curious like you analyse the FIGMENTS! which already made me a fan and digging deeper into the minds I just was skeptical towards Psychonauts and now I see why its gem
Ok, I just experienced an odd glich. I started the psychology of psychonauts season 1 play list, starting with basic braining, but for some reason, it said it was sasha's shooting gallery, and when basic braining was done, it skipped right to milla's dance party. I backed up to here to watch in order.
I can't be the only one who thought that the mega censor looked like Sasha's dad. I mean, yeah, it does look like a censor, but look at the hair, the muscles and the glasses. Not to mention that Sasha was scarred by a memory of his parents banging and the clothes of the mega censor are torn off.
I thought the lamp was a metaphor for his dislike of having seen his mom have sex. I thought the take away was now he can’t NOT think of his mom without thinking of sex, so a nice memory with that tacky lamp is something he’s projecting on. 😅
Just started your series and I'm a bit curious,did you finish a psychology college by chance? I'm a psychology student and your videos corelate with what they teach there.Also very interesting series so far!
Nope I never took a psychology class when i was in college. Weirdly enough I was a music student studying Jazz Piano lol. I'm just interested in psychology and read a lot.
@@GamingUniversityUoG That s really awesome! I will be sure to watch the rest of the series as I really love psychonauts and the psychology behind It.But props to you everything you said Is really interesting and academic.
7:05 idk about that lol. the problem was the LOSS of a parent and the lack of love from his mourning father. not because he doesn’t have a mother. i’m sure kids growing up with two loving dads or just one loving dad grow up just fine. and don’t forget about co-parenting!! this is pretty traditionalist, im not here for it lol. adding to that, i just don’t like that it was emphasized like gender matters in what a loving parental figure is like ig.
I did spend a good period of time discussing the emotional neglect of his father. My best friend grew up in a household with only his father and no mother. No problems whatsoever. The difference being a loving and attentive father vs Sasha's who neglected him.
Sasha was traumatized by seeing his dads memory of haveing intercourse with his mom to the poient that he ran awey if I was in his position I honestley would do the same.
Okay, if Censors are there to stamp out thoughts that don't belong, how can it be explained that the Uber-Censor attacked Sasha himself, who by all means should belong here more than anyone else. Is this an example of a mind being so strictly repressed and controlled that it may erase parts of its own personality?
Ah, yes, the famous kink of having sexual intercourse with your wife But why wouldn't they? And why would it be limited to widowers rather than widows and widowers?
People are human. It isn't like you tend to miss only a couple things about a person when you lose them, and he'd probably have thought about her in that way any time he felt "in the mood." It would be a perfectly normal thing for him to miss alongside everything else about his wife, especially if their sex life was a strong part of their relationship.
