Why Subnautica Owes Its Success to This Button 

"Sometimes, they joke that they made a horror game by mistake." ...they made all that horror UNINTENTIONALLY?

I've played this game since it came out in early access and didn't know you could distract creatures with flares.

Subnautica: “do you have a fear of the ocean?” Player base: “no” Subnautica: “would you like to?”

It honestly blows my mind that they didn't expect players to be interested in the crashed ship. Literally can not understand that thought process

So they genuinely didn't think everyone's immediate thought in a survival game would be "let me scavenge the massive tech-filled ship/only "landmass" on the horizon"?

"Players wake up in a endless featureless expanse save for one giant flaming beacon in the distance" Developers: "WhY aRe PlAyErS sWiMiNg ToWaRdS iT!?"

Despite this game being horrifying, isn’t the sunrise and sunset just beautiful?

The Reefback Leviathan can seem terrifying upon first seeing them, but when realizing they're friendly they're like big awesome sea friends that you just want to hug. Sometimes I would spend hours just swimming around on their backs, or sometimes if they breached the surface, just sitting on top of them as they swam around, one even swam me back to my base and I hopped off, it made its big scary groaning noise which has turned just adorable to me and swam away. I love them.

As someone who lives in Brighton I'm always anxious I'll run into Chris Bratt trying to steal a car for a GTA video or something.

That shot of the poor sound tech up to his knees in water... Absolute perfection, thank you so much

Haha, wait, the last second breath was a bug? That's amazing, it's one of the most defining moments of the game to me!

The extra effort spent to film the intro at the beach and dunk yourself underwater is appreciated.

something I'll always find amusing is the fact that, even with the Devs so dead set on not letting the player be violent in turn to the violent wildlife, there's enough still there that killing leviathans is a favored past time/long term goal for many players who know it's possible. My personal favorite way of going about it is the most dangerous outside of actively just knifing them without stasis; freeze them and feed them a bunch of the gasopods' acid pods (which can be collected if you catch them before they explode in a cloud of acid, it's about a 1 second window, and if you toss them out of your inventory rather than going to use them to craft acid torpedoes, they will still pop after a second or so into a cloud of acid) which does a lot of damage to everything not a gasopod. Including leviathans. gotta be quick though, because if you're tossing out a dozen and you aren't out of there immediately, the cloud can kill you, and much, much faster than the leviathans. it also lingers slightly longer than the visual cloud does, meaning you've got to be careful about multiple attempts, too!

The leviathans were always great game pacing in my eyes. When you start, you're surrounded by friendly fish, maybe one of those alligators, and the boom fish. Not much risk. But when you start moving to deeper, dangerous water you start to realize you're not the predator here.

PMG helping me get through the Quarantine. These guys are so genuine and nice you can see how much they love what they're doing.

"It's not a bug, it's a feature!" thats what my landlord told me too^^

And Kerbal Space Program to this: "[F5]" And "[F9]"

It was a pleasure talking with you, Chris. Thanks for making this video!

05:17 "Its that they are so big they can kill you without realizing" Me - Throwing a bunch of Floaters on the Reefbacks to force them out of the water.

2:03 is that a portal 2 reference? "What you're doing there is jumping"

The ocean is littered with ads and that is a mood.

Players When They See The Reefback “Im in aw of the size of this lad”

Surprised they let Chris in his wetsuit on before the watershed to be honest

As my old diving instructor used to always say "dolphins have flippers, divers have fins!" I never did quite get round to pointing out that dolphins have fins as well... Anyway top quality work guys! Subnautica is a great game and one of the few single player games that my friends and I play in tandem. It's called having a Subnautidate, and I recommend it!

Subnautica is a great game, & I love the feedback form idea, but I don't envy anybody looking through the bug reports part of that data. The ease of use & simplicity makes it possible for them to essentially outsource their QA, but it also means that more serious bugs can get lost within the horde. I had one where my avatar became stuck in the ceiling after using a hatch & thought it made sense to save & reload the game in order to sort it out. That, it turns out, was a terrible idea. The game doesn't do any sanity checking on the player's vertical coordinate, meaning that save & the 8 hours I'd put into it is now completely unusable. This is obviously quite a niche situation, but therein lies the problem when the bug is so bad that it is literally game breaking.

I've always thought part of the reason it was so good is because you're forced to think about things, rather than shooting your problems away.

I for one *am* terrified of the country of Wales. Have you *seen* their language? That's not a human tongue.

When you ask for guns what do they say ? "We wont give you a gun, here have a stasis rifle and your survival knife, go and survive by escaping while they are stunned" Me in the meantime stunning leviathans and stabbing them in the eye untill they die . Me also sayin: you where right, players aint always right with what they asked for, a gun wouldn't have been brutal enough, stabbing them 10k times untill they die is just way more fun and satisfying!

2:40 That one Korone clip just came up in my head: “Fire, in the water…HOW”

imo i love the fact that they didn't add weapons but made killing enemies possible, as it limits the player to using weak tools not intended for war to kill enemies, which makes killing something big make you feel like such a badass. I killed a ghost leviathan with a prawn suit drill arm once, and i felt like a boss.

At 10:30 Chris is playing a build of Subnautica from Oct 2020. Chris, please tell us your time travel secrets, we've all known for a while now. Another wonderful video, very interesting! As a small indie dev that mostly does game jams, after watching it's definitely convinced me to make something similar for my future projects!

I have thalassophobia; Subnautica scares me more than some actual horror games. I've not gotten far into the game but at one point I wandered accidentally into an area that had several Reaper leviathans and when one of them came at me screaming, I shrieked out loud and brought up the menu and reloaded the game because I was having none of that. Not sure if I'm ever gonna be able to finish that game.

Johnny cameo is a true woopa moment. Still rewatch the Late to the Party episodes you guys did!

“you’ve just accidentally read a tweet from jk rowling” extremely accurate, thank you

1:08 I feel Quinns' perfect "so this is my life now" face deserves more recognition.

Programmer: “okay we will have them die as soon as they run out of oxygen even if they are close to the surface” The Game: “no these are MY babies I will look after them” Gamers: :)

6:56 That moment when a game developer doesn't understand the one most basic thing about player psychology, and yet still made a masterpiece !

Fun fact: fire can occur on water*, maybe not for multiple days, but if there's an oil spill and it catches alight - there's nothing stopping that oil from burning freely on the surface. discovered this when I was a lil juvenile n poured petrol into a small pond, lit it n the full pond lit up. oh the joys of being a pre-teen.

I have seen an apnoe diving video where the filmer dies. He is close to the top, when the camera stops moving and then sinks a bit. Then a blackscreen that says that the body was recovered a few days later and the family decided to upload the video. I was always careful when I was freediving. But this video got so close to me. I will be even more careful now. I just didn't expect the video to end this way, but this is the reason why it is so important. This person also didn't expect the dive to end that way.

"ive accidentally read a tweet by jk rowling" thank you somuch

There's something about Reefbacks that makes me feel safety like no other video game character. I'm certain that people with thalassophobia have more intense feelings about the game, but I'm wondering if we're more likely to absolutely adore Reefbacks than people without a fear of the ocean.

The first time I ever encountered a Reaper, which was by the Aurora, I was genuinely horrified. When it took ahold of the moth and I was staring into its face... omg, I'm glad I wasn't recording myself playing the game. Very few games ever give me the kind of reaction the Reaper did.

Amazing video! Love all the hard work put into it not only to make it extremely informative but also entertaining. Recently found this channel and it is already one of my favorites.

it is scary how high of a production quality you guys bring, time in and time out. I love it.

8:10 Tom Scott and Overboard w/ Brennan Lee Mulligan in the recommendations? Hell yes!

The limitations in combat lead to some of my favourite moments in this game, the tension added with the lurking depths leads to more interesting sandbox expiriences

Fantastic production all round, guys. Really interesting, well paced deep dive that made me smile a lot. Cheers!

when you said "we found a message in a bottle" I was like: Please dont be a sponser spot

PMG once again asserting itself as the most Brighton of gaming channels

This is why “pave the footpaths” is one of my favorite colloquialisms

I love this game... I love the first person role playing games but almost all of them involve guns or magic and killing things. It was so nice to find a mostly peaceful game that is so involved and so good. For anyone who doesn't know there is a second Subnautica now as well... some say it's not as good but I'd just say it's a little different. It's still great!

I've never seen any of your videos before, but that intro made me instantly click "subscribe" with the force of a thousand suns. Anyone who goes to that level of effort for a ten-second sight gag deserves my attention.

Honestly, this is a really cool feature, thank you for telling us about it properly

Subnautica has the best feedback feature i've seen to date, which I really like. You can report bugs and glitches, but also express your happiness about the game, all in one place and most importantly ingame. No website for submitting or even having to post on socieal media.

A fresh video insight insight into the game of subnautica. i thankyou for your time put into this. breaks the mould from what we normally see and brings home the love i think we all have of this amazing game: the community, developers, player experience and all the time and dedication put in.

With reefbacks I get like goosebumps down my back whenever i see them. amazing looking creature

I only discovered the channel back in June. I've been catching up since. Amazing stuff!

By far the best feedback system I've ever used in any game, and as a result, I ended up using it a ton during the various early builds.

7:15 WAIT, YOU CAN EXPLORE THE SHIP??? Whoa!!! I didn’t even realize that! I swam all the way up to it as soon as I made the anti-radiation suit, for some reason couldn’t find how to get in, though that that was it, it was just a cool-looking prop, looted some metal and went back slightly disappointed. I can’t tell how excited I was when I found out it’s actually a part of the game!!! Looking forward to exploring it!😁

You guys make amazing content and I just have fallen in love with the channel. I also found out that Subnautica is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2021 so probably will give that a go....anyway keep up the good work guys!

People: Talking about the game Me: He must have been so hot while filming this in a wetsuit

That ending bit with the "real" message in a bottle I called it that it would be a segway to the sponsor

Wonderful analysis dude! It’s always interesting to me how my favourite games evolve and get developed!

Thanks for this video Anni and Chris! Subnautica is probably one of my favourite games of the last 10 years, so it's always a joy to see it in the spotlight.

*swoon* Damn chris good work good suit, good journalism

Bonuspoints for "I've accidentally read a tweet by J.K. Rowling"!

My god that water must have been cold, even with a wet suit! Brave man. Fantastic video as always, the animations of Subnautica's aquatic life looked brilliant. I adored this game and it was great to hear more about the development process.

I was so suprised to see you have not reached 100k subs yet, this is top tier videos.

Interesting to see the role that contextual feedback can play in the whole game-making process. I guess it turns everyone into a massive focus group. Along those lines, I wonder if they collected any demographics to go with the feedback? Would certain segments of players prefer something while others hated it? And yeah, it makes sense that even with contextual feedback not everyone can articulate why they liked or didn't like something. Thinking about narrative design, that would probably feel like trying to plot out something coherent while simultaneously having hundreds of conversations with people still midway through the actual plot.

Quinn’s a natural with that boom mic

So cool all of my favorite creators on here seem to know each other and are friendly! Very wholesome

This was just so refreshing too see someone outside and to put effort instead of just sitting with a computer screen in the background. Original I like it! You earned a sub!

that advertisment ambushed me

10:24 "non negotiable" just me who thought of your a wizard harry?

I used this feature so much actually. Every time I saw a bug or had a thought and I didn't even really think about how useful it was to be able to say something that easily

Amazing video. the opening was a little weird, but other amazingly done. I liked how you referenced other videos and maintained a casual tone

I have so much respect for everyone in this. Chris and the PMG team, as well as the Subnautica developers who are just a lovely bunch, creatively inspiring, morally and visionarilly strong, fantastic work everyone. Really bloody fantastic

I love how the message ended up being completely reversed from the original intention. The Intention: "I'm frustrated that the government won't take people's guns away. So I'm going to make this game not have guns." The Implementation: "The comically evil organization that you work for prior to the crash forbids you from having access to guns while pretending that it's for a humanitarian concern."

The water on fire glitch happened to me daily. It's just by the Aurora in the safe shallows/sparse reef and is always burning.

I probably had the best possible first encounter with a reefback that one could image. I was swimming through this bottomless ocean in fear, but knowing there is an island somewhere. Then I noticed that I have entered an area with a lot of mini isles. I go onto one and look around, gather some resources and want to leave again when I notice that IT IS MOVING! The revelation that those islands were indeed not islands at all hit me so hard back then that I still remember it now after all that time (since sometime during early access). Yea, very chliche and I always thought that could never happen to me. I guess I have been proven better. Still my most memorable moment of the game though.

Lol, Literally the first thing i did when i got Subnautica was swim to Aurora. Also get scared by reefbacks.

2:55 lmao

Great video, love the cameo from Johnny too. The sea is a great place for existential dread.

I've been following and playing the game since early access and just... it's fantastic. That F8 button did so much and I feel glad I was able to help contribute because of it.

Hey its Johnny!

I love Subnautica and I love this video

This was a good video m8. Never even played the game, just thought this was an informative and entertaining video. +1 sub

Your absolute commitment to the water suit bit is amazing.

"Reefback are terrifying" Me who defeated a ghost leviathan with a knife no

What made them think players wouldn't want to go towards the ship 😂 it's a key landmark and part of the lore, not only does it visually look cool, it's literally part of the back story, so you'd assume there's either a story line there, or things to discover and collect. Do they not play games, or are they too busy making them? 😂

The "why is the ocean on fire" feedback is friggin hillarious in 2021

I come back to this video even now as this soulful, warm moment. Thank you so much!

Subnautica single-handedly made me scared of the Sea

This game is honestly one of the best game ever created along side outer wilds for me

I bought this game when it first hit early access and the way it’s changed and become what it is has been awesome to watch and play through all its variations. Glad i got to contribute with that blessed f8 key.

I just found this channel randomly at 3 am and I never knew I needed it. How have I been on youtube for so long without finding this gem of a channel

Him: Why Subnautica Owes Its Success to This Button Me: oh yeah to enable console

"I've just read a tweet by J.K. Rowling" is a fantastic metaphor for a sour mood, holy shit- I'm going to start using that in general conversation from now on, thank you People Make Games- For being such rational, outspoken, GOOD creators & sharing all of that with us

i keep seeing new videos about old games as soon as a start to play them

i love reefbacks reefbacks are wonderful sources of renewable minerals that normally arent its not as efficient as mining the treaders' path in the... treader's path area but theyre a nice little stopover when you stumble upon them that can quickly add up