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The Matrix: Path Of Neo Is (Possibly) Self Parody
55 Plays3 months ago
The Matrix: Path Of Neo was a videogame released in 2005. And there's so much to say about it.
Hope got the "Peek-a-Boob" Top from Stephnasknits on Instagram, go check it out!
Videos referenced in this episode:
The Path Of Neo Is Insane by Purposless Rabbitholes
https://youtu.be/H-lFGnckul4?si=hQsIBTiG1HbCmWby
The Wachowski's "Cameo"
https://youtu.be/Fgg7FdznyQg?si=Z97QP3tgFB_6AAkk
@MatrixQueerPod on IG/Twitter
Ella Cesari is
https://twitter.com/drawnwithoutref
https://instagram.com/drawnwithoutref
https://ellacesari.weebly.com
Hope Lichtner is
@HopeLichtner on IG/Tumblr/AO3. good luck!
The Matrix music, clips and dialogue are all copyright Warner Brothers and we own NONE of it.
contact us at [email protected]
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Transcript
Introduction and Theme Setup
00:00:00
Speaker
If you're like us, then right now you're ready for 15 minutes of sweaty, palmed, button-pushing action to kick the crap out of some big badass boss. So we suggested to the Chinese that we change
Reimagining The Matrix Ending
00:00:11
Speaker
the ending. We thought it would be cool after Smith rose up screaming, it's my world. The other Smiths jumped on to emerging into one massive monster emergency. So if you're ready, it's time for a little Hulk versus Galactus action. Good luck. You'll need it. And enjoy enlightenment.
Iconic Matrix Quotes and References
00:00:30
Speaker
did I'd like to share a revelation with our family.
00:00:42
Speaker
Let me tell you why you're here. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain. How do you feel it? Being the one is just like being in love. All I'm offering is the truth. Nothing. No one can tell you you're in love. Just know it. Do it, do it. All's above it. Hear that, Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability.
00:01:15
Speaker
My name Trinity and you better take your hands off of me.
Themed Podcast Intros and Safety Warnings
00:01:21
Speaker
Welcome. Hey, Hope. Hi, Ella. How are you? Press start on the podcast. I don't know. I'm trying to do like a themed, you know, intro, like on Mr. Shack. Look back. we We did some themed intros. You know, we're talking about a video game and be like, ah yes, this is our third video game episode in a row. Right. Yeah. And I'm only now thinking I'll do this. Yeah. Well, you know what? I thought it was really funny because we were texting earlier while I was driving. Don't text and drive, kids. um We were texting earlier about how um preparation for this podcast was cutting into your preparation time for your other podcast.
Gravity Falls and Podcast Promotion
00:02:02
Speaker
Sort of like so. I mean, for for the context of you listeners out there at the time of this recording, I received my copy
00:02:08
Speaker
of the Gravity Falls, the Book of Bill, which is sort of the latest big Gravity Falls development in a while. So obviously we'll be covering that over on my other podcast, Mystery Shack Lookback. Check that out. It's very good. It's how I met you. Maybe by the time you're listening to this in the future, it'll already be out. Who knows? time This episode is going up tomorrow night. I don't know. Yeah, well, late night, that doesn't mean that they're listening to it on the day it comes out. That's very fair. that's very What are podcasts like in your time, dear listener?
Trans Experiences and Media Timelines
00:02:42
Speaker
Write us or send us a screen. In my day, we had an actual iPod for our podcasting. And on my day, the name made sense.
00:02:53
Speaker
Uh, it'll happen to you. Um, but yes, so, and i it just, yeah and but i don't I don't know if that's like, yes, it is technically preparation for the other podcast, but it's also just me being a fucking nerd, which is i i mean like, I would have talked about the matrix for an hour and a half podcasts or no podcast. That is how I would have spent my afternoon. And I stand by.
Deep Dive into Gravity Falls Fandom
00:03:20
Speaker
That's that's very fair. But I just thought it was amazing because you were doing um if anybody's not listened to Mystery Shack, look back, go do it right now. Pause the episode. I'll wait. Welcome back. um Wow, you listen to this fast. It's an incredibly in-depth, well researched run through of everything. Oh, no.
00:03:46
Speaker
everything gravity falls front to back and as somebody who only discovered the show after it had finished it was wonderful yeah if that being essentially yeah right or yeah gravity well no uh the actual gravity show greg the the gravity show she gravity work but no yeah but it's that cooper isn't that true for both the show and the podcast though Yes, very much so. Literally like ah his yeah frustrating as hell. I discovered Gravity Falls itself in like July of 2016 while I was in a hotel drunk alone in ah Atlanta, I want to say. And then I discovered. Discovering the show.
00:04:23
Speaker
Yes. And then I discovered Mystery Shack Lookback literally the day after the final episode of the main run now ended. And oh my god. Now, i so I swear we'll get to Matrix stuff soon, but i that's so funny because we will. The premise of Mr. Shaq Lookback, for those not in the know, is that Gravity Falls had such a unique ah fan base that built up when it was actually airing new episodes you know in its original run that we felt it was necessary to sort of create this time capsule to to capture what that experience was like for those who didn't have it, such as Hope.
00:04:59
Speaker
But Hope also i am your target audience not also did not get to experience our podcast as it was coming out. So we need to create a time capsule of our time capsule in order for Hope to properly get the feeling of what it was like to be there when our podcast was coming out.
Individual Media Consumption and Aging
00:05:15
Speaker
It's even worse now because I preordered the book of Bill like six or eight months ago or whenever the hell it was announced. Yeah. And my copy arrived like on like the Tuesday it came out like literally a week ago when we're recording this. um And I thought, OK, lovely. This will be a great beach read. I'm super excited. And I put it down in a stack of other books that I have yet to read ah that I will be getting to on the beach, ah including the real acrum.
00:05:42
Speaker
Yes, that too. Oh, I've got those. i actually It's definitely not the title. The title is definitely not simulacra and simulacrum. I believe that is simulacrum and simulation or something like that. I understood what you meant. And I don't know. i So I just kind of smiled and nodded. Yeah. um But what's frustrating is two days after I set the book down, after having just freshly received it and being like, OK, that's going to be exciting to read. you I see a post on Instagram being like, people have already solved the puzzle in the book of Bill. I'm like, God fucking damn it. I am cursed to never experience this fandom in real time. that's i just i
00:06:28
Speaker
That's gonna happen cuz I think that's And again, you know without getting too gravity-falsy about it on the Matrix podcast not to get your chocolate in my peanut butter or anything but the the fans, you know They work so fast and and I feel this off like it's almost parental pride about it even though a lot of us is older than me it Just like ah They were, you know, they grow, they've grown up so fast, they're solving the ciphers and the codes and all that. But I think, that you know, yu that that doesn't, that shouldn't take away from your enjoyment of it, I guess is all I'm i'm trying to say.
00:07:04
Speaker
It certainly will not. I will thoroughly enjoy reading the book of Bill while I am ah high out of my mind on a beach in a few weeks. I think that's how Bill would want you to read it. but Probably, yeah. ah But like, I wonder if it's also, I mean, getting back into the original concept of why I wanted to do this podcast with you, I also wonder if a little bit of it, for me anyway, is the fact that I am rapidly approaching 40. And I'm just like, I can experience
Adapting Movies into Games: Challenges and Insights
00:07:32
Speaker
things in my own time. That's fine. I'm just finally starting to catch up with Doctor Who and this show ended like a month and a half ago. ah I've been into Doctor Who for since like 2006, so I don't even know what to say to that anymore. It's just it's been a wild ride. There's a lot of ups and downs in that show, but David Tennant ages so well.
00:07:56
Speaker
And the plot and the plot is one of the first. I mean, yes, I'm not I'm not I'm never going to complain about um this much volume of David Tennant, but die it does duck form and Time Lord form so much David Tennant. It's obscene. um But it does help that the first episode of the new shit is very transgender, which is a lot of fun. I mean, wait to the jinx monsoon episode. Oh, my God, I haven't gotten there yet. I know he makes out with with
The Matrix Path of Neo: Release and Gameplay
00:08:31
Speaker
Agent Smith. I know that much. And that's kind of all I care about at this point. But um see I know. I know it's I know you meant Johnny Graff. Yeah. and I wanted and my heart wanted it to be Hugo Weaving. I i understand. i'm in In our heart, it's always Hugo Weaving. It's so yeah.
00:08:54
Speaker
No disrespect, though, to John and Graf. I mean, we obviously haven't gotten to his vern as Smith yet, but it's, I mean, he's fantastic, too. He is brilliant, and I honestly don't think I could have Smith in that movie any other way. It just works so perfect as a hole in my head at this point. But, oh, I should also. I mean, on that note, how we shift to The Matrix. Uh, yes. Remind me, however, I do have a couple of plugs to plug at the end of the episode, which is probably when I should plug anyway. I have a couple of plugs like in the on the back of my head and neck and sort of down my spine. And when I was. Flawless, flawless transition, my friend. Flawless transition. That's what my doctor said, too, when I came in for my. I folks.
00:09:47
Speaker
No, I'm dying already. Jesus Christ, Christ alive. I can't do it. I can't do it. Son of a bitch. but yeah i might Transition even too. i think that's I think that speaks to enjoy things in your own time, right? I think that's something that trans people generally reconcile with is sort of finding things. Yes. um And speaking of finding things in their own time, um The Matrix, The Path of Neo, came out in 2005. I'm not gonna lie. I mean that I will give that transition a solid six. I will give your transition a 12 out of 10. I mean, ah, well, I appreciate that. Thank you.
Development and Fan Reactions to Path of Neo
00:10:32
Speaker
Compliments to the chef. But yeah, oh, yes, give me the details. Give me the dirty, dirty details on the video game Matrix Path of Neo, which we're talking about today.
00:10:44
Speaker
So The Matrix the Path of Neo was developed by Shiny Entertainment. It was published by Atari, Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment. ah The engine is not applicable. God, I love Wikipedia ah formatting. Wow, that's awesome's really impressive that they were able to create a game with no game engine. This is ah off of ah Matrix dot.fandom dot.com, I should say. ah What does this game run on? Nothing. It was released on November the 8th, 2005. The genre, this is great. Sci-fi action. No shit. And third person shooter, it is a single player. ah It was rated T for teen by the ESRB.
00:11:26
Speaker
And it was platformed on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and the Xbox and DVD. Well, I guess, yeah, the media would be on DVD ROM. This was before downloads were the composers for the game are Tobias Enhus and ah the heavy metal band Machine Head. i Of course, of course. ah Yeah. Christ alive. And I have to say right up at the front, I think this might be, full disclosure, I have not seen like Jupiter Ascending or Cloud Atlas yet. I think this might be the single most bananas thing we're covering on this podcast now that's in terms of like an individual project. That is a very interesting concept, and I feel like, again, because of kind of the
00:12:17
Speaker
the Bill Cipher of it all of the week and also just the fact that my life has been kind of chaotic. I wonder if I maybe haven't dug deep enough into the game to really find a lot of the wackiness that you're that you're referring to. I know some of it. I definitely know some of it. But I'm yeah just what I what I miss. in my in my trying yeah I did find it very interesting that um ah gravity Mystery Shack, look back, there it is, ah requires so much in-depth research and like way back time machine stuff. And The Matrix itself and all Wachowski projects are so heavily, fairly researched and developed and so deliberately laid out. And this podcast is just me basically remembering horse shit from a fog of 20 odd years.
00:13:02
Speaker
And you like glancing over Wikipedia and watching. youtube yeah I'm not. I am genuinely pretty embarrassed about it, but it is also because I am. Oh, please no. I am so burnt out from 50 plus episodes of doing heavy research to the point that these upcoming these upcoming sort of comeback episodes of Mystery Shack look back feel like like the the the lifetime thief coming back for one last job. You know, like I got to I fully understand it. And at As I said, when we were starting this podcast to begin with, the minute it stops being fun is the minute we stop doing it because I this is fun for me talking about this horse shit with my friends. And hey, this is some fun, overblown sci-fi horse shit. And you are my friend. And you guys. So who's the real Joker at the end of the day? Who is the fool? Who is more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him, you fool?
00:14:00
Speaker
Now, i and full disclosure, this is another game that I have not played. Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan talking to Mr. T. Who's the fool? The fool who pity's him.
00:14:15
Speaker
Yeah, no. Not a bad alligator. Thank you. I don't think any of us have either of us have played any of the video games, right? Or have you? I played through Enter the Matrix once as Niobe, and that was it. I i hate MMOs, so I never played any iteration of the Matrix online. I mean, I don't know how to tell you this, but we can't. So. and We can't. And I know, ah, darn. So my research for this was watching a friend play five minutes of it once, 19 years ago. And I'm going to link a couple of these videos in the show notes. But ah there was a very ah helpful ah YouTube channel called Purposeless Rabbit Holes, which is fun, considering. Very fitting. Yeah. um And they did a video. He, I guess.
00:15:06
Speaker
The problem is purpose and choice and rabbit holes and all that stuff. And ah they've very kindly published a video ah ah four years ago called The Path of Neo is Insane. It's about half an hour long, and they he walks you through all of the gameplay, a lot of the story changes, and I have to say, Like, I think I
Wachowskis' Innovative Designs in Path of Neo
00:15:29
Speaker
texted you this once I saw the clip of it, because if you just put this on the box for the game, it would have been an instant sell for me. But at that point, I had already yeah at the at that point, like November of 2005, I had already endured it ah two solid years of my friends all mocking me for the liking the Matrix sequels. And I was not ready to spend 60 bucks on a video game at this point in my life.
00:15:57
Speaker
um But there is a point, like you develop your fighting style enough throughout the course of the game, that you can use Agent Smith's as Nunchucks. Like there is a multi takedown attack where you grab two dudes by the ankles and they can both be Agent Smiths. Doesn't gotta to be Agent Smiths, but it can be. You can grab two attackers by the ankles and just start swinging them around like they are nunchucks. Just like literally like... It's ah I think the proper trope name is grievous harm with a body, but I know it better as hitting a motherfucker with another motherfucker. um And it is my favorite thing in the world. And then you find out that all of the fighting in this game was motion captured.
00:16:47
Speaker
So yeah, no, I know. I don't know how they simulated it hitting a motherfucker with another motherfucker, but I am a big fan and I need more of it in my life. um
00:17:02
Speaker
God almighty, but at this point, like in 2005, a wild time to release a game that is because it's also when ah Matrix Online was released, right? That or I guess 2004. Yeah, let me pull up the proper date for that because it's been a full month since we talked about that. But yes, ah they were both 2005. And this was also like, just from me living through this time period as a fan of The Matrix, it was also possibly the worst possible time to be a fan of The Matrix. I mean, is what everybody. Sorry. No, no, you're fine. Go.
00:17:35
Speaker
I would argue that 2005 makes more sense for Matrix Online since that was presented as this sort of expansion on and takes place you know sometime after the events of the films that came out in 2003. But Matrix Path of Neo, unlike Enter the Matrix or Matrix Online, is just an adaptation of the stories that we've already seen. um So it's a little wild that it wasn't like, that I understand why Enter the Matrix because it takes place concurrently with Matrix Reloaded. I understand why that was released alongside, but this feels kind of wild to release two years out from the films having any like real presence in the culture.
00:18:22
Speaker
it It really does. And I mean, they talk about it if you go way back to the beginning of the podcast on ah the show Blank Check with Griffin and David. um I think it's Griffin that says ah that the Wachowskis always seem to be about nine years ahead of the rest of the world in terms of just whatever it is they're experimenting with that week. Yeah,
Motion Capture Technology Evolution
00:18:45
Speaker
absolutely. And for a crazy ah banana pants adaptation of the Matrix franchise featuring um motion captured ah fighting in a video game.
00:19:04
Speaker
Seems to be again, well ahead of yeah schedule like like from a technological standpoint. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, exactly. Especially because like motion capture was still so relatively new on the scene. It was like first made truly big with I mean, obviously, Gollum in The Lord of the Rings in 2002 was the first of the Donkey Kong Country television series. I am I because I did not know that existed until you literally ba you into entirely with motion capture. It looks like. Donkey Kong. Now I'm going to Google this in real time. Motion capture. I'm very honored to be your witness. You discovering this.
00:19:51
Speaker
Oh, no, the first shot. The first link is a YouTube episode link. This is going to be terrifying, and and I'm going to hate this already. Oh, oh oh, gosh, it's this is yes, this is terrible. And I hate it so much. Why would you do this? Why would you do this? Sorry, this is sorry. Sorry. This is 1997. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay. Wait. I mean, no that fine i think it looks it it honestly doesn't look that bad. I think it's there's the uncanniness that it's hard to hard to shake, I guess.
00:20:30
Speaker
You know what it is? OK, so I'm I'm I'm I'm conflating this. Having done zero, this is just all that off the top of my head. My apologies. Motion capture, as we know it today, I think first truly rose to prominence with Gollum in 2002. This this horrifying video that now I am forced to put in the show notes. It's like, oh, yeah, these really great, well thought out videos about Path of Neo and this. hey
00:21:01
Speaker
ah Christ, I do hope the Wachowskis never fucking listen to this show because I would be embarrassed as all hell. ah yeah If I have you were listening, I'm sorry. And and if they ever if they ever do listen. um Lana, I think I get what you're going for. Oh boy. You gotta to change the hair. You gotta. I'm sorry, honey. It's not worth it. You know what it is? Every single time I watch Big Trouble in Little China, I'm struck with a thought. I could make a mullet work, and then I have to talk myself out of a mullet. I understand. um But to ah to circle back to what we were talking about even before I hit record,
00:21:46
Speaker
um Have you ever have you ever been to to to Disney World and seen Muppet Vision 3D? Yes. You mean the best. Great. You mean the single best reason to go to Disney World? Yes. I mean, the only best reason to go to academy Disney Park. Yes. Yes. ah Yes. So what's the our finale? Oh, great. It's the character. It's the character of Waldo. Yes, Waldo C. Grafik. Yes, Waldo C. Grafik. God almighty, it's I don't. The only time I was ever in Disney World was before you were born. And I hate that that thought just wandered through my head very aimlessly. But that is an incredibly early version of motion capture. Absolutely. That is based around, I mean, Muppetry, essentially. I mean, it's it's it's
00:22:37
Speaker
all working off of like the the the articulation of what basically a sock puppet would be. um Have you ever seen Puppet Up, yeah the ah the live improv show? Yeah, i the show that I saw, they actually trotted out their quote unquote motion capture unit. ah which was fascinating to see ah in real time. And the thing is, Moldo himself is named after the nickname for that technology that they would use, which was, you put your hand like you're controlling a Muppet, you know, with your mouth.
00:23:14
Speaker
And that is tracked by the by the computer. And Waldo, ah which, according to my research, named after a a short story about a man who invents kind of these is robotic hands operated remotely, are Yeah, and and then that inspired the term, which inspired the character, so it all really kind of links back in that he is not only in the context of the story, he is the spirit of 3D, but he is also literally named after the the technology that we're working with at the time, which I think people
00:23:51
Speaker
ah kind of underestimate or overlook how, even at the ah the very tail end of his life, Jim Henson was himself was directly involved in this. There's a lot of it on the Jim Henson Hour, which has just showed that he hosted, there's a lot of his work with early computer technology. And I think he is kind of Wachowski-esque in that way, in that he's always kind of been 15 years or so ahead of his time. I mean, I'm i'm not nay saying the ah the comparison that sounds like I mean, considering our Henson ask or whoever came since he came. Yes, we'll go with that. um It's not easy being digital, not easy being green screen. So. But circling back to that, right I mean, no, no deflation there.
00:24:45
Speaker
you're You know what it is? You know what it is? I think my brain edited out that pun out of self-defense. Run it by me one more time. defense mechanism um It's not easy being green screen. ah God damn it. Yep, there it is. kind of How I don't get how you do it. It's incredible. Anyway, but like, I mean, even just speaking to that, the technology moves basically from, I mean, when did the Muppet Vision 3D come out?
Motion Capture in Gaming and Film
00:25:11
Speaker
1990? Yeah. 90 is that ninety s yeah the lot so so the last thing that that Jim directed. Yeah. So the the technology moves from basically sock puppet
00:25:22
Speaker
but you know glorified sock puppet to motion capture of a human being in 2001, 2002. And even if you go look at like the special features for ah ah the 2003 Matrix sequels, there are certain shots of, like especially Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving behind the scenes with a whole bunch of dots painted all over their face, just making wacky faces into mirrors so a a camera can capture them from all angles.
00:25:54
Speaker
um so it it it It blows up pretty quickly. And then after that point, it's 2009 is James Cameron's avatar. Well, no, I mean, you're forgetting that in between that Robert Zemeckis rubbed his little hands together and was like, I'm going to make the worst shit you've ever seen. ah He did Polar Express. Carol. Yes, and dear God in heaven. Of course, Mars needs moms. God, like you know what? OK. I don't think that was Robert Zemeckis. I hope i'm it's it's not directed by, but it was produced by his ah shingle. um I forget forgot what his shingle was called. Baby girl, if you step on the keyboard, I will eviscerate. That would be image movers digital.
00:26:40
Speaker
There you go. um But they were working on a updated remake of ah the Beatles yellow submarine. Oh, i yeah i've yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was excited I was honestly super excited to see that because I'm a huge Beatle maniac. And I was really hoping to see what they would do with access to the full Beatles catalog as opposed to just up to. Sargent Pepper when they made the original movie. It's like, come on, come on. You can do a whole sequence with like Octopoises Garden. and It would be bananas um or I am the walrus alone. I just don't know how you look at yellow submarine stylistically and think you know what the best form for this is. Rubbery photo realism. Yeah, yeah, I wasn't looking forward to that, ah to be completely honest, um because I am a big fan of the 2D original.
00:27:32
Speaker
Right. and it's But it's something like this game. I think that that rubbery offness really just emphasizes the weirdness of the whole thing. Right. Like very much so. Did you did you get a chance to watch any of the game play? Yes. Yeah. Yes. It ah it is. It's it's a it can be a little special ah in certain in certain shots. There are certain shots where just Neo is like a neo running. is the funniest thing in the world. He's all like knees up and the coat isn't like articulated fully because it's 2005 Xbox graphics. So it's just the oddest thing in the world ah to to to watch this.
00:28:19
Speaker
smoothed out caricature of Neo do this crazy like long legged knees way up high running style. Because even then, even when it comes out like that in execution, they're still ahead of their time, technically he's speaking. Yeah, exactly. Technically speaking, yeah. But it the problem is it looks so janky compared to non-motion capture ah games of the time that were just yeah animated. by animators. Who would do that for a job? yeah yeah Right. Crazy. Hire me to. put um But I think technology aside, I think ah from like a game concept perspective, it all it seems like because Enter the Matrix, if you talked about, is such a like relatively high concept thing of like, OK, so not only is this featuring, you know, side characters from these movies,
00:29:13
Speaker
But it's also taking place during one of the movies, so it you kind of you don't have to, but you can consume it you know simultaneously to the the movie and gain a deeper understanding. But on top of all of that, there are not branching paths, per se. but alternate cutscenes and alternate yeah you know kind of dialogue. Oh, very much so. Depending on who you select to play us. So that's so like like weird for its time that it almost seems like the Wachaskis are like, hey, what doy what do you guys think of ah this game, huh? Pretty good.
00:29:48
Speaker
We could write a all right you want slop bring out the slop in the slop just But I do think that path of neo again, we haven't played this I think It's almost fitting that I didn't think to do it a game themed intro until this time because it seems like It seems like the one that is most concerned with just being a fun game and not necessarily doing something high concept for bitches in the way that Enter the Matrix or obviously The Matrix Online both who do.
00:30:21
Speaker
yeah like i also wonder if like i mean if if they would have started development on this game the wachowskis i mean by they um they're they are a unit obviously uh but uh yes the i wonder if they had collectively the wachowskis use they them individually they use she her and she her The the plural Wachowski's. But I got to wonder, just in the context of the timing of everything, if they had started development on this game, like after enduring all of the negative reviews and ah ah ah response to the two sequels. So they just decided to say, you know what? Fuck it. Who cares? Let's go wild. Megasmith, Megasmith. Fuck it.
00:31:03
Speaker
I almost I also I also kind of feel like maybe it was slated to release alongside revolutions and because game development's really fucking hard they could really only do one at a time um I mean it's possible way I guess because I see I think the development of these games is kind of shrouded uh in in mystery a little and sorry except for except for when it's not, except for when it's very blatantly not within the game itself. It it is like this.
00:31:41
Speaker
That might feed into what we were just saying, actually, because, I mean, we haven't properly talked about it yet, but the joke in, uh, uh, uh, resurrections is that Lana just chooses to throw subtly straight out the window. Right. Uh, and it's the greatest thing in the world. So like, I wonder if they were already deciding, all right, fuck subtlety. Here we go. Um,
00:32:09
Speaker
Uh, but God almighty, this is, I gotta say the first one out of all of these games we've talked about, uh, this is the first one where I'm just like, fuck, I need to figure out a play' way to play this game. Yeah, same. Yes. That's what I and that's what i mean. It seems the most clearly like, like I'm looking at the screen and everything on there is like, like it it doesn't feel cramped. The controls look simple enough that someone like me who is Categorically, not a gamer can understand. yeah Yeah, I'm such a button masher myself been described as ah as a beat them up. So, you know, button mashing is ah maybe not encouraged, but it certainly isn't punished in games like that.
00:32:48
Speaker
I did find ah for download ah the link to the ah full PDF of the user's guide, the original manual ah for the path of Neo um because ah we now live in an age where ah you don't need a manual because everything is just downloaded and you can access like ah combo move lists from within the menus of the game its games itself. ah This was before that time, so I am also going to provide a link to the full 40-page PDF of the Path of Neo, so you can look up all the wacky combo moves yourself.
00:33:31
Speaker
Yeah, it's a it's a fun ride. Yeah, I'm the moves in games have always eluded me. Like I suck. Christ's saying rows or anything like that. And my my my wonderful, lovely girlfriend has gotten very into Street Fighter. And so I was always talking. Oh, Jesus.
Balancing Game Realism and Player Desires
00:33:48
Speaker
Oh, no, like quarter circles. And I'm like, I I don't know these words. I hate.
00:33:58
Speaker
And I can understand them on a theoretical level, but if you put me in front of a controller and ask me to do it, I might just start freezing up. i Look, ah ah my formative video game years were during the the the the rise and ah domination of the Nintendo 64, so I have been ritualistically murdered by all of my friends in GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Super Smash Bros. um
00:34:29
Speaker
ah Jesus right after my senior prom we all went back to a friend's house and linked up like four Xboxes and we all played Halo and it was mostly kill me time um It was yeah. Yeah, so it was but some of these controls look absolutely bananas ah ah Focus is shift. They're bringing back the ah ah mechanic of focus like they did from ah Enter the matrix to enter bullet time four-hit strike combo five-hit strike combo six-hit strike combo aerial killing blow anti-gravity jump bullet dodge bullet stop code vision Code vision you just hit see
00:35:08
Speaker
but And is that new? I guess that is that a new feature? That must be. That must be new. I don't think Niobe or Ghost could see in code. and i Double jump. You got to have a double jump in a video game. Come on. That brings up another great point, though, that, you know, again, on a very basic conceptual level, um Matrix Online, Enter the Matrix, both very ambitious, very like respectable like efforts. But I think fundamentally, as a player, You just wanna be, fucking wanna be Neo. Yeah, exactly. You don't want to play like, no one was necessarily chomping at the bit to play as the crew of, it's not the Mjolnir, it's the, what is her shirt? Logos.
00:35:52
Speaker
the logo. Yeah, see, I couldn't even remember the name. No one's camera plays the crew of the logos, nor does anyone necessarily want to make their own character if they don't have Neo's powers, which again, yeah is yeah kind of critical to the plot that only Neo can do those things. For now. I mean, I just just off the wall, but I would love to see a video game focusing on one of the past. The ones that were doomed to. Oh, yeah, I need a game. I need a cycle. I need a game about the monster mash. Yeah, exactly. That's where my brain went to. You're in the matrix, but there's werewolves like come the fuck on. Yeah. Yeah. Like, come on. It's a thing that I think when, you know, in game development,
00:36:40
Speaker
It's kind of a time. I'm trying to think of any other examples, but I feel like it's there's a trend where they will kind of like overcorrect, you know, and they then they won't really get down to the brass tacks of like, what do people just like want to do, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Like I'm thinking about sort of um I guess this is kind of a reverse example, but. the the Toy Story 3 video game. There are segments where you're just sort of playing through the story like in the real world as opposed to like in like where Buzz Lightyear is in like the video game where he can do all the Buzz Lightyear stuff. you're playing it You can play his Buzz Lightyear in the real world and all he can do
00:37:20
Speaker
is, you know, he has like a double jump and he can like throw woody and stuff, but like that's it. Like he can only realistically do what he does. um But as a player, you're like, well, Buzz Lightyear, like where I can like shoot my laser, can use my wings or anything. And then you go back to the game they made for Toy Story 2, where even though that game takes place entirely in the real world, you know, you're going around Andy's room, you're going to Al's toy barn and all that stuff. You know, Buzz, his laser works in that game. It's real. It blows up villainous toys. Oh, my God. why Exactly. But when you double jump, his wings do pop out. So you. OK. Again, it's like simple things that a game designer might overthink because they're trying to make it, you know, whether it's more realistic or or more ambitious or more interesting to their perspective. What's interesting to the developer isn't always interesting to the player.
00:38:14
Speaker
I mean, just as far as the Toy Story example goes, I remember playing ah the first Toy Story video game on the Sega Genesis in ah early 1996 and ah Woody's primary attack was to whip people with his um drawstring Pull cord. Yeah, which I thought was a pretty cool mechanic. But I mean, even just to your point, we've just said the words double jump, both of us multiple times in the past few minutes. When was the last time you yourself as as as fleshy Ella had to jump to get anywhere?
00:38:52
Speaker
Video game characters jump all the goddamn time, and we as normal human beings almost never jump. Something they don't tell you is that trans women actually can double jump. We don't like to, because it just takes a lot of energy, but... I mean, yeah. Yeah. But it's also, again, like you said... It's a little energy bargain to plates very quickly, and then I need another energy power bar. And also, like you said, we we you know we don't have many uses for it. Yeah, I mean, I get around ah my apartment just fine and without running into like clipping issues. Although I did i never go earlier, I should yeah I should think before I say that stuff. I get I get around fine too. But I do find an issue where when I try to like go to the door to leave, I always I go like, I really shouldn't leave without doing this first.
00:39:38
Speaker
I really ought to do that. And then when I try to when i try to just pick up an item, even though it like like i if it's not directly relevant to what I'm doing, I can't seem to pick it up. I'll just compulsively say, I don't really need that right now. Or I don't really think there's a use for that. Oh, my gosh. uh i think i know too many autistic people so yeah i i fully get it and i sympathize with what you're saying yeah um
00:40:12
Speaker
um
00:40:16
Speaker
God, I've lost my tray of thought. The Matrix, um video games, the insanity of video games. And the path of Neo being, like, not necessarily what the developers might have thought of first, but definitely what the players seem most excited
Player Choices and Narrative Impact in Path of Neo
00:40:34
Speaker
about. And to your credit, what's it without being most excited about? and I mean, just seeing it all of the fun, the Wachowskis, by the way, this was, again, as as credited on the box written and directed by the Wachowskis. So like once again, as I said in the last episode, the most bonkers thing you can put on the box of a video game written and directed by anybody, let alone the people that directed The Matrix.
00:41:02
Speaker
um It's just what a what a and Like, imagine a game coming out with written and directed by Quentin Tarantino on the box or something. That would be the most fucked up video game forever. Actually, I'd love to see it come to think of it. He does kind of feel like he would be better suited for video games than films, yeah. Honestly, yeah, because you could just bounce back and forth between different points of view and it would just play like a Tarantino ah picture. I would love to see an inglorious bastard. And then if there's a video, like come on, if there's like an online voice chat mode, Quentin can log on and say all the slurs he wants. I see he can. i'm Sure. Sure. Whatever he wants to do. And the boss at the end of the of the game, he's a giant foot. Uh, money price.
00:41:49
Speaker
I mean, it can be. um but It is now. Yeah, it just falls from the sky. ah Squashes Hitler. um But the matrix. So. The first thing that happens when you hit start game on the path of Neo is you are Neo in the lobby and you are being assailed by a bunch of. ah villains and you have to fight them off wave after wave
00:42:21
Speaker
not eventually specifically you are youre prea redfield neo right Uh, no, actually, you're just you are quote unquote in a dream sequence where you are me. Oh, right. You know, do you hit start on the game like new game go and you are Neo in the lobby and you are fighting a wave of like, uh, uh, uh, let's see, it goes from police guards to SWAT forces and agent of vampire exile and agent Smith. And I'm reading this right off the Wikipedia. Um,
00:42:57
Speaker
If the player is able to beat Smith, they're allowed to choose the highest difficulty, the one, or the lower difficulties. Failure only gives the easy and medium skill options, which is fascinating. I wanted the other difficulty options to also have themed names. Like when would just be like Thomas Anderson mode. Yeah.
00:43:21
Speaker
um god light and And then you start the agent private the agent the game properly ah which I believe the first level is
00:43:33
Speaker
at Metacortex, Neo's office building, where you're running around between all of the cubicles and out onto the scaffolding. And it's actually like just watching the gameplay footage even, it's kind of amazing like 3D platformer vibes. So like you're- And again, you may recall one of the video I watched, which was,
00:43:59
Speaker
Oh, crap. What was it? You talked about the one that was Path of Neo is insane. Yes. But there is also a video by... What was the channel? i by G-Man Lives called Path of Neo is the Best Matrix Game. um okay but I think they they sort of made a point adjacent to this where, you know, i in the movie, obviously, Neo chickens out of jumping off the the scaffolding. Yes. But that would not make for a very entertaining game. So in the game, you do make the choice of, i you know, exploring sort of parkouring down the building.
00:44:45
Speaker
And again, it's the choice. ah Yeah. Separate what makes a film interesting from what makes a game. Exactly. So so already they're having fun with it like ah if you if you are good enough at this video game, then you are rewarded with a departure from the story, which I think is or departure from the text, I should say, ah which is fascinating as hell. um And if you fail, well, hey, that's just what happened to Neo. So, oh, well.
00:45:16
Speaker
um at which point you are taken to Morpheus and you are offered the pills. And I want to circle back to this theme more in its own episode after we've covered resurrections. But this is where it comes into the concept of like the illusion of choice. And I think these video game examples between The Matrix Online and this are some of the best examples of that.
00:45:47
Speaker
Because and you are off of the pills, the red and the blue shock um by Morpheus played by Lawrence Fishburne. God love him. The only returning cast member for this this project is interesting. I feel like they could have. um you know, secured the rights to use the archival have footage from the films instead. because You'd think, but he has more to say, because if you choose the red pill, then obviously the game proceeds as the movie proceeds. But you can, as the player, as Neo, choose the blue pill, and Morpheus expresses disappointment, and then you are taken back to the level select screen.
00:46:32
Speaker
right yeah exactly so it's It's the illusion of choice. You are playing the game. You are making an active choice within the game. and you don't get to play the game if you choose the blue pill. It's almost the opposite of the illusion of choice, right? that's The choice is very consequential in that case. Obviously, you can go back and retry, but I feel like if it was... Oh, yeah, it's obvious. Oh, no, I got the pill. I chose the wrong pill. I got to go back and do it again. But if it were the illusion of choice truly, I think it'd be like you select the blue pill and Morpheus goes, you sure you don't want the red one? And then you get the choice. And it's like, I really think you should take the red one.
00:47:10
Speaker
I also think realistic like Murphy is like, he would just be like disappointed because like he's the biggest Neo fanboy there is and he really believes he's the one. yeah I mean if if a random other you know potential red pill doesn't choose he would probably just be disappointed but I think in that moment if Neo hadn't chosen the red pill, Murphy would probably just enter a deep depression like he'd just slump down into his room on the shift just be like Oh, I'm going to talk about it. Oh, the poor boy. ah i would just move ah The poor boy. Yeah.
00:47:43
Speaker
Yeah, you can't see behind these sunglasses, but I am crying. A single tear would drop. Fishburne could do a single tear. I bet he can. Well, didn't he in the ah I mean, it wasn't obviously a single tear, but it's I'm picturing his face when he goes the I dreamed a dream line like just that. Oh God. Devastation on his face. yeah the game He's so good. He's so good. um But you we'll circle back to like the concept of the illusion of choice later. I should probably read um simulac so the Sim books. Simulacra and Simulacra. Thank you. um I'm going to download the- Simula D and Simuladum.
00:48:39
Speaker
he' still alive. um So, but again, as far as like, you know, the illusion of choice, it's a video game, you can hit pause and exit the game at any time. You don't have to wait until the blue pill sequence to fuck off from the game. If you've got dinner, you can just hit pause and then toddle away, eat your mac and cheese and come back whenever. um and And then the game actually starts properly once you take the red pill.
00:49:11
Speaker
um Let's see, if you if the red pill is taken, the player is taken to a dream version of the lobby. ah Well, no, that's just going back to the the the beginning again. But it's it's the whole thing is... actually bananas. Let's see, then you get into the training in the construct, which apparently per the video I watched takes over three hours of just tutorial, where you are Neo training through
00:49:44
Speaker
ah level after level fighting out off NPC after NPC you fight alongside Trinity you're learning all of these combo moves and ah learning about weapon degradation which is the worst sin a video game can commit in my opinion I hate weapon degradation son of a bitch um Yeah, my weapon's always making fun of me.
Combat Mechanics and Level Design Challenges
00:50:09
Speaker
yeah
00:50:12
Speaker
I also do love how flatly the the Matrix Wiki is written. The building jump is not included in the game.
00:50:21
Speaker
Uh, which is sad. Yeah, I know. really I don't know if that needed to be noted, but that's why that's what wikis are for, right? That's what they are for indeed. Um, but you could also make the list of what's not included in the game could be so long. yeah Oh my god, yes. that there's an arbitr out no like something in the plus side and In the plus side, because you are experiencing this video and through the point of view of Neo, you're skipping out all of the stuff that we as audience members have issues with from revolutions. You're only doing my favorite parts of revolutions, exactly.
00:51:00
Speaker
also know It's like ah the building jump is not included in this game. um The entirety of the film Titanic is not included in this game. um The 1996 presidential election is not included in this game.
00:51:17
Speaker
After that, you get ah to let's see the Lafayette Hotel ah where you've got to you get separated from the the rest of the team and you've got to navigate through the hotel as the architecture of the hotel is being continuously rewritten, which is such a dope concept. I love that. um
00:51:40
Speaker
ah God this the the whole thing is absolutely bananas. Please look up the video. So as so everybody has context ah Listener as to what the hell I am talking about yes Because you are learning to ah fight like with these crazy ass combo moves and unfortunately some of the movement is um the the word that the the guy that made the video kept using is muddy and as in you'd hit a button and it takes a brief fraction of a second for Neo in the game to respond to your button mashing. So there's that slight disconnect between input and execution. um And because all of these moves are motion captured,
00:52:20
Speaker
They can feel very mechanical and you have to complete a full animation of a move set before you can move on to another move. So if you aren't being attacked or your attack misses an enemy, you still have to fully follow through on that entire punch or kick or whatever it it was you missed with. You have to stop trying to hit him and hit him. who um You get the lobby scene where you get to fight with everybody you get the rooftop fight ah You get to fight agent Jones. That's pretty dope as he's continuously respawning through cops um You get the Gatling gun ah you get to fight fuck if You get to fight fucking Smith fucking Smith it's It rules the 10 out of 10 best video game ah of all time ever you get to fight agent Smith as neo
00:53:12
Speaker
um But let's see. like I mean, that's that's our ultimate fantasy. ah But yeah that's also, you know, you're you're not like fighting Smith as other characters, as, you know, you do in Enter the Matrix. you know It doesn't hit the same as when you're um fighting Smith as Smith's nemesis. Yeah. Uh, let's see in this new sequence, Neil must go on a different train station to escape, but is surrounded by soldiers and SWAT led by Smith, who jumps into a different body each time he is run over by a train couldn't finish the sentence of the straight face. i or Yeah. he just He sees the train coming like, well, I'm out and i he changed his back just in time for the person to get it. It's a four 15 wham.
00:54:07
Speaker
Yeah. Oh my God. These trains are getting obtrusive. He ends up going to the rich version. Oh no, that rally is headed for five smiths tied to the tracks. But if I change it, it'll take another smith on the tides of different tracks.
00:54:31
Speaker
But wait, and before this Smith was corrupted by Smith, it was a bunch of orphans. Oh no! It's also the probably is being driven by Smith and also I'm Smith.
00:54:44
Speaker
needs of the many Neo. ah Let's see. ah Neo must board a subway train run by old and corrupted code and go through a elaborate a stop sequence to escape the corrupted train after Neo gets off the train. The game once again parallels Neo escapes as depicted in the movie. Let's see. When he is resurrected as the one, you get to fight agents Brown Jones and Smith altogether. That's kind of cool. um
00:55:16
Speaker
okay right I mean, that's the I mean, yeah, kind of. um Let's see. And then after that, you are actually filling in some time between the matrix and reloaded because you are sent on a series of quests to rescue a bunch of potential people that want to wake up from the matrix. uh let's see i found very i found that really interesting as a concept oh yeah i want to like kind of side mission like uh you know obviously their main goal is still to adapt uh films and they're not terribly concerned with like oh well we want to you know flush out the story behind but between the stories or within the stories um and because even though this does take place sort of between films it's
00:56:06
Speaker
You know, it's not a particular consequence. It's just sort of, uh, I mean, it it is what Neil was alluding to at the very end of the matrix. It was like, there's others of you out there and we're gonna, we're gonna help you out. And, uh, I think it's very satisfying to see that come to fruition. It really is. I would love to better delve into the characters that Neo ah rescues um once we have like played the game and gotten a ah vibe of these characters for sure. Yeah. um
00:56:39
Speaker
And let's see, events involving Neo in the animatrix are not recalled or recreated in this part of the game. Uh-oh. I mean, there really weren't any, though. I mean, he kind of observed Kid. Yeah, it's really just Kid's story, essentially. He was not really an active participant. I mean, yeah, I mean, we get you are not alone, but that's not a video game. Definitely be a cool idea to just sort of have a series of like mini levels inspired by the various, uh, I mean, exploring the haunted house. How cool would that be?
00:57:12
Speaker
That would be dope as fuck. Although I matrix samurai fighting. Yeah, we probably don't have to play through the second Renaissance, though. I don't think I got it. Yeah. Recreate this war crime in a montage format. Press X to to to murder the innocents. Let's see. And then we get into the Matrix Reloaded. He gets an extended fight sequence with agents. ah He must rescue various hovercraft captains who are escaping from the exits ah to their exits after the group meeting.
00:57:49
Speaker
ah like Let's upgrade. Now, you know, I don't know how deep you got in some of the behind the not behind the scenes, but in some of the cut scenes during the fight with Seraf, they bust through the wall of the tea shop and wind up in a movie theater fighting in front of a projected shot of The Matrix Reloaded, where Neo is fighting Serif. So they literally break the fourth wall and are actively being heckled by. They are actively being heckled by the only one singular man who is in the audience watching The Matrix Reloaded. all Like a self like a self dig at that. it how that so Oh, God. the um the the The the YouTube video ah purposeless rabbit holes kept saying that this has to be
00:58:43
Speaker
satire they have to have written this as parody to their own stuff because they're just having like and i mean the you gotta be I'm starting to see your point about it being though maybe the weirdest thing they've made But, you know, that's that's not outside of their their wheelhouse, as we'll see in in resurrections. I think they do some. Oh, certainly. Well, the resurrections is very self referential, but what I think it's like a literal that image right of coming into a theater that is displaying. I mean, you're not wrong. You're you're definitely not wrong.
00:59:16
Speaker
Although in in resurrections, they do keep in i keep insisting that this is this is footage from the video game you made, The Matrix, which was, of course, shot in 35 millimeter and starred Keanu Reeves and and Lawrence Fishburne. Start a man like this is this is not what video games looked like in 1999 if we're keeping that time well No, I don't I don't I don't think that the matrix of resurrection I mean we're getting off track, but I don't think that that's very much so 99
00:59:49
Speaker
Okay, no, that's that's too in depth of a conversation. We're gonna have to talk about that in the resurrections episode, ah which will be like five hour masterpiece of just me losing my mind into a microphone. ah Likewise. God in heaven. ah So yeah, they literally break the fourth wall. ah they they You go through the Chateau fight, which is dope as hell. And you go through, and I love this, you get lost within the Chateau and you end up like fighting enemies on like MC Escher's staircase.
01:00:22
Speaker
ah Which is the craziest thing in the universe. I love it.
Satire and Humor in Path of Neo
01:00:27
Speaker
Because the entire time the Merovingian is mocking you and throwing monsters at you as you're trying to climb these these Escher stairs. Yeah. Just just the monster mansion, the fancy mansion. ah They completely ignore Neo's flight to save Morpheus and the key maker on the freeway. Yeah. um
01:00:52
Speaker
God, i I really wish they could have just included like. The architect sequence as like a playable level, just so you can beat the living pus out of that fucker, but um that to that end, like you white white bastard or whatever he calls him. Yeah. pretty By the way, did I ever mention like, if you if you go on YouTube, you can find it. all um I'll try to remember to post the link in this episode, but I don't think I ever properly mentioned it. There is footage of like ni a Keanu Reeves as Neo in front of a blue screen recording just him freaking out for about a minute and a half for all of the behind the scenes. ah yeah like Yeah, I think we talked about that. And it's just him screaming like all these swear words.
01:01:38
Speaker
yeah And ah it it ends with, like, congratulations, you're the only person to ever improvise in a Wachowski movie.
01:01:47
Speaker
ah Let's see. ah The mission to enter the source with the key maker is extended. Neo Morpheus and the key maker are accosted by Smith clones as they make their way to the final exit over three areas. A different layout of the source, which is almost totally overrun by Smiths, a large church, and a recreation of the US Senate courtroom, while an anti-videogame hearing is currently in session. Amazing. I guess the- I need to play this game. right I need to play this fucking game. This is absolutely bonkers. Because there were in 93 and 94 that we're hearing is about
01:02:28
Speaker
Yeah, which is absolutely video games. Yeah, which is just repeatedly proven that violence does not but video games do not cause violence. I was about to say violence does not cause video games. And that's demonstrably not true, because we make video games so we can be violent. Damn it. But video games do not cause violence, nor do movies. Yeah, it's been repeatedly proven. But I have to imagine that that's what that is. Oh, it's entirely mocking that sort of thing. Yeah, certainly. Also that specific, like, instance in culture. And I'm sure the Wachowskis with, you know, being the nerds that they are complementary. Oh, God. God bless me. Fucking nerds. They had their finger on the pulse of that. So I'm sure they were aware of it culturally.
01:03:13
Speaker
uh very much so uh let's see and then we get into the matrix revolutions where this video game just jumps fucking ship from the rest of it now real quick it is noted in the wikipedia but ah Unlike Enter the Matrix, which features a stage containing a flight in a real-world ship, Neo and Trinity's fight in the logos to the machine city is not reproduced in the game. Now, as I said on our Enter the Matrix episode, that was my favorite fucking level in Enter to the Matrix. Because I fucking love those hovercrafts, and I want to fly those hovercrafts all around the the tunnels and pipes and sewer systems.
01:03:50
Speaker
It's amazing. Why wouldn't you do that ah in this game? And that just pisses me off. But oh, well. they ah look at a while I mean, they did a lot of other stuff, right, that I would argue the other ones. yeah Again, we don't have the hands on experience, they but they definitely do because we're going to we've already referenced him on this podcast before. But Megasmith is so good. I guess. Do we have to? Should we just talk? Should we just get into that then? Well, I mean, let's let's it's going to take us like three minutes to get there anyway. But ah you do have a sequence set in the real world where you're fighting against Bane with the ah the lightning gun.
01:04:32
Speaker
ah ah So like, I mean, you're already in the real world. Who's that? Turns my head upside down. Oh, Smith Bane.
01:04:44
Speaker
uh let's see and then literally the next paragraph is uh the game changes the central ending of the movie trilogy as shown in the matrix revolutions um and then we get into what is the most insane thing in the whole game so the game just the greatest part of this game so and so for those for those listeners of mystery shack look back i did actually talk about this uh with my good friend and co-host, Charlie, on on our episode about the Matrix resurrection. So it'll be a nice little throwback for you, true believers, Excelsior. There you go. it's It's a good episode, and I was very excited to listen to that six months after it came out. um But the game at during the final fight with Smith at one point just stops.
01:05:34
Speaker
and cuts to white and then to what I call Morpheus chairs. Yes. Pop up off the sides of the screen. And we're we're in the. Initially, yes, we're in the construct and. ah Avatars of the Wachowskis. Walk in from off screen as represented more specific than avatars of the Wachowskis, because. Well, well, the avatars are represented by Atari 20600. What the hell is the Atari? Yeah, it it is. It is old school Atari video game graphics. And these these these ghastly figures sit in these beautifully rendered chairs. Little like blue square collection of pixels and like a pinkish purplish.
01:06:27
Speaker
collection of pieces. I guess it makes sense that it's Atari because they publish the game, you know. ah yeah i They introduce themselves as the Wachowskis and they can they ah congratulate you on reaching this final stage of the game. And then, ah and it's not only hilarious that they appear as these pixelized forms, but convenient because, you know, it was it was pretty, pretty they're coming out. So It was pretty they're coming out, which is why I'm dancing around using their names. um Also, well and it's again, every time I see or hear their names, I'm like, I don't believe you for a second. There's no way that the people who did this have those basic ass names, you know? Yeah. Yeah. ah You just got in heaven. um But so.
01:07:19
Speaker
I forget who transitioned into what, so that's also part of the reason why I'm not directly attributing these quotes.
Wachowskis' Philosophical Game Design
01:07:26
Speaker
I forget which one became Lana and which one became Lily, and that's just a failing one, my part. I'm seeing that the pinkish-purple one is Lana. and Okay. blue Well, IMDB.com, does the the the source where I'm getting this quote, this quote from does not attribute these to pink or purple. I am getting this so i amm getting this source from behind the voice actors dot com, which very insightfully states that Lana Wachowski is the voice of Lana Wachowski in The Matrix Path of Neo. And Lily Wachowski is the voice of Lily Wachowski in The Matrix. that's that's less than helpful for my purposes oh jesus no but it has the pictures i should say it has the pictures okay okay okay okay fair enough so which which one is uh uh blue and which one is pinky purple uh blue is lily um okay purple is lana okay okay jesus christ here's how you can remember the one whose name kind of sounds like lilac is the one who's not lilac
01:08:28
Speaker
i'm Okay, whatever. One of them launches into a massive paragraph that is sped up as the paragraph wears on for comedic effect. yeah um And I'm just going to read it out here in real time. I mean, or should we, should we edit it in though? You see, at this point in the story, Neo stands in the verge of satire, ready to resolve the paradox of choice and choicelessness of free will versus his fate. But that can only be achieved through an act of surrender, which he occurs after he has abandoned the perspectival nature of truth, accepting the totality of present consciousness, which ultimately allows an evolutionary transition. Transcending the Cartesian dilemma through the emergence of delimited spirit which simplifies the world with the choice of a third path, the path we have the path to. You promised you wouldn't do that. Shit. Sorry. But for our purposes, you can just read it.
01:09:10
Speaker
Yes, and for our purposes, because i'm I'm going to edit in the comic ah comedy paragraph. I'm going to write myself a note to edit that in. um So what you've just heard, if I've done my editing properly, ah is what you actually hear in the video game itself. I'm going to read the damn thing out so you can hear what it is she is saying. at an even pace, right? at it At an even clip. Now, the real reason we are here is to discuss the big problem we faced in turning these three movies into a video game. You see, at this point in the story, Neo stands upon the verge of Satori. I had to Google that means enlightenment.
01:09:54
Speaker
ready to resolve the paradox of choice and choicelessness, of free will versus fate. But that can only be a achieve there there we go thank you but that can only be achieved through an act of surrender, which occurs after he has abandoned the perspective ah per step perspectival nature of truth, accepting the totality of present consciousness, which ultimately allows an evolutionary transition, dang, dang, dang, transcending the Cartesian dilemma through the emergence of the delineate, telemated spirit, I, yeah which then provides the world with the choice of a third path, the path of Neo, the path of peace.
01:10:37
Speaker
I stumbled my way through that, so good luck, everybody listening. But, gosh, in heaven, I probably could have used that paragraph when I was researching ah The Matrix in 2003. Cartesian doubt, by the way, associated with René Descartes, the French philosopher, which is a is quote, a process of being skeptical about or doubting the truth of one's beliefs. We need somebody with a philosophy degree on this show to explain a lot of this shit to us in more detail. Yes, but then we have to explain to them why they're wrong about the bulk of it. Because the person with the philosophy degree is going to go, well, I don't know, but and then we'll go because it's fucking cool loser and then we'll do like a cake flip.
01:11:27
Speaker
I mean, that's literally what they say next. um yeah ah at At this point, it's martyr time. Well, maybe that thing works in a movie. But in a video game, the Jesus thing is well lame, really lame. If you're like us, then right now you are ready for 15 minutes of sweaty palms button pushing action to kick the crap out of some big badass boss. ah So they they they literally say ah Get ready for a little Hulk versus Galactus action and enjoy enlightenment, which is Christ alive, this fucking video game. And then, of course, the greatest thing in the history of video games happen, which is a shitload of Agent Smith's dog pile on top of one another and start pulling in a bunch of chunks of building and building a giant
01:12:17
Speaker
Mega Smith, um and then grab a pair of giant sunglasses off a billboard and put them on. and and A Mega Smith, mind you, that that the Wachowskis themselves named Mega Smith, right? Mega Smith. It's literally, they named it Mega Smith. I cannot overstate how all of this is created by the fucking Wachowskis. I wish that's the billboard. i wish that the billboard also had smith on it like it like he was the model like well yeah since it's post like smith's takeover of the matrix he's already got like billboards with him up everywhere that'd be funny if certain it's just doing their jobs yeah uh but then you fight a giant ass smith
01:13:00
Speaker
yeah Which means that this ah franchise is a secret kaiju video game, which is my favorite genre of anything. where a thing that you would not expect to have a kaiju in it suddenly has a fucking kaiju, like the Muppet movie, like Ghostbusters. It's just a fucking kaiju. Yeah, exactly. um It just rules and it's my favorite thing in the universe. And then, as if you thought it couldn't get any stranger, it cuts into actual footage of the movie, The Matrix Revolutions, where the kid is telling everybody that Neo won and they have achieved peace and
01:13:37
Speaker
We are the champions by Queen starts playing. I'm not making it up. Yeah, it's actually real. They actually start playing. We are the champions. And it's this in a movie in a movie series that has no fucking needle drops. It is the most jarring thing in the history of any. Well, I mean, there's a, you know, there's Dragula. I mean, that's like diagetic. They're in the club is what I mean. They're not playing. We are the champions in the caves of Zion. Yeah, well, like what? That record had survived. You know, they'd be in a much better place ah that they would be. um But like just I don't understand why people think.
01:14:24
Speaker
I mean, I understand why they think that, but anyone who thinks the Wachowskis are pretentious, I'm like, look at this, though. I mean, yeah, exactly. They only seem pretentious because, like, everybody's wearing sunglasses and looks cool for 1999. um
01:14:45
Speaker
And they like to use a lot of big words that not enough people know the meaning of. And they don't feel the need to explain themselves every other minute. um Right. But like, but then they stick a giant Smith and we are the champions in in a video game. And it's just.
01:15:07
Speaker
I you have to stand back and like salute the audacity of it, as I so often say in my love of the two sequels, the audacity, though. Yeah, the audacity of these bitches. It's amazing. is just fantastic and I adore it. And I think that's the thing that stood the test of time with Path of Neo in general is that that moment of the Wachowski. I mean, because how does how does it not stand out, right? Of the of the creators pausing the very the game itself coming out and telling you like, hey, like we wrote ourselves into a corner and we needed to take some artistic liberties, so here you go. And I think that is so funny.
01:15:46
Speaker
It's yeah, it's that's that that is the defining moment of this game too and it is though It sums up the whole he truly is I'm not quite agreeing with you. Yeah but ah window jumping, you know jumping out of the window sequence that being inserted because it's more fun as a game then then the film's decision which made sense for the story and it is this really interesting fundamental difference and I think I even forwarded the clip to my professor back in the um the game culture course that I took in college, we talked a lot about how games are so unique as a genre. And I'm like, I mean, this right here kind of shows it, right? Where even an adaptation feels the need to alter its own story or at least alter what happens in the story to to to suit the form better. Yeah. I mean, the end result is ultimately the same, but the way you get there is very different. yeah So yeah, yeah.
01:16:47
Speaker
Um, and I, I think that's actually the end of the path of neo. do we I mean. Because neither of us have played it properly, besides a sworn vow to play this game. I think I still have my old 360. I bet we could hook it up okay and play it on my wall. Was it not? Was that not have been the original? Oh, well I guess original Xbox would still be. or It would be original Xbox because it came out in 2005. I think the Xbox 360 had just come out. Yeah, backwards compatibility there. Yeah.
01:17:18
Speaker
Exactly. So provided my 360 hasn't read ring of death in the past 18 years, I think we're OK. But we'll we'll we'll see if it survived the move. Really bet I could find this. You know what? I'm going to do this right now while we're on microphone with one another as we're winding down. ah Let's see. Path of Neo X box. Video game.
01:17:49
Speaker
Pre-owned, 2005, $13.11 plus $4.47 shipping. Yeah, I think we're gonna play this on the Xbox. I think we're gonna have it. I think we're gonna do this. Actually, yeah, that's a good question. Is there multiplayer? I assume not. No, this is single player, so this would be the old fashioned way of taking turns with the controller. Yeah, baby. Yeah, when I die, it's your turn. There we go. Yeah, baby. Every other level, whichever comes first. um Oh, I've also had to ask, do they do anything different with the gameplay once Neo loses his vision?
Legacy and Humor of Path of Neo
01:18:23
Speaker
Ah, considering you're only in the real world briefly, I don't believe so. I guess that's true. There's not much time where he does anything. of Yeah. Which again is why I would have died at the end of the game. I mean, yes. ah Which is why, again, I would have loved to see ah ah a level more in the real world where you're piloting the logos or maybe not even piloting. um They're going to change the fight and the martyring. He could take out the martyring. just You're right. It's a whole new ending where he doesn't die. you know yeah and he breathe ring really bad Everything's fine.
01:19:03
Speaker
yay ah
01:19:07
Speaker
No one named an analyst ever need gets involved. um Christ alive. All right, so I think that is the path of Neo. Did you have anything else you wanted to add before we get into our eventual playthrough of this game? Path of Neo is a pathway to many abilities some would consider unnatural, such as... It's not a story. Morpheus would tell you. ah Mine has Megast myth. Megas, we have to stay on Megasmith. Yeah, the tragedy of Megasmith the Big. He exploded. He does. He explodes. It slaps. um It's exactly like how Smith explodes, but instead it's a bunch of little Smiths and chunks of building.
01:19:56
Speaker
yeah
01:19:59
Speaker
OK, so I think we're winding down. I am certainly up past my bedtime. Shame on me. Um, but, uh, in the meantime, but I have been, so me all your yeah well, yes, in the meantime, I have been at Hope Lickner on most forms of social media that I'm slowly extricating myself from. Uh, I'm actually, I actually wanted to ask you about how to build my own website because I'm sick and tired of fucking social media. Uh, we'll get to that later. Uh, sponsor of today's episode, Squarespace with Squarespace now.
01:20:35
Speaker
but We're not sponsored by anybody. We don't want your dirty money. You can find me also at my other podcast ah that I run with my partner, Bex. We're called Highland Cartoons. We're currently running through the 2017 DuckTales. Instead of miniseries, we're doing a macro series, as we're calling it. and We're about halfway through season two right now, and it slaps. It's a lot of fun. I also wanted to mention ah my buddy Steph, and I'm going to have to send you a picture of this, Ella, once we're done recording, because it literally arrived just before we started recording.
Conclusion and Listener Appreciation
01:21:11
Speaker
um ah Steph atta on Instagram, Steph, that's S-T-E-P-H-N-A-S-K-N-I-T-S. ah
01:21:22
Speaker
knitted knitted me. That's an unpleasant word to try and say very quickly. A what's called a peek a boob top. And she made it in a trans pride flag colors. I'm going to post pictures of it. And I'm super excited to try it on and it looks absolutely gorgeous and it's so soft. And I wanted to plug her, give her all of your money. This shit rules. I just had to send her my cup size and she had it to me four days later. I want to say absolutely amazing. Uh, and that is, that is my plugs. How about you with actual plugs?
01:21:59
Speaker
Hey, that was an actual plug. I do my my art stuff over on at drawn without ref on all the stuff and things. I'm thinking of actually starting up an art focused TikTok. So be on the lookout for that maybe. oh um As well as my other podcast, of course, Mystery Shack Look Back, which you can find on pipedreampodcast.com or wherever else you get your podcasts. And um yeah. I would also like to say, Oh, sorry, youve you finished there. A collaborative zine for my favorite film, Phantom of the Paradise, which I will cover on high on cartoons at some point. Oh, fuck. Yeah, we're going to have you on. We're going to have you on. It's going to be a good time. That will be released around October. Steve and I out for that. And yeah, I and I would also like to thank I would I would like to extend a thanks to Ella Chesery for our artwork. Well, and also Ella Chesery for our
01:22:59
Speaker
Uh, also Ella Cheserie for our social media. I realize as I'm disparaging social media, we have a social media page. it's ah what and a Thank you to hope for doing the bulk of the research for this podcast and, and editing the podcast as well. The editing is slap dash and the research is literally me having been a fan of the matrix for the past 20 odd years. It's more than I do. And I respect it. That's very fair. Well, I appreciate it. Uh, in the meantime, I think that's everything. ah How do we end the show? We end the show somewhere. Well, love, of course, love ah finds a way. but And is the genesis of all things. And you are not alone. Look behind you.
01:23:46
Speaker
a
01:23:56
Speaker
Goodbye.