MyHouse.wad

[MugMonster]

1 hour ago, Weird Sandwich said:

 

As someone who's spent way too much time steeped in internet horror, I have to agree with this. So many of the areas are direct adaptations of popular liminal spaces (among other things) that my usual reaction was a more subdued "Oh, neat", rather than the "Wow!" that many other players experienced. This was fine for the most part but the point at which it started to bother me was:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

When you walk past the broken car in the forest, and it's playing that "Most mysterious song on the internet". That was kinda the breaking point for turning the wad into an internet horror compilation-fest, for me at least. It also feels like a bit of a wasted chance to further the themes/story of the wad, as a more unique song choice could tell us something about either the author or their friend. Then again maybe that's the point, as the author seemingly doesn't want to reveal themselves.

 

Still, the technical aspects are done extremely well, and it deserves it's inevitable Cacoward. Though most of the areas felt like they were lacking in originality, their implementation was great and they were connected in novel ways that made them fit together in a cohesive whole. There were some aspects that did feel more original and meaningful (messing with certain Doom mechanics, the bathroom sequence, etc) that I greatly enjoyed, I just wish a bit more of the wad was like that.

 

heh, funny enough, the song was one of the few things I wasnt really aware of, so learning about it because of this thread was actually neat for me.  further proving the point that "the less you know, the more interesting it seems"

[esselfortium]

I liked the incorporation of internet subculture horror into a new context here, personally. It's reminiscent of Iori Miyazawa's work incorporating Japanese internet horror stories into LGBT fiction, but in an interactive medium rather than in novels. Taking isolated concepts and imagery from the public consciousness and weaving them together into an affecting larger narrative is cool, and functions both as an interesting work on its own and as a cultural time capsule.

 

(Of course, a notable difference there is that Miyazawa includes detailed citations at the end of each Otherside Picnic novel, whereas MyHouse is intentionally obscure about its origins.)

[Maldito]

I guess we'll only know who the author is when this gets a cacoward, IF this gets a cacoward, because there's always that possibility that the author doesn't want this much attention.

I still can't wait for the full unveiling of the curtain.

[Horus]

9 minutes ago, Maldito said:

I guess we'll only know who the author is when this gets a cacoward, IF this gets a cacoward, because there's always that possibility that the author doesn't want this much attention.

I still can't wait for the full unveiling of the curtain.

I wouldn’t assume that this getting a cacoward would lead to a reveal of the ‘true’ author. It could very feasibly be awarded to Veddge. It’s not like there’s a lack of other things to talk about the map :P

[MugMonster]

1 hour ago, esselfortium said:

I liked the incorporation of internet subculture horror into a new context here, personally. It's reminiscent of Iori Miyazawa's work incorporating Japanese internet horror stories into LGBT fiction, but in an interactive medium rather than in novels. Taking isolated concepts and imagery from the public consciousness and weaving them together into an affecting larger narrative is cool, and functions both as an interesting work on its own and as a cultural time capsule.

 

(Of course, a notable difference there is that Miyazawa includes detailed citations at the end of each Otherside Picnic novel, whereas MyHouse is intentionally obscure about its origins.)

 

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but there's a notable "your mileage may vary" factor.  I think, when it comes to seeing something you're already familiar with in a different format, how endearing you find it has a lot to do whether you already find that concept interesting.  like, I kinda find the backrooms played out, so seeing them in this wad doesnt garner much of a reaction, but there are certainly other people who are still very much all about the backrooms.  I also think there are better and worse ways to pull this kind of thing off, with the lowest common denominator route ending up with stuff like Ready Player One.  I'm not really familiar with Otherside Picnic, but I have coincidentally been doing a recent dive into japanese internet horror thanks to finding the youtube channel Kowabana (highly recommend) and I would say I'm personally finding it more appealing than things like the backrooms, so I could see implementing them into a wider narrative working well

[Catpho]

16 minutes ago, Mr.Unsmiley said:

 

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but there's a notable "your mileage may vary" factor.  I think, when it comes to seeing something you're already familiar with in a different format, how endearing you find it has a lot to do whether you already find that concept interesting.  like, I kinda find the backrooms played out, so seeing them in this wad doesnt garner much of a reaction, but there are certainly other people who are still very much all about the backrooms. I also think there are better and worse ways to pull this kind of thing off, with the lowest common denominator route ending up with stuff like Ready Player One.

Agreed on the first and last count of this quote. However, I didn't find the backrooms (nor the liminal space stuff, for that matter) all that interesting on its own either, but I still found how the wad does it to be very exciting. The "how" matters here more imo.

Edited May 4, 2023 by Catpho

[Groplaw]

I'll say on the subject of internet creepypasta stuff, I think MyHouse.wad is the best use of the whole liminal spaces thing i've ever seen done.  It feels like a culmination and mature evolution of it.

 

 

99.9% of all backrooms/liminal spooky content is meaningless found footage "woah i'm in a creepy place...  oh no! wacky inflatable tube man is coming at me shakely!!" stuff, or games wandering around grabbing notes and running from spookies.

 

MyHouse is the first I've ever seen that uses it effectively to tell a holistic story about emotions of grief, loss, regret, acceptance.  The spooky places aren't just "oh i'm on level 2,043 according to the backrooms wiki!", they're all elements weaved into the narrative.  Even stuff that is essentially non-sequitur like the 'poolrooms' part, is accessed through flooding the house in dreams of drowning in their bathtub, essentially suicidal ideation in their grief, that organically leads to a flooded water area.  Not just "i fell down a hole in the office area and now i'm in a pool area".

 

The OG backrooms itself is only accessible as an absolutely thematic anti-cheat measure, the brutalist house isn't just the spooky hotel, its a confusing maze of shifting between adult and child perspectives of a place, the spooky monster of the area isn't just a spooky monster but a moral test almost with the linking of the dogs,  the creepy daycare center fits all the stuff of a child that never was, or is no more, the mirror world fits themes of split personalities, or roads not taken/choices made.

 

 

It really is mature and refined in a way none of the backrooms stuff ever has been for me, and I think thats part of why its so fascinating and this thread is the first i've bothered to post in and is 27 pages and counting.  If this was just some well rendered backrooms stuff where you went "oh i'm on level 72, now i'm on level 14, theres the smile man!" it might still be a neat wad, and well done use of the visuals, but it wouldn't be what MyHouse is.

[UM-86]

I've noticed something on the departures board:



"MUAFACKAAS HELP ME"

[MortisCausaDonatio]

44 minutes ago, UM-86 said:

I've noticed something on the departures board:



"MUAFACKAAS HELP ME"

also CNACELLED, CNELELCAD, CACENLELD

[Bulletproof Pal]

50 minutes ago, UM-86 said:

I've noticed something on the departures board:



"MUAFACKAAS HELP ME"

 I have stared at that stupid sign for so long, trying to figure out what the letter arrangement of the various cancelleds could mean, and that was just right there all along.

[Ven813]

Spoiler

Did anybody try to reach the bottom in the labyrinth's pool? I used iddqd but reached the point where it's just too dark to see anything, and so I can't even tell whether I'm descending anymore or not.

 

So far I can tell that the Labyrinth is the spookiest place in the whole wad, it's just so unnerving I can barely walk it without taking breaks every several minutes, not to mention all the sudden sounds.

 

[DavidN]

1 hour ago, UM-86 said:

I've noticed something on the departures board:



"MUAFACKAAS HELP ME"

Amazing! How did I never notice that…?

 

AND! “ANNA” in the Cancelled jumble - is that our A in S+A?!

[Tristan]

I guess since we're looking at letters, I had a go at some manual anagram solving yesterday on "thelostrevenenat martyrmax jeresey." These three people are in the credits file but I don't think anyone has ever heard of them? Searching the names turns nothing up on Google other than this thread. If these are also fictional people then the mispellings "revenenat" and "jeresey" probably mean something.

I didn't get very far but I tried a few different ideas, results below:

 

Spoiler

 

XASER REVENANT MARTY JEREMY - THELOSTE

JEREMY NEVER LOST AT THE ENTRY EXAMS - AR

JERSEY TEXAS VERMONT - THELEENAARTYRM
JERSEY TEXAS MONTANA - HLOTREVENENTMARTYRMAE

TARNSMAN MET XASER OVER THE JET - YEERLY
TARNS MET XASER NEAR THE - LOEVTYRMJEEY
SOLVE THE MYSTERY - TRENENAT ARRMAXJEE

 

 

[UM-86]

On 5/4/2023 at 7:59 PM, Ven813 said:

  Hide contents

Did anybody try to reach the bottom in the labyrinth's pool? I used iddqd but reached the point where it's just too dark to see anything, and so I can't even tell whether I'm descending anymore or not.

 

So far I can tell that the Labyrinth is the spookiest place in the whole wad, it's just so unnerving I can barely walk it without taking breaks every several minutes, not to mention all the sudden sounds.

 

I did, but I found nothing of interest (I know I reached the bottom because I was hitting the walls and the bottom with the fist and the puffs were visible).
 

That said, I resist to believe the labyrinth is just a reference to House of Leaves. There has to be something else in there, it's way too big to be empty (or maybe there will be something in there in a future update, who knows...). The same goes for the backrooms, I feel we're still missing something.
 

The TV static is still a big mistery, and I'm intrigued by the items...Does anything change if you pick up the potion, the megasphere and the berserk pack?

Edited May 6, 2023 by UM-86

[continuum.mid]

My first few blind runs ended up at the "for sale" ending. And after several playthroughs and viewings of videos about this map, intentionally giving myself just a few hints at a time, I finally got all the main "endings." That was quite the journey!

 

Random thing I noticed when poking around the source files that has probably been brought up already: The MAPINFO changes the music of every level except Underhalls to Running from Evil. This and the Discord notification sound are just pure evil. Tarnsman, Xaser, BPRD, Pinchy, whoever is behind this - you are pure evil.

[Jay Two]

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/a/B7FUGCn

 

In the first reality before you leave the house, if you repeatedly press "use" on the dresser in the closet (in the furthest room downstairs), something nearby opens. I haven't been able to figure out what though. Has anyone discovered this?

 

 

 

[Ven813]

8 minutes ago, Jay Two said:

  Hide contents

https://imgur.com/a/B7FUGCn

 

In the first reality before you leave the house, if you repeatedly press "use" on the dresser in the closet (in the furthest room downstairs), something nearby opens. I haven't been able to figure out what though. Has anyone discovered this?

 

 

 

 

Isn't it just the sound a door closing?

[UM-86]

11 minutes ago, Jay Two said:

  Hide contents

https://imgur.com/a/B7FUGCn

 

In the first reality before you leave the house, if you repeatedly press "use" on the dresser in the closet (in the furthest room downstairs), something nearby opens. I haven't been able to figure out what though. Has anyone discovered this?

 

I think you might be hearing the sound of the door closing and opening again right above you.

[Jay Two]

Man, I thought I was onto something haha

[Jay Two]

Spoiler

I can't seem to pass through the mirror in the bathroom to access the mirrored reality. Is there some sort of prerequisite that must be met?

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Jay Two : Forgot to add spoiler

[TJG1289]

16 minutes ago, Jay Two said:

I can't seem to pass through the mirror in the bathroom to access the mirrored reality. Is there some sort of prerequisite that must be met?

Spoiler

Did you uncover the mirror in the attic?

 

[Jay Two]

I don't believe so. Could you elaborate, please?

 

Edit: I got it! :D

[Hurricaine Jr.]

I would like to propose a theory of the Wad's true authorship.

Spoiler

Here's why I believe I made this map:

1. The file itself is named MyHouse.wad, it's in the name MY house.
2. The author and myself both grew up in the midwest
3. The author mentions graduating college, and I went to college.

It all just makes too much sense.

 

[Ven813]

Probably that was proposed already, but has anybody tried to find the house irl/on Google maps? I tried to look for Dwight Olsen Center and couldn't find anything (the name could've been changed though).

 

I mean, the whole thing already gives some alternative reality game vibes, so maybe there're some clues in the additional information too?

[Horus]

9 hours ago, Tristan said:

I guess since we're looking at letters, I had a go at some manual anagram solving yesterday on "thelostrevenenat martyrmax jeresey." These three people are in the credits file but I don't think anyone has ever heard of them? Searching the names turns nothing up on Google other than this thread. If these are also fictional people then the mispellings "revenenat" and "jeresey" probably mean something.

I didn't get very far but I tried a few different ideas, results below:

 

  Hide contents

 

XASER REVENANT MARTY JEREMY - THELOSTE

JEREMY NEVER LOST AT THE ENTRY EXAMS - AR

JERSEY TEXAS VERMONT - THELEENAARTYRM
JERSEY TEXAS MONTANA - HLOTREVENENTMARTYRMAE

TARNSMAN MET XASER OVER THE JET - YEERLY
TARNS MET XASER NEAR THE - LOEVTYRMJEEY
SOLVE THE MYSTERY - TRENENAT ARRMAXJEE

 

 

 

The problem is with that anagram is that it has so many letters it is difficult to go anywhere with it. Many names and words are possible, Thomas and Steve are also in there for example, you can even extend Marty to Marty Stratton lol.

 

But in any case, I solved it ;)

 

Spoiler

THE TARNSMAN XASER JEREMY REVOLT. YEET!

 

[Wybie]

The first times I played it, i got the chainsaw without any trouble, but now the box seems to be completely closed, even in doombuilder. Is it a feature or abug?

[Mystic 256]

I'm worried the mystery with this wad is gonna end up with people fighting with each other

[Wybie]

I can't play the map anymore, seems like the scripts or something isn't working properly, any Ideas? :)

 

[Fernito]

44 minutes ago, Wybie said:

I can't play the map anymore, seems like the scripts or something isn't working properly, any Ideas? :)

 

Make sure you're playing the pk3 and not the wad

[Tristan]

-

Edited May 6, 2023 by Tristan