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Jonathan Blow: Game Design, True Art, Consciousness, and Free Will
Episode 79

Jonathan Blow: Game Design, True Art, Consciousness, and Free Will

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/80f47smhYEI Jon Blow is the renown designer of The Witness, and Braid. Sponsors: https://brilliant.org/TOE for 20% off. http://algo.com for supply chain AI. Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Crypto: https://tinyurl.com/cryptoTOE PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/paypalTOE Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802 Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Subreddit r/TheoriesOfEverything: https://reddit.com/r/theoriesofeverything LINKS MENTIONED: -Jon's talk on video game ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCVVLAs9mJU -Jon's talk on motivation and burnout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7kh8pNRWOo -Iain McGilchrist interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-SgOwc6Pe4 -Rupert Spira interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocP6JSyicY0 THANK YOU: -BigPhilCombo (on the discord) for managing the Discord voluntarily and making it a place where almost 900 people talk respectfully TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:46 Jon recounting people using him for clicks 00:05:53 Too many wannabe gurus, and not enough instruction in our culture 00:08:00 Curt's mainupulation of the "formal" aspects of film is owed to Jonathan 00:09:34 The goal of understanding the universe (what does that mean?) 00:17:23 How understanding oneself is related to understanding the universe 00:19:41 Limits of language and "truth" 00:25:10 Video game design and building one's own TOE 00:33:22 Examples of what works and doesn't in game design for Braid's aesthetics 00:44:03 Game mechanics vs the "theme" 00:54:29 Not being able to explain true art 00:56:06 True art vs. "propaganda" 01:04:01 Dislike of contemporary art 01:12:06 Jon on video game reviews (and discussions on art, in general) 01:32:32 Specifics on how Jon does video game design 01:42:02 Rupert Spira in The Witness 01:47:08 Original ideas are difficult 01:49:34 Meditation and life long insights from single moments 02:00:20 Materialism vs. qualia vs. stories vs. models 02:06:25 Wolfram's physics model 02:09:21 Free Will is too "simple" 02:16:12 Super Bunyhop's and Joseph Anderson's review of The Witness 02:16:39 Dunkey? 02:16:45 VR is interesting but not for immersion 02:22:54 Stanley Parable 02:23:36 OpenAI applied to video games 02:26:00 Unreal Engine 5, hype? 02:31:24 [ForceField] On Henri Bergson 02:32:49 [stef] How do you achieve subconscious artistic expression in game making 02:34:41 [Steven Brent] Videos games better than other mediums for certain emotional expressions? 02:36:45 [Pooja Soni] Video games and helping mental illnesses / adjunct to therapy 02:40:27 [James R] Mind uploading 02:43:31 [Tom] Analytic / rational vs. intuitive / supra-rational 02:45:34 [Chris Merola] Stephen's Sausage Roll is one of the best puzzle games 02:48:42 [championchap] Having aphantasia and designing games 02:49:50 [Brian Mauch] Ask why the industry has gone to "shit"? 02:51:41 [James Jones] On Neuralink 02:53:37 [Johannes Norrbacka] Jai and opinion on other data-oriented languages 02:56:33 [Lara Lebeu] What connects him to non-duality teachers? (because of the Rupert Spira video in The Witness) 02:59:35 We're at a stagnation point in society 03:04:00 [Mr. K] "Yeah: wtf is Kojima working on lol" 03:04:16 [ZenoEvil - Meaning Machines] Why hasn't Braid's success led to copycats? 03:06:31 [Wes Lord] Getting over burnout and other motivational issues 03:08:45 [bc1n0] "Please beta access to Jai? Will pay $100 for access." 03:10:54 [Michael Bespalov] Hades' early access model 03:13:22 How does playtesting work? And how does Jon use it? 03:15:25 [Ivan] Thoughts on state of free speech in the world 03:21:07 Eric Weinstein, Peter Theil, and stagnation (again) 03:26:02 SCRUM? Kanban? What's the work process? 03:29:49 [Ruari VK] Why is it called 'The Witness'?

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal · Theories of Everything

September 27, 20213h 39m

Show Notes

Jonathan Blow argues video game mechanics express philosophical truths about consciousness and free will They explore free will, the limits of language, and the way game mechanics express deep philosophical ideas.

- 00:00:00 - Introduction
- 00:02:46 - Jon recounts people using him for clicks
- 00:05:53 - Too many wannabe gurus, lack of instruction
- 00:08:00 - Curt's manipulation of formal film aspects
- 00:09:34 - Goal of understanding the universe
- 00:17:23 - Understanding self vs universe
- 00:19:41 - Limits of language and truth
- 00:25:10 - Video game design and building a TOE
- 00:33:22 - What works in Braid aesthetics
- 00:44:03 - Game mechanics vs theme
- 00:54:29 - Struggling to explain true art
- 00:56:06 - True art vs propaganda
- 01:04:01 - Dislike of contemporary art
- 01:12:06 - Jon on game reviews and art
- 01:32:32 - Specifics of Jon's game design
- 01:42:02 - Rupert Spira in The Witness
- 01:47:08 - Original ideas are difficult
- 01:49:34 - Meditation and insights
- 02:00:20 - Materialism vs qualia vs stories vs models
- 02:06:25 - Wolfram's physics model
- 02:09:21 - Free will is too simple
- 02:16:12 - Super Bunyhop & Joseph Anderson review
- 02:16:39 - Dunkey?
- 02:16:45 - VR interesting but not for immersion
- 02:22:54 - Stanley Parable
- 02:23:36 - OpenAI applied to games
- 02:26:00 - Unreal Engine 5 hype?
- 02:31:24 - [ForceField] On Henri Bergson
- 02:32:49 - [stef] Subconscious artistic expression
- 02:34:41 - [Steven Brent] Games vs other media emotions
- 02:36:45 - [Pooja Soni] Games helping mental illness
- 02:40:27 - [James R] Mind uploading
- 02:43:31 - [Tom] Analytic vs intuitive vs supra‑rational
- 02:45:34 - [Chris Merola] Sausage Roll praised
- 02:48:42 - [championchap] Aphantasia and design
- 02:49:50 - [Brian Mauch] Industry criticism
- 02:51:41 - [James Jones] Neuralink
- 02:53:37 - [Johannes Norrbacka] Jai language opinions
- 02:56:33 - [Lara Lebeu] Connection to non‑duality teachers
- 02:59:35 - Societal stagnation point
- 03:04:00 - [Mr. K] Kojima speculation
- 03:04:16 - [ZenoEvil - Meaning Machines] Braid copycats question
- 03:06:31 - [Wes Lord] Burnout and motivation
- 03:08:45 - [bc1n0] Beta access request
- 03:10:54 - [Michael Bespalov] Hades early access model
- 03:13:22 - Playtesting methods
- 03:15:25 - [Ivan] Free speech thoughts
- 03:21:07 - Weinstein, Thiel, stagnation revisit
- 03:26:02 - SCRUM vs Kanban work process
- 03:29:49 - [Ruari VK] Why it's called The Witness

SPONSORS:

- Brilliant: 20% off at https://brilliant.org/TOE
- Algo: supply chain AI at http://algo.com

RESOURCES:

- YouTube link: https://youtu.be/80f47smhYEI
- Jon's talk on video game ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCVVLAs9mJU
- Jon's talk on motivation and burnout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7kh8pNRWOo
- Iain McGilchrist interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-SgOwc6Pe4
- Rupert Spira interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocP6JSyicY0
- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal
- Crypto: https://tinyurl.com/cryptoTOE
- PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/paypalTOE
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt
- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs
- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802
- Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
- Subreddit r/TheoriesOfEverything: https://reddit.com/r/theoriesofeverything

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science.

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