I was honestly terrified to speak with Harlan when I was negotiating the rights to re-release the game, but after a few minutes he came across as extremely grateful that anyone wanted to preserve something he had poured so much of himself into, and by the end of our first call he offered to have me visit his home. He was always kind and very easy to speak to and he called me quite frequently after the game was re-released. He did an exhaustive interview with us and really opened up about his past. When he passed it felt like I had lost a friend.

Harlan Ellison is just such a fascinating and super spiteful person. He got expelled from Ohio State University for punching his writing teacher in the face because the teacher said he had no writing talent. Then proceeded to send this teacher every story he published and every award he ever won for the next 20 odd years.

To this day, I believe that the only reason Ellison allowed the baby scene to be cut was simply because they decided that it made more sense for the tribe to be robots, as AM shouldn’t be able to create new human life, and because they’re robots, Benny eating a baby wouldn’t make sense contextually.

I truly, honest to God believe that if there was any way to justify having a real baby be there, that scene would not have been cut, Ellison would have sooner cut everyone working on the game, like actually cut them with a knife, then ever self-censor his work, for any reason other than internal consistency.

"For a brief time I was here, and for a brief time, I mattered."

- Harlan Ellison 1934 - 2018

Something I love about this game? AM, despite being the overseer of this nightterror, is every bit as miserable as his chew toys: Memory serves, he's effectively trapped in a glorified coffin, devoid of most human senses, both utterly enraged and utterly despairing, over his inability to partake in the mundane things humans take for granted. You can even hear it in his "Hate" speech, noting that his bottomless hatred would be lethal to a living thing... But he's NOT living, and thus, CAN'T die.

"I have no mouth, and I must scream" is basically just Hell, for all parties involved.

I love that Harlan voiced AM. He was having the time of his LIFE doing that.

Honestly, I'm glad he did the voice for AM. No one can really deliver that absolutely digusted tone towards humans like he could.

More trivia about Harlan Ellison: he prided himself on not using a computer. His involvement in making this game was entirely through telephone and typewriter.

Harlan Ellison was once described by a friend, Robert Boch, as the only organism whose natural habitat was boiling water and I can’t think of a better description of the man.

The idea that Hell is a real place but the US Department of Corrections has first dibs on your ass first is terrifying.

I still love the fact that Ellison always voiced AM in every iteration. I also think it's funny that Ellison also had to be talked into the Lunar Colony ending. Because he was so against a hopeful ending.

Fun fact: Harland Ellison went throughout his life living with undiagnosed bipolar disorder, which was only diagnosed after a fellow writer told him to seek a doctor for depression and hypochondria. Said writer said that when Harlan got that diagnosis every quirk of his personality suddenly made sense.

"It smells like... piss and rotting meat." - Glassdoor review of Gearbox after someone visited Randy's office.

Ah, this must be The Amazing Digital Circus I’ve heard about

It may not have been explicitly explained but I always got the impression from things said/described that AM didn't so much choose those 5 for any particular reason other than they were the only ones left when AM finally got enough self control realising that it would be alone with nothing to do if it killed ALL the humans.

Civvie finally playing a game that really encapsulates his lived experience.

Knowing about Ellison as a person being a compassionate humanist who was always frustrated about humanity's obvious failings- and seeing the final slides of AM saying he's always a shadow to humanity, and showing a brief picture of Henry Killer Kissinger- is the reason why people pay you, Civvie.

The inspiration for the original story is so dark. Back then child therapists would use dolls and tell children who were SA'd to "tell them where the bad man touched you" Ellison saw one of these dolls , but it didnt have a mouth, just wide open black dots for eyes. And apparently that doll made him come up with the phrase "i have no mouth and i must scream." So yeah this entire story/game is based off a therapy doll for sexually assaulted children.

Fun Fact: The German version of this game is unbeatable due to the Nimdok segment being removed entirely, for reasons I hope are obvious.

47:17 "I don't think I've played an adventure game before where so many characters straight up lie to you"
If you hate yourself sufficiently, I humbly suggest KGB. This is an adventure game where you play as a Soviet detective in 1989, with the Union basically falling apart around you. Be corrupt at the wrong time, die. Be non-corrupt at the wrong time, die. Follow your orders to the letter, die. Ignore the wrong order, die. Fail to solve the mysteries, die. Tell the wrong person you solved it, die. Trust nobody, die. Trust the wrong person, die. Tell the truth, die. Get caught lying, die. It utterly requires a guide, not just for the actual puzzles, but because this is a game fundamentally about being lied to, like a fucking point and click version of MGS2.