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This 89-page dissertation on the plot of BLOODBORNE will make you mindblown.gif

Neiteio

Member
Saw this in another thread. I bet some of you have already seen it, but if you haven't, print this out, make a smoothie, cozy up in a recliner, and prepare to be amazed (click).

Seriously, I've obsessed over the plot of this game for months, but there are so many revelations in here that made me go "Aha!" It's a fan dissertation, but it's extremely well-done. The author, Redgrave, clearly sources everything with in-game evidence and comments from Miyazaki, and gives full disclosure when speculating. All of the evidence seems to add up in a very satisfying way.

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DISSERTATION SPOILERS:

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The theory about the Healing Church sheltering the children of Yharnamites and ascending them into Kin of Cosmos to harvest for more Old Blood in their Lumenflower Garden... The bit about Rom being an ascended baby girl, and Ebrietas being an ascended Pthumerian child... The Blood-letting Beast in the Labyrinth being Laurence, and the Madman being Ludwig... The connection between Oedon and Arianna, and Oedon and Queen Yharnam and Mergo... The bit about "formless Oedon" being the voice of the crying baby you hear throughout the game... The bit about the Nightmare Frontier being a dreamworld mirror of Loran... The double meaning of "paleblood," and Gherman's connection to Djurga and Eileen... The Doll being a Great One, and you her surrogate child...

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And there's so much more. Give it a read!
 
Read this a while ago already. Redgrave has my biggest respect for this. Enjoyed Bloodborne so much more after reading this.
 
Wooooow. Who has the time to write such a thing? Is this an actual dissertation, as in someone's work for academic purposes?

Either way, awesome. I'm gonna sink into gnus next week I think.
 
Wooooow. Who has the time to write such a thing? Is this an actual dissertation, as in someone's work for academic purposes?

Either way, awesome. I'm gonna sink into gnus next week I think.
No, it appears to be strictly a fan thing. It's really, really good. It might seem like a lot, but just read the first few pages. I suspect many of you will read more... and more... :-)
 
You know the singing brains?

Not brains. Cobbled-together Messengers.

And the body is the Doll's body.

Think about it.

Fuuuuuuuuu—
 
Love Bloodborne, save this to my reading list on iPad. Will read the whole thing when I got the time.
 
Great read. Highly recommended. It even states which parts are based on evidence within the game and which parts are pure speculation by the author.
 
The storytelling in the Souls series is something else.

It's amazing how something like the placement of items, a change in voice actors, the way an NPC tilts her head, etc., is all part of the storytelling.

Like every detail is placed with exacting precision, so it all adds up when considered as a whole.

Just incredible.
 
It really is crazy upon playing Bloodborne and thinking the game is awfully light on story elements. And then you go online and read a 90-page analysis all well researched with clear sources and claims. It's a testament to both the energy and talent that went into Bloodborne, and also the dedication and ability of the fans to write something like this. This is great. This demanding relationship between creator and user is unique and wonderful.
 
It really is crazy upon playing Bloodborne and thinking the game is awfully light on story elements. And then you go online and read a 90-page analysis all well researched with clear sources and claims. It's a testament to both the energy and talent that went into Bloodborne, and also the dedication and ability of the fans to write something like this. This is great. This demanding relationship between creator and user is unique and wonderful.
It's also a testament to how observant someone has to be to get the full effect. For example, I don't think I would've noticed how Rom bleeds different colors when hit in one place vs. another, and what this means. The whole concept of the red blood, the serum, and the white blood... My head is still spinning from that one. Miyazaki, you brilliant bastard.
 
Dude I love anything bloodborne lore related. I've watched almost every video that has come out related to this. Thanks for this will read.
 
Yeah I really enjoyed the game but nah I can't be bothered understanding the story.

Same with Hotline Miami 2, who knows what's going on there! But mashing people's brains to sick beats is fun.
 
Seriously read this guys has some amazing theories and revelations about the lore. When people say Bloodborne is one of the best Lovecraftian stories ever told in a game they arent joking. Its really, really amazing what From and Miyazaki are able to do lore/story wise.
 
I clicked and was disappointed it's not a dissertation. Someone needs to learn what that term means.
dis·ser·ta·tion
ˌdisərˈtāSH(ə)n/
noun
a long essay on a particular subject, especially one written as a requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy degree.

It wasn't written for school, but in spirit the term fits.
 
In the Lumenflower Gardens, we can see the results of their experiments. Look at the way the Celestials seems to grow from the ground. Even the name garden seems to suggest an almost sickening way in which the Celestials were harvested from the ground like a crop. This was the source of Yharnam's special blood. The children who were elevated to becoming Celestials were then harvested and used as sources of Blood for the Church, a renewable resource that would allow them to provide the entire City with as much Blood as it needed.

I always did find the poor things too cute to kill. Seems like my hunch feeling wasn't without reason.
 
Came in here thinking someone used Bloodborne for their PhD, then remembered Bloodborne just released.

I clicked and was disappointed it's not a dissertation. Someone needs to learn what that term means.

I came in here expecting the same. However, dissertation can also be used for a formal essay and is often in the general definition of the term. Depends on what source you use for your definition.
 
dis·ser·ta·tion
ˌdisərˈtāSH(ə)n/
noun
a long essay on a particular subject, especially one written as a requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy degree.

It wasn't written for school, but in spirit the term fits.

I think most people assume that a dissertation is an academic paper. I got kind of excited reading the thread title thinking it was done for coursework. But yeah I get your meaning.
 
I think most people assume that a dissertation is an academic paper. I got kind of excited reading the thread title thinking it was done for coursework. But yeah I get your meaning.
Most people use the phrase casually to mean "long essay."

At any rate, enough nitpicking, more lining-brains-with-eyeballs-ing.
 
Remember at the very beginning of Bloodborne, the very first scene, in first person, where you're receiving the blood transfusion, and you see a beast emerge from blood, and the beast touches you, and the beast bursts into flames?

The explanation for it...

SO GOOD
 
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