The Demon King is coming. It's inevitable. But how do we respond to the inevitable? In this video, we'll explore the philosophy of stoicism through the gameplay of He is Coming. We'll delve into how procedural generation teaches us to distinguish between the controlled and the uncontrolled, how automatic battles train our discipline, and how collecting artifacts symbolizes the acquisition of virtues. This video is about staying steadfast in the face of any challenge.
00:00Look at the screen. Your character enters another procedurally generated dungeon.
00:05They do not know what awaits them around the next corner.
00:09A mighty boss or a swarm of weak but annoying monsters.
00:13A chest with a valuable artifact or a trap that saps the last of their health.
00:18They know nothing for certain. But they keep going.
00:22They do not complain about fate when they stumble into a trap.
00:26They do not rejoice prematurely upon finding an artifact.
00:30They simply accept reality as it is and continue to act.
00:34Congratulations, you are watching a perfect Stoic in action.
00:39The philosophy of Stoicism, born in ancient Greece and Rome, fits surprisingly well with the mechanics of this game and, more importantly, with our lives.
00:50The main principle of Stoicism is the division of all things in the world into two types, those that are under our control and those that are not.
00:58Under our control are our decisions, our judgments, our actions, and our values.
01:04Everything else, external events, the opinions of others, the weather, luck, is beyond our control.
01:11The character of he is coming instinctively follows this principle.
01:16They cannot control which specific monster emerges from the darkness.
01:21Procedural generation is the personification of the external force, fortune, beyond our control.
01:27But they are 100% in control of their reaction to it, whether they will fight, retreat, use this or that ability.
01:36Their will, gathered into a fist, is their inner fortress, their moral choice.
01:41A Stoic is not an unfeeling robot.
01:45They experience emotions.
01:47But they do not let them govern their actions.
01:51The auto-battles in the game can be seen as a metaphor for this training.
01:55The character acts clearly, in a practiced manner, without succumbing to panic or anger.
02:01They do their job.
02:02The collection of artifacts is also a deeply Stoic process.
02:08The Stoics believed in developing their virtues, wisdom, courage, justice, temperance.
02:15Each artifact found is not just plus 10 damage.
02:18It is the symbolic acquisition of a new virtue, a new skill that enhances our ability to withstand the blows of fate.
02:25The demon king who is coming is the personification of all adversities, all catastrophes, and difficulties that befall a person.
02:34It is job loss, illness, betrayal.
02:37A Stoic does not ask, why me?
02:40They accept the fact, this has happened.
02:44And they ask the only important question, what will I do about it now?
02:48The game teaches us exactly that.
02:51We cannot control whether he will come.
02:53But we can control how well we prepare for his arrival.
02:58Will we complain about the injustice of the world or, gritting our teeth, set off into our forgotten corners for artifacts of power, knowledge, experience, connections, inner discipline?
03:11Life is procedural generation.
03:14Every day brings random events.
03:16Our task is not to curse the RNG, but to develop an unshakable hero within ourselves, one who is able to accept any challenge while maintaining inner peace and clarity of mind.
03:27The final battle is not about defeating evil.
03:30It is about demonstrating that our will, our virtue, and our readiness to act correctly, regardless of the circumstances, is our ultimate reward.
03:41The demon king may be defeated, or he may prevail.
03:44But the true victory of a Stoic is to remain true to oneself in any outcome.
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