ARG / Generation Loss

Learn the history. Find the founder.

Everything has a purpose
Just not the purpose you think

Generation Loss (sometimes abbreviated to GenLoss) is a Horror web series and Alternate Reality Game created by Ranboo, in the form of different formats.

The first generation, The Social Experiments, is a live broadcast produced by JK Productions that features heavy Audience Participation elements. The generation uses similar point-and-click elements as Jerma985 Dollhouse to control what the main character does.

The Social Experiments is largely comedic, with main character Ranboo being put through various ridiculous (if creepy) scenarios. However, something much darker is lurking just beneath the surface, and Ranboo might be in far more danger than he realizes.

Generation Loss was being teased throughout 2021 and 2022, and the series itself started with the broadcasting of The Social Experiments on Ranboo's Twitch channel in May of 2023. Teasers are posted on Youtube and Twitter.

Visit the website.

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Tropes found in Generation Loss include:

General

• Metafiction: Generation Loss heavily focuses on playing with the line between fiction and reality, from extensive Audience Participation, to constantly Leaning on the Fourth Wall and off-hand moments of Medium Awareness, to even a character from the in-universe story streaming to Twitch from the account of their actor in the middle of one Generation 1 episode.

Generation 0: The Story of Lostfield

• The '90s: It's implied to be set in the early '90s, judging by the comic in the corner of this image being dated November 4th, 1990.
• Analog Horror: Generation 0 very heavily emulates the genre. Static images shown on the Twitter account include VHS tapes, and the first video was shown from the perspective of someone watching footage full of VHS artifacts on an old CRT monitor. In The Social Experiments, Ranboo's messages from Hetch arrive via VHS tapes and are displayed on a CRT monitor.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: The first teaser has plenty. Flashed on the screen are the phrases "don't hide", "don't escape", "don't talk", "don't conform" and "don't hesitate". At the very end of the video, the phrase "Everything has a purpose, just not the purpose you think" appears in the corner, and when the text "Find the founder" is shown on screen, the word "Find" is very briefly replaced with the word "Kill" in bright red letters.

Generation 1: The Social Experiments

• Affably Evil: Once his true colors are shown, Hetch adopts a more lively and joyful attitude as he reveals his plans to Ranboo and his role in Showfall Media.
• And I Must Scream:
  • It's heavily implied in "The Mastermind of The Warehouse" that Ranboo and the others are under control of someone or something, but they're still somewhat aware of what's happening and what they're doing but are unable to control themselves. During the Mouse Trap game, Ranboo's hand subconsciously reaches for the detonator button when The Puzzler leaves it behind, but stops when Sneeg points it out.
  • This is what happens to all of the "actors" in Showfall Media's shows since they are people who have been mindwiped and are essentially immortal, capable of dying and being brought back for the sake of entertainment for an indefinite amount of time.
• Anvil on Head:
  • After being thrown through a room full of lasers, Vinny appears to land safely, only to have his head crushed in by a dropped anvil.
  • This also happens to Slimecicle when Ranboo throws him on the laser projector.
• Audience Participation: During the live shows, the Twitch chat can vote on various things, mostly on what actions Ranboo should take.
• Blatant Lies: When Austin is introduced, he's begging to be released so he can see his "many" wives and children again. Not only can he not give a consistent answer about his alleged children when asked, but his introductory card outright informs us he's gay.
• Blood from the Mouth: In "The Choice", a part of Ranboo's mask is chipped away to show the left side of his mouth covered in blood.
• Boom, Headshot!: How Niki is unceremoniously killed by The Puzzler.
• Brainwashing: Everyone is under control from Showfall Media, being used as a twisted form of entertainment.
  • Ranboo's mask is the source of his brainwashing, as when it shuts down, he's able to regain control of himself and what he sees.
  • Sneeg's brainwashing is briefly undone when The Puzzler puts a hat on his head, and he silently looks around in horror at something the others can't see. He calmly tries to escape under the guise of going to use the bathroom, but is caught and dragged back by a group of Squiggles' masked people. When he's screaming to be let go, they force him to wear a mask with the Showfall Media logo on it which causes him to completely stop, and he suddenly adopts a more carefree and nonchalant attitude.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: When Ranboo's mask gets shut off at the end of "The Mastermind of The Warehouse", he turns his head towards the camera, walks closer to it... and it shows the whole "warehouse" was a TV show set in a mall, with motionless people wearing masks sitting behind the cameras.
• Broken Record: In episode 1, One of Slimecicle's confessions involves this trope:
  "Oh oh! Looks like our contestant is running out of slime! I mean slime, I mean slime, I mean slime-..."
  (Cuts to present) "-slime, I mean slime, I mean slime..."
• Broken Tears:
  • Niki is introduced sobbing and crying hysterically at the horrors happening around her.
  • Ranboo spends his final moments crying and screaming at Hetch and the audience to let him go.
• Chromatic Arrangement: Ranboo is red, Charlie is green, and Sneeg is blue. They are even called "RGBTrio" by fans for this reason.
• Cliffhanger:
  • "The Spirit of the Cabin" ends with Ranboo escaping the eponymous cabin and ending up in a strange warehouse. Before he can get any further, he's suddenly attacked by two people in rat masks and sedated.
  • "The Mastermind of the Warehouse" ends with Ranboo's mask being shut down by Hetch, and he realizes he was being brainwashed the whole time. The whole warehouse turns out to be a show set placed in a mall, and there's a tapestry hanging outside with a Showfall Media logo on it.
• Company Cross References: In "The Spirit of the Cabin", there's a literal dollhouse recreation of the set from Jerma985 Dollhouse, which was also produced by JK Productions.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Many.
  • In "The Spirit of the Cabin", Charlie is killed when Ranboo makes him dry up and evaporate in a rag he got earlier. "The Mastermind of the Warehouse" reveals he's still alive and conscious inside the rag... but then is killed again when Ranboo throws him in the lasers to burn to death. And is crushed by an anvil.
  • Niki goes in one of the doors to find the missing pieces for the Mouse Trap game, and is accidentally shot by The Puzzler.
  • Vinny manages to get past the lasers in the Museum Game, but is unexpectedly crushed by a falling anvil.
  • Ethan goes through the wrong door in the Closet Game and is attacked by something.
  • Sneeg and Austin are crushed to death in the Hole in the Wall game, complete with a Sickening "Crunch!".
  • Sneeg and Charlie are ultimately mauled by the TV-headed entity outside of the studio. Ranboo has his skull crushed with an iron maiden-esque box that clamps shut around his head.
• Dissonant Serenity: When Ethan is mauled to death in a trap, Ranboo and Sneeg are oddly calm and stoic about watching, while Austin is understandably freaking out. This could be an affect from the brainwashing done on them.
• Downer Ending: Dear lord. After seemingly managing to shut down the show, Ranboo ends up being kidnapped by Hetch, who is revealed to be alive and part of Showfall Media. Ranboo wakes up, tied in a crucified position to a machine that will crush his skull, and Hetch reveals his role as he gives the audience a choice: Ranboo can either stay alive and be part of the show forever, or he can be killed off to end the show. Ranboo can only beg to be let go as Hetch taunts him about his fate and the mask forcibly makes him relive his memories before being captured by Showfall Media. Hitting the Despair Event Horizon, Ranboo screams to be killed, which the audience complies.
• Face Death with Dignity: Vinny's response to seeing a falling anvil just moments away from killing him is a resigned "goddammit."
• Foreshadowing: Coupled with Rewatch Bonus, there are a lot of hints to tell you what's happening in the show, or what will happen:
  • The mini-game on the website provides a few.
    • The head of Ranboo is blacked out with a box.
    • There are two friends and a stranger Ranboo can meet in the city, each with their head blacked out as well. Both friends look like Sneeg and Charlie, and the stranger looks like Hetch. Keep in mind that the stranger has a red box on their head instead of a black one.
    • Both of the friends warn Ranboo about being out in the open on the street, but the stranger goads Ranboo into investigating a noise behind a dumpster.
    • Once Ranboo presses a button behind the dumpster, the world becomes distorted and glitched out. All the characters speak in binary code. The stranger says "The Savior", the blue friend says "The Taken", and the green friend says "The Villain".
  • "The Spirit of the Cabin":
    • When Ranboo is asleep on the couch, his arms are spread out while his legs are straight, almost in a crucified position.
    • Before Ranboo's mask turns on, he looks very anxious and worried about his situation and has a brief Freak Out when it's activated. When the mask is on, his personality changes to that of a docile everyday guy.
    • Ranboo looks at the camera and comments, "That's a weird painting." On that note, there are many moments in the show where the characters look at the camera.
    • On the fridge, the magnets spell out "BEHIND YOU".
  • "The Mastermind of the Warehouse":
    • When Ranboo is gutting Patient Charlie, the screen momentarily glitches to show Charlie screaming in pain as Ranboo rummages through his organs.
    • In the closet room, Sneeg spells out "DEATH" with the magnets. Ethan ends up dying in the closet room.
    • The Puzzler gives a hint to the players before he leaves: "Appearances aren't all they seem." It's both a clue to the game and the whole purpose of the show.
    • In the game room, Ranboo looks at a board game called "Maul of America." No guess where the "cabin" and "warehouse" are located.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Look very closely at Ranboo's left hand during the Closet Game in "The Mastermind of the Warehouse". It's doing the "SOS" morse code before his right hand restrains it.
• Incoming Ham: In Episode 1, Slimecicle's first line already shows how much slimey ham is gonna be thrown by him.
• Malevolent Masked Man:
  • In "The Mastermind of the Warehouse", Sneeg is caught trying to escape and dragged back to the game by a group of people wearing masks with Squiggle's face on it.
  • The people who follow The Puzzler wear rat masks, and are very chipper about watching the contestants go through horrifying life-or-death games.
  • Inverted for Hetch who appears on random CRT monitors, seemingly wanting to help Ranboo. It turns out to be double-subverted, because he was in on it all along.
• Mascot: Squiggles, who appears randomly on the bottom right side to make funny comments on what's happening during the show.
• Mercy Kill:
  • After Niki is revealed to have survived being shot by The Puzzler, the latter quickly puts her out of her misery.
  • At the end of "The Choice", Ranboo begs for the audience to kill him, as the alternative is staying Showfall Media's puppet forever. The audience complies.
• Moment of Silence: All audio suddenly cuts out as Ranboo's skull is crushed within the spiked trap.
• Obvious Stunt Double: Vinny being killed by a falling anvil is represented by an abrupt jump cut to a rubber dummy that barely resembles him.
• Ominous Visual Glitch: Happens randomly, with the interface getting a flashing red glitch outline, and it affects Squiggles as well, with their suit turning red and their words becoming corrupted and unnerving.
  "BAD HAT BAD HAT BAD HAT"
• Precision F-Strike: Ranboo lets out two at the end of "The Mastermind of the Warehouse", when he leaves the "warehouse" and ends up in a mall. It's even more shock since up until that point in the show (and in Real Life), he never let out a single curse word.
  "What the fuck... What the fuck is this place?"
• Recut: The upcoming Founder's Cut is the director's cut of the first generation. It combines all the streams into a single film, and has redubbed lines and more backstory to the plot.
• The Reveal: Everything seen in the show was All According to Plan, from the 'glitches' in the system and even down to the presumed escape plan. It was all on purpose because Showfall believes that's where Ranboo reveals his most authentic self, which is where they believe the true entertainment is. The entire event was a test to see if Ranboo was fit to become a permanent cast member of Showfall Media.
• Sadistic Choice: In the finale of "The Choice", the audience is given two options: have Ranboo die immediately via iron maiden to the skull, or have him be permanently brainwashed/mindwiped and used as a character in future Showfall Media shows for the rest of eternity. Ranboo begs for the audience to kill him. The audience complies.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: In "The Choice", Squiggles is absent from the majority of the episode due to Ranboo breaking out of Showfall's control to escape the show. They later come back near the end as Ranboo's fate is decided by the audience.
• Shout-Out: Quite a few.
  • When Ranboo finds the other "contestants" in "The Mastermind of the Warehouse", they're strapped to a carousel reminiscent of the Carousel Trap from Saw VI.
  • The candy room has fruit wallpaper, and the Puzzler tells the contestants to lick it for flavor.
  • Before Ranboo almost leaves the mall, he turns towards the camera and takes a final bow.
• Spaghetti Kiss: Played for Laughs in "The Spirit of the Cabin", with a scene where Slimecicle and Ranboo begin to eat each end of a giant gummy worm.
• Through the Eyes of Madness: "The Mastermind of The Warehouse" reveals when Ranboo's mask is on, all of the horrific acts performed are censored by altering his view of reality with comedic scenes. While Ranboo sees Charlie nonchalantly chatting while the former rummages through the slime in his body for a key, Charlie is actually screaming in agony from watching himself get torn open in real life.
• Wham Line: "Okay now, Ranboo... you can see." This is the moment Ranboo's mask gets shut off, and the Cerebus Syndrome kicks in when he realizes he's been in a show.

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