The true story of how I spent 13 years making a video game. Download: adambutcher.itch.io/tobias-an... Written and Directed by @AdamButcherFilm "Awe Baby" photo from @johnengler
Wait, so you didn't just make a game all by yourself in a process that consumed 13 years of your life, but you also made it avaible for free? Dude, I can't just ignore that. Major respect.
I come back to this video every now and then just to soak it in again. It’s concise, not terse. Personal, not chatty. Well produced, not over edited. It’s everything I want to see in a video essay, and it’s over in seven glorious minutes. This deserves so many more views than 474,000 it currently sits at, and I tip my hat to its creator.
This is the real essence of a game. I remember wondering weeks, even months ago if there was any free playable game on the internet which have been made just for fun. Nice music and film influences by the way
There’s the proverbial “face only a mother could love.” I ran into something similar when I thought I’d stumbled upon a wonderful way to compose a short passage of music in which every succeeding chord was in the same key but switching to a new one at the same instance, giving you rapid-fire key changes with every beat, and I thought it sounded cool. Then I had some people listen to it and they were like “That part sounds weird.” And I confirmed-it wasn’t weird in a good way. So three cheers to you and your “game only a developer could love.” Cherish it.
3:42 Whoa... FINALLY! I've been looking for this scene for a looong while. I knew I had not imagined it and I knew it was from a CZcams video describing the process of making an indie game... but I could not for the life of me, remember which CZcams video I had watched, nor what the name of the game was! I did, however, remember it carried the name of a male person (wrongly thought it was "Nick") and, of course, I remember the scene about the light source shifting and it having two kinds of shading. Thanks CZcams algorithm, and thanks AdamButcher for crossing my path again. Now, I'll do what I did with "Zelda: Hall of the Dead" and download it before I forget its name again.
Jesus let me tell you a story. So its two in the morning and I should be sleeping but I'm half consciously browsing reddit and forums and youtube all at once suddenly this video is open and I don't know how the hell I got here. Can I ask if you would let me let's play this game? If not I understand. If so highfive brother. Also not at all a big channel. Nope got seven subs and most of them are my family. Uhm well that's all I have to say. Cheers and congrats on the game man.
Great video, great story !! Very much reminds me of my own story. My own baby is 16 years now, had been released / patched / improved. I still can't stop and trying to get it to the glory it deserves. So HEY, you're way faster than i am. I certainly stumbled at least upon 4 of these A's. Albatross being my favorite. Good to hear, there are other maniacs out there as well.
This video is like at least once in a year in my recommendations and I've seen it at least 4 times already. It's like those christmas traditions where you watch one specific movie every year! :D
Looks interesting also very nice of you to release for it free after so much work, not many people would do that with their work. I respect that and thank you!
I discovered your game lately and I'm amazed , me and my friends like it a lot !, definitly one of my best indie games along with Bastion , Transistor and Ori. I love how after all that hard work over 13 years you made it free it's impressive .
I can't wait to play this. Knowing the back story will make it all the more enjoyable. I respect your dedication and know it will serve you well in the future!
Great piece, very watchable, quite a bit of nostalgia value in the descriptions of the early-2000s freeware game scene. I remember in 2001 at the age of 9yo my gaming was split evenly between freeware demos loaded onto those CDs you could get (most of which never came to fruition as full games, some of which i still mourn), and...CHEX QUEST! Glad you finished your game someday, if only for your 14-year-old self.
Thanks for making this video, man. I've been where you were (9 years for me), but my game didn't make it out on the other side. You absolutely deserve a pat on the back for seeing this through.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this, was quite nostalgic. I too started making games at the age of 14 (12 years ago) when I got a free licence for Clickteam's "The Games Factory", I made easily over 30 different games over a couple of years, some never quite finished as I made around 5 of the same type of game but each one was slightly different in its approach. Keep doing what you're doing and hopefully now you'll be able to make a game in a lot shorter time :).
I absolutely love this. Congrats on finishing the game, I absolutely have to play it, if you love it I'm absolutely sure I will too, games that are made with love rather than love for money are the best ones
your game will be loved. because reasons. including the amount of love that you put in to creating it, and nostalgia of people your age and older, and young'uns getting into that style of game themselves. personally i'm going to be getting my kids into your game :D
A friend told me about this video, the struggle of a video game programmer. Your story was indeed interesting and to put in as many years as you did was dedication in the extreme. I'm also downloading your game now as I love new challenges. Best wishes on your future projects !
Thanks so much for making this video! I'm currently sitting on a "game that time forgot" of my own... Maybe this will help me get off my butt and finish it!
Boy, I have been through all of this. But eventually managed to complete some stuff as well. It took me a lot less time since I mercilessly slashed most of the complicated stuff and managed to focus on the core stuff. But as with me, your journey was, probably, enlightening.
I'm actually going through the same process right now. I've been working and reworking the same concept since 2004. And. I just want to thank you for sharing this experience. Especially considering I've gotten really close to giving up as of late. I'm very happy to know I'm not alone. P.S. Your game really does look awesome. It has that exact charm you were trying to capture. A charm that I too, agree, is missing from games as of late.
4 years in, and 4 times starting from scratch. I feel your pain, but I'm even more inspired hearing about someone else who's gone through the same ordeal.
I can really relate to this! I've been working on a platformer with soundtrack and support for user-created levels for about 4 years now, and I've experienced at least half of these issues in that time. Your points on ageing are particularly spot on, as programming skills improve, the constant refactoring and rewriting of the engine, whether it's out of necessity or for personal satisfaction, can really wear you down. I'm planning to make yet another 'final push' this summer. Maybe I'll actually finish it this time. :P Excellent video, overall I think you've summed up the development process for those of us with ambitious childhood projects incredibly well.
Dude, you are awesome! I cant believe you started this game at 14 years old! It is amazing how you were determined enough to finish this project. I hope that i will have a fraction of your determination, so i may overcome these obstacles. Thank you for sharing your story.
This is an excellent video! You used a good microphone, and you have nice editing skills. I'm only a couple levels into your game so far. I'm looking forward to seeing the later content. I'm working on a game of my own; hopefully it takes me fewer than 13 years! Godspeed, sir! Wishing you the best.
Making a game takes so much time, I once thought I was going to make a game in RPG maker, hours later I had 2 screens, 2 characters, one battle, and 2 minutes of gameplay. Congratulations on sticking with it.
Hats off to you for finishing what you started. I've been out of PC gaming due to repetitive strain on the hands but was thinking of getting back into it just to check out games that I can't play on console. I'm happy to be starting with your game. Thanks for bringing it to the world.
This is an amazing story! Your pure dedication is truly amazing. Most people don't realize how much dedication it takes to make indie games. For me, lack of dedication is exactly what stops me from finishing games. This story has truly inspired me to finish my own games!
I love your game, and you should be proud. AND WHAT AN AWESOME VIDEO TO GO WITH THE GAME. The effort and creativity put into each level is astonishing, and I can't put my finger on it, but it's incredibly addicting trying to pass through each chapter! The game itself is not ground breaking, but to be honest, I don't give a damn, and neither should you. This game made my day, and I hope you know that!
Perhaps it's a little late for praise but I have to say, this has got to be one of if not my favorite game of all time. I remember back in 2014 I found this video in my recommended and after watching it I knew I had to play it. I booted up my crappy laptop and started to play. Now it's four years later, I'm in my senior year of high school and even though I have a much stronger laptop this game still sits on my desktop ready to be played. It just leaves this fuzzy but great feeling in my chest that most games don't. Maybe it's your personal story or just how endearing it is but I just have to say, thank you for working so hard on this game and inspiring me to work on my own projects. Have a great day!
@@AdamButcher Oh I've beaten a few times. Around this time of the year I go back and play some of my favorite games like MegaMan X or EarthBound. I was playing through the game again and thought that perhaps I should come back and thank the creator.
This is rad. Thanks so much for telling your story and sharing the personal side of it! That takes guts and shows a lot of humility and good judgment, even if it was hard-won.
shit, that the best trailer for a game I've seen... ever.. Really cool way to told your story, and not swepping the dust of your flaws under the rough :D GJ
I create some games between projects. The animations are the worst part, because it's more hand-job (not clever choice of words). But your entire game was a hand-job (again), and it's absolutely awesome! The animations, the commands. I really liked it. Thanks for not giving up.
Adam, Well done. Not only on the game itself, but on the video here. Recently I had a chance to interview at a few game studios, and (perhaps its just the timing) but this video really resonated with me. Thanks for sharing your 6 A's
this is so relatable though. every time i try to do something i take ages and the six reasons the video mentioned are exactly what kept me from finishing most of my goals lol
great video! i will be trying this game for sure. well done finishing a game so huge. i started with Klik n Play and still using CTF 2.5 at the grand age of 30 :D
Good job! I wish I had the perseverance to complete my abandoned game projects. I knew what you were talking about when you said you leveled up. I was making stupid flash games and as I come to know much more about programming or had better skills in graphics I always wanted to hone the stuff or do over to make it better. Congratulations!
Wait, so you didn't just make a game all by yourself in a process that consumed 13 years of your life, but you also made it avaible for free? Dude, I can't just ignore that. Major respect.
yep
@@blarf4773 *YEP*
@@theplaguedoctor6271 *ýëp*
Yep
*Y E P*
I will give it a try. Love the story behind it. :-)
how'd it go
How did it go
Hello old guy
If you start now, you can have a sequel done by the time you're 40.
it’s been a while, hope he’s started
@@JoshKoshBgosh give him another 30 years
An old show business saying: "Always make the show you want to make, because in the end, you all get cancelled."
***** ...Or run into the mud, but the same principle applies.
oh how wonderfully it applies to the modern cancel culture thingy
@@DronidChannel the myth
That's cancelled as in they end your show, not cancelled as in you get banned from Twitter, right?
@@DronidChannel You mean boycotting? That's hardly a modern thing. The internet just gave it more exposure.
Awww. I'll play your game.
Seriously this a great video for us Indy gamers that are just starting out own projects.
what's your project? :)
Me too!
Sorry for being such a Grammar Nazi, but it's spelled Indie, not Indy.
50calRussia He could be a race car gamer you never know man.
Nah man, this is horrible. The length of the project demotivated the hell out of me.
I come back to this video every now and then just to soak it in again.
It’s concise, not terse. Personal, not chatty. Well produced, not over edited. It’s everything I want to see in a video essay, and it’s over in seven glorious minutes.
This deserves so many more views than 474,000 it currently sits at, and I tip my hat to its creator.
This is the real essence of a game. I remember wondering weeks, even months ago if there was any free playable game on the internet which have been made just for fun. Nice music and film influences by the way
Just the story is worth it. I can't even count the small projects that I have abandoned over the years.
Congratulations!
There’s the proverbial “face only a mother could love.” I ran into something similar when I thought I’d stumbled upon a wonderful way to compose a short passage of music in which every succeeding chord was in the same key but switching to a new one at the same instance, giving you rapid-fire key changes with every beat, and I thought it sounded cool. Then I had some people listen to it and they were like “That part sounds weird.” And I confirmed-it wasn’t weird in a good way. So three cheers to you and your “game only a developer could love.” Cherish it.
3:42 Whoa... FINALLY! I've been looking for this scene for a looong while. I knew I had not imagined it and I knew it was from a CZcams video describing the process of making an indie game... but I could not for the life of me, remember which CZcams video I had watched, nor what the name of the game was! I did, however, remember it carried the name of a male person (wrongly thought it was "Nick") and, of course, I remember the scene about the light source shifting and it having two kinds of shading. Thanks CZcams algorithm, and thanks AdamButcher for crossing my path again. Now, I'll do what I did with "Zelda: Hall of the Dead" and download it before I forget its name again.
Ahh... I have found myself on that exact journey - remembering a single scene of some forgotten video.. Congrats on finding it~!!
Jesus let me tell you a story. So its two in the morning and I should be sleeping but I'm half consciously browsing reddit and forums and youtube all at once suddenly this video is open and I don't know how the hell I got here. Can I ask if you would let me let's play this game? If not I understand. If so highfive brother. Also not at all a big channel. Nope got seven subs and most of them are my family. Uhm well that's all I have to say. Cheers and congrats on the game man.
It's downloadable for free on his website
I know but I would like to ask permission. It's his project. I'll still play it on my own I just want to know.
ThePowerArmored A Let's Play would be great!
ThePowerArmored Oh like that, ignore my previous comment then.
AdamButcher off to do that then.
This game will get crazy popular
This is still one of my favourite youtube videos of all time. So much story, so much drama.
Nothing has ever resonated with me more than you talking about how the platform movement didn't move with moving objects.
love the soundtracks you used the video, pure nostalgia. Good job on being determined to finish what you started.
Well that was like watching the story of my life, right down to Zelda and Starfox. Are you some English clone of me? Or maybe I'm the clone.
Done Missions 32(33,34,35,36)?
Great video, great story !! Very much reminds me of my own story. My own baby is 16 years now, had been released / patched / improved. I still can't stop and trying to get it to the glory it deserves. So HEY, you're way faster than i am. I certainly stumbled at least upon 4 of these A's. Albatross being my favorite. Good to hear, there are other maniacs out there as well.
This is a touching story. Congrats on never giving up! I'm a game designer and I really appreciate how difficult this project must have been.
This is a great example of perseverance and the will to get your projects done. I love it.
This video is like at least once in a year in my recommendations and I've seen it at least 4 times already. It's like those christmas traditions where you watch one specific movie every year! :D
Looks interesting also very nice of you to release for it free after so much work, not many people would do that with their work. I respect that and thank you!
This video was amazing and really, really inspiring.
Thanks! Can't wait to play your game.
I discovered your game lately and I'm amazed , me and my friends like it a lot !, definitly one of my best indie games along with Bastion , Transistor and Ori.
I love how after all that hard work over 13 years you made it free it's impressive .
I can't wait to play this. Knowing the back story will make it all the more enjoyable. I respect your dedication and know it will serve you well in the future!
good for you for sticking with it and finishing the game
This looks like a great project and I will definitely play it! Congratulations on finishing it!
Very very inspiring Adam! Thanks so much for this video!! It's clever, very funny, very well-edited, full of wizdom. Wow!
Great piece, very watchable, quite a bit of nostalgia value in the descriptions of the early-2000s freeware game scene. I remember in 2001 at the age of 9yo my gaming was split evenly between freeware demos loaded onto those CDs you could get (most of which never came to fruition as full games, some of which i still mourn), and...CHEX QUEST! Glad you finished your game someday, if only for your 14-year-old self.
Glad to hear about your game creation progression. I hope to play it eventually.
Pretty damn inspirational.
also great work on this documentary, good editing and pacing :)
Love it. Love it. Love it! Thanks so much for sharing this story. I've been working on my game for a while now. I really relate to everything here. :D
I loved the video Adam really cool seeing behind the scenes.
Really loved this video- it's rare you watch something on CZcams worthwhile, the whole way through and having felt glad you did so. Nice one, matey.
Thanks for making this video, man. I've been where you were (9 years for me), but my game didn't make it out on the other side. You absolutely deserve a pat on the back for seeing this through.
Had a very quick play. Just wanted to say well done!!! Really nice little game!!
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this, was quite nostalgic. I too started making games at the age of 14 (12 years ago) when I got a free licence for Clickteam's "The Games Factory", I made easily over 30 different games over a couple of years, some never quite finished as I made around 5 of the same type of game but each one was slightly different in its approach. Keep doing what you're doing and hopefully now you'll be able to make a game in a lot shorter time :).
Congratulations on completely such a lengthy project. I'll give it a try tonight!
This is awesome dude, I love how the opening song was basically stone tower temple from mm, shows what you were playing at the time!
I absolutely love this. Congrats on finishing the game, I absolutely have to play it, if you love it I'm absolutely sure I will too, games that are made with love rather than love for money are the best ones
this really makes me want to crack out my old MAC performa and load up game maker. also i want to play Escape Velocity now...
I rarely go a day without thinking of the old escape velocity games. Daaaaamn they were so good.
Caleb King you know with sheepshaver you can play them on any windows PC.
What a wonderful story :) Congrats on releasing this, ill definetly play!
Adam you are awesome and can't wait for this to kick off and become something.
What a sweet story.... Those were good pointers you gave, they helped me.
your game will be loved. because reasons. including the amount of love that you put in to creating it, and nostalgia of people your age and older, and young'uns getting into that style of game themselves. personally i'm going to be getting my kids into your game :D
this is so inspirational and helpful for my own game project
I admire your dedication man!
A friend told me about this video, the struggle of a video game programmer. Your story was indeed interesting and to put in as many years as you did was dedication in the extreme.
I'm also downloading your game now as I love new challenges. Best wishes on your future projects !
I love every second of this. You're an inspiration, sah.
Amazing story! Nice narration, cool presentation and fun to watch. I want to check out your game.
Awsome video man. thanks for making this. i would love to play your game.
Thanks so much for making this video! I'm currently sitting on a "game that time forgot" of my own... Maybe this will help me get off my butt and finish it!
absolutely brilliant!
Boy, I have been through all of this. But eventually managed to complete some stuff as well. It took me a lot less time since I mercilessly slashed most of the complicated stuff and managed to focus on the core stuff. But as with me, your journey was, probably, enlightening.
I'm actually going through the same process right now. I've been working and reworking the same concept since 2004. And. I just want to thank you for sharing this experience. Especially considering I've gotten really close to giving up as of late. I'm very happy to know I'm not alone. P.S. Your game really does look awesome. It has that exact charm you were trying to capture. A charm that I too, agree, is missing from games as of late.
4 years in, and 4 times starting from scratch. I feel your pain, but I'm even more inspired hearing about someone else who's gone through the same ordeal.
Great game! Can't wait for the sequel!
OMG, that Klik N Play guy! I spent so much time in that software... how nostalgic!
I can really relate to this! I've been working on a platformer with soundtrack and support for user-created levels for about 4 years now, and I've experienced at least half of these issues in that time.
Your points on ageing are particularly spot on, as programming skills improve, the constant refactoring and rewriting of the engine, whether it's out of necessity or for personal satisfaction, can really wear you down.
I'm planning to make yet another 'final push' this summer. Maybe I'll actually finish it this time. :P
Excellent video, overall I think you've summed up the development process for those of us with ambitious childhood projects incredibly well.
Dude, you are awesome! I cant believe you started this game at 14 years old! It is amazing how you were determined enough to finish this project. I hope that i will have a fraction of your determination, so i may overcome these obstacles. Thank you for sharing your story.
Great video, very inspiring. Now I just want to play the game you've spent so much time on so I'll just do that right now
One of the all time great videos on YT.
This is an excellent video! You used a good microphone, and you have nice editing skills. I'm only a couple levels into your game so far. I'm looking forward to seeing the later content.
I'm working on a game of my own; hopefully it takes me fewer than 13 years! Godspeed, sir! Wishing you the best.
Making a game takes so much time, I once thought I was going to make a game in RPG maker, hours later I had 2 screens, 2 characters, one battle, and 2 minutes of gameplay. Congratulations on sticking with it.
Hats off to you for finishing what you started. I've been out of PC gaming due to repetitive strain on the hands but was thinking of getting back into it just to check out games that I can't play on console. I'm happy to be starting with your game. Thanks for bringing it to the world.
Thanks, your effort was worth it for this video alone.
This is an amazing story! Your pure dedication is truly amazing. Most people don't realize how much dedication it takes to make indie games. For me, lack of dedication is exactly what stops me from finishing games. This story has truly inspired me to finish my own games!
I love your game, and you should be proud. AND WHAT AN AWESOME VIDEO TO GO WITH THE GAME.
The effort and creativity put into each level is astonishing, and I can't put my finger on it, but it's incredibly addicting trying to pass through each chapter!
The game itself is not ground breaking, but to be honest, I don't give a damn, and neither should you. This game made my day, and I hope you know that!
I tried the game out and loved it. Thanks for using 13 years of your life for us. :P
You are amazing... this is a great warning and beautiful game!
Nice work on telling your story!
Now I want to go play the game.
That's awesome!
Perhaps it's a little late for praise but I have to say, this has got to be one of if not my favorite game of all time. I remember back in 2014 I found this video in my recommended and after watching it I knew I had to play it. I booted up my crappy laptop and started to play. Now it's four years later, I'm in my senior year of high school and even though I have a much stronger laptop this game still sits on my desktop ready to be played. It just leaves this fuzzy but great feeling in my chest that most games don't. Maybe it's your personal story or just how endearing it is but I just have to say, thank you for working so hard on this game and inspiring me to work on my own projects. Have a great day!
Thanks for the lovely comment! Never too late. Can I ask how far did you get in the game?
@@AdamButcher Oh I've beaten a few times. Around this time of the year I go back and play some of my favorite games like MegaMan X or EarthBound. I was playing through the game again and thought that perhaps I should come back and thank the creator.
Ha ha wonderful, glad to hear! Thanks for the thanks!
Absolutely LOVE this!
This is fantastic! you should be so proud! I don't know you and I'm proud of you.
Thanks for sharing!
This was 6 years ago and yet it's still the greatest find I could ever have.
Kudos on you for never giving up :)
This is rad. Thanks so much for telling your story and sharing the personal side of it! That takes guts and shows a lot of humility and good judgment, even if it was hard-won.
Usually I don't login, but when I do is to like awesome videos like this one.
I want to play this game just cause of its origin.
Congratulations!
This is beautiful man.
Truly inspiring :') I'll play your game then I'll go finish my many others.
shit, that the best trailer for a game I've seen... ever.. Really cool way to told your story, and not swepping the dust of your flaws under the rough :D GJ
This is awesome. All those people that gave up on their MMF games after a couple of levels and you stuck to your guns. Perfect.
Brilliant video! Inspiring.
I create some games between projects. The animations are the worst part, because it's more hand-job (not clever choice of words).
But your entire game was a hand-job (again), and it's absolutely awesome! The animations, the commands. I really liked it.
Thanks for not giving up.
Rock on man. You are awesome.
Adam, Well done. Not only on the game itself, but on the video here. Recently I had a chance to interview at a few game studios, and (perhaps its just the timing) but this video really resonated with me.
Thanks for sharing your 6 A's
this is so relatable though. every time i try to do something i take ages and the six reasons the video mentioned are exactly what kept me from finishing most of my goals lol
really enjoyed watching this, will check out your game too :)
Mad respect for not giving up on it.
I miss the crazy days of computing, also nice use of the Space Harrier theme
some of the best advises I've heard
Good luck with the release mate.
loving this!
This video is why I love RPG Maker games.
great video! i will be trying this game for sure. well done finishing a game so huge. i started with Klik n Play and still using CTF 2.5 at the grand age of 30 :D
Good job! I wish I had the perseverance to complete my abandoned game projects. I knew what you were talking about when you said you leveled up. I was making stupid flash games and as I come to know much more about programming or had better skills in graphics I always wanted to hone the stuff or do over to make it better. Congratulations!
cool story! I'll be sure to check out this game, and keep all dem As in mind.
inspiring to say the least!and beautiful!
This is inspiring. And like he says, the game might not be great by the end, but it's still beautiful...
This is absolutely incredible