How a Lawyer Sacrificed his Career to Redevelop his Skyrim Mod | The Forgotten City Documentary
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
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We talk to Modern Storyteller's Nick Pearce about his remarkable journey to create The Forgotten City.
Noclip's work is 100% crowdfunded.
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Hosted, Edited & Produced by Jake Dekker
Filmed by Luke Sommer
Gameplay Capture by Frank Howley
Captions by Denis Walsh
Production Assistance by Danny O'Dwyer - Hry
Thanks to Jake for helping us create this doc. If you liked it, throw him a "Salve Friend" on twitter; twitter.com/jacobdekk
Salve amice!
Like if elon musk created a standalone game great work !!!!
@@petervickers911
*_"Like if elon musk created a standalone game"_*
If Elon Musk made a game, it wouldn't work, there'd be countless GoFundMes and all you'll end up with is vapour.
{:-:-:}
@@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095 *"...and all you'll end up with is vapour."*
You might say, a _musk..._
With great sacrifices come great rewards, you deserve all the success you receive! Take care! Great documentary subscribed!
Developer here: Thanks for taking an interest in us, NoClip!
Also, for the history buffs: at 12:45 when I said "Virgil" I should have said "Ovid" - my bad! :-)
I was wondering about that :) Thank you for the clarification!
Finished all four endings, and I must say, you really made smile so so much with ending 4. Thank you for this game!
Just wanted to jump on this comment to say thank you for making this game.
Definitely top 3 games I’ve played this year, and competing for the top. So incredibly clever and engrossing.
Once again, thank you.
Just wanted to say, all those tears over the animations were well-spent. I was immediately struck by the quality of the faces watching this video. Honestly, you guys could probably leverage just that part of your experience and work well for the rest of your lives. As you noted, indies don't have anyone that can help with that problem.
Really knocked it out of the park with this release. Can't wait to see what else you and the team can come up with. Also made in Victoria ;)
This dude would quite clearly be brilliant at anything he wanted to do, and he's chosen game development - let's make sure he continues to create amazing games by supporting him and buying his games.
Lawyers are trained to come across as capable and confident so it doesn't count for much.
I already wishlisted this game right after 4 minutes of this video!
Some ppl are just like that bro, good at absolutely everything life throws at them. Sadly, I am not like that, but at the very least I was given the STEM bug, so it's something.
He's a lawyer they are trained to overcome obstacles and find ways to solve a complex problem.
A good lawyer respects language, the power of words and promises. Jobs like this can make people into amazing story tellers
Man that one senior that wants him to spend his whole life dedicated to just the job is the saddest human being I ever heard
These are the people that eventually will be replaced by bots. Such people will not disappear anywhere though. Hope that they do not land in an a rea that requires creativity. These people will be very succesful, determined and focused... to 'create' the blandest world you could ever live in.
@@metadata4255 haha it doesn’t sound like it, whatchu know bout authenticity? Ever studied some existentialism? That gets really deep into what it really means to be authentic
@@metadata4255 perhaps, and perhaps you’re too quick to make assumptions. If the point of existentialism can be summed up so precisely I’d love to hear you’re perspective real quick?
@@yomamma.ismydaddy216 existentialism: the study of the nature of existence, or of the nature of being. Authenticity may intersect with questions of being, but it isn't the focus of existential philosophy.
@@metadata4255 I never said it was the focus, but it is a primary theme. Lol it sounds more like you just googled it rather than actually read any books by existential philosophers
It's one of the most obnoxious parts of the legal profession in Australia that it is run largely by people who are not just determined to have no substantial life outside of practise but who seem almost offended by anyone who does. They speak so grandly and confidently of how they don't need more than the grind to anyone who doesn't leave the conversation fast enough, and yet the idea that there is an alternative to 12+ hour days is seen as a threat unless you're just as miserable as them; it's telling that if you are either successful or happy in a side hobby that takes a few hours a month they resent it far more than a hobby that sucks up every hour you have that you aren't enjoying. And yet, because they work more hours than anyone else and longer than anyone else, they end up in the senior and partnered positions in firms and become the de facto leadership of the profession - then have the audacity to wonder why the profession is stuffed to the gills with alcoholics who permanently burn out by 40 or have their first heart attack at 50.
oof, that sounds absolutely miserable
For someone named UnreasonableOpinions that seems like a pretty reasonable take
Imagine thinking that your goal in life is to regurgitate LexisNexis and Westlaw citations on command, like an android.
@@ph0nes Maybe it's opinions about unreasonable opinions.
Sounds like the legal profession in any western nation, sadly.
"every waking moment of your life should be dedicated to your legal career"
I'm exaggerating, probably not by much, but this is seriously one of the most depressing sentence I can think of to come out of someone's mouth to be directed at you.
oh you are not exagerating, this senior was out of his mind
Yeah, he was bullshitting heavily.
Most exec lawyers are like this
These are spineless thralls of profit. They cannot be considered human any more. No respect for someone who simply denies that one needs spare time to spend with their family, unwind and experience different things.
"Every day of your life should be dedicated to me and my firm, slave".
I'm a corporate bullshit speak translator, here you go.
My favourite game of the year. Clever, enthralling, thought-provoking and a genuinely moving experience which lingers long in the memory. Also, I will never stop squeezing a certain resident out of 5,000 denarius each and every loop. The jerk.
😂
That's the most satisfying thing in this game especially when you use his words against him. I love loopholes 😂
You can also pay him 3k to change his vote. I wish you can tell him that that money came from him 😆
So game was creates by a lawyer? It figures. I laughed so hard when I could exploit it for the first time.
A very inspiring doc and very well deserved, the Forgotten City is a stellar game with a fantastic story.
Nick is a legend
By Azura by Azura by Azura!
I'm looking forward to the future NoClip documentary on one of the most ambitious mod projects ever ;)
My heart absolutely jumped when I saw this. Had no idea you guys were working on a Forgotten City video. It was an absolute joy to playthrough so I cannot wait to see the journey that lead to it's creation!
"I knew just enough to know how little I knew."
This man knows what's up. I remember this mod back in the days and didn't know about this project I'll definitely be buying it to support him and his team.
I streamed this game from beginning to end in one sitting, it's a great success no doubt!
Stop slacking!
Gotta go see that right away!
A recommendation from the King of Nipples!
G'day king of sweden
Unexpected Robbaz
Their facial animation runs circles around Mass Effect Andromeda, and it was really nice from the Obsidian dev to help out, the Obsidian people seem to be really a nice bunch of people, I just come to this right after the documentary of Bethesda and knowingly they didn’t really help out on the making of Fallout New Vegas, its impressive.
It's still bad. The faces are still robotic. They don't move their eyebrows, don't move their eyes, etc. Nobody speaks so statically as all of these NPCs except in Detroit: Become Human, which is because they're supposed to be robots.
@@Chris-ey8zf ok bro, but realize that this is a very small team who did a great job.
@@flclhack A documentary was done over them doing a 'passable' job due to being a small team? What exactly is the great job that they did? The animations absolutely are not on par with today's standards. It just goes to show the lawyer might've been better at law than at game design.
@@Chris-ey8zf shut up, they said a high quality facial animation alone would cost $500k, you can´t expect a single guy to have that money around for his first project.
@@KaiSoDaM I don't expect that, but I do expect a documentary praising their "lifelike facial animations" to actually reflect reality, which is that they are absolutely not "lifelike facial animations." I suppose they wouldn't have a documentary topic though if they just focused on the fact that a small indie game was semi-popular with nothing else special about it. They had to make something up that was compelling, but calling it out as being untrue shouldn't cause people like yourself to get angry or make excuses.
Finally played this and it was one hell of a rewarding game.
As an Australian lawyer myself - I understand why you did it entirely. Those who dedicate every hour life to the profession are the worst at it.
American tax lawyer here, struggled with work-life balance first 3 years of practice. Seconded! If you don’t have a life outside of the work, you’re no good for anybody
This was my indie game of the year. I'd already played the Skyrim mod years ago but the game is completely different apart from the basic time loop premise so I'd encourage anyone who has played the mod to check it out anyways. For anyone else, go play it! Great to see the story and person behind it too, and a fellow Aussie too. Thanks NoClip for covering this and Modern Storyteller for a fantastic game.
I scrolled down here looking for exactly this info. I think I'll play the game before I watch any more of this vid.
Thanks
Amen, already played the mod but will probably pick it up in the future, thank you for the recommendation !
I loved the mod, didn't realise this is by the same person. Planning on checking it out given that anyway. :D
Legal drama time loop next? My favorite sequences were the socratic dialogues because they actually forced you to think about the option you were selecting. I'd love a game with that more in focus!
The conversation system looked so similar to The Outer Worlds that I was sure it was using some pre-built facial animation package. It's insanely impressive that a team this size figured out and built an entire modular character animation system from the ground up.
I found The Forgotten City by random chance, and it has turned into one of my favorite games of recent years. I absolutely loved it!
I was so happy to see this video. Getting to get to learn about the creation of the game, and the people behind it was really cool.
I bought the game after watching this and I was definitely not disappointed. Great story, intelligent concept, and a very entertaining gameplay. Even though you re-live the same day over and over, it didn't feel repetitive even once.
Definitely recommended!
I haven’t had a game truly grip me like this in years and to hear the story of its development is crazy inspiring. So much respect to this team and I can’t wait to see what they do next!
I never played Skyrim but hearing this started as a mod for it makes me want to start. The Forgotten City was an amazing game with a great story to it.... also, bless the autofollow mechanic.
Finally dug in to Skyrim in honor of the tenth anniversary a month ago. I get the hype now. It's so fun and dynamic! Makes me want to check out older Elder Scrolls games too.
@@nintendude794 If you can stand the jank, try Morrowind. It has a completely different feel, both in the environment and in how the world is presented to you. Skyrim is rather hand-holdy, Morrowind expects you to figure everything out on your own. It's a really interesting contrast. Oblivion is ok, but it's basically just an older Skyrim.
@@Arisilde I agree about Morrowind not holding your hand. The fact that you have to make your own levitation spell to get up wizards towers and such is such a nice touch.
Such a shame that magic isn't as fun (immersive) in the later Elder Scrolls games.
Professor, in a bar: "So then, I convinced him that carrots used to be purple!"
Heck yes.
Game Informer? What are you guys doing here? :)
Thanks Game Informer! I used to sell copies of you in a shop in Ireland!
"Every single waking moment should be dedicated to your career" doesn't sound like a career I'd want to be a part of
19:40 The comment about how hard facial animation is followed by a clip of a character's teeth clipping through her jaw was either a hilarious oversight or incredible editing X3
The very fact that this man went out and did what he wanted to without knowing how to is very inspirational.
Even the biggest studios screw up facial animations on huge games (e.g mass effect andromeda). Must have been terrifying to tackle
I remember watching this doc without knowing anything about the game a few months ago. I don't remember when, but the game was eventually bundled on some store and I bought it, but then forgot to play it. Today is part of a long weekend in Italy and I decided to finally play it... and I finished it in one sitting unlocking all the endings. Such an AMAZING game, what a breath of fresh air!
I got my parents to buy this for my birthday on PS5. Was so good! The intrigue and the fact it was Aussie developed just made it even better. Get the game if you want a great story! I never want to play Elder Scrolls but loved this game.
A good gay representation as well
@@TheAdventuresofRussell
Rome before the christians was super gay...
Why do i feel like we devolved?
@@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051 😆😆😆
@@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051 true, true. Keeping slaves was much better.
@@marceelino
At least in the time of the ancient empires we kept slaves of all colors, not just black, and the african empires enslaved people too.
Did not expect this but definitely wanted it. So great to see this idea from mod to full game. Thanks NC & Jake
bang up job jake! loved the mod, convinced now that i should play the "proper" version after watching this. why is it that i always feel like career changers have the coolest perspective on things and the best eye for detail lol
Im really really happy you guys are following mod development. Thank you and i would love to see many more
I have so much respect for this man. Daring to chase his dream and then building something like this. One of the best narratives I have seen in ages and extremely thought-provoking. Amazing
Fantastic job as always. Absolutely loved the forgotten city. One of my highlights of the year for sure
Beginnings of a dev studio. Awesome doc as usual. Love to see a well deserved come up of clearly talented and dedicated people.👍
I’m so glad the devs didn’t give up on this game. The Forgotten City captured my heart and is one of those few games I felt like I needed to finish in one sitting…was up until 5 am playing it just so I could get the proper ending.
Also, mad props to the guy for deciding HE should be the one working overtime on the game, not his staff. I look forward to seeing whatever else he comes out with!
What a great indie dev story. This had completely passed me by so thank you so much for highlighting it! Its now downloading via Game Pass!
Very inspiring story! You have created a fantastic game. Loved every minute of it
I went into this knowing NOTHING except it was set in Ancient Rome, not even the timeloop thing. Best narrative based game I've played in a long while.
I saw the game on Game Pass and I finished it a couple of days ago. Loved it. The time loop story is solid, well made and intriguing. I live in Italy and I was surprised how the Roman architecture and art was well made in the game. Thanks to this documentary, now I know how much work and passion there was behind this project. Thanks
Love it when Noclip has guest presenters (no slight against Jeremy or Danny!). Good job. I would have liked a minute or two with footage of how modding Skyrim actually looks, but now I'm motivated to go look that up myself :)
Excellent documentary as always no clip! And amazing job Nick, for taking a leap, creating something brilliant and telling the story so eloquently. Inspiring and eye opening in so many ways.
All the best!
I don't usually play Indie games, but The Forgotten City was easily one of the very best narrative driven experiences I have played in a long time. Such a rewarding experience, that I will remember for years to come. I can't wait to see what Nick and the team can accomplish next!
This is a wonderful piece by you guys and such an inspiring journey by Nick, really glad I stumbled across this video.
Great story. Awesome you guys decided to cover it!
That's an awesome story! Great job on the doc, and Good luck to Nick on his future endeavours!
This game is incredible! Glad you got to do a deep dive into it.
So happy to see you covering this game! It is honestly my Game of the Year, it is so refreshing to see games like this being made
I respect those who change careers to work on something important to them.
Given the state of job markets around the world, it's really courageous.
Great doco, really enjoyed this. It's awesome to see Nick and Modern Storyteller achieving so much success and quality. :D
Perfect timing for this video to upload, since I beat this game just 2 days after you uploaded it!!
So glad The Forgotten City will get more exposure on GamePass, and excited to see what they do next!!
This gave me so much happiness seeing how appreciated and loved this game is. I hope they go on to make many more games as it was my game of the year without a doubt! I'm so glad it is getting the recognition and love it deserves and seeing how happy it make this bloke is bloody awesome!
Insane! i admire your courage and hope everything plays out well for you!
This is amazing timing for me personally since i just completed this and got the canon ending. It is now one of my favourite interactive stories ever. Much love ~
Wonderful game and a wonderful story behind the game! I can't wait to see what they make next with all they've learned!
Oh, I played that mod, absolutely loved it and recommended it all those years ago. I saw this pop up on steam and wasn't sure of it given other things on my plate at the moment and didn't even link it to the mod, now I know it is a standalone redevelopment of the mod. I literally can't wait to have a chance to play.
I love this game. Thrilled to see this documentary.
My favourite game of 2021. Thank you for this fantastic experience!
Amazingly done documentary 👏
Superb skills and a well rounded plot serve up a detailed and immersive world in which to enthrall and captivate. Love it,more please.
This was one of my favourite games this year. Truly awesome experience.
Thank you for sharing your motivation! Congrats to your success!
Looking forward to watching this video, looks amazing.
Nick Pearce sounds like such an interesting person to chat with, what a joy this video was.
Can we just take a second to appreciate the amount of detail and lighting quality at 21:15. My god this looks good
Never heard about it, neither mod nor game. Saw this documentary, spend the better last of last night playing through the game. What a miracle of a game for a (mostly) 3 person production. This documentary is also making me hopeful for my own journey. thank you. this video really had an impact on me.
Amazing doc! Looking forward to playing this game during the holidays! :)
Omg I literally just finished this the other night. What a fascinating storyline
A wonderful story behind a wonderful game
Thanks for covering this!
Enjoyed this a lot. Never heard of this game and now I need to go and try it.
"In our world as it currently stands, work has to be miserable in order for it to be seen as work. The moment that becomes something that's personally enjoyable, then it's deemed a hobby and not as deserving of praise. Therefore, it crudely justifies you being paid less, or not being paid at all, as the enjoyment is seen as compensation enough"
--- paraphrasing Bullshit Jobs, by my fave Academic, David Graeber.
That lawyer who told him to "stop this game nonsense and only do lawyer stuff 24/7" didn't understand that development is a worthy profession that you should be paid for and praised for. They didn't see the value in it. Besides, that lawyer probably miserable anyway because job is mostly pointless, haha. If you love it, go for it, because life is too short to be slowly dying in a job that doesn't see your worth or let you pursue your passion. I'm glad he did, because he clearly has the talent and made it work. Power to you!
optimising productivity tends to make the work too mentally taxing or tedious.
fun is in-between.
modding with creation kit for 1700hrs starts taxing, fluctuates, and ends tedious.
This is so true...it's why most creatives I know get countless job offers to work for "the exposure". No one would ever think of making such an offer to a plumber, dentist, accountant, etc. but if it's a writer, performer, artist? Many people think they are doing you a favor to reap the benefits of your time, energy, talent and skill.
It's crazy isn't it. A "job" is just getting monetary compensation for providing something of value to others, whether you enjoy doing it or how much you enjoy doing it shouldn't even factor into the equation.
If people pay for your work then they're getting value out of it, if you enjoy doing it then all the better.
Oh, you love doing this? Why not do it for me fOr ThE eXpOSurE?
This was one of the best narratives I’ve ever experienced in a video game or otherwise
My favourite type of games are knowledge and mystery based, particularly those that sustain constant sense of wonder from start to finish. This was one of them. It's such a beautifully crafted experience.
I played the skyrim mod and after 10 minutes of playing it i knew that whoever created that mod deserved every respect coming his way. So today when i see it turned out well for him i feel kind of proud of him.
This is so awesome! Thank You!
Well now this is a pleasant surprise. This mod is probably the best story mod I've played in any game.
Thank you Noclip!
Great documentary! I had not heard of this game before and have just ordered it for PS5. Very excited to play it!
An amazing story, thanks for sharing!
"Every waking hour of your life should be dedicated to your legal career."
Holy geez that's, like, not okay. No free time? No family time? No hobbies? That's a pretty screwed up point of view. I'm glad he didn't listen to them.
All lawyers in all countries are like this. All of us are overworked to death, there is a reason why workers of the legal profession are far more likely to be depressed and alcoholic than others.
I quit and now I'm trying to be a prosecutor because of it. No amount of money means anything if I get a grand total of 3 hours per day to spend it.
@@huleyn135 Can you maybe explain why lawyers can't go back after they quit? I was confused by that.
@@Avioto Law firms see time off as a really bad red flag. You have to make up shit in your CV to fill any time spent unemployed inbetween positions.
You can go back, just not at a position anywhere close to what you left it at. And when you've poured years in already, all that goes to waste.
Funny enough, he spent every waking hour developing this game instead for 4 years.
Of course there's a huge difference between building a career VS your passion project but still. I hope he has a better work life balance after success of Forgotten City
Magnificent game by the way. Really had fun figuring the world out
@@huleyn135 That seems so strange and arbitrary. Thanks for explaining and best of luck with your career!
This was excellent, more indie game documentaries please!
A great example of how a passion project can lead to an entire new career. Helps that the game in question is also bloody marvellous and one of the best of the year!
awsome game, awsome dev and awsome story (the making of and the game). absolutely looking forward to future projects
Just listening to this guy's story makes me want to purchase the game to support his dream. Can't have been easy to take such a leap of faith in a world like that.
Bloody legend!
What an inspiring story, so happy this game has been so well received by the critics. And major props to him for putting it all on the line to go for his dream. I'm about to play this game for the first time, after work today. Looking forward to it!
This was/ is sincerely one of the best games I've played in so long, I actually can't remember the last time I experienced a story this good.
Dedication is always admirable!
Un documentaire passionnant, comme bien souvent avec Noclip. ;) Je pense que les gens ne réalisent pas le dévouement nécessaire pour aboutir à une telle création et cette chaine permet déjà d'en prendre davantage conscience. Respect total à Nick Pearce et son équipe pour leur volonté et leur détermination à rester fidèle à leurs principes créatifs, sans prendre les joueurs pour des gros jambonneaux. Je leur souhaite le meilleur pour la suite. 🤝
Thank you for another great doc
What a great surprise! I just got to my home and I saw the notification, I will watch and I can already predict, this game will be on my list to play.
Incredible documentary as always! To give up a safe occupation to chase your dreams... and what a dream to chase.
Seeing that this doc had come out, but not wanting any spoilers put this in my mind to go ahead & play the game and I'm glad I did. Great game!
Brilliant game, beautiful story. The power of a conscientous but open mind breaking free of the grey world of law. This is creativity giving rise to true passionate art.
I didn't know this game until you mentioned it on your channel, instantly subscribed.
I will certainly buy this game for one certain reason, we (the most) the game players love the originality in a game !
My congratz to the developer and i hope (certainly i'm not the only one) in the future to see another game made by you :)
Keep these coming 🙏🏾
I loved the mod back in the day, loved the game now, Nick is really a great storyteller.
Thank you for bringing this game to my attention. Definetely something I'll check out now.
Loved the game. It truly is brilliant that this guy dedicated his life into this work of art. These devs have been immortalized by their deeds that falls nothing short of the best and most creative exploration game i have ever played. Love u guys
Fascinating how Mr. Jake's learning to develop games lines up exactly with how the complexity of story and action systems escalates through the first hours of this game, and then the various parallel paths later on. It's like they were playing and narrativizing the game in their mind as they were building it for us to explore later. I feel like these are two type of games; where you can either see in final play that a game dev learned the tech and pushed boundaries as they built stuff out from the start of a narrative, or its a game dev going back late to put in a distinct, spectacular start to their game, or to put in layer on layer of complexity available from the start.
This is a really good vid of a really damn good game.
I stumbled across the mod a year or two ago and was absolutely blown away, so to play TFG as a game itself was thoroughly amazing and it will rest in my top faves forever.
The question I have for ModernStoryteller is "where to next"?
It's obviously too early to wonder when their next game will be, but I wonder if they will stick with game dev and where that will lead, because I'm really looking forward to whatever it may be.
Good Job with the Documentary guys. Keep it up! ^o^