1 00:00:27,766 --> 00:00:30,431 Where's the remote? Is the remote over there? 2 00:00:30,970 --> 00:00:33,016 7 months from now 3 00:00:35,910 --> 00:00:38,898 Super Meat Boy Xbox Release Day 4 00:00:47,766 --> 00:00:49,586 What the Hell? 5 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:51,661 Are you fucking kidding me? 6 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:54,800 Are you fucking kidding me? 7 00:00:54,970 --> 00:00:56,955 I've got plenty of information... 8 00:00:57,125 --> 00:00:59,035 It's not here. 9 00:00:59,300 --> 00:01:01,296 ...I know on our launch day... 10 00:01:02,145 --> 00:01:03,353 Where is it? 11 00:01:03,980 --> 00:01:05,718 ...Which is our biggest sales day... 12 00:01:05,886 --> 00:01:07,595 What the FUCK is that!?! 13 00:01:08,025 --> 00:01:08,733 ...that... 14 00:01:08,901 --> 00:01:11,700 ...we're not even featured anywhere... 15 00:01:12,458 --> 00:01:14,795 I know on our launch day, at this point 16 00:01:15,450 --> 00:01:18,446 We're going to do worse than all of them. 17 00:01:21,516 --> 00:01:26,105 Indie Game: The Movie 18 00:01:31,071 --> 00:01:32,548 Part of it... 19 00:01:32,716 --> 00:01:34,300 ...is about not trying to be... 20 00:01:34,468 --> 00:01:36,673 ...professional. 21 00:01:37,345 --> 00:01:39,540 A lot of people come in to indie games... 22 00:01:39,706 --> 00:01:41,640 ...trying to be like a big company. 23 00:01:41,806 --> 00:01:43,780 What those companies do... 24 00:01:43,948 --> 00:01:45,780 ...is create highly polished things... 25 00:01:45,946 --> 00:01:50,190 ...that serve as large of an audience as possible. 26 00:01:50,700 --> 00:01:53,193 The way that you do that is by... 27 00:01:53,361 --> 00:01:55,591 ...filing off all the bumps on something. 28 00:01:55,761 --> 00:01:56,948 If there's a sharp corner, 29 00:01:57,116 --> 00:01:58,783 you make sure it's not going to hurt anybody. 30 00:01:58,953 --> 00:02:00,106 If they bump into it or whatever. 31 00:02:00,275 --> 00:02:04,186 That creation of this highly glossy, commercial product 32 00:02:04,355 --> 00:02:06,331 Is the opposite of making something personal. 33 00:02:06,501 --> 00:02:08,710 I am determined to make video games... 34 00:02:08,878 --> 00:02:11,055 ...and I make video games because I can. 35 00:02:11,223 --> 00:02:12,951 I'm very, very good at programing. 36 00:02:13,173 --> 00:02:16,793 I can still make something that expresses myself. 37 00:02:16,961 --> 00:02:19,475 Like a movie or something that I wrote. 38 00:02:19,656 --> 00:02:21,848 I can make that as a video game. 39 00:02:22,048 --> 00:02:24,711 And I have the full ability to do that. 40 00:02:25,395 --> 00:02:26,791 Things that are personal... 41 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,353 ...have flaws. They have vulnerabilities. 42 00:02:29,521 --> 00:02:31,481 To me, games are the ultimate art form. 43 00:02:31,650 --> 00:02:33,443 It's just the ultimate medium. 44 00:02:33,611 --> 00:02:37,518 It's the sum total of every expressive medium of all time... 45 00:02:37,686 --> 00:02:38,770 ...made interactive. 46 00:02:38,938 --> 00:02:40,131 How is that not... 47 00:02:40,300 --> 00:02:41,398 It's AWESOME! 48 00:02:41,566 --> 00:02:42,298 I want to be part of it. 49 00:02:42,466 --> 00:02:45,605 I want to have a say in what becomes of video games. 50 00:02:45,773 --> 00:02:48,363 If you don't see a vulnerability in somebody... 51 00:02:48,531 --> 00:02:51,585 You're probably not relating with them on a very personal level. 52 00:02:51,753 --> 00:02:54,428 So it's the same with a game design. 53 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,341 My whole career has been me, trying to find new ways... 54 00:02:57,510 --> 00:02:59,188 ...to communicate with people. 55 00:02:59,356 --> 00:03:01,215 Because, I desperately want to communicate with people. 56 00:03:01,385 --> 00:03:03,306 But I don't want the messy interaction of having to... 57 00:03:03,683 --> 00:03:04,931 ...make friends and talk to people. 58 00:03:05,100 --> 00:03:06,540 Because I probably don't like them. 59 00:03:06,710 --> 00:03:08,936 When you make games. And you put stuff up online. 60 00:03:09,105 --> 00:03:11,271 And people like your stuff or don't like your stuff. 61 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:13,768 Either way, they're going to give you some kind of feedback. 62 00:03:13,998 --> 00:03:15,568 And you have this conversation. 63 00:03:15,736 --> 00:03:17,691 It's why a writer writes I guess. 64 00:03:17,860 --> 00:03:19,036 Because they can. 65 00:03:19,206 --> 00:03:21,156 It's the most effective way to express themselves. 66 00:03:21,325 --> 00:03:26,536 And a video game is the most effective way I can express myself. 67 00:03:26,936 --> 00:03:28,873 Making it was about... 68 00:03:29,043 --> 00:03:32,278 Let me take my deepest flaws and vulnerabilities... 69 00:03:32,446 --> 00:03:34,625 ...and put them in the game. 70 00:03:35,728 --> 00:03:39,398 And let's see what happens. 71 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:47,600 The generation indie game developers are coming from, 72 00:03:47,876 --> 00:03:49,893 and I'm part of this generation also, 73 00:03:50,061 --> 00:03:53,773 we're the first generation that grew up with video games. 74 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,533 But not as an active purchasing choice. 75 00:03:57,923 --> 00:04:00,060 Since I was part of that generation... 76 00:04:00,228 --> 00:04:01,865 I feel an ownership of it. 77 00:04:02,035 --> 00:04:03,533 Games are mine. 78 00:04:03,703 --> 00:04:08,161 For anyone that grew up after 1975; 1980 or so... 79 00:04:08,333 --> 00:04:10,850 ...we were the first generation to grow up with our parents 80 00:04:11,026 --> 00:04:12,873 ...giving us games. And for us to grow up with games... 81 00:04:13,210 --> 00:04:15,991 ...as a natural, and relevant part of our everyday existence. 82 00:04:16,161 --> 00:04:17,880 This is not a weird kid activity for me. 83 00:04:18,048 --> 00:04:21,175 This is not like some strange nerdy pastime. 84 00:04:21,343 --> 00:04:23,278 This has been a part of my life. 85 00:04:23,448 --> 00:04:24,345 There's been a tendency... 86 00:04:24,513 --> 00:04:26,723 ...over the past couple decades in mainstream games... 87 00:04:26,891 --> 00:04:29,471 ...to make everything bigger and more realistic. 88 00:04:30,186 --> 00:04:32,848 To 'Amp Up' everything. 89 00:04:33,648 --> 00:04:35,253 [GUS] Big games have other goals. 90 00:04:35,421 --> 00:04:36,440 They want to entertain you. 91 00:04:36,608 --> 00:04:40,816 They want to get 10 million people playing at the same time. 92 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:42,901 But with Indie Games, it's often 1 person 93 00:04:43,055 --> 00:04:44,908 Who says: I want a game to be like this. 94 00:04:45,203 --> 00:04:48,828 I want a game to be about this special thing. 95 00:04:49,068 --> 00:04:52,398 Independent games are any game that a small team... 96 00:04:52,566 --> 00:04:55,708 ...or individual worked on to their own vision. 97 00:04:55,878 --> 00:04:58,808 Something that they felt like making, coding and finishing. 98 00:04:59,441 --> 00:05:01,633 The major thing that made this possible... 99 00:05:01,801 --> 00:05:04,308 ...is the rise of digital distribution. 100 00:05:04,536 --> 00:05:08,263 Retailers used to have a lot of power... 101 00:05:08,431 --> 00:05:10,543 ...over every game creation company. 102 00:05:10,711 --> 00:05:14,228 Because that was the only way to sell games. 103 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,063 Nobody was willing to start distributing games digitally. 104 00:05:18,231 --> 00:05:20,358 Because WalMart would get upset at them. 105 00:05:20,530 --> 00:05:23,151 And take their products off the shelf. And nothing would happen. 106 00:05:23,326 --> 00:05:25,905 But Valve changed that, when they came out with Steam. 107 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,636 They had no loyalties to retail. So they just did it. 108 00:05:29,641 --> 00:05:32,955 After that everyone else said: 'Well, we have to compete with them' 109 00:05:33,250 --> 00:05:36,626 And there was this whole flood of: XBox Live Arcade... 110 00:05:36,795 --> 00:05:38,178 ...Playstation network... 111 00:05:38,348 --> 00:05:40,873 ...and WiiWare followed suit. 112 00:05:42,425 --> 00:05:46,543 2008 was the first year that indie games started to do really well. 113 00:05:46,711 --> 00:05:48,888 Audiosurf came out on Steam. 114 00:05:49,473 --> 00:05:50,835 Then Castle Crashers... 115 00:05:51,008 --> 00:05:52,931 ...and Braid and World of Goo. 116 00:05:53,101 --> 00:05:55,098 Osmos did really well in 2009, 2010. 117 00:05:55,961 --> 00:06:00,731 Then Limbo came out and broke records. 118 00:06:00,901 --> 00:06:03,010 And Minecraft came out as well- 119 00:06:03,178 --> 00:06:06,261 Actually, it came out much earlier, but then it really built up... 120 00:06:06,430 --> 00:06:08,073 ...and blew those records away. 121 00:06:08,243 --> 00:06:09,448 And when we're talking about 'really well' ... 122 00:06:09,618 --> 00:06:13,120 ...we're talking about millions of dollars in revenue. 123 00:06:13,443 --> 00:06:16,833 So for teams of 200, millions of dollars... 124 00:06:17,005 --> 00:06:19,510 ...doesn't really count for much. 125 00:06:19,678 --> 00:06:21,755 But for a team of 2, 3 people... 126 00:06:21,926 --> 00:06:24,168 ... that's really significant money. 127 00:06:30,463 --> 00:06:32,220 Hey Everybody, Welcome to 'Elder Speak'... 128 00:06:32,388 --> 00:06:34,220 The official podcast of ElderGeek.com 129 00:06:34,388 --> 00:06:36,431 With me I've got Gavin from the news... 130 00:06:36,603 --> 00:06:39,341 And special guests: Edmund and Tommy from 'Team Meat' 131 00:06:39,510 --> 00:06:41,196 Who are making 'Super Meat Boy' 132 00:06:41,368 --> 00:06:43,318 So, with us today is Team Meat... 133 00:06:43,486 --> 00:06:43,961 Team Meat 134 00:06:44,131 --> 00:06:46,028 Everybody in the indie scene... 135 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,070 ...is raving about this... 136 00:06:48,241 --> 00:06:50,093 Meat Boy's Coming! Meat Boy's Coming! 137 00:06:50,261 --> 00:06:51,575 It was all over the place. 138 00:06:51,746 --> 00:06:53,703 This is our biggest interview ever! 139 00:06:53,873 --> 00:06:55,371 ? If you've been living under a rock... 140 00:06:55,541 --> 00:06:57,248 ...most anticipated releases this Fall... 141 00:06:57,418 --> 00:07:01,001 ...it is looking AMAZING! I can not wait to see it done... 142 00:07:01,715 --> 00:07:04,713 We both approached Super Meat Boy... 143 00:07:04,883 --> 00:07:08,106 ...where our goal was to make a game... 144 00:07:08,275 --> 00:07:12,001 ...that our 13 yr. old selves would be super fan boys of. 145 00:07:12,171 --> 00:07:16,171 Super Meat Boy has been in development for 11 months. 146 00:07:16,343 --> 00:07:18,230 I know that 13 yr. old Edmund... 147 00:07:18,396 --> 00:07:20,841 ...would hear about Meat Boy right now. 148 00:07:21,011 --> 00:07:22,606 He'd be following us on Twitter. 149 00:07:22,776 --> 00:07:23,966 He'd be that annoying kid that was like... 150 00:07:24,135 --> 00:07:26,978 Hey, send me a build! My name is 'Super Meat Boy Fan Boy' 151 00:07:27,150 --> 00:07:30,323 I've registered it; I haven't even played the game yet. 152 00:07:30,493 --> 00:07:32,730 Get me a demo!?! Co'mon!!! 153 00:07:32,900 --> 00:07:36,578 I'd totally be that. Because this game is very... me. 154 00:07:36,748 --> 00:07:39,915 And Tommy would say the same. 155 00:07:40,085 --> 00:07:43,373 I want it to be one of those games that kids would... 156 00:07:43,545 --> 00:07:46,000 ...go crazy for on the school yard... 157 00:07:46,235 --> 00:07:50,441 ...and passionately argue that 'this game is better than this game' 158 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,735 This is my room...where I grew up. 159 00:08:07,135 --> 00:08:09,465 As a child 160 00:08:12,503 --> 00:08:15,868 Yeah, forever this has been my room. 161 00:08:16,038 --> 00:08:18,243 I have a bunch of posters from 'Nintendo Power' 162 00:08:18,413 --> 00:08:20,540 Way back in the day. 163 00:08:21,413 --> 00:08:24,085 Yeah, this room IS my childhood. 164 00:08:24,256 --> 00:08:26,838 And that's basically what Super Meat Boy is. 165 00:08:27,008 --> 00:08:29,715 It's my and Edmund's childhood, put into game form... 166 00:08:29,883 --> 00:08:34,320 By ... seemingly ... adult males. 167 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,976 Super Meat Boy is an upcoming PC and console game... 168 00:08:40,146 --> 00:08:42,453 ... based on a Flash game. 169 00:08:42,623 --> 00:08:47,316 This incredibly hard Flash game that was super super popular. 170 00:08:47,611 --> 00:08:51,780 It's a game that looks like it's going to be traditional in a way. 171 00:08:51,950 --> 00:08:54,423 It's a 'Platformer' This very well know thing. 172 00:08:54,591 --> 00:08:57,196 But it's got a real distinct art style 173 00:08:57,366 --> 00:08:59,866 And a very quirky point of view. 174 00:09:00,176 --> 00:09:04,611 Super Meat Boy is a retro Platformer. 175 00:09:04,781 --> 00:09:07,610 Where you play as a boy with no skin. 176 00:09:07,783 --> 00:09:09,866 Who's just Meat, basically. 177 00:09:10,068 --> 00:09:13,550 He's trying to rescue his girlfriend, who is made of bandages... 178 00:09:13,746 --> 00:09:17,410 From an evil doctor, that's a fetus in a jar... 179 00:09:17,581 --> 00:09:20,760 ... wearing a top hat and a monocle. Dressed in a tuxedo. 180 00:09:22,253 --> 00:09:27,400 During my early years. Going through school and everything... 181 00:09:27,610 --> 00:09:31,193 It was all 'Mega Man', 'Mario' and 'Metroid' 182 00:09:31,613 --> 00:09:34,276 Older, very very difficult games. 183 00:09:34,446 --> 00:09:36,061 Every game on this wall... 184 00:09:36,231 --> 00:09:38,071 ... 'F Zero' was hard ... 185 00:09:38,290 --> 00:09:42,521 ... 'Mega Man' was very difficult. 'Spy Hunter' was stupidly difficult. 186 00:09:42,691 --> 00:09:46,751 In Super Meat Boy, we get to do whatever we want. 187 00:09:47,036 --> 00:09:49,166 We don't have a publisher. Or investors. 188 00:09:49,338 --> 00:09:51,400 We don't answer to anybody. 189 00:09:51,571 --> 00:09:54,693 A lot of that is shown in the game. We get away with a lot of stuff. 190 00:09:54,863 --> 00:09:58,011 We can have Dr. Fetus give the middle finger. 191 00:09:58,180 --> 00:10:01,641 Because he only has 3 fingers. So it's not technically his middle finger. 192 00:10:01,811 --> 00:10:05,018 We can put in any sort of humor or parody that we want. 193 00:10:05,188 --> 00:10:09,751 We have parodies of 'Street Fighter' and 'Castlevania'... 194 00:10:09,921 --> 00:10:13,923 ... 'Mega Man' intros ... 'Bubble Bobble' 195 00:10:14,091 --> 00:10:17,181 'Super Meat Boy' will release on Xbox in 7 months. 196 00:10:17,351 --> 00:10:21,118 People want to know: Is this game going to be substantial? 197 00:10:21,288 --> 00:10:24,235 Or is it just all the quirk and character? 198 00:10:24,405 --> 00:10:27,695 A lot of people think it's going to be ... 199 00:10:27,865 --> 00:10:31,706 ... along the lines of Castle Crashers 200 00:10:32,048 --> 00:10:35,526 In 2008, 'Castle Crashers' and 'Braid' were the 2 games that... 201 00:10:35,696 --> 00:10:39,470 ... really made people look at go: 'Oh, I can download games on my Xbox.' 202 00:10:39,638 --> 00:10:44,940 People are expecting this game to be the next big thing on 'XBLA'. 203 00:10:45,270 --> 00:10:49,600 As long as it comes out and does something ... 204 00:10:49,770 --> 00:10:53,631 Even if it made me $ 20,000 over the next 2 years or something... 205 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:55,973 That would be enough to make the next game. 206 00:10:56,143 --> 00:10:58,136 Based on what I'm living off right now. 207 00:10:58,305 --> 00:11:01,491 And I'd have to do that, because... 208 00:11:01,661 --> 00:11:05,830 I'm not going to go work at 'EA' or 'Epic'. 209 00:11:06,793 --> 00:11:09,433 That sounds horrible. That sounds like Hell to me. 210 00:11:09,603 --> 00:11:12,480 So, if it comes out and people don't like it. 211 00:11:12,650 --> 00:11:14,296 And people hate it. 212 00:11:14,465 --> 00:11:16,973 And it has a Metacritic score of, like, 20. 213 00:11:17,143 --> 00:11:20,526 And everyone thinks its awful... 214 00:11:21,683 --> 00:11:23,678 It doesn't make a difference because ... 215 00:11:23,846 --> 00:11:27,101 Even though it's a game that people are supposed to buy ... 216 00:11:27,271 --> 00:11:30,688 ... it's not a game that I made 'for people'. 217 00:11:30,858 --> 00:11:32,428 I made it for myself. 218 00:11:32,596 --> 00:11:35,400 Ed and I made it as a reflection of ourselves. 219 00:11:35,435 --> 00:11:40,310 And we tried to make it as fun and as accessible as possible. 220 00:11:41,491 --> 00:11:45,203 Whatever. If people want 'Modern Warfare' or 'Halo Reach'... 221 00:11:45,371 --> 00:11:48,163 ...that's fine because I think those games are shit. 222 00:11:48,333 --> 00:11:51,175 If that's what people want. Then they don't want my games. 223 00:11:51,346 --> 00:11:54,025 Because I don't make shit games. 224 00:11:58,845 --> 00:12:01,175 If you follow Indie Games... 225 00:12:01,345 --> 00:12:02,886 ... even remotely ... 226 00:12:03,055 --> 00:12:07,300 'FEZ' is one of the projects that you've been hearing about for a while. 227 00:12:07,468 --> 00:12:09,673 It's been several years in development 228 00:12:09,843 --> 00:12:13,021 FEZ has been in development for the past 3 years. 229 00:12:13,190 --> 00:12:16,651 FEZ will be memorable for it's release .... 230 00:12:16,821 --> 00:12:19,653 ... or for never coming out. 231 00:12:19,825 --> 00:12:22,490 And the winner is... 232 00:12:24,368 --> 00:12:25,700 FEZ! 233 00:12:25,868 --> 00:12:28,830 So FEZ wins an award at the IGF... 234 00:12:29,001 --> 00:12:33,543 It was hardly finished. It won on the back of small tech demo. 235 00:12:33,838 --> 00:12:36,938 In the clear blue sky ... 236 00:12:37,106 --> 00:12:38,961 ... an awards ceremony ... 237 00:12:39,130 --> 00:12:44,301 Within a week, I saw it on EVERY major gaming website. 238 00:12:44,470 --> 00:12:47,715 My name is Phil. I'm an independent game developer. 239 00:12:47,883 --> 00:12:51,351 It's mostly about this little 2D guy. Who lives in a 2D world. 240 00:12:51,521 --> 00:12:53,855 And then one day realizes that the world is 3D. 241 00:12:54,023 --> 00:12:57,323 All of a sudden, Phil, who is making this game on his own... 242 00:12:57,493 --> 00:13:00,016 ... with a grant from the Canadian government. 243 00:13:00,186 --> 00:13:02,736 Is some Indie Gaming Rock-star. 244 00:13:02,906 --> 00:13:04,860 This is fucking awesome. 245 00:13:06,976 --> 00:13:09,978 Phil is trying to walk around in a Cubist painting. 246 00:13:10,148 --> 00:13:12,415 That's what FEZ is ... 247 00:13:12,588 --> 00:13:15,093 ... you're walking around a cubist painting. 248 00:13:15,261 --> 00:13:18,065 2D characters in a 3D rotating world. 249 00:13:18,170 --> 00:13:21,913 At any point, you're only seeing one side of the world. 250 00:13:24,220 --> 00:13:28,550 And everybody is clamoring. They want to see the game. 251 00:13:28,718 --> 00:13:31,703 "When do we get the game..." "When can we play the game..." 252 00:13:31,871 --> 00:13:35,735 There's been so much speculation about When? Where? ... How? 253 00:13:35,905 --> 00:13:38,011 If EVER this game is going to come out 254 00:13:40,278 --> 00:13:44,113 FINISH THE GOD DAMN GAME! 255 00:13:45,098 --> 00:13:46,615 I'm working on it. 256 00:13:46,783 --> 00:13:48,623 As hard as I can. All the time. 257 00:13:48,791 --> 00:13:52,193 "What's taking so long" "What the fuck are you doing Phil?" 258 00:13:54,218 --> 00:13:55,946 I'm doing the best I can here! 259 00:13:56,115 --> 00:13:59,483 I don't hear people bitch about Valve taking- 260 00:13:59,653 --> 00:14:02,170 Well, no, they do bitch about Valve and Episode 3. 261 00:14:02,343 --> 00:14:03,768 BUT NOT AS MUCH AS FEZ!! 262 00:14:03,936 --> 00:14:06,481 And there's hundreds of people working there! 263 00:14:06,828 --> 00:14:08,251 ICO took five years... 264 00:14:08,423 --> 00:14:11,276 Red Dead Redemption: A thousand people. Five years. 265 00:14:11,445 --> 00:14:13,248 GTA4: A thousand people. Five years. 266 00:14:13,418 --> 00:14:15,603 Nobody bitches about that- A THOUSAND PEOPLE!! 267 00:14:15,771 --> 00:14:17,063 There's two of us here 268 00:14:17,235 --> 00:14:19,201 "It's taking too long" 269 00:14:19,505 --> 00:14:20,401 FUCK OFF! 270 00:14:20,571 --> 00:14:22,485 JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! Like... 271 00:14:22,698 --> 00:14:24,695 It really gets to me. 272 00:14:24,863 --> 00:14:27,978 I guess, that's the price you pay for being indie. 273 00:14:28,148 --> 00:14:33,705 And being the one guy that people know is making the game. 274 00:14:33,875 --> 00:14:37,720 You open yourself up to these kinds of personal attacks. 275 00:14:37,890 --> 00:14:40,690 That I wasn't ... uh ... 276 00:14:40,858 --> 00:14:45,175 That's not something I was expecting, when dreaming about being independent. 277 00:14:45,345 --> 00:14:48,970 Not this Army of Assholes online ... 278 00:14:49,140 --> 00:14:53,325 ... to, not ruin my life, but to make it that more ... 279 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:57,505 ...hard to enjoy. 280 00:15:04,538 --> 00:15:07,530 It's a complicated game also. 281 00:15:07,700 --> 00:15:10,938 It was ridiculously over ambitious. 282 00:15:11,106 --> 00:15:13,953 For my first indie game. 283 00:15:14,123 --> 00:15:16,580 It's a classic mistake. 284 00:15:16,755 --> 00:15:18,868 And we didn't realize we were making it. 285 00:15:19,036 --> 00:15:21,001 We thought it was going to take a year 286 00:15:21,171 --> 00:15:23,645 We thought it was going to be a simple game. 287 00:15:23,815 --> 00:15:27,053 And it became a completely different game many times. 288 00:15:27,471 --> 00:15:33,035 [Phil & Renaud converse in French] 289 00:15:39,771 --> 00:15:41,401 My name is Renaud. 290 00:15:41,570 --> 00:15:44,020 I've been programming FEZ since the beginning. 291 00:15:44,188 --> 00:15:46,695 Since three years ago. 292 00:15:46,863 --> 00:15:50,448 Day to day, it's just coding stuff. Adding features. Fixing bugs. 293 00:15:50,618 --> 00:15:51,771 That's what I do. 294 00:15:51,940 --> 00:15:54,361 There's a lot of personal pressure to ... 295 00:15:54,530 --> 00:15:56,780 ... finish what you've been working on for so long. 296 00:15:56,950 --> 00:16:00,125 And there's a lot of people expecting it to be really awesome. 297 00:16:00,296 --> 00:16:01,668 And much bigger than we've shown. 298 00:16:01,838 --> 00:16:04,420 Because, every time we show something. We say: 'oh that's nothing'. 299 00:16:04,590 --> 00:16:06,130 'that's just a small part' 300 00:16:06,300 --> 00:16:07,741 'you'll see how much better it gets' 301 00:16:07,911 --> 00:16:11,541 The personal pressure is bigger to me than the outside world pressure. 302 00:16:11,711 --> 00:16:14,763 I really need to get this done. 303 00:16:14,933 --> 00:16:18,393 It's a learning experience 304 00:16:18,563 --> 00:16:23,923 I've made games before. But I've never produced an entire game from A to Z. 305 00:16:24,093 --> 00:16:27,223 For commercial release On a real platform. 306 00:16:27,393 --> 00:16:30,905 With Microsoft. I've never done that before. 307 00:16:31,075 --> 00:16:33,248 It's terrifying. 308 00:16:33,418 --> 00:16:35,970 It's really really really scary. 309 00:16:36,140 --> 00:16:39,871 Especially when you lose funding. Or something like that ... 310 00:16:40,041 --> 00:16:43,215 There's just no safety net there. 311 00:16:43,385 --> 00:16:45,225 There's nothing to fall back on. 312 00:16:45,536 --> 00:16:49,203 There's always the threat of everything falling apart. 313 00:16:49,373 --> 00:16:51,880 Any day now. 314 00:16:52,396 --> 00:16:55,596 FEZ is now scheduled to release in 2011 315 00:16:55,766 --> 00:16:58,058 13 months left. 316 00:17:16,706 --> 00:17:20,121 It was very difficult to make the game 317 00:17:20,291 --> 00:17:23,291 But in some ways, it was less difficult... 318 00:17:23,461 --> 00:17:26,968 ... than what I had been doing until then. 319 00:17:27,506 --> 00:17:31,663 Having a lot of big ideas about what I wanted to do in games. 320 00:17:31,833 --> 00:17:35,708 And not finishing anything that had the impact I wanted to have. 321 00:17:35,878 --> 00:17:38,746 [Jonathan has been making games for 22 years] 322 00:17:38,916 --> 00:17:42,560 I think as one ages and establishes a pattern of that. 323 00:17:42,730 --> 00:17:45,396 It becomes a little bit demoralizing. 324 00:17:45,566 --> 00:17:47,690 You start to look at things and say: 325 00:17:47,858 --> 00:17:51,891 "Maybe I'm never going to do the things I thought I would." 326 00:17:52,063 --> 00:17:56,236 Then one day, I said: I'm going to actually finish something. 327 00:17:56,408 --> 00:17:58,410 And that became 'Braid'. 328 00:17:58,580 --> 00:18:00,870 It took three years, but I finished it 329 00:18:02,958 --> 00:18:06,208 One of the biggest breakout games would have to be Braid. 330 00:18:06,376 --> 00:18:08,670 Braid is an interesting game ... 331 00:18:08,841 --> 00:18:11,981 ... I was surprised it was as successful as it is. 332 00:18:12,150 --> 00:18:14,915 It was a big hit for the independent community. 333 00:18:15,085 --> 00:18:16,965 Generating a lot of money for Jonathan. 334 00:18:17,135 --> 00:18:20,758 It's a very odd setting and a lot of people aren't quite sure what it means 335 00:18:20,930 --> 00:18:23,901 Nobody had played a game that was like Braid. 336 00:18:24,070 --> 00:18:26,611 That did what Braid did with time before. 337 00:18:28,525 --> 00:18:32,068 Really what made Braid work was that 'Rewind' mechanic ... 338 00:18:32,238 --> 00:18:37,615 ... obviously, from a gameplay perspective was a lot of fun. 339 00:18:37,785 --> 00:18:41,301 But it also had a metaphorical relevance as well. 340 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,778 It's telling this strange, out of order love story 341 00:18:44,946 --> 00:18:46,958 ... not something you normally see in a game. 342 00:18:47,128 --> 00:18:48,608 It's about this little preppy boy. 343 00:18:48,776 --> 00:18:50,626 He always looks like a preppy to me. 344 00:18:50,796 --> 00:18:54,356 He's lost something and is working through memories ... 345 00:18:54,525 --> 00:18:57,188 ... that change as he keeps playing. 346 00:18:57,356 --> 00:19:01,091 The fictional world and the game world mechanic ... 347 00:19:01,260 --> 00:19:05,255 ... those two work hand-in-hand very very well. 348 00:19:05,730 --> 00:19:10,940 So Braid came out of the confluence of a couple of different ideas. 349 00:19:11,108 --> 00:19:15,348 I was on a mailing list with some friends. And one friend... 350 00:19:15,518 --> 00:19:18,990 ... was looking at 'Prince of Persia: Sands of Time' 351 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:23,370 And it had this ability to 'rewind'. 352 00:19:23,540 --> 00:19:27,456 But it was limited. You had a certain number of charges. 353 00:19:27,626 --> 00:19:32,378 When you ran out, if you got killed, you couldn't rewind anymore. 354 00:19:32,548 --> 00:19:37,055 You had to reload the game. Which was this painful process. 355 00:19:37,226 --> 00:19:40,901 So one of my friends said: Why not do it like a VCR? 356 00:19:41,073 --> 00:19:42,930 And rewind anytime you want. 357 00:19:43,098 --> 00:19:45,945 But nobody ever tried it. 358 00:19:46,113 --> 00:19:48,101 So I said: 'Okay, I'm feeling inspired.' 359 00:19:48,270 --> 00:19:51,141 'Let me start this idea for this game I've been kicking around.' 360 00:19:51,313 --> 00:19:53,383 And I spent about a week working on it 361 00:19:53,835 --> 00:19:56,653 And I had a prototype. 362 00:19:56,823 --> 00:20:00,886 That is really kind of amazing. In that... 363 00:20:01,056 --> 00:20:03,571 ... if you look at the prototype, and the final game ... 364 00:20:03,741 --> 00:20:07,246 ... a lot of the ideas from the final game and in that prototype. 365 00:20:07,418 --> 00:20:10,155 So I had the first three worlds. 366 00:20:10,326 --> 00:20:12,833 I mean not fully built out worlds. 367 00:20:13,003 --> 00:20:15,386 But the game mechanics were there. For rewinding ... 368 00:20:15,558 --> 00:20:18,396 And for rewinding with things that are immune to rewind. 369 00:20:18,571 --> 00:20:20,885 And for time and space being tied together. 370 00:20:21,055 --> 00:20:23,370 So that time changes as you move. 371 00:20:23,540 --> 00:20:25,598 I had a number of puzzles. 372 00:20:25,893 --> 00:20:31,536 Probably half of them are in the final game, in recognizable form. 373 00:20:33,135 --> 00:20:34,815 It was very low effort, on my part, 374 00:20:34,985 --> 00:20:36,693 to do something very interesting in the system. 375 00:20:36,861 --> 00:20:38,235 And I was like: 'Wow' 376 00:20:38,405 --> 00:20:40,821 It started as experimentation. 377 00:20:40,991 --> 00:20:44,325 but then it quickly became a process of discovery. 378 00:20:44,498 --> 00:20:46,703 It's like sitting on a gold mine. 379 00:20:46,873 --> 00:20:48,636 But you don't even have to dig. 380 00:20:48,805 --> 00:20:52,236 You just scoop some dirt and there's a little chunk of gold. 381 00:20:52,405 --> 00:20:55,333 Then you scoop a little more ... 382 00:20:55,501 --> 00:21:00,840 The hardest part of the process is picking up these heavy chunks of gold. 383 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,303 So that was an amazing design experience. 384 00:21:04,475 --> 00:21:10,993 [Braid is one of the top rated video games of all time.] 385 00:21:22,808 --> 00:21:28,786 Most of the time, Tommy's in North Carolina. Working remotely. 386 00:21:29,246 --> 00:21:32,650 And I'm here working from my computer. 387 00:21:32,820 --> 00:21:34,801 The way this game developed... 388 00:21:34,971 --> 00:21:38,710 ... has been very different from other games I've worked on. 389 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:41,183 [Edmund has designed 25 Flash games in the past 10 years.] 390 00:21:41,351 --> 00:21:43,718 [Super Meat Boy will be his first major release.] 391 00:21:43,890 --> 00:21:47,596 We bounce ideas off each other. Not just gameplay ideas. 392 00:21:47,765 --> 00:21:52,268 More like jokes. Jokes that get out of control ... 393 00:21:52,436 --> 00:21:54,765 ... and push their way into the game. 394 00:21:54,933 --> 00:21:57,106 It says: 'Code. Code. Code. Durrrrr!' 395 00:21:57,275 --> 00:21:59,650 My Adams's Apple is not that big! Stop it! 396 00:21:59,820 --> 00:22:02,361 What if I put a knife in it ... 397 00:22:02,530 --> 00:22:05,510 ... look at that. It's totally injected all the way in. 398 00:22:05,678 --> 00:22:08,713 See the needle? And then a hammer hits the needle in deeper. 399 00:22:09,518 --> 00:22:12,943 I've always been trying to find where boundaries are. 400 00:22:13,111 --> 00:22:16,863 And see how far I can push them before I get in trouble. 401 00:22:17,033 --> 00:22:20,005 That's what I'm doing now. 402 00:22:20,176 --> 00:22:22,840 If I'm not doing that, I'm bored. 403 00:22:23,010 --> 00:22:25,843 And if I'm bored. I'm not being creative. 404 00:22:26,011 --> 00:22:33,266 I make games that center around my life. The things I think, say and do. 405 00:22:33,435 --> 00:22:37,878 I make games to express myself. I guess. 406 00:22:39,850 --> 00:22:42,513 It's hard for me to talk about Santa Cruz. 407 00:22:42,681 --> 00:22:45,373 I never lived anywhere else. It's just 'normal'. 408 00:22:45,545 --> 00:22:46,906 I grew up here. 409 00:22:47,076 --> 00:22:48,916 My mom was obsessed with the beach. 410 00:22:49,086 --> 00:22:51,325 It was always her dream to live in Santa Cruz. 411 00:22:51,496 --> 00:22:53,435 So, that's where she ... 412 00:22:53,603 --> 00:22:55,455 ... forced us to live. 413 00:22:56,085 --> 00:22:59,180 It was like a skate and surf town. 414 00:22:59,348 --> 00:23:01,170 I never got into either. 415 00:23:01,340 --> 00:23:03,193 I stayed in the house, played video games and drew. 416 00:23:04,971 --> 00:23:07,508 Monsters. 417 00:23:07,678 --> 00:23:09,526 I only drew monsters. 418 00:23:09,695 --> 00:23:11,436 I drew weird shit. 419 00:23:11,605 --> 00:23:15,370 There's a drawing of a kid, with a demon inside of him. 420 00:23:15,540 --> 00:23:17,978 Scratching to get out. 421 00:23:18,148 --> 00:23:21,858 In third grade, my teacher recommended that I be evaluated. 422 00:23:22,028 --> 00:23:23,470 Psychologically evaluated. 423 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:25,878 She thought I was mentally disturbed. 424 00:23:26,048 --> 00:23:28,906 My mom said: 'No, he's just an artist. He like's to draw.' 425 00:23:29,075 --> 00:23:32,905 And she said: 'That's not art. That's a cry for help.' 426 00:23:38,873 --> 00:23:41,680 I basically grew up with my Grandma. 427 00:23:41,850 --> 00:23:44,630 I didn't get along with my Step Dad. 428 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:47,311 When there was a problem, I would stay with my Grandma. 429 00:23:47,481 --> 00:23:49,550 Or we would all stay with my Grandma. 430 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,710 My Grandma was extremely supportive. 431 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,600 To the point of annoying my mom and my sister. 432 00:23:57,550 --> 00:24:00,646 To her, I was the Golden Boy who could do anything. 433 00:24:00,816 --> 00:24:03,273 She made me feel like I could do anything. 434 00:24:03,441 --> 00:24:06,560 When she said: 'You're going to be a success' 435 00:24:06,728 --> 00:24:12,086 It wasn't like she was just saying it. It was like, a FACT. 436 00:24:12,255 --> 00:24:16,430 Like, that was going to happen. That was that. 437 00:24:17,938 --> 00:24:20,051 Aether was based on my niece. 438 00:24:20,221 --> 00:24:22,335 She reminded me of myself. 439 00:24:22,505 --> 00:24:25,045 She didn't like playing with other kids. 440 00:24:25,215 --> 00:24:28,388 She liked to do things by herself. And explore by herself. 441 00:24:28,556 --> 00:24:32,336 She was very imaginative. And she really liked monsters 442 00:24:32,506 --> 00:24:34,721 So, that brought me back to when I was little. And I thought... 443 00:24:34,890 --> 00:24:38,763 How cool would it be to make a game. 444 00:24:38,931 --> 00:24:43,315 That could put people inside my mind when I was 5, 6, 7? 445 00:24:43,485 --> 00:24:47,673 And that became 'Aether' 446 00:24:47,843 --> 00:24:50,818 So this kid gets on the back of a monster. 447 00:24:50,990 --> 00:24:52,990 And the monster goes around in space. 448 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,335 And he explores all these other planets. 449 00:24:55,505 --> 00:24:58,488 He can't connect to anybody on earth. So he goes to find friends. 450 00:24:58,658 --> 00:25:01,916 But all these other planets are inhabited by... 451 00:25:02,085 --> 00:25:06,085 ... weird or sad or nervous creatures. 452 00:25:06,255 --> 00:25:09,881 And he tries to solve their problems. And succeeds... 453 00:25:10,050 --> 00:25:11,926 But they don't become happy. 454 00:25:12,095 --> 00:25:15,218 And he keeps going around all these planets. 455 00:25:15,390 --> 00:25:18,755 But each time he solves a problem, the Earth gets smaller. 456 00:25:18,923 --> 00:25:22,131 When he comes back. It's so small that when he touches it... 457 00:25:22,303 --> 00:25:23,186 ...it breaks. 458 00:25:23,356 --> 00:25:25,106 And he's lost in space. 459 00:25:25,275 --> 00:25:27,600 It was about the idea of... 460 00:25:27,820 --> 00:25:32,268 It's really cool to be a creative kid. 461 00:25:32,436 --> 00:25:37,076 But there's dangers of isolating, and becoming obsessed with things. 462 00:25:37,245 --> 00:25:39,436 And having phobias. 463 00:25:39,605 --> 00:25:43,326 Each of those planets was a phobia of mine when I was little. 464 00:25:43,496 --> 00:25:47,295 And when I was little, before bed, I would obsess about these things. 465 00:25:47,465 --> 00:25:49,463 Because I thought I could fix them. 466 00:25:49,633 --> 00:25:52,591 But in the end, I would just make them worse. 467 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,595 They wouldn't be fixed. But I'd be so obsessed with them ... 468 00:25:55,763 --> 00:25:58,598 ... I'd have stomach aches and have to go home from school. 469 00:25:58,766 --> 00:26:02,476 A lot of the imagery, I'm still very happy with. 470 00:26:02,648 --> 00:26:08,226 To me it speaks perfectly of how I felt when I was little. 471 00:26:08,501 --> 00:26:13,306 When I play that game. It's exactly how I remember it feeling. 472 00:26:14,475 --> 00:26:18,236 Shortly after Aether, my Grandma passed away. 473 00:26:18,406 --> 00:26:21,746 And she had a box of my drawings that she saved. 474 00:26:21,915 --> 00:26:24,415 From when I was little. 475 00:26:24,583 --> 00:26:27,043 That's when I found this picture ... 476 00:26:27,213 --> 00:26:30,671 ... that I had drawn of me in space. Floating. 477 00:26:30,841 --> 00:26:32,215 And it says ... 478 00:26:32,383 --> 00:26:35,718 This is Edmund floating in space. And my friend too is space... 479 00:26:35,886 --> 00:26:37,158 Or something like that. 480 00:26:37,328 --> 00:26:41,556 'Space is my friend. And my friend too is me.' 481 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:45,603 It was validating to find that box. And see those things and be like ... 482 00:26:45,771 --> 00:26:47,480 Wow. 483 00:26:48,375 --> 00:26:51,405 This is just like the game. 484 00:26:54,323 --> 00:26:56,320 [Sounds of children playing] 485 00:27:10,641 --> 00:27:15,675 I have a very precise story of the exact moment it started. 486 00:27:16,426 --> 00:27:17,885 I was four. 487 00:27:18,053 --> 00:27:20,430 It was Christmas, 1988. 488 00:27:20,598 --> 00:27:23,433 And for Christmas I got a Nintendo with: 489 00:27:23,601 --> 00:27:25,571 'Mario', 'Zelda' and 'Tetris' 490 00:27:25,740 --> 00:27:28,941 Which is perfect. The 'Trifecta' of video games. 491 00:27:29,110 --> 00:27:34,526 To this day, you can't really get a better three games together. 492 00:27:34,730 --> 00:27:37,005 It was clear at that moment. 493 00:27:37,175 --> 00:27:39,631 That this is what I wanted to do with my life. 494 00:27:39,801 --> 00:27:42,410 I've known since I was four. 495 00:27:42,578 --> 00:27:45,785 There was never any doubt about it. I wanted to make games. 496 00:27:45,955 --> 00:27:47,831 What that entailed wasn't always clear. 497 00:27:48,001 --> 00:27:50,453 You're four and you want to make games... 498 00:27:50,623 --> 00:27:53,521 It just seems like: 'Oh, you come up with ideas' 499 00:27:53,691 --> 00:27:56,880 'And then you have a game. Awesome.' 500 00:27:58,928 --> 00:28:01,258 There she is. 501 00:28:01,830 --> 00:28:03,658 What a beauty. 502 00:28:04,070 --> 00:28:05,425 [Computer starts up] 503 00:28:05,593 --> 00:28:09,728 So this is the game me and my Dad made back in 1993. 504 00:28:10,106 --> 00:28:14,436 Based on art I would make in 'Kid Pix' 505 00:28:15,020 --> 00:28:20,781 He would take that, and turn it into these simple 'Find the Object' games. 506 00:28:20,950 --> 00:28:23,266 So I would come home from school ... 507 00:28:23,435 --> 00:28:25,696 ... and levels would be added to the game. 508 00:28:25,866 --> 00:28:29,381 Based on stuff I made in the days before. 509 00:28:29,675 --> 00:28:34,420 At first, they were really simple 'Where's Waldo' type things. 510 00:28:35,215 --> 00:28:37,881 Where's the letter 'V'? 511 00:28:38,241 --> 00:28:39,968 Oh, there it is. 512 00:28:41,876 --> 00:28:44,138 It's so completely abstract. 513 00:28:44,308 --> 00:28:47,593 Because it's all my art. And it made no sense. 514 00:28:47,883 --> 00:28:49,810 OH! 'Cyber Vision' 515 00:28:49,978 --> 00:28:51,658 This is the best one. 516 00:28:51,826 --> 00:28:53,335 This is a piece of software... 517 00:28:53,505 --> 00:28:54,936 "Software" 518 00:28:55,105 --> 00:28:58,276 That I made. It's the stupidest thing... 519 00:28:58,445 --> 00:29:02,981 It's just patterns that I designed. And I made it invert the colors. 520 00:29:03,153 --> 00:29:04,740 Really really quickly. 521 00:29:06,038 --> 00:29:10,373 You pick your pattern and the number of flashes. 522 00:29:10,541 --> 00:29:14,538 And then you're supposed stick your face in it... 523 00:29:14,708 --> 00:29:16,921 And stare at it. 524 00:29:17,091 --> 00:29:18,933 Like this... 525 00:29:19,906 --> 00:29:22,593 For a long time. 526 00:29:23,700 --> 00:29:26,271 And I swear to God, you start to see stuff. 527 00:29:27,241 --> 00:29:30,226 Oh my God. 528 00:29:30,521 --> 00:29:33,730 What was wrong with me?!? 529 00:29:34,441 --> 00:29:36,438 This is still awesome! 530 00:29:49,708 --> 00:29:51,703 [Sound of keyboard typing] 531 00:29:57,590 --> 00:30:01,256 So, the way that I approach design ... 532 00:30:01,428 --> 00:30:04,131 ... is really kind of experiential. 533 00:30:04,301 --> 00:30:06,053 I'm thinking about ... 534 00:30:06,221 --> 00:30:09,286 ... when the player comes on the screen. What's happening? 535 00:30:09,621 --> 00:30:13,536 Not quite in the same way as a movie. But sort of. 536 00:30:13,706 --> 00:30:18,065 You have to put your mind in the viewpoint of the player.... 537 00:30:18,235 --> 00:30:20,801 Thinking about what's going to happen. 538 00:30:20,971 --> 00:30:23,153 There's an excitement about ideas unfolding ... 539 00:30:23,323 --> 00:30:25,573 ... that I try to put into it. 540 00:30:25,743 --> 00:30:30,036 It's a stream of communication between designer and player. 541 00:30:30,206 --> 00:30:35,041 And the design of a level like this, is sort of a dialogue... 542 00:30:35,210 --> 00:30:38,080 ... or at least a monologue ... 543 00:30:38,250 --> 00:30:40,511 Where it's like: 'Hey! Check this out...' 544 00:30:40,683 --> 00:30:44,071 'Did you realize you we're going to have a problem with that ladder?' 545 00:30:44,241 --> 00:30:48,133 'Isn't it weird, but cool, that you could have such a problem...' 546 00:30:48,308 --> 00:30:51,305 '...just because this ladder was a bit to the left' 547 00:30:51,473 --> 00:30:55,186 'If it was over here or here, you wouldn't have that problem.' 548 00:30:56,275 --> 00:30:59,220 That is the interesting part, the important part. 549 00:30:59,388 --> 00:31:02,136 It's not important that it's a tricky puzzle ... 550 00:31:02,310 --> 00:31:04,851 ...that takes some thinking to solve. 551 00:31:05,125 --> 00:31:10,171 That's a little cool. But any puzzle game can give you that. 552 00:31:13,206 --> 00:31:19,210 But what a special game can give you is details. 553 00:31:19,631 --> 00:31:22,960 Interesting insights into particular situations. 554 00:31:23,130 --> 00:31:27,338 And I think when a game realizes that. Seizing that way of doing things. 555 00:31:27,508 --> 00:31:29,666 And runs with it. 556 00:31:29,836 --> 00:31:33,266 It can do some really special things. 557 00:31:46,325 --> 00:31:48,570 I'm very visual. 558 00:31:51,496 --> 00:31:55,208 As a person. I like pretty things. I like aesthetics. 559 00:31:55,798 --> 00:31:58,621 A big part of FEZ is the aesthetic. 560 00:31:59,981 --> 00:32:05,340 That kind of pleasant, blue sky, green grass, fresh air - 561 00:32:05,510 --> 00:32:10,511 obviously, there's no fresh air in the game. 562 00:32:11,601 --> 00:32:14,598 This is how art works in the game. 563 00:32:14,768 --> 00:32:20,730 I make these little strips for the four sides that you see in the game. 564 00:32:20,900 --> 00:32:23,940 And the top and bottom of every cube. 565 00:32:24,111 --> 00:32:29,006 And Renaud made a Photoshop script that crops them, and saves them... 566 00:32:29,176 --> 00:32:31,145 And feeds them to the game. 567 00:32:31,315 --> 00:32:34,860 And the game wraps these textures around a cube. 568 00:32:35,030 --> 00:32:38,063 And projects the art on each side. 569 00:32:38,233 --> 00:32:41,208 You can see the different sides of the texture strip. 570 00:32:41,376 --> 00:32:45,255 I can then take the cube and carve in details. 571 00:32:45,425 --> 00:32:51,176 You can barely see it in the game. You only really feel it in the rotation. 572 00:32:53,496 --> 00:32:57,478 I use the 'Tetris' pattern a lot. 573 00:32:57,648 --> 00:33:02,060 It's kind of a pain. Because I have to go in there and paint it. 574 00:33:02,525 --> 00:33:06,735 And reorient the tiles by hand. 575 00:33:06,906 --> 00:33:10,238 So, here: I don't like this big straight line. 576 00:33:10,408 --> 00:33:12,115 It's kind of awkward. 577 00:33:12,285 --> 00:33:14,866 I'm going to make it a 'T' shape. 578 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:17,370 I spend a lot of time doing this. 579 00:33:17,538 --> 00:33:19,956 I build these elaborate structures. 580 00:33:20,126 --> 00:33:24,251 And eventually, I spend an afternoon going over everything. 581 00:33:24,418 --> 00:33:27,140 I guess I've been staring at it for too long. 582 00:33:27,313 --> 00:33:30,486 I obsess over the tiniest details. 583 00:33:35,423 --> 00:33:37,598 One thing that happened. 584 00:33:37,935 --> 00:33:42,728 I never did pixel art before FEZ. So I had to learn. 585 00:33:43,445 --> 00:33:46,398 You do that for three years. Then at the end... 586 00:33:46,568 --> 00:33:48,568 ... you're better than you used to be. 587 00:33:48,741 --> 00:33:50,986 And all the art you made three years ago... 588 00:33:51,156 --> 00:33:54,198 Isn't as good as what you're making now. 589 00:33:54,368 --> 00:33:58,755 And there's a divide. So I had to retouch a lot of old stuff 590 00:33:59,015 --> 00:34:01,080 I do everything three times. 591 00:34:01,250 --> 00:34:05,585 And it takes me three and a half years to make a video game. 592 00:34:28,415 --> 00:34:29,596 Level design. 593 00:34:30,946 --> 00:34:34,071 So, the basic formula of level design go.. 594 00:34:34,241 --> 00:34:37,658 When you start out, you want to teach the player how to play. 595 00:34:37,828 --> 00:34:41,101 Making sure they understand every mechanic of the game. 596 00:34:41,271 --> 00:34:45,196 So every level in the first chapter needs to force to player... 597 00:34:45,366 --> 00:34:50,046 ...to do something they will need further in the game. 598 00:34:50,215 --> 00:34:53,836 For example, on level three, there's just a gap. 599 00:34:54,623 --> 00:34:58,845 The only way to get over that gap is to hold 'run' and press 'jump' 600 00:34:59,306 --> 00:35:03,308 You can't get it any other way. You won't jump far enough. 601 00:35:04,076 --> 00:35:06,353 And that's makes sure the player understands... 602 00:35:06,523 --> 00:35:08,315 ... in order to get over big gaps. 603 00:35:08,485 --> 00:35:11,411 You need to hold 'run' and press 'Jump' 604 00:35:11,581 --> 00:35:14,200 It's simple. It sounds like a 'no-brainer'. 605 00:35:14,368 --> 00:35:17,990 Usually, games would just say: 'Hold run to jump far' 606 00:35:18,180 --> 00:35:21,510 Most people would just skip the text and forget. 607 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:24,246 Now, just in case somebody didn't play that level. 608 00:35:24,416 --> 00:35:25,898 A couple levels later... 609 00:35:26,068 --> 00:35:30,126 I reiterate and give another section requiring them to run and jump. 610 00:35:30,296 --> 00:35:32,755 To make sure they know. Because it's important. 611 00:35:32,930 --> 00:35:35,038 All these mechanics are very important 612 00:35:35,208 --> 00:35:38,573 Each early level is a level that pushes that... 613 00:35:38,743 --> 00:35:41,973 Like, there's a level where you need to continuously jump up one wall. 614 00:35:42,143 --> 00:35:44,040 Because there is no other wall to jump to. 615 00:35:44,208 --> 00:35:46,006 That's me teaching the player that: 616 00:35:46,041 --> 00:35:47,500 'You can do this'. 617 00:35:47,718 --> 00:35:50,668 Everybody in the world will see a problem and want to solve it. 618 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:53,483 If you see something that's just a wall. 619 00:35:53,655 --> 00:35:56,028 And you don't realize that you can keep jumping up. 620 00:35:56,198 --> 00:36:00,040 You're going to try it. And once you try it, you've taught yourself. 621 00:36:00,208 --> 00:36:02,160 Not only do you feel smart. 622 00:36:02,335 --> 00:36:04,411 But you now, for sure ... 623 00:36:04,581 --> 00:36:07,415 ... know how to do that for the rest of the game. 624 00:36:07,585 --> 00:36:10,876 So, you go through everything in the early 'introduction' levels. 625 00:36:11,045 --> 00:36:14,220 Once you've covered all the things you can do with Meat Boy... 626 00:36:14,388 --> 00:36:16,573 ...then you introduce new mechanics. 627 00:36:16,741 --> 00:36:18,485 With Meat Boy, it's not like Mario. 628 00:36:18,655 --> 00:36:21,545 Lots of Mario games introduce mechanics in forms of 'suits'.... 629 00:36:21,718 --> 00:36:23,830 ... that change Mario's properties. 630 00:36:24,001 --> 00:36:27,351 That's something I wanted to avoid. I wanted to make it really pure. 631 00:36:27,521 --> 00:36:31,146 Meat Boy never gets better or gets a 'Power Up' 632 00:36:31,318 --> 00:36:34,275 It's the levels that change . Changing the mechanics. 633 00:36:34,505 --> 00:36:36,935 So right away, you introduce 'Saws'. 634 00:36:37,106 --> 00:36:38,946 And they're saws that spin in place. 635 00:36:39,116 --> 00:36:41,626 And you have to avoid these saws. 636 00:36:41,798 --> 00:36:44,743 And then later, those same saws - 637 00:36:44,913 --> 00:36:46,435 You know that they kill you. 638 00:36:46,605 --> 00:36:49,928 Those same saws will start moving back and forth. 639 00:36:50,098 --> 00:36:52,940 So you got moving saws. 640 00:36:53,110 --> 00:36:55,671 Then later, you have saws on spinners 641 00:36:55,841 --> 00:36:57,715 That act like Windmills. 642 00:36:57,883 --> 00:36:59,725 And they go around in a circle. 643 00:36:59,893 --> 00:37:03,136 Now it's the same saw that you jumped over a million times before. 644 00:37:03,306 --> 00:37:05,098 But it's in a different way. 645 00:37:05,268 --> 00:37:09,018 Making it different and more enjoyable 646 00:37:09,438 --> 00:37:11,698 As a designer, you want to explore each mechanic... 647 00:37:11,866 --> 00:37:15,150 ...making sure it can be used at least 3 or 4 different ways. 648 00:37:15,333 --> 00:37:17,568 If it's only got one use... 649 00:37:17,738 --> 00:37:19,583 ...then it's pointless. 650 00:37:19,753 --> 00:37:22,031 Because you need to be able to 'juice it' 651 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:25,046 You have to figure out new ways to use it. 652 00:37:25,788 --> 00:37:30,206 [FEZ sound effects can be heard] 653 00:37:39,541 --> 00:37:42,926 The game has become a bit of a reflection of me over time. 654 00:37:43,096 --> 00:37:45,365 It certainly wasn't the intention at first. 655 00:37:45,533 --> 00:37:48,305 I started noticing a few things... 656 00:37:48,603 --> 00:37:51,723 That kind of reflect my experience of working on the game. 657 00:37:51,891 --> 00:37:54,396 It's a game about games. 658 00:37:54,566 --> 00:37:57,441 And the world is very much a computer world. 659 00:37:57,611 --> 00:38:01,111 It's a world within a computer. There's a lot of computer logic to it. 660 00:38:01,281 --> 00:38:04,781 Every now and then, the universe becomes unstable... 661 00:38:04,951 --> 00:38:08,828 ... and has to defragment itself and reboot. 662 00:38:08,998 --> 00:38:11,536 That's the goal of the game. 663 00:38:11,705 --> 00:38:15,293 In FEZ, you're putting these pieces of the universe back together. 664 00:38:15,463 --> 00:38:17,913 And try to make it stable again. 665 00:38:18,083 --> 00:38:19,115 I basically feel like ... 666 00:38:19,285 --> 00:38:22,213 ... the entire world is falling apart around me these days. 667 00:38:26,348 --> 00:38:30,683 Here's a recap of the last two years or so... 668 00:38:30,853 --> 00:38:34,028 So, we moved into our first office. We had our funding. 669 00:38:34,196 --> 00:38:36,966 That was great. Everything was coming along. 670 00:38:37,138 --> 00:38:40,776 Then my Dad was diagnosed with leukemia 671 00:38:40,946 --> 00:38:44,770 We were told he had a 50-50 chance of dying within weeks. 672 00:38:44,940 --> 00:38:49,035 He was a test subject for this new treatment. 673 00:38:49,370 --> 00:38:50,828 'Well, you're going to die anyways' 674 00:38:50,998 --> 00:38:53,456 'You might want to give this crazy treatment a shot. You might live' 675 00:38:53,626 --> 00:38:54,843 So he lived. 676 00:38:55,013 --> 00:38:58,711 Shortly after that, my parents divorced ... Which is never fun. 677 00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:02,376 I had to move my dad into a new apartment. 678 00:39:02,593 --> 00:39:04,493 Shortly after that, my girlfriend left me. 679 00:39:04,663 --> 00:39:05,926 About a year ago. 680 00:39:06,098 --> 00:39:10,575 Some time after that, there started being a lot of tension between me ... 681 00:39:10,745 --> 00:39:14,310 ... and the guy who owned the other half of the company. 682 00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:16,145 Eventually, he left. 683 00:39:16,315 --> 00:39:17,896 And that was a big blow. 684 00:39:18,066 --> 00:39:22,056 All of a sudden I had to take care of every aspect of the company. 685 00:39:22,225 --> 00:39:25,780 Almost immediately after that, we lost our funding. 686 00:39:25,950 --> 00:39:29,200 And now we're here. We don't have any money. 687 00:39:29,368 --> 00:39:32,928 I'm overworked and over-stressed. 688 00:39:33,098 --> 00:39:34,198 I'm on the line. 689 00:39:34,366 --> 00:39:37,898 Me. My name ... My career. 690 00:39:38,068 --> 00:39:40,003 If this fails. 691 00:39:40,175 --> 00:39:41,883 I'm done. 692 00:39:41,966 --> 00:39:44,731 I don't think I'll work in games again 693 00:39:44,901 --> 00:39:49,345 And it's not just a game. I'm so closely attached to it. 694 00:39:49,735 --> 00:39:53,731 It's me. It's my Ego, my perception of myself. 695 00:39:53,901 --> 00:39:57,228 Is at risk. This is my identity: FEZ. 696 00:39:57,398 --> 00:39:59,630 ... I'm guy making FEZ 697 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:01,795 That's about it. 698 00:40:01,965 --> 00:40:04,135 If that doesn't work out then... 699 00:40:05,978 --> 00:40:07,738 Interviewer: What would happen if you personally... 700 00:40:07,908 --> 00:40:10,071 [INTERVIEWER]: If you couldn't finish the game? 701 00:40:10,815 --> 00:40:13,145 I would kill myself. 702 00:40:13,568 --> 00:40:15,566 I would kill myself. 703 00:40:15,958 --> 00:40:18,625 That's my incentive to finish it. 704 00:40:18,795 --> 00:40:21,711 Because then I get to not kill myself. 705 00:40:58,436 --> 00:41:02,460 A typical day at this point in development... 706 00:41:02,630 --> 00:41:06,795 Usually, I wake up at 4:00 or 4:30 in the afternoon. 707 00:41:06,965 --> 00:41:08,883 Because I've gone to bed at... 708 00:41:09,051 --> 00:41:12,508 ... 9 or 10 a.m. the night / morning before. 709 00:41:12,678 --> 00:41:14,923 I check emails. 710 00:41:15,101 --> 00:41:17,766 There's usually something there from 'localization'. 711 00:41:17,936 --> 00:41:21,145 Or from Kevin, our Microsoft producer. 712 00:41:21,691 --> 00:41:26,651 Or any number of Microsoft people; asking for different things. 713 00:41:27,321 --> 00:41:32,635 I make my breakfast. Which consists of a microwaved sandwich. 714 00:41:32,805 --> 00:41:34,061 It's pretty good. 715 00:41:34,535 --> 00:41:37,245 I take insulin for that. 716 00:41:37,456 --> 00:41:40,290 And then, I just work on ... 717 00:41:41,041 --> 00:41:43,371 ...whatever's on the list. 718 00:41:43,540 --> 00:41:46,045 I have a couple of lists ... 719 00:41:46,925 --> 00:41:50,800 ...I retire a list once I spill food on it. 720 00:41:51,095 --> 00:41:54,053 These are actually surprisingly clean. 721 00:41:54,845 --> 00:41:58,075 This was a big one. This was 'code complete' 722 00:41:58,243 --> 00:42:01,603 But you can see the grease stains. Where you can see through it. 723 00:42:01,775 --> 00:42:03,386 That's when I retired that one. 724 00:42:04,275 --> 00:42:07,066 Me and Ed are handling a lot of stuff for two people. 725 00:42:07,571 --> 00:42:10,473 But we're right there at the end... 726 00:42:10,863 --> 00:42:13,858 ... so we just sort of do it. 727 00:42:14,026 --> 00:42:15,741 We're both very very tired 728 00:42:15,911 --> 00:42:16,951 But at the same time... 729 00:42:17,121 --> 00:42:18,745 We're tired. Not so much from work. 730 00:42:18,915 --> 00:42:23,625 But from not being able to sleep. Because of thinking about work. 731 00:42:28,118 --> 00:42:30,673 I'm like in a fucking concentration camp. 732 00:42:30,843 --> 00:42:33,843 Like, I'm not allowed out and I'm stuck. 733 00:42:34,430 --> 00:42:37,093 I have to work until it's done. 734 00:42:37,263 --> 00:42:38,758 And if it doesn't get done ... 735 00:42:38,928 --> 00:42:40,595 I'm fucked. 736 00:42:40,765 --> 00:42:41,558 No pressure. 737 00:42:41,726 --> 00:42:43,573 If you can't get the work done... 738 00:42:43,743 --> 00:42:47,815 ...then the past two years are basically worth nothing. 739 00:42:49,570 --> 00:42:51,550 No pressure. 740 00:42:52,075 --> 00:42:54,571 We got a call from Microsoft saying... 741 00:42:54,755 --> 00:42:57,366 We're going to do this thing called: 'The Game Feast' 742 00:42:57,535 --> 00:42:59,386 An Xbox promotion. 743 00:42:59,620 --> 00:43:01,896 They said: If you want to get in... 744 00:43:02,066 --> 00:43:04,591 ...you have to have the game done in a month. 745 00:43:04,761 --> 00:43:05,738 And we're like: 'whoa' 746 00:43:05,908 --> 00:43:08,961 Because we weren't anywhere close to being ready ... at all. 747 00:43:09,131 --> 00:43:10,796 They asked: 'Do you think it's possible?' 748 00:43:10,966 --> 00:43:13,341 And Tommy said: 'Well, we shoot for it.' 749 00:43:13,511 --> 00:43:16,025 'And if we miss it, we miss it.' 750 00:43:16,193 --> 00:43:19,388 And they said: 'If you miss it, we can't launch until February' 751 00:43:20,245 --> 00:43:22,266 Tommy doesn't have any money. 752 00:43:22,436 --> 00:43:24,280 I'm running out of money. It's just like: 753 00:43:24,450 --> 00:43:25,936 We HAVE to do this now. 754 00:43:26,106 --> 00:43:27,188 We HAVE to do this. 755 00:43:27,523 --> 00:43:29,520 There were at least five times... 756 00:43:29,690 --> 00:43:32,733 ...where I totally broke down. 757 00:43:32,905 --> 00:43:36,278 I just didn't want to do it anymore. 758 00:43:36,576 --> 00:43:38,198 I couldn't escape in any way. 759 00:43:38,366 --> 00:43:40,993 So I would just go into the bathtub... 760 00:43:41,163 --> 00:43:44,140 And I'd turn on the hot water shower. 761 00:43:44,373 --> 00:43:48,793 And I'd lay down on my back. and wait until the water went cold. 762 00:43:49,443 --> 00:43:50,808 That was all I had. 763 00:43:50,980 --> 00:43:53,941 That was all I had to try to relax myself. 764 00:43:54,111 --> 00:43:55,913 and not worry about anything. 765 00:43:56,083 --> 00:43:59,386 I was actually worried that either Tommy or I would die... 766 00:43:59,555 --> 00:44:02,015 ... in the process of making this. 767 00:44:02,185 --> 00:44:04,360 And Tommy talked about it too... 768 00:44:04,528 --> 00:44:08,125 As long as he could finish this game. He would be Okay with dying. 769 00:44:08,295 --> 00:44:10,315 Because at least he finished the game. 770 00:44:10,486 --> 00:44:12,150 It was fucking weird. 771 00:44:12,318 --> 00:44:14,026 You go crazy when you're like this. 772 00:44:14,195 --> 00:44:16,500 That's why I obviously grew this mustache. 773 00:44:16,825 --> 00:44:19,531 It is the 'Reclusive Cowboy'. 774 00:44:20,328 --> 00:44:23,953 I need everybody to know how crazy I feel... 775 00:44:24,831 --> 00:44:27,446 ... on the outside. 776 00:44:36,116 --> 00:44:42,491 Edmund and I talk all the time. About everything. We're best friends. 777 00:44:42,601 --> 00:44:45,141 But we were talking about if the game does well. 778 00:44:45,313 --> 00:44:47,833 He was reading some quotes on success. 779 00:44:48,003 --> 00:44:49,061 It was something like... 780 00:44:49,315 --> 00:44:54,483 The hardest part of success is finding people that will be happy for you. 781 00:44:55,238 --> 00:44:59,363 I know, for sure, I have three people that are going to be happy for me. 782 00:44:59,910 --> 00:45:04,076 Forever, my parents have been supportive of whatever I wanted to do. 783 00:45:04,246 --> 00:45:08,088 They've done, everything they could to make sure ... 784 00:45:08,258 --> 00:45:10,625 ... that I'm alright. 785 00:45:11,336 --> 00:45:16,088 They've seen some hard times, with the economy and stuff like that. 786 00:45:16,820 --> 00:45:20,051 After our last president messed everything up. 787 00:45:20,720 --> 00:45:23,050 They were four years from paying off this house. 788 00:45:23,268 --> 00:45:24,438 This house ... 789 00:45:24,608 --> 00:45:29,640 My Dad, and my Mom, built this house. 790 00:45:30,106 --> 00:45:32,770 It was completed right before I was born. 791 00:45:32,940 --> 00:45:36,525 And they were four years from paying it off and had to re-finance it. 792 00:45:36,693 --> 00:45:39,318 I'm hoping if a lot of people buy the game... 793 00:45:39,491 --> 00:45:42,665 ... I can slap a bow on the top of the roof. And say: 794 00:45:42,835 --> 00:45:44,381 'Here you go!' 795 00:45:44,550 --> 00:45:48,913 'This is what you get for being awesome parents my entire life.' 796 00:45:53,345 --> 00:45:56,336 So Meat Boy is a boy made of meat. 797 00:45:56,506 --> 00:45:59,620 But when designing him, it wasn't a thought of... 798 00:45:59,790 --> 00:46:02,631 ...he's made of steak or whatever else 799 00:46:02,801 --> 00:46:05,471 It was: 'Hey, he doesn't have skin' 800 00:46:05,641 --> 00:46:08,406 He's a boy without skin. That's why they call him Meat Boy. 801 00:46:08,851 --> 00:46:11,351 So he's exposed to the elements. 802 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:13,350 Maybe he's always in pain. 803 00:46:13,518 --> 00:46:14,855 But he just deals with it. 804 00:46:15,023 --> 00:46:16,865 But he has to be very careful with everything. 805 00:46:17,033 --> 00:46:18,931 Because anything can kill him. 806 00:46:19,101 --> 00:46:21,398 The smallest little thing - like salt 807 00:46:21,568 --> 00:46:23,803 Could totally destroy him. 808 00:46:25,311 --> 00:46:30,246 I wanted to have his girlfriend be more than a love interest. 809 00:46:31,185 --> 00:46:35,085 And I wanted to play with the idea that he needs her ... 810 00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:38,296 ... that she's what completes him. 811 00:46:38,465 --> 00:46:41,435 Not just emotionally, but physically as well. 812 00:46:41,605 --> 00:46:43,776 And that's why she's 'Bandage Girl'. 813 00:46:43,946 --> 00:46:47,555 She's kind of the outer shell over Meat Boy. 814 00:46:47,725 --> 00:46:49,056 That protects him. 815 00:46:49,225 --> 00:46:51,496 And that's why he needs her. 816 00:46:51,666 --> 00:46:53,643 He needs her back. 817 00:46:53,811 --> 00:46:56,271 Not only because he loves her, but because... 818 00:46:56,440 --> 00:46:58,608 That's what completes him. 819 00:46:59,435 --> 00:47:01,986 The Seumas McNally Grand Prize ... 820 00:47:02,155 --> 00:47:04,330 ... in the 'Open Category' 821 00:47:04,498 --> 00:47:07,366 Goes to Chronic Logic for 'Gish'! 822 00:47:11,271 --> 00:47:13,118 Thank you everybody. 823 00:47:13,291 --> 00:47:16,331 Okay, I'd like to take this opportunity to... 824 00:47:16,501 --> 00:47:19,751 ...propose to my girlfriend, Danielle. 825 00:47:31,616 --> 00:47:35,476 Okay, Okay, I have to do it. Co'mon guys, I have to actually say it. 826 00:47:35,733 --> 00:47:37,355 Danielle. 827 00:47:37,523 --> 00:47:41,066 Will you marry me? 828 00:47:45,445 --> 00:47:49,076 People probably don't know that he's an amazing husband. 829 00:47:49,246 --> 00:47:50,733 That's ... huge. 830 00:47:50,903 --> 00:47:53,496 He does all this stuff and he's still an amazing partner. 831 00:47:53,766 --> 00:47:57,430 The development process was long. A lot of work. 832 00:47:57,600 --> 00:48:02,546 It was hard to adapt our relationship. 833 00:48:02,966 --> 00:48:05,550 To go from spending 24/7 together ... 834 00:48:05,720 --> 00:48:07,091 ... eating meals together. 835 00:48:07,261 --> 00:48:10,638 Leaving the house, to not doing that at all. 836 00:48:11,043 --> 00:48:14,641 I heard a lot of this: 'I only see your back' 837 00:48:14,940 --> 00:48:18,020 It was like: 'I know we're in the same room ...' 838 00:48:18,188 --> 00:48:19,940 '... but I only see your back' 839 00:48:20,108 --> 00:48:23,066 We're never sitting and looking at each other. 840 00:48:23,321 --> 00:48:27,030 Many times, I had to ask her: 'Are you happy here?' 841 00:48:27,198 --> 00:48:29,198 'Is this worth it?' 842 00:48:29,368 --> 00:48:33,661 'Because I worry that this is just horribly boring for you' 843 00:48:33,830 --> 00:48:38,331 'And that this might be something you regret getting into as well.' 844 00:48:39,110 --> 00:48:41,376 This is the lady I like. 845 00:48:41,545 --> 00:48:44,463 Not th- This is a Cat. 846 00:48:44,675 --> 00:48:48,211 This website. I think I'm going to go with this breeder. 847 00:48:48,381 --> 00:48:51,888 I've wanted one of these since I was little. 848 00:48:52,058 --> 00:48:54,888 I asked for it. When the game's done. 849 00:48:55,058 --> 00:48:58,311 And we move to a house. If I could get a cat. 850 00:48:58,648 --> 00:48:59,871 And he said 'yes'. 851 00:49:00,041 --> 00:49:04,108 And this is my dream cat. It's like having a baby. 852 00:49:04,278 --> 00:49:05,860 Except better. 853 00:49:06,195 --> 00:49:09,280 We can't have another cat in this house. 854 00:49:09,448 --> 00:49:12,490 Oh, it'd be some warm. OOOH My God! 855 00:49:12,660 --> 00:49:13,993 That's the thing... 856 00:49:14,161 --> 00:49:16,003 Available, AVAILABLE 857 00:49:16,171 --> 00:49:17,275 ... Winter's coming. 858 00:49:17,443 --> 00:49:19,788 This one belongs to 'Jennifer and Robert'. 859 00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:22,140 They're probably way happier than us. 860 00:49:22,310 --> 00:49:23,545 Right at this moment. 861 00:49:23,715 --> 00:49:26,840 Because they have the cat. 862 00:49:28,413 --> 00:49:31,093 I ... sacrificed having a life. 863 00:49:31,478 --> 00:49:32,845 It's kind of weird. 864 00:49:33,015 --> 00:49:34,870 I don't ... 865 00:49:35,475 --> 00:49:36,850 I don't go out. 866 00:49:38,185 --> 00:49:39,833 I don't really socialize. 867 00:49:40,146 --> 00:49:43,398 I can't spend money. Because I don't have any money. 868 00:49:43,570 --> 00:49:45,855 So I can't go out... 869 00:49:46,193 --> 00:49:49,320 If I were to go on a date... 870 00:49:49,488 --> 00:49:51,698 I have no car to pick them up in. 871 00:49:51,866 --> 00:49:54,713 I have no way to buy meals or anything. 872 00:49:55,371 --> 00:49:58,763 I mean, I can buy my own meal, but.. 873 00:49:58,933 --> 00:50:03,743 ... the things you sacrifice are ... 874 00:50:04,011 --> 00:50:06,751 ... the things I've sacrificed are ... 875 00:50:07,300 --> 00:50:09,630 ... social. 876 00:50:10,928 --> 00:50:15,265 You kind of have to give up something. To have something great. 877 00:50:15,965 --> 00:50:19,183 I'm depressed now ... 878 00:50:19,353 --> 00:50:22,520 ... because I'm on the brink of something huge. 879 00:50:22,693 --> 00:50:25,710 It's a different kind of depression. It's not a 'stuck' depression. 880 00:50:25,878 --> 00:50:29,103 It's a 'Holy Shit' depression. It's an 'unknown' depression. 881 00:50:29,276 --> 00:50:31,743 Which is kind of weird. But, it'll fade. 882 00:50:31,911 --> 00:50:34,421 Because once it's out. It's out. And that's it. 883 00:50:36,078 --> 00:50:40,121 [Super Meat Boy will be released in 3 days.] 884 00:50:47,423 --> 00:50:51,246 I'm really curious to see what the basic reaction is. 885 00:50:51,413 --> 00:50:54,110 Because, the only people who have seen the game so far... 886 00:50:54,280 --> 00:50:56,810 Have been people close to me. 887 00:50:56,980 --> 00:50:59,125 [FEZ has been in development for 4 years] 888 00:50:59,295 --> 00:51:02,810 Feedback has been good. But I can't trust that feedback 889 00:51:02,980 --> 00:51:05,438 I don't know if my friends would tell me if FEZ sucked. 890 00:51:05,610 --> 00:51:08,190 Knowing that I've spent most of my adult life on it. 891 00:51:08,360 --> 00:51:11,026 Because, I don't even know what I think about it anymore. 892 00:51:11,195 --> 00:51:13,465 I really can't tell if it's good or not. 893 00:51:13,635 --> 00:51:16,725 Sometimes I manage to convince myself that it's good and I did a good job. 894 00:51:16,893 --> 00:51:20,445 But then I have a flash of lucidity. 895 00:51:20,615 --> 00:51:22,491 'But you can't trust yourself!' 896 00:51:22,756 --> 00:51:26,710 All you've been doing for 4 years is look at it. Like, this close. 897 00:51:27,150 --> 00:51:28,753 You can't see anything else. 898 00:51:28,923 --> 00:51:30,421 You don't even see the mistakes anymore. 899 00:51:30,616 --> 00:51:33,758 I'm looking forward to that kind of brutal honesty. 900 00:51:33,928 --> 00:51:36,768 That we're going to get from the average gamer. 901 00:51:37,180 --> 00:51:40,176 We're here for PAX: Penny Arcade Expo 902 00:51:40,346 --> 00:51:42,510 It's not for developers. It's for gamers. 903 00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:45,603 They're expecting like 65,000 people. 904 00:51:45,920 --> 00:51:50,650 We're going to be showing off FEZ for the first time since 2008. 905 00:51:50,818 --> 00:51:54,993 Which was the unveiling of the game. We haven't shown it since. 906 00:51:55,161 --> 00:51:56,548 In four years. 907 00:51:56,891 --> 00:51:58,888 So ... I'm a bit nervous. 908 00:51:59,446 --> 00:52:03,663 But this is kind of like the big blow out. The confirmation that: 909 00:52:03,831 --> 00:52:06,958 Yes. FEZ is real. It's exists. 910 00:52:07,126 --> 00:52:11,341 It's going to come out, and you'll be able to buy it and play it one day. 911 00:52:11,360 --> 00:52:13,543 Hopefully interest will build up again 912 00:52:13,713 --> 00:52:18,886 Because I feel that over the years, people have stopped caring. 913 00:52:19,401 --> 00:52:22,133 They may need to be reminded that we exist. 914 00:52:22,328 --> 00:52:24,636 And for the first time, I've feel like: 915 00:52:24,805 --> 00:52:27,548 This is FEZ. This is the game I wanted to make. 916 00:52:27,718 --> 00:52:30,301 There's a mood here, that I've achieved. 917 00:52:30,470 --> 00:52:32,041 It's not done yet. 918 00:52:32,210 --> 00:52:34,675 But it's really starting to feel like a game ... 919 00:52:34,843 --> 00:52:37,030 That has a beginning, middle and an end. 920 00:52:37,198 --> 00:52:42,035 It remains to be seen if the game's going to be good. 921 00:52:43,538 --> 00:52:45,580 But I'm pretty damn happy with it ... 922 00:52:45,750 --> 00:52:46,790 ... today. 923 00:52:47,615 --> 00:52:50,366 Interviewer: What's the worst case scenario for you? 924 00:52:50,561 --> 00:52:52,578 None of this happens. 925 00:52:53,048 --> 00:52:57,216 We don't get to show the game at PAX. Or do anything with it. 926 00:52:58,305 --> 00:53:00,883 For very complicated legal reasons. 927 00:53:01,513 --> 00:53:05,391 My former business partner with whom I started the company... 928 00:53:05,560 --> 00:53:08,060 Left the company. About six months ago. 929 00:53:08,236 --> 00:53:10,378 And we've been in a nasty divorce ever since. 930 00:53:10,650 --> 00:53:14,863 And if everything isn't settled. 931 00:53:15,153 --> 00:53:20,656 We can't do anything. We can't show it. We can't be at PAX. 932 00:53:21,178 --> 00:53:22,595 Just a final signature. 933 00:53:22,763 --> 00:53:26,618 This last signature, to close the deal 934 00:53:26,791 --> 00:53:28,790 So, at the moment... 935 00:53:28,960 --> 00:53:32,126 We drove all the way here. We printed banners. 936 00:53:32,296 --> 00:53:34,711 We designed a booth. I made a demo just for PAX. 937 00:53:34,880 --> 00:53:36,715 There's still a chance that ... 938 00:53:36,883 --> 00:53:38,966 ... I'm just going to stay in my hotel room. 939 00:53:39,135 --> 00:53:41,003 And not be able to do any of this. 940 00:53:43,246 --> 00:53:45,473 It's pretty stressful. 941 00:53:45,745 --> 00:53:47,741 It feels like waiting. 942 00:53:47,911 --> 00:53:50,185 Everything feels longer. 943 00:53:50,355 --> 00:53:52,270 It feels like I'm about to throw up. 944 00:53:52,566 --> 00:53:54,523 It's stage fright. 945 00:53:54,945 --> 00:53:56,941 I have a hard time sleeping. 946 00:53:57,110 --> 00:53:59,066 I can't think of anything else. 947 00:53:59,236 --> 00:54:02,323 It's constantly running through my head. 948 00:54:02,866 --> 00:54:07,203 And it's such a big deal. There are going to be so many people. 949 00:54:09,146 --> 00:54:12,878 I'm not in a head space right now... 950 00:54:13,378 --> 00:54:16,713 ...where I want to be exposing myself. And being a public figure. 951 00:54:16,881 --> 00:54:18,673 And talking to people. 952 00:54:18,883 --> 00:54:22,176 I'm so in my own little world. 953 00:54:22,346 --> 00:54:24,490 Just working on FEZ. Trying to finish it. 954 00:54:24,660 --> 00:54:25,701 I don't do anything else. 955 00:54:25,870 --> 00:54:27,863 Every other aspect of my life is suffering. 956 00:54:28,035 --> 00:54:30,513 Because I'm just trying to finish this fucking game. 957 00:54:32,710 --> 00:54:35,523 Because right now. It can go either way. 958 00:54:35,696 --> 00:54:38,360 It could be a nightmare ... I don't know. 959 00:54:39,800 --> 00:54:42,655 [Ha! Ahhh, Man!] 960 00:54:42,991 --> 00:54:44,641 [Hey, This is Souja Boy] 961 00:54:44,810 --> 00:54:47,743 [They got this game right? This shit called 'Braid'] 962 00:54:50,583 --> 00:54:51,440 [Watch this Shit!] 963 00:54:51,610 --> 00:54:52,896 [You're this little guy in a business suit 964 00:54:53,066 --> 00:54:55,706 [It look like Mario ... in the future] 965 00:54:55,875 --> 00:54:57,895 [And he's just walking around, jumping on shit] 966 00:54:58,065 --> 00:55:00,586 [But the funny part is: You can do this, watch this...] 967 00:55:03,845 --> 00:55:05,686 [Now, if you didn't catch that. I just went back in time.] 968 00:55:05,855 --> 00:55:09,878 On release day, you start seeing reactions of people on the Internet. 969 00:55:10,048 --> 00:55:12,435 And for me, it was a very addictive thing. 970 00:55:12,605 --> 00:55:18,400 Because I've spent several years working on this thing in isolation. 971 00:55:18,570 --> 00:55:22,521 And then suddenly it gets out. And a lot of people... 972 00:55:22,698 --> 00:55:26,361 ... like tens of thousands of people play it in the first few days. 973 00:55:26,530 --> 00:55:29,186 You see that all over the Internet. 974 00:55:29,356 --> 00:55:32,180 And, for me, that was a very negative experience. 975 00:55:33,485 --> 00:55:37,246 When Braid was coming out. People would talk about it online. 976 00:55:41,718 --> 00:55:45,708 And this was around the birth of serious video game blog commentary 977 00:55:45,876 --> 00:55:50,973 Lots of people writing really good stuff about games. 978 00:55:51,141 --> 00:55:56,821 Every time you mentioned his name. He would show up in your comments. 979 00:55:56,990 --> 00:55:58,440 Almost instantly. 980 00:55:58,608 --> 00:56:00,858 He must have something even better than 'Google Alerts' 981 00:56:01,028 --> 00:56:05,530 So he'd pop up and reply to things. Or correct people on things. 982 00:56:05,700 --> 00:56:10,666 And became sort of famous for it. Penny Arcade even cracked about it. 983 00:56:11,080 --> 00:56:13,580 John: I found that there was this... 984 00:56:13,751 --> 00:56:15,925 Perception of me on the Internet ... 985 00:56:16,093 --> 00:56:18,318 ...that was running away, very quickly from who I think I am 986 00:56:18,503 --> 00:56:21,656 And that was ... kind of ... disturbing. 987 00:56:21,825 --> 00:56:24,631 And there didn't seem to be much that I could do about that. 988 00:56:25,011 --> 00:56:27,885 So that was actually a pretty negative experience. 989 00:56:28,763 --> 00:56:35,101 I was actually seriously depressed for about 3-4 months after Braid came out 990 00:56:37,045 --> 00:56:41,375 When you work a long time on something really intricate like that. 991 00:56:41,543 --> 00:56:43,776 There's a hope that ... 992 00:56:43,946 --> 00:56:48,781 ... people are going to understand the things that you did. 993 00:56:48,960 --> 00:56:52,426 And that you'll have some line of communication with your audience. 994 00:56:52,670 --> 00:56:56,953 And actually, some of the most demoralizing things... 995 00:56:57,585 --> 00:57:00,248 Were actually positive reviews of the game. 996 00:57:00,545 --> 00:57:02,875 People would say 'Oh, this game's great!' 997 00:57:03,045 --> 00:57:04,033 '9 out of 10!' 998 00:57:04,201 --> 00:57:05,506 '10 out of 10!' 999 00:57:05,676 --> 00:57:07,673 And they'd say what's good about the game... 1000 00:57:07,841 --> 00:57:12,178 And in many cases it would be just a very surface understanding of the game 1001 00:57:12,391 --> 00:57:15,660 That didn't even see what I thought was most special about it. 1002 00:57:16,020 --> 00:57:17,768 Not that many people understood. 1003 00:57:17,938 --> 00:57:20,230 And that was heartbreaking. In a way. 1004 00:57:20,400 --> 00:57:24,608 I visualized I was going to have some kind of connection with people. 1005 00:57:24,776 --> 00:57:26,526 ... through this game. 1006 00:57:26,696 --> 00:57:30,176 And they think it's great, but the connection isn't there. 1007 00:57:30,348 --> 00:57:33,010 Because, they're kind of living in a different world still. 1008 00:57:33,218 --> 00:57:37,913 So they think it's great ... for some of the reasons I do, but... 1009 00:57:38,083 --> 00:57:40,038 ... but not for other ... 1010 00:57:40,206 --> 00:57:41,455 ... 1011 00:57:43,675 --> 00:57:45,505 [There's no point to the game!] 1012 00:57:45,675 --> 00:57:47,398 [You just walk around jumping on shit] 1013 00:57:47,568 --> 00:57:51,343 ... they're not seeing the most important thing. 1014 00:57:51,931 --> 00:57:55,168 [This shit's stupid as hell man...] 1015 00:58:08,281 --> 00:58:12,516 Today is Monday. And that's the 'Embargo' Date. 1016 00:58:12,686 --> 00:58:14,450 Do you know what an 'Embargo' is? 1017 00:58:14,620 --> 00:58:17,401 I didn't. And I got in trouble for not knowing. 1018 00:58:17,915 --> 00:58:22,833 An Embargo is: You set a date when press can review your game. 1019 00:58:26,173 --> 00:58:31,328 So, midnite rolls around. And I start refreshing 'Twitter mentions' 1020 00:58:31,498 --> 00:58:34,176 You can search who's talking about Super Meat Boy. 1021 00:58:34,346 --> 00:58:37,303 And reviews just start popping out. 1022 00:58:37,726 --> 00:58:40,703 So, I just start grabbing quotes and posting them. 1023 00:58:40,938 --> 00:58:43,935 So we got: 'A great experience 4 out of 5' 1024 00:58:44,103 --> 00:58:46,368 'Super Meat Boy revels in driving you crazy...' 1025 00:58:46,540 --> 00:58:48,568 '...but you end up crazy in love.' 1026 00:58:48,738 --> 00:58:49,568 '... 9 out of 10' 1027 00:58:49,740 --> 00:58:51,580 'Brutal and hilarious' '5 out of 5' 1028 00:58:51,750 --> 00:58:53,993 'I've never felt so challenged and rewarded... 1029 00:58:54,163 --> 00:58:56,281 ... in all my years playing with meat' 1030 00:58:56,450 --> 00:58:58,800 I don't know who that is. But I posted it. 1031 00:58:59,055 --> 00:59:02,706 All these reviews keep coming in. And the whole time, I'm thinking... 1032 00:59:02,895 --> 00:59:07,295 ...I'm waiting for the really bad one. Some one has to hate it. 1033 00:59:07,755 --> 00:59:09,421 'Super Meat Boy can stand confidently ... 1034 00:59:09,591 --> 00:59:11,273 ... next to Mario and the platforming elite. 1035 00:59:11,441 --> 00:59:14,830 'It's the best game on XBLA' 'This game is wonderful: 10 out of 10' 1036 00:59:15,058 --> 00:59:17,713 It's a love letter to everything great about video games. 1037 00:59:17,883 --> 00:59:19,925 'This is nothing short of greatness.' 1038 00:59:20,093 --> 00:59:21,636 'Buy it now! ' '5 out of 5!' 1039 00:59:21,896 --> 00:59:23,971 They just kept coming and kept coming. 1040 00:59:24,141 --> 00:59:27,981 I did not expect this. At all. 1041 00:59:28,486 --> 00:59:31,296 I honestly did not expect these reviews. 1042 00:59:31,466 --> 00:59:32,671 'Get this game now!' '10 out of 10'' 1043 00:59:32,841 --> 00:59:35,366 '4.5 out of 5' '9 out of 10', '9.5 out of 10' 1044 00:59:36,075 --> 00:59:38,910 It's weird to be launching the same time as 'Fallout'... 1045 00:59:39,080 --> 00:59:42,326 ... and be getting reviews that are almost better. 1046 00:59:42,500 --> 00:59:48,753 That's weird. Especially since it's a game I'm going to be buying. 1047 00:59:49,173 --> 00:59:51,870 It's pretty fucking awesome. 1048 00:59:58,431 --> 01:00:03,560 I don't know if you guys realize how frustrating it is. 1049 01:00:04,218 --> 01:00:08,223 I don't think you understand what's weird about it. 1050 01:00:08,393 --> 01:00:09,816 I don't care... 1051 01:00:09,986 --> 01:00:13,236 I really don't care what any of the reviews say. 1052 01:00:13,406 --> 01:00:16,196 It's just weird that they're there. 1053 01:00:16,366 --> 01:00:18,196 Positive or negative. 1054 01:00:18,366 --> 01:00:23,120 It doesn't matter that we get nines and tens... 1055 01:00:23,750 --> 01:00:25,748 ... it doesn't matter. 1056 01:00:27,251 --> 01:00:29,710 Yeah, but, I've been weird all my life about stuff. 1057 01:00:31,348 --> 01:00:34,678 It's kind of weird to have people say: 1058 01:00:35,093 --> 01:00:39,051 'Hey, you're going to be rich. You can buy me a car...' 1059 01:00:39,225 --> 01:00:41,221 You know, just joking kind of stuff. 1060 01:00:41,448 --> 01:00:43,098 But they're not joking. 1061 01:00:43,270 --> 01:00:45,976 I mean, they're joking about me buying them a car. 1062 01:00:46,080 --> 01:00:48,350 Because I'm totally not buying anyone a car. 1063 01:00:48,481 --> 01:00:50,986 Except my parents, if they want one. 1064 01:00:51,583 --> 01:00:53,693 But, to hear that ... 1065 01:00:53,863 --> 01:00:55,153 ... 1066 01:00:55,323 --> 01:01:00,075 To hear that everything that I dreamed about for years and years and years... 1067 01:01:00,245 --> 01:01:02,805 ... is going to basically come true, in like two days. 1068 01:01:02,976 --> 01:01:05,733 And has already started to ... is very...odd. 1069 01:01:06,001 --> 01:01:09,453 I cry at the idea of crying about it. 1070 01:01:09,620 --> 01:01:11,281 That's weird. 1071 01:01:13,216 --> 01:01:17,966 I cried when we submitted the game to certification. 1072 01:01:18,228 --> 01:01:21,805 I cried because it was like... 1073 01:01:22,308 --> 01:01:26,266 It was like sending your kid off to school. 1074 01:01:27,120 --> 01:01:30,116 And we just had to wait. 1075 01:01:30,286 --> 01:01:32,283 We worked on it so hard. 1076 01:01:35,728 --> 01:01:38,280 We were non-stop for, like, two months 1077 01:01:38,448 --> 01:01:41,700 Doing ungodly amounts of work. 1078 01:01:41,870 --> 01:01:46,370 Then we send it off to certification. And its like: 1079 01:01:46,666 --> 01:01:49,081 'OK, we'll let you know in two weeks' 1080 01:01:49,316 --> 01:01:50,708 It's like: 'Aarrghh!' 1081 01:01:50,878 --> 01:01:52,723 Is it going to pass? Is it not going to pass? 1082 01:01:52,893 --> 01:01:53,736 Am I going to have to fix bugs? 1083 01:01:53,906 --> 01:01:55,861 And then when I would play the game. And I would see bugs. 1084 01:01:56,031 --> 01:01:58,790 And then I'd panic and I'd email Microsoft. And I'd go: 1085 01:01:59,153 --> 01:02:02,816 'Oh God! The game doesn't show PEGI ratings ...' 1086 01:02:03,056 --> 01:02:08,768 '... if it's run in European regions.' 1087 01:02:08,938 --> 01:02:11,100 'Is that going to be a problem?' 1088 01:02:11,268 --> 01:02:14,115 And they're like: 'Oh no, it's fine' 1089 01:02:14,283 --> 01:02:16,606 And it's like: 'Oh? Okay then.' [laughs] 1090 01:02:18,615 --> 01:02:22,781 I can't shake the idea that... 1091 01:02:23,380 --> 01:02:26,536 ...even though they're good reviews. 1092 01:02:26,706 --> 01:02:28,536 That we'll still fail. 1093 01:02:28,706 --> 01:02:30,536 Is that weird? 1094 01:02:30,918 --> 01:02:32,915 Is that weird to feel that way? 1095 01:02:33,083 --> 01:02:36,170 Because it feels normal to me. And I know it feels normal to Tommy. 1096 01:02:36,341 --> 01:02:38,590 But, there's still a part of me that says: 1097 01:02:38,758 --> 01:02:41,600 'Even though we have the highest rated game on Xbox Live...' 1098 01:02:41,768 --> 01:02:45,276 '...we're still going to fail.' 1099 01:02:48,048 --> 01:02:50,446 Tommy, Do you feel the same way? 1100 01:02:50,770 --> 01:02:53,100 There's still a part of me that worries we can fail. 1101 01:02:53,941 --> 01:02:56,858 Yeah, it is there 1102 01:02:57,070 --> 01:03:00,320 It's there. It's a real thing. 1103 01:03:00,738 --> 01:03:03,198 The only way I could see it failing... 1104 01:03:03,618 --> 01:03:06,281 ...is if the first 1,000 people download the game... 1105 01:03:06,450 --> 01:03:09,406 ...and get the game save error... 1106 01:03:09,576 --> 01:03:12,320 ... and then get online and trash the shit out of the game. 1107 01:03:13,043 --> 01:03:16,335 Yeah... those are different worries for you. 1108 01:03:16,506 --> 01:03:19,630 I know that, yeah, people may lose their save. 1109 01:03:19,800 --> 01:03:23,426 But they'll still enjoy the game and we're going to fix it. 1110 01:03:23,891 --> 01:03:24,908 Ouch! 1111 01:03:26,258 --> 01:03:30,225 So this is press contacts to 578 people. 1112 01:03:33,398 --> 01:03:39,066 So I'll send out the press release. Update the website. Update my blog. 1113 01:03:39,443 --> 01:03:43,410 Update my Facebook, and call it a night. 1114 01:03:43,580 --> 01:03:45,740 What are you going to do Tommy? 1115 01:03:46,116 --> 01:03:48,446 Uhh... What happened? 1116 01:03:48,616 --> 01:03:50,535 I just fell asleep. 1117 01:03:50,706 --> 01:03:51,913 Really? 1118 01:03:52,081 --> 01:03:54,748 Yeah... uh...uh... What, what did you say? 1119 01:03:57,378 --> 01:03:59,126 Um, nothing. 1120 01:04:23,415 --> 01:04:27,323 This morning I got an email from Renaud saying that... 1121 01:04:27,490 --> 01:04:30,618 ...my ex-associate was on his way to PAX... 1122 01:04:31,855 --> 01:04:35,416 ...for some other game he's working on. 1123 01:04:36,378 --> 01:04:38,253 He still hasn't signed. 1124 01:04:38,550 --> 01:04:41,381 He's going to be on the road most of the day... 1125 01:04:41,595 --> 01:04:44,593 ...and then he's going to be at the show. 1126 01:04:47,483 --> 01:04:51,225 And, I'm having a panic-attack. 1127 01:04:51,560 --> 01:04:55,645 I feel like i'm going to cry, throw up and pass out all at once. 1128 01:04:56,063 --> 01:04:57,981 My breathing is weird. 1129 01:04:58,148 --> 01:04:59,720 I'm going to lose my shit. 1130 01:04:59,868 --> 01:05:02,945 And, I'm going to kill him, I'm going to fucking murder that guy. 1131 01:05:03,105 --> 01:05:05,516 And, it's going to get everybody in trouble. 1132 01:05:05,678 --> 01:05:09,535 We're going to get kicked out of PAX, a horrible disaster like that. 1133 01:05:10,246 --> 01:05:14,638 I can even begin to figure out how I'm going to hande this. 1134 01:05:15,625 --> 01:05:17,750 If he doesn't sign, we can't do the show. 1135 01:05:19,085 --> 01:05:23,783 He can. He's going to do his own show, and prevent me from doing mine. 1136 01:05:26,050 --> 01:05:29,211 It starts today. The show is tomorrow morning. 1137 01:05:29,416 --> 01:05:32,250 We have one day to set everything up. 1138 01:05:32,410 --> 01:05:34,643 And, it's still not signed. 1139 01:05:34,920 --> 01:05:39,183 And, he's coming. He's going to be there and check out the game. 1140 01:05:39,346 --> 01:05:45,616 And, I'm going to cold-blood fucking murder him. Fuck that guy! Seriously! 1141 01:05:48,620 --> 01:05:51,910 Have to set-up for the show, while not even knowing... 1142 01:05:52,073 --> 01:05:56,283 ...building a booth at the show, while not even knowing. 1143 01:05:56,488 --> 01:05:58,456 We going to have to fucking disassemble it. 1144 01:05:58,716 --> 01:06:01,586 We going to have to take apart the FEZ kiosk. 1145 01:06:01,883 --> 01:06:05,215 And, put it away. Build it up. Tear it down. 1146 01:06:07,425 --> 01:06:11,345 Why? Why is he doing this? What's the point of this? 1147 01:06:13,516 --> 01:06:16,111 It just doesn't make any sense. 1148 01:06:16,280 --> 01:06:19,976 He should just fuck off. Let me finish the game. 1149 01:06:20,316 --> 01:06:24,515 Not interfere in any way because he stands to gain so much. 1150 01:06:25,030 --> 01:06:27,716 If he just lets me to do my work. 1151 01:06:27,990 --> 01:06:30,698 He's going to be a millionaire for nothing. 1152 01:06:30,858 --> 01:06:32,448 He won't have done anything. 1153 01:06:32,615 --> 01:06:35,483 He will be fucking millionaire because of me. 1154 01:06:37,208 --> 01:06:42,248 And, somehow he's trying to fucking sabatoge that. He trying to ruin that. 1155 01:06:42,548 --> 01:06:44,283 Or just playing mind games? 1156 01:06:44,470 --> 01:06:48,008 What is he stupid or cruel or both? 1157 01:06:53,515 --> 01:06:55,513 It's too much. 1158 01:06:56,781 --> 01:06:58,778 There's too much at stake. 1159 01:07:04,083 --> 01:07:08,083 I feel like this is just going to end horribly. 1160 01:07:08,250 --> 01:07:11,236 For everybody involved. 1161 01:07:42,981 --> 01:07:44,980 Where's the remote? Is the remote over there? 1162 01:08:01,080 --> 01:08:02,983 What the Hell? 1163 01:08:03,360 --> 01:08:05,358 Are you fucking kidding me? 1164 01:08:05,961 --> 01:08:07,960 Are you fucking kidding me? 1165 01:08:08,923 --> 01:08:10,048 Where is it? 1166 01:08:10,633 --> 01:08:12,383 It's not here. 1167 01:08:20,018 --> 01:08:22,016 What the fuck is that? 1168 01:08:26,855 --> 01:08:29,383 This is fucking bullshit. 1169 01:08:40,288 --> 01:08:43,581 We are nothing. We are nothing to them. 1170 01:08:45,083 --> 01:08:46,416 We're being fucked. 1171 01:08:49,853 --> 01:08:52,850 They don't care. They so don't care. 1172 01:08:54,366 --> 01:08:56,698 We have no.... 1173 01:09:01,881 --> 01:09:03,880 ...we have no placement on the marketplace... 1174 01:09:04,063 --> 01:09:06,688 ...which is the entire point of doing the sale... 1175 01:09:06,851 --> 01:09:08,315 and doing this stupid promotion. 1176 01:09:08,485 --> 01:09:11,450 And, fucking killing myself to get this game out in time. 1177 01:09:18,020 --> 01:09:20,850 [Interviewer] What did they promise you? 1178 01:09:21,818 --> 01:09:24,516 We'd get a spot on the front of Xbox... 1179 01:09:24,916 --> 01:09:27,583 ...like all the other shitty games do. 1180 01:09:28,685 --> 01:09:30,983 [Interviewer] How important is placement? 1181 01:09:31,255 --> 01:09:33,255 Pretty fucking important. 1182 01:09:35,283 --> 01:09:37,306 It's like going to the store... 1183 01:09:37,311 --> 01:09:39,906 and having to ask if they have game in the back... 1184 01:09:40,225 --> 01:09:42,431 ...because they don't have it on the shelf. 1185 01:09:43,766 --> 01:09:46,310 You know, how often do people do that. 1186 01:09:55,155 --> 01:09:57,153 I'm not going to look at sales. 1187 01:09:57,365 --> 01:09:59,416 Nah, I'm not going to look at sales. 1188 01:09:59,580 --> 01:10:01,581 There's no point in looking at sales... 1189 01:10:01,913 --> 01:10:06,485 ...because there's no way of me estimating how it's doing... 1190 01:10:06,876 --> 01:10:08,383 ...within the first couple hours. 1191 01:10:08,550 --> 01:10:13,338 There's no point in me downloading it and checking the leaderboards. 1192 01:10:13,633 --> 01:10:18,188 It would freak me out and make me OCD. I'd just constantly refresh it. 1193 01:10:18,388 --> 01:10:21,783 I'll just wait for Microsoft to call. 1194 01:10:23,585 --> 01:10:25,285 That's how you do it. 1195 01:10:28,183 --> 01:10:30,115 First day is very very important... 1196 01:10:30,283 --> 01:10:33,850 ...because it sort of. It sets. It's like a pace car. 1197 01:10:34,441 --> 01:10:38,106 If you sell 20-30 thousand copies in the first day.... 1198 01:10:38,325 --> 01:10:40,818 ....well, then you can expect to sort of staircase down. 1199 01:10:40,980 --> 01:10:42,783 Now that we're going to start very low... 1200 01:10:42,946 --> 01:10:48,151 ...it's going to be the same graph but just at much smaller scale. 1201 01:10:48,315 --> 01:10:51,083 ...and there's just nothing we can do about it. 1202 01:10:51,603 --> 01:10:53,383 Because the day's half over... 1203 01:10:54,215 --> 01:10:56,585 We'll get half of what we had. 1204 01:10:58,218 --> 01:11:02,911 If we have to get on Twitter, and tell people how to find the game... 1205 01:11:02,913 --> 01:11:06,018 ...to buy it. That's awful. 1206 01:11:06,223 --> 01:11:11,050 Especially since, it's not like 'go to marketplace and we're right there'... 1207 01:11:11,355 --> 01:11:18,236 No, we have say a five-step systems of events, series of commands... 1208 01:11:18,418 --> 01:11:23,051 ...to actually buy the game and that's awful. That's dumb. 1209 01:11:23,688 --> 01:11:27,035 There's nothing we can do except blame Microsoft... 1210 01:11:27,201 --> 01:11:30,185 and then, never ever work with them again. 1211 01:11:30,351 --> 01:11:33,623 It's so dumb. I don't want to do games anymore. 1212 01:11:34,951 --> 01:11:37,168 I'll work on cars. 1213 01:11:37,853 --> 01:11:41,818 I don't want to work on cars. I don't want to do anything. 1214 01:11:42,318 --> 01:11:45,180 Can I be a bum? 1215 01:11:45,473 --> 01:11:52,451 [Four hours into release day, the game's ad is not on Xbox.] 1216 01:12:02,953 --> 01:12:05,315 It's Friday. It's the first day of PAX. 1217 01:12:06,036 --> 01:12:08,218 It's 7:20 in the morning, right now. 1218 01:12:09,876 --> 01:12:11,385 The show opens at 9. 1219 01:12:12,625 --> 01:12:14,623 Still no signature. 1220 01:12:18,155 --> 01:12:19,451 It's scary. 1221 01:12:19,686 --> 01:12:21,685 I really don't like it. 1222 01:12:22,181 --> 01:12:23,351 Everyone is telling me just do it. 1223 01:12:23,845 --> 01:12:25,185 And, everything is set-up. 1224 01:12:25,355 --> 01:12:29,318 And, it's not like I'm just going to say no and stay in my hotel room. 1225 01:12:29,485 --> 01:12:32,818 I'm going to tag along and go to the convention center with everybody... 1226 01:12:33,230 --> 01:12:35,318 and do the show. 1227 01:12:40,776 --> 01:12:42,918 Yeah, I guess I'm pretty nervous. 1228 01:12:43,085 --> 01:12:45,793 It's the first time we've shown the game... 1229 01:12:46,073 --> 01:12:48,618 ...since we first showed it. 1230 01:12:49,558 --> 01:12:52,851 Pre-success before you ever released is not a guarantee that... 1231 01:12:53,018 --> 01:12:55,151 ...that the world will be there for you. 1232 01:12:55,320 --> 01:12:57,521 And, the worry I certainly have for FEZ is that... 1233 01:12:57,688 --> 01:13:00,051 By the time that game ever comes out... 1234 01:13:00,220 --> 01:13:02,750 ...we will have moved on to some other thing. 1235 01:13:03,260 --> 01:13:08,818 I'm hoping that it kind of has a Phoenix rising moment. 1236 01:13:09,586 --> 01:13:11,118 Like oh yeah, FEZ is back. 1237 01:13:11,288 --> 01:13:13,618 That people will take us a bit more seriously and... 1238 01:13:14,020 --> 01:13:17,351 ...not treat like some vaporware joke. 1239 01:13:20,720 --> 01:13:22,118 Establish that... 1240 01:13:23,280 --> 01:13:25,278 Everything is real. 1241 01:13:35,393 --> 01:13:39,053 Doors are opening in like 5 mins. There's a million people outside. 1242 01:13:39,486 --> 01:13:41,951 I did release the trailer about an hour ago. 1243 01:13:42,118 --> 01:13:44,785 It's starting to spread already. 1244 01:13:45,425 --> 01:13:47,423 This is real. This is happening now. 1245 01:13:48,221 --> 01:13:50,553 It's out in the open. 1246 01:13:58,193 --> 01:14:01,518 It's really a nerve-wrecking experience... 1247 01:14:01,733 --> 01:14:05,085 ....to look at somebody play my unfinished game. 1248 01:14:06,386 --> 01:14:08,818 Because it's not done. 1249 01:14:09,161 --> 01:14:10,818 Somebody will get stuck somewhere.... 1250 01:14:11,043 --> 01:14:13,351 ...or there's a part they don't get or they don't like. 1251 01:14:13,885 --> 01:14:16,781 Yeah, but it's not done. I'll fix it later. 1252 01:14:21,511 --> 01:14:23,451 Yeah, it feels like too... 1253 01:14:23,798 --> 01:14:25,551 ...too personal. 1254 01:14:25,883 --> 01:14:27,881 It's too close. 1255 01:14:30,138 --> 01:14:32,136 Yeah, we'll see what happens. 1256 01:14:46,531 --> 01:14:49,518 I think that's a bug. 1257 01:14:49,821 --> 01:14:51,818 I think you're stuck now. 1258 01:14:58,351 --> 01:15:00,998 Yeah, I don't know what that was... 1259 01:15:01,165 --> 01:15:04,983 but he's suppose to keep talking and then something happens. 1260 01:15:05,298 --> 01:15:08,630 If you don't mind starting over. 1261 01:15:11,151 --> 01:15:12,585 First player... 1262 01:15:12,751 --> 01:15:16,650 ...game breaking bug right away, right away. 1263 01:15:18,686 --> 01:15:22,351 Ah, God damn it, it's completely broken. 1264 01:15:23,585 --> 01:15:24,985 That's not good. 1265 01:15:25,155 --> 01:15:28,028 Ah, I need to restart this thing. 1266 01:15:28,653 --> 01:15:30,715 Keys, keys. 1267 01:15:33,486 --> 01:15:39,185 There's a game breaking right away, right away. You can't play it. 1268 01:15:53,640 --> 01:15:57,785 The game keeps crashing all the time. It's completely unstable. 1269 01:15:58,061 --> 01:16:01,391 There are game breaking bugs, right at the beginning. 1270 01:16:03,186 --> 01:16:04,518 Damn it! 1271 01:16:04,693 --> 01:16:06,985 Even like the 'Start New Game' doesn't work. 1272 01:16:07,258 --> 01:16:10,685 I need to restart the computer everytime. 1273 01:16:11,036 --> 01:16:14,351 It's a disaster. It's a complete fucking disaster. 1274 01:16:18,786 --> 01:16:20,651 What happened? Where were you at? 1275 01:16:20,831 --> 01:16:22,830 [PLAYER] Ah nothing. Just start new game. 1276 01:16:22,998 --> 01:16:24,916 And, it just stayed in the sky. 1277 01:16:27,463 --> 01:16:29,795 One moment. 1278 01:16:30,886 --> 01:16:33,983 Everytime it crashes it feels like a personal failure. 1279 01:16:34,151 --> 01:16:36,651 Like a deep personal failure. 1280 01:16:37,348 --> 01:16:39,785 I need to actually kill the game and restart it. 1281 01:16:40,020 --> 01:16:43,350 Like I should apologize, 'Sorry I wasted your time... 1282 01:16:43,518 --> 01:16:46,478 ...you can start again, if you want'. 1283 01:16:48,653 --> 01:16:50,983 We made too many changes last night. 1284 01:16:51,153 --> 01:16:54,948 And, now we have an unstable build on our hands. 1285 01:17:42,625 --> 01:17:48,418 Someone just sent me sales stats and we're at 9500 copies 1286 01:17:48,596 --> 01:17:52,643 So, 500 hundred more sales and we hit 10 which is considered a success... 1287 01:17:52,843 --> 01:17:58,116 ...for first day and it's 2pm. 1288 01:18:01,120 --> 01:18:03,596 [Dancing] 1289 01:18:03,763 --> 01:18:07,951 There's a chance we can get between 15-20 thousand sales... 1290 01:18:08,118 --> 01:18:11,116 ...today, which will be a huge, huge success... 1291 01:18:11,360 --> 01:18:14,025 ...Not record-breaking but still really amazing. 1292 01:18:14,308 --> 01:18:16,306 [Holy Shit] 1293 01:18:16,478 --> 01:18:19,573 In the past 10 hours, Super Meat Boy has grossed... 1294 01:18:19,741 --> 01:18:23,018 ...more than I've made in the past 6 years combined. 1295 01:18:28,486 --> 01:18:30,685 That's a bit interesting. 1296 01:18:38,720 --> 01:18:40,718 I don't know, it's just surreal... 1297 01:18:44,391 --> 01:18:48,330 I wish Tommy was here. I wish Tommy was here. 1298 01:19:04,546 --> 01:19:07,853 Things are going okay. 1299 01:19:08,056 --> 01:19:12,186 The game has alot of game-breaking bugs and crashes so far... 1300 01:19:12,356 --> 01:19:17,020 ...and I need to constantly restart, quit the computer and start it again. 1301 01:19:18,010 --> 01:19:22,341 But, people are enjoying it. A lot of people are playing for 15-20 mins. 1302 01:19:24,015 --> 01:19:27,986 This is really, really a very good play-test session so far. 1303 01:19:30,521 --> 01:19:35,400 I wanted to create a nice place, a pleasant place to be in. 1304 01:19:36,196 --> 01:19:41,823 I want people to feel a sense of openness and adventure... 1305 01:19:42,025 --> 01:19:46,051 ...but in a really simple, almost child-like way. 1306 01:20:07,350 --> 01:20:13,605 I really want to people to just enter that world and enjoy their time in it. 1307 01:20:13,771 --> 01:20:18,985 That's what the game is. It's a nice place to spend time in. 1308 01:20:19,988 --> 01:20:24,320 I'm trying to recreate that experience of playing games as a kid... 1309 01:20:24,491 --> 01:20:27,486 ...before the Internet existed and hearing these kind of urban legends... 1310 01:20:27,658 --> 01:20:30,686 ..."Hey, I hear if you go stand in the corner for 5 seconds and press down... 1311 01:20:30,858 --> 01:20:33,420 ..."and then, you jump two times and it warps you somewhere." 1312 01:20:33,590 --> 01:20:35,420 Yeah, like it was when I started gaming. 1313 01:20:35,713 --> 01:20:37,253 That's kinda what the game is about. 1314 01:20:49,766 --> 01:20:51,765 So nice to see new Fez. 1315 01:20:51,938 --> 01:20:55,353 This is bascially FEZ 4 at this point. We've scrapped 3 games. 1316 01:20:56,901 --> 01:20:58,320 But I think we got it. 1317 01:20:58,488 --> 01:21:00,318 I love that fucking art. 1318 01:21:02,388 --> 01:21:04,360 Ken just introduced me to Tycho from Penny Arcade... 1319 01:21:05,953 --> 01:21:08,253 ...who was very, very much into the game. 1320 01:21:08,998 --> 01:21:12,915 That is sick as soon as you see the side of the drum kit... 1321 01:21:13,081 --> 01:21:14,786 Like when you see that pixel art. 1322 01:21:14,955 --> 01:21:16,353 You assume, it's pixel art. 1323 01:21:16,628 --> 01:21:18,626 This is a powerful figure in the game industry. 1324 01:21:18,798 --> 01:21:21,736 He fucking runs this entire gigantic show! 1325 01:21:24,141 --> 01:21:26,553 I like this part. Where it's like: Whooooooop 1326 01:21:26,596 --> 01:21:28,928 Now, it's pixel art. 1327 01:21:29,095 --> 01:21:31,085 Fuck yes. 1328 01:21:31,256 --> 01:21:32,953 I was really happy to meet the dude... 1329 01:21:33,120 --> 01:21:35,651 ...and that he liked my game and me so much. 1330 01:21:37,861 --> 01:21:40,420 I just got a ping back from Destructoid... 1331 01:21:40,588 --> 01:21:43,186 ...who posted about the trailer. 1332 01:21:43,403 --> 01:21:47,616 And, only for the post from Destructoid, that one post... 1333 01:21:47,785 --> 01:21:53,020 ...already got 11 thousands 'Likes' on Facebook and 209 retweets. 1334 01:21:53,541 --> 01:21:54,853 Wait, that's in 2 hours. 1335 01:21:55,023 --> 01:21:55,986 In 2 hours. 1336 01:22:05,218 --> 01:22:07,216 But yeah, people enjoy FEZ. 1337 01:22:07,385 --> 01:22:10,220 Almost universally it seems. 1338 01:22:10,386 --> 01:22:11,785 [INTERVIEWER How does that feel?] 1339 01:22:11,955 --> 01:22:13,020 Feels pretty good. 1340 01:22:17,520 --> 01:22:19,583 What game is this, Brad? 1341 01:22:20,486 --> 01:22:22,751 Super Fuck Fuck. 1342 01:22:25,200 --> 01:22:27,453 This seems like a hardest part. 1343 01:22:29,536 --> 01:22:31,868 What are you supposed to do? 1344 01:22:33,053 --> 01:22:35,051 Seeing people play the game is crazy. 1345 01:22:35,256 --> 01:22:38,351 The reviews and stuff we're getting is really neat but... 1346 01:22:38,525 --> 01:22:40,386 ...but seeing people play and hearing the reactions... 1347 01:22:40,561 --> 01:22:45,520 ...is so much more beyond that. It's just so genuine and heartfelt. 1348 01:22:46,255 --> 01:22:49,586 You can hear it their voice that they enjoy it. 1349 01:22:49,753 --> 01:22:51,353 And, that makes me feel so good. 1350 01:22:51,528 --> 01:22:54,416 If you had one thing to say to the dude that designed this level? 1351 01:22:54,591 --> 01:22:57,620 Fuck you. 1352 01:22:59,823 --> 01:23:02,726 Groan - Why did you hit the spike? 1353 01:23:03,720 --> 01:23:07,050 You're going to feel satisfaction... 1354 01:23:07,216 --> 01:23:09,280 or a profound sense of loss... 1355 01:23:09,446 --> 01:23:12,188 ...when you finally complete this. 1356 01:23:19,175 --> 01:23:22,118 [Sigh] Fucking hell, Dude. 1357 01:23:22,295 --> 01:23:23,718 How are you feeling are you all right? 1358 01:23:24,053 --> 01:23:25,586 Tommy? 1359 01:23:25,798 --> 01:23:27,386 Tommy? 1360 01:23:27,636 --> 01:23:28,188 Uh-huh 1361 01:23:28,358 --> 01:23:29,453 Okay, email from Jon. 1362 01:23:30,155 --> 01:23:32,821 Braid sold 10k the first day. 1363 01:23:32,990 --> 01:23:33,720 Oh, cool. 1364 01:23:33,890 --> 01:23:36,020 We're closing in on 15k very soon. 1365 01:23:36,190 --> 01:23:37,620 That's pretty awesome. 1366 01:23:37,821 --> 01:23:39,820 Hey Tommy, remember that game Braid? 1367 01:23:39,990 --> 01:23:41,353 Yeah. 1368 01:23:43,556 --> 01:23:46,621 I think we might get 20k. I think we might. 1369 01:23:47,026 --> 01:23:50,188 That means that on the first day that... 1370 01:23:50,360 --> 01:23:53,320 ...we might sell double what one of the most successful... 1371 01:23:53,491 --> 01:23:55,420 ...indie games of all-time has sold. 1372 01:23:55,590 --> 01:24:00,873 We're really going one thousand people an hour. 1373 01:24:01,291 --> 01:24:02,720 Mmm... 1374 01:24:02,891 --> 01:24:07,888 It's crazy. You should be very happy about this Tommy. 1375 01:24:08,341 --> 01:24:12,855 I am happy. I'm also very tired. Very, very tired. 1376 01:24:13,690 --> 01:24:15,355 That's fucking crazy. 1377 01:24:15,525 --> 01:24:21,355 15 thousand copies, Tommy. 15 thousand? 1378 01:24:21,525 --> 01:24:24,648 Oh, Tommy, if you want to get even more happy... 1379 01:24:24,856 --> 01:24:28,188 ...go to Youtube, search Super Meat Boy, look at most recent. 1380 01:24:28,735 --> 01:24:33,066 There's one guy that just posted his 'unwrapping'. 1381 01:24:33,235 --> 01:24:35,455 He wanted to have an unwrapping of the game. 1382 01:24:35,661 --> 01:24:37,020 So, he went out and bought points. 1383 01:24:37,193 --> 01:24:39,655 It shows him getting the points, redeeming the points... 1384 01:24:39,960 --> 01:24:42,121 ...putting it into the game, downloading the game. 1385 01:24:42,335 --> 01:24:44,998 Then, it's just him reacting to playing the game. 1386 01:24:45,170 --> 01:24:48,168 [Swearing] 1387 01:24:48,336 --> 01:24:50,255 [Laugh] 1388 01:25:00,721 --> 01:25:06,188 Oh my God, oh my God! Ah! 1389 01:25:08,616 --> 01:25:12,521 Love this shirt. Oh so awesome. Yes. 1390 01:25:15,755 --> 01:25:19,155 Regardless of how the game did... 1391 01:25:19,325 --> 01:25:23,855 I would think that I'd like to always remember that I'm proud of it. 1392 01:25:24,045 --> 01:25:28,170 And, I think it's awesome that I can look at of video of the game... 1393 01:25:28,388 --> 01:25:29,855 ...And still see magic in it. 1394 01:25:30,028 --> 01:25:34,221 Even though, I spent all that time looking at it.... 1395 01:25:34,388 --> 01:25:37,586 ....as a buggy piece of software that I had to fix. 1396 01:25:38,388 --> 01:25:41,621 I think it's still awesome that when I looked at that... 1397 01:25:41,788 --> 01:25:43,988 ...Giant Bomb video and it hit the 'Glitch level'... 1398 01:25:44,186 --> 01:25:47,185 ...that that was the coolest thing I've ever seen. 1399 01:25:48,276 --> 01:25:53,688 What's going on? 1400 01:25:54,055 --> 01:25:57,788 Dude, we got really awesome fan art. Really awesome fan art. 1401 01:25:57,995 --> 01:25:59,588 This is a really good drawing. 1402 01:25:59,831 --> 01:26:05,186 That's crazy. I used to draw Mario. I used to draw Mario obsessively. 1403 01:26:07,696 --> 01:26:10,288 [Video Review] It's an extraordinary platformer that makes you work for... 1404 01:26:10,506 --> 01:26:11,721 ...every inch you gain. 1405 01:26:11,930 --> 01:26:13,088 It all begins with the controls. 1406 01:26:13,381 --> 01:26:16,453 It's apparent that the controls are just an extension of your thoughts. 1407 01:26:16,623 --> 01:26:18,720 This is an amazingly well designed game... 1408 01:26:18,900 --> 01:26:21,620 ...because it seamlessly avoids the frustration of dying... 1409 01:26:21,788 --> 01:26:23,855 ...by shielding you from your own aggravation. 1410 01:26:24,030 --> 01:26:25,588 You can spend as much time as you want.... 1411 01:26:25,755 --> 01:26:27,355 ...getting lost in this incredible world. 1412 01:26:27,563 --> 01:26:30,453 But, the rush of winning, it what defines this excellent game. 1413 01:26:31,278 --> 01:26:32,288 Video reviews, man. 1414 01:26:34,160 --> 01:26:35,980 What are you doing? 1415 01:26:38,523 --> 01:26:41,521 What are you doing over there? 1416 01:26:43,710 --> 01:26:47,453 To see somebody like really get it. 1417 01:26:48,553 --> 01:26:50,255 You look at it, and think it's effortless... 1418 01:26:50,421 --> 01:26:53,080 Like you just made a game but you really put everything into it. 1419 01:26:53,346 --> 01:26:57,671 But you knew what you were doing. It's not easy. Not everybody could do that. 1420 01:26:58,093 --> 01:27:01,753 Well, I think people get it. It's just so crazy. 1421 01:27:02,000 --> 01:27:05,055 It's nice to hear that people get it, and I have to tell them. 1422 01:27:08,526 --> 01:27:13,155 Yeah, that was an awesome, an awesome review. 1423 01:27:16,890 --> 01:27:18,388 What a fucking crazy year... 1424 01:27:18,615 --> 01:27:20,613 Starting to feel worth it. 1425 01:27:21,855 --> 01:27:23,188 A little. 1426 01:27:23,830 --> 01:27:26,521 Starting to feel worth it. 1427 01:27:37,048 --> 01:27:41,091 You want to be liked. You want to be appreciated. 1428 01:27:41,261 --> 01:27:44,521 You want people to approve of your work. 1429 01:27:47,228 --> 01:27:52,206 It's just that you know, you work on a project so long in semi-secrecy. 1430 01:27:52,650 --> 01:27:56,193 You can't really show it. You can that much, or any feedback really. 1431 01:27:56,700 --> 01:28:00,693 You just want to any little morsel of appreciation. 1432 01:28:02,781 --> 01:28:03,755 Well, I do, anyway. 1433 01:28:04,670 --> 01:28:08,451 It's like people "oh, I don't care what people think about this and that" 1434 01:28:08,626 --> 01:28:12,588 It's like I care what people think. I wish I didn't. But, I do. 1435 01:28:14,548 --> 01:28:15,586 It's kinda silly. 1436 01:28:16,216 --> 01:28:19,555 I'm a little bit annoyed about how much I care that stuff. 1437 01:28:19,755 --> 01:28:22,321 Yeah, I wish I didn't care that much. 1438 01:28:22,500 --> 01:28:28,726 It is like I need any kind of love and feedback that I can get. 1439 01:28:29,826 --> 01:28:33,155 Last night, Destructoid posted about it. 1440 01:28:33,528 --> 01:28:36,055 And, they have the little 'Retweet' and 'Like' thing. 1441 01:28:36,320 --> 01:28:41,946 Its said we had 200 Retweets and 11 thousand Likes on Facebook. 1442 01:28:42,113 --> 01:28:43,948 Oh my god, 11 thousand likes! 1443 01:28:44,121 --> 01:28:48,911 And, that really kind of gave me a huge boost. 1444 01:28:49,165 --> 01:28:51,790 And, then later I went back to the hotel and checked it again... 1445 01:28:51,963 --> 01:28:55,293 And, realized that is was a fluke and actually we had zero 'Likes'. 1446 01:28:57,165 --> 01:29:00,955 Why do I care so much about this? How many likes I get on a stupid website? 1447 01:29:01,181 --> 01:29:04,050 Why do I let these things affect me at all? 1448 01:29:05,095 --> 01:29:08,423 But, they do. Like I do want to have a fucking million views on my trailer. 1449 01:29:08,595 --> 01:29:12,018 I want everybody to be talking about the game. 1450 01:29:12,413 --> 01:29:14,895 It can get to you. 1451 01:29:15,318 --> 01:29:16,555 Because it's like... 1452 01:29:16,721 --> 01:29:19,901 ...they tell you what you want to hear basically... 1453 01:29:20,443 --> 01:29:22,321 ...well, not what you want to hear but... 1454 01:29:22,521 --> 01:29:25,440 You know, sometimes I think the game sucks, and I suck.... 1455 01:29:25,611 --> 01:29:26,325 ...and that it's not going to work. 1456 01:29:26,498 --> 01:29:28,715 Then, this one guy comes along "yeah this game's stupid.... 1457 01:29:28,886 --> 01:29:29,988 ...Nothing happens in it". 1458 01:29:30,160 --> 01:29:31,330 And, I'm like, oh Fuck you're right. 1459 01:29:31,625 --> 01:29:33,206 Nothing happens in FEZ. 1460 01:29:41,055 --> 01:29:42,800 I don't feel like... 1461 01:29:43,228 --> 01:29:48,653 ...as relieved and happy about things as I wished I was gonna. 1462 01:29:48,828 --> 01:29:51,488 I'm still worried that I might end up making a shitty game 1463 01:29:51,661 --> 01:29:53,523 That's going to be remembered as shitty game... 1464 01:29:53,815 --> 01:29:57,438 that was in development for too long, and end up dissapointing everybody. 1465 01:29:59,788 --> 01:30:01,288 I have news for you, too. 1466 01:30:01,455 --> 01:30:04,521 Hopefully, it will take a bit of the edge off. 1467 01:30:04,721 --> 01:30:05,453 Hit me. 1468 01:30:06,755 --> 01:30:07,821 We had a meeting. 1469 01:30:07,993 --> 01:30:12,578 We sat down. We talked about all the grievances, all the issues. 1470 01:30:12,918 --> 01:30:15,321 We agreed, we shook on it and we came to an understanding.... 1471 01:30:15,490 --> 01:30:19,420 And, he's going to sign and it's all going to be taken care of. 1472 01:30:19,590 --> 01:30:20,788 Wonderful. 1473 01:30:20,956 --> 01:30:22,888 Yeah? Alright man. 1474 01:30:24,560 --> 01:30:29,178 It isn't signed, yet. But, it's huge weight lifted off my shoulders. 1475 01:30:30,958 --> 01:30:33,716 Like I can breath easier. 1476 01:30:42,595 --> 01:30:44,590 [INTERVIEWER] I'm getting a Knytt Stories vibe. 1477 01:30:44,990 --> 01:30:45,656 Yes! 1478 01:30:45,826 --> 01:30:47,355 [INTERVIEWER] A bit of Cave Story. 1479 01:30:47,523 --> 01:30:48,156 No! 1480 01:30:48,388 --> 01:30:51,988 No, Cave Story, I meant say. Why does he wear a little Fez hat? 1481 01:30:52,288 --> 01:30:55,121 Because that's where he get his 3D power from. 1482 01:30:55,293 --> 01:30:56,748 Because the Fez is a cube. 1483 01:30:57,321 --> 01:31:01,751 Well, that's it really. That's my logic for that. 1484 01:31:02,958 --> 01:31:05,523 Did I see the entirity of the mechanic? 1485 01:31:06,928 --> 01:31:09,923 Basically, you don't get anymore more powers than that. 1486 01:31:10,095 --> 01:31:12,690 There's no boss fights, or penalties for dying.... 1487 01:31:12,938 --> 01:31:16,490 So, it's meant to be played slowly and carefully like enjoy the world. 1488 01:31:17,435 --> 01:31:21,455 It's stop and smell the flowers kind of game. 1489 01:31:21,625 --> 01:31:23,816 When I explained to people what the game was about... 1490 01:31:23,988 --> 01:31:28,190 ...and how it was slow and passive and relaxing... 1491 01:31:28,368 --> 01:31:31,788 ...alot of people understood what I was going for with that. 1492 01:31:34,230 --> 01:31:35,995 People enjoyed what we showed them.... 1493 01:31:36,173 --> 01:31:39,518 ...which is just the beginning of game that we've been polishing like crazy. 1494 01:31:39,696 --> 01:31:42,956 The game is still not done. It's still not a cohesive whole. 1495 01:31:43,301 --> 01:31:44,420 I still have a lot of work to do. 1496 01:31:44,591 --> 01:31:49,990 So I can't just like, take it all to the bank, right now. 1497 01:31:50,163 --> 01:31:53,056 I can't just like "Oh yeah, I did great job. FEZ is fantastic." 1498 01:31:54,261 --> 01:31:57,905 I need to still be afraid of failure, I think. 1499 01:32:21,871 --> 01:32:23,986 The game came out. 1500 01:32:25,463 --> 01:32:27,253 It was ... 1501 01:32:27,673 --> 01:32:30,631 ... highly praised in the press. 1502 01:32:31,135 --> 01:32:34,760 We got interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. 1503 01:32:35,640 --> 01:32:41,016 It got the second highest 'Metacritic' score of all time... 1504 01:32:41,186 --> 01:32:42,601 ... on Xbox Live. 1505 01:32:42,770 --> 01:32:46,920 And we sold 22,000 copies of the game. 1506 01:32:47,790 --> 01:32:50,453 Yep. 1507 01:32:50,980 --> 01:32:53,655 I feel like, I actually... 1508 01:32:54,115 --> 01:32:57,408 ... for the first time in my whole career... 1509 01:33:00,331 --> 01:33:04,623 I successfully did something that... 1510 01:33:05,211 --> 01:33:08,461 ...a majority of people liked. 1511 01:33:08,631 --> 01:33:11,548 It wasn't an alienating experience. 1512 01:33:14,051 --> 01:33:18,305 I'm notorious for making games that... 1513 01:33:18,475 --> 01:33:20,306 ...tend to alienate. 1514 01:33:20,478 --> 01:33:23,893 Or not everybody completely understands. 1515 01:33:24,063 --> 01:33:25,891 And to make something that seems to have... 1516 01:33:26,063 --> 01:33:28,728 ...complete universal praise. 1517 01:33:29,691 --> 01:33:31,690 I can't help but think that... 1518 01:33:31,860 --> 01:33:33,801 I finally made something... 1519 01:33:33,970 --> 01:33:35,818 ... good. 1520 01:33:36,593 --> 01:33:41,621 Like, I know there's a kid out there. 1521 01:33:41,791 --> 01:33:45,055 Who stayed up all night long. 1522 01:33:45,223 --> 01:33:46,855 For the game to come out. 1523 01:33:47,025 --> 01:33:50,688 And didn't go to school the next day. Because he was so into playing it. 1524 01:33:50,856 --> 01:33:54,826 And that even exceeds my experiences when I was younger. 1525 01:33:54,995 --> 01:33:57,760 And to think that I could make something that could... 1526 01:33:57,930 --> 01:34:00,471 ... have an impact on this kid, even creatively into thinking: 1527 01:34:00,640 --> 01:34:05,103 Hey, I know two guys made this. Maybe I can make something too? 1528 01:34:09,356 --> 01:34:11,525 It's just cool. 1529 01:34:15,025 --> 01:34:17,023 It's really cool. 1530 01:34:18,191 --> 01:34:20,186 It feels really really good. 1531 01:34:53,025 --> 01:34:54,191 Part of it... 1532 01:34:54,361 --> 01:34:56,208 ... is about not trying to be ... 1533 01:34:56,378 --> 01:34:57,191 ... professional. 1534 01:34:57,360 --> 01:35:01,255 A lot of people come into indie games, trying to be like a big company. 1535 01:35:01,493 --> 01:35:03,241 What those game companies do... 1536 01:35:03,410 --> 01:35:05,786 ...is create highly polished things... 1537 01:35:05,956 --> 01:35:08,685 ...that serve as large an audience as possible. 1538 01:35:13,420 --> 01:35:15,416 The way that you do that is by... 1539 01:35:15,585 --> 01:35:17,483 ...filing off all the bumps on something. 1540 01:35:17,651 --> 01:35:19,540 If there's a sharp corner. 1541 01:35:19,708 --> 01:35:22,126 You make sure that's not going to hurt anybody. 1542 01:35:22,295 --> 01:35:26,600 That creation of this highly glossy, commercial product... 1543 01:35:26,770 --> 01:35:29,266 ... is the opposite of making something personal. 1544 01:35:37,456 --> 01:35:40,405 Things that are personal have flaws. 1545 01:35:40,573 --> 01:35:42,415 They have vulnerabilities. 1546 01:35:42,583 --> 01:35:45,158 If you don't see a vulnerability in somebody. 1547 01:35:45,330 --> 01:35:48,246 You're probably not relating to them on a very personal level. 1548 01:35:50,901 --> 01:35:53,155 [He has no plans to delay.] 1549 01:35:53,323 --> 01:35:55,628 So it's the same with a game design. 1550 01:35:59,343 --> 01:36:01,635 Making it, was about: 1551 01:36:01,805 --> 01:36:03,651 Let me take my deepest flaws and vulnerabilities ... 1552 01:36:03,821 --> 01:36:06,678 and put them in the game. 1553 01:36:06,851 --> 01:36:11,936 and let's see what happens.