7 Years of Indie Game Development - The Making Of Sapiens

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  • Опубликовано: 10 авг 2022
  • Share my 7 year journey as we look at how a hugely ambitious but successful game is created by a solo indie dev, from the first concepts to the early access release on Steam.
    It's been a long and at times difficult process, filled with many obstacles and breakthroughs. The development of Sapiens has changed my life. I've learned so much and grown both as a developer and a person. But there is still a lot of work to do, and I'm looking forward to leading Sapiens to its full potential, through Early Access and beyond.
    Sapiens is available now on Steam:
    store.steampowered.com/app/10...
    Thanks again to everyone who has helped along the way.
    Here is a link to ThinMatrix's channel, as mentioned in the video:
    / @thinmatrix
    This video contains music from the original Sapiens Soundtrack by John Konsolakis, www.johnkonsolakis.eu
    Some other music tracks in this video are created by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
    creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
    Sapiens website: playsapiens.com
    Follow on twitter: @playsapiens and @majicDave
    Sapiens Discord / discord
    Developer website: majicjungle.com
  • ИгрыИгры

Комментарии • 558

  • @ecel_style
    @ecel_style Год назад +236

    I don't know you at all, but in the publishing scene at the end, when I saw your family standing behind you, experiencing the same excitement, supporting and applauding you, I realized what a beautiful family you are, what a good father you are, and you did this for your family. sometimes you don't need to know, but I felt you closely my friend, you have accomplished something very nice, considering the family support and living conditions for many years, you have finally overcome the difficult paths, you have been a great source of motivation for me, congratulations

    • @taylorvance
      @taylorvance Год назад +11

      Just piggybacking to affirm most of this, with a caveat on "you did this for your family". That's not necessarily true, and it's no less admirable if it's not. You can do things for yourself even if you have a family, and that doesn't detract from the nobility of this pursuit, nor your love for your family. Rooting for you!

    • @KalinduAragorn
      @KalinduAragorn Год назад +1

      same.. It was so pleasing to watch that part. I was smiling without even knowing.. Great job!

    • @computergames3918
      @computergames3918 Год назад +2

      at the end i was also excited especially the kids, i am thinking they probably very excited too which is very amazing to think! and overall it's just exciting really... it's like you are also him being excited about it being release by clicking a button 😃

  • @guz2371
    @guz2371 Год назад +540

    Fantastic game with seemingly endless potential. Other games in this genre feel outdated in comparison. Impressive for EA release.

    • @heckyes
      @heckyes Год назад +28

      UGh. It's an Electronic Arts published title :(
      jk.

    • @MarkTDKKnight
      @MarkTDKKnight Год назад +21

      @@heckyes EA = Early Access

    • @heckyes
      @heckyes Год назад +35

      @@MarkTDKKnight jk = just kidding lol.
      I know :D

    • @MarkTDKKnight
      @MarkTDKKnight Год назад +13

      @@heckyes gah - you got me!

    • @skrynscrafting
      @skrynscrafting Год назад +7

      such wholesome interaction

  • @janikcodes
    @janikcodes Год назад +142

    Your reaction to the release at the end with your family was so fucking wholesome.
    Congrats! You are living the game dev dream

    • @jasonboyd782
      @jasonboyd782 Год назад +1

      That's not a very fucking family friendly comment!
      >:(

  • @missnae703
    @missnae703 Год назад +155

    I’m addicted to this game!!! You gave me the game I’ve wanted for years! Thank you 🙏🏾

  • @cykboy3254
    @cykboy3254 Год назад +54

    much respect for not giving up, we all know how hard that can be as a gamedev

  • @thing4826
    @thing4826 Год назад +291

    31:50 I really like the name Sapiens that you landed on. Because that name isn't JUST prehistoric humans. It is a game about Sapiens. It could be prehistoric, medieval, modern, future, or anything.
    Because of this you aren't stuck with only cavemen. It can go as far as you want and the modders want.

  • @dred_dreamr
    @dred_dreamr Год назад +80

    I discovered this project literally a few hours ago, and now just minutes ago you upload a video discussing launch! I have missed so much, but I’m very much looking forward to release!

    • @squeakybunny2776
      @squeakybunny2776 Год назад +3

      I've always loved his devlog about how he did the clouds in particular. I recommend watching at least that one.

    • @Blinkers2007GameDev
      @Blinkers2007GameDev Год назад

      same

  • @MrFeudal
    @MrFeudal Год назад +57

    Been playing this game for the last week and it's brilliant! I'd love to see some sort of interaction with Rivers and the "terraforming" that can be used to create Sapien-Made Canals and such! Looking forward to the future updates 🙂

  • @cedrick2537
    @cedrick2537 Год назад +3

    21:36 There's nothing more permanent than a temporary solution.

  • @rattvisa
    @rattvisa Год назад +2

    The fact this project started the same year as the movie interstellar was released speaks two things.
    1. It has been awhile since then
    2. My memory of when certain movies were released is not good

  • @vmdone8352
    @vmdone8352 Год назад +2

    I'm also an Indie Game Developer, but develop games for mobile phone. After two years of hard-working, I've completed publishing two games on Android and iOS stores: Squid Cannon, Twitch Balls. I will continue to develop more games as it's not only my favorite but also my ambition to be successful in Game Development.

  • @wukerplank
    @wukerplank Год назад

    Very interesting, thanks for compiling this! And congrats on the launch!

  • @alancarter7663
    @alancarter7663 Год назад

    Congrats mate! It’s been great to see this grow over the years, very inspirational. Huge respect from Melbourne.

  • @indieprogress7170
    @indieprogress7170 Год назад

    Awesome. Great dedication over the years! Great to see how you've progressed!

  • @carlosdyer1113
    @carlosdyer1113 Год назад

    I have been following your progress for a while, it awesome to see the progress that you have made.

  • @pavelkraynyukhov1990
    @pavelkraynyukhov1990 Год назад

    Very inspirational. Love the last part of the video with release and the family is around. Best of wishes! Keep up creating.

  • @tresmith5224
    @tresmith5224 Год назад +3

    Just found out you made Blockheads. I put so many hours into playing that game on one of my first smart phones I got as a teenager. That’s awesome!

  • @theRealDaveWard
    @theRealDaveWard Год назад +1

    Congrats man! Been watching you on and off for a while. Hope your game release is going well.

  • @xzippyzachx
    @xzippyzachx Год назад +2

    Very inspirational journey! Glad I could watch it happen!

  • @Beriol9
    @Beriol9 Год назад +1

    It has been an awesome experience following you all these years, and I can't wait to see more! :)

  • @simeonbeaumont3051
    @simeonbeaumont3051 Год назад

    Very proud of your journey, your passion is amazing. Keep it up!

  • @Rotaka
    @Rotaka Год назад +23

    It’s been an amazing journey to follow ! Absolutely crazy to think I was just 9 when you started work on this- congrats on the early access launch !! :D

  • @Arkenald
    @Arkenald Год назад +11

    Been one heck of a ride watching this project for the past few years and finally seeing it come together! You've made something really special and I wait to see where you go from here!

  • @Einulf_
    @Einulf_ Год назад +1

    congratulations! not sure when i started watching your channel but this has been a really fun and exciting journey. The game is rock solid and i can't wait to see what the future brings

  • @Skeffles
    @Skeffles Год назад

    Congratulations! It's fantastic to see how well this has gone.

  • @roadtovostok
    @roadtovostok Год назад +14

    Hi Dave!
    I have followed this project and your devlogs since 2019 and hats off to you. Great video, awesome journey and the dedication to stick with the project is really respectable from the perspective of indie game developer.
    I wish all the success to you and Sapiens.

  • @Phuturer
    @Phuturer Год назад +1

    absolutely great - love how you kept grinding

  • @enochfrederickson2900
    @enochfrederickson2900 Год назад +17

    Such an amazing game, and it’s been awesome to follow along for the past couple of years.

  • @thing4826
    @thing4826 Год назад +6

    This is a long one! Looking forward to watch it.

  • @2dspaceadventuregame952
    @2dspaceadventuregame952 Год назад +1

    This was very enjoyable to watch. Good luck with further development.

  • @lonelyfloat2582
    @lonelyfloat2582 Год назад +3

    I looked back at your channel and I totally used to play blockheads when i was a kid, about 7 years ago. my mind is blown

  • @2-joabella655
    @2-joabella655 Год назад +1

    Dude its been amazing to follow the progress for so long, and then actually see it come out and get to try it, it makes it fell so much more special, and the game is really fun too, congrats!!!

  • @MATTERSGAMES
    @MATTERSGAMES Год назад

    Been watching you work on this since the beginning and I’ll be getting the game soon!

  • @jkewlo
    @jkewlo Год назад +2

    Just purchased it!! Im excited to play it and support your hard work.

  • @jabean2668
    @jabean2668 Год назад +1

    This is awesome! Great job!

  • @rwwkv6
    @rwwkv6 Год назад

    it's been great following along the last few years, congrats on a great game and successful release :)

  • @onedeadsaint
    @onedeadsaint Год назад +1

    I've been here since the 5 year video. looking forward to playing this when my new PC gets here. hopefully by the end of the week I'll be enjoying your labor of love!

  • @HumunculousInPants
    @HumunculousInPants Год назад +1

    You are incredibly inspirational. Thank you for your gifts to this world!

  • @johnjackson9767
    @johnjackson9767 Год назад

    Congrats, Dave. Very inspiring work to see just how far you've taken this project from 7+ years ago.

  • @ClanHawkins
    @ClanHawkins 11 месяцев назад +1

    This was a fantastic journey and thank you for first doing it and documenting it and then of course sharing it all with us! Thank the kids and your mrs! what a team!

  • @souhaibbendekoun3463
    @souhaibbendekoun3463 Год назад +2

    MAN you made my childhood with blockheads i used to play it everyday when i was young and it was the best game with nastlogia in my life

  • @wilhelm992
    @wilhelm992 Год назад +2

    been following your videos for a veryyyyyy long time, happy to see its in EA now been busy with work

  • @gilodis23
    @gilodis23 Год назад +1

    Truly an inspiring journey, thank you for this

  • @simonmueck
    @simonmueck Год назад +2

    congrats! following your videos for a couple of years now. fascinating how long ago some changes happened :) Keep up the great work!
    Cheers Simon

  • @sundeepreddythirumuru5266
    @sundeepreddythirumuru5266 Год назад

    Thanks for sharing such an inspiring Journey.

  • @SebastianGraves
    @SebastianGraves Год назад

    Really great video man, and fantastic looking game. Your love for game development really shows. Well done.

  • @MetricZero
    @MetricZero Год назад

    Been following you for years. Congrats man.

  • @richardcarroll-elvistribut8429
    @richardcarroll-elvistribut8429 Год назад +1

    Congratulations Dave on a truly excellent game! I've been having a blast and really looking forward to future additions. Hope you get great success from your solo work.. so well deserved! ;)

  • @dumonyu5027
    @dumonyu5027 Год назад +5

    I've been watching from the beginning. It's fantastic to finally be able to play it. You're an inspiration to us Devs just starting our journey!

  • @PreDawnHydra
    @PreDawnHydra Год назад +2

    Throwing in the songs used in the blockheads was very nostalgic!
    Congrats on the game will definitely be picking it up! Followed this game for a few years amazing to see all the progress that has been made really well done!

  • @Devilin-Pixy
    @Devilin-Pixy Год назад

    Thank you for the wonderful opportunity you have provided, allowing us to follow along. Makes it all that much more special and inspiring. Not often do you get a chance to get this close. Appreciate it, looking forward to the road ahead

  • @AMNESIALEMON93
    @AMNESIALEMON93 Год назад +3

    Been looking forward to this for years, looks amazing. can't wait till I can get a new PC

  • @dighidon7207
    @dighidon7207 Год назад

    Beautiful game Dave! I wish you the best with this game and many other you'll make along the way! Great video as well.

  • @joaco545
    @joaco545 Год назад +13

    Following the development of Sapiens has been a lot of fun, I hope the game continues beeeing developed for a long time
    And really, well done making the game (its amazing) and pushing through past the honeymoon period of the development process

  • @henrikfredriksen4735
    @henrikfredriksen4735 Год назад

    came over from thinmatrixs channel, and look what ive found! Another goodie

  • @finn9233
    @finn9233 Год назад +3

    I follow your journey since a very long time. You achieved something amazing. Congrats. I will look forward to explore the game ♥

  • @austenfurneaux7125
    @austenfurneaux7125 Год назад +3

    I don’t think any video I have ever watched has inspired me as much as this, I can’t wait to make something as incredible as this. Amazing video and an even more amazing project, off to buy it now. Cannot wait to see this game grow!

  • @fev4
    @fev4 Год назад +4

    I remember watchin the first devlog about 4 years ago, and then this fell of my radar. But now looking at this, the whole journey.... WOW, I'm truly amazed.

  • @Siminfrance
    @Siminfrance Год назад +2

    Well done man, this is a great game and I am glad I followed the progress over the years.
    I wish you all the best with this and all your future plans

  • @jarrahtree5130
    @jarrahtree5130 Год назад +1

    Wow what an incredible video! Watched the whole thing and it was truly inspiring. Last I saw of this was when you got that first big view spike! You've really achieved something extremely special

  • @azrhyga
    @azrhyga Год назад +1

    Very awesome work!! Very good job documenting all and working on the game of your dreams for more than 7 years :D
    Good luck with the game sales and I hope than all goes well!!

  • @DanishKingKong
    @DanishKingKong Год назад +4

    Insane work! I'll go grab it from steam soon. Such a passion project - i Love it.

  • @Novemtails
    @Novemtails Год назад +2

    Congratulations for your hard work, your video is amazing

  • @skyhybrid
    @skyhybrid Год назад

    Just had this video pop up in my recommended and I thought it looked familiar. You mentioned the algorithm picked up your "4 years of dev" video and it clicked, that's the video I saw 4 years ago. Amazing you're releasing!

  • @NecolasHamwi
    @NecolasHamwi Год назад

    Best of luck to you mate. You're so wholesome

  • @ChrisRadsby
    @ChrisRadsby Год назад +3

    Congratulations to you and your fantastic game :) Love the hard work and humble attitude, you're an inspiration and the fact that you have a family and still working so hard, it can't be easy! Also , great video seriously, summing everything up like this, makes for a really kickass story. All the best from Sweden!

  • @Lord_Shmesh_The_Squishy
    @Lord_Shmesh_The_Squishy Год назад +1

    Thank you for showing us your journey. I've been following quietly since it was first brought onto steam to be wishlisted.

  • @wapane7721
    @wapane7721 Год назад

    I teared up a little seeing the clip of your family gathering around to watch the game be released :')
    Going from watching these devlogs for years to actually being able to play the game and enjoy it for hours myself has been an amazing feeling, great job sticking with the project for such a long time and I'm excited for it's future!

  • @skomakarna2684
    @skomakarna2684 Год назад

    thank you for the video and congratulations on the game :)

  • @askarby
    @askarby Год назад

    I've never seen your channel, or mentions of your game. Viewing this summary has made me very interested, and you've just made yourself a new "follower". I'm looking forward to following your progress on the game. Good job and best of luck on your game.

  • @abenezertena6441
    @abenezertena6441 Год назад

    great effort and nice game too, thanks 4 sharing

  • @PDF4711
    @PDF4711 Год назад +2

    This is simply amazing to watch. I only started on the original playlist a week ago - and I have watched the entire list during that week.
    Big congratulations on the entire journey. I am a bit envious on actually committing fully to a project - especially of this magnitude.
    Just purchased 😇👍🏻

  • @athanoskerensky6778
    @athanoskerensky6778 Год назад

    I've been following along for quite sometime, admittedly I haven't been a good youtube user by supporting your videos but I'll definitely be buying your game!

  • @brokenholiday
    @brokenholiday Год назад +1

    Amazing progress!! Just bought the game, can't wait to see where you take this 😁

  • @pavelino17
    @pavelino17 Год назад +1

    Thanks for this great game and also the documentation of your journey, it motivates me to keep going with my own App. Looking forward to more content and stuff to do in Sapiens.

  •  Год назад

    Congratulations Sir! Really huge achievement!

  • @GlenBixley
    @GlenBixley Год назад +3

    Congratulations on the successful release Dave, your hard work has paid off.
    This is just the beginning, Good luck and thank you for giving us all a great game.

  • @_emory
    @_emory Год назад +1

    It’s so good to see hard work and dedication, I will definitely be picking this up from the shop
    Thank you for this, this is MASSIVELY inspiring

  • @TheUltimateScorpio
    @TheUltimateScorpio Год назад +1

    Just bought it I'm so excited to play and happy to support!

  • @thing4826
    @thing4826 Год назад +13

    16:45 I like the idea of standing commands! I also like how RimWorld has a forbid command that if you don't want people to interact with something you can forbid them from doing it.
    That way you can have some standing commands to harvest your wheat fields for example but if you have some decorative bushes, trees, wheat, etc. Around you can forbid them from harvesting it.
    Edit: 42:40 hmm... I can see how automation can lead to you not really having a lot to do and that makes sense. For farming though I really do believe you should be able to automate it. Food is something that is passing and going all of the time by the day and so is something your Sapiens should be able to automate. Or else as you get larger and larger towns (or even just multiple) you will have to spend far too much time simply managing the food they have.
    At the moment food isn't an issue but that is only because it is FAR too easy to survive. Seasons pass quickly and plants never die. So after harvesting a few banana trees (for example), after you plant them you now have a infinite food source that when under a roof almost never rots.

  • @MattCameron69
    @MattCameron69 Год назад +3

    Hi Dave, just spend the last few days playing your game having come across it on Steam. Been really enjoying it, but then I came across this video. I had no idea one guy built this on his own. Blew me away to find that out. Fantastic game awesome work, thank you for making it.

  • @Sharpe27
    @Sharpe27 7 месяцев назад +2

    Playing your game right now and loving it! The scale of the world and the potential is mental hope u keep going with it

  • @pixellips
    @pixellips Год назад +1

    Looks exactly like a game I'd like. Thank you for your hard work and congratulations for the release. Off to get me one! Cheers!

  • @JamieRead3dArtist
    @JamieRead3dArtist Год назад

    Always hugely inspirational seeing the process and hard work solo devs put in to their games.
    Great video, congrats on the EA launch!

  • @Kittenayngel
    @Kittenayngel Год назад

    I can't stop playing this game! I can't wait to see the final product (and maybe expansions?) No rush, I am here for the long haul. Thank you so much for such an awesome game!

  • @henningKO
    @henningKO Год назад

    Congratulations, Dave! And major thanks for taking the time to put out these dev logs and dev round-ups! It's encouraging to hear realistic figures of just how long something takes. I wondered do you work a day job too?

  • @hansenbee123
    @hansenbee123 Год назад +2

    Love the idea of what this could become! Keep ur passion alive ! =) Will def buy this to try it out.

  • @cloglobster
    @cloglobster Год назад

    Thank you so much for this video. It's so interesting to see the process of making a game like this. I couldn't resist buying the game as a result.

  • @sp00l
    @sp00l Год назад +1

    From one Kiwi developer to another, congratulations on the release! So cool to see more Kiwis getting their games out on the global stage. I loved watching the uploads over the years it was amazing to see all the progress being made. So happy the game has finally released and that it has been received every well, can't wait to see where it goes in the future!

  • @SimUKReviews
    @SimUKReviews Год назад

    You've done a great job David.
    We all appreciate it.

  • @gregwaste2594
    @gregwaste2594 Год назад

    I can;t believe I've missed this devlog series. I didn't know about the game till now. Looks absolutely fantastic!!!

  • @fabianandersson8956
    @fabianandersson8956 Год назад +2

    This is so wholesome and inspiring even though I know nothing about game development, so much passion and effort will definitely buy this game when I have a pc again sometime! Great job man!

  • @daanw6270
    @daanw6270 Год назад +1

    Great story and what a wonderful family you have! I will buy your game soon, I'm very curious what has changed and what you've added since this video.

  • @BlortNet
    @BlortNet Год назад

    So cool to see you process

  • @nnnooowwwaaayyy
    @nnnooowwwaaayyy Год назад

    Dude , this is amazing! As someone who really values music in games, hearing that theme song was a great moment. This is the first video I’ve seen, hoping there’s more to watch about this game

  • @abdullahiidris2740
    @abdullahiidris2740 Год назад

    Amazing game! I can't wait to see how much it grows and your story is so inspiring.

  • @trixsomethingsomething2095
    @trixsomethingsomething2095 Год назад

    Your first big game The Blockheads was my childhood and I'm very happy to see you still going strong! YOU GO MY DUDE!!!

  • @michaelsabicer5658
    @michaelsabicer5658 Год назад

    Dude you are a good speaker and an amazing game designer keep it up! Loving the game so far have a small village of my own taking it a day at a time!

  • @DesertCookie
    @DesertCookie Год назад

    Huge congratulations. It's great seeing this long journey come together. I missed much of the past two years of videos and came back to a quite different game than I remember seeing. Still the game I fell in love with years ago though. I must've Sri led across your channel around the time tou were replacing OGL with Vulkan. I hope this journey continues to be a fun one for you.

  • @phil331
    @phil331 Год назад

    been waiting 4 years for this game! congrats dude!