Exploring the Tech and Design of Noita

In this 2019 GDC session, Nolla Games' Petri Purho talks about the technical details of Noita's physics engine, including scaling up the falling sand simulation to support large continuous worlds and integrating destructible rigid body physics, while demonstrating the emergent physics based gameplay.
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[@rosebarrett1267]

This game answered my long buried dream as a kid of being able to play in the world of those sandbox games I found on flash websites. I can’t stop playing and it is highly recommended! It made me happy to hear what was going on behind the scenes, I had heard it had a long development cycle and I was quite interested.

[@slippydouglas]

It's a wonder that nobody had up until this game made the classic “falling sands” tech demo concept into a full game, but I'm pleased these guys did so with such excellence. Seems like the winning formula for them was Falling Sands + Rogue-lite + Wand-based (Ranged) Combat + Weapon Building w/ Spell Comboing (+ of course, an expansive world, beautiful art, lots of mysteries and easter eggs, and a killer soundtrack).

[@joumantiskaako]

I had so much fun with those falling sands games when I was a kid and I always thought it was weird that nobody had made anything like this. I guess it's kind of hard to make that concept into a game though but this roguelike format seems kind of good for it.

[@Arkanefull]

@@slippydouglas Cortex Command kinda did it before Noita.

[@ludwig2345]

Power toy (the desktop version and maybe mobile with a lot of stuff) is amazing Power game (flash and mobile with some stuff) is also nice

[@PhillipAmthor]

I also always wanted the sandbox as a full game. I hope they will do a game like this but in 3d and with guns and cars and of course 8 times better graphics

[@MrKyogre14]

Exactly what a Noita developer looks like in my mind....

[@Grimthe]

joro lima what is that supposed to mean?

[@TheBastard97]

@@Grimthe He looks like a wizard

[@no1Liikeglenn]

thats what every game dev looks like in my mind. but that's my mind not reality ;)

[@psychotropican666]

Sounds less Finnish than one would, in my mind....

[@DecibelAlex]

@@psychotropican666 not all Finns speak like Kimi Räikkönen

[@HoloTheDrunk]

Man's just inspired me to finally start looking into multi-threaded simulation instead of shaking in fear at its mention. Well done.

[@romangladiator1106]

I've put over 200 hours into this game and I still haven't beat it. I'm totally addicted to it. This is a dream game for 2D pixel art platformer enthusiasts. Well done, Noita team, you've created an amazing game.

[@gartgartsman478]

Same! I pretty much suck, but I can't stop playing. It's weird how hopeful Noita makes you despite it consistently crushing you into pieces.

[@user-vx1wt4hb5l]

@@gartgartsman478 I beat the game for the first time when I found the combination of invisibility and the other perk for less stains. Get those and you can literally walk straight to the boss!

[@joshcraig6737]

@@user-vx1wt4hb5l Wow, never even thought of doing that. Crazy how many ways you try to beat this game.

[@kunknown2340]

@@joshcraig6737 you can also get toxic immunity and invisibility and bottle up toxic sludge so whenever you step in a liquid, you can pour toxic sludge on yourself, therefore nullifying other liquid statuses, and since you're immune to toxicity, it won't even register your character being covered in toxins, and you'll essentially be reverted back to being invisible.

[@varunvarma8769]

Just get a lightning spell and you'll destroy anything and everything easily.

[@StefanLopuszanski]

Was literally considering buying this game a couple of hours ago. This talk and his openness about the stuff convinced me to buy it. =)

[@seanwarren9357]

Pull the trigger, it's awesome they're updating all the time and you can mod it if so inclined... Nothing but thumbs up.

[@StefanLopuszanski]

@@seanwarren9357 : Yeah, I did and have been playing it. It is fun and interesting. Some bugs with things, especially around controller input, but definitely have had fun with it so far.

[@LucasBarbosa-qh5ke]

Seriously, get this game. It was $15 on Steam a couple days ago.. I bought it 2 days ago and I'm suffering from severe addiction. It's unlike ANY other game I've played.

[@StefanLopuszanski]

@@LucasBarbosa-qh5ke : I did get it. It is very similar to a lot of rogue-likes mixed with 2D platformers. Check out "Spelunky" if you like this. I'm still enjoying it but have been running into a few annoying bugs here and there.

[@prltqdf9]

@@seanwarren9357 _Noiting_ but thumbs up.

[@borisbritva1665]

Now explain the physics simulation of a propane tank

[@Luk3r]

I'm actually shocked at how useful this was for comp sci ppl who were wondering how they did it. I was looking for devlogs by youtubers making clones, but this was so much better. He gave us enough info to understand how to make a similar engine ourselves. Really said "fuck the general audience, this ones for my ppl" lol

[@kzalesak4]

Well, this was presented at GDC...

[@15xv]

Noita is my favorite singleplayer game ever made. Masterpiece

[@naoisedosh7447]

same

[@TheLeontheking]

Love your game and this presentation! Especially the explanation of the physics-system which i expected to be much more complicated in the case of the sand, fluids and gases.

[@gentlevandal7589]

I love to see this kind of presentations because nowadays, you cant get to see much of a problem-solving in game development. Everybody use generic engines(except for custom tools of big corporates which we cannot see the tech) and all those stuff and this kind of presentations become somewhat rare gems.

[@LagMasterSam]

Noita would be impossible (or at least stupidly impractical) to make using a generic engine. I gave up on using pre-made engines because trying to do anything that didn't fit the basic mold was a huge pain in the ass.

[@yellowsaurus4895]

Got this game 3 days ago and haven't been able to stop thinking about it, it's really that good. The amount of content and depth is just staggering. There are way more "secrets" and hidden mechanics than what's presented to you as the actual game

[@torgo_]

noita my personal game of the year., great to see this, i've been curious about how it works :)

[@edabean007]

i did not know about Noita until i watched this. I just bought a copy :D

[@_grigoryta]

Damn, this presentation fully depicts their game. It's RAW, and I LOVE it.

[@Nos7algiK]

One of the best indi games I've played in sometime. Hats off to the developers, they really hit a home run with this one. Game is incredibly addicting.

[@TysonWoof]

Interesting that Google has recommended this to me as I begin working on similar tech for a project in Unity. They really do listen to conversations. How wonderfully convenient.

[@nickc8863]

honestly? even in "early access" Noita is damn near game of the year material imo.. its SO good.. i am acutely aware that im fanboying.. but have you tried Noita yet?! its freaking AMAZING!! Thank you devs! You look exactly as i pictured btw, i mean that in a good way.

[@arxhyes1704]

THIS VIDEO IS GODSEND

[@prltqdf9]

Which god?

[@PhillipAmthor]

You have appeased the gods

[@basketcaseface813]

Can’t believe they spent so long working on the game design, it really shows with how fun and interesting this game is.

[@NiamorH]

14:20 let me answer your question: yes your game is fun!

[@sehpu]

This game is so impressive, there is so very much more to it than just a simple rogue lite. If you’re even kinda thinking about it, please do yourself a favor and buy this game. It is still in early access but it has a complete experience.

[@danyukhin]

love Petri's work, been a fan for like 15 years

[@aestheticboi9034]

by far the best gdc talk i've ever watched holy

[@G00N3YC4NG]

Watched a friend play recently and fell in love with the highly emergent style of gameplay. 10/10

[@NMROSTA]

Noita is one of the best game ever made... The whole action part is amazing and never get boring., Also the music is giving this amazing grapic some really nice flow! Well done...

[@Smuffful]

Dang this lecture is what caused me to purchase your game. Thanks so much, was incredibly interesting!

[@moosecannibal8224]

I am so glad I got to hear him talk about this.

[@soulofartorias9928]

I love Noita so much. Thank you for creating this wonderful game.

[@yveshenri1509]

As a game developer enthusiast, I'm amazed how brilliant this is! Speechless.

[@ipa_stor]

Many thanks to Petri Purho for that talk, it was inspiring and informative!!!

[@TwinGhosts]

What a great talk, and man, this guy is so wholesome and humble. I think he sort of downplays how impressive this is! Time to get this game

[@guilhermealvarenga7010]

maybe you´re not even gonna see this, but Thank you Sir Petri, for this amazing game, im tottaly in love for it, i love everything about this game, every little detail, just thank you, thank you so much for this awesome experience!

[@Cornellie]

So much respect for these developers

[@Lunareon]

Thank you for sharing your techniques and process in such great detail. The game looks beautiful in a lovingly nostalgic way that makes me want to try it.

[@housethis3567]

This game is a real masterpiece!

[@Gunth0r]

still in early access and it's already GOTY2019 AND GOTY2020 for me!

[@doppelminds1040]

One of the most unique games i have played in a long time... also the theme/lore is insane

[@chlebon]

so genius yet so very simple :D ... awesome tech, thank you SO MUCH guys

[@ECHO1-1_GS]

Спасибо, что вы это записали на видео, мне сейчас это помогло сделать презентацию о Noita для колледжа

[@dandymcgee]

Easily one of the best games ever made. Thanks for the super great tech talk!

[@skope2055]

Amazing presentation, thank you!

[@Artikui]

I was wondering how you did all these mechanics possible, and the implementation is just genius and often much simpler and more understandable than I could imagine at first.

[@MrMclanskey]

this game looks beautiful

[@Algok17]

Great presentation! I was very interested in hearing how the engine works because before I wanted to make a game with similar mechanics. Noita was much better than what I could do alone. And now I can play the game of my dream. Now I want to see multiplayer in this game as in Soldat2D. And I would also like this video to be translated into Russian.

[@ksztaltchmur]

Listening to this very interesting presentation while playing Noita and trying not to die, what a joyride :D

[@uniworkhorse]

The first time I saw Noita on steam, I saw "sandbox" and skeptically thought that you would be a god and blow stuff up - which sounded kind of boring and stale. Now, after giving it a try, I've been addicted the past couple of weeks - It's really cool to see that the devs recognized how much being in danger and weak initially makes getting random powers extremely fun!

[@AurelianoShowsTheWorld]

Wow! Great video. Tech bros are there!

[@emma_tm]

this is one of the hardest games ive ever played. i love it so much

[@chrisgronski3707]

THIS IS GENIUS

[@tombhousetv]

I pirated this then went and bought it cuz this dude deserves the money. This is definitely one of 2020's better games, for sure. This video was great actually

[@VergilxUA]

Game is *really* good. Now with mod support - its godly best. Just go buy it. Great talk as well

[@fourscoreand9884]

Incredible

[@schedarr]

This guy is awesome for his creation.

[@notnullnotvoid]

I had no idea he was also the dev behind Crayon Physics, but I guess it's no surprise. Between that game and the falling-sand-game-esque pixel physics in Noita, I'm glad to see he's keeping my childhood alive.

[@smiauu]

Erittäin hyvä puhe

[@glaucus7609]

Thank you Noita devs,this game is a work of art,no pun intended

[@user-ec6kt2fg7m]

You're a wizard Petri!

[@winstonsmith8597]

I have been playing games since pong/ Space Wars / and Lunar Landing. that is a long gaming history. I have played so many genre's from FPS to Visual novels and MMORPG to Platformer. Noita is hands down the best game I have ever played. It hits every mark for a great game. Visuals, Chaos, Immersion, secrets , re-playable and the icing on the cake is that physics engine powering it all. I always recommend this game to people. Noita is hands down the best game I have ever played.

[@fabi0325]

I've always loved games with aa large world and alot of stuff to do and Noita is perfect.

[@scpdatabase969]

Accidentally cheesed my first victory with a black hole wand that let me collect all the perks so I couldn’t die to the boss. Then I spent another 40 hours stuck on the first few levels haha. Here’s to 40 more :)

[@Gonebyebye888]

very interesting i am going to implement some of this in my own games

[@sunorcio3901]

Permanency would make this games level of problem solving really shine, idk how volatile the world would be without the roguelite elements (global shifting etc), also would require changing static level design/balance quite a bit, it is already a miracle that this game fell into place as well as it did. I am currently stumbling my way through learning c and researching in hopes of applying simulation intensive approach to game design.

[@lorenzozanelli3437]

249 hours and i haven't still beat it. And i love it. When someone love a game not for the progression but for the gameplay, you know it's a good game

[@rokibeeskiroodroki9018]

lorenzo zanelli some tips: Don’t be scared of perk re-rolls Those firey wizard guys, stendari, on the first level take insane damage from standing in water, if they die from it they drop double gold. Wands with the torch spell can light up a certain area to the left on the first floor, there’s some good stuff in there. If you see the perk lottery perk, take it.

[@lorenzozanelli3437]

I know all that ahahahahah. I simply like to explore so much i get too greedy and find myself crying at 22 hp surrounded by enemies.

[@SvenGarson]

People have no idea how technically challenging that game was to make - WoW!

[@petedabrain]

One of the best games i play(ed) in my over 30y years of gaming😊

[@AnaCristina-dv6qu]

Completely sold, wow

[@ashardalondragnipurake]

that trailer had a lot less dying then the real thing

[@Soul-Burn]

Excellent talk! And this doesn't even touch on the crazy pseudo-programming that goes into wand building. Wands are implemented as a whole deck building game behind the scenes, flush with deck, hand, and discard piles. Some creative spells make use of these features as you would expect in a game built around deck building.

[@Hiddendeep]

Great talk, great guy. I soo understand his pain with game design. I've got exactly the same problem - tech stuff are like 10x easier and faster to make than good game design. BTW I was almost sure that Noita simulations are made on GPU - what a surprise...

[@LeonserGT]

Now I understand why it runs so well on my crappy laptop with meh GPU and nice CPU :D

[@Hiddendeep]

@@textentity soon :)

[@demondevilmon980]

Noita has the best lategame i have ever played. most games have a high peak at the end and then there is not enough content to keep players interested. Noita has more content after midgame then before xD

[@e2rqey]

I get it now!!!!!! Bethesda's bugs are actually an extremely high concept version of emergent gameplay!!!!

[@HRRRRRDRRRRR]

Don't give Todd any new ideas. I mean really don't, he can't comprehend them.

[@hannahalexandra1419]

22:00 the flip of the hair sealed the deal.

[@sdporres]

Effing awesome

[@The1wsx10]

i have never seen this game, but it looks like the powder toy. a (sandbox) game i loved in primary school. im suprised i haven't seen any actual games based on this concept.

[@EduardsRuzga]

He does explain that its kinda hard. Most games out there are scripted, this one is simulated and its hard to tell simulation to do what you want, rather it does what it wants and its hard to tune and balance. So studious out there rarely pick such risky and hard to predict systems as something to base their game on.

[@RequiosWoW]

Now that game is finally released, and they have finished adding new major content I'd be curious for the team to give a bigger postmortem talk to the game.

[@sergiumarius3893]

I already own this game and it's amazing I got about three hundred hours in it

[@StationOfTerrapin]

awesome finns are awesome

[@Tincash1]

One thing I noticed while testing the physics in Noita is when I cut the big steel boxes from the beams that hold it up that go into the walls in snowy depths, the steel boxes still remain standing after cutting the steel beams. Other than that, this is one of the best game I’ve ever played. The uniqueness of it all and the wand building system along with the alchemy is the first of its kind. I can’t stop playing it. I’ve died over 350 times and still haven’t had a winning run but I’m not in a rush to win because there is so much to learn and do. Thank you for making one of the most amazing game out there.

[@lyl14ghost]

Really Really intriguing. What brought me here is the cape animation/physics of the character. I am buying the game now but I am more interested in the technical part of this game than anything. Damn that cape physics of the character is so realistic. I don't know if they animated it just in a lot of different ways then just linked em with different movements, or the cape also has it's own physics in the engine... damn.

[@thedude142]

Everything is pixels, even down to the character/enemies. So the cape, being pixels(but specially related to each other), probably moves in response to a wind system, player movement, etc. Just my guess

[@puiu102006]

so these are the gods that made it :O

[@jairoacosta8940]

I wonder is every single pixel needs to be stored with position color, propriety etc. That's a lot of data. Or if there's a way around it. Awesome work.

[@reaverMB]

Basically yes, but being a pixelated and procedural game, there's not too much data to be stored. Unexplored areas of the game do not need to be stored as those are procedurally generated based on a seed value and a set of tiling graphics, but all the areas you have been in will be stored as PNG images (and some rigid body data etc). The savegames go from a few kilobytes to some hundreds of megabytes during your gameplay, but not much larger than that as you will most likely either die, complete the game, or crash your computer due to other limitations in the engine. The world area pixels do not really need more than just color and location and then a small definition file to describe what kind of physics should be applied to what colour of pixels. And since you should be only running a single savegame at a time, the save game size should not pose any problem for a modern computer.

[@jairoacosta8940]

@@reaverMB a png image! thats a smart work around. im sure the game can even derive a pixels property based on color alone upon reloading an area. thanks for the breakdown.

[@Dremth]

I must say... the relatively simple solutions to complex problems that were implemented here is a real testament to how you can make a really elegant, systemic game without having to make it bulky. There will always be "shortcuts" like Box2D, algorithms you read about in research papers, techniques you hear about from your contemporaries, or any other amount of middleware you can use; but it's the stitches on the seams, the novel engineering, and the artistry of bringing all these disparate systems into a coherent whole that sets this apart from the others. I would love to explore the source code for this game.

[@aboalazbh]

I always feel jealous of such talented people it's a very good game

[@aboalazbh]

@Exostin yeah but talent has a role too

[@mehmetakyuz5290]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipCnZJdnh7x1qKs

[@TheTransgenderScholar]

I have clocked over 80 hours in this game and I've still yet to beat it once. I just keep discovering more and more near stuff in the world and wanting to investigate that and then inevitably dying while investigating. 10/10 would die again

[@MoaningGit]

Best game ever made!

[@nel9954]

Reminds me of the game Clonk

[@matthew0034]

The physics engine is so fun to play with and glitch

[@rcookie5128]

Seems pretty basic and simple at its core. 'Keep it simple' done right. Nice!

[@unfa00]

I wonder if they've experimented with computing the simulations with shaders on the GPU.

[@somekindofdude1130]

I guess they did cause I cannot believe that just a processor can process that

[@superbrick5045]

3:28 Did this and the water just travels to the left until it hits a wall. After time there’s a left water level and a tight water level with drastically different heights connected via a slope. Clearly there’s some randomness used but it’s not included in that code or mentioned. So this demo is missing code

[@jonq8714]

Noita and Legend of Dungeon, two pixel art games with a tendency to kill you in humorous and unavoidable ways are in my top 5 favorite games all time list.

[@bolicob]

Dang, I really wanted to hear about the wands and spells systems

[@progresque9738]

Noita is a masterpiece

[@greedtheron8362]

Fun talk and a fun little game too. I do hope they lend their physics engine to a more terraria like game built for a more persistent world and more long term progression.

[@glass7923]

*that*

[@proxy1035]

2:19 i'm sure he'd enjoy QB64 then... it's literally QBASIC from DOS but for Win10 and with additional and more modern commands, variable types, and compiles using GCC into EXE files, so it also runs faster. i should try to make something similar to this in there and see what i can do. the simulation itself seems so simple. what really makes it good/heavy on the hardware is doing it to a couple thousand pixels at once

[@fxchai6186]

this game is so hard and fun.

[@Tigrou7777]

I have one question : how is it that your VS 2013 take 8 minutes to boot up ?

[@ostrich_dog]

This inspired me not only to buy the game (in a future sale because i'm stingy) but also to create a custom engine for some game in the future, when i'll have a good idea like this one

[@spyrosmiltiadous5229]

Hello nice talk thank you for sharing i would like to know the second name u mentioned following the marching squares algorithm to reduce the detail and then triangulate . Thanks

[@SeanFrancisNBallais]

I'm two weeks late, but the second name was "Peucker".

[@TiagoTiagoT]

Is this a reupload? I have the feeling I watched this before, but the thumbs-up isn't clicked...

[@spoon1710]

If only they knew back then what they had created.