How Hyper Light Drifter Was Made by Someone With a Deadly Disease

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This Hyper Light Drifter documentary details the development of indie 2D pixel action RPG Hyper Light Drifter and goes behind the scenes of its creation. Discover more about developer Heart Machine and the person that came up with the initial idea for the video game, Alx Preston. Alx was born with a congenital heart disease that, even after surgery, causes severe digestive and immune system issues. It resulted in multiple hospitalizations growing up, some of which were near-fatal. One day, after an exceptionally difficult time in the hospital as an adult, Alx had a sudden realization: he needed to share his creativity with the world. That’s when he started drawing loose sketches, developing rough ideas, and experimenting with a number of game engines.
The documentary also explores all the design decisions that Heart Machine made and shows how, thanks to a very successful Kickstarter, they were able to create Hyper Light Drifter without the help of a publisher. It also takes a close look at all the hurdles the team had to go through. For example, when the team made the ambitious decision to not include any text in the game, lots of design challenges started to pop up. It took a lot of refinement to communicate the game’s larger goals to the player, as well as coming up with a system to buy skills that didn’t include any numbers or words. Lastly, the documentary takes a look at Heart Machine’s future, which includes Hyper Light Breaker and a limited animated television series based on Hyper Light Drifter that Alx Preston and Adi Shankar are working on.
References:
thatguyglen.fun/article/IHnFm...
0:00 Part 1
5:23 Ad
6:53 Part 2
Outro song: Thank You R.G.E. - Joe Bagale
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#HyperLightDrifter #HeartMachine #GameDevelopment

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Go to tryfum.com/THATGUYGLEN and use code THATGUYGLEN to save an additional 10% off your order today.

[@Jan12700]

Don't promote smoking

[@ThatGuyGlen]

It’s not a smoking/vaping product, the ad specifically addresses that. It’s to help people stop with their bad habits and get healthy again.

[@torin61]

I enjoyed Hyper Light Drifter without knowing any of this but, looking back, it makes a lot of sense. There's this feeling of isolation, impending sickness and anxiety that plagues the entire game. It felt beautiful and tragic, even back then. I absolutely love these videos. We get a lot of documentary style "creation of" content for AAA titles but thank you for filling this niche and giving credit to the smaller stories!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure, I love covering the stories of indie devs!

[@domeen0gt895]

​@@ThatGuyGlenjust don't burn yourself out on these please, they are really fun. \^.^/

[@monke_1.085]

As a person with a chronic illness that leaves me bed ridden at times, the story of Alex is such an inspiring story, and it’s amazing how much he’s done

[@ttaylor7604]

For some reason I felt the urge to play through the game again, a few days ago. I just got to the ending a few hours ago and started wondering, why this channel hasn't covered this game yet.... Then lo and behold this video drops. Synchronicity I guess...

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Synchronicity indeed! I’m glad the video is finally out :D

[@explosivesexplode]

Jung was right

[@cheesymcnuggets]

While I can't relate to any heart problems or the terrifying fear that death could be around any corner, the game still found a way to connect with me in the way that it expresses loneliness and feeling small as you try to wander the earth. I did play Hyper Light Drifter having already known the inspiration behind it but that didn't stop me from interpreting my own feelings while playing. Tbh i didnt even notice the game had no dialogue lmao

[@Zairin.]

hyper light drifter is probably one of the most artistically striking games ive played. its crazy that the he started off throwing a bunch of ideas, and making art that he deemed as not great. i have gotten an insane amount of inspiration from the feel and aesthetic of the game.

[@es_jacque]

I've visited Heart Machine at their office, and they're all wonderful people.

[@redswordz9131]

Hyper Light Drifter is one of my all time favorite game! I love the idea of non-dialogue story telling, the soulslike combat, sound design and of course the pixel art!

[@brinnc.8148]

Someday, I myself am hoping to make my own game. Slowly but surely, I’ve been writing it, designing it, and seeing these videos and seeing the human side that lies behind the games is just so fascinating to me. Thank you so much for sharing such beautiful stories Glen!^^

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure! And good luck with your own game, keep pursuing that dream!

[@user-xl3wn9sb4e]

I'm making one right now

[@ThatGuyGlen]

What indie game would you like to see me cover next? Leave a suggestion in the comments below! Also, if you enjoyed the video, please consider subscribing to stay up to date on future “How Games Were Made” episodes. Leaving a like and sharing the video also helps out! Support me on Patreon and get exclusive content like Q&As, ad-free content, access to my Discord server and more: www.patreon.com/ThatGuyGlen

[@maximianocoelho4496]

Hyper Light Drifter adopted brother...Phil Fish masterpiece, FEZ

[@ramoncf7]

Battlebit

[@zurc_bot]

Signalis

[@aidikei]

Ultrakill bro

[@dilemma1O1]

Thanks for the great upload again! Personally, I would love to see Revita. It is such a great game, and it’s a shame that it does not get enough recognition.

[@ShOwOba]

This game will always and forever hold a close place in my heart. Being the first game that ever made me cry would definitely do that to you. The more I've learned about the development of this game, the main thing from this video to me being that the ideas for this game came all the way from childhood, the more I cherish its existence. About a month ago, I bought the vinyls of the OST on eBay and they're coming sometime soon, and being that I have never bought merchandise from games before (besides Pokemon but I think we can excuse that one as being more of a media craze :V) it solidifies how much this game spoke to me and how excited I am for what Heart Machine makes next.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thanks for sharing that heartfelt story!

[@joshuatealeaves]

Just bought the game off this video. Appreciate you sharing this story with us who weren’t aware

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure, have fun with the game!

[@thisrandomdude_]

LESGOOOOOOOO HOPE YOU HAVE FUN WITH THE GAME MAN

[@thisrandomdude_]

Okay, now that was a banger video. There is still so much I don't know about this game and its development clearly hahahah. It was my obsession for a long time and it still holds a special place in my heart to this day. I've had this pfp for years, and though I may change it at some point, it's certainly left its mark, I hope :)

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Glad to hear you liked it :D and thank you for subscribing, appreciate it!

[@foodfornot]

I got teary eyed as the connection between his experiences and his story were explained.

[@oi_kirb]

When I first heard about this game I was shocked that a man who's life is balancing on a barely even holding thread could have such determination...

[@iscandervakhitov]

Thank you so much Glen for this video! I didn't know anything about this game, and as I'm going through some serious health issues it's nice to see that there is a person who has gone through even heavier shit than you and made his dream possible. The story of Alex is really inspiring, thanks for sharing🙏

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure! And I hope you yourself get better soon!

[@StormyYay]

The joy i feel when i see a new video here is undescribable

[@user-xl3wn9sb4e]

Me too

[@joshua.johnson]

Nice to see someone made a video of this. I remember following his story back in early high school.

[@elone3997]

Another fantastic deep dive - thanks! I remember picking this up and really enjoyiing the superb visuals and fantastic ost at the time of release. I don't play these types of games much anymore so I struggled with the difficulty but as a puece of art, it was just gorgeous in every way. It's always a testament to the truly unbreakable will to survive when you hear about the journeys that some people go through. Anyways, thanks again for a superb account of the making of 👍😉

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure, glad to hear you enjoyed it!

[@juegosconenz]

OMG this video is awesome! you went so in detail trough everything. One of the best if not the best Hyper Light Drifter related video I've watched

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you for the kind words, glad to hear you enjoyed the video!

[@cedlec02]

One of my favorite video. I can't help but watching it again from time to time

[@robwayne]

It's so incredible to learn what Alex overcame to live a deeply creative life. This is deeply motivational.

[@BraveAbandon]

I truly loved how i became completely immersed in hyperlight drifter's world. Its a fond memory for me to this day. I bought a lot of their art after i beat it and its still all over my office.

[@fuadozbyov3772]

Thans for telling all that information. there is happenig too mutch more than i can imagine behind a single game. that is good to see someone put time to find all of it

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure!

[@eboatwright_]

These videos are great, seeing the backstory of all these indie games is really inspiring!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Awesome, glad to hear they inspire you!

[@faceyourdemons1567]

Glen you are my hero!!!! After Limbo, I wanted to see the making of Hyper Light Drifter the most. Many thanks man, you are awesome!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure, I'm glad the video is finally out there :D

[@kreamsodapop]

As being one of the first games that made me cry I always loved the show not tell of the game I watched the vice video about the devoper but I couldn’t find anything further about the development of the game around that time I found your channel and I waited for you to make something on this thank you Glen for digging deeper into indie games and their development!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure, I love making these videos!

[@wanderingjew7861]

Love the video, great job as always. Thank you. I think Kenshi too deserves a video from you.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure, glad to hear you liked it! And thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into that one.

[@funkypinku]

love their sketches as b roll keep it up!!!

[@moroi3397]

I've been waiting for this for so long.

[@haunter4764]

This man is one of my key motivations, thank you so much for this video

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure!

[@louitdev5540]

I love this channel unique style!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Glad you to hear you like it!

[@lemgob]

the bit about the in-game editor truly blew my mind. so cool !!!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

I was surprised when I discovered that too!

[@foldupgames]

Loved this retrospective of such a cool game.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Awesome to hear you liked it!

[@Suavemente_Enjoyer]

Very cool video! I’m a big fan of the game, but didn’t know about the creator’s health problems, he’s a very inspirational fellow!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you, glad to hear you liked it!

[@THEKHAYYYAM]

Another banger video, the reason I love your videos is because of how much you care for the details of game dev, I am a sucker for a BTS look at game art, programming and music.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Awesome, glad to hear you enjoy the videos!

[@locki_dos]

Phenominal game, alx is an absolute legend

[@wasabi5134]

I never actually got into HLD, but this was such an interesting and well-made video, as usual! I look forward to stories like these from you, as they serve as huge inspirations for my own game development journey. It is a genuine dream of mine for my game to someday be featured on this channel. Looking forward to the next video, keep it up!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Awesome, glad to hear you liked it! And good luck with your own game development journey! I'm always keeping my eyes open for exciting indie games ;)

[@MikeStoneJapan]

I knew this story from before a always hoped/knew you'd do this one one day

[@ThatGuyGlen]

I’m glad it’s finally out there :D

[@thomasmeslin8399]

Thank you so much! It was awesome 👍👏👏

[@ThatGuyGlen]

My pleasure, glad to hear you liked it!

[@kirillmaystudios915]

This is crazy story about development of this game. God damn, i love this

[@titansaint]

i have not played hyper light drifter, only solar ash (and i've not finished it) but i know i need to. i have my own medical issues, including a congenital heart defect that thankfully resolved on its on. i know that despair you can feel as a medically complex person. i wasn't supposed to make it to 13. i've let myself fall into a space of depression because of that 'i could die at any moment' thought cycle. and i can feel a spark returning just hearing about alex's story. idk what i could do with that. but for sure i could process my own emotions. i doubt creating a highly successful indie darling is in my future. who knows though, lol.

[@colorfulsheepp]

My guys is making a video about my literally all favorite games we have similar tastes

[@heartsockette]

I ADORE this game, this was an amazing video!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thanks, glad you liked it!

[@xuanleh8332]

Wow, how inspiring!

[@zurc_bot]

What a great game! Can't wait for the next one.

[@owdoogames]

I had no idea HLD was being adapted into a TV show! That’s so cool.

[@owdoogames]

Also, great video, as always. I can see you put a lot of work into these.

[@fridayafternoons1]

nice this was cool. might be cool to do one on their second game Solar Ash as well

[@Hosein_sunflower]

make how lethal compony was made pls

[@AvoidingHumanSociety]

I love this game, I have the limited run physical release. It became one of my favorite games of all time.

[@mikejox]

inspirational story

[@Nadav_Vardiel]

have u changed the thumbnail and title? is it bc the video has yet to perform as well? I saved it for later looking forward to watching it when I got the time.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Experimenting is part of the process on KZbin ;)

[@Nadav_Vardiel]

@@ThatGuyGlen it's just throwing me off when it happens because it makes me think perhaps it's a different video I've missed.

[@d00mnoodle24]

hyper light drifter rightfully gets a lot of praise but DONT SLEEP on their other title solar ash! it's one of my absolute favorite games of all time, and it came at a moment i really needed it! Underrated title

[@anthonykarnes6804]

Loved that game

[@damonlam9145]

Enjoy your videos as always, Also a bit off topic but could you please do a video on a failure story on a video game that is dislike and I don’t mean it like a game like rain world where it was disliked and didn’t do well in it early launch only for to do better later on, I am talking about a game that to this day is still heavily disliked.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

If I come across a game like that that catches my interest, definitely!

[@damonlam9145]

@@ThatGuyGlen That's great👍

[@kalechips22]

How is this video released 42 seconds ago!!!

[@ThePandaAgenda]

lol when I read your comment it said “42 seconds ago” next to your name

[@LuisSierra42]

Time dilation

[@Multi-Waves_Sketchbook]

Right?? That's crazyy

[@owenlim225]

A new upload! ❤🎉

[@Kristopian]

2:46 I couldn't find the correct Strawberry Jam game jam ):

[@DognutJoe]

23:29 The movie is an adaptation of the manga, not the other way around.

[@AngelMcDove]

Wow only 9181 views so far? There gonna be so much more

[@CrimSimGrim]

Recommendation: Make a video about Outer Wild's Development

[@ThatGuyGlen]

It’s on the list!

[@SylvesterAshcroft88]

I supported this game on kickstarter, and is one of the best investments I've ever made, this game is an absolute masterpiece!

[@-LightSmit]

Those in-game symbols, some actually are Japanese :) Great video!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

The ones I used are not the ones in the final game I believe, they’re from concept art, so I assume the team was inspired by Japanese symbols. Cool to know :D

[@lukaszkups]

HLD is my beloved game 💛

[@user-kz7dy1tg3r]

Hopefully one day, my company will get a video on this channel.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

I'm always keeping my eyes open for exciting indie games ;)

[@user-kz7dy1tg3r]

@@ThatGuyGlen If you’re ever looking for a company to talk about, I’ll gladly give you any information you need.

[@reelo7931]

make a episode on helldivers 2 please

[@CornerOfDiscussion]

Could you please do a video on Slay The Spire. Your channel is so amazing!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

It's on my list ;)

[@maximianocoelho4496]

Yooo, my fav franchise ever...It drowned Star Wars in its own tears...With this game is never what is presented to you...But what u interpret from it. By the way...Mycelium is the best and most misunderstood track in Disasterpiece Collection.

[@user-xl3wn9sb4e]

Can u do one on coffee talk???plz

[@ThatGuyGlen]

I'll look into that one!

[@elive1367]

One of the greatest games

[@lemniscatelogos7917]

Can you do black future 88 and fading afternoon or OTXO or severed steel next please 🙏🏾

[@ThatGuyGlen]

I'll look into those, thanks for the suggestions!

[@NathanSmithSkits]

If you are a game developer looking for what to do right listen. 1:Make a company 2: make a kickstarter 3: connect with cummunity 4: show demos

[@JacobsDoingStuff]

Could you please do deep rock galactic? Also great vid man!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you, Deep Rock Galactic is on my list ;)

[@yiftahbt]

U have to make a video about Dave the diver

[@ScyrousFX]

Recommend you change the title of the video. It's quite vague, and I can barely make out what it says in the thumbnail because of the small text and stylized font.

[@known_questionmark]

promoting a vaping product in a video about a developers story with health and organ issues is definitely a pretty bold move.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

It’s not a vaping product, the ad specifically addresses that. It’s to help people stop with their bad habits and get them healthy again.

[@known_questionmark]

@@ThatGuyGlen My bad then.

[@fielddart8204]

@@ThatGuyGlenWhile they are generally safer than smoking or traditional vaping, essential oils can still be dangerous when inhaled on a long term basis. It’s a bit off putting to be advertising this on a video talking about health conditions

[@ThatGuyGlen]

@fielddart8204 The product makes it clear you’re not supposed to inhale the essential oils. Again, it’s designed to help people get healthy again, not the opposite. I don’t know why that would be a bad goal or message for a product.

[@domeen0gt895]

Usually I love these videos, but I can't bring myself to support heart machine because of their association with zoe quinn.

[@athullnexus5450]

This released on my birthday.

I am speed.

[@waterfish3886]

algorithm is not happy with this one :(

[@FireNotLord]

wtf indeed, this guy gets 200-700k per video, but this one is 35k in the past 2 month oh no

[@YannAbdel]

Make the ne

[@nyafnix7060]

sad

[@DaddyDarko69420]

w

[@user-vg5vc8gk1x]

nyeh heh heh

[@fantomas1770]

ungodly overrated game

[@thisrandomdude_]

I was literally _longing_ for a video about this game from you a few days ago, and guess what popped into my recommended 🥹🥹🥹 I THOUGHT I WAS ALREADY SUBSCRIBED TO YOU BUT APPARENTLY NOT LET ME RECTIFY THAT