How I designed Fruit Ninja

[@abelnocera3500]

Bro this man made fruit ninja AND Jetpack Joyride. It’s like meeting the distant grandpa that gave you your favorite gifts as a kid for the first time

[@roll2ones]

I swear😭

[@Scypro]

For real 😂

[@ayandas4473]

Fr

[@moji3812]

Yeah

[@kirbysthiccthighs]

EXACTLY

[@wildbub]

"so we split the team of 7 down the middle" I feel super bad for the guy that got cut in half for fruit ninja man.

[@drthvrdr]

They were testing for the spinoff, Human Ninja!

[@NoNameAtAll2]

"I actually ended up being the lead designer for both"

[@w花b]

​@@NoNameAtAll2 right side of the brain on one project and left on the other

[@kairu_b]

LOL

[@JohnPaulBuce]

@@NoNameAtAll2 talking about multitasking

[@mutantshrimp168]

He did it, he did it again, he just casually threw Jetpack Joyride

[@dat_fast_boi]

inb4 he makes a video about Jetpack Joyride and throws in the fact that he designed Temple Run

[@_keano]

@@dat_fast_boi and finishing the Temple Run video with he actually designed Flappybird

[@dylantocco6582]

@K4T *very consistent youtuber* and finishing that video he throws in he designed earth

[@gamezone2996]

@@dylantocco6582 and finishing that video he throws in the fact that he designed your mom

[@_keano]

​@@gamezone2996 gottem

[@neuro-wood]

My grandmother died playing fruit ninja, my mom introduced it to her and she fell in love with it til the day she died. I wish i met her, thanks for bringing joy to her life.

[@SteakBoss1]

It’s true. I’m this guys dead grandmother

[@archivechannel839]

Shes in Hell rn 🔥

[@SansDiamond]

bro, i feel so bad for you. This reply section sucks.

[@I_InvestNFTs]

@@archivechannel839thats not funny whats wrong with you?

[@miss_pinya]

💖

[@king_dot]

I can’t believe you made both fruit ninja and Jetpack joyride those were my childhood, thank you

[@hedonist2104]

You sure you're still not a child?

[@Jacxb16]

@@hedonist2104 People whose childhood was in the early 2010's are becoming adults now.

[@hedonist2104]

@@Jacxb16 how high are you?

[@Jacxb16]

@@hedonist2104 A 10 year old in 2014 is now 19, a 10 year old in 2010 is now 23. If 18-23 is your definition of child I'm pretty sure you're the high one. Yes, there are some people who are still children, like people who were 8 in 2014 are still in high school, but that's why I said BECOMING adults. I know, I'm shocked too time goes by quickly.

[@hedonist2104]

@@Jacxb16 you're adding a decade there buddy. 2023 - 2014 is 9 Test

[@ChippyGaming]

This was such an interesting video! Playing Fruit Ninja, and then Jetpack Joyride on my iPod Touch was my childhood

[@gangster7127]

I am not that old but for now did the same fruit ninja after that jetpack joyride played it so long😮

[@sirbush4578]

long see no time.

[@menacingskull740]

why is chippy is in the comments of every recommended video to me

[@Caffin8tor]

What? Terraria content in my Fruit Ninja videos?! 😋

[@ChippyGaming]

@@menacingskull740 I spend a lot of my day on KZbin aha!

[@ashtimbog]

I love how making it slightly unfair was a careful design choice

[@SublimeWeasel]

its just the phrasing

[@SublimeWeasel]

help

[@Tooprototalktonoob2yago]

​@@SublimeWeaselwhat

[@SublimeWeasel]

@@Tooprototalktonoob2yago apparently the phrasing was so funny to me back then

[@Tooprototalktonoob2yago]

@@SublimeWeasel no I'm talking about the line help

[@turkeyman631]

Everyone tried that game once. The fact that we had games on our touch screen phones that incorporated the touch screen aspect was just toally unheard of at that time. I remember going crazy downloading app after app, what a time lol. I mean shoot, even an app where your phone acted as if it was full of beer was super cool back then, Fruit Ninja was legit fun.

[@ungog2679]

ahhhh the got old beer app. my personal favorite the hairtrimmer app.

[@eric8764]

I loved having blade unlocks tied to achievements. It felt way more rewarding and it gave me something to go for other than just score.

[@beatm6948]

I distinctly remember balancing trying to get high scores and getting the achievements while playing the game. It made it so much more fun.

[@antikovt]

However many years later, I still believe that the achievement unlockables system in early FN was one of the best implementations of unlockables in any game ever. It was just so clean and straightforward, and the achievements were actually smart and based on both luck and skill, not just "get a bajillion points in one game"

[@moneyshifters]

Vividly remember this aspect of it, loved achievement based unlocks

[@beelx-dragons8262]

Same, it gave you a concrete goal to work towards whilst still keeping it simple. I'm not a native english speaker so as a child I only really knew really basic stuff, like say... fruit names and numbers, so the sinplicity of the individual achievments meant that I could kind of figure it out even though I didn't know exactly what most of them said.

[@42x24]

Respect

[@angel_of_rust]

@@moneyshifters game devs should normalize that instead of scummy DLC/mtx

[@ipoprz9301]

What fruit ninja became is difficult for me to see because I loved the simple gameplay but it’s been infected with corporate greed now

[@ethereal_samurai4297]

It feels weird hearing a developer genuinely care about their game. We need more people like you, Luke.

[@mauriciowolff8792]

Game developers usually love their games but are forced to deliver it early and unfinished because of budget reasons. The people in the business side are the ones who tend to not care about the game, not the other way around.

[@Dell-ol6hb]

Most game developers care about the game they’re working on, assuming they actually want to work on it. Nobody joins that industry as a dev unless they love making video games

[@HeyExclamationPoint]

@@Dell-ol6hb Well, what about the garten of banban devs? They don’t care for the game, just money.

[@Dany126PL]

​@@HeyExclamationPointThat's why Dell said that "Most" of them care. There are always people thank wants only money.

[@HeyExclamationPoint]

@@Dany126PL Oh, didn’t see the *most* there. Sorry.

[@FirstLast-gh6of]

You’re so in depth and you’re so great at storytelling, not only this, but you give everyone proper credit!

[@ThatNerdGuy0]

He's eventually gonna reveal that he actually made every single childhood mobile game

[@DurrIncorperated]

I know right

[@WyattW_]

inb4 he claims to have made Subway Surfers

[@charlescharliecharles1]

yeah lol

[@saygoodbye-jr4cp]

Bro gonna say he made flappy bird

[@funkywasit]

neil cicerega of video games

[@theundeads1]

bro casually dropped a "yeah I made jetpack joyride" in a video response to him casually saying "yeah I made fruit ninja"

[@felipetenorio6261]

hahahahaha plot: his grandfather made Tetris

[@SHADOWFOX173]

​@@felipetenorio6261 his dad made the first Mario game

[@GonPlayss]

his mother and father collaborated and made him

[@chanhkhiemtran9010]

@@felipetenorio6261 another plot: his great grandfather made the first video game ever

[@billbill6094]

It's crazy to think how much attention was given to teach people back then how to utilize the touchscreen for a purpose beyond just tapping and swiping pages, something so simple yet a brand new concept at the time. I probably learned that myself from fruit ninja unknowingly.

[@lukemuscat]

I think one advantage we had was that we had been designing games for the Nintendo DS for a few years. So we had a bit of a head start in terms of understanding touchscreen interaction design!

[@vic_710]

And now most mobile games are just done by fake companies who copy-paste the same game into unity 50 times, change the assets a bit, add 50 ads per level, and then upload it onto all platforms while making and paying for people to see fake ads for those games. Kinda sad where the mobile game market has gone to now, if only there were more devs like Luke here who actually wanted to make a good game.

[@tidemaned]

@@vic_710 They even go beyond that. Making fake ads that are supposed to prove that the game is not fake, but when you check out the game is just scam like any other.

[@IceMaverick13]

@@vic_710 A big part of that is Unity itself. A huge portion of that engine is literally in-built engine features to display, integrate, and utilize advertisements. It's the primary reason that it's _the_ mobile game engine of choice. Unity has so many tools and make it so easy to include advertisements inside of your project that it gained a large portion of the mobile development base and created this feedback loop where new developers are also drawn to Unity because of how popular it is. Those new developers include ads because of how easy Unity makes it. Those ads create a lot of money, which creates new developers who are again drawn to Unity.

[@Zazuhtt]

@@vic_710 Blame apple's developer's license prices tbh

[@Kelvin.A.M]

Can we just appreciate how good the requests were at 12:30. It was all major and impactful features we came to love! Amazing job from the community at the time.

[@BltchErica]

A big reason why this game was so attractive to me as a child is because touchscreen phones were still fairly new and kids didn't really have access to them. I was just fascinated by how magical touchscreen is, and so a game where you slice fruit with your finger on the touchscreen was extremely cool to me. I think this game had really good timing, it's exactly what kids wanted. Swiping games in general were the bomb.

[@BBFHooly]

no pun intended

[@prump]

@@BBFHoolyit’ll be fruity if it’s intended

[@JUSTICEFORARSONNN]

These videos SUСК! Mine are way BETTER! 🤑

[@pseudoforceyt]

I feel like this is part of the reason for fruit ninja's popularity among children back then

[@epicstudio7185]

Thank you for developing Jetpack Joyride. I was sick as a child almost all the time and it was lonely and harsh. Due to my repeating bronchitis sometimes not only I couldn't see friends for a long time, but I was restricted from almost all activities. And the game was the only thing that entertained me. I still remember how even my mom would play in turns with me. Thank you for my childhood. Hello from Belarus 👋

[@lukemuscat]

Wow that is amazing, thank you for this message and I'm so glad that Jetpack was able to help! I was actually sick and in hospital a lot as a kid as well due to asthma, and used to spend a lot of my time there playing a Game and Watch. Fully understand how much a game can bring to a situation like that.

[@MC-Codebreaker]

Я таксама з Беларусi!

[@ChrisTian-sd5yq]

​@@lukemuscatthanks for making jetpack joyride still play it sometimes

[@r0m3s]

W MOM

[@epicstudio7185]

@@r0m3s yep)

[@ColdFusion]

Just pure awesomeness!

[@elvinshoolbraid84]

Hah

[@会供価]

hi cold fusion 👋

[@1nvisible1]

*The victors write the history books, and while General Muscat revels in the sheer numbers of his sanitized kills and precious metal coins in his accounts, my people were almost exterminated and this was a genocide. We will rise again, and march the streets of California to avenge their deaths! Watch your back Muscat! - Captain Banana.*

[@rameshdevasi6720]

hey, Dagogo big fan!, there are many game developer stories like that, u can make a documentary about it, even I have one...our game, square bird reached 100 million downloads made by three brothers and published by Moonee, working from India in our tiny "company" called Triangle games. so yeah many interesting stuffs

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

you

[@charredolive]

I love the idea that they had finished celebrating only to realize they had to finish the Apple marketing renders while hammered

[@avfaust]

Imagine making two of the greatest and most successful touch screen games ever conceived and not being rich as hell from it. Creators are truly exploited by the system.

[@pi4795]

Yeah definitely he deserved more. But he chose in that moment to be an employee and to have a steady income instead of doing it's own thing taking the risks... It's the same for every salaried person, not just creators

[@subzerodirol723]

People overestimate this "system" as something incredibly stable and workable, forgetting that the people in charge don't just take money from poor employees, they take a lot of responsibility and risks, spending a ton of time, money, and emotional resources on something that may not work out and is just an attempt to create something cool. The employee will lose their job and may find a new one. The founder of the company may owe a lot of money to investors and not just lose everything, but really bind himself to pay off debts that arose after the attempt of undoubtedly creative people to do something cool.

[@acd6835]

That's how it works unfortunately, if you create a successful product, the company owns it, not you, even if you are the creator of it. In return though, you get a steady income, you don't have to worry about taking on financial risk and get a bit more 'freedom' to create without worrying about investors breathing down your neck constantly pressuring you to give them a financial return of the money they invested into your company. Personally, I would do the same thing, take on a job that provides a steady income, and if something does become successful, add that to my resume to potentially get my own investors once I felt I was financially stable enough to do so. It is risky though, even with a successful product (that you don't directly own, but created), may get you investment money for your next project, but that next project may fail and you can end up bankrupt/losing your house etc. Reality of creative enterprise sucks!

[@joaopedromonteiro2517]

ppl talking about the risk of the employers while the Luke's team would literally be fired if they didn't land a title and their bosses surely made, and would continue making, more money than him.

[@duskexx1742]

@@acd6835 Except it's not stable or steady, is it? We know that devs are overworked and underpaid, and we know that they're laid of in droves whenever companies feel like it.

[@beniciobonilla2271]

"I was fiercely protective of the core of Fruit Ninja and had a very clear vision for how I thought the game should feel, and I never really thought about the business side of things at all. I just wanted the game to be how I imagined it should be." We need more game devs like this nowadays.

[@cocobean.72]

Most Devs care about their creation, but as he said in the video it's a product of a company and if the people at the top management want to make more money or want something to change, the Devs have no choice but to go with it, in the end of the day they're just employees who do what they are told to do

[@neutrin0329]

The best games are made with heart, not for profit.

[@LeoKinhg]

​@@neutrin0329 without money you can't make good games. You need investors, if you can't make money no one will invest on your game.

[@Katharsis-ub5cz]

No one can truly do what they want to because of money xd

[@unicorn_xxx3424]

fr

[@carykh]

Man, I remember going to a coding summer camp in 2011 and Fruit Ninja was on the TVs, the phones, everywhere! It's really cool hearing the behind-the-scenes and your reasoning behind all the decisions you made.

[@AmirRazan]

Hi Cary! Seems like you have Fruit Ninja as a part of your childhood too!

[@meltedm]

I'm surprised that you also played it Hope your community sees your comment

[@AzumaknightYT]

EYYY ITS CARY KEY HOLE

[@MasonIncorporated]

He lives

[@PersephonesWitch]

and he’s here too! Hi Cary!

[@Official_Zim]

You literally created a portion of what made our childhood our childhood. Thank you so much man

[@zylianari8556]

This dude singlehandedly made the childhood memories of most Gen Zs. Fruit Ninja and jetpack joyride definitely was one of them.

[@apachers2807]

I lost my shit when he casually said the other game he worked on became jetpack joyride

[@anci3nt_moon578]

You forgot about MDickie. His games were and still are top-tier.

[@zac-1]

what a sad childhood lmao

[@danielbuhr4260]

He makes it clear it wasn't singlehandedly, not to be pedantic

[@pebble312]

@@zac-1L take 😂

[@gamecubebro]

I cannot imagine to tell you that fruit ninja was one of my first video game experiences ever as a kid and loving the simple game. It's amazing how creative you were for the time, you were beyond everyone else back then.

[@nathanielpatterson6963]

Can you elaborate on how a game released in 2010 is creative for the time? Lmfaoo

[@gamecubebro]

@@nathanielpatterson6963 I remembered 2010 used to have quite gimmicky apps or games as it's trying to make use for the touch screen, and not necessarily simplicity. Halfbrick took advantage of that along with doodle jump and subway surfers

[@weltenbummler2535]

Everyone buckle up. That channel will blow up like Fruit Ninja did.

[@cuddlecakes7153]

I'm strapped into my jetpack

[@HyperNova808]

@@Abypar they’re both amazing in their own ways!

[@WohaoG]

I'm here before it happens

[@cosmicisverysigma]

​@@Abypar both

[@cappoisepic]

cant wait

[@CarolUwU-qm2nq]

alright hold on- 17 days after i starting playing the demo of your indie game youtube randomnly recomends your channel and i discover that YOURE THE GUY WHO MADE FRUITNINJA? dude thas crazy!

[@asafupps]

I just downloaded Fruit Ninja for the first time again in maybe five years and I am legitimately devastated at how much it’s changed

[@freezeboy13]

Get fruit ninja classic! It's what I have and its great :P

[@alumlovescake]

Fruit Ninja Classic is still completely changed even from only a few years ago

[@LukeHDPlays]

@@alumlovescake ye cuz the iphone version has ads now

[@anxie-tea9549]

Same here 😭

[@dripman2341]

Last time I played fruit ninja you had to get the blades from lootboxes instead of buying them normally.

[@komokolo4977]

Admittedly disappointing you didn’t receive nearly what I would consider to be enough compensation from the games , but it’s great you have such a love for the craft and for the opportunities it’s created for people that share your passion. All the best.

[@lucmermans37]

For real... I googled his net worth expecting it to be 10M+

[@32BitJunkie]

Seriously, it brought in literally billions of dollars for his company and immediately after leaving, he's in a dorm room with $0 to his name. This isn't a success story, it's a cautionary tale

[@mysteriousm1]

@@32BitJunkie capitalism in a nutshell. Workers produces the sum amount of worth but get the least amount of money

[@funkyboys4834]

​@32BitJunkie He may not have all the money, but I bet if he was in a tough time there would be many supporting him.

[@DJL3G3ND]

@@32BitJunkie Id be greatful to have any game of mine end up half as popular as this regardless

[@jednrrp]

I havent watched this yet but I just wanted to say, part of the reason we all loved this game is because of how beautiful it looked. The colors, textures, pixels, and movement on those bright shiny ipod touches was just mind boggling at the time.

[@Fartandpoop]

Balls

[@GreedyOrange]

@@Fartandpoop exactly! how can no one else see the truth?!

[@normanmai7865]

>Makes Fruit Ninja >Nearly 3 years later Nigahiga cuts his nose trying to do Fruit Ninja irl >You are indirectly responsible for that scar on his nose

[@TohnR]

Nobody can be held responsible for someone else being stupid

[@nullprop]

Everyone is responsible for their own actions

[@SillyNinja]

Dude, you single-handedly designed like a huge chunk of my childhood, and it’s so crazy to see the actual person behind it.

[@pietrocrovatogiardino5159]

Halfbrick games were a constant in my childhood and adolescence, they were such good games, so pure, so arcade-style: no pack openings, no loot chests, no special cards. It was just "hop on, press play, and go". Since Jetpack Joyride is my favourite phone game of all time (I still have it on my phone, after changing like four of them), I would love to see a video on how you guys actually made it!

[@Omnis.satanica.potestas_omnis]

"no pack openings, no loot chests, no special cards" well yes, because in your childhood those concepts didn't even exist in games

[@pietrocrovatogiardino5159]

@@Omnis.satanica.potestas_omnis Weeeeell, not exactly...I mean, clash royale and other games became popular in 2016, when fruit ninja and jetpack joyride were still played with. With that phrase I meant that I prefer more "old school" games, like them. Nothing bad on appreciating pack openings or things like that, it was just my opinion 🤙🏻

[@bringya11]

@@Omnis.satanica.potestas_omnis It's almost like that's exactly what he's saying made the games special...

[@nomoretwitterhandles]

@@Omnis.satanica.potestas_omnis League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Pokemon are only a few extremely popular games I can think of off the top of my head, all of which either have pack opening, loot chests, and/or special cards. (Granted, WoW primarily gets money from their required subscription service.) You're not only a complete idiot who missed the point of OP's comment, but you're also a nincompoop who conveniently forgot that some of the most popular pre-2009 games of all time are loot games. These existed before Fruit Ninja.

[@hiddendrifts]

@@Omnis.satanica.potestas_omnis yes, bc games weren't as focused on nickel and diming their players

[@bonehed-2]

I dont know what to start on. The fact that you are behind so many people’s childhood with fruit ninja AND jetpack joyride, or the fact that you were also behind Rocket Racing, which somehow was a big part of my own childhood! Its just so crazy to see the story behind fruit ninja involving both these games somehow.

[@lukemuscat]

Haha thats great, you must be one of the VERY FEW people who actually played Rocket Racing. I always wished it would attract some kind of speed running scene, because the game is nails and you can always shave 100ths of a second off times, haha.

[@mustafa.m.alnatsheh]

@@lukemuscat I didn't play it but it looks really fun.

[@DarkGhostHacker]

@@lukemuscat it doesn't matter that rocket racing failed. You made jet pack joyride which is 1 of my favorite games of all time for mobile. And fruit ninja was also really fun for a game that seems monotonous. It doesn't feel monotonous to me even though it looks like that.

[@LoneBeastYT]

@@lukemuscat I think with the current mobile gaming market, I genuinely would think it could succeed. It just was a game too ahead of it's time Currently the closest game I can think of for that game is rocket league sideswipe...the game's skill ceiling looks similar in terms of input controls and whatnot

[@cludiix]

@@lukemuscat hey!

[@seanki]

What a nice synergy between you guys when developing it. Love the storytelling, this story could easily be a movie

[@adkoda6264]

That is so crazy. You truly made my childhood with the games you worked on/created. I think people sometimes forget that behind such great games are really people that put all their heart in there. Thank you

[@justinchen2707]

I swear, this is going to become a legit playlist 20 episodes long of just Luke casually revealing that he made every hit mobile game we know.

[@HaveANiceDayLol.]

Man I just knew he made those 5 otome games I had on my iPhone

[@Nugcon]

real

[@theconphentedcow241]

"How I made flappy bird"

[@deleted-something]

Fr

[@whee2390]

Half Brick Studios also made, uh… Dan the Man? Has anyone else played that?

[@K4ngy]

You literally made a good chunk of my childhood, thanks man

[@ven_tilator]

​@GIGACHAD shut up gigachad

[@dasquid7216]

@GIGACHAD ☝️🤓

[@Cooper846]

​@GIGACHAD Cope harder

[@BoiCawer]

@GIGACHAD giganotchad

[@Unknown-es3ce]

​@GIGACHAD cope

[@GoodandBasic]

This is amazing! My kids and I love fruit ninja! It was great meeting you at Open Sauce!

[@AesWhole]

it's crazy to think how much money fruit ninja and jetpack joyride must have made over the years, and know that the person behind those ideas couldn't even peacefully retire

[@idontneedaname318]

Capitalism and big corps love to fuck over the people who make their money

[@raymondqiu8202]

Yeh that's capitalism buddy. Boss gets all the cake

[@Jonny2scoops]

yeah, came to the comments to say this. I'm guessing he didn't even get some percentage of the profits, as surely even a small amount would have made him pretty wealthy

[@jayphil2563]

​@@raymondqiu8202 had he had the capital to pay everyone involved he'd have more of the cake. Instead he traded his idea, labor and time for continued employment and the chance to make a game he wanted. Had the game flopped the only people that lose out here are the people that put up the capital to develop a product that has almost no return on investment.

[@GhostGlitch.]

​​@José Antonio. Ideally we wouldn't have a system which requires a capitalist class to enable the peasants and who gets to earn money simply by gambling on the success of others.

[@Rasa_b]

Dude at my freshman year I had to clone Jetpack Joyride for my final project in C++,the most interesting and challenging part of it for me was laser traps,chasing your position vertically and then slowly being activated…i got multiple headaches over the logic and randomness behind it 😅 If there’s ever going to be a Mount Rushmore for hyper casual games,you sir definitely deserve to be on it.nowadays we don’t have mobile games like that anymore but back then when there was no Snapchat or Instagram,EVERYONE had fruit ninja on their phones

[@lukemuscat]

Hahaha, yeah the laser sequences were indeed a bit of a beast. We used XML files to define positions, timings and behaviours for each sequence, and then just had lots of sequences the game could pick form and a difficulty rating for each so it could start easy and pick harder ones later. Pretty laborious, we didn't have any good visual tools for creating that kind of stuff!

[@hi-wf9ql]

he would be on the mount rushmore for nostalgia too lmao

[@sayingnigromakesyoutubecry2647]

In that mount we should have also early popcap games

[@nathanbalagbogbo8709]

And subway surfers and temple run

[@Juk-j2g]

Can I see your code. I’ve been working on something similar. (If you could)

[@JustTaaco]

I love how the guy who made fruit ninja now casually makes KZbin videos I am so surprised that you don't have a lot more subscribers

[@zhanucong4614]

he has only 11 videos ,kinda hard to have many subs at beginning

[@f2pkx463]

Tbf you have to incrementally increase your subscriber count

[@player70477]

its how making a channel works you dont get 1 million subs by making one video

[@herculesgameclips]

i vaguely remember that original trailer in the park 🤣🤣 major childhood game, and great video!

[@SarahMD_HI]

‏‪18:15‬‏ as a health informatics specialist who has seen this video randomly, I am surprised by the story of gamification to stroke patients. there are hidden heroes in this world

[@lukemuscat]

When Neuroscience Australia approached us with the idea, I was super keen, as my father had suffered from a heart attack just months earlier. I didn't find time to get into it deeper in this video, but the game tracked your performance in different segments of the screen with the idea that if you had suffered a loss of vision in a specific region, the game would be able to detect and perhaps be a tool to improve this. The game had lots of settings so you could change the size, speed and colors of the fruit so it could be tailored to different ability levels. I have no idea how successful or widely spread the trial was, but it felt very worth spending the time on that's for sure!

[@Soulxxxreaper]

@@lukemuscathello, im doing a school project & i think i want to make a game that helps patients just like you described . Can you get back to me with more details it will help a ton!

[@real90nz]

in 4th grade, my friends & i sent halfbrick studios a letter to show our appreciation for the games they created. we didn’t even expect a letter back but they ended up sending us one & some plush toys. funny how this video comes up for me 12+ years later , thx so much for those memories

[@eshwar6969]

That'sso cute

[@SPIDEREMMAN]

Wholesome

[@lightplayz4430]

O

[@durlabhbiswas860]

I wish I was you

[@Wetnapkin69]

We need more devs like this

[@otockian]

Dude, props to you about being actually transparent and honest with your team telling the team that if you didn't make 300k you were out of business. I've worked at so many places that wouldn't say anything, you would hear stuff on grapevine creating a really toxic environment, and then one day you come in and they let 90% of the staff go without any notice. So seriously, props for you for doing the right thing!

[@matejmlakar5401]

But how is a company allowed to get in a such a big dept? To me it's just unreasonable to get a 300k loan and not being 100% sure you can pay it back. I mean, what if your idea doesn't work out and you spent the next century just paying back the loan?

[@otockian]

@@matejmlakar5401 It's business man, there are no guarantees especially if you are taking risks to create cool new stuff.

[@nomoretwitterhandles]

​@@matejmlakar5401 "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." An age-old proverb which means if you never take any risks, you'll never achieve anything great. Another modern proverb is "You miss every shot you don't take". While it may seem stupid to go into debt over a game, you have to remember that some of the best games you've ever played may not have been created without fear of failure. That's all business. You take a risk with some people you trust, and you hope you get lucky enough to make it big. With the right amount of work and just a touch of luck, a record-breaking idea tops the charts. So, you can spend the rest of your life playing it safe; that's totally respectable and there's nothing wrong with that; or, you can make a difference and create a legacy for yourself. You just have to take risks.

[@Fartandpoop]

Balls

[@sugarkookiewithsometae4245]

​@@matejmlakar5401 In the grand scheme of game business, 300K is small potatoes.

[@Nafiur13]

you didnt make fruit ninja... you made my childhood

[@11ssoul]

But he did make fruit ninja 😕

[@dunkyourdonuts2282]

I love how back then "currency" in-game was actually in-game, no micro-transactions. I know companies need to survive and make money, but those were the good days.

[@npip99]

Eh it's not survival it's just them milking it. But the concept isn't copyrightable and there are free versions (As he mentioned, the game can be made in a month!), so it's not some great loss to humanity that they milk it.

[@Jarvalicious]

Companies do survive and make money without shilling micro transactions and battle passes and loot boxes. It’s unnecessary garbage placed there to feed money up the corporate ladder.

[@Umbasa69]

lmfao nah a lot of mobile games had microtransactions back then

[@littlefishbigmountain]

@@Umbasa69 Very true, but iirc it was also a lot more ad heavy. Of course, now they do both pretty strong, but I think ads were chilled out a little bit because they piss people off so bad when they’re constant to the point that they don’t want to deal with with it anymore

[@vladimir4526]

Survive XD

[@nicholaschambers3800]

The different type of blades were a major part of the game. I loved it as a kid which made the game solely different than other games.

[@nocturnalgames9472]

You're an incredible game designer, I love that you just tried ideas and went "this doesn't feel right", and every single time the final decisions were the correct ones. Amazing second sense for design

[@Gino3mila]

TYSM for sharing your stories of how you designed Fruit Ninja! That game was literally my childhood!

[@eightwinter3082]

Holy sh*t. This guy seriously needs more recognition.

[@coreytaylor3633]

This is so much more true than you know! He's a hand's down industry genius.

[@Td_Flyy]

Dear god, it's the legend himself. But the fact that he did it again and just threw in Jetpack Joyride is hilarious, he has to make an entire other video on that too, lol

[@_UberEats_]

jetpack joyride = best endless runner

[@rarerx]

To be honest the first version of the dojo when you had to do achievements was my favorite. Unforgettable memories

[@GuitarManDan]

Same

[@nahometesfay1112]

How does it work now?

[@lessalazar9068]

​@@nahometesfay1112You have to get starfruit to buy stuff

[@garryhlambert]

​@@lessalazar9068 fruit micro transactions

[@OHIOMILKMAN]

YOU MADE THE MOST HISTORICAL GAMES EVER, also the VR game is amazing thx for an awesome childhood.

[@flufvee87]

I like how as he goes “back in time” and explained how he made fruit ninja, the wayback machine is in the background, which turns into fruit ninja.

[@2stump944]

8:45

[@patakyun]

22:08 I'd definitely listen to a longer version too, you're a good storyteller. I like all the little anecdotes, like the making of the initial ad or all of you suddenly having to whip up promotional art for the game while drunk 😂

[@ATribeCalledCars]

I remember writing for Pocket Gamer as an intern during the rise of Fruit Ninja and other big hits. Though some gamers mocked mobile games, it felt like a throwback to the humble, pure beginnings of the medium. Where a simple idea and solid execution could become a hit, even if it was just one developer. Your video brought back some fond memories.

[@notsanger]

i always liked how simple mobile games were, i feel like once phones got the levels of processing power they have today games just became console and pc games with a touchscreen and it lost the charm.

[@luke_from_online]

I remember playing the Game Center PvP Fruit Ninja when it came out, and the Game Center pool table aesthetic. I haven't thought about that since it happened but seeing your footage of it brought back memories. Great video also Jet Pack Joy Ride is GOAT

[@pastformal8354]

I cannot even begin to explain the level of joy fruit ninja and jetpack joyride brought me as a teenager, they are the perfect example of what mobile games should strive to be. No predatory monetization, no lootboxes, no or minimal adds, and a price tag of a few dollars. Jetpack Joyride still remains my favorite mobile game to this day, more game designers need to take a page from you and your team. Best of luck in the future.

[@Casualaussieplayer]

The fact you got 1.5mil views (at the time of the comment) for this shows how many people this game impacted. Keep up the work and I’m keen to see your new game

[@Dexzler]

420k views in 2 days.

[@DroneConflict]

I think my favorite part about this is how much credit he gives to others and how much they contributed

[@Shwanksy]

yeah i mean its the internet, if he didnt..... you know where that goes.

[@willoverdoseonmusic]

@@Shwanksy okay...

[@Shwanksy]

@@willoverdoseonmusic im only joking around lol

[@funnyman4311]

You, sir, are an absolute legend. I hope you know that. Your team has near single-handedly given so many people in this world numberless hours of entertainment. I had fruit ninja and jetpack joyride on an old iPod touch that I used to play on when I was a child, and it was one of many games that made my childhood great. Finally getting to know who made those two games is like meeting a childhood hero. Thank you, and your team, for making a key part of not only my childhood, but that of many others.

[@Vysair]

Im amazed at how far ahead he is for its time. What he did then was what the indie scene do today.

[@sunderark]

This is what every game studio does though since forever. I'm not sure what you're trying to say.

[@-_-___----_..]

​@@sunderark he's talking about the innovation and breaking out of the boring mold designed to make as much money as possible

[@angel_of_rust]

@@sunderark not every game dev studio makes good games though, that's the hard part

[@rady7273]

especially the cheap ad

[@duncanseltzer3211]

The original shop system was my favorite update. I loved doing those achievements so much

[@pazecs]

Yeah, sad that they have to ruin every mobile game with ads every 10 seconds and 3 different currencies.

[@Chawcyy]

Same i remember dying to get new backgrounds HAHAHHA

[@louisd1827]

I also remember it very fondly. I used to play it on my friend's I-Phone in 6th grade all the time. I went looking for the game again 10 years later, DLed it, realized the game had become so heavily monetized, I lost interest quickly.

[@surfingbilly9654]

Wow, just looked at the CEO's net worth, Shainiel Deo is worth $70 million (probably more). Half brick studios put out three good games (two of them being made by this guy), and the guy in this video is still middle class.

[@playergame6398]

Yeah man , I am speechless about this , the person who pour his heart in game development is explaining concepts like he his still working under project , he was neglected from business side

[@nomadfc4342]

@@tcideh4929 yeah the ceo pretty much fucked this guy in the ass but then again it was the easiest route

[@nomadfc4342]

@@tcideh4929 also is not his idea though, its the company's idea

[@TheFeriner]

@@tcideh4929 lol you think that because you understand the risks and process for late-stage capitalism that makes it good? you can’t just spout a bunch of processes and think that you dunked on op for complaining about how stupid late stage capitalism is and how often the working people get robbed of merit for their work and IP. learn about other economic systems please

[@yeetlebandeetle]

@@TheFeriner at what point did he give his opinion about capitalism. He just informed him about the situation. Stop making imaginary enemies to argue with

[@pheniox44]

im dying at the fact you all were drunk for the apple featured art LOL what agreat story. One of those magical things that just comes together.

[@PadensPixels]

A long video? You managed to unpack a large chunk of the development history surrounding one of the most influential mobile games ever, and you did it in a little over 20 minutes. Not to mention, you're the guy who came up with the idea for it! Take as long as you want to, share as many insights and stories as you feel like sharing, because this is the sort of stuff that gets forgotten about all too often in this industry. Thanks so much for posting this, and I'm looking forward to that Jetpack Joyride video next!

[@helmsmanpacker3456]

good comment

[@benturtl9076]

Reminds me of the quote "If I had more time, I would have written shorter letter."

[@helmsmanpacker3456]

@@benturtl9076 I didn't know what this meant but then looked it up.. So its very much still worth sharing a 'long' story now, because there's so much worth sharing? Tbh i think this video perhaps is the 'short letter', it was a joy to watch through the whole 20mins

[@benturtl9076]

@@helmsmanpacker3456 Exactly, this is the short letter. It's meaning is more like that everybody can just ramble on about something and write it down, but actually writing a short and consisive one takes more time, skill and effort.

[@CoolLookinPea]

This dude casually said “I wanna kill some fruit” and made a masterpiece, with help from a talented team of course

[@jarbincks6715]

2 minutes in and I've already concluded this man is an absolute gem

[@MelvinTangGames]

The game I was playing on my free time back then. I was in elementary school, slapping my friend's iPad 3 to play either Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride, Zombie Tsunami / Bloons TD 3. That was fenomenal... Good job Luke & team

[@xillitharclight]

You know... I think game industry really needs more of passionate people like you. People that care about making a good and enjoyable game more than just quickly making some sh*tty mess and adding a whole bunch of ads and microtransactions to it.

[@IDMYM8]

I also truly support passionate game developers all around the world, but I understand the problem we have now. Games are not the same anymore. I didn't meant games like a single "game", you know. Gaming has become very different and the main reason I find is it going mainstream. Just like every other thing, going mainstream always causes major shift of core principles etc. Just think about it, if you can make like $1 from hundreds of millions of people vs $10 from like some thousands of people? The choice is very intuitive. So... In the present era, games are supposed to be played for only some hours by many, MANY people, and the company is challenged to make a bank from that small span of time that they gain from people. People in today's date have so much to do, and every other year or so there's always some new trend, a new toy in the room that pops up and that's what everybody supposedly plays. This means, games for mainstream audience is a very small part of their lives, and there's nothing wrong with it. This is kind of the ultimate faith of every new toy that's going to happen. For once, it will be played whole heartedly for the whole day. Later, it will be put on side when a new toy comes in. (Have you watched Toy Story?) The old toy will be played for little time, and the producers of that toy have to feed the greed (the investors that help keep the ship afloat) by making whatever they could from the little shared of experience the old toy has left to give. I feel like the only way all of this can be stopped and gaming can go back to its roots is by treating companies as projects rather than a ship. Like, you create this company and then create the product that you wanted. Then when you feel like you're done giving with that project, you make everybody pack their bags and go home with whatever you made and kill the company. This will create other problems, such as what's going to happen with the game you made? What about the little userbase that still cares? You know, all that sentimental issues. Maybe being strict at the limitation of consumption is the only way? The people that are still left playing will find something else anyways. But then again, the companies have way more uses than just a being startup for some project, like giving jobs, becoming rich etc. Companies are assets and we really need to do something about it.

[@Icaruz]

The Problem is, that the majority of the Devs truly care about what they create. Apex Legends and Overwatch Devs for example want to create a great game. the real problem are the people above them. giving them impossible deadlines, where they are forced to rush the process and makes them unable to put in a lot of love. all that for money. thats why you get all the alpha access and unfinished games....

[@liquidpza]

This was fantastic, and feels like something of a cautionary tale. If at all possible, own a piece of the IP that you pour your hearts and souls into. This man was an enormous catalyst in creating a literal billion dollar property, and he received a couple of nice bonuses while the rich got richer.

[@Zakru]

Hah, it's so easy to tell that creative control is in other hands now. I remember playing the version with just classic, zen and arcade modes, no bullshit. Such a beautifully crafted, simply perfect game. Compared to many things, it's really blatant that it was made to be fun, and not just made to be a cash cow.

[@hiblonick1747]

I know, the new fruit ninja just makes me sad now... 😔

[@cristaltom2377]

hey guys, do you know that theres a dude who cracked the old version? so its still playable! search it on yt

[@tfwnoyandere]

arcade is goated i remember getting like 1300 for the first time before they added levels and different blades and shi

[@skither4305]

Jesus loves all of you! Turn to him before it’s too late!

[@mujtabaalam5907]

​@@cristaltom2377 I can't find it, what's the title?

[@trixiewutang]

the fact that this is the best game ever and you can still play it at dave and busters, you're a legend man

[@chickenmaster3879]

At my local arcade, the fruit ninja machine is basically just the core game that you wanted to stay pure. I've only ever experienced that version of Fruit Ninja.

[@dat_fast_boi]

I think this struck a good balance between giving detail about the history of the game / your involvement and keeping it brief; it was engaging the whole way through. If you want to share more stories that you have about Fruit Ninja, you could always slip a few into some regular videos like you did at the start of the Feed the Deep devlog, except with smaller applicable tales, or you could make individual Shorts for each story you have, which would keep them seperate from the main content and potentially bring in more viewership.

[@x8c8r]

Casually describes the development history of one of the best classic mobile games ever made. Honestly I would watch a 6 hour long fruit ninja documentary.

[@MichaelCagape]

Luke, thank you so much for the memories that you and your team imparted to us- This game has been part of my teenage years and I really enjoy playing it. I'm introverted and spend most of my time in front of my phone

[@KevinMcLean]

I think the coolest part is learning how you didn't get rich off of Fruit Ninja despite being its original creator. As a newbie creative that hopes to go big like this someday, it helps me think of my dreams in more realistic ways. Noice!

[@zayn659]

How is it cool that he didn't got rich off his product😅

[@Sami_J92]

@@zayn659 "..the coolest part is LEARNING how.."

[@michaeltagor4238]

@@zayn659 read god damn it, it's cool cus it gives him the opportunity to learn the reality of his dreams

[@peterlewis2178]

I mean, that's only if you work for an existing company. If you go full indie, your income will 100% be tied to the sales of the product.

[@originator4649]

@@michaeltagor4238 but how is learning that cool, if anything it's sad

[@notans]

It's really inspiring to see that you produce games with a philosophy around fun gameplay rather than making it the most profitable. I feel more excited seeing this rather than seeing a "cash-grab" addicting one

[@Hecker9974]

They really messed up the game when they turned it full profit mode

[@zac-1]

ok

[@Softlol]

This means he is more like an artist. He really has vision and only care about that. Sometimes this ends up making you no money at all, but at least you made something with a soul in it

[@MAZ_dah]

This guy is an international treasure, no joke should’ve gotten a chance at a nobel peace prize for making so many of us happy through this application.

[@yasony424]

nobel peace prize is for making more peace through countries as in political matters such as war

[@22karot]

He also created temple run and Flappy bird

[@itsesye]

that's not how nobel peace prize work

[@Glowshines]

@@22karot he did not make flappy bird

[@Unimportant_egg]

@@22karot those comments were joking my guy

[@StoicBanana420]

I hope you know you've lit up my desire to learn programming!! You and your team left such a big place in my childhood bc of your work!! Thank you for all you do

[@kikik5492]

I really needed this video. Thank you. I'm a game developer running a studio with my company partner. Our first game as an indie studio happened to take off and see massive success, and we definitely were not ready or equipped to handle the success it had. This put us at a point of figuring out how to update in a way that was quick and easy while still shipping out quality updates. But as such, we often didn't get time to breath and for about 3 years straight, we didn't take a break and didn't focus on other games. Finally, we're both facing burn out on this particular game and we were ready to move on. We found someone to take over the programming aspect, but I still ran the creative and visual aspect of the game and storyline progression. I've really struggled with letting go of the game and handing it over to someone else entirely to take over as, in a weird way, it was my baby. But after watching this video and hearing your conclusion to let it fall to another team, one that could give it the care and love it deserved while I get the chance to pursue other new IP and ideas, I finally realized just that. I'm ready for the next game and although we've had other games in production, I was still involved in this one because I cared about it so much. It was our first big success and hard to let go... But, in the end, its not my game. It's our company's game, and I need to let it go to a new team that is really going to continue give it the attention it deserves. So again, thank you.

[@anthonyreis3533]

I'm glad this spoke so directly to you. Hope everything works out for you.

[@Droid_ver130]

can I work for you for free😅😅

[@cartoonhyperfixated]

Just in curiosity, what’s the game? I wanna check it out

[@manciv510]

Godspeed buddy

[@vlttrr]

This video just randomly appeared on my KZbin feed and at first I was just about to scroll past this, but then it brought back some memories so I ended up watching the whole thing. And it was really interesting, so thanks for sharing your story! One question I do have tho, did you ever feel bitter about the fact that you didnt get a bigger share of the money the game made?

[@lukemuscat]

Yeah sometimes. Especially when times were a bit tough and I was trying to figure out how to pay my mortgage or having to borrow money to cover an unexpected bill. I'm in a good place now though, and just feel incredibly lucky to have been able to design something that reached so many people.

[@MarioKartSuperCircuit]

​@@lukemuscatI also noticed that you showed footage of De Blob 2 (DS) which is quite a unique game compared to it's console counterpart, did you have any partake in development for this game? I've always enjoyed it and have kinda always wanted to know how it came to be.

[@lukemuscat]

@@MarioKartSuperCircuit Nah, I wasn't involved in that one at all. From memory, part of that team went on to make the Kinect and Puss In Boots versions of Fruit Ninja though.

[@wormsblink2887]

Seems like Steve was incredibly good, few programmers would be able to create so many features so quickly without fail. Kudos to Steve, whether he is now.

[@lukemuscat]

He's still crushing. Made Steppy Pants with Shath and more recently Spin Rhythm XD together too.

[@evanjohnson6884]

@@lukemuscat yo what?? the guys behind fruit ninja made spin rhythm XD!? I never woulda guessed but it makes total sense, I love SRXD

[@BlueDot149]

how did this comment get 1.4k likes but… 3 comment!?!!?!?

[@luketech3767]

@@BlueDot149 I have absolutely no idea. Flattering, isn't it?

[@xsct878]

@@lukemuscat holy fuck I love Spin Rhythm.

[@Klimbo93]

genious game design leader every seconds of this video! and i mean every word suddenly I want to be designing games alongside him *o*

[@cherrycurry404]

It's actually insane how much you and your team at half brick pretty much changed the landscape of the mobile gaming environment with Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride. I still have very fond memories of each major update and playing through the new modes on my older brother's Ipod touch. However, I also feel that it is a bit disheartening that your success on fruit ninja wasn't properly rewarded by half brick, when you basically made the game that saved the company.

[@christopherstein2024]

Apple did a great move by featuring this game. I was born in 2000 and back in the day when these games came out and we as kids got our hands on them, they were the true advertisements for the iPhone. Fruit ninja was the greatest touch screen tech demo ever. It was less a game than saying to use "the future is now". We all got iPod touches later on because of these experiences. Jetpack Joyride also has a huge place in my heart and it makes me a bit sad that you didn't get rich from this. You made history and you are part of the rise of the smart phone.

[@olliecrafter]

Bro, did this dude seriously make one of the most prominent games from my childhood? You get my full respect

[@LuchaDCom]

Really nice video, i love how you resume all the process in 22 mins i'm actually impressed tbh, thanks for sharing!!

[@Tom-101]

The achievement system and unlocking the different blades with achievements was so cool at the time, it was my favourite period of the game. Way way more satisfying than any currency based system. You could show off the ones you earned to your friends that played too. Great ideas!

[@simmeringstudios]

Thanks for sharing your story Luke! As someone who grew up playing these games, I would love to hear about Jetpack Joyride as well.

[@l-l]

I would watch an entire documentary about the development and genius behind fruit ninja. You and your team were one of the few who truly defined early iOS games. Thank you for all of the memories.

[@averyshaw2142]

So fascinating seeing the design process behind these games. Playing as a case, its hard to explain what there is to like about the games we played, but seeing how much thought went into each aspect definitely helps me understand why they were immensely popular

[@Brigtzen]

I really do owe my childhood to this guy 19:12 wait you were involved in making fish out of water?? thats one of my all time favorite games!

[@Lagosta777]

So much nostalgia when I saw it too. It no longer exists on android, :( wish i could play again. Games before 2015 for phones were just so simple and fun.

[@attackehh]

I swear he made every single childhood mobile game

[@lukemuscat]

Yeah Fish out of Water the same team of myself, Steve and Shath. I was doing a lot of surfing at the time, and so I wanted to make a game where the weather had a big impact, which eventually turned into stone skipping, and then Fish out of Water :) The cranky Red Crab was named after our producer, Jason Harwood.

[@runawayfromtheflay]

​@@lukemuscat Congratulations you are now a legend from gaming 🎉

[@thatitalianlameguy2235]

​@@lukemuscat do you know the people who worked on dan the man at halfbrick? That would be a really interesting video

[@TheOneHistoryGuy]

I came expecting a brief history of you development of Fruit Ninja - which was amazing - but what really struck me was your attitude to your team, your company and to game development in general. Seeing you give due credit and your transparency with the team - it's like an inspirational breath of fresh air. Keep up the great work, Luke!

[@cositayjack]

I really like how on every success story there is always something of luck involved. While making something good means you need less luck to succeed it is definitely still present. It is also really interesting to know how much passion went into a game that seems so simple.

[@bblunder]

I don't remember I ever watched a video without skipping a second for a long time. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. It was so valuable and fun to listen.