I made a text adventure in 5 years (with 10 more to come)

Play the game at: pixelart.academy
Join the real-life school at: www.theindiequest.se
MUSIC BY LEEMAJIK:
leemajik.bandcamp.com
BECOME A PATRON:
/ retro
MORE PIXEL ART ACADEMY ON:
Discord: / discord
Twitter: / pixelartacademy
Devlog: cutt.ly/pixelartacademy-devlog
Roadmap: trello.com/b/ORghx9in/pixel-a...
MORE RETRONATOR ON:
Tumblr: www.retronator.com
Twitter: / retronator
Facebook: / retronator
Medium: / retronator
Instagram: / retronator
USED FOOTAGE:
Evolution: The Game of Intelligent Life by Solitarian
• Playing Evolution: The...
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Before the Kickstarter
02:28 Year 1
03:14 Year 2
05:32 Year 3
06:48 Year 4
08:20 Year 5
10:17 The Future

[@fixpena]

You've built a concept, a full 3D engine with physics, an editor, a web app, a web server, and a game. On top of that, you draw amazing pixel art. That's genius-level of persistance and commitmment. Thanks for the inspiration, I'm glad you love it so much. Keep it up!

[@Retronator]

Thank you for the kind words. When you put it that way, yeah, I guess there's been quite some work done, even if I'm hard on myself. More to come! :D

[@Solomonwo]

Nop

[@degenyakuza]

A true artist, I respect him.

[@mach5406]

This is common place for passionate solo developers. We never settle on just one thing. What we learn making one app can help with another app, so a garden of apps is a natural progression. It also helps to maintain drive as there is always a fresh new challenge to tackle.

[@JamieBainbridge]

"I'll make a text adventure" ...5 years later... "I made a physics-accurate 3D voxel engine". At this rate, you're gonna simulate all of reality and have artificial intelligence walking around in The Matrix.

[@Retronator]

Haha, yeah. :D This year I've been more focused on the learning materials, which will be the topic of the next update when it's ready. But you can already see the progress in the online Study Guide: retropolis.city/academy-of-art/study-guide I am looking forward to returning to the graphics engine though and get all locations illustrated with the system. I'm kind of sad it was put on hold, but that's the only way I can make this sustainable right now. Plus it's good value to everyone to get new learning activities to complete.

[@CGVega]

i still don't get how your 2D/3D/2D/3D engine exists, it blows my goddm mind. glad you enjoying ur ride, man!

[@Retronator]

Yeah, it's a bit tricky. I've given a few Q&A's recently, you can see them here: www.retronator.com/post/614580182382182400/retronator-i-made-this-little-room-scene-to-test

[@huistelefoon5375]

I thought this video must have had a couple million views, but no.. This really deserves more attention than it already does. Keep it up man!

[@Retronator]

Thank you, I am indeed still going and am getting ready for a Steam release of the learning parts now to focus things a bit. It's quite a journey!

[@rigmaroul]

Its physically impossible to describe how underrated you are. 5 years of work and counting, and I can barely work for a day. kudos

[@Retronator]

I do wish I could work faster and there'd be 10h of gameplay by now, but yeah, I think I need to be OK with the pace and just keep on working. It really helps that it's a dreams-come-true project for me.

[@mr_indie_fan]

I've just found his channel today

[@supertroy9977]

WOW!

[@Retronator]

😊

[@timsoretofficial]

Thank you so much Matej for inspiring all of us with your incredible persistence, your love of learning & teaching, and pushing the boundaries of pixel art.

[@Retronator]

It's my pleasure, it really is. Makes me happy it can bring value to others as well. Now with rolling this out in the school here, the progress of the learning parts will just accelerate. And of course, same to you on the inspiration/pixel art front and always making us think more and wonder about the future.

[@eboatwright_]

That's amazing. I've been into text adventure games lately so that's awesome! Also, I love how in the demo, when you play the game it says "PICO-8" at the bottom! I've been using PICO-8 for about 5 months now, and I'm loving it.

[@Retronator]

Yeah, it's an actual PICO-8 game running in the browser! You can share the link to the version with your art, for example: pixelart.academy/pico8/snake/jz7knRtJEYGkGcw4y If I were to change the art in the in-game editor while you're playing on that link, it would also immediately update in the PICO-8, while you're playing! It took some extra code in the app to receive sprite updates in real-time while running, but it works! You can even download the cartridge image of your game (right click, save as in the game interface) to run it with the PICO-8 app: pixelart.academy/pico8/cartridge.png?gameId=cZXLE94Q3NBi9awqK&projectId=jz7knRtJEYGkGcw4y&runId=tQioA9ZtXEZKe28Q7 I love PICO-8 as you can imagine. :D

[@eboatwright_]

@@Retronator That's amazing! How did you make the little game boy advance thing around the emulator?

[@Retronator]

@@eboatwright_ Oh, that's just a custom image I drew and put it into the webpage around the embedded PICO-8.

[@eboatwright_]

@@Retronator Huh. Interesting! :D

[@CheeseOfMasters]

Dude I am in awe. What was presented of your game seems to be top quality, and the design of your website is so engaging and the art is also top notch! I look forward to try your game out as soon as it comes out.

[@Retronator]

Thank you for these nice words! Hopefully that will happen still in this decade, I'm working on it! :D

[@Z3nPnk]

Love your journey, new sub :)

[@Retronator]

Same, love what you're doing with your channel! Thanks for inviting me to the Discord too.

[@thatprogramer]

Din resa genom spelprogrammering är helt fantastiskt och konceptet för spelet låter ju super coolt!

[@Retronator]

I'm glad you think so, thank you!

[@supermalavox]

It would be fun if you at some point made a text-based adventure about sound features, even if it would deal with 8-bit sounds, etc. That way, the game would be blind-friendly twice: Once because text adventures are spoken out loud by our screen readers and also because it would be based on hearing!

[@Retronator]

That's actually something I've been thinking about a lot. Not exactly yet that the game would teach about sound (which I would love to have a music department at the academy at some point, just have to do the art parts done in the next 10 years first). But I am often thinking how much thought I should put into accessibility for blind people. Would you/they be interested in being able to play through a game about becoming a visual artist? It makes sense for when it's a game about learning music, but not sure until then.

[@supermalavox]

@@Retronator, I guess the visual artist part would be interesting for blind people who lost their sight. As a born-blind person, I can say it would be interesting only if I took math into account, just like music would be for a deaf person, since this type of art also deals with math, like when you work with intervals, volume, etc. However, if you ever build a music department in your game, I will certainly be willing to test it and hear how that would combine with text adventures, which is a style I like playing. Not only the offline ones but MUDs as well!

[@LighterthiefFO]

Fascinating to see your journey. Wishing you all the best!

[@Retronator]

Thank you! All the best will be needed it seems. ^_^

[@danashrulez]

You are an absolute inspiration! Your passion and love for your project is infectious! I can't wait to see the future of pixel art academy!

[@Retronator]

I'm very grateful to hear that. And I can't wait to make the future of Pixel Art Academy happen! See you soon in a new devlog.

[@darksaiyan2006]

Awesome stuff - I've followed your progress over the years in passing, and it's super impressive what you've achieved so far - I'm looking forward to what's to come!

[@Retronator]

Thank you, makes me happy you think so. My own feelings have been all over the place these last couple years, but I've finally found peace with how long this is taking and am ready to just enjoy working on it over the next however many years it needs to be fully realized. Thanks for following along!

[@ryanman56]

This is exactly what I needed to see, I'm so impressed with your journey! I've recently started developing a pretty ambitious coding game, and have been feeling a bit downtrodden with how slow the pace of development has been. But seeing your video has made me realise how much can be accomplished over time if you stick with what you're passionate about. So, thank you, and good luck!

[@Retronator]

Yes, you definitely can! If you find something you really love (and not just the outcome, but also the process of getting there), then it's quite possible, if you're prepared to give that big chunk of your life to realizing it.

[@bryxer7v7]

Bro BRO BROOOOOO!!! The pixel art is CRAAAAAAAAAAZ !!!!! 1:04 This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen IN MY LIFE!!!! Plus you now are my role module, you are the embodiment of all my future dreams! NEVER GIVE UP YOU ARE EPIX!!!!

[@RedEzelt]

Wow just wow, I was searching for something else but came across this video instead. You are amazingly passionate, the way you appreciate your work is admiring!! I'm looking forward to the future of this project, it's so unique and beautiful

[@ernierasta]

I love your attitude! Great work, take your time, keep pushing and be happy doing it!

[@Retronator]

Thank you, I realy appreciate the encouragement!

[@MatheusPese]

You are one guy that i kinda wish i could be friend with. Everything you make is so cool. And you do a lot of stuff that i would love to see myself doing in the future. Anyways, amazing work!

[@Retronator]

That is very nice to hear, thank you! And hey, maybe you can visit Spelkollektivet and we make it happen! :)

[@imperfektionist18]

This is one of the graphically mostly appealing videos I‘ve ever seen. I guess it speaks for your game!

[@Retronator]

Thank you for your kind words! I'm looking forward to when even more art is done for the game, it has great potential, can't wait to realize it.

[@levimorningstar2562]

That looks so good...

[@noicenoise8718]

makes me think again about how I spend my 24 hours, you're awesome man!

[@Retronator]

My motto as a kid used to be, work hard, play harder … Now it's similar: play hard, work harder. :) That is to say, I try to keep a healthy balance still, it's just more on the work side, but I do still not work too. Work for 8h every day, play games/entertainment in the evenings. I do this on weekends too, with rare exceptions (like my birthday). I prefer to keep the routine going, so the work never stops. But I also know to end after 8 hours. And that way the play never stops too. :)

[@noicenoise8718]

@@Retronator will also work harder on something I really really wanna devote someday 😁 I am still at college student and just starting everything I can learn about gamedev 💖

[@postaldude7879]

The lights look nice

[@andreas7667]

Holy moly. I'm impressed.

[@Retronator]

Haha, yeah, it's a bit full of crazy stuff. :D

[@billj.3561]

This is insane!!! I just find oud about this... Will join soon!

[@mr_indie_fan]

Around 50 devlog youtubers later and somehow im just now finding your channel......... And Another interesting game to go with it!

[@mr_indie_fan]

That idea of teaching everything with video games is one i have had for a while now to (before seeing this), I've come up with a science game so there's that!

[@mr_indie_fan]

Innovation and a unique project, I've said it before and ill say it again: every devlog/youtuber game i come across is unique, no two alike, and many of them are very innovative (such as this one)! From 4d miner to punch a bunch to this game there is no lack of innovation and unique indie games, its honestly amazing!

[@Retronator]

Agreed! I made one video just about learning with video games, I really love the idea. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnPElZisiMR0grM Can you link to your game?

[@mr_indie_fan]

@@Retronator i haven't made my game yet, I've just got the idea of it and how it'll work done for now, though i am starting a studio soon! (I've researched all the aspects of game development, as well as watched a bunch of devlog youtubers who give tips and i've got quite a few ideas for games)

[@mr_indie_fan]

@@Retronator but yeah i love the idea of learning with video games to, and ill definitely watch the video you linked!

[@fujofilm]

this is amazing!

[@MatejJan]

Thank you for saying this, makes me happy to know you enjoy it!

[@water6133]

I am really glad that I click this on my recommendation

[@fauxio5063]

You make me feel very inadequate. Keep doing you, man. Good job

[@MatejJan]

Thank you!! And all I wish for is to inspire you to feel empowered and go follow your creative passions and dreams and find out that you're more than adequate to do what you wish to do if you love it and work hard!

[@mr.fraiche8635]

This was in my recommended and I live this, I’ll definitely check this out more. Was surprised this doesn’t have more attention

[@Retronator]

Thank you for saying this, I really appreciate it. I'm a bit exhausted to do a better job at social media posting that could get the game in front of more people but hopefully I can change that in the future as I get closer to an Early Access release of the new version (Learn Mode). There's been quite some development since this video.

[@igorbdm]

god bless the algorithm for showing me your channel. your journey is amazing, so is your content.

[@daniellelearnsstuff]

@Retronator, you are a savant! Absolutely nuts! So glad that you're still doing what you love.

[@Retronator]

Thank you Danielle, that's a high compliment! Also, noticed you were doing #GiveIt100 … Were you part of the community when it started in 2013/2014? I loved that site, it was so uplifting and empowering seeing everyone learn so many things.

[@daniellelearnsstuff]

@@Retronator Yes I was!! I really miss it. What a wonderful community that was

[@Retronator]

That's so awesome! I recently did boxing every day, well, with some exceptions due to lockdowns and such, but overall almost every day for the last 5 months or so, so more than 100. Next up will be music again, which was actually my very first GiveIt100 project, but I only managed to make it to day 50 back then. Yeah, still fan of this concept obviously and it's been a big inspiration for Pixel Art Academy as well. Hopefully there can be such a positive learning community around the game one day. :)

[@daniellelearnsstuff]

@@Retronator I have no doubt. Keep it up!

[@marcellawonderweapon4008]

This might as well be the most beautiful thing I have ever watched on KZbin 🥰

[@Retronator]

Thank you for saying this! I have to admit, I have a hard time understanding why/how this video resonates with people this much. Maybe because I still see it through the lens of an unfinished game and don't have resolved feelings about it untill all my promises from the Kickstarter are realized, it's hard for me to feel really good about it. But in any case, I'm glad you found it beautiful to watch, thank you!

[@marcellawonderweapon4008]

​@@Retronator Thank you for your answer! I think this is exactly the point: In a world that is fixated on outcomes and external rewards, it is so refreshing to see someone who just goes his own way and works on his project for the love of creating and nothing more. Now I'm daydreaming about joining your school 😅

[@Retronator]

@@marcellawonderweapon4008 It's interesting, yeah, because I love this process of being able to explore rabbit holes and create new things, but at the same time it makes me feel guilty for not being the most efficient at progressing in a clear direction. I'm glad however, that you can see the positive side of this and a lot of people have been supportive even though it's not developing the fastest. As for our school/gamedev house, we're always welcoming new developers! :)

[@alexandersupercraft5875]

This is the video I needed to watch. Your story is amazing.

[@Retronator]

Makes me happy you found it inspiring (or soothing? :)). It took some time to find peace with how long this project will take, but it's worth it every single day.

[@alexandersupercraft5875]

@@Retronator I'm glad to read that. And yeah, it inspired me to start mine. It's my dream since I was a kid. The hard part is the resources when you live as immigrant in a third world country, and in the middle of the pandemic. But I'll do my best to make my dream come true.

[@rezrezas]

hey, i stumble upon this when i looking for text based rpg, damn dude this is impressive, +1 sub

[@Retronator]

Thank you! It's a tough project, but I'll get it done!

[@gregsi]

Amazing work Retro! Very creative and complex at the same time! ... keep on doing it! ...and thanks for sharing

[@Retronator]

Never gonna stop! :D

[@ervinshoh7880]

Amazing. Keep moving, guy.

[@dlameira]

man, so inspiring to watch your video! congratulations

[@Retronator]

Thank you! I really appreciate all the warm response to sharing my journey. I hope to keep inspiring in the future! :)

[@Psionetics]

You are a machine!! Excellent work my friend

[@Retronator]

Thank you Gworn! Sometimes I wish I was more human, but nowadays work is what brings me happiness, so machine it is!

[@Psionetics]

@@Retronator Don't forget to take time to like stare at a wall or listen to birds and stuff

[@Retronator]

I try to go for forest walks every day after lunch, so at least I got that covered! 🦉🌲

[@chilelli715]

Love it Taters! It looks great!

[@Retronator]

Thank you best friend! I'm looking forward to working on it from your living room again one day. :D

[@anxiousoptimism5517]

This is awesome.

[@Retronator]

Happy to hear that!

[@Sourcecode01]

This is inspiring!

[@samueldavies646]

I found it very meaningful!

[@Retronator]

I'm happy to hear that! Thank you for giving it a watch.

[@FREEBRISK]

This is awesome

[@Retronator]

Thank you for saying this, it's always nice to hear someone connected to it! 🙏

[@909crime]

Very inspiring

[@Retronator]

I'm glad you find it so! Thanks for watching.

[@justwatching6118]

Congrats! 🙂

[@Retronator]

Thank you!

[@nazaxprime]

2 comments for the algorithm. :D I wonder what it is about you and I right jow rhat pulled this out if the 🕳️... I mean, this is perfect for me, but its been perfect for me since you made it, so I can't wonder why it took 3 years to reach me here. I do believe I've heard your moniker elsewhere, but I digress... Such is the nature if things I suppose. Thanks for having us.

[@Retronator]

You're very welcome! KZbin works in mysterious ways.

[@fayenx]

A game developer’s dream

[@Retronator]

Finding the game you really want to work on every day? Yup, it's quite something. Very grateful for it.

[@meqativ]

woahhhh how is this so unpopular? only 15k views in 1 year?

[@Retronator]

Well, when 15k people are interested in a text adventure in 2020, you can be very grateful for that. :)

[@mr_indie_fan]

Its not unpopular, its just not getting attention...... I mean i found this video looking for text adventure indie games because i played zork for the first time yesterday

[@postaldude7879]

It looks cool

[@Retronator]

Thank you! Right now I'm actually making improvements to the graphics engine to get a final look I want to go with. I'm very excited about it! (And I love figuring out all the rendering equations. :))

[@postaldude7879]

@@Retronator man it really must be complicated, i wanted to make games on unity but my pc can barely run python without spontaneously combusting

[@nazaxprime]

Oh, come on man... There's more than 10 years to come. 😅

[@Retronator]

It sure seems like I'll go for more than that. Since then , it took 2.5 more years of working on it including all the new learning materials in the Study Guide and now it'll be 1.5 years working on Pixel Art Academy: Learn Mode. When it gets out in Early Access on Steam later this year, it will be 9 years. And I can easily see just Learn Mode for the pixel art fundamentals content to take another year or two. Only then can I get back to the whole adventure game (now called Adventure Mode).

[@batuhanbatuhan4131]

Can you teach how to love learning? I kinda hate spending energy.

[@Retronator]

- Ony learn when you need to (just in time). A lot of hate for learning comes out of being forced to learn you don't need/care about when you're in school. As an adult (and even before in your free time), you can just learn what you need, when you need it. For me, motivation needs to preceede learning. - If you just want the result, but don't want to spend time learning it, find a solution made by someone that already learned it and packaged it up for general use. Or pay someone to do it for you. Basically avoid learning what you don't want to learn. - Cultivate curiosity. Learning can answer questions, lead to aha moments, all of which feel good if you're curious about the topic. Travel around the world, gain some perspective, listen to passionate teachers, become curious about life.

[@maxmuster7003]

I have big problems to learn to draw pixel art with a touch screen using a thick finger. It is just impossible to draw a single pixel.

[@AndreasvanHaren]

Hi! WHich programming language are you using for writing this adventure? I am trying to write a text adventure as well, being from the 80's... I am not that good in programming though and would love to see a good basic langue for OSX.

[@Retronator]

I don't know how I missed this comment, but better (very) late than never. Most of it is written in CoffeeScript! And yes, I started with Basic too (Sinclair Basic), then QBasic, Visual Basic, VB.Net … I love it! CoffeeScript is more like Python, but I love it for the same reasons as Basic, it reads like English instead of a bunch of symbols.

[@Uhfgood]

I forgot this was a thing. Does PAA still exist?

[@gitaardrum]

Will I be able to buy it from Steam early access?

[@Retronator]

Maybe one day, if I at least add a single player mode. Otherwise right now it'd be just an app with a web client embedded, so no real need to have a steam version. But once it can also work offline, it'd be cool to have it there.

[@sergesolkatt]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@eboatwright_]

What are you using for this? I can see you're using CoffeeScript, but are you using any libraries? And are you using it to compile to JavaScript?

[@Retronator]

The biggest thing I use is Meteor for all the server/client stuff: www.meteor.com/ Then I use plenty of Meteor and NPM packages to do stuff, like easier database handling, service integrations, THREE.js for the 3D parts, and random small algorithms here and there. The game is actually open source so you can see all that goes into it here: github.com/retronator/Pixel-Art-Academy

[@eboatwright_]

@@Retronator Ok thanks! :D

[@GT-tj1qg]

I don't understand how this is a text adventure. Isn't it a drawing adventure?

[@Retronator]

Touché! :) But if you're serious: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_game#Text_adventures_and_interactive_fiction

[@4RT770]

yo please reply me the tutorial

[@Retronator]

Which one?

[@4RT770]

@@Retronator of this game sir!

[@Retronator]

@@4RT770 Do you mean the Study Guide? retropolis.city/academy-of-art/study-guide