Edmund McMillen Breaks Down His Game Design History (Meat Boy, Isaac & More) | Noclip

[@NoclipDocs]

What other developers should we interview about their game design history?

[@ThePC007]

Zachtronics would be cool.

[@abhilashpawar1875]

Team Cherry! The Creators of hollow knight!

[@WookENTP]

Factorio

[@meeekeeey]

Phil Fish and ask him when we'll see Fez 2👍

[@JoonasSariola]

Hoopoo Games! (risk of rain & deadpolt)

[@indeimaus]

I know all the games edmund has ever made and heard him speak about them in detail so many times but it never gets old - he's such an interesting person to listen to

[@skull5207]

He really is

[@krissichan3127]

Oh shit it's papa Maus

[@bloodraptor]

I agree.

[@pratyushbzr]

Ed McMillen Games Waifus List when??

[@darkclone85]

you're an interesting person to listen to. When's the next video coming out? :)

[@mod3no]

21:41 you missed a tinted rock

[@Numfuddle]

NL‘s chat is leaking

[@radikalskippy]

@@Numfuddle you misspelled pogging

[@jasonlai763]

@@Numfuddle more like hutts

[@mod3no]

This post is brought to you by the NL, Sinvicta and Hutts gang.

[@radikalskippy]

@@earthboy2k you missed a tinted shitload of content

[@MarioVelezBThinkin]

People like Ed make me feel like I don't have to change who I am, just what I do.

[@BentDoorFrame]

Just be yourself! Unless you are stupid then be smarter. Be yourself unless youre a stupid dbag!

[@squally9149]

Don’t try to fit in other people’s templates.

[@LiteralmenteFadul]

What a good-ass comic dude

[@ImEverythingYouCrave]

@ what a negative ass comment, did he personally do something to you? I'm curious about why you feel this way.

[@BentDoorFrame]

@ yeah where are you getting this from?

[@kapelski104]

I kind of wish there was a little segment about The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.

[@Jwn5k]

Same, it would have been cool to know about the development cycle of it, as it's much bigger than the original Binding Of Isaac game.

[@jenextra]

Same, I don't know why it wasn't there

[@Santiago-Farrell]

Basically took all the patches and mods about what the isaac community liked and put them into an isaac game rebalanced to feel like an isaac game in difficulty

[@johnh4432]

Rebirth was developed by nicalis, not Edmund. I don't know if he'd have much more to say after talking about the original Isaac, since it's basically just a remaster.

[@Santiago-Farrell]

@@johnh4432 ask ed

[@SuperWiiBros08]

Edmund's message is basically "do what you love and enjoy"

[@pawel8365]

A really simplistic and unrealistic saying that gets thrown around. How do you know what you love when you're never given the opportunity or support?

[@susaac9755]

@@pawel8365 You sound like someone that wanted to believe it and couldn't because of lack of the above mentioned. Here's a trick: don't overthink it.

[@pawel8365]

@@susaac9755 what does that even mean? Why do people rely on meaningless phrases? All decisions require thinking, some more than others, life isn't an Instagram story that can be breezed through. I'm grateful and happy right now, but I cringe when I see these reductive and simplistic "life hack" bullshit sayings. Next thing I'll be told is to "smile more".

[@nintendude794]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYeopoOji6aVbtE

[@susaac9755]

@@pawel8365 yeah same here. Have a friend that joined the army, made good money and then basicaly took care of pretty much everything in his life. Then he tells me this shit: you're not happy cuz you're not positive enough. You have to focus on the bright side. It's your fault that you are where you are and you need to be positive. Yeah I'm positive. Positive that I'm gonna slap him next time he tells me shit like this.

[@elizabethagudelo7179]

"there's a scene where a baby gets stomped into bloody mist" "but what about the farts tho"

[@fannerbuoy3688]

"Do what you love and enjoy"

[@ShahStark]

The greatest representation of ESRBs rating philosophy

[@rsotuyo15]

ESRB would rate Adam Sandler movies as M for fart abuse

[@THEMATTHIAS225]

“Some people think they were portrayed poorly but...I don’t think that’s true”

[@MattMG84]

Underrated "insult" right there.

[@finlayreeds6725]

who is he talking about there?

[@Finigini]

@@finlayreeds6725 Most likely either Phil Phish or someone associated with him.

[@alvesgnj4968]

Phil Fish did one of the greatest indie games I ever played... but he as a person is really problematic.

[@funynonsence]

Honestly Edmonds the worst yea Isaac is a great game but Edmund is just shady

[@yungoldman2823]

Im not sure how viable this is, but I feel as though a noclip “Team Cherry” doc is almost essential at this point. I love those guys, and Im sure a closer insight into their development and history would be interesting.

[@BigChimpEnergy]

If they do that then they need to pressure Team Cherry into giving an ETA for Silksong, because at this rate everyone will be old and gray before the game comes out lol

[@LitchiBorrower]

It'd probably be more interesting to do a few months after silksong comes out imo, so that they'll feel comfortable going a bit in depth into the development of silksong knowing that people had time to finish the game already

[@person6755]

Nathaniel Wagner team cherry should take as long as they need to, making them rush a game is never a good idea. Hollow knight took 5 years, silksong will probably take just as much if not more

[@jackawaka]

@@BigChimpEnergy No game developers should be pressured, thats how bad games occur

[@Jennifer-cg5ih]

@@BigChimpEnergy will be worth it

[@caithsith]

This is AMAZING, Id love to see something like this with Daniel Mullins, the creator of Pony Island. He did some other games and I think he is a very interesting dude.

[@wigglebot765]

Piotr Marszałek It seems many do, although I liked it way more than pony island, and both are incredibly well made.

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

Hell, if he has any time between churning out entire functional games for the Dread X collections. Solipsis in particular stands out as being incredibly clever and something I coudl see expanded to a full 1/2 hour thing.

[@caithsith]

@@Peter_Marchman it's great as well but I think Pony Island it's his most well known game, so this is the game I cited haha. Anyway, I think that dude would had some amazing stuff to share about his creative process. Hopefully Noclip will take this in consideration!

[@fadablack4547]

Or toby fox

[@gabrielbogado3712]

Anda Caith, este era el lugar donde menos me esperaba verte, grande tío ;D

[@happy_mane4186]

Genuinely, edmund is such a interesting and honestly inspiring person in the gaming world, his story and love and everything, i would listen to him all day explaining everything he has done and made and why in depth

[@ShellComics]

Please do more of these docs on individual developers! They're great. I've always loved the odd characters and weird worlds this man creates. Good job Noclip :)

[@derpydino17]

It would be awesome if they did an interview with Brad Borne, creator of the Fancy Pants Adventures series.

[@lobstersteve6286]

The end is nigh is such an underrated gem.

[@7826p]

I bough it from an pack that included the binding of isaac with all the dlcs and tham you are right but the game is hard has hell too

[@darkarsv]

I think is underrated because it have the fame of being hard af, so the streamers or youtubers without confidence dont play it. Also the press is always bad and will over react about the difficulty of it

[@NotWendy3]

@@darkarsv It has gone largely unnoticed because, as Edmund said, back when he was developing TEiN, he didn't really have the motivation/energy to give interviews about the game and try to make people aware of the project's existence. The difficulty did play its role in filtering out some part of the potential audience, but many people haven't noticed the release in the first place.

[@NotWendy3]

@@BentDoorFrame TEiN is honestly pretty hard to compare to Meat Boy, because they focus on very different things. Yes, both are platformers and both are hard, but TEiN plays slower, there's more planning involved, and the controls are much more tight. I think a considerable amount of people got turned off by TEiN because they started playing it expecting to see SMB 2, when in reality it was something completely different. TEiN was extremely good at what it was supposed to be, much like SMB was good at its own style of gameplay. Overall, I'd say TEiN feels more polished, which is fair, considering that it came out later and the devs had more experience at that point.

[@sp_1029]

@@BentDoorFrame i dont think its a spiritual successor to super meat boy at all. The way meat boy controls is like a polar opposite to ash. Ash controls slowly, meat boy controls fast, ash has more aerial control, meat boy has little to no aerial control. They're just different.

[@TuncJH]

Great video! I'm a bit surprised he didn't talk about Binding of Isaac: Rebirth at all, since that has become such a huge game with DLC still in the works..

[@StephenSweat]

Yeah, I was waiting for that, too! Idk, maybe there’s an NDA restriction on talking about it?

[@Wolfgang_von_Caelid]

Possibly due to Edmund severing ties with Nicalis a year or two ago due to questionable business practices brought to light by Kotaku.

[@zaephou2843]

@@Wolfgang_von_Caelid But he's still in the dev team for the new update right? He gives regular progress updates and teasers on Twitter.

[@PetreyTurkeybable]

i was thinking maybe they talked about it but it'll be a separate video when the dlc comes out similar to the gish doc.

[@numberpi5473]

Nicalis is the problem. He wants nothing to do with them.

[@cadenpozzy2456]

"when im creating... i feel like a person" wow thats the artist mood

[@BasementDweller_]

I like this guy, he’s groovy.

[@funkyskill1961]

Noclip is literally a blessing in these times - actually always.

[@rafindeed]

I remember when indie game the movie came out. It was a life changing movie. That year i decided to change my life, i decided that i wanted to be concept artist, that i wanted to work with games and i felt so connected with Edmund. Our lives are completely different, but I feel like he is a good friend. Ty Edmund, your life was an inspiration at the time and helped me to decide my life goal. I can proudly say I'm concept artist now and all started with that movie. :)

[@calebcasual]

That's awesome man. It was life changing for me as well

[@jabrio3584]

Edmund is one of the most cursed/wholesome game devs in existence, and i love him.

[@hazedcube]

This guy's games were part of my childhood believe it or not - he's a genius.

[@Silly915]

edmund and king gizzard fan?!?! 😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲

[@PlayingJosh]

Edmund is such a genuine guy. You can always feel the emotion in his games, even if you do have to look past the poop.

[@Aleblanco1987]

The binding of isaac is a masterpiece, i dumped so many hours in every iteration and still play it to this day. I can't wait for repentance

[@johnromero6315]

I didn't get into it until last year, but I've since bought all the expansions and still play it at least a little bit almost every day. It's by far the best value I've gotten out of any game I've purchased. Edit: maybe Hollow Knight beats it by a hair.

[@Jazzadrin]

John Romero hollow knight sucks

[@Itzsfo0]

Hollow knight is great but yea ive got 2100 hours in isaac

[@Jazzadrin]

michael stillwell yeah I’m just trolling, hollow Knight is pretty awesome

[@johnromero6315]

@@Jazzadrin the only reason I'd say that Hollow Knight is the better value is that it only cost me $15 for every piece of content available for it. I don't regret the money I spent on Isaac, but HK took up all my game time for months because of how much it sucked me into the gameplay and the world.

[@oburi85]

Edmund is such a great inspiration. I played meatboy back then and Isaac is still one of my all time fav. Games. Seeing him and Tommy in IGTM made me learn c# and I started drawing again. Since then, I made many prototyps. I never had more than one friend, I isolated myself a lot and never fitted anywhere. Like beeing an alien in this planet and gameprototyping helps me creating worlds where I fit in... I fight with depressions since years, so it's hard to keep on working in stuff, but I hope someday I can express myself and use a game tell the stuff I am to frightend to tell anyone.

[@Jezzon]

Good luck!

[@TheTurtle]

*Drags out giant blue sword for the blue baby* "Oh wait, this isn't a sword..."

[@Zanpaa]

Let's just... Put this back...

[@bobisnotaperson]

Spin it around Best flail weapon

[@VWDSTIN]

like tricky the clown did

[@ERROR-40444]

I started with Gish, back in 2010. Played Meatboy in 2012. Since 2017 im playing The Binding of Isaac. My wife and I have over 2000 hours playing this game. What I want to is say thank you for being such a brilliant man who does what he loves and feels. Your games aren't just games, I'd consider them as playable ART.

[@vexwashere2447]

I love how he makes games and is scared that people may not like it because its weird but at the end everyone loves the game

[@ChristopherAOBoyle]

Loved this episode - incredibly insightful, honest and a real badass. I feel I can always learn a lot from a few minutes of Ed wisdom so thank you for this NoClip!

[@nathan.dunahoo]

I love how introspective his games really are. What an incredible use of an outlet

[@bittersweetraven9437]

"everybody loves dead babies" - Edmund Deadbaby McMillen circa 2020

[@godzillafan9115]

That is the best, worst quote ever.

[@alqaadi9858]

20:10 “i wanna vacation too” that was a perfect clip you choose

[@nathannlatimore7863]

Edmund McMillen's interviews are always so human. He opens up in ways that are relatable and touching but in a reflective way; less like he's putting all his traumas on display and more like he's showcasing the lessons he's learned.

[@sagewaterdragon]

What a coincidence, I just rewatched IGTM the other day. I can't wait to see what the makers of that are working on, IGTM is still my favorite documentary about games. It's still sad to hear Edmund talk about splitting with Tommy, I wish life always worked out.

[@zedrake]

what happened between them? is it known?

[@jayfolk]

The Time Fcuk section is hands down the best segment of the interview.

[@jerseydevil5712]

oh hey it’s you

[@kladerNW]

I loved the parts he talked about Time Fcuk and Aether, When he talked about the themes it hit me on a personal level, will definitely try to play them in the future. An amazing interview, Danny. Keep them coming.

[@Pluto-ek3mh]

Literally the best interview ever. The best interviewee, the best interview editors, the perfect length, etc.

[@RuiNobrega]

Great doc. Great interview.

[@MugenNoJiyuunin]

It's pure pleasure watching your docs Noclip. Every single one, crafted with a lot of care and skill. Thank you for expressing your love of this amazing industry in the way that you do. You deserve the support that you are getting and a lot more. Stay safe and keep on keeping on 🧡

[@2OmgLol]

KZbin recommendations did it again, shortly after the video was released! That was a very enjoyable video. Ed is such a great guy. Thank you for doing this.

[@mysticdav8195]

Bro, the end is nigh is so deep, that story just really feels in game

[@QuebecSouverain]

The Binding of Isaac is one of my favorite game ever with more than 350 hours put into it and I love how most of his earlier work was added and referenced to in Isaac.

[@AmphibiansAreCool]

Edmund is the person i look up to most in the game industry. The way he portrays himself resonates with me and therefor motivates me. Thank you noclip for making this video :)

[@cloudy772]

A bit strange he didn’t talk about TBOI:Rebirth since it’s probably his most popular and definitely the best game he’s made

[@kje.123]

i think he wants to distance himself from nicalis and tyrone

[@benthemother3fan884]

@@kje.123 im a bit out of the loop. Did they have a falling out

[@restlessfrager]

I disagree, Bumbo is such a great game, both in presentation and gameplay.

[@enigmafiresup4658]

@@benthemother3fan884 Not internal beef, but reports are a Tyrone is basically just kind of a racist in the office. I mean, he still seems like a genuine guy to me so I highly doubt Edmund has personal beef with him, and they are still finishing Repentance, but after he is cutting ties with Nicalis too avoid crowds hating on Ed.

[@succ5666]

Ben Edmondson it’s funny that there’s 3 people that kinda went behind Ed’s back (idk how to explain it). It’s almost like a curse

[@mephistovonfaust]

Isaac is one of my favorite games of all time and THE game I've spent the most time with. I've stated with the first one and still play Afterbirth Plus today. I wish this interview would have gone a bit deeper in the creative choices of the later Isaac games.

[@satviktandon3508]

Damn this was so good. His games are so connected with his feelings and life that you can see the personal investment in it. Binding of Issac is one of the few games which I have spend at least 100 hours playing.

[@LiarpieVicinityFTW]

This was such a candid look at one of my favourite game dev's. I didn't know a lot of the meaning behind the games and his personal journeys, seeing it be so close to home was emotional for me too. Thanks as always Danny and team, your making these dark times a little bit brighter & better.

[@mr_indie_fan]

Edmund is one of the most interesting game developers, something about the way he works reminds me of hp lovecraft (breaking down your own psyche in your works and just insanity)

[@mr_indie_fan]

Its quite the weird trifecta actually: Hp lovecraft - books Edmund mcmillen - videogames Tim burton - movies They all break down they're own psyche into they're works in different mediums and in different ways.

[@Pitman856]

I love this guy. Hope he makes a metroidvania. His art work and dark story telling really speaks to me. A couple years ago I spent some time in a mental hospital and Super Meat Boy and Isaac really inspired me to overcome difficult challenges in real life after I got out. Thanks for being you bud, and keep on keeping on

[@everope]

4:08 flesh out lol

[@TrueKirb]

I love all of Edmund’s games, but Isaac is what I believe to be his magnum opus.

[@grahamgilmore42]

It was really cool seeing this after watching Indie Game: the Movie years ago. This felt like an epilogue. Great work No-Clip.

[@VooDooGamingPT]

Edmund is such a gem, I'll never forget the Super Meat Boy days! Thanks for this upload! Keep up the good work!

[@siskavard]

Edmund is like a superhero artist introvert. He's made a nice living & never leaves the house. I'm very jealous.

[@jeremiassena9056]

It may only be 3 days old, but damn, this video is already underrated. I can see this type of documentaries being soooo much more nostalgic than they already are in 20+ years and damn, it's just so artistic and pure and i will gladly look back to these kind of things when i grow older.

[@floofball8905]

pretty incredible how his future games have references from his old games

[@joelpettersson4055]

This is one of the most brilliant Minds in gaming imo. His artwork is on a completely other level aswell while at the same time being so simple. I dont understand how hes this good.

[@esotericVideos]

"Makes me feel like a person." As a depressed person, I know what he's talking about and I really miss that. I'm happy for him though, he has always seemed like such a great guy.

[@StarLightNow]

I will never get tired of hearing Edmund discuss his games designs. Dude is a serious talent.

[@amrakarmaMisophoniac]

I probably never would have released my first solo indie game without Ed's inspiration.

[@Macho_Fantastico]

Wonderful interview, I love the stuff Edmund makes and hearing his personal stories behind the games was touching. Still play Binding of Isaac, such a great game.

[@koozmusic]

A beautiful interview, with a beautiful human, who makes beautiful games. Similar to the way I feel when interacting with his art, when he speaks I am filled with a strangely melancholic aspiration.

[@Collinpawns]

From a kid who played all of edmunds games on newgrounds growing up, thank you for this interview. Very great to see the mind behind these dark and gritty games and nostalgic to look back on the early flash games. Does make me feel old though

[@jacob.peters]

i love this guy he seems like he'd be great to have some drinks with and just spitball ideas for dumb projects

[@puffcap_]

I always love when ed makes something new, because I know its going to make me think and feel. And hes such a genuine and down to earth person. I love him and I dont even know him

[@RosieJonesRules]

Super Meat Boy will always be known as one of the pioneers of indie games. Such an impactful game!

[@Seymour101]

I love how Edmund creates art as a way to reflect , cope and process things in his life and then just throws it out there and people live. I guess that was the most important line in Indie Game the movie : " Even though it's a game that people are supposed to buy , it's not a game I made for people". It's crazy to wrap your head around the idea that this guy's version of introspection has provided people with billions of hours of collective entertainment , he truly is an amazing person and I for one am glad he is in this world. And even if most of these projects were born out of hardships the fact that he pulled through and created something beautiful out of it is a testament to how strong his will is. Big thanks to the Noclips peeps for getting his voice out there , I never get tired of seeing Mr McMillen on my screen !

[@Kolateak_]

23:50 Missed a tinted rock

[@iamacat9400]

F

[@RealShrimpu]

Fuckin Egg

[@vocaloid2407]

i really love your profile picture by the way.

[@TohirT]

Edmund is such a solid dude. I appreciate his creativity and the voice that he gives to the internal struggles we all experience.

[@lowaim4898]

I'd love to see something about newgrounds, so many artists, developers, creatives and such who have some kind of connection to that site.

[@knockonwood8640]

It's always truly inspiring to see how much Ed is putting of himself in his creations. Thanks guys!

[@raypurchase1239]

Binding of issac is one of my all time favourite game. I play it almost every single game since it came out for the ps4.

[@Igoreshkin]

Ed is a brilliant artist. I can listen him over and over.

[@lionocyborg6030]

Dr Fetus starting as a potential protagonist for Meat Boy reminds me of how Dr Eggman came to be in Sonic: he was originally a clone of Teddy Roosevelt in pyjamas, complete with one of those stocking shaped nightcaps and a teddy bear. When Sonic was chosen, they gave Roosevelt Robotnik a redesign and repurposed him as the bad guy, making him Cyril Sneer if he were a fat human robotics scientist instead of a pink aardvark morph with a broken nose.

[@SmokeyChipOatley]

I fell in love with The Binding of Isaac back when I gave the game a random blind shot when it was released for switch not knowing anything about it previously. Similarly, 40 min ago I had no idea who this guy was other than being the creator of said game. But I must say I have so much more respect for him and the work he has done now I’m really glad a watched it. Absolutely zero annoying editing or other interruptions by the hands of the video creators too so props to them too. Great video all around, thanks!

[@ChardBothamYT]

It's genuinely hilarious to me that Edmund thought The Binding of Isaac would be something only he and a few other people would like. Rebirth is my favorite video game of all time and I still play it regularly after 2,000 hours logged.

[@streamofnath]

I could listen to Edmund speak about the things he loves doing all day. Thank you for this.

[@burzum2649]

The first game I ever bought was gish, I love Edmund's aesthetic. Hang in there bro!

[@sprypinegames5390]

I fucking love this dude and his work. So genuine and he really cares about having fun and sharing that experience with others.

[@LordSnoodles]

I like this, but it’s weird / jarring how the games aren’t talked about in chronological order. Why?

[@slaton44]

Thank you Edmund, your story means a ton to me, I appreciate the honesty and perspective of your journey. All the best!

[@succ5666]

Ed’s probably one of the most real developer I have seen in a real long time. He puts time and effort in to the games, he’s not afraid to go deep, and it sounds like he actually cares. I love super meat boy and the binding of issac to death (even if tboi has a lot of bullshit) and I can’t wait to see what comes up next after the legend of bumbo.

[@AKKK1182]

It's so sad to hear of stories like this where people are coming up in broken or abusive homes, but at the end of the day it's you that defines you.

[@marcomaureira]

it's amazing seeing edmund talk so in depth about his games, great video

[@mityakiselev]

"be gentle with the sack of babies" _proceeds to yeet it up a cliff_

[@elpinchetti]

Beautiful interview. Edmund has always been such an inspiration for me

[@mg-ji1wm]

i see edmund mcMillen -> i click

[@Natonada]

Truly an in-depth video on one of my favourite game makers that I didn’t know personally! Thank you

[@meltycloudy7660]

Man I love edgy punk aesthetic he brought to newgrounds and his games

[@sirisaacclarke4964]

Edmund truly is my inspiration to develop my own games, all i need to do is to get started, which can be the hardest thing to do.

[@Egospair]

"Betraying friends is always fun" Yeah, I agree to an extent.

[@Denuhm]

Thank you so much for doing this interview. Edmund McMillan seems to be a genuinely kind and interesting person and I wish him every success going forward. As someone who has played several thousand hours of binding of Isaac as an almost cathartic experience of dealing with my own childhood trauma with crazy religious parents. Stay awesome

[@KillerKilometers]

I havent seen what ed looks like in YEARS, he looks different now

[@therealkzero]

Had no idea all these games were made by the same person. Never thought about it, just figured it was a popular aesthetic. Awesome to know all these wonderful flash games and fully fledged games I played came from such a creative person that brought me so much joy and entertainment. Thank you Edmund! And Thank you Noclip for the fantastic insight on Edmund and his stories.

[@guidoretro]

Mr Bungle t-shirt

[@thevis5465]

Disco Volante is a fantastic album

[@nekozombie]

ultimate band

[@l_a5091]

Much respect for Edmund. Isaac is one of my all time faves

[@lionocyborg6030]

Edmund has a sphinx cat? It's cute.

[@marshallr.8121]

this type of interview with ed is exactly what i've wanted to see for a long time, great work

[@CadetKosmov]

Imagine him working with jhonen vasquez

[@balazsantalfy1101]

This was such a great video! I always wanted to know more about Edmund and his games!

[@jegerbest89]

Damn son. I didnt know Seth Rogen made games. He is so talented 😍

[@arek.mp4]

guys like ed change the world. he could have chosen to dig into a cave with all the burdens terrorizing him. but instead he dealt with every single rock. that has been put on his way, creatively and as a way of fighting his demons - resulting in being such a massive inspiration for people as an artist and more important as a role model for people dealing with their own stuff how to confront it and how to fight it. ed, you did change my life. i will always cherish you for doing so. thank you