How Darkest Dungeon Was Made and Caused an Outrage

This Darkest Dungeon documentary details the development of the indie video game Darkest Dungeon and goes behind the scenes of its creation. Discover how Tyler Sigman and Chris Bourassa created their own game development studio and brought their idea for Darkest Dungeon to life, as well as how they managed to develop a critically and financially successful game with the help of Kickstarter and Early Access.
The documentary also explores why the developer had to deal with an outrage after they implemented two new gameplay changes in the Early Access version. Red Hook Studios is far from done with the world they created for Darkest Dungeon and is currently working on Darkest Dungeon 2, a direct sequel that will release on Early Access first, just like the original.
References:
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Music tracks:
Enter the Maze by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
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Artist: incompetech.com/
Halls of the Undead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Source: incompetech.com...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Outro song: Thank You R.G.E. - Joe Bagale
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#DarkestDungeon #RedHookStudios #GameDevelopment

[@ThatGuyGlen]

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

[@gasmask7064]

@@alexzanderjase7995 Kinda dumb but ok.

[@rmt3589]

Duck game?

[@subjetividadobjetivaconmak4259]

Remember: "summoning the Devil is not the same as seeing it coming."

[@marijandesin8226]

Outer Wilds please

[@lemonomical]

bendy and the ink machine would be different and cool

[@FifinatorKlon]

"DD2 is a game about a gruelling journey, not about cleaning your backyard" I want a mod that turns all enemies into backyard utilities and they get boxed and stored away instead of killed pls.

[@Eshtian]

YES! GENIUS! THEY NEED TO HIRE YOU NOW! Seriously make a mod please.

[@yetanotherkeyblader3572]

Why stop there? How about hero skin mods that have their attack sprites replaced with various forms of lawn work?

[@claraclenky9843]

@@yetanotherkeyblader3572 Plauge doctor farmer?

[@Ajehy]

Plants vs zombies!

[@mrhonrer]

Player: Defeat a opponent. Wayne June: 'With the right equipment, even the messiest of the masses can be sorted'

[@latewizard301]

"yeah let's boycott features you can disable" *HUGE BRAIN TIME*

[@kingcalibur413]

I like how nobody ever mentions that. I feel like it’s just because they don’t want to disable it due to their own ego.

[@testhekid]

@@kingcalibur413 again people too pride to go back and apologize

[@mikicerise6250]

It's a mob. Humanity has had to deal with them forever, but the Internet has made any two-bit rag-tag band and any controversy, however insignificant, into a potential trigger for a mob.

[@SuperLlama42]

"You expect me to take 2 minutes to go to the options menu!? I have a life you know!" Or alternatively "How dare you! Now other people might PLAY THE GAME WRONG"

[@alpha12081]

Wasnt like that at launch ... and it also messed up so much of peoples gameplay

[@Morkoelorko]

"-We need someone that sound like Wayne June +What about Wayne June?"

[@emberhydra]

Great idea! The greatest idea

[@MormonDude]

Big brain time.

[@StarshadowMelody]

I mean it's worth a shot.

[@alcatraz8694]

A Singular Strike

[@Rig0r_M0rtis]

The guy screaming "well struck! we have naught to fear" then getting instagibbed is so Darkest Dungeon

[@novarian8625]

Darkest Dungeon 1 Early Access Protest : "Heart Attack & Corpses" Darkest Dungeon 2 Early Access Protest : "Epic Games Store Exclusive"

[@spacelizard5001]

It hurts!

[@greasy_breads]

i wish the DD2 protest was something we could toggle lol, but unlike the heart attack and corpses it's objectively a downgrade.

[@Blazberry_Yaint]

wow really its gonna be an epic exclusive? guess ill have to wait a year or two after release before it hits steam or GOG. the epic launcher is fucking awful and every time i boot it up its always painfully slow to download anything and fails constantly.

[@brianweaver327]

I remember rushing home to play this game the day it launched and my Steam code didn't work. I emailed Steam support but wasn't expecting a response anytime soon as it was late in the day. I took a shot in the dark emailed Red Hook to let them know what happened. Imagine my surprise when Tyler responded personally and resolved the issue at once. He got a fan for life that day!

[@nicolascoast9653]

"REMEMBER OVERCONFIDENCE IS A SLOW AND A INSIDIOUS KILLER"

[@newtonmarques1271]

Great video seems i won the algorithm roulette this time

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you!

[@Lapantouflemagic0]

This is really an amazing game, and i think the corpse mechanic is okay actually. that said i don't know where to place myself regarding the 4 or 5 DLCs they made, i worry that adding new classes may unbalance the game, or maybe should i say "upset the balance i'm used to" The only thing i would really complain about this game, is that it doesn't clearly tell you that sending heroes to the darkest dungeon is basically sending them to their death. your first team WILL get slaughtered, someone WILL die if you try to flee, and those who survive will never accept returning there, so they're good as dead for that purpose (but i hear they still keep some value for training rookies though). On my first playthrough, my favorite team got entirely murdered and I lost all of my most powerful gear (I didn't know you can get it back by challenging the crow). i didn't have the courage to train a new team, didn't feel like hunting for artifacts either, so... i just quit the game entirely. It took me i think two years to start a new playthrough, but this time i went in thinking that all those guys are expendable, they will die, and surely enough my first team sent in the darkest dungeon didn't come back. but at least i was prepared and fared a lot better and got some valuable experience in the process.

[@DarksteelHeart]

After watching this video, being a lover of both strategy and difficulty in gaming, I may have to try this out. Thank you to the algorithm for blessing me with a gem for once. Great content. Keep it up.

[@luckyknot]

I didn't have issues with corpses and heart attacks, but I remember, after so much playing and levelling up some of my heroes, that what I felt as very random RNG circumstances had them all killed. I didn't have the energy to level up new heroes again or waiting for the random chance to be able to revive only one of them. Even this critique, I absolutely loved the compbat system, the classes, the synergy, the dungeon walking parts, the narrator ofc.... DD is indeed a cult masterpiece, no pun intended.

[@ricejenkins4973]

The corpses actually add alot of depth to the gameplay that people dont see. For just one example, deciding what damage type to kill an enemy with (bleed/blight will leave no corpse and regular attacks will) lets you manipulate the placement of enemies so that your heroes are able to hit them with certain abilities.

[@LadyDoomsinger]

I always name my first Occultist "Wayne June" - In every playthrough.

[@r.a.fgattaiguy845]

I play almost exclusively JRPGs and absolutely hate hard games, yet somehow this is my favorite game

[@moose7145]

This is extremely well put together. Informative, organized, and to the point. And in some sense, entertaining. The way you tell it makes it so.

[@touchingisjustthefirststep]

I didn't even know you could turn some shit like that off and to be honest i've played the game long enough, i can't play it without those features it would be too easy and boring.

[@thomase640]

Stumbled upon your channel yesterday! Great videos and good background info and video design. Subbed. At the point where you described how and why they hired Wayne June, I think it would have been a fitting moment to insert a voiceline of the narrators text to amplify and kind of showcase their decision.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you for subscribing! You’re definitely right, I’ve been sort of scared to add anything that might get me a copyright strike so I try to stay away from in-game audio. However, in this case I probably could have gotten away with it. I guess I could have even used a snippet from a trailer. I’m definitely going to try and add more relevant material in future videos. Thanks for the feedback!

[@thomase640]

@@ThatGuyGlen Nice! I think you don't need to fear copyright strikes by using trailers and it would enrich your videos (in specific situations). If you want to talk to another game design/pen and paper nerd through discord or likewise I would be up for it. Great to see a new channel on that subject beeing in the KZbin recomentations and surely growing through it!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind! Right now I’m very busy with a ton of stuff, but perhaps if the audience grows big enough, I might set up a discord for the channel and communicate with everyone that way :D

[@Ellimanist15]

"How Darkest Dungeon was made" Cool I'm interested. "And caused an outrage" ...Like it or hate it the political version of the word snowflake is an apt description in these situations...

[@paffles6696]

Im amazed this game got so much hate, I had no idea. It's still one of my favorite titles to this day and Ive loved all the changes the dev's had made. Some people have way too much free time I guess.

[@filipgasic2642]

The sequel OH NO NO NO

[@mathewkloepfer664]

I looooooved this game and it's punishing difficulty. I was middle of the road when it came to corpses and the like, but what really killed my enjoyment was the critsmas update. I keep trying to go back but it's too punishing in my opinion. Edit: I'd also like to add that the updates and DLC did not mix well together if you didn't get both at the same time. For instance, adding corpses was around the same time DLC classes came out which were well-equipped to deal with the mechanics of said DLC/updates. But if you didn't buy the DLC you still got the changes to gameplay in the base game, thus making it harder without having DLC. I could be wrong, but that's what I seem to remember.

[@nightyonetwothree]

haters gonna hate, but truth is DD is the game of the year (and later years too). The gameplay is both easy to get and deep (and complicated) enough to make things hard and challenging. Innovate turn-based gameplay with positioning restrictions and mechanics were so on point and nice. Also the genre of dungeon crawler roguelike is also a brilliant decision, being able not only to progress through the game, but also lose characters and roll back in money makes game so good at touching players and make them weight their decisions. Overall rare game which i put in a row of classic of all times like homm3, xcom:ufo defence, hf1, q3, d2, starcraft, wc3, etc etc. You can play these game years, tens of years later and be having great time and experience.

[@NIL0S]

I've lost some very strong heroes to heart attacks, some prolongued the game for several hours, as I had to retrain those characters up, and since I couldn't train them up alone, I had to basically train up a whole new batch of heroes. Corpses are not that difficult to deal with, if you prepare. All in all, I wanted a hard as nails game that's super rewarding and atmospheric, and that's exactly what DD is.

[@CoolSs]

I did get the game back then. I still think the game is not RNG heavy but it more about how ready you are and having heroes that work good together.

[@Gebunator]

Man, I couldn't picture DD without corpses and heart attacks. What use would be the stress if it didn't DO something when it was maxed out? And if there wasn't corpses, you could just work your way on the front row with heaviest hitters, have no use for blights, bleeds, pulls, aoes or anything like that.

[@YThates]

I kinda felt like the party setup and interaction was based on Bard's Tale or it was an unintentional hivemind. I'm kinda glad I got some clearance on that idea from this video. Thanks GG

[@ThatGuyGlen]

You’re very welcome!

[@bosssause788]

people ask why i play a game that stresses me out and makes me yell in rage "i love the game...i love the hustle"

[@carmatic]

I think that they should have left the unpopular option disabled by default... there is something about having to enable an option to make the game harder, which turns it into a desirable challenge like, instead of people flaming on the game for the enemy corpses and heart attacks, you might instead have people boasting about finishing the game with those options turned on

[@witchBoi_Connor]

> Heart attacks and corpses are fine additions to the game, you can disable them in settings, y’all are just mean.

[@Jigsawn2]

Very interesting thank you! Also wondered what the music track is that you play at the end of your videos?

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you for watching it! The track is called Thank You R.G.E. by Joe Bagale.

[@cako666]

Im sure none of the little babies who asked for corpses and heart attacks to be removed has gotten to any of the final 4 dungeons regardless of those features being removable now.

[@evanblack20]

Looks like someone forgot to tell redhook that as victory mounts so too does resistance.

[@darrenbyrne293]

I have never heard of you. But you do some good work. Keep it up.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Much appreciated!

[@omicronalpha8827]

There was a lot of weird stuff that happened with the community now that I look back on it. People really boycotted the game for one design change that, in the end, turned out to be a necessary aspect of complexity that the game needed. And let's not even mention the whole Korean localization fiasco.

[@yomanwtfisthisshit]

I have yelled at my screen, paced up and down comtemplating the random nature of this or other games feeling unfair and may even have punched a wall now and then, i am an old and sometimes unhealthily raging gamer since the advent of video games. At no point did i ever sit down and posted hateful or demanding messages to developers. The entitlement of today's gaming community puzzles me.

[@toko099o]

Wait...This thing ended up on the Veta? That handheld got all the good games...

[@Kokonutzlz]

I can't believe people actually got mad over adding corpses and heart attacks. With the heart attack mechanic, if you're ever even getting to 200 stress, you're doing something incredibly wrong. The studio was right in that it's main function is as an incentive to be careful with your hero's stress

[@VaernSul]

Been toying with Darkest Dungeon since early early access (ugh). From my personnal point of view these changes made the game harder and more complex, and the negative impression it left on me is that all the game mechanics I used/exploited in order to have a comfortable experience (very low risk of hero death, basically cruising through even harder dungeons) were rendered moot. In other words, I was frustrated that these gameplay changes would mean a constant if not increasing tension throughout the game with no comfy late-game plateau, and instead an increasingly steep climb until the very end. Which is as it should be. Darkest Dungeon was never meant to be a comfy experience and Red Hook was absolutely right to include these mechanics.

[@alexplayer77]

I hardly find those mechanics unfair. Without corpses, it's pretty pointless to use bleed/blight on non-bosses, instead of just using your strongest attack. It also makes the Plague Doctor class much more usefull. Combine that with the Heart attack mechanic and you now have a solid reason to take out those guys at the back first, that spam stess moves instead of the ones that deal actual damage. It also prevents you from relying on one or two strong heroes, because now stress relief are much more important.

[@stan2139]

Probably the same people who ask for an easy mode in Dark Souls.

[@zizy8629]

I don't have any problem with the corpse update. However, I don't really appreciate the continuous patches to enhance reinforcement that is designed to prevent players from stalling and recover status, which is never effective as of today - we hit corpses with the weakest attacks/stuns every other turn to avoid reinforcement. It shouldn't ever exist because the combat strategy of DD is basically stun and eliminate the most dangerous enemies in the first two turns, thus making the squad vulnerable to physical and stress attacks by the less dangerous enemies. Naturally, players need extra turns to restore to full status and conduct that strategy for the following battles, I don't see why this should be punished.

[@telepaper1]

Before heart attacks, you just didn't have to care about stress. Healing was all you needed. Yes, afflictions were bad and sucked, but it still wasn't the end of the world and at that point, with the way the game targets stress attacks (I think it's 50% chance of hitting your highest stress hero, 50% chance of another hero, something like that), having 1 guy at 100 stress made it so any stress inducing enemy was 50% weaker without actually making any effort. This change was relevant.

[@trash2958]

"Many fall in the face of chaos...but not this one, not today." That quote gives me so much strength to finish the mission and do my heros proud

[@bobbob5007]

not after everyone else died lol

[@headoverheels88]

The writing was S-tier. The fact that it would always come at crucial moments was S++. The voice acting made it S+++++.

[@masterimbecile]

“The abyss returns… even the boldest gaze.”

[@1God1Fury]

A really good advice and wisdom from Ancestor, which will help you make the right choices: *The sin is not in being outmatched, but in failing to recognize it* *The wise general cuts losses and regroups*

[@hideousruin]

​@@1God1Fury I prefer this quote from Confucius: "Man with hole in pocket feel cocky all day."

[@professorgrimm4602]

Wayne June is one of the most important parts of this game. The Narration in Darkest Dungeon is so incredible. It was the narration that made me buy the game.

[@muhammadhanifansit3144]

true

[@GlobusTheGreat]

I agree. His delivery and the writing for his lines *make* the atmosphere. And the atmosphere makes a lot of the game work.

[@headoverheels88]

Hard same, although the art cute-disturbing art style was very much so a part of that.

[@YandereFetish]

Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer

[@Ajehy]

“Glittering gold, trinkets and baubles, paid for in blood.” Dude, I just picked up a torch! 😂

[@grahamkolb2916]

Both heart attacks and corpses are great additions, i just wish heroes left corpses when they died for a turn or two as well.

[@TheSpitefulSword]

Since Butcher's Circus release added heor corpses, it's only a matter of time when smb make a mod out of them.

[@alexxx4434]

They were too focused on upping the difficulty for the player they forgot to add hero corpses.

[@miraqen7801]

that's actually a great idea.

[@nguyeninhtri1155]

that would be very helpful in certain situations like the time when 2 of party members died and since my vestal was at the second position, she couldn't heal my bounty hunter so i had no choice but to flee

[@koatam]

I was kind pissed about the corpses when they came out. Not because it was more difficult, but that it felt unfair. Up until that point, enemies played by the same rules you did, just with different stats and abilities. Then suddenly they were handed this huge advantage that you didn't have access to.

[@NightBoyPlays]

I don't really know why i got this recommended but it's interesting.

[@mikicerise6250]

That's why you got it recommended. The algorithm that watches your behaviour thought you'd find it interesting, and it was right.

[@katoshuu]

I got this in my feed because I watched the Stardew Valley video

[@Ramsey276one]

SAME Thanks Algori-chan!

[@kagato23]

I mean I've watched a few Darkest Dungeon videos, so unlike the videos with animals killing each other (wtf youtube) this tracks.

[@danielvalent8881]

I agree, I didn't see it until today but I enjoy hearing the story behind such an odd and amazing game

[@hop7295]

They were planning on hiring someone who sounded like June, until they realized *June reads things for a living.*

[@hop7295]

i hate anime This um. I’m sorry to tell you this but this isn’t an anime pfp

[@hop7295]

i hate anime Well, have fun hating cats in names.

[@raven75257]

@i hate anime keep doing good work, sir. I'm sure you'll find a lot of friends with such amazing attitude

[@fattytan1377]

welp, this comment confirmed something. That's one note added

[@expertoflizardcorrugation3967]

@i hate anime this went from escalating memes to you being genuinely nice XD

[@NPCGamingGroup1]

Darkest Dungeon is one of my favorite games that I'll just never finish. I went through the entire game on the edge of my seat, just kind of dreading the next room, but the game's design philosophy is just so smart in how it forces you to move forward: the slow decay of the torch, the creeping darkness, the beginnings of insanity on your character and the random affects it'll have. GAH. I went in thinking that I'd do it flawlessly and by level 3 it was all about triage for me my first time playing. Like I knew my best Cleric would go insane and I'd have no chance to keep him together, so I had to push. God this game hurts but it's just so good. I love the long-form documentary style, man, you did a wonderful job. I'm happy to see more channels like mine, cataloguing the development of gaming history. Great, great video and a great, great game!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thanks for the compliments, man! I'm also glad to see there's more smaller channels in my niche. Development stories are so fascinating and deserve to be documented.

[@d4s0n282]

or you can leave the dungeon :P

[@frankjaeger1711]

NPC Gaming Group Yeah I’ve tried to raid the darkest dungeon with my best characters and lost. I love the game but I’ve failed so much I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’m not the best strategist but I feel like I put a lot of thought into preparing yet I can’t win. I’ve been grinding out regular dungeons but it’s honestly getting boring now. I should look up videos.

[@themonkeyhand]

@@frankjaeger1711 Use a Hellion or two, she's a beast and can usually hit anywhere, hard.

[@Papi_John]

Your first mistake. Not using grave robber tomb raider combo

[@jvc5462]

Good thing they kept corpses and heart attack, cannot conceive this game without it.

[@60secondgaming21]

Of course!

[@londonpunk]

The corpse and heart attack system is actually pretty good especially when the Butcher's Circus DLC came out, not only you have the option to defeat your opponent with physical attacks but you can also beat them by inflicting too much stress. It made the game more strategic as you don't only need to watch your heroes' health and deathdoor resistance but stress levels aswell.

[@KerupukKeju]

It's a nice balance mechanic. You can have a hero so tanky that they're impossible to kill but they're still vulnerable to stress.

[@raistlin3462]

Iratus Lord of the Dead says hi.

[@egorrakoed1331]

Stress in Butcher's Circus is stupidly broken and is harmful for ranked experience

[@bongosmcdongos4190]

The thing is back when corpses were introduced you couldn't clear them easily

[@hongodongo9053]

Mentioning butchers circus and heart attacks unironically Did you even play it? All that gamemode is, is man at arms screaming at eachother. Its completely pants shittingly busted.

[@thesalvadorianwarrior798]

Wait, you can turn the heart attack thing off? I've been playing it for 13 weeks and you can turn it off? I'll keep it on I guess.

[@MightyAlien1221]

I have 383 hours on steam and just noticed thanks to your comment... xD I won't turn it off tho. Just not the same without it.

[@muratkahraman8313]

I have been playing since 2017 and I also didn't know it was an option... though tbh I don't really use options aside from calibrating my sound settings XD

[@hestunugroho3654]

There was a time when DD didn't have heart attacks mechanics? That must be a very easy game

[@TheSpitefulSword]

Um yeah, and enemies hit double harder. Also marks could kill hero. Also stress attacks are harder. You must be very lucky if you had upgraded your hero to max level.

[@TheSpitefulSword]

Srsly, every fight was like you were fighting rivals. And you had to kill 9 parties of smart rivals. Do you win pvp 9 times in a row?

[@hestunugroho3654]

@@TheSpitefulSword I m not the best player, but I got like majority of heroes in lvl 6, I then installed a mod for adding stage coach max cap, and have like 150-160 lvl 6 heroes. My death counts is 11. Edit: it's in Darkest run

[@TheSpitefulSword]

@@hestunugroho3654 I am talking about early access, bud.

[@hestunugroho3654]

@@TheSpitefulSword oh sorry, I see, is it harder than Bloodmoon? Or there's no death's door yet in early access?

[@charbomber110]

"Nooo! Our fans are complaining about a mechanic we added so we have to have options in the menu to turn them off!" "Haha torches that give you unluck go frrrr"

[@doublemuscle]

And now we have the Torch God.

[@jerrygreenest]

Wait it can be disabled in options? Sounds like playing a game by turning off the game

[@kennyaero360]

Exactly! I can never understand people being such baby. I really want to see their faces look like.

[@monchete9934]

Red Hook Studios: "We don't use the word 'fun' over here. We use 'masochism-inflicted excitement'"

[@googiegress]

Fun is like "nice", almost meaningless. Games are enjoyable when you're overcoming reasonable difficulty. That level of reasonableness is up for everyone to argue about, because everyone's tastes are different and at different times for each person.

[@aloe7794]

I don't think it's as much as it is masochism as it is the satisfaction from overcoming something difficult you had issues previously with

[@GustavoSilva-ny8jc]

2:45 It's crazy how an idea born from budget limitation was the best decision they could have ever done from a visual standpoint, the game is beautiful! Another example of a great opportunity/solution born from adversity and a situation that sucked.

[@anders6326]

I mean That's basically the story behind Silent Hill. Just proof good media needs constraints :)

[@rasmachris94]

I can understand the distaste with the heart attack mechanic since it hastens the death of characters you try everything to do to keep alive. But at the same time you can walk out of any dungeon at any stage to keep them alive, recoup, and re-enter.

[@rasmachris94]

@i hate anime I think it's still fine. Removing afflictions just take time and you will typically have a 2nd team for tackling the dungeons anyways as a backup. Having a Jester to balance stress is ideal and a great addition to the game. Even if you leave partway through a dungeon you typically have scrounge together enough from that run to fund everything anyways. Leaving and rentering only limits you from progressing in Ernest and getting trinkets you may want. The slow and steady approach wins out in the end though as your team develops bonuses, remove afflictions and level.

[@seidhes8815]

I think the only time I lost someone to a heart attack was a champion flagellant that got super hard focused on a run in the weald.

[@rekrn12345]

When the first implemented heart attacks it wasn't balanced. The critisism of it was more than justified.

[@Cyberfender1]

"I was an adventurer like you, till i took and arrow to my sanity" I'll be a town guard where the sweet rolls flow like water.

[@yetanotherkeyblader3572]

@@rasmachris94 And that's not to mention other classes like Houndmaster or Crusader having Stress heals of their own. Not as strong as the Jester but a decent alternative if you can't or don't want to use the Jester

[@bennemeth625]

I can't believe that there was ever a version of DD without Wayne June as the Ancestor. I don't think I'd enjoy the game half as much without him, his voice is the linchpin that holds the excellent presentation together.

[@southeastrashian9092]

I've finished this game twice, and i remember how this game changed me from a soft hearted guild leader (or investor?) to cold hearted psychopath that'll sacrifice new kids just to add more coins to my coffers. 10/10 recommended it

[@junkandcrapamen]

"Claustrophobic, intimate, intense." Exactly. Great doc.

[@TheDendran]

If Darkest Dungeon had any major learning headlines for me, those were: 1: Don't stress yourself out 2: Weakminded will fall easily, the strong willed carry on 3 (and the most important one imo): *_You cannot save them all_* It's a game of psychology in its roots

[@cleanchimera3870]

and one cannot miss 4: *Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.*

[@randommoron9892]

Number 5: you cannot learn a thing you think you know Number 6:there is no shame in retreated the only shame is failing to recognize when

[@DefinitelyNotAMachineCultist]

3 was technically false, at least last time I checked. You could even kill the final boss before it got a chance to send out its one-hit KO beam.

[@twinzzlers]

"You cannot save them all" *laughs in exiting the game*

[@Oreca2005]

@@randommoron9892 your pride fails you when you know running away is the right answer I know that’s a long quote for the ancestor but felt right

[@miraqen7801]

the people who reacted extremely negative to the "corpses and heart attacks" update are sounding nothing more than "they should've hired me instead! i can make game good, yes! my vision is always right, always perfect!"

[@roja119]

they are the same ones who demand easy mode for From software games. also they suck their own cocks coz they aint got no spine.

[@MaddCrazyMee]

bet they throw hissy fits with bloodborne and dark souls

[@davidlee1770]

they were overconfident, neglecting the fact that it's a slow and insidious killer.

[@Spamhard]

@@roja119 ironically, no. The type of people who were slamming the devs for making changes to the games are more likely the same sorta people who think there shouldn't be difficulty modes in From Soft games. Aka the gamer bros who can't handle any ounce of change, or can't possibly imagine a game not specifically catered to please them and only them.

[@CaptainJoJo71]

@@Spamhard What, exactly, makes you say that? It seems it would be the people who complain about there not being any difficulty setting, no? With your logic, you claim that those very same people you're talking about would be against From Software making their games even harder, no? I mean, making SoulsBourne games even harder with a certain game feature would count as a change, correct? See? That doesn't seem to add up at all. The people that complain about adding easier difficulties in games, wouldn't complain about a feature that specifically makes the game harder and more strategic... I'm just saying that what you're saying doesn't make too much sense, and maybe you feel more personally about those specific people, ya know?

[@XxXBetoXxX777]

As a starting developer I can only imagine how fucking dope it must be to get the game you and your friend idealized to sell 2 million copies and even go for a sequel, WTF

[@deviousskylark5767]

Darkest Dungeon appeals to my inner masochist who is also a completionist.

[@raffafll7449]

youtube algorithm has blessed both you and i, your channel is amazing! script wise and editing love the style. Been binging all ur videos i love them! although ur voice can be more tuned up (intonation wise imo) or thats just me lol. liked and subscribed!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you so much, glad you like the videos! You're definitely right about my voice and it's an area I'm working on. People around me have also said that I need to work on my intonation so I'm trying to improve with each video :D

[@kevinlopez227]

This documentary is Ancestral level of editing. Just wow, this video is just perfect, insta like and insta favorite

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Much appreciated man!

[@kevinlopez227]

@@ThatGuyGlen No, thank you for this video. There is a lot of things I didnt know. Keep the good work man! Have a good day

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Will do, more videos are coming :D Have a nice day too!

[@renafelix5186]

It's so shocking to me that your channel isn't more popular, I'll definitely recommend at least a few videos to some friends. I love your videos, you're doing amazing, I can't wait for the next video

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you so much! Recommending to friends would really help out a lot, especially for a small channel like mine. I'm happy with where I am so far though, since I've only got 6 videos on my channel right now. It takes some time on KZbin to gain traction, but it's always awesome to see comments like yours so thanks again!

[@Exaltable]

His content is just copied documentaries you can watch the original versions of on other channels like the escapist and noclip beat for beat.

[@trinianblack]

TIL, the Ancestor has readings of Lovecraft. LISTEN TO. THEM. ALL.

[@Cameroo]

This game was lightning in a bottle. I cannot believe how good it is. Getting Wayne June to do the narration was such an incredible get also. I've been a fan of his since I stumbled across his work a few years prior to DD's announcement. Great look at the game!

[@followingtheroe1952]

The side perspective reminds me of something Lorne Lanning said about the flip screen perspective and how it can be more immersive as it focuses on the character and your role as the guardian of that character. The perspective works really well to make you attached to the characters and feel responsible for them. Sometimes a game can be more immersive when the player is themselves detached from the scene, and I find that really interesting. Its not about "I want to survive" because its a video game and you aren't in danger, its about "I want these guys to survive". It makes things immersive AS a video game.

[@muhammadkhalid4037]

Nice video! Knowing the reasons and hardships behind the development team brought me to appreciate this game more! The styles is really great and compatible with the game you presented. It really is a great vid! I don't really like a frustrating or difficult game like dark souls (it's a great game, but it just doesn't click with me), but I love this game! The difficulties is really fair, the mechanic is great and realistic, and the narration is so memorable that it can even rival the ost on most game! Sure it's RNG heavy, but even if your luck is really bad and you get screwed, the replayability of the game is great thanks to the stage coach, being upgradable and infinite, really is helpful especially in early game when it really is more beneficial to replace heroes. You really make a nice video on one of my favorite game! Thanks again for this video, it really make me appreciate the developers more. Hope you get better recognition for this!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you so much! Happy to hear you enjoyed the video :D

[@johnjackson9767]

Good stuff, man! Glad to see another up and coming content creator and give my support. Looking forward to the next one.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thanks, man! It’s been a blast so far. I’m really excited about the next one I’m working on, stay tuned!

[@Sask3187]

I like hard games my Libraries are full of them but i always found Darkest Dungeon to not feel Hard but unfairly stacked against the player. This may be the intent and people clearly enjoy it but its not for me. Also i dont understand that people hate so much if play get an opinion and if its not for you well dont play it dont hate on thge vision of clearly talented developers. Great vid though you need to be more popular.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you!

[@TheLifeLaVita]

yea that's actually their point, it's stated on the initial disclaimer. Hard means you could still be good and win, in DD even if you're good, you just get 2 crits in a row, bleed, and boom you're dead. The point being to look at characters not only as characters in a game, it's pretty reasonable. You would never know what could happen in a dungeon filled with nasty monsters

[@Sask3187]

@@TheLifeLaVita They may have intended that but the fact that a stacked rng can destroy you no matter how good or prepared you are is bad game design to me . Just my Opinion though and whoever likes is more power to them :) My thing are the hard but fair games.

[@TheLifeLaVita]

Honyuu think about an action film, bad guys shoot the good guy, everybody misses the shot. But what if they hit? Well, then you would have DD. How can you call it bad game design, if you were in the dungeon fighting for your life, you would never know what could happen, nor do them. What if a powerful enemy appears? It's not a cartoon where the good guy always wins, sometimes they take a hit, and retreat. Still if you're good at DD you won't ever lose character, unless you're greedy and don't know when to stop. In your view, entering a boos fight with half HP, and having the character get paranoid because of that, is bad game design, while it's just what they wanted, reflection of the character's persona in your actions

[@TheLifeLaVita]

Honyuu in less words: DD is fair, it punishes you only when you're greedy and treat your characters as numbers instead of characters. That's not bad game design, It's just like DnD's combat

[@gydorack]

The heart attack mechanic is essential for this game. It forces players to focus on controlling stress causing enemies. If having full stress caused nothing more than a decrease in stats it would be in a player's best interest to ignore their stress and prepare for the potential debut. But with heart attacks it reinforces the idea that no matter how much of a big bad boy you might be everyone has their limits.

[@PedroHawk1]

I bought the game this week, with all the DLCs. It was pretty cheap and I'm pretty satisfied with the game. You'll need to be patient and not binge on the game, for your own health, though. Just like Dark Souls, there are really frustrating moments in the game, when I almost literally cried. But I have to admit: the game is really well polished. Wayne June's narration really adds to your immersion, too. This game is really worth your money.

[@ycleptubi8935]

TL/DW: Casuals shouldn't play DD.

[@YuutaS]

I discovered this game in 2019, and it was love at first sight, theres no other words to discribe it I loved the art, the difficulty, the stress sistem and obviously the best narrator i've ever seen, it was the game that I was lookin for. In 2019 I didn't had too much time for games, 2020 my PC broke but I finally bought other just yesterday, I am certain that I will buy the DD2 when I get a chance (If you read it all, just know that i'm sorry if my english is terrible, I hope it's at least understandable)

[@r.a.fgattaiguy845]

your english is pretty good if you ask me

[@emanueletintori1229]

"Remind you that overconfidence is a slowly yet silent killer" I love Darkest Dungeon simply for this priceless rogue like advice!😍

[@kikid1643]

“Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.”

[@evgeniblanchard675]

I remember when maggots have PROT

[@Ramsey276one]

WUT

[@txmetalhead82xk]

Insanely fast maggots lol

[@ShadeStarMC]

Guys they put features I don't like but I can still disable them but I don't like them!!!!!!!!

[@kevinlopez227]

GIVE ME ATENTION I AM RIGHT I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THEY ADMIT THEY FUCKED UP!!! IM 13 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@ShadeStarMC]

@@kevinlopez227 HEART ATTACK BAD REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@kevinlopez227]

KING-GALE WHY MY HERO ALSO NOT LEAVE A CORPSE!? THIS IS BULLSHIT DESIGN REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@ethribin4188]

If the devs didnt add the option to turn off corpses and heart attacks, modders would have. So adding in the option themself, was actually a very good compromise. Listening to your community but still making the game you want to make.

[@baptistemussard597]

Man, how boring your life needs to be for you to harass developers because you think it's "too difficult" xD

[@DahistheDah]

I get the angstiness over the heart attacks. They basically make the "Two Teams" approach to the game practically impossible. Losing a team member randomly while playing like that hurts a lot more for the player since you feel like really know the characters. It can also effectively end the game intstantly as you likely haven't had to upgrade the stagecoach, and have no way of training up new guys. But in the end it's for the best. If we could beat the game with 8 guys, we'd just stick with the same 2 optimized teams the entire game, and never have to really innovate or improvise. The literal army approach that's practically required thanks to heart attacks forces us to make do with sub-optimal team comps and plan ahead in our operations if we want to be able to assemble an A team.

[@christopherbrennan4858]

Recently started playing Darkest Dungeon and found your video. Nicely done. Really enjoyable background.

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Much appreciated!

[@Whitewing89]

I just wish it wasn't so grindy. I'm fine with it being tough and hard i just don't want to be indefinitely set back because my best healer died and the game won't roll a high level vestal. I can't run the usual suspects because the crusaders keep dying before i can level them up. Everyone is dieing of vamprism and I can't get blood because while i have high level people I can't field a functional party with them and all the quests are a high hazard. It will take hours to grind up a replacement and there is always a chance I'll just lose another high level guy while working on a replacement meaning I'm going backwards faster than advancing in any meaningful way.

[@jonahulichny9874]

Maybe change up your play style? Work with what the game gives you and see what happens.

[@Whitewing89]

@jonahulichny9874 Yeah, it's not like rng will cost me 6 hours of work if if the 4 randos with no healer turn out to not work well as a group. Have a few teams i was running, but with all of them down a member and / or needing stress break, i can't use any of them, and it's too big a setback to risk 4 maxed level guys trying something random like highwayman, abomination, grave robber, and antiquarian especially when tight on gold.

[@magnoliaeclair7822]

You can turn heart attack off? Hell no, im enjoying the panic, adrenaline and sheer preassure of the high stress moments.

[@simonhugo4893]

Love the stress systems. Dude get life changing psychotic breakdowns (and a solid variety of them) every other days and pwn themselves back into sanity overnight by either getting wasted, getting laid, gambling, meditating, etc. It's like every single hero in this game has BDP.

[@Starfloofle]

I've always respected the hell out of this game, moreso after learning its story. It's not the genre for me, its tone clashes starkly with what I want out of a game, but I've always really respected its vision and how well it executes it. Even having not played it myself I can tell it's worthy of all the praise it receives because it just emanates the *aura* of a well-crafted masterpiece that didn't compromise its vision. I never knew about this controversy but it's so hilariously shallow when I look at it, like, cmon, they outright added an official option for you guys even before workshop was made where someone could mod it out, why the hell are you complaining? It's sad that this is indeed why we can't have nice things. Community Moderators are definitely essential come a certain group size. You can put your foot down as the master of the project, but you really do need someone a little divorced from your direct will to actually make the shot. Slaying those spewing vitriol by yourself will just galvanize those who'd sympathize with them because they can villainize you; a moderator whose whole job is to do the dirty work disciplining dissenters may garner some anger, but when people are banned because they broke the rules, it's less likely to cause a revolt, it's their fault they did a bad. That's a situation that's got to be a little hard for some people. I know it'd be hard for me, I'd want to personally shut them down, directly defend myself. But when you're in charge of something greater than yourself like this, it's essential to realize that it's just not your place to be the sole arbiter of justice anymore, there's more important stuff you need to be doing than placating petty protestors. I'm glad they worked things out in the end, at least. ...re-reading this, how the hell did I end up with so much accidental alliteration? lol I assure you none of that was actually intentional.

[@levipromovies]

You could've easily worded your comment more accesible. You're writing a youtube comment about the analogy of a certain video game development cycle, not a thesis lol

[@joshuabacker2363]

Ego tripping nonsense. Games are meant to be fun. Anything else is completely irrelevant.

[@fulldisclosureiamamonster2786]

@@joshuabacker2363 Nice opinion, fortunately you don't speak for everyone (BTW, the Pathologic games are fantastic).

[@joshuabacker2363]

@@fulldisclosureiamamonster2786 You mean Pathologic 2 is fantastic. Pathologic 1 failed because for most people it wasn't fun due to how many annoying mechanics were in it.

[@fulldisclosureiamamonster2786]

@@joshuabacker2363 Well, that just isn't true. Why do you think Pathologic 2 would get made or Pathologic 1 get a remaster (which has a Very Positive rating on Steam lol) if people didn't like it? You seem to assume that your taste speaks for everyone else's, when that isn't necessarily always true. Pretty fortunate judging from the awful take in your first reply. That's the kind of mindset that ensures games like Pathologic 2 wouldn't exist.

[@LucRio448]

Wait a second. 75k for 2 people (assuming only these 2 guys were involved and nobody else) over estimated 18 months, full time. Wich makes just above 2k per month and person. Now add in electricity and other more or less minor costs, then add commercial license for a few tools, factor in the fact that they have to pay every kind of insurance for every single month themselves and still live off of whatever is left of the initial 2k dollars. Not to mention the costs of physical backer rewards. I doubt that would have worked out if they only got about their funding goal. Oh look, there also is an animator, so a 3rd person, so even less than 2k before any expenses for the 2 main developers, cool. Oh and they got a programmer as well who made the engine. I guess this cuts the "commercial license" part, at least by a bit, but adds a 4th guy to live off of the intended 75k. For 18 months. Oh there's a narroter too, so... well, you got the drill. Is it only me or does this sound like the classic "I wanna make a game, I wanna launch kickstarter campaign, but I have 0 plans on how much I could possibly need even if I ignore all game development specific factors and only think about how much money I'd need to be able to do this fulltime for the estimated development time and live off of the raised fund for that time period"-case?

[@Julia-lg8dt]

Me: * has been watching a lot of dankpods lately * Also me: * reads title as dankest dungeon *

[@jacksquatt6082]

Just for laughs, Wayne June voiced a 4 second sound clip talking about the "Dankest Dungeon" in the narration outtake files.

[@knight_lautrec_of_carim]

Interesting how many people got mad over individual mechancis when for me it was the meta game loop that made me drop the game eventually. In your first playthrough, you'll probably get to breeze trough the early difficulty dungeons and then once you hit lvl 3/4 hit the first roadblocks. Some characters will die because you're new and and you're suddenly on this treadmill of going through early dungeons again and again to keep a steady supply of characters. Losing a high level character is part of the game and can happen through RNG and it isn't a permament failstate. You can always recoup but then you just spend more time playing old content again and again. Once I realised this is the type of grind the game was about (unless you're a vet/guide reader and can skip large portions of the trial and error) I just couldn't go on anymore. Too many cool other games to play.

[@vergilkilla1]

Great video. Writing your own game engine is not a trivial thing - let’s not gloss over that - using something homegrown may have been lighter weight than Unreal or Unity but also is sort of amazing, and it’s always games implemented in homegrown engines that feel nothing like any other game, because the set of easily accessible tools (let’s call it “cantrips”) for which to build/edit your game are very diff from engine to engine

[@lolyganster]

Really good editing and a nice write-up on an interesting game. Keep going! And thanks for the entertainment in these boring times :)!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

Thank you for the uplifting comment! More videos are definitely coming and I’m really excited about the next one. It’s about a game I personally adore. Stay tuned!

[@acetrigger1337]

Wayne June is one of those voices that make it or break it. i don't know shit about "Bastion", but Mr. Logan Cunningham's voice was so unique that i couldn't help but buy his announcer pack for Dota 2. there are people out there with unique talents, but voices? that shit is rare... even more when they know what they got and work on refining it further.

[@RudolfJvVuuren]

I love this game!! Hidden gem, and the narrators voice is the best thing!! Such an awesome atmosphere in the game! Such a great story also about 2 guys making a game! The idea for the sequel sounds really cool also!

[@deathtrooper199]

I was surprised that there's so many people hating the game since it's one of the best indie game that i've played and yet they said it's tOo HaRd because of the heart attack and corpses. What they're expecting? A walk in the park with a dark story and how simple it looked because of it's gameplay? If they are, that's because they're too overconfident. As what the Ancestor said... "overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer"

[@RexOedipus.]

You can also turn corpses and heart attacks off

[@OG_McLovin]

Amazing game and mad props to these guys for making the game they wanted to make and play. I played and beat DD and I will never, ever play it again. The game is exactly what it wants to be and incredibly cohesive, but I think I'm mature enough to know when a game series isn't for me. All that BS aside, I probably will pick up and check out DD2 purely for how much this first game has stuck with me.

[@sub7se7en]

I didn't even know there were heart attacks in the game. Its not hard to manage stress. Just rotate heroes and de-stress.

[@Willbo_Swaggins97]

FALSE: the heart attack mechanic is actually cool. The worst thing about this game is that it hates you and everthing you represent which is very loyal to the lovecraftian cosmic horror vibe the game is using but I hate it cuz it's mean and it keeps killing my healers every goddamn time.

[@MLBlue30]

DD2 is pretty brutal in its own way. I've screamed several times that the game sucks since I have yet to beat the second confession boss and I can just barely beat lair bosses but I still keep playing.

[@TheJuggtron]

i never heard about the development of this game - i just bought it and played people on the internet are spoiled brats

[@Baalor204]

It really is a perfect example of how a good game can defeat the hate.

[@jaei6680]

There is an old flash game that is called Monsters' Den that has many elements and the feel of Darkest Dungeon. Inspiration or coincidence, who knows.

[@marcoferrer9840]

We need people like you in the community, please do not stop making videos!

[@ThatGuyGlen]

No worries, I have no intentions of quitting! This channel has become a passion project for me and there are a ton of games I want to cover so stay tuned!

[@phylippezimmermannpaquin2062]

IMAGINE TURNING OFF HEART ATTACKS AND CORPSES HAHAHA

[@Luxai]

As someone who played before even corpses was added, i can say it didn't take me long to adapt to them. They also opened interesting mod possibilities, and leper had a corpse clear anyways. As for heart attacks, getting stressed out to the point of heart failure is always a bit of an uncomfy subject, since it's a very real problem irl, but it fit so well in with the dark and despairing tone of DD that I did not mind it at all. I never hit 200 stress anyways since I'm not terrible at the game. So all in all, awesome game, and to everyone who had to ruin the party because you got punished for playing poorly in a game that is supposed to he hard, please, grow the fuck up.