the making of ANIMAL WELL | a documentary

[@mdgprogrammer]

One thing I don't think gets enough attention is just how beautiful it is. Such a profound accomplishment within its strict limitations.

[@VictorYamaykin]

So true

[@andrybak]

In design, the limitations is what drives the good ideas, the invention, the innovation. Design without limits is extremely hard to do, because the space of possible solutions is infinite. For example, if you're designing a logo. Without limits = super hard. But if the logo has to be readable on small phone screen and look good on a billboard - still hard, but at least you know know what you're looking for.

[@MyFidde]

This game is such a masterpiece, I have been playing it for weeks with my 9-year old who loved every minute of it - and I probably enjoyed it more than he did. From a fellow (failed) amateur game developer to another, my sincere thank you for your effort and great game design. Cheers!

[@con.x]

If Billy reads these comments, Don't stop developing. Success is fleeting, but the love of developing a product should be a constant. When you stop, and stagnate, its not great. Not for us... though, for you. Develop because its joyful and just fun. Success is surreal, but when the luster fades, losing having a "thing" to build, can be really depressing. Always keep building. That's what we do, building feels great, even when its hard to do.

[@kalameet3136]

I think it may be one of the best games I've ever played. And I played A LOT and don't like most of new games really. From sound to visuals, to atmosphere, to physics, so puzzles, to how everything interacts with each other, how you can sequence break, to how many secrets in game. I don't understand how this game is real, but I am forever grateful to experience it. I will cherish it forever. Thanks Billy. I hope to see more from you, this game is an experience, really. Thank YOU!

[@EMLtheViewer]

This game is an inspiration. It gives me hope that I may be able to turn my own game concepts into complete works of art someday, even all on my own. I still have a lot of work to do to get to that point, but seeing the success of other single devs is encouraging.

[@reapicus557]

This is exactly how I'm feeling!

[@marv1d1no]

Nocaps, your channel is a gift. Thank you for the amazing video

[@jmjanzen]

From an aesthetic view, Animal Well is a masterpiece. And from a gameplay view, it is also, a masterpiece. I was particularly affected by the mystery of the animals in the game, their indifference to your own explorations. Somehow even though they act and move fairly deterministically, they felt so "animal" like they had their own things going on that had nothing to do with you (until you steal their frisbee that is!). Great video. So glad to hear some in depth discussion of this game.

[@flikkie72]

The sequence breaking features is actually what I love the most about this, bubble walking, frisbee riding, there's just some really good stuff that makes you wonder what else you could do if your creativity can just imagine it

[@TroutmanRoger]

You clearly did a masterclass with Animal Well ! Someone on steam's review was saying "The best 32mo I download in my entire life", few weeks later when I "finished" the game I completely understand what he was talking about ! Thank you for that masterpiece, the user experience was UNIQUE !

[@theatricshrink]

Just finished it. It was awesome. Crazy one guy can pull this off.

[@dodehav]

channel name: nocaps video title: YESCAPS

[@nocapsbb]

hey that's how it's stylized on steam haha

[@creditwhereitsdude7544]

This is what I live for. I love you and FullyForged, I love Billy, and I love this community. (Dunkey is cool too)

[@RadioMike]

I loved this game, Billy. Thanks for making it.

[@Mute_Cy_Ren]

two moments in animal well that will always be with me will be the time I have taken the disk, saw the ghost 'dog' (looks like a cat to me) and just noping and puttng it back and afte seeing the kangaroo first time and not know it can appear in other locations it just appearing and rushing me down, it shake me so bad I cried a little.

The kangaroo is a real jump scaring piece of work, dude aged me at least two years

[@Gsvthx]

I love EVERYTHING in this game. Because it's like halo 2 and halo 3 have a child

[@carl4352]

Thank you!! I never knew the background on Billy Basso and the development of this game so I appreciate your hard work.

[@thomastergaard]

A documentary!! This channel is such a lovely place 🌈 EDIT: Aww, a love letter 💛

[@trevorgrover5619]

The channel is about as chill and cozy as the game.

[@DonWeaselYeehawEdition]

I had no idea the creator posted a documentary, I cant wait to watch this after work! This is such a special and incredible game, quite possibly my favorite of all time. Thank you so much for this unforgettable experience, and you deserve all the praise you're getting and more!

[@maddietourmaline46]

This made me so happy. ANIMAL WELL is finally the game that i wanted to play after falling in love with Knytt Underground eleven and a half years ago. I must just like chill Metroidvania games about being in peculiar caves with various critters and exploring in clever puzzly ways and this is the best yet! I loved learning about it and your enthusiasm is contagious :>

[@creakiap]

Incredible ! I loved the game and knowing how it was made is a real gift ! Thank you Nocaps !

[@sofierestrepo6064]

you can just tell when games are created and developed by artists! everything feels so seamless down to the ambience, music, and art- like its one entity as a reflection of the creator themselves

[@blurbstv]

This game is such an excellent piece of art! Thank you for this very well researched and excellently thorough video!

[@mikehulsebus]

Even though there is no tutorial, I do appreciate that there are some sections that help you discover things by accident. Like I learned to fly on the disc by accident

[@libbypee3]

Great wrap up! Love this game 🦔

[@CABROWN]

Very cool! Trying new formats is always neat.

[@e3.14c4]

14:06 I can't believe you've done this

[@iestynne]

Best game ever. Just amazing in so many ways. I'm so glad I went into it blind, and dearly wish I could get a memory wipe to experience it fresh all over again... really looking forward to when my daughter is old enough to play it herself.

[@mak1A4]

Love your voice, so calming

[@codesymphony]

you're killing it

[@MortonGoldthwait]

11/10 video. I love Animal Well as much as you do. Thank you so much for the content.

[@beatdropbandit6466]

Beautifully put together! Thanks for the breakdown doco!😁👏🏾

[@danadelman7277]

Amazing job on the video! Love it!!

[@decilianosouza2134]

Thank you very much for the doc. Did very well. This game is really incredible. I love every pixel of it ♥

[@FoseCartoons]

Very nice documentary! Thank you for it! Indeed, this game is amazing, playful and mysterious. Like all humans are ❤

[@KevEatsCheese]

I got to meet Billy at Pax last weekend. He was really cool- just like the game B)

[@revolutionofthekind]

Honestly, i havent seen such an interesting development history since undertale and rain world. Those are literally the only games i can think of that have...this...feeling. tho undertale had a very small team, it was definitely toby and temmie's game. Rain world was eveeen smaller oeiginally, being only 2 guys. This is just another page in the history of "incredible art made by people who have lost their mind" and i am so grateful for it

[@cthulusauce]

So proud of you Nocaps!!

[@Lucas210700]

The day it launched i just went trough the PS+ extra game catalogue and saw they just added this game. I basically new nothing about this game, only ever heard about it once but never thought anything about it. I gave it a try, and thank god i did. Its the exact type of game i found to love, where you just get thrown into a world and explore it all by yourself without the game telling you what to do. It truely is an amazing game, i loved every single second of it and i cannot wait for more. I hope more developers make games with this concept in the future. Also i watched quite a few videos of yours recently and you are doing an amazing job. Maybe ill discover more fun indie games trough your channel in the future. Keep up the great work 👍🏻

[@nocapsbb]

that must've been amazing going in and knowing nothing about the game. glad you enjoyed my videos :)

[@hoobslice]

Outer wilds and the witness! I recommend! 🙂

[@Lucas210700]

@@hoobslice played both already, but great recommendations. Id like to add Tunic to the list.

[@tobiasherbst8894]

Can't write a comment, I still miss eight eggs.

[@tsunamihurricane]

Lets go! This will be awesome!

[@AcidArmy_]

You forgot to add this to your animal well playlist!

[@nocapsbb]

ooh good catch

[@quinnster298]

Incredible game, beautiful and extremely fun.

[@e3.14c4]

5:33 I was not expecting to see that internet meme, much less in a cubish form.

[@soulfulfakealligator]

So... did the community figure out the secret hidden within this video?

[@mr.orange8205]

Masterpiece

[@cendrillon4986]

THIS DROPS ON MY BIRTHDAY YIPPEEEEEEE

[@nocapsbb]

happy birthday!!

[@Rex_Cosmos]

great job!

[@nocapsbb]

Thank you so much :)

[@SangheiliSpecOp]

Great video!

[@Cluxiu]

legend

[@amixofgeekcontent]

Video donkey guy is quite the megaphone to use. This Dan guy perhaps made a big play getting Big Mode to publish the game.

[@randomwowjunkie]

That's what I'm saying, I've played several games that are just as brilliant as Animal Well but get overshadowed because they weren't published by a famous person. Environmental Station Alpha keeps coming to mind when playing this game

[@coolfool183]

billy basso looks like Harry Potter, the book version

[@josh-richards]

Nice vid!

[@NeZversSounds]

It has similar vibe to a modern NES game "Lizard".

[@20Aptem20]

Well (🔔) done!

[@woafie]

I... cannot. wait

[@libbypee3]

Stoppppp so excited

[@ShadowmanZ92]

Billy Basso is Phil Fish from an alternate timeline, Animal Well is FEZ if it was made by someone who didn't hate gamers.

[@Luc_ienn]

Gamers deserve hate sometimes. Phil Fish didn’t deserve his ultimate fate. Gamers aren’t a protected status or anything like that. Both developers gave us amazing games that people love now, and 12 years ago. Get over it, the pieces of crap from gamergate already ruined his life, what else do you want? He was about to turn himself around and was looking to foster a new community of indie game developers and he got destroyed just because he was too close to Zoe Quinn, the more unfortunate victim. Go away forever if this is how you’re gonna keep acting.

[@colbyboucher6391]

Fez was great though

[@ShadowmanZ92]

@@colbyboucher6391 You're 100% right, FEZ is still one of the best games ever made, I still think Phil is a total toolbag. Hate the artist, not the art.

[@ShadowmanZ92]

@@Luc_ienn FEZ was in production for 5 years and came out in 2012, gamergate was a thing that happened in 2014. You can't mental gymnastics this into existence, he was an inflammatory jerk (kinda like how you're being right now) long before GG. Also mentioning gamergate in 2024 lmao, rent free I guess.

[@Luc_ienn]

@@ShadowmanZ92 I actually can. Phil Fish was working on the Polytron Fund as well as Fez 2, pairing up with various indies at the time. He got in contact with Zoe Quinn and they were working on a positive environment for game developers to thrive in. Gamergate, ever spiteful of Quinn, saw Fish’s involvement with them and decided it would be funny to make his life hell again since there was already animosity towards his reputation. They hacked his Polytron Fund, exposed a bunch of details of his databases and the info of his partners. This was the final straw for Fish, he cancelled Fez 2, a game he was already not sure he wanted to make, and then swore off the industry forever. I don’t have to do any mental gymnastics for this, this is actual history.

[@Chibs]

Don't watch this before you play!

[@onthe1111]

U cooked

[@Dabestbro.]

NO WAYYYYYYYY HUGE!!!

[@RowanFuture]

good video!

[@mcwurzn8194]

nice content!

[@Hysteria98]

I think it's popularity is still very much subject to Dunkey's audience bandwagoning, but it is a very good game and another superb example of what a single developer has achieved. It's far from the best MetroidVania, though. There are countless to compete against, and Animal Well would only beat out most by metric of its visual design and secrets design. The world design and inventory system are absolutely atrocious and kill off the magic past the usually MV 10 hour mark completion.

[@Rex_Cosmos]

Ah dang!

[@ThePfonseca]

My GOTY

[@actadiurna6733]

Who's the narrator in this video?

[@AsFunAsFunDev]

[@pyaehtetaung]

65 eggs btw @ 11:11

[@nocapsbb]

yeah, didn't want to put a spoiler in here

[@patrockTV]

🚫🧢🧢

[@hoobslice]

Mexican jumping bean??!

[@nocapsbb]

Yes!!