Why I Left Shadiversity...

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Cocoa Loco is cozy cafe game where you wait tables, upgrade the shop and experience a hand-crafted story full of interesting characters! In this video I go through improving the NPC Behaviour Tree, NPC Interactions and new additions to the UI System
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▶Subscribe for dev logs on my UNREAL ENGINE game Cocoa Loco, a feel-good café game. Along with other game dev related topics!

[@hoi-polloi1863]

Viewers: Why'd you leave? Political fights? Blackmail scandals? AI takeover? Nathan: Landlord bumped up the rent, yo. Everyone: Good luck, mister! And thank you for everything you brought to the show!

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

I mean I wanted the gossip but I'm happy they had no fights lol

[@Masteroftheweb]

Saved me 11 minutes of my life. Thank you

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

@@Masteroftheweb

[@randomthings1293]

Thanks for letting me know that I shouldn't watch the video. Was hoping "political views" was the answer, but no, this guy remains a trash bag who actively advocates for his landlord to raise the prices on him (through his right wing views). Cheers!

[@MikeJProto]

​@@randomthings1293-🤖

[@guilhermemarquesani4553]

Nate, in 2020 I lost everything. My car, my house, my income... I had to take my wife and my son back to my father's house. My family received my with open arms and hospitality, but it was a very difficult moment in our lives. It took six month to rebuild and get a new place again. I believe in you! Everything will be OK! I'll be here!

[@NathanRohner]

That means lot, thankyou.

[@zonzillamagnus5902]

Hey good for you man

[@daniel8181]

Similar for me, operating on small margins means you got destroyed by the coof.

[@pierluigiadreani2159]

COVID forced many of US, me included to come back home. Many of us are trying to fix their lives

[@Halo_Legend]

Now imagine you didn't have kids or a wife. In these times, you are blessed.

[@stanisawzokiewski3308]

TLDR; the rent went up and i needed a higher income to survive the cost of living crisis. I left on good terms and always wanted to work in YT content creation, but i need a different job and my future is going in different direction.

[@PaulJohn01]

You just saved me 9:50 , thanks 👍👍

[@BasedlordYama]

Very much appreciated

[@FacepalmeGaming]

Glad there is no bad blood upon you leaving. Keep up with the game dev, it can be exhausting too but stick at it and hopefully something good will come of it!

[@NathanRohner]

I'll be working hard to achieve it!

[@torstwolf8742]

Yeah its the golden times for indi devs that have passion for gaming

[@Caursten]

It's hard being a game dev but the Indie scene is very strong. As long as you focus on making the game fun, you can see success. That's really what the key has been the last 4 years for new games. Fun. That is also what's been missing from video games for so long.

[@r4nd0m1zer2]

​@@NathanRohner a random person on the internet who didnt know you existed until 15 minutes ago advises you to become a master of using AI to be a game dev

[@kamenriderkfp6684]

Best wishes for the future dude. It's no exaggeration to say that Shadiversity wouldn't be where it is now without your solid work behind the scenes.

[@NathanRohner]

I appreciate it, glad to have built something people have enjoyed :)

[@LundunDansqua]

Oh no! The show is Maidenless now 🤣

[@nostalji75]

@@LundunDansqua Brah :D

[@LundunDansqua]

@@nostalji75 🤣

[@Halomasterchief16]

Sad because you were my favorite voice on Knight's Watch, but still wishing you the best going forward. Good luck with university and getting life sorted!

[@NathanRohner]

Thankyou!

[@Jinseual]

This is first time KZbin had recommended a video from you to me.

[@NathanRohner]

Yay! Thankyou algorithm 🙌

[@thegreatking8495]

Same. I didn’t even know he had his own channel.

[@jimmyb79]

Same

[@PatrickKniesler]

Same here.

[@ExileTwilight]

Yep same here. While I have some disagreements with some of Shad's views (won't go into it here) I am glad Nathan left on amicable terms, even if the actual reasons are unfortunate too.

[@TrueChaoSclx]

I'm glad to hear that you left on amicable terms. This economy has been, continues to be, incredibly rough and I wish you all the best.

[@NathanRohner]

Thank you!

[@dean_l33]

Same. Hope all works out for Nate

[@khaiwong728]

Mr Natham i want thank you for being on Shadiversity for a few years and we will all miss you. So Nathan all i can say this to you. Cheers and Farewell. We all wish you a Bright Future for you. Thanks.

[@NathanRohner]

Thank you, I'm very proud of what I've worked on and glad you've enjoyed it!

[@John.Doe.272]

Cheers.

[@leoncaruthers]

Speaking as a working software engineer at 20+ years in, my college education was not a major contributor to my success in the field. Tutorials, O'Reilly books, and Udemy classes combined with just doing the work and humbly asking questions have mattered a lot more. Formal coursework may not be worth the expense in either time or currency. If you can get a working game released on Steam or get some PRs accepted on some open source projects that might go a much longer way toward finding a steady job in the industry these days. That said, bigger corps and .gov contractor types will still want you to have a degree, but those aren't the steady, safe jobs they once were either. Edit: Oh God, it's 25+ years. Where has my life gone?

[@leoncaruthers]

@SmilingShadow-jl5tr I appreciate the response. Definitely more than one way into the industry. Nathan going after the gaming space, I tend to think formal education in a university setting isn't going to meet his needs in a pure cost/benefit analysis, even if the only cost is time. It may also be just happenstance, but most of my career has been on .gov contracts, and nearly everything has been an integration task that someone decided to call 'development'. The opportunity to actually build something has been so rare that what education I did get in that direction has atrophied pretty badly, and I end up in analysis paralysis a lot when it does occur. All that said, I've been well compensated for the integration and maintenance work over the years. In an environment where the mechanic makes as much as the designer, it's a matter of preference and inclination. Were I where he is, I'd be doing skills acquisition on model building, using Unreal/Unity, scripting events, and studying the academic principals stuff in off hours or after a paycheck is coming in.

[@Aturnadagar]

I spend 8 years of my life on the university and I dont reget it, I did learn some things. But to anyone starting now I recommend skip University, there is so much free classes or really cheap online courses and you can get in the industry in less than a year if you are autodidact. I been working as a software engineer for 16 years and I made myself indispensable because of 1 class on the university that I could have learn outside. What I do is analyze all day and sometimes I code on assembler or Ocaml. The reality is that everyone end up doing just few things and many of them have to learn them after University, Technology keep moving you have to keep up all the time.

[@lordmuaddib]

as a fellow developer that is trying to go solo on game dev i wish you the best! i'll be following the channel here

[@NathanRohner]

Thankyou! Let's build some cool games 🎮

[@brandanpalmer9712]

Oh thank goodness. I was dreading that there was some new drama with Shad.

[@NathanRohner]

Not this time 🫡

[@noblekatana2270]

Same, I’d have hate to see shad not be the kind guy he’s presented himself to be behind the scenes

[@infini_ryu9461]

I don't think Shad is that kind of guy. It just doesn't work out sometimes. KZbin has been hitting a lot of channels in the algorithm so it might have been impossible to pay enough to keep him on. It's enough that Shad valued him enough to want to make it work. They seem like a good team.

[@jmgonzales7701]

he has weird views

[@SockieTheSockPuppet]

​@@jmgonzales7701Like what?

[@thereader6667]

Your humour, logic and benevolence will be missed. All the best Nath, Subbed 👍

[@NathanRohner]

Thankyou :)

[@loveinthevalley]

Hey good luck to you, man. Wishing you the best. Life is absurd financially now, I'm sure most people would understand, and everyone really should anyway. Go get em!

[@fischkopp1234]

ngl, Nathan's been by far the most entertaining member of Knight's Watch for me.

[@Vert_GreenHeart]

Good luck in your future endeavors.

[@NathanRohner]

Thank you!

[@DrakusLuthos]

Aw, man! Good luck with your game, Nathan! I’m a software dev that’s working on a game as well, and hearing that you’re aspiring for similar things really warmed my heart. Best of luck, man!

[@Kevin-hl6ym]

I've missed your reviews. 😢. But best of luck to you. You will be a great success. 👍👍👍

[@NathanRohner]

Hopefully I do some reviews on this channel you'll enjoy as well 😁

[@Brandon-ph8dv]

Good Luck on your future endeavors

[@NathanRohner]

Thankyou!

[@CaranthirAtillas]

Lost my house four years ago, times have been tough. Rent, and grocery costs just keep rising. Hope things improve for you, and for your family.

[@russ254]

best wishes friend!

[@Caesarowicz]

Never imagined you had your own channel. The algorithm works in mysterious ways! God willing, let's just hope everything works out for you in the end. Good luck in your new endeavours!

[@lukeh6367]

Good luck to you mate, been watching Shad for many years, then Knights Watch and you were always great. I'm im Adelaide, and yeah times are tough you gotta do what's right for you and family. Follow your dreams man.

[@NathanRohner]

Thankyou!

[@takarahayashi4124]

i like this kinda "employment breakup" story, no drama, just life. Though the circumstances suck, but that's just life.

[@Mongaloose]

"...a speeding fine, because of going downhill, not being a speed demon..." Exactly what a Speed Demon would say.

[@NathanRohner]

👀

[@velociraptor3313]

I wish you luck Nathan, I'm glad that there is no bad blood between you and Shad. Take care of yourself mate and greetings from Queensland.

[@merakimelodies8931]

We all love everything you have done for Shadiversity and for us over the years, Nate, and we will continue to appreciate you, to keep you and your family in our prayers, and to wish you all the best in everything you do in life! You rock, and I know you will do absolutely great with this new future! 😊

[@torstwolf8742]

The most wholesome seperation video, glad to hear there is no bad blood

[@anariel_peredhil91]

I know this feeling all to well. Life is getting more expensive by the year. And I too struggle, trying to do what makes me happy in life. It all comes back around to the big elephant in the room: Money. I wish you all the luck possible.

[@NathanRohner]

Thank you and good luck to you too!

[@eagle_and_the_dragon]

The economy is brutal at the moment. I work Security, and the combination of: the price the company charges the client, and a downturn for the client, has resulted in a reduction in on-site numbers, and I was given one of the short-straws. Best of luck to you, Nathan.

[@fortheemperor4754]

Good luck to you, things will get better. I will miss your reviews on Knights Watch.

[@NathanRohner]

Thank you for watching :)

[@roguegen5536]

You were a great video editor for the channel. hate to see you leaving, but I'm glad its not on unfriendly terms. Good luck moving forward.

[@benhall7574]

Good luck with everything Nathan!!

[@NathanRohner]

Thankyou!

[@franklynotyourbussiness9401]

I'm between jobs right now too. Gamedev is tough to find a job in right now with all the layoffs. Stay strong and I hope you and yourr family be in the green soon, cause living off of savings is mentally drenching to say the least. Wish you the best of luck

[@NathanRohner]

Yeah Melbourne has had a rough 12 months, hoping for better things in the future!

[@zsDUGGZ]

Just subscribed. I'm curious how your channel will turn out in the future. The first 10,000 subs tend to be the hardest to get. Best of luck on pursuing your dreams.

[@NathanRohner]

Thankyou! Hope you enjoy the videos and streams I do :)

[@Gaiden-Shinji875]

You were one of the pillars of the show, and I hope further down the line we get to see you back, or even making a guest appearance. Best of luck with your future 🍀.

[@_ariosto1519]

Very cool, just discovered your channel! I used to see you in Shad’s channel. Subscribed! 👍🏾

[@noahsibahi-jackson8757]

Always loved watching your chemistry with the Shad and the rest of the team, you were a great asset to their videos and I a wish you the best in life

[@TGPDrunknHick]

you can't fool me. Shad is commiting a purge on Nates! in all seriousness, I appreciate all your work with Shad and wish you the best.

[@ShinKyuubi]

Good luck man, I'm happy that the reason you left isn't because your friendships fell through but also sad it's cause the costs of living is so high. Gotta provide for the family and I respect that, good luck in your pursuits and maybe one day I'll see a fun game from you, as a video gamer I hope to see success for you in the field.

[@anderswallin3883]

Your channel popped up in my recommended. I did not know that you were leaving. Sad to see you go! But i hope that you can reach your goal and fulfill your dreams.

[@Downhaven]

Good luck in everything. You've always been awesome and watching you develop in front of the camera has been cool

[@MrGeneralPB]

thank you for all you did for the show, hope it will get a lot better soon for all of you!

[@jchrystsheigh]

A man's gotta eat. Subbed and best of luck getting things back in order mate!

[@marlongunawardana5851]

Wish you all the best Nathan! I have enjoyed watching you on Shadiversity and it was nice to see your channel now. Hope you do get to come back at some point even if on occaision. Best of luck with your studies and other endeavours!

[@benjamintherogue2421]

Good luck, my man. I hope everything gets better for you. You always did a good a job on Knight's Watch.

[@notmousse]

Best of luck to you! I hope to see more of your work in the future.

[@xxDev5000xx]

Nathan it has been a pleasure watching your work may you and your family find the financial success your needing to continue

[@NathanRohner]

Thankyou and stay on watch!

[@jameswinterbottom245]

Good luck Nathan, I wish you nothing but success and I do look forward to future cameos on Shads channels possibly. Sub added! Cheers Mate!

[@Samulisami]

Good luck to you Nathan! Kinda excited to see your future content here!

[@averyvanderlouw1193]

It’s good that things ended amicably. Many people would be envious to work for that channel. Best of luck!

[@Strausburg]

Totally understandable. Cost of living is absolutely abysmal right now. Many of us, myself included, are on the verge of losing everything. Do what you need to do to get back on your feet.

[@TheHealeyverse]

It'll be strange not seeing you over at shadiversity anymore but we're subscribed and ready to follow you on the next adventure. And we hope everything works out for you, your wife and your family to be, we sympathise massively with your situation and hope you can land where you belong. You deserve that good life. All of the very best of luck to you. 🛡

[@vilidious]

Software engineering is showing signs of becoming a stressful and unstable way to provide for your family. Frequent layoffs in many companies due to management wanting quarterly savings to keep up the unsustainable ever increasing profit. AI is already replacing artists with copy-paste machines, and there's been talk of that being the case for us programming dudes as well, causing even more layoffs. A lot of laid off and new people on the market means likelihood of landing a job can be tough. Also, depending on work place and culture, you may not see family that much. So, personally as a SW engineer, I'd recommend studying also for a safe, essential, irreplaceable "backup job", if at all possible. Then once you've pulled all your hairs out or get older and feel like you can't think anymore and/or don't get jobs anymore... you have a parachute to land with. Regardless, good luck in your endeavours. :)

[@BayWa4eva]

??? as a software engineer you can work partly from home, so you see your family a lot more than on a traditional job. many people have kids around during meetings. software is still a growing business, but there are lots of unqualified people around. from my experience it's a very safe job if you're good and if you're great you alone choose where to work. AI produces very bad results in software. it is used but without a capable human it can't provide usable results. it's merely the next step of the programming environment. america especially has huge bloat in staff that was never necessary and companies drowned their employees in management instead of actual work. some companies pulled the trigger on it. layoffs were guaranteed for quite some time, it was just not sure when.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

When I saw the "In Memoriam" thumbnail on another channel, at first, I thought you had passed.

[@RobAryeeArc]

As a fellow introvert, I appreciated seeing your growth on camera from your appearances on Knights Watch. I will certainly miss you and wish you and your wife the best.

[@Xearrik]

Hard times. Best of luck to you and your family. It's a shame that you had to leave. I hope you find tons of success.

[@paulmcallister7909]

Sad to hear that. You and Shad were hilarious together. That's a damn shame, but I'm glad there doesn't seem to be any bad blood between the two of you. Best of luck to you and yours. Godspeed and may the Force be with you.

[@georgewilson2575]

The best of luck in your new endeavors, Nathan. I will miss seeing you and listening to your opinions on Shad's channel. I look forward to seeing you here.

[@ViperChief117]

The cost of living has gone up everywhere. I live in MN and lost my job a couple years ago. I have like thirty dollars to my name. XD

[@alricfremanosrs1509]

Best of luck, Nathan! I hope we will still see you as a guest on shadiversity/knights watch on occasion. It sounds like you are going to have a very full schedule though.

[@steve93pa]

Best of luck for the future! Gonna miss you on Knight's Watch.

[@zachariaravenheart]

I wish I knew you had this channel earlier! I am considering trying my hand at making a game myself as well. I have a vision for a martial arts game that I have wanted for years and I know how I want to do it. The biggest issue would be figuring out how to handle the grappling aspect and make it a fun part of fighting. I hope and pray that all goes well for you and your family! It was great having you on Shadiversity and it'll be great seeing your future as well for as much as you will share.

[@anthonyjordanmoviesandmore2470]

Good luck with everything you're doing it's relieving to hear no backstage drama

[@Mystery23548]

I wish you the best of luck, Nathan! I’ve always enjoyed your commentary on Knights Watch! I can’t wait to see where your future takes you. I’ll happily stick around and support!

[@helvaxh8348]

KZbin actually recommended this video. I didn’t know you had a channel before it was mentioned in your farewell video and then YT says “Hey! You might like to watch this.” I’m sorry to see you leave Knights Watch and Shadiversity but I look forward to seeing what you do next. Good luck with everything you do.

[@mercerholt8299]

Sad to hear about the circumstances. I wish you fortune in your future endeavors.

[@xXSirKRXx]

Well miss you nate, Ill be "here" ready to try your games in the future. Goodluck and best regards

[@trygveplaustrum4634]

I can’t do much, but I have done a little coding (UI), a little voice, a little music, a lot of writing, etc. I’d offer my services freely should you require them.

[@cmdrsisko]

Wish you all the best. I'm working on my own game too it's a space shooter in the style of X-wing. I would love to see some dev log style videos about your game that would be awesome!

[@smackheadedsqueakyweasel4624]

best of luck to you! people love simulator games, i see a lot of them doing really well

[@mattaffenit9898]

Hope things go well for you. For what it's worth, a lot of people are dealing with high rent and cost of living. A lot of us are dealing with it. Hope school goes well, too. I know how draining it can be, been slogging my way through undergrad for a few years. I'll definitely be subbing and sticking around. Game development sounds interesting to watch.

[@SwedetasticGames]

Best of luck, lad. Hope your continued adventures go to wonderfull places!

[@jim7217]

Good luck Nathan - great work on the various Shadiversity channels - always quality videos and great communication by all the team!

[@1Sir-McKnight]

Didn't even know you had a channel. You'll be missed on Knights Watch. But hope the best for you man, look forward to seeing what you create on your own.

[@maxbazhenov3405]

Good luck, bro. You are an interesting person. Everyone has to go through such things in life several times. Hope you'll find a way. Cheers from Moscow)

[@NickBR57]

Goid luck and best wishes for the future Nathan. Hope the games development works out...

[@pkonneker]

I had to leave a job I loved for money concerns, so I get it. Best of luck, Nathan! I'll definitely check your stuff out. I'm a developer and did games for a bit if you ever want to chat.

[@MichaelAdams3D]

I'd never heard of shadiversity till right this second and assumed it was a "shadman" production & was quite concerned lol

[@DDRHeretiC]

LOL!

[@PrimitiveGamer]

Hello Nathan, i've been watching Shadiversity and Knights watch for the past 3 years and i even remember the video where you were introduced. It will not be the same without you and i really hope you are able to achieve your dreams with Game Dev. I myself have had to put my dreams of Game Dev on hold after failing university and having to make money to put the food on the table, hopefully you will fare better than me!

[@Neacail]

good luck mate and all the best with your future endeavours, gotta make dcisions for yourself and your own family and I trust you'll do what's right by them.

[@tekkblade82]

Best of luck in wherever life takes you. I hope we can follow your growth via this channel.

[@sukamadik5983]

This is the first time this channel has been in my recommendeds and when I saw the title I was dreading it would be more shitty drama. I'm incredibly glad that isn't the case and I just subscribed with notifications on because of it. Best of luck on your projects and I'll keep an eye out for more updates.

[@lmao2118]

Good Luck with this new chapter of your carrer Nathan! Im following.

[@RauschenPauli]

hope you can make it and find good footing. good luck! your editing really did alot for shad and the other channels.

[@MrArrmageddon]

I wish you the best! I don't know you so well I'm only a semi-watcher of Nights Watch and Shads main channel. I'm glad your all still friends. And yes I can imagine you need to go on your own way due to costs, future and overall situation. Glad there was no bad blood or anything silly. Will keep my eye out for what you do next.

[@demoulius1529]

Loved the skits you were on. Some of the rreactions to things where you completly lost your shit were the best content on the channel. Good luck to your endeavours in the future!

[@joshuawhitmore2606]

Hey Nate. Stay in touch. You're a stand up guy. I subscribed and will try to support you and your game as you create content. Wishing you the best on this next chapter no matter what you do.

[@TheZephyrsWind]

Whew... Maybe i watch too much KZbin, cause I thought this was gonna be a hit piece. This is very understandable, guy, you take care and be careful!

[@TheZephyrsWind]

Agh I forgot, I'll definitely be checking out your stuff moving forward.

[@osier769]

Thanks for your time on Shadiversity, you helped make the show as enjoyable as it is, appreciate that. 😎 Subbed to this channel a little while back for the game dev content, though whatever you upload I'll likely be happy to watch, be it casual gaming stuff or whatever. Chase those goals and god bless mate. 👍

[@TheChantry]

Just a few thoughts on the subject of Software Engineering and getting into that field, I think that using your streaming time and desire to learn those skills would be more beneficial. Using free resources to learn software engineering skills hands-on, practically than utilising paid education, may be better. Learning how to integrate AI into developing your goal of Artistic Games Development, may be the path ahead. Can't remember what it was called, but that AI-Generated video scenes of walking a city and/or driving along a country road and dynamically changing the scenery examples come to mind. I would also leverage CG into your Art Gaming dreams, as that is likely to be a future growth area. Basically, I'd seriously look into and consider learning all you need for free (obviously taking up your time, etc.) in line with a Higher Education qualification and just paying for the equivalent exams to get accredited. Several Year-long programmes tend to not be in touch with the ebb and flow of current technologies, and I feel the one skill anyone needs in Computing is the ability to quickly pivot technologies, concepts, ideas and workflows. AI is being pushed, naturally or artificially, to an astounding level. Having that language skillset, is a big must in my view.

[@NathanRohner]

Don't worry I have my reasons and am doing my research 👍

[@evenAndre]

I'm subbing! Like your calm presenting :). Hope things work out.

[@_McMurder_]

BEST OF LUCK i think i can speak with confidence that we are all wishing you and ur wife and your future family the absolute best! exciting stufffff!

[@SkeletonXin]

Good luck mate. Hope to see you with Shad and Oz fom time to time in the future, wish you all the best.

[@violet_paladin]

im sorry to hear that, brother. im glad there was no bad blood. and hopefully in the future our paths will cross again. best of luck to you and everything you hope to accomplish, i know you'll be successful.

[@allenfox7186]

Good luck Nathan. It’s been a pleasure to watch you on Shad’s channels and it’s nice to see a good separation between creators.

[@dannbrauckmann1545]

I wish you luck, buddy. I'm in a similar sort of "changing/rebuilding" period in my life, as well. It's NOT an easy thing, and it can be scary. You've got my subscription!

[@jordansorenson698]

Life hits hard man. You will be missed. You were my favorite part of Knight's watch. Hope you keep up your channel!

[@lordstar9565]

Big good luck and best wishes Nathan. Loved your time with Shad and co (especially the hobbit eating video).

[@patrickelze3532]

We'll miss you, dude! Hope you can still show your face with Shad at some points in the future. Looking forward to seeing you do your own thing in the future!

[@Paul-bs5wl]

Best of luck in your future endeavors mate. Glad to know the "..." title was only mild clickbait and not an indicator that I might have to reassess someone's character.