The studio also made Outer Wilds, which is SUCH an underrated game for all the right reasons. If you haven’t played it, it will change your life. Make a video on it.
I love that this wasn't just a "cat simulator" but had legit story, personality, worldbuilding, etc. The fact that they made the npcs robots when initially they were going for humans is a stroke of creative genius. They also could've just made the robots generic and uninteresting but did the extra mile of writing their lore and making their behaviour even way more endearing than if they had human npcs. Great game!
What I think is interesting is that they had difficulties animating humans when the robots they ultimately went with had the most human-like movements and animations I have seen in a video game for quite some time. Honestly, Look at how they move, it is amazing how real and human they look despite their robot faces.
I'm guessing they're probably easier to animate as human-like robots because if a movement comes off as wrong in the animation, the entire human could end up looking uncanny. Although I haven't played, I just wanted to mention it since your comment made me think of it.
It's probably the more in-depth animations like breathing. Humans have a lot of small details you don't see so much with traditional robots (moving skin pores, the way your skin wraps around your bones and muscles in different ways depending on how you move or breath, the way your retina changes size depending on what you're focusing on, etc ). With the robots they were able to take shortcuts by making their faces screens and by giving them an outer casing that won't and can't wrap around their internals.
For me the best part about Stray was it's atmosphere. The 'feel' of the city and the world gave me like a nostalgic version of the future. It's very hard to describe but I think the game connected with me in a subconscious kind of way, reminding me of my childhood but in a futuristic set. It felt like the dreams I have sometimes about places I've never been but somehow feel familiar, and I love the game for that.
we all know that this channel is underrated, but please, just keep doing this awesome stuff, I'm sure that when the RU-vid algorithm gives you what you deserve, this channel will explode
I got to tell you something because it we we are trapped in austraight and I don't know what to do I don't know which part it is. Could you come to my house, please?
I really love this game, and I love that people enjoyed this game too, the cute moments and even sad moments, the ending made me cry, it was just beautiful, I’m glad the delays made the game all worth it to play than a rushed game with unfinished animations and rushed story, Stray is the definition of a PURR-Fect game (I’m not sorry for the pun) Who knows what’s next for Stray or the studio, I wish them the best And I hope all their lives are PURR-Fect 🐾
Stray deserves that overwhelmingly positive review on steam I also can’t believe 2 people manage to make a better game than 4 entire dev teams EA used to make bf2042
dude your youtube has inspired me and i am designing and animating my own game now thank you so much. so happy you covered stray too! cant wait to see more.
Can't believe there are still some honest game developers left who are dedicated to offering the best story through games and Stray is the best example...when the first time I was introduced to 3d gaming what really attracted me till now (I am 33 by the way) is the story telling that the reason why not just me but many like me love God Of War Onimusha or Dead Space, Even some developers are facing some losses but their team is still dedicated to storytelling...A request to this Channel comeup with new stories of Game Developers' struggles and their achievements...
Besides the top notch story and world building on this game, a selling pointing was the fact you got a meow button. A meowed so hard in the first hour before getting on with the story. Great video as always!
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
Absolutely fantastic video about the game itself and how inspiration/design works in general. Seeing the early game tests and the obsessive love for cats that the developers had was such a treat. I cannot wait to check out more of your work!
After hearing how much trouble Overmare Studio's had modeling a 4 legged playable character for Fallout Equestria like, 7 or 8 years ago, I can imagine making Stray was tricky.
Love your videos so much! I can't wait for the day your channel blows up! I think it's really interesting that this game mostly stuck to the designer's original intention, as opposed to something like "Don't Starve," which was completely different from the original idea.
Glad to hear you like them, Jordan! And yeah, they really had a vision right from the start and stuck to it and perfected it as much as possible. It might make for a more "boring" story, but it shows that sticking to your gut can pay off as well.
As someone who just found out about this game and is going to play it very soon on Steam, I appreciate the great explaining still with lack of spoilers, so I can experience things myself and also understand more on what to look forward to and how it was developed!!
I'd love to see you cover Rise of the Third Power! You already covered my AAA game of the year, Elden Ring, and now I'd love to see my indie GOTY get a video too! Awesome work, yet again, Glen!
Pro tip for 3D animators working in video games animating animals--animal motion capture is completely out of the question because of how tough, and even dangerous it can be. Instead, you can do keyframe animation after studying real animals, or even do the unthinkable--use human actors to provide motion capture.
I was super happy when Stray came out. huge majority of games you play as a human. So its amazing to play as something else, and its a good game to boot.
Very interesting video, thank you Glen! I never played Stray yet, I don't have a PS5 and don't plan to buy one in near future, but I heard a lot cool stuff about this awesome game and even want to create a fan art in voxels.
I’d be interested to see you cover the small (one man) studio 100 Stones Interactive. One game released in a niche genre, one more upcoming. I’m not a part of the studio but find them an interesting tiny player. Regardless this is another great piece. Cheers.
Another awesome video I really enjoy your style of content. Your channel is super underrated! I would love to see a future video on the development on Rivals of Aether it's an indie platform fighter made in 2015. It's my favorite game and I think it deserves more attention because it's brought a lot of new things to the genre
Super vidéo complète qui explique très bien l'univers de Stray ! Pour moi c'est le jeu de l'année 2022 et savoir que une partie de mon achat va dans l'aide aux animaux ça me rassure et me fait dire qu'il y a encore de la bonté et de bonnes intentions dans ce monde qui est figé par la compétition et l'illusion! Vive les chats ! Vive Stray !
It is by far the best game I've played in a few years. Most games are alike. So besides the series I play, which I still do, this was a well placed new game for me. Absolutely loved it, but it was too short, being the only downside for me.
The animators watched lots of videos of cats and they actually almost all had cats roaming arround the office were they could get inspiration from. No mocapp suit needed, they also did this in favour of the cats and did not feel like making them uncomfortable
Why are the characters in the games so perfect? I think it's important to have a game that shows diversity like BopoVerse's characters are just refreshing and fun. Children play it and must be taught about diversity and different body types.
