i made this indie game and it changed my life 

You were your own publisher. This shows how important planning and marketing is and you really understand it perfectly.Most people fail because they think "I make a good game and the internet will do the rest".

It took 7 years? The size of devotion and hope is just...My deepest respect to you Jordy!

Man said "with no publisher" when he literally wrote, produced, developped, and published his own game. Legend in my book

Congrats on the very difficult task of completing a game AND making it awesome AND finding massive success!

You had me in tears ffs, how I can be so happy for a strangers success idk

So cool to see the behind the scenes of your journey, especially the launch moment! Hoping your Full Launch goes great as well :D

I bought your game on steam organically! It’s great! And just in case anyone hasn’t said it- you talk into the side of that mic, towards the blue light to get the full effect, I used to talk into the top of mine too lol

Please stay humble, you're a gem to the industry, and so is your game!

Dude, I randomly got recommended your video. It's my first time watching your content, and I'm so happy to see you succeed. I can imagine how much work you've put into this game, how much stress and anxiety you've faced, and how many hours of your life have been dedicated to this project. It's truly, truly inspirational. Thanks for sharing. I got really emotional watching your video. Maybe someday one of my projects will also be a success...

I'm developing a game after having it itch my brain for the last 6 years or more, and this story fills me with determination and joy for you. Thank you for sharing your story, I'm definitely gonna wishlist and buy. Keep making content and videos, I loved this story!

I think what's important is the fact you found a popular but still niche genre. We all played Swords and Sandals as kids and your game is basically 3D Sword and Sandals. I believe nostalgia also played a role on why your game got popular! Congrats dude

Curiosity saved the cat! Your video on your experience is so appreciated. I'm planning to release a game I've been working on for 2 years at the end of 24, and I am already feeling anxious about it. Congratulations on your success. It sounds like you earned every little bit of it!

Awesome game, awesome dev, best of luck for the future of this game and all your future projects brother!

If Jordy seems like a really pleasant, humble and interesting dude, i can confirm he is that 150% when you meet him in person. It was really cool to hear your story on that, and it's both scary and impressive to see how much work goes into making a successful game, as most of the time is put into learning and improving until you are in a spot to be able to make a really good game. Your planning on the launch was amazing to see too! I think we had about 6 hours in the "popular upcoming" list because we had like 20 releases on the same day and 13 of them before us. So again it shows that it's sometimes good not to do what everyone does :)

Super inspiring to see, I'm happy for your success! Thanks for all the hard work, will definitely try your game, it looks really cool!

Thank you for sharing your game with us and Tiny Teams!

As a solo dev with a day job trying to make a game, you inspire me to keep going, not give up, and just keep grinding. I first saw your game via Splattercat, and I jumped in to see what a solo dev could do. I immediately recognized a labor of love. You made an incredible game, you already know this because of how it has done. But you also have become a lighthouse, a guiding light in the dark for those of us still out there to look up to and stay the course. Then you go and make a video like this... Thank you. Whenever I feel like I can't do it, all I have to do is click the play button, enter the arena for a few minutes, and see what you've accomplished, and that helps me believe in myself all over again.

It's well deserved man! And I'm happy you stuck with the original name. It's also good to see the game mechanics were improved a _lot_ since the humble beginnings. Respect!

Dude, I am beyond happy about you! It can be seen in your teared tired eyes the immense work you have put to this game. And I know this tends to game developers, but I would like to think that this can happen to RU-vid content creator as well. Putting your soul into a video, while beforehand you have done all the research and preparations to maximize those views. And just one quick swipe on your phone to see in Studio, that you have made it, the video is blowing the roof off and everyone in the comment section admire your work. That`s what RU-vid is all about in my eyes :) Congratulations once again. I would buy your game, and enjoy it !

As a dev who do not have the slightest interest in video games in general I still liked this video and found it REALLY inspiring. Thank you to have shared this journey with us !

You took a risk and your dedication made it what it is now, well played. Your game is dope from concept to gameplay and i'll gladly keep waiting for each update, thanks for your work

I heard about the game, I even watched a youtube blogger played it. But I didn't know it was done by a single dev. As a guy who's chasing a dream to create a game one day, I want to show my respect to you. You deserved that success.

Goosebumps and tears bro. Your story is an absolute inspiration. I’d love to hear more about your journey through the development of the game… conception, design, tooling choices and all the technical stuff!

Absolutely inspiring. Gives a lot of us indies who are trudging through the waters of our most passionate projects for years realistic hope that is explained well all the way through, backed up by all of the things that actually happened to you throughout. I have been working on my indie rpg for around three years now, and although it has a long way to go before publicity can really start, this really gives me insight on so many things I needed to both hear and understand at this point in my development in order to keep myself on a path to success. Subbed, and thank you; for sharing your story.

I followed you through the entire dev process (and before!) and I just want to say I'm so happy for you man! As someone who also plans to one day launch an indie game, you've been a big inspiration.. grats Jordy!

This game reinvigorated my love for Roguelikes and content creation- it is fully worth the money spent tenfold and I'll revisit it again and again.

I'd love to see more of this story, this is the dream we chase. I'm so happy you made it

Hey, I’m really late to this video. But it is really cool to be apart of this. I’m so happy your game found the success it deserved. While I am beyond happy I could help. At the end of the day your game is original and fun, and would eventually find success regardless. Great job man!

This man is so sincere, wholesome, and passionate about his craft! I have no doubt that you deserve every ounce of success you've attained and you're an inspiration to myself and many others Jordy, I salute you (who are about to die).

I am a small indie dev on a similar path. Quit my job and went out on a limb to make a game I've been dreaming about for years. I do not usually comment on videos like this, but I feel a strong need to do so on this one. I literally teared up - yes, your story made me shed tears. There are 2 reasons for this: 1. You said it with such a passion, an "exhausted but satisfied" tone, that it punched through and made me really empathize with your joy and success. I don't know you as a person, but my impression from this video alone is that you are truly passionate, and a genuinely nice guy. It made me simply happy for your success. 2. I watched it at 8am before going to bed after 15 hours working on my game and doubting all of the effort I'm putting into it. Seeing you doubt yourself until almost the very end made me deeply emotional, and I also resonated to my very core. I felt your victory, and lived through your storytelling as if it was my own. Now I pray for a 10th of your success. I'm about to finish my demo, and the goal is to produce a solid trailer and send those "1000 emails" to youtubers. I now know I'm likely to be ignored, but I also know that if that happens, it's not the end. I really appreciate you made this. I really don't know how to thank you. It's quite right-difficult to even explain why something like this hit me so deeply. Best of luck forward, man. You're set for life. You're living all our dreams. I hope we'll be joining you soon.

Inspiring man, I appreciate all the details and insight you gave from your journey. Glad you made it this far!

I saw your game during demo launch. When splattercat and pixellated apollo started a wave and lot of RU-vidrs start riding that. I used to watch your game whole night, and was following every new streamer covering your game. Watching people expertly handling the game and sharing tips and few struggling with basics of combat. I downloaded and played it myself and wishlisted as well. You have made a great unique game. Thank you and Wishing you success.

Really an inspiration for other solo devs like myself. Please keep posting. You the perfect kind of person we need to hear from when it comes to game dev & art.

I got goosebumps watching this, it's really incredible what someone can do when they put their heart and soul into it. Huge respect from an aspiring indie developer, I'm excited to see what the future holds for you and your new studio!

i randomly saw you post about this game on reddit like, two days before it launched. i never heard of the game until then and i’m so glad i did cause this game is a game i wanted for a long time. i love the idea of a gladiator game and there is a distinct lack of them so thanks for this

Dude you seem like an amazing dedicated developer. Just bought the game. I know how hard it is to make games and finishing them near them nearly impossible. Congrats on all your success and dedication to your passion.

Mannnn...This video is super inspiring, I am getting goosebumps hearing you process it all on cam. I super appreciate this video, definetly filled with high spirits after this one

Went straight to steam and put it in my cart, what a story and on top of that its a game i had looked at before just never pulled the trigger on it.

wow thank you so much for sharing your story, After working on my game (18Minutes) for almost 5 years, i was so eager to get it to the finish line and publish on steam and all the hard work and anxiety to make a successful game will be done, and after watching my game for 5 months get abysmal sales and get buried it was so heart breaking and when you have sacrificed a lot of heart and work, a lot of late nights, countless hours away from your loved once ...i mean it's bittersweet and it hurts. but after i had stumbled in to your video i can't tell you how good it made me feel because i could relate to you on many points, and it really feels good to see you win and succeed, things doesn't always go as you had planned or hoped, and it sucks but to see another person on a similar situation make it is a ray of sunshine that gives you your hope back again. i am so happy for you and so sorry for rumbling on but i truly appreciate your video. Thank you

this is really awesome man. Great storytelling in the video and amazing effort making your own game, people really underestimate how hard gamedev can be, so congrats on pushing to the end and actually releasing! well deserved success and good luck on your next projects!

Way to go, so happy for your success! Well planned, well exectued, well deserved! Truly an inspiration for many indie devs, us included!

Congratulations in your awesome success! It's so wonderful to hear these kinds of stories from Indie Devs!

All The Best to you brother!! Thanks for sharing your story...So Inspiring and exactly what was needed at exactly the right time!!

This is so inspiring and full of insightful knowledge!! I'm currently working on a game that I plan to release next year and this video is exactly what I needed!! Congrats on the success from all that hard work! Your passion for the game paid off, what a beautiful thing to see!

Hey! I just got recommended this video, then realized it was you. Congrats again - goosebumps! I had 32k wishlists on launch (World Turtles, my first game ever), spent 4 days on popular upcoming, and sold “very little”. The game itself has to carry that exposure forward, or it won’t mean a lot. And yours did! Well done!!

What a great story this is, massive congrats man!

This is awesome, Jordy. I've played your game since day one. I'm so happy the game has come as far as it has and I can't wait to see how you keep developing new things. Bravo!

Congrats on the success! I love stories like this. I wanted to make a game myself for a long time, but always got distracted by things. Your story is very inspiring!

You deserve the recognition. I truly appreciate your hard work. Thank you!!!

Jordy, thank you for this video. I had the same mentality for years, but unfortunately during the launch day, I failed (I'm not a game dev, but an entrepreneur). I put everything at risk and lost. But seeing this video something awaken inside me. Thanks. After years of recovery, I am ready to give it a shot again:D.

Well done Jordy! Thanks for sharing your passion. It shows in the game. Looking forward to playing anything you're working on.

Been on my wish list for awhile now, will have to pull the trigger! Cool to see who created it and how, take note big game developers!

Dude, you deserve all the recognition & success you've received! You're awesome, man, & so is We Who Are About to Die. This makes me so happy

JORDY! I love this game. There's been no other rougelike or arena game that gets me as pumped as this has. NO EXAGGERATION. Glad to see that things are still going strong since launch!

Great story Jordy! Congrats for your commitment and work and all you have achieved up until now. As an indie music producer, i completely understand the struggle of working your art without a publisher. Congrats again and hope the future will bring more and more success!

Congratulations dude. Never played an indie game but yours just might be my first. Landed here on your page because I’m thinking of taking the game dev route. Great story to listen to

You deserve every bit of it Jordy. Keep at it!

I had no idea about the game since i've seen the video. As a game developer i'm so glad for you man. And your success gave me a motivation to keep continue my own project.

I Like that you talked about your story and not so much your game, but more so how this project changed you and how you were willing to take that leap of faith by basically quitting your job to follow your passions. its been very inspiring and i hope to make a video like this one day in the future :)

As a solo dev myself this story of yours brings me hope. I am soo happy for you and for your hard work paying off ☺️

You aren't living the solo gamedev dream, you definitely worked for it, and you deserve it, what you accomplished is amazing.

Mate, I watched this entire video in one go. I had no idea of your game. You are a GREAT storyteller and I'm sure your game is even better.

Roguelites in general popped off this november, it's been crazy the last two months how many good games have came out or came to light in the roguelite scene. great job.

was just reseacrching the game to buy, no clue there was a documented dev journey, its on sale for the steam replayability fest and its been on my list for a while, gon def pic it up thx for spending time on dis game looks dope

Crazy to think that you have been my teacher once in DAE... It was only a couple of lessons, because we had a teacher who was sick. But still, you made an impression those lessons. You basically did a 180 about what school says you have to do, and told us what you should do. Thank you for that. I did nothing with that advice, since I stopped a year later... but still 😂.

Huge respect for you Jordy!

As someone who has dabbled in game development, this story is inspiring. And as a fellow Belgian it's always amazing to see what gems come out of this little plot of land we call home. Great job, truly a case of a dream come true!

Had this game on my wishlist for a long time, this video just sealed it.. looking forward to playing tonight! We (i) salute you!

This actually makes me rethink going back to a project i started and shafted about 10 years ago. Gratz on making it!

As a fellow DAE alumni that had classes lead by you just 3 years ago: super proud of you!

Very cool! Idk what you want your YT community to be like, but I would love technical videos on how you developed it. Architecture, optimizations, principles, surprises, fun moments, etc

Congratulations on your success. It proves that compassion, a lot of hard work and careful planning helps. Marketing early has the biggest impact. I’m very happy for you.

This is incredible & by solo publisher too, the quality is like a whole AAA team created it

I love seeing my old friends..... ZiggyD, Splattercat, Northernlion.... i am so happy they made your game a priority. It deserves it. I'm adding to cart now. I haven't played it. I haven't tried it at all, even in the earliest of days. But damnit, I respect these content creators so much. Well done Jordy! Well done!

I've seen a lot of these post mortems, and this is by far the best. The emotion is everything 👏

Love this. Very happy for you! I will check out your game for sure

I’m not a developer and I don’t know how to code at all but I wish more people knew how much hard work and dedication goes into making some games. Thank you for your sacrifice, I genuinely hope that the universe will pay you what you are worth to society, which is probably a lot. Bro, I hope you take some much needed time to rest and take care of yourself. Invest in eating healthy, exercising, getting enough sleep, talk to a doctor and a therapist but make sure you take the time you need/want for yourself. Get outdoors, go to a beach, do whatever you want, you deserve it man.

Brother this is super inspiring. I am so proud of all the hard work that you put into the game, and telling us the story. I am buying your game. Thank you

5:08 is an OG yogs reference, I salute you!

It’s incredibly funny that this video has also gone viral. Huge congratulations to you and we who are about to die.

What a great little documentary. Thank you so much for sharing your story. Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors

Amazing! Great to see all the hardwork and dedication! I've just started learning C# and i'm hoping to get in to game dev by the end of the year. I know there's a long road ahead, but I'm looking forward to it!

Gives me hope listening to your story, thank you for being so vulnerable and sharing!

Big congrats man, you made it! Im on my own game dev journey. Its long, its hard but its so worth it. I wish you all the best in your future endevours!

Congrats man! Good ideas. Taking criticism to improve. Understanding the systems and marketing platforms and hard work. Pays off and for that I salute! You not only made a game and set your goals. But you inspired others. Be proud of the good human you are! Take care and keep dev’n/game’n

congrats man, i'm happy for you :) you made me cry of happiness...never heard of your game until this video, now maybe i'll check it out :) i love when people succeed

Congratulations ! You definitely worked hard for all your success and deserve all of it! I also wanted to try and create an indie game, bit I think the problem for a lot of people is not knowing where to start. It all just seems like to much to even start trying. You perservered and made it ❤!

So well done dude. That was really inspiring to watch. I'm not a game dev, just a lowly concept artist in training, but your story really gave me some hope. Congratulations. Sounds like you got exactly what you deserved for a lot of hard work paid up front 💪👍👍👏🌟🌟🌟

Great video, I’m looking forward to checking out the game and congratulations on pushing through and gaining the massive success on your game

Super gefeliciteerd man! Erg mooi om dit zo te horen. Proficiat!

Well done man! Thank you for uploading this video and motivating so many ppl. Ill definitely try your game!

Wow this is so incredible to see. I'm currently about 3 years deep on my game project, and it is a struggle with no money. Just thousands of hours of hard work for something that might not ever be seen. I'm really happy it worked out for you brother! 🤜you deserve it!🙌

That's amazing, well done. I'm a sound designer struggling to find work and was thinking about trying to make my own game, it's daunting but should be worth a try. I wish you the best of luck in the future for your next games.

what an amazing and inspiring story! Congratulations, you made impossible things possible and you should be proud of yourself. Thank you for sharing, best of luck! 🙏

I love this. So inspiring. Embrace the moment Jordy, only few people in this world probably felt something similar. Take care and good luck for the future!

Thank you for your inspiration. I'm so excited to see indie devs make it big! You deserve it for all your hard work and passion for your game!

Bro I cried about your journey. I'm still looking for my spot light for something amazing in the world

Ive been following you since crimson daggers about a decade ago and couldnt be more jazzed to see this finally succeed! Congrats jordy

I keep watching this video over and over and over again! I have the same dream and I'm following a similar path and planning like crazy every detail! I also spent my last 8 years developing my skills from 0 to now working in Ubisoft as a programmer! I spend some of my free time planning my game and creating a demo. I have 2 children and is not easy but I want this moment more than anything else! Thanks 1 million times for sharing, this will be my motivation video for the next 2 years!

This is so inspirational to see. I'm so happy your dreams came true. It reminds me of trying to build my RU-vid channel. I have a dream I'd like to achieve and sometimes it seems like its so far away, but after watching this it's renewed my hope.