The Untold Story Behind the Design of Transistor - Documentary 

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Jen Zee: I love drawing girls Us: FAIR

Transistor's overarching combination of the design, music and art, came together with such impact. The soundtrack is still in my rotation, and will probably always will be.

I'm glad that Red became the protagonist. She is easily my favorite character of all Supergiant games.

32:38 No way. I'm 36, so let me tell you that it has nothing to do with nostalgia. Bastion was great, but Transistor is truly magical. It's the kind of game that people will love forever, and new people will keep discovering it down the line.

"Hey, I have a fabor to ask: Let me go" immediately starts crying

You can't have a demonic rune sword in a science fiction setting Jen: *Hold* *My* *Beer*

The only gripe I've ever had with Transistor was just the fact that I was so desperately craving more from the world by the end. It was innovative and stylish and unlike anything I'd been a part of before as a player. Even to this day, I yearn for more from it. I wouldn't necessarily want a sequel, because the story of Red and her sword boyfriend was wrapped up in a way that definitively closed the door on further character exploration, but I had so many questions about Cloudbank, about the country, about Royce and the Camerata and more! And after watching this video I really can see the ways that maybe Supergiant was scared and more focused on getting it done at the time. But man. This was Supergiant in the throes of anxiety, in the midst of some of their worst growing pains as a studio... and they still pulled Transistor off. What a fucking game.

Very happy you were able to interview Ashley for this one. She's such an important part of Transistor's soundtrack, it's great to hear some insight from her. :)

These devs deserve all the love and success they have recieved. Such geniune people, making games with true passion to make a good game, to tell a story. They give their games a soul, ive always been stunned by their work and im very excited for the future of Hades and any future games. Thank you Supergiant Games

I bought this very soon after it came out, knowing nothing of Bastion - and it became and is my favourite game (literally, the experience of playing it for the first time is such a strong memory it will still be my favourite game), and was the game that made me aware of Supergiant. The music was transportative, Red is one of my alltime favourite characters, especially combined with the art, story and interesting strategy gameplay. The doc' is brilliant, so so interesting to see the deliberations behind the decisions that eventuated in a final creation that looked so seamless from my perspective, and triggered a paradigm shift in how I viewed and played games.

Transistor is one of my most cherished gaming experiences. Everything from the soundtrack to the narrative and the visuals is just so masterfully executed.

"eat your vegetables game design" is genius

Transistor was almost the only thing I played in the back half of 2014. I used to come home from work in some sort of mood, but once I loaded up the game and Darren's score kicked in, I was immediately transported. What a phenomenal work of art. I still think it's Supergiant's best game.

I haven't played Hades yet, but Transistor is 100% my favorite Supergiant game. The mood, the art, the mechanics, the music, it's all precisely hitting the right spots. I would say that this is the least approachable and hardest to understand, but that's what makes it so rewarding, fulfilling and interesting. I love the original male character's design but I'm glad we got to play as Red instead, really clutch decision. I wish Supergiant released some sort of Art work collection, I love the mix of Mucha and Klimt and would love to see all the concept art for all the games.

Transistor is definitely one of the best games of the decade. I like how the devs speak plainly about their experiences and are very aware of what the players may think they are doing vs what they are doing vs what they want to do vs how they want to be different.

Funny enough, I bought Transistor solely because of the reveal. I hadn't played Bastion yet, but something about that Reveal trailer hit literally everything I'm looking for in a game. The setting, the music, the art. It was like a perfect storm of a trailer that still nothing else has ever reached as far as I'm concerned. I am glad that the absolute hype in my head for Transistor was not only met when the game came out, but exceeded. Heck, I just bought the game for a third time on my Switch during the New Year's sale. You know something is good if you're willing to buy it that many times and don't feel like you've wasted a single cent.

Every single frame in this Game is an artwork

It makes me so happy to hear other people used Paper Boats as their first dance. My husband and myself actually bonded over Transistor before getting engaged and I used to make him paper boats before I'd leave after I'd come to visit him. I still make them once in a while. This game, even after all the this time, means the world to me

AAAA this whole thing gave me goosebumps, from the emotionally charged development process to hearing the voices and the /music/ again, this game and all of Supergiant's other games mean so much to me it's unreal. As an artist and storyteller, I love watching documentaries like these because they get me so inspired to create something that will affect others just as much as these games I love affect me.

I played Transistor during a bit of a rough patch. I was going through some health issues, mental health and personal issues, I was neck deep in the daily grind and hated my job, and I had no one to talk to about any of it, or so I thought at the time. Transistor had me at my most vulnerable and it was one of the few things that got me through all that. It was a sort of art therapy. When away, I always knew that there was something lovely waiting for me and whenever I had time for a quick play session, I was so immersed in the world, Red's story and the incredible music, I could just stand there and hum along to the soundtrack, and that made me feel things I had no names for. Red losing her voice (in more than one way) was an idea that struck close to my heart, and in helping her get back at those who took it I found solace when I needed it most. I've been much, much happier since then, and I'm overjoyed to see Supergiant Games still going on making incredible games. Shame Pyre got relatively lukewarm reception, I absolutely love everything about that game too. These documentaries are great, and I hope there's more.

I love Transistor so much. It really makes my heart sing. The gameplay, the music, the art, the characters, the writing...I have absolutely loved every part of it. Even years later after playing Pyre and Hades, Transistor remains my favourite Supergiant game and one of my absolute favourite games.

I love this game so much: 1: The game music is on CD, in my car, at all times. (Stacker position number 1) 2: I purchased a pile of Jen's art that is signed by her, and every time I look to where it's sitting, it drives me to have my own place so I can hang it on a wall where it belongs. 3: I purchased the first run of the Red Vinyl figure, that sits in a box above my PC screen. I enjoyed Bastion, Pyre was amazing, I'm looking forward to Hades, but Transistor, that's the game that really reached me.

I love this game, so sad that the game was short (I think I finished it in 7 hours) and no plans for a sequel, because I love that futuristic art noveau setting, the tragic love story mood, the weird upgrade system. That first image when you start the game, with Red pulling the sword out of the dead guy and that soundtrack coming in... man, that left a lasting impression on me. This is one of my big inspirations for the kind of games that I want to make.

The soundtrack was actually the last push that got me to play Transistor after watching the trailer. I ended up listening to most of the soundtrack before finishing the full story. Much love to the Supergiant team, they just keep making amazing, beautiful and passionate games and THAT is the reason they are and probably always will be my favorite game studio. :)

The discussion of “player failure” at 29:00 (ish) - is it any surprise that they went on to make a rogue like? Haha. One of my favourite studios, amazing quality games.

When you guys first started releasing these documentaries, I wondered what a Supergiant Games series would look like, as they are, pound for pound, my favorite indie developers. Glad to say that I VERY much love this series. Thank you!

Transistor was the first and so far only game I've ever finished and then immediately started playing again. Everything about it fascinated me, but specially the visuals, the music, and the voice-acting. So, _so_ glad we get to hear a bit of Ashley's perspective for this one :) Pyre is the one I haven't gotten around to yet, but I'm still excited about the video anyway! Can't wait!

Man, they weren't kidding when they said that they all associate making Transistor with fear of the sophomore slump . Fans are much more fond of it than they are, lol EDIT: It doesn't mean they DISLIKE the game, they're just happily surprised it did well and resonated with more people than they thought! That's a win in my book :)

Finally; Transistor definitely one of my favorite games of all time, if not my favorite. The first game I ever cried about, with gameplay that still seems fresh and unique to me. I still listen to the soundtrack. Nothing else really sounds like it.

The whole Documentation is very good. But the Intro is really good!

The music and the art in this game are just amazing, they blew me away. I played through the game with no expectations I kept getting surprised by it, like the way the abilities function together is really creative and made me feel like i could play the game any way i wanted, which is always welcome. It must have been so hard to manage the code so that it doesn't break everytime you add a new ability and, at the same time, is not a total struggle to add new abilities. Really happy with this game and looking forward to playing their next games after Hades.

Greg Kasavin's Splinter Cell review from Gamespot where he's wearing Sam Fisher goggles is a really random memory that's ingrained in my head. I think about every once in a while and I don't know why.

Really smart design with the ability system. It definitely forced me to try out new abilities whenever I got hit. Also the way the world building was handled largely fed into that as well.

It's amazing to see how a game that Supergiant seemed to experience a lot of struggle with ended up being a lot of people's favorites. You can really, really feel the pure love and passion poured into the entire game as a whole. There's a genius beauty to it that'll never let go of me. Ever.

Damn, that music, still doing wonders after all these years

Interesting what they said about thinking they needed to make the next game a "bad ass dude" to overcome people's preconceived notions. I really hate that about the medium sometimes. So many people think about games like they're Total Recall vacations... "oOoOo I want to be a spy who gets the girl!" when the role you assume and your motives aren't really what makes a game good or bad.

Loved the pacing of this one! Well done :)

One of my favorite games of all time. And I played it last year at the age of 30.

Just recently replayed Transistor. I love everything about the game - talented voice actors, beautifil artstyle, all of those unique designs, wonderful music, polished mechanics and the interesting plot. Thank you, Supergiant! In my eyes, this is a masterpiece.

This was probably the closest to perfection I've ever experienced in an indie game, well done on the video content and flow.

I love this Supergiant Retrospective. Transistor is top 5 of my favorite game of all time and it is THE best game soundtrack out there.

Transistor is absolutely one of my favorite games. It is such a fantastic story in a fantastic world populated with beautiful artwork. What a phenomenal game. Guess its time for a replay.

15:36 Revolutionary gameplay design. The only reason I keep playing this game over and over again is for this very thing. To test out many different combinations and innovate my way to a fun gameplay. I wish more games implement these concepts.

Jen Zee is such a queen, massive respect to her and the whole team!

Bastion was a great game, but THIS one... this is the one that made me realize how much I loved this studio's work. Looking forward to the completion of Hades and everything afterward!

Bravo on the ending. One of the most memorable songs in games period.

Don’t know why it’s hit me just now... but i think the idea to mix Klimt inspiration with a cyberpunk universe was a genious idea ! Love that game so much, and with the work you make on Hades... I love you Supergiants !

“You can’t have like a demonic rune sword in a science fiction setting, right?” DOOM Eternal would like to disagree...

3:20 looks a lot like the design for Athena in Hades; that's hella cool to see Jen (i'm guessing Jen) had that concept so early and got to actually use it post character-rework!

_* hums along with the soundtrack *_

Transistor is the game I met SupergIant Games with, they were working on Pyre as far as I know when I first played it. It immediately became my favorite indie game of all time, the mix of art, music, narrative, story and gameplay makes it the perfect game for me. I bought the soundtrack because the music work is amazing and I love Ashley's voice. Now that they've announced a "Hades" port for PS4, I'm ready to jump into it to keep enjoying all of the great work that this studio brings to us.

Still one of the most compelling and inspiring titles I've experienced. I honestly don't think I would be an artist still if it were not for games like this.

I've watched all of these Supergiant docs dozens and dozens of times, but one thing I want to call out here specifically is around 18:50. Greg is talking about how they solved the confusion around the talking sword, and specifically remembers and credits the engineer responsible by name (even though he's not with the company anymore) and then amends his statement to also say "with the help of the rest of the engineering team". This is rather shocking probably for any company, but I'm in software so it stands out to me on a personal level. To have a top-level leader give credit years later to an ex-employee for a very specific implementation by name, honoring his contribution, and to do it in a way that acknowledges that individuals should be acknowledged for great work and that in practice they do it with the help of a team, so no one else's help is diminished...you just don't see this from senior leaders, even at small companies. This is the type of culture we're all desperate to work in. I'm really glad this bit made it in.

"If everything changes... nothing changes"

I just played through Transistor a couple weeks ago for the first time. Really love how much thought went into everything from the encounter design to the artwork to make it feel like a completely coherent world.

Hell yeah. It's here. Wow, Jen has such a cool jacket. 22:05 yes! The music! 27:38 holy shmozzle. that is a ridiculous amount of combinations. it has to be a modular/generated-on-the-fly system, right? each comb. is not handcrafted? that was perfect; it ended on a anecdote from the singer and song from the game, too. such a high note.

Amazin doc. Transistor is a lot of people's favorite game from Supergiant and this shows why. The amount of polish and deliberate intent behind some of the seemingly simple decisions in the game like Red humming in Turn() mode or the functions being able to be swapped into any slot or you losing a function when you overload forcing you to try something different goes to show how much hard work they put into this game. I've beaten this game four times now, on PC, PS4, iOS, and Switch. It's that good. It's also crazy to me how well a pseudo turn-based game like this works so seamlessly with any control scheme you're using: mouse + keyboard, or touch, or a controller. And I genuinely believe this is the best video game OST of all time. It's absolutely incredible.

Great Doc about a great game 👍🏻 I remember the music was what sold me on Transistor. I would just keep replaying the trailer for that short snippet of "We All Become". I think I had listened to the whole soundtrack for months before I ever even got around to playing Transistor. When I got there, the game turned out to be amazing as well - of course! To this day, Red humming still gives me goosebumps. I might replay this soon.

Transistor is SuperGiant's best game, hands down. The story, atmosphere, characters, lore, all phenomenal. I was transported to an immensely fascinating world with the game. The music, to this day, is something that sticks with me and is one of my favourite OST's of all time. Not to mention that, as a software developer, the use of functions as "actions" and how they interacted with one another kind of made me love the game even a little more - especially once the bigger story elements are revealed.

Thank you for making the documentary on Supergiant Games and Transistor! As many people have succinctly put it, the combination of the art, music, story and gameplay have produced one of the most endearing game of mine that I listed Transistor as one of my games of the decade. I'll never forget my experience with the game, experimenting with tons and tons of different builds and absolutely blasting the hell out of the soundtrack. This was the game that inspired me to get into game dev, because Transistor (and Supergiant Games) channels what I've always wanted to bring into video games, a thoughtful journey that makes you think, that makes you cry, that makes you reflect upon its story and move you in a way like no other.

Makin' me wanna go back and finish this game now.

I'm so surprised Transistor had some much trouble at the start! The final product is so tight. A testament to incredible work.

Late to the Noclip party, came here to check out the Supergiant documentaries on a friend's recommendation. I'm super surprised Red wasn't supposed to be the original protagonist! She's easily my favorite protagonist of like all time! It meshed so well with the story and the world and gameplay and just everything. Man, I really love Supergiant and their work. Thanks a ton for this documentary Noclip, I appreciate this like a lot!

Transistor is definetly one of my top games of all time and my favorite from Super Giant, everything is just perfect... still listen to the OST while working....

I loved this game so much. The art, the music, the combat system. It's an absolute masterpiece. I started playing after totalbiscuit made the wtf video about it(may his soul rest in peace. We truely lost a great one). I fell in love with the game. In this doc, the devs said that they knew players would discover combinations of functions that they'd love and I found mine(dash with the long range line attack as a secondary function which let you dash through an enemy repeatedly and deal ridiculous damage because of the low turn cost). I loved this game. I still have the soundtrack in the playlist. Watching this video back gave me chills. I love you supergiant games.

23:16 I don't know who made this (syncing Ashley's interview perfectly with the beginning of the song), but it's pure gold hahahahaha

I just got caught when I saw "D'Besys: The Cloud Bank" and thought, "oh damn, that sounds real close to my language"! That name seems to have not showed up in game, but I'd be glad to know there was some strange way that Lithuanian had an influence on one of my favorite games.

My favorite game from Supergiant and one of my favorite games of all time. One of a handful that have made me feel palpable sadness.

Watching this after playing Hades is so interesting. Talk about making the player-failure experience interesting!

As every game from Supergiant has done so far, Transistor made my life a little better. It was already good, but each of this game is a gem that found its place in my heart and I'm gonna go back and play Transistor all over again. As a musician, Darren Korb has been an inspiration since I first played Pyre, his music transcends me each and every time, but now I saw all this persons that contributed to these marvelous games, I reckon that every single one of them has to do with the feeling of excitement, pure bliss and delight that I feel when I first play one of their games. Thank you Supergiant for your work, you truly deserve the best.

Transistor remains one of my favorite games ever, and my favorite from Supergiant; I go back to it every once in a while and I keep finding little details that I hadn't noticed before. And I love seeing the development process, I had no idea that originally The Boxer was going to be the protagonist (and we got to see his face too!). Really, thank you for this doc, I'll never get tired of Supergiant and their amazing team, so it's really great that we get to see part of the creative process for their games.

32:43 I recently finished playing the game for the first time at my 37 years of age. It completely blew me away. It's not a nostalgia thing, it's so much more.

I remember discovering Bastion because I was collecting game OSTs and thus discovering Super Giant Games. These guys are great story tellers. I love every single one of the games because it invokes a lotta emotions through the story. Transistor is definitely my favorite but Pyre is a close second.

This was the first Supergiant game I played and it's been a steadfast favourite ever since. I went and played ALL of their catalogue because of Transistor but it still remains my go to. The relationship between the Boxer and Red, how they relate to the digital city - it all came together in a way that stuck with me. I liken it to Bioshock Infinite weirdly when recommending, rather than Bastion or Pyre.

I just want to hug all of them. Transistor is my all time favorite game to this day and I listened to the soundtrack again just the other day.

Holy cow, what a great intro.

I am 38yrs old, I jumped on this when It came out and I still love it to this day. I just played through it again a couple weeks ago. I loved hearing the "story of Transistor" One of my Favorite games ever.

If you had asked me before watching this video if i thought there was trouble during transistor development i would have laughed. To this day it stands out to me as one of the tightest and most complete experiences ive ever had gaming. Incredible journey to a masterpiece

I need those concept arts, especially Red with the man lying on her lap

Transistor is such a beautiful and concise experience. Now I want to go play it again.

Amazing documentary, as I've come to expect from NoClip! Does this mean a Pyre documentary could be next??

This is one of my favorite games of all time. It's a masterpiece start to finish.

I am so happy your channel is doing good Danny! Love your work and you are so genuine! I love to see someone follow there passion to with all they have and succeed!

I LOVE the music in this game. I play the soundtrack often and a few of them are on my list of songs to play while driving on a date. The Spine is my absolute favorite.

Even now still my favourite game from Supergiant, and probably in my top 5 games of all time. Such an incredible piece of work

Everything about this game was done so perfectly, story, design, music, gameplay. Five years later, it is still among the top 3 of my favourite. Still getting goosebumps when I hear the soundtracks and see the visuals. Gets teary eyes when remembering all these feelings I felt when playing through the game.

Amazing story! Loved hearing the struggles and how the team overcame and the moments when things clicked.

I have bought this game on some many different platforms. This is one of my favorite games ever. From gameplay to design to soundtrack it elevates the game to a work of art.

Transistor was amazing. I'm so glad of their commitment to trying new things, because they've always made games I never knew i wanted as a result. Pyre was completely unexpected. Hades as a live service roguelike was unexpected. I'm really hoping they don't get stuck on Hades though, and show us what else they can make!

I bought Transistor on the PSN a couple years ago I think, played it a bit, and then just left it. I picked it back up just a couple weeks ago, and man, what a beautiful, chill, intense piece of art. Amazing environments, ambience, UI, music, gameplay. I love it. Great work, Supergiant.

Awesome documentary of my favourite supergiant games...game :D I love the music (still listen to it regularly), the gameplay, function system, art style, story, mood...so many things that work together really well, although it initially seemed to be such a struggle to create And yes, Paper Boats (as well as Build that Wall and Mother, I'm here from Bastion) also ended up being lullabies to my baby daughter :)

This is a fantastic documentary, cheers to Noclip! I love Transistor and I shed some tears when I reached the ending! :P The soundtrack is beautiful and is intertwined with the gameplay in a perfect way. Playing the game I felt the passion and love the developers put in this title, how much they struggled to come out with the perfect idea shows how important it was for them and how much they wanted to create something new that reflected their creativity. As a gamedev from a two person team, it's always very interesting seeing how much from small to bigger indie games we always face similar problems. The important thing is never stop and always be ready to change everything if it makes it better! :D

This video is so good, it doesn't rival anything that is on TV it surpasses it with ease. It is a work of art in itself.Obviously the level of love that went into the game was the drive behind making this video as well. Very very well done!

I just absolutely loved the strategic aspect of the combat. Recently picked up Bastion, and looking forward to playing it :)

This is just wonderful, moving and creatively inspiring. Thank you so much for making these. SuperGiant are heroes of mine in many crafts. Thank you for bringing me closer to them. I love that someone who may not have played Transistor might watch this video and then go play it. I wish everyone could experience it the way I did. SuperGiant and NoClip; Congratulations on your successes.

The soundtracks for both Bastion and Transistor are absolutely stunning. Fantastic work!

I hope this video is a sign of the type of documentary content that Noclip will bring us in 2020. I love it.

I played Transistor about 4 years ago when I was 25/26, and I loved it. I still love it. The art/visual storytelling, the music, the challenging game play, and lastly, but maybe most importantly, the customization of skills and HUD were really fun and easy to use. The easy to understand HUD and skill system really make me love the game, and I always rave about it's good design and how it allows for player creativity and expression when I tell people about Transistor. Transistor is one of my all time favorite games, and seeing how much work was put in, and some of the process behind it is so interesting. The game is a little bit too stress inducing in it's challenge level, so I haven't gone back to playing it, but I did enjoy the heck out of it and finished my first time, and always think back on the game positively.

Transistor truly is a masterpiece