It's been almost 2 years without a game dev job and I really understand what you are going through. Now I have all time in the world but not the energy to make my dream games comes to life. I hope 2025 would be better for all of us.
Hey, I've been quietly watching your videos for a while but felt the urge to speak up now. Well done on mustering the strength to talk about this. I've had a very similar year. Struggling against a lot but unlike you I just completely stopped creating or releasing anything for several months. Just to say you're not struggling alone. It sounds like you have this and things can start looking up in the new year!!
Thank you so much for having the courage to be honest with us. If you've really being doing this on your own for 20 years then you've gone so much farther than the majority that words don't really do it justice. Try and take it one step at a time, we're here.
I gotta be honest, I never bought any game you made. But I regularly watch your video. You are a gamedev hero to me, and I want to be a fulltime indie game developer in the future, with enough courage like you. I too experenced depression earlier this year, very touch time. I'm glad you're better now, hope you keep it up. A much better 2025 is waiting for you, good luck!
I watch your videos for your positivity, integrity, and the valuable information you share as a game dev who's really out there in the weeds. I think it's incredible what you are building and it's an inspiration to me. All I can say is keep going. I think you are going to be doing really well in the coming years. Sorry for your loss.
Sorry to hear about your parents. My mother-in-law has dementia as well. It has been challenging for my wife for the past 2 to 3 years. Praying for a better year for you. You got this!! Bad times never last forever.
Sorry to hear about your mother and father. I know that. My mum passed away last year and I can’t get since that day to do some proper work on my projects… I lost that drive… But I hope next year will be better…
The things you've done while feeling so low is still really impressive, it's easy to let everything go in that mindset. I hope 2025 is a better year for you and your family
Appreciate the honesty. It’s been a rough few years for a lot of people, but best thing for yourself and everyone around you is to push forward. I’m not 100% there, but I’m working at it. Cheers man!
I can't even imagine how hard all of this must have been for you. I wish you and your family good health. Stay strong Pascal, you will always have our support!
Hey man I'm an aspiring game developer and have bought half of your game catalog on Google play and plan on buying the rest as they are great games and I want to support. Keep pushing ahead sir.
Bummer about your mental state, I suffered from depression and unrelatedly changed my diet and it had a huge impact on my mental health, basically lifting all major depression despite the still sad things going on. Best of luck on your continued success!
Pascal, thank you for all that you do. I have been where you have been (exactly the same situation with my parents), so I can relate. I wish you and your family all the best for the future and thank you once again.
It's tough to watch your parents fail. To lose a parent, watch another suffer from dementia whilst being responsible for keeping your business running has got to be tough. We’re all rooting for you my friend. Thanks for sharing what was clearly a tough video to make.
Sad to hear you struggled with depression, good luck to you and your family. I want to be a full-time gamedev like you one day. So in a way, you already won at life. Keep that in mind.
Ah, depression. It took me a long time to even say the word out loud. But one day, I finally admitted it to myself: I’m depressed. It's something I constantly deal with, too. Somehow, we have to find the strength to keep pushing through, even when it feels impossible. There are times when my strength feels like it's slipping away, and I fall into a funk that can last days or even weeks, leaving me completely out of sync with everything. Sigh. But no matter how tough it gets, I keep fighting, pushing, and eventually finding my way back. I noticed you mention focusing on the now and leaving tomorrow behind, here I something I wrote a few years ago, which help me to push through: "Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is not yet written. NOW is what we know. Live in the moment and make the very best of NOW! For we cannot see past what we don't understand... to gain understanding is to know where we have come from (yesterday), and this understanding allows us to create a new path for the future (tomorrow). Making the very best of NOW helps us gain wisdom, enabling us to make better choices for tomorrow. Stand tall and proud in your NOW. Be content in the tests and trials you may be going through, for they too shall pass. Every moment of your NOW allows you to make a choice. Let every moment of your NOW have purpose so that it may lead you into a fulfilling tomorrow." Hang in there bro!
Sorry to hear about your tough year. You make a lot of great games that are really fun, and your videos are very inspirational. Really looking forward to what you have coming in 2025 (Android version of Gauntlet of Power, Regulators, and the new Space Grunts). Wishing you the best in 2025!
Pascal. Hopelijk is 2025 beter, en kan je de energie vinden om vooruit te kijken. Depressie is een lastig onderwerp, en kan heel snel alle kleur uit het leven halen. Op een beter jaar.
Hope things turn around for you man. I feel you the start of this year was pretty rough for me, and last year was horrific. Just try to find happiness in everyday and know when to walk away when things get too rough. Being out in nature has helped me a lot.
I hope next year treats you well, glad you took time off and read many books to understand what you are going through. We all go through some dark times and I am glad you are doing something about it. I have a feeling 2025 is gonna be your year !
I relate so much to your journey. I've honestly enjoyed your dev channel the most out of anyone. It's inspired me to maybe talk about my depression as well on my dev channel. I hope by the end of 2025 I'm well on my way to making tames full time, but depression has really been holding me back
Depression is a really tough one indeed. Sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm only very much a 'hobbyist' working on my current game project, but I could imagine how much weight it would be on your shoulders when it's your main source of income to support yourself and your family. All the best
Pascal, thank you for sharing your feelings, your life and struggle. So many people struggle and on the bottom line it is what we call life. With all its ups and downs. Try to keep going. You still created something and I believe things will get better... for all of us. Personally I am also struggle, have no creativity left in me because I got burnout in my day job. I hope 2025 will be better. For all of us.
Your perseverance and honesty is admirable! I'm sorry to hear the market has been taking a nosedive but I'm still extremely excited for Regulator City! I hope that 2025 brings you health and better fortune than you've had in previous years. All the best to you!
Valve released the end of year numbers for 2024 and it's just brutal - over 18k games were released on Steam in 2024 alone, bringing the total Steam library to over 100k games. Of all of those games, only 15% of player time was spent on games that released in 2024. As an indie or small dev it's nearly impossible to stand out.
I wonder if people don't usually buy games on release. I wait years until they come down in price. I'm still waiting for Lamplighters League and Capes to come down in price.
Thanks for the transparency. I think its all very relatable for sure. Challenges may be tough, but every small step forward counts. Remember, there's always hope and resilience within you, even when it feels hard to find. Blessings!
wish you a better 2025, things get rough sometimes, and gamedev is quite hard, so many studios are feeling the same pain, it looks like no one have the money to buy even the basic things, and I think mobile is slowly losing the ground now, since not many are buying those cosmetic things, too much supply, too little time to play it all. Hopefully things will get better next year! losing someone you love is hard, wherever they go, wish we meet again someday, just try to remember the good times and you will get a good smile, I know since I lost someone too, life is short so do not waste your time being sad and enjoy the ride and all those things that make you happy.
Thanks for the unfiltered and open-hearted talk Pascal. Wishing you and the studio all the best in 2025, may it be a great year! Stay strong mate, never give up, never give in. Whatever happens in our life, we're on the profit side, no matter how hard it might be for us to see that at some points. As long as we have health, we never know what tomorrow may bring. Life is a precious blessing... PS: No matter who cares or not. 20 F***ING YEARS as a gamedev is an insane achievement only a lucky few get to experience, specially indie... So congratulations on this anniversary!
Thank you for sharing your struggles. It really helps people in similar situations. I usually wait for sales but I will be buying gauntlet of power and ashworld day 1 on switch. I hope 2025 is brighter for you.
A very honest and I imagine difficult video to make. I'm sorry for your loss and personal struggles that have took a toll this year. As others have said, thanks for your honesty and know you are not alone buddy and there's many of us rooting for you and if you ever want to chat you can hit me up anytime.
I was 27 when I had a anxiety crisis, in part due to my own irresponsabilities and others of regret, decided to accept a offer in the indie industry. yes, it's really hard but its a struggle that is worth it. for the next year things will be in order (but nothing great unless some amogus/balatro luck) but 2026 is unknow. I decided to avoid the one man army path and invest time in developing myself while doing assets for my studio, but I cant say for others what is their experience and struggle. I'm still new in this great, yet very harsh experience. sorry for my bad english. regards, Edson
Thank you for the video, Pascal. Always glad to see when you drop a new video. You're through the tough part and you're blessed with excellent technical and artistic skills and creativity. You made it through 2024, that's been an achievement for all of us. Let's hope things start looking up. 🙂
Beterschap Pascal. I am also a gamedev affected by layoffs. Hope 2025 can bring a bit more light into making games which now seems impossible in any area.
Its a hard business man I too am going it alone and its a struggle trying to do it and deal with life things. Try to have fun with it and keep going. All the best!
"been a game developper for 20 years... but also nobody else care" I really relate to that, I've been a gamedev for 20 years now, part AAA, part indie in a studio... that just shut down. I've been making some solodev on the side and I generally try to avoid saying I'm an experienced gamedev cause I want to be judged as harshly as others, cause that's what gamers will do, that's what players will do. They really don't care who made the game, they only care if it's good. Trying to leverage my experience will only shield me from valid criticism and since I started will solodev stuff, I learned A LOT and lot of it came from taking a humility pill and accepting the criticism of people with a fraction of the experience I have. Ultimately, making good games is the only thing that matters.
Congratulations on 20 years. Really strong as a single developer. I am just starting out since a couple of months and develop two games at the same time. I will see how it goes but I think it will be a loss in the end - but my goal was to "make a dent in the universe" which I think I will succeed with! About depression it is really frustrating how economy affects us.
Be strong Pascal, as someone who have struggled with depression for over two decades I can tell you despite it really never looking like it will get better, it definitely does. Seek scientific evidence based psychotherapy treatment, it will definitely help. They have very good professionals that are willing to help, it really makes a difference. Also, try to be be nice gentle to yourself, you've been through a lot and it's totally acceptable to not perform to any pre-existing standards. Just be yourself, try to get help, and give yourself time to heal. Time does wonders too. Thanks for the openness, next year will be much better!
First - We care about you dude!! Even that weird guy in the back row 💜 Could tell things seemed to be off, but only so much one can say from the other side of the screen. Definitely glad you're finding your way through - grief is non-linear, and depression can really F up your life, really good you've got Aline & support-structures (even folks who've left game-dev are still good support & sounding boards). Thanks for sharing, I'm sure it seriously helps some folks. Second, games as a whole - big & small - are flat right now, really down vs inflation (Newzoo & GamesIndustry just dropped some 2024 In Review numbers). Layoffs and lack of investment have spread out to the non-production sectors too, incl games media, localization, support studios, etc. Even if you'd had a banner year in terms of releases, it's questionable whether that productivity would've paid off fully in this environment. Your games should do better in 2025 if we see a "rising tide raises all boats" scenario, esp if new games & the new Switch end up being hot. But marketing is probably gonna be a huge challenge for all of us - premium mobile still has legs, but everything needs more ad-spend than before, and people just aren't watching ads like before :( Personally, I have too many ups & downs in my life to be able to go all-in on games like you have. There are months where I just have to focus on family, or on my health, and can't afford to not have money reliably coming in. Having a pension waiting also helps me sleep at night... It's really admirable that you've kept the company surviving & thriving for 20yrs - even if the form of it changes a bit, here's hoping you find a sustainable path for 2025 and beyond :)
I had difficulty focusing my mind as I was coming out of burnout and depression last year. To improve this, I did something called Attention Training Technique. Essentially, you listening to a soundscape and change your focus from one sound to another every 5 to 20 seconds. It was quite the workout, wrestling my mind to stay on one thing. Hard to say how well it works; there are some studies supporting it. I followed the training videos from the channel Afternoon Break.
Funny enough, artists/creatives of all kinds have statistically higher likelyhood of depression and other mental disorders. Depression and headaches are my default state. We all are gonna make it in the end, just keep going!
Bravo, Pascal, for an exceptionally brave video that must have been hard to record and edit. I hope it can be part of the healing process for you. Another factor (linked with investment being expensive) is that the market shrank with the cost of living crisis in the US and Europe (I expect those are your largest markets). Luxuries are the first thing that people stop spending on and games are a luxury - especially as people can play the same game for 14 years (I'm looking at you, Minecraft). Best of luck in 2025, I'll certainly be following along!
Perfectly normal to feel the way you have been due to grief and the stresses of life, pulling away from people and work to give yourself time to heal. Try and refocus in 2025 on what is important to you. You have no control over the games industry so don't worry about that. Work on more innovative games when you can. Derivitive games only receive derivitive sales.
This year I quit game development cuz nobody buys games anymore, then I made $320K in crypto, then I lost $320K in crypto Saying it was a depressing year is an understatement And thanks for sharing how it's going for you, as hard as it might be.
"This year I quit game development cuz nobody buys games anymore, " Ah that's a bummer. "then I made $320K in crypto," Alright mate! "then I lost $320K in crypto" ... :(
why dont you release your games on playstation, i heard you talked on other videos that you have the dev kits available etc. Why don't you publish in it, I searched a few of your games on PlayStation but never found any
Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Job have been particularly helpful for me during my hardest times in life. These are books in the Bible that I recommend. I know you've mentioned in the past that you don't go for the religious stuff, and I'm not here to change your mind but I will say people often suggest spiritual books to help with meditative thought and clearing your head. So in that way I do still suggest certain books of the Bible that can help even with people who aren't religious/Christians.
Disgusting that Apple has to make people go through all these hoops for keeping apps on the platform. Didn't even know this was a thing. Makes me not want to ever make a mobile game, just stick to other platforms. But to put a positive twist on this comment, it really means somthing that you've been doing this for 20 years. Everything will work out in due time. Somtimes it takes big changes to shake things up and make a difference. I always think about what "video games are about", and there are many reasons, but one of the big reasons is captivating people's imaginations, and somtimes you need to have a fresh idea that catches people off guard, but also wows everyone in the process. Somthing big and new, and that will really make people pull out their wallets😛 Either way, I think it's good to air all of this stuff that has been on your mind, I know for a few years now that you've had some rough times here and there. Things will definately get better. As you brought up in the video, it's better to be indie than to work for AAA, because they have control and know you are replacable as an emplyee. But if everyone says "screw you I'm going indie", then it gives them less power. Let's just keep doing what we're doing.😎
can you put your game gameplay at the background when you talk? I like to listen to you yapping about stuff but its visually boring ngl. been listening since 2020. hope your game will do well next year.
Condolences for your loss. Don't loose hope, time will make things better. About the game industry, the big studios are going down because pushing DEI content/message and people got tired of it, and on top of that the games they make are buggy and not fun to play. Keep it up, wish you a great 2025
as a fellow indie dev guy i checked out gauntlet of power, i have to say its a nice project for practice, but i dont know why you published and expected it to do well, it looked insanely generic, and obviously you are just chasing the bullet heaven trend, i hope your depression gets better, but try to make more unique and interesting design choices for your games if you want to stick out, everything in that game screamed generic, almost as if an AI made it (tho i know that probably wasnt the case)
Ups and down are normal every thing that lives breathes keep up the breath, ruach elohim. Gospel of Philip: Light and Darkness, life and death, right and left, are brothers of one another. They are inseparable. Because of this neither are the good good, nor evil evil, nor is life life, nor death death. For this reason each one will dissolve into its earliest origin. But those who are exalted above the world are indissoluble, eternal. merry x mas
If you are on switch 2 then next year you will be a winner. Try to be there at launch or near launch. Next year gonna be great. When you are up to your neck in deep shit make sure to keep your head up. 😉 i really wish you the best of luck and that you cheer up.
as a consumer, im just straight up broke right now. writing this comment out as i go through the video. Depression sucks. wishing you a better 2025
It's been almost 2 years without a game dev job and I really understand what you are going through. Now I have all time in the world but not the energy to make my dream games comes to life. I hope 2025 would be better for all of us.
Hey, I've been quietly watching your videos for a while but felt the urge to speak up now. Well done on mustering the strength to talk about this.
I've had a very similar year. Struggling against a lot but unlike you I just completely stopped creating or releasing anything for several months.
Just to say you're not struggling alone. It sounds like you have this and things can start looking up in the new year!!
Thank you for the video
Thank you so much for having the courage to be honest with us. If you've really being doing this on your own for 20 years then you've gone so much farther than the majority that words don't really do it justice. Try and take it one step at a time, we're here.
Thank you for your honesty. I am glad to see you are pressing on. Never give up!
I gotta be honest, I never bought any game you made. But I regularly watch your video. You are a gamedev hero to me, and I want to be a fulltime indie game developer in the future, with enough courage like you. I too experenced depression earlier this year, very touch time. I'm glad you're better now, hope you keep it up. A much better 2025 is waiting for you, good luck!
I watch your videos for your positivity, integrity, and the valuable information you share as a game dev who's really out there in the weeds. I think it's incredible what you are building and it's an inspiration to me. All I can say is keep going. I think you are going to be doing really well in the coming years. Sorry for your loss.
Hang in there. Hope things are getter better for you and that 2025 will be way better than this year :)
Sorry to hear about your parents. My mother-in-law has dementia as well. It has been challenging for my wife for the past 2 to 3 years. Praying for a better year for you. You got this!! Bad times never last forever.
Sorry to hear about your mother and father. I know that. My mum passed away last year and I can’t get since that day to do some proper work on my projects… I lost that drive… But I hope next year will be better…
Your mum would probably love to see you work on projects again :)
The things you've done while feeling so low is still really impressive, it's easy to let everything go in that mindset. I hope 2025 is a better year for you and your family
Appreciate the honesty. It’s been a rough few years for a lot of people, but best thing for yourself and everyone around you is to push forward. I’m not 100% there, but I’m working at it. Cheers man!
I can't even imagine how hard all of this must have been for you. I wish you and your family good health. Stay strong Pascal, you will always have our support!
Hey man I'm an aspiring game developer and have bought half of your game catalog on Google play and plan on buying the rest as they are great games and I want to support. Keep pushing ahead sir.
Bummer about your mental state, I suffered from depression and unrelatedly changed my diet and it had a huge impact on my mental health, basically lifting all major depression despite the still sad things going on. Best of luck on your continued success!
Sorry to hear about your struggles... i really wish you and your family all the best for 2025!
Everyone is going through tough times, thank you for the honesty
Hoping for the best for you and OP for 2025, thanks for being open about what this year has been for you!
Take care man!
Stay strong, I hope the best for you and anyone that had a bad year.
Pascal, thank you for all that you do. I have been where you have been (exactly the same situation with my parents), so I can relate. I wish you and your family all the best for the future and thank you once again.
It's tough to watch your parents fail. To lose a parent, watch another suffer from dementia whilst being responsible for keeping your business running has got to be tough. We’re all rooting for you my friend. Thanks for sharing what was clearly a tough video to make.
Sad to hear you struggled with depression, good luck to you and your family. I want to be a full-time gamedev like you one day. So in a way, you already won at life. Keep that in mind.
Ah, depression. It took me a long time to even say the word out loud. But one day, I finally admitted it to myself: I’m depressed. It's something I constantly deal with, too. Somehow, we have to find the strength to keep pushing through, even when it feels impossible. There are times when my strength feels like it's slipping away, and I fall into a funk that can last days or even weeks, leaving me completely out of sync with everything. Sigh. But no matter how tough it gets, I keep fighting, pushing, and eventually finding my way back.
I noticed you mention focusing on the now and leaving tomorrow behind, here I something I wrote a few years ago, which help me to push through:
"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is not yet written. NOW is what we know. Live in the moment and make the very best of NOW! For we cannot see past what we don't understand... to gain understanding is to know where we have come from (yesterday), and this understanding allows us to create a new path for the future (tomorrow). Making the very best of NOW helps us gain wisdom, enabling us to make better choices for tomorrow. Stand tall and proud in your NOW. Be content in the tests and trials you may be going through, for they too shall pass. Every moment of your NOW allows you to make a choice. Let every moment of your NOW have purpose so that it may lead you into a fulfilling tomorrow."
Hang in there bro!
Losing close relatives is really hard, stay strong
Sorry to hear about your tough year. You make a lot of great games that are really fun, and your videos are very inspirational. Really looking forward to what you have coming in 2025 (Android version of Gauntlet of Power, Regulators, and the new Space Grunts). Wishing you the best in 2025!
Wish u the best! Hopefully next year will be a great year 🤌🏼🤌🏼
Pascal. Hopelijk is 2025 beter, en kan je de energie vinden om vooruit te kijken. Depressie is een lastig onderwerp, en kan heel snel alle kleur uit het leven halen. Op een beter jaar.
Hope things turn around for you man. I feel you the start of this year was pretty rough for me, and last year was horrific. Just try to find happiness in everyday and know when to walk away when things get too rough. Being out in nature has helped me a lot.
I hope next year treats you well, glad you took time off and read many books to understand what you are going through.
We all go through some dark times and I am glad you are doing something about it. I have a feeling 2025 is gonna be your year !
I relate so much to your journey. I've honestly enjoyed your dev channel the most out of anyone. It's inspired me to maybe talk about my depression as well on my dev channel. I hope by the end of 2025 I'm well on my way to making tames full time, but depression has really been holding me back
Depression is a really tough one indeed. Sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm only very much a 'hobbyist' working on my current game project, but I could imagine how much weight it would be on your shoulders when it's your main source of income to support yourself and your family. All the best
Pascal, thank you for sharing your feelings, your life and struggle. So many people struggle and on the bottom line it is what we call life. With all its ups and downs. Try to keep going. You still created something and I believe things will get better... for all of us. Personally I am also struggle, have no creativity left in me because I got burnout in my day job. I hope 2025 will be better. For all of us.
Your perseverance and honesty is admirable! I'm sorry to hear the market has been taking a nosedive but I'm still extremely excited for Regulator City!
I hope that 2025 brings you health and better fortune than you've had in previous years.
All the best to you!
Valve released the end of year numbers for 2024 and it's just brutal - over 18k games were released on Steam in 2024 alone, bringing the total Steam library to over 100k games. Of all of those games, only 15% of player time was spent on games that released in 2024. As an indie or small dev it's nearly impossible to stand out.
I wonder if people don't usually buy games on release. I wait years until they come down in price. I'm still waiting for Lamplighters League and Capes to come down in price.
@@zynga726 Nope, most graphs show exponential decline after the first 7 days since release.
There's just too many games. I can't keep up. I don't have the time or energy to play half the games I already have.
Thanks for the transparency. I think its all very relatable for sure. Challenges may be tough, but every small step forward counts. Remember, there's always hope and resilience within you, even when it feels hard to find. Blessings!
One of biggest challenges this year being an indie game dev was burnout. From burnout comes depression and completely paralyzes you. 😢
wish you a better 2025, things get rough sometimes, and gamedev is quite hard, so many studios are feeling the same pain, it looks like no one have the money to buy even the basic things, and I think mobile is slowly losing the ground now, since not many are buying those cosmetic things, too much supply, too little time to play it all. Hopefully things will get better next year! losing someone you love is hard, wherever they go, wish we meet again someday, just try to remember the good times and you will get a good smile, I know since I lost someone too, life is short so do not waste your time being sad and enjoy the ride and all those things that make you happy.
Sorry for your loss. Stay strong.
Thank you for sharing - you rock !!!!
Thanks for the unfiltered and open-hearted talk Pascal. Wishing you and the studio all the best in 2025, may it be a great year!
Stay strong mate, never give up, never give in.
Whatever happens in our life, we're on the profit side, no matter how hard it might be for us to see that at some points. As long as we have health, we never know what tomorrow may bring. Life is a precious blessing...
PS: No matter who cares or not. 20 F***ING YEARS as a gamedev is an insane achievement only a lucky few get to experience, specially indie... So congratulations on this anniversary!
Thank you for sharing your struggles. It really helps people in similar situations.
I usually wait for sales but I will be buying gauntlet of power and ashworld day 1 on switch.
I hope 2025 is brighter for you.
A very honest and I imagine difficult video to make. I'm sorry for your loss and personal struggles that have took a toll this year. As others have said, thanks for your honesty and know you are not alone buddy and there's many of us rooting for you and if you ever want to chat you can hit me up anytime.
Really sorry for your loss
You're a long distance runner in the industry. You've seen many ups and downs, and have what it takes to push through
I was 27 when I had a anxiety crisis, in part due to my own irresponsabilities and others of regret, decided to accept a offer in the indie industry. yes, it's really hard but its a struggle that is worth it. for the next year things will be in order (but nothing great unless some amogus/balatro luck) but 2026 is unknow. I decided to avoid the one man army path and invest time in developing myself while doing assets for my studio, but I cant say for others what is their experience and struggle. I'm still new in this great, yet very harsh experience.
sorry for my bad english. regards, Edson
Thank you for the video, Pascal. Always glad to see when you drop a new video. You're through the tough part and you're blessed with excellent technical and artistic skills and creativity. You made it through 2024, that's been an achievement for all of us. Let's hope things start looking up. 🙂
Thank you for sharing! Keep going, you are a great developer! I wish you all the best for the 2025! Stay strong!
I always watch your videos with great interest. Wish you all the best in 2025
Wishing you a fantastic 2025
Thanks for your honesty
Stay strong. We all are going through tough times in one way or another. Life is about up and down. You'll be on the up soon enough. 💪
Beterschap Pascal. I am also a gamedev affected by layoffs. Hope 2025 can bring a bit more light into making games which now seems impossible in any area.
Its a hard business man I too am going it alone and its a struggle trying to do it and deal with life things. Try to have fun with it and keep going. All the best!
Thanks for your honesty
You are one of my main inspirations to continue game development, even if it is only as a hobby. Thanks for your honesty.
First time ive watched any of your videos. Ill pray for you man. As someone who wants to game dev in the future, i wish the industry normalizes
Geez dude, stay strong!
When things are tough, sail your ships through the storm. I understand this. Calmer waters will come. Onwards and upwards sir
"been a game developper for 20 years... but also nobody else care"
I really relate to that, I've been a gamedev for 20 years now, part AAA, part indie in a studio... that just shut down. I've been making some solodev on the side and I generally try to avoid saying I'm an experienced gamedev cause I want to be judged as harshly as others, cause that's what gamers will do, that's what players will do.
They really don't care who made the game, they only care if it's good. Trying to leverage my experience will only shield me from valid criticism and since I started will solodev stuff, I learned A LOT and lot of it came from taking a humility pill and accepting the criticism of people with a fraction of the experience I have.
Ultimately, making good games is the only thing that matters.
I’m following you from Turkey, and this is my first comment. I hope the new year brings you health, happiness, and peace.
Congratulations on 20 years. Really strong as a single developer. I am just starting out since a couple of months and develop two games at the same time. I will see how it goes but I think it will be a loss in the end - but my goal was to "make a dent in the universe" which I think I will succeed with! About depression it is really frustrating how economy affects us.
Be strong Pascal, as someone who have struggled with depression for over two decades I can tell you despite it really never looking like it will get better, it definitely does. Seek scientific evidence based psychotherapy treatment, it will definitely help.
They have very good professionals that are willing to help, it really makes a difference. Also, try to be be nice gentle to yourself, you've been through a lot and it's totally acceptable to not perform to any pre-existing standards.
Just be yourself, try to get help, and give yourself time to heal. Time does wonders too.
Thanks for the openness, next year will be much better!
Stay strong Pascal!! 2025 will be better, for sure!!
To a much better year!
Wishing you a better year
First - We care about you dude!! Even that weird guy in the back row 💜 Could tell things seemed to be off, but only so much one can say from the other side of the screen. Definitely glad you're finding your way through - grief is non-linear, and depression can really F up your life, really good you've got Aline & support-structures (even folks who've left game-dev are still good support & sounding boards). Thanks for sharing, I'm sure it seriously helps some folks.
Second, games as a whole - big & small - are flat right now, really down vs inflation (Newzoo & GamesIndustry just dropped some 2024 In Review numbers). Layoffs and lack of investment have spread out to the non-production sectors too, incl games media, localization, support studios, etc. Even if you'd had a banner year in terms of releases, it's questionable whether that productivity would've paid off fully in this environment.
Your games should do better in 2025 if we see a "rising tide raises all boats" scenario, esp if new games & the new Switch end up being hot. But marketing is probably gonna be a huge challenge for all of us - premium mobile still has legs, but everything needs more ad-spend than before, and people just aren't watching ads like before :(
Personally, I have too many ups & downs in my life to be able to go all-in on games like you have. There are months where I just have to focus on family, or on my health, and can't afford to not have money reliably coming in. Having a pension waiting also helps me sleep at night... It's really admirable that you've kept the company surviving & thriving for 20yrs - even if the form of it changes a bit, here's hoping you find a sustainable path for 2025 and beyond :)
Wishing you the best. Good luck in 2025.
I had difficulty focusing my mind as I was coming out of burnout and depression last year. To improve this, I did something called Attention Training Technique. Essentially, you listening to a soundscape and change your focus from one sound to another every 5 to 20 seconds. It was quite the workout, wrestling my mind to stay on one thing. Hard to say how well it works; there are some studies supporting it. I followed the training videos from the channel Afternoon Break.
keep going my friend, one big upside is having regulator city ready to roll out.
Funny enough, artists/creatives of all kinds have statistically higher likelyhood of depression and other mental disorders. Depression and headaches are my default state. We all are gonna make it in the end, just keep going!
Good luck dude
i love yearend reviews
Probably just gotta focus fewer games to simplify on more personal games.Hope things work out better.
Bravo, Pascal, for an exceptionally brave video that must have been hard to record and edit. I hope it can be part of the healing process for you. Another factor (linked with investment being expensive) is that the market shrank with the cost of living crisis in the US and Europe (I expect those are your largest markets). Luxuries are the first thing that people stop spending on and games are a luxury - especially as people can play the same game for 14 years (I'm looking at you, Minecraft). Best of luck in 2025, I'll certainly be following along!
Ugh, I wish you the best, man -- hang in there
I wish you a great 2025.
stay strong, mate
Perfectly normal to feel the way you have been due to grief and the stresses of life, pulling away from people and work to give yourself time to heal. Try and refocus in 2025 on what is important to you.
You have no control over the games industry so don't worry about that. Work on more innovative games when you can. Derivitive games only receive derivitive sales.
God bless, wish your family a better 2025
take care of yourselves
This year I quit game development cuz nobody buys games anymore, then I made $320K in crypto, then I lost $320K in crypto
Saying it was a depressing year is an understatement
And thanks for sharing how it's going for you, as hard as it might be.
"This year I quit game development cuz nobody buys games anymore, " Ah that's a bummer. "then I made $320K in crypto," Alright mate! "then I lost $320K in crypto" ... :(
Wishing you all the best for 2025.
no one does good in such circumstances. next year will be better. Gauntlet of power is going to sell more, it's great
Good things always come after bad things, don't you dare give up.
Mahtavaa.
by the way, I would like to see your take of Peggle as a quick project
I hope to see ASHWORLD on switch, wish you and your family tons of blessings and a happy new year 2025 GOD BLESS YOU😄👍
why dont you release your games on playstation, i heard you talked on other videos that you have the dev kits available etc. Why don't you publish in it, I searched a few of your games on PlayStation but never found any
$30k EUR is only $50k Australian…. Damn. 😢
Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Job have been particularly helpful for me during my hardest times in life. These are books in the Bible that I recommend.
I know you've mentioned in the past that you don't go for the religious stuff, and I'm not here to change your mind but I will say people often suggest spiritual books to help with meditative thought and clearing your head.
So in that way I do still suggest certain books of the Bible that can help even with people who aren't religious/Christians.
Good luck
Disgusting that Apple has to make people go through all these hoops for keeping apps on the platform. Didn't even know this was a thing. Makes me not want to ever make a mobile game, just stick to other platforms.
But to put a positive twist on this comment, it really means somthing that you've been doing this for 20 years. Everything will work out in due time. Somtimes it takes big changes to shake things up and make a difference. I always think about what "video games are about", and there are many reasons, but one of the big reasons is captivating people's imaginations, and somtimes you need to have a fresh idea that catches people off guard, but also wows everyone in the process. Somthing big and new, and that will really make people pull out their wallets😛
Either way, I think it's good to air all of this stuff that has been on your mind, I know for a few years now that you've had some rough times here and there. Things will definately get better.
As you brought up in the video, it's better to be indie than to work for AAA, because they have control and know you are replacable as an emplyee. But if everyone says "screw you I'm going indie", then it gives them less power.
Let's just keep doing what we're doing.😎
One thing that might help your father with dementia is a high fat diet to provide energy to the brain via ketogenesis.
can you put your game gameplay at the background when you talk? I like to listen to you yapping about stuff but its visually boring ngl. been listening since 2020. hope your game will do well next year.
Condolences for your loss. Don't loose hope, time will make things better. About the game industry, the big studios are going down because pushing DEI content/message and people got tired of it, and on top of that the games they make are buggy and not fun to play. Keep it up, wish you a great 2025
save your mental health
as a fellow indie dev guy i checked out gauntlet of power, i have to say its a nice project for practice, but i dont know why you published and expected it to do well, it looked insanely generic, and obviously you are just chasing the bullet heaven trend, i hope your depression gets better, but try to make more unique and interesting design choices for your games if you want to stick out, everything in that game screamed generic, almost as if an AI made it (tho i know that probably wasnt the case)
Ups and down are normal every thing that lives breathes keep up the breath, ruach elohim. Gospel of Philip: Light and Darkness, life and death, right and left, are brothers of one another. They are inseparable. Because of this neither are the good good, nor evil evil, nor is life life, nor death death. For this reason each one will dissolve into its earliest origin. But those who are exalted above the world are indissoluble, eternal. merry x mas
If you are on switch 2 then next year you will be a winner. Try to be there at launch or near launch. Next year gonna be great. When you are up to your neck in deep shit make sure to keep your head up. 😉 i really wish you the best of luck and that you cheer up.