The Design of FTL & Into The Breach
Вставка
- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- We sit down with Justin Ma and Matthew Davis of Subset Games to talk about the design of their breakthrough hit FTL: Faster Than Light and their sophomore effort Into The Breach.
Support us: / noclip
Check out our website: www.noclip.video
Buy merch: store.noclip.v...
Filmed by Jeremy Jayne & Esteban Martinez
Edited & Hosted by Danny O'Dwyer
Music Used:
Chillout Lounge 2
us.audionetwor...
Space Cruise - FTL OST
• Video
Old War Machines - Into The Breach OST
• Video
Red Sands - Into The Breach OST
• Video
Antiquity Row - Into The Breach OST
• Video
Many of you were asking for us to cover FTL & Into the Breach so we were delighted to catch up with Justin & Matthew to chat about the design of both games. Keep those recommendations coming, most of our projects are taken from suggestions on Patreon & UA-cam. Loads more coming this month!
Maybe fatshark and vermintide 2?
It would be awesome if you could get a talk with Hopoo games about Risk of Rain 2. They had basically no marketing and sold 1Mil Units in their first month of Steam Early Access. I love the game so far and I think it would be great to see how Hopoo thinks about the development of RoR2
This might be a bit out of the way but i'm always awestruck at the process one of my favorite developers. Starsector is developed by Alexander Mosolov and while technically 'early access', each new full release of a new version (every year and a half or so) is a self-contained, fully playable experience. Always found it amazing how each version seems complete in its own way. The game features a deep combat system and fantastic AI and has been increasing to sandbox/campaign-tier of freedom for a while now. Also he's choosing not to engage in Steam Early Access or any kind of extra 'feature', relying almost on word of mouth for promotion. It has attracted a huge modding community and at this moment i consider it an unspoken indie jewel.
Do one on those guys that made Slay The Spire and their incredible game! It's become a bit of a phenomenon :D
@@Zarven1 Yes, please do this the Vermintide series
The sound track to FTL will forever and always be one of my favorites
The tracks sound, to me, like they were inspired by different scifi shows.
C0mmand3r27 i Listen to the soundtrack at work from time to time. It’s like a warm blanket, making me calm while typing on the Computer.
Didn't realize this would get so many likes lol @noclip can we get a doc on how their OST was made?
I hear it praised often on Roguelike Radio but...I love playing with the music off and have never kept it on past the title screen! I always play while listening to podcasts and it just sounds right to me with the ambient sounds alone, particularly the weird garbled speech sound you'll hear in some places.
I'll check it out purely as music to listen to though as it's been mentioned again but I don't think I'd get used to fighting battles with music - the calm intensity of isolated background noise while I pause and regroup is really engaging to me.
The C418 of space music
Into the Breach is like unbelievably good. Probably the best puzzle-strategy tactics game I've ever played. Hats off to these guys!
I somehow missed this game completely. It sounds great. Well there goes my week...
David Guild Trust me, your week will be gone before you know it. Breach can really suck you in sometimes...
Both that and FTL felt impossible to me until after dozens upon dozens of losses, it just clicked. I think a large part of that is how they look familiar but work altogether differently from similar looking games.
Yeah, loved the soundtrack too
And the graphics of the game and the graphic design choices are really good too.
These guys are part of why I still have hope for the gaming industry. Subset, Klei, Supergiant, Red Hook and many others producing games that challenge your assumptions of genres and game mechanics. I will never get tired of returning to FTL or Darkest Dungeon.
I'll add Team Cherry to that list but yeah, these devs are a breath of fresh air in the formulaic mess that has become the gaming industry
Could you make a list of games?
@@KaNawogirusa Well, out of the ones he's listed: Subset produced FTL: Faster Than LIght and Into The Breach. Klei is probably the biggest company on the list and do some publishing as well as their own production; their most famous game is Don't Starve, and their most recent is Oxygen Not Included. Supergiant made Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre, all of which are phenomenal, and Red Hook produced the extremely unique Darkest Dungeon.
@@KaNawogirusa What InchonDM said. :)
I would add to the list Mark of the Ninja as my favourite Klei game.
Everyone will have their favourites and there are plenty of games to choose from. I have never played, but hear great things about Papers, please; Salt & Sanctuary; Dead Cells; Cuphead and many more.
But if you are looking for other smaller and more unique/experimental titles I would recommend looking up the publishers Paradox Interactive and Devolver Digital. Out of all of the "proper" publishers those are the ones willing to take risks on smaller "indie" titles.
They produced things like Magica and Helldivers from Arrowhead for example.
KaNawogirusa I’d add Invisible Inc. for Klei, for a really unique take on making a turn based stealth game, with an Xcom kind of system. Especially a rare example of a stealth game where the guards don’t forget they spotted an intruder.
The speech bubbles in Into the Breach were an amazing touch. Something so simple creates so much immersion. Every single time I play, I'm in the mind set of protecting the people more than just the actual cities they're in. Can't wait for their next game!!
Into the Breach is so underrated and underappreciated, the design, the mechanics, the music, the FTL references, everything is pleasant. Thank you guys, can't wait for your next games.
There's references!?
@@brad5426 There are pilots you can obtain from strange pods. Those pilots are from the FTL universe (one of them for example is a Zoltan)
Into the Breach excelled in so many ways... but what surprised me the most was it's achievements. I've never considered myself an achievement hunter, and that's largely because I've never found a game in which they feel "right." All too often they are either pure "gimmies" (defeat Act 1 boss!) are littered with RNG, or worse... are hidden outright. With ItB, though, every single achievement feels like you've actually accomplished something. Sure, there are a few easy ones you may get by accident, and few are truly difficult if you put in the time, but by and large, they all take a concerted effort to obtain.
Not only is ItB the first and only game I've 100%'d, it's also the only game to date that I can legitimately say I enjoyed doing achievements in.
It's my understanding that achievements like " All too often they are either pure "gimmies" (defeat Act 1 boss!) " are there to check how many players get that far in a game. Sometimes you get an achievement just for finishing the tutorial for example, or even just starting the game.
I think its one of the only games i have actually hunted for the achievements, but its mostly because you need to complete them to buy the mech squads
Yeah, that's a big element of FTL/Into the Breach design. I'm surprised they didn't touch it in the video.
I can quote this. Every words.
These guys are a treasure to the world of indie gaming. After these two games, I'm 100% on board with anything they make. The GDC Postmortem that Matthew did out last week is definitely worth watching too if you like this.
link? Always add a link.
@@MRApht Hey, try not to be a dick - "postmortem" in this context isn't widely known. The video in question has less than 100k views, and I doubt many videos in the series have reached the mainstream. And no, you don't get your smug satisfaction - lmgtfy isn't some secret, and no one's going to be clicking that link when the terms are in the link text.
@@robosergTV FTL: ua-cam.com/video/P4Um97AUqp4/v-deo.html
Into the Breach: ua-cam.com/video/s_I07Iq_2XM/v-deo.html
"Everything that we ever make will be smaller than FTL"
That's such a depressing way to put things.
And not even necessarily true.
I sure hope so.
Why? Is small bad?
They don't look saddened at the slightest when they say this. If anything this thought helps them keep their sanity and independent perspective on game dev. They will not be pressured by overwhelming expectations, investors, fan service etc bullshit that happens in the larger studios and often ruins franchises. They will remain creatively free to experiment and not feel the obligation to be successful on a grand scale which usually just stales the gaming market.
I don't think by bigger they meant bigger budget, I think they meant it won't have a bigger impact on the medium / culture of games as ftl.
FTL is still in my opinion the greatest indie game of all time
I love it to death but Spelunky keeps the crown for me. I'd even give FTL the edge on concept and design as Spelunky is far more the culmination of decades of existing platformers and roguelike gameplay elements while FTL is incredibly unique (outside of boardgames which I know little about). Still, Spelunky brought me as much joy as Super Mario Bros 3 did as a small child - just with more fury and masochism.
I agree. FTL is a masterpiece.
Ftl is right up there next to dwarf fortress for me. Df just needs to be polished a bit more
@@gemstonegynoid7475 I must agree here, even though personally I had more fun with ftl overall, dwarf fortress' scope and ambition is awe inspiring.
fantastic game!
Those two are the chillest freaking dudes. After seeing this I just want all their games to be massively successful.
I just love how they bounce ideas off each other and finish each other’s sentences, they must work so well together, it’s kinda heartwarming
Into the breach was the chess I never knew I needed. I got it for free, had never heard of it, played it once and it became my main game for weeks. Easily one of if not my favorite single player strategy game.
9:30 The Smoke Squad in Into the Breach are probably the strongest in the game, so many opportunities to prevent all potential damage with smoke
And they have really good upgrades, like the one for the plane, to bombard 2 areas to eletro-smoke the vermins.
Sorry, Bad English.
They are very strong although I think frozen titans (especially with mafan or Bethany) are still stronger than them since freezing is so powerful.
But on the other hand killing power wise rusting hulks are almost unrivalled (especially with Kaz in the science mech)
@@Phantom_Kraken Are the Rusting Hulks the first ones you get given? They did seem very good
@@Table53
The cheapest squad to buy is the rusting hulks(so yes there practically your first new squad) and like I said they are very good honestly extremely good I’d go as far as to argue they have no weaknesses.
So I wouldn’t bat an eye at anyone thinking there the strongest but I think frozen titans shouldn’t be discounted as a contender for number 1.
@@Krizalid3YE I love that all there upgrades are strong with each mech having so many you can get it makes each run unique because you can spec into so much
Nice, recommend watching the GDC talk for some more info.
FTL is a damn masterpiece. Maybe my favorite game. And it's completely timeless. I'll be playing for the rest of my life!
I like it but I'm freaking terrible at it. Only seen the final ship twice and never gotten it down.
@@Barthedanz played the game for 700+ hours, I've won 20 times. I didn't win for the entire first 500 hours. You'll get there in the end (my win rate is lower than 0.01%)
“The first half of the first half, and the second half of the second half” is a nice insight.
Two incredibly intelligent game designers. What a fascinating look into how they operate. You can tell from FTL and Into the Breach that they have insane eyes for detail and an impressive methodology.
Only developers with a perfect record in my book
Two amazing game designers! Two games created, two very unique masterpieces!
Hey @Noclip! The game Factorio is coming up on its 1.0 release, and its the second highest rated game on Steam behind Portal. A lot of folks are saying you should look into doing a story on them? The devs are incredible.
Oh damn, I broke my rule on never playing Early Access games today because I couldn't resist Factorio any more and turns out it was almost out
@@LocalContentShow it has been one of the most enjoyable early access games for some years now. but full release will be sweet. 10/10
FTL was a core part of my childhood and basically got me into sci-fi. Still one of my favorite games of all time, super cool to see the developers talk about it. Great interview 👍
Into the Breach is as close to a "perfect game" as the industry has come in my opinion, from a pure gameplay standpoint.
Facts!
wow that's a hot take
I bought it like 2 or 3 months after it came out. I STILL haven't gotten every coin and achievement. I got other games to play and stuff going on. I just love that I'm able to get hooked on it every single time I come back. I'd argue it's definitely one of the few titles that is a "Perfect Game"
For a game design perspective I also think it's a perfect game
The soundtrack to Into the breach might be my favourite soundtrack ever, shout outs to Ben Prunty!
FTL is such a great game.
Into the breach it's one of the best strategic games i played,I really like that we have to deal with tough decision like corateral damage and that's become really challenging.Thanks for that awesome game
It's good, but I'd call it a puzzle game more than I would a strategy game
@@Table53 The distinction is fuzzy at best.
@@LazyMaybe I think it's the scale that makes the difference. A 'strategy game' usually implies that the player can strategise, coming up with multiple plans to win and then executing one.
Into the Breach on the other hand doesn't let players strategise, it's all about players reacting to a situation on the board. The gameplay of Into the Breach is almost identical to the 'gameplay' of newspaper chess puzzles.
@@Table53 have you played into the beach? It's all about making strategies, for example you can choose to damage your enemy or push it, or receive damage yourself, etc etc.... It's all about choices, there is never only one way to solve a level
@@KaNawogirusa I have, quite extensively. I wrote a full video on it too. I appreciated the game for a while, but it definitely doesn't feel like a strategy game to me. Those choices to damage and enemy or to push it are quite simple and usually its easy to work out what the best choice is, so easy in fact that sometimes it feels like you don't really get to choose at all. For example, if you had the choice to move a Vek and prevent building damage or damage a different Vek, you will always choose to prevent the building damage. The choice is there, but not really, because there was only one move that makes sense. That's why it feels like a puzzle to me, because instead of choosing how to defend you're finding that 'correct' move (in my example the one that prevents building damage) and playing that move. Finding the correct solution and plugging it in is the mechanic of a puzzle game.
Chess puzzles are puzzles which use the mechanics of chess to create interesting chess themed puzzles. Into the Breach uses the _mechanics_ of a turn based strategy game to create strategy game themed puzzles.
I think it's pretty amazing how these two completely different games still feel related. They have a signature design style that shines through.
Into the Breach is such an overlooked masterpiece IMO it’s one of the best strategy games ever made.
This guys give me so many hours of pure hapiness! i come back to FTL and Into the Breach every year! Thanks to you, and Ben prunty is a genius, his part of the pleasure obviusly!
the second that FTL soundtrack hit i got nailed with a wave of nostalgia. what a wonderful game.
Interesting the developers thought FTL was easier for gamers to get the core concept than ITB, I found it the opposite.
Awesome video :) ! They're such great game creators.
Hey I recently found out about your channel and been following it ever since, I really enjoyed your 7 days game challenge video, keep up the good work.
Into the Breach and FTL got me excited about games again!
Pretty humble guys.
FTL is such a masterpiece. Come on, give us part 2, there are so many ways to expand the game, new weapons/races/systems/events/ and so on. Oh and new music by Ben Prunty of course.
The Captain's Edition mod might scratch that itch. There's a ton of additional content but ultimately it wasn't for me.
FTL Multiverse = FTL 2.0
Thanks. I now get Into the breach as a concept. It's not just low tech XCom. I'll consider buying it.
#worth
Why everyone thinks that xcom when they see a turn based strategy game? In this instance, xcom and into the breach are not even close. Please be more open people.
@@muratcanagic I think that for many people who aren't super deep into the strategy genre, Xcom might be the only game like this they've ever seen. So with no frame of reference, they can't imagine how a game that looks so similar could play so differently.
@@HatMachine yeah exactly :)
Muratcan Agiç It defines a genre, like the way one might say ‘A Souls style game’ or ‘rougelike’ which is literally in reference to the game Rouge.
FTL and Into The Breach are at the top of the list of favourite games. The randomness gives them eternal playabiltiy.
These men made two of my top 50 favorite games. Easily two of the best ive played in a few years. The replay value is amazing.
Man, FTL is one of my favorite games ever, I had sooooo hoped they made a second one.
These two are really sharp. It's rare that people can build like this and also have a great understanding of player psychology.
Genius devs. Into the breach wasn't as enjoyable to me as FTL was at first, but it grew on me so much as I kept playing, all thanks to those 'aha' moments and incredible information.
I love these 2 guys. Into the breach is litterally the only game i have on my portable PC. Thanks a lot for the documentary.
I love the fact that they just make a game that they themselves are enjoying. I guess that's the benefit of being small. You can make decisions quick, very versatile, and simple.
I have FTL though havent played yet, however, Into The Breach blew me away. Finished it twice and still yearn to go back and play again and again. ITB & Bad North Jotuun Edition, these two games have been the best games I have played this year.
Oo this should be a good one. Some of my all time favourite indie games!
I love how 'on the same page' these two devs are. That is so seriously key for a small team, for not only advancing a concept, but also doing so efficiently, where you can say to the other person, "Hey I think this work well because of 'x'" and have the other teammate understand and agree and get to work to implement the ideas/changes. As a musician it reminds me a lot of making music. The more you can 'get' what another person is suggesting, the more you'll not only appreciate and respect the input, but also know how to quickly integrate it into what you were already working on. Love this sort of stuff. Keep it up NoClip crew. Y'all are really doing an amazing job and giving us a look behind the scenes that I think gamers really want and need, especially in this age of outrage and ignorance about what really goes on.
@Noclip: Great work, as always! If you're still taking suggestions, especially on indie games, I'd love to see something on Team Cherry, the extremely talented and amazingly generous developers behind "Hollow Knight"! Preferably something long and in-depth, but a short clip about their design philosophies would be very much appreciated as well! :)
Steel Judokas was hell but also the most gripping campaign for me playing Into the Breach. Thank you for making such wonderful games I look forward to see what you guys can cook up next!
These guys are my heroes. This is the kind of game design you don't get anymore... people making games because they like that kind of game, and want to play it. And how they're saying that any further games they make will probably be smaller than FTL. That is anathema to the modern 'number must always go up' game industry.
FTL is still to this day my favorite game. I still love playing it and really wish you guys would make another expansion for it. I also really enjoy Into the Breach but FTL just keeps pulling me back to it.
Thank you for the content you guys make. :)
every time i hear the main theme of FTL i just feel happy!
I remember before into the breach was announced, i emailed subset asking if they were working on a future project. I was pretty disappointed when i didnt get a response for a few days, but then got an email from one of their employees saying they were sorry for the delay, but they couldnt say anything until then and i was the first person outside their office they got to tell about the game. They seemed so excited to be able to share it and that someone was asking. I love subset games so much.
What did they say about a future game title?
Yes. Good. Now is the time to get really, really into 'Into the Breach'. I was wondering which game I was going to pick that I hadn't had time for yet, but this has helped me decide. Oh, and remembering how incredible the soundtrack is.
This two guys are genius! FTL and ITB are little masterpieces in gaming. Thx!
I have like 40 hours in FTL and I still haven't beaten it. I always make it to phase three of the boss and die.
I was like 70 hours in when i got my first victory lmao
The most important part is to focus fire on the missiles to keep them down, it makes all a whole lot easier, if you get cloak the special barrage attack is a joke
@@rompevuevitos222 for sure, all my victories thus far have been with the cloak which is why I want to get one without it now
My first win was after 150 hours.
@@Kosaro1234 Without the cloak you'll need something else to sustain damage, repair drones and defense drones MK2 can help a lot
You can use a high damage build with Chainguns and pre-igniters to kill before you take much damage, Hull missiles also do the trick and are less energy hungry
If you wipe the crew before third phase you can cheat the fight with a Lanius crew member
Bring SOME sort of missile at least in the first 2 phases to keep their missiles down
These guys inspired me to try my hand at making games. Dreams from Media Molecule has given me the tools in a way I can get started, but Subset Games proved that a handful of people can make INCREDBILE games. Thanks for covering them guys, and showing us the inside of their mindset when deciding on how to make these games.
I've never clicked on a video so fast. A well-deserved documentary for a great dev team.
I literally did the same thing
Coming back to this video now that they announced Advanced Edition for Into the Breach: thank you Subset Games you guys are awesome. And thank you Ben for the great music, I hope we'll get more tracks!
I’m amazed at how they work style is not building but rather discovering. Like two archeologist they keep digging until they uncover a fossil, that ends up being the core of the game.
I love game dev :)
Great stuff, these guys are brilliant, and seemingly good at self-examinination. Innovation is a sign of real greatness, and it would seem their design choices and work ethic yields it in spades. It's inspiring.
I can not wait to see what they come out with next! I'll be playing FTL and ITB for life.
I love Into the breach with every fiber of what is considered to be soul. It is no tower defence, and it is no base builder like Starcraft or Warcraft. Revolurionized chess where you pieces are not limited to certain movement, with despite having simple mechanics like push/damage, damage, immobilize, push or pull, insta kill is actually pretty complex. And enemies are an intresting bunch. The best part is that you do so much (incredible arsenal with good variety), while having less (literally 3 mechs); whereas the enemy is quite opposite (I mean you fight tons of hornets, leapers, bouncers, scarabs etc. mostly), while having a lot. There is so much I love about it. I haven't seen anything like this before, and it always hypes me up whenever I boot this game
"Into the Breach" is awesome and I love it more than FTL
Hearing about developers making games for themselves is such an inspiration, it genuinely makes me happy in a way I can't fully describe.
It is all ways a good day when there is a new Noclip doc.
Why isn't FTL on the Google play store? I've bought it on steam and apple (I own an iPad). Please consider the Google play store 🙏
i wish it was there too, then i could play it whereever i am! it would be so great to play ftl while walking to school or while on the toilet!
I think because of how license work they cant get it on google. They would have to get a seperate license with each brand of phone that uses google play.
For me it was the opposite: I got into ItB a little easier than FTL. Perhaps because I like logic-based puzzles/strategy. In FTL I kinda had to fail a few times before I figured out what's what because you face the consequences many minutes or sometimes hours later. In ItB all the information you need is in front of your eyes.
Into the Breach is a fantastic strategy game. I’ve never played anything like it before, and I’m enjoying the hell out of it. Fantastic work you two!
"Savings to work for a year" I cannot even comprehend.
I have never fallen in love with a game as quickly as I did with Into the Breach.
I know there are mods, and a second "version" would never possibly capture the same feeling/first time experience, but I would love to one day see a FTL:2 with more animations, upgraded visuals, new mechanics, etc.
One can only dream.
I only wish that if a FTL 2 is made, the luck factor is completely removed in a similar way to how Into the Breach does it
Would really like a Switch port for FTL.
On the note of Into the Breach doing better than expected, advertising it in FTL was a genius bit of marketing.
10:01 "The mech squads are tutorials, designed to introduce the new mechanics, the smoke, the fire, in a way that forces the player to engage with that mechanic." 👏
By making progression about breadth (mastering each squad's mechanic) than the depth (unlocking semi-linear skill trees), Into the Breach makes _the player_ better with _every_ squad. It's unusual and very cool. Imagine if Mario Cart had that… 🤔
FTL is probably in my top 3 favorite games of all time
Two my favourate games ever, right up there with Command and Conquer for me
FTL is a masterpiece as is.
The idea that they once had a mechanic for piloting the ship yourself is pretty cool, although it makes sense why they did away with it
Couldn’t ask them for a Switch port of FTL could you....I’ve put over 150 hours in the PC version. I would buy it again for Switch. Just like I did for Darkest Dungeon.
Ruin as come to our family!
I also bought that for the switch
And would also buy ftl
But ftl without mouse would be very tricky to play
TheMatrixster true, but the switch does have a touch screen.
TheMatrixster Mario Maker 2 is tv comparable. Everything is now done via menus, as opposed to the touch screen.
@@thematrixster it's a pause heavy game and, thus, easy to play with controllers.
FTL on iPad is actually very fun. Control are solid, plays great. I think it’d fit right in on the switch.
Loved hearing about their approach: it;s usually,done like this so what if we did it like this completely different: now let’s find how to make that fun.”
It is so funny that FTL did so many good things in my gaming experience. I didn’t like Rougelike games, FTL made me love them. Because I could play FTL on iPad i SOLEY got an iPad Mini, later the iPad Mini became my most favourite device ever (preordered the Mini 6). I played FTL for countless houres. Then I discovered Into the Breach which I also played much but as it came out in iPad I literally didn’t stopped playing since the release. Thank you guys for these epic games!
I'm not much of a puzzle, strategy, or tactics game player, but Into the Breach blew my mind. I had 40 hours played in the first week! It's incredibly fun on so many levels.
This is such a motivating video that now I wanna make my own turn based strategy game.
I LOVE Into The Breach. Thank you guys.
Im in love with the style of ftl, I often design ftl like ship and other stuff. Its just Beautyfull
I don't think I've ever played anything quite like FTL. I'm sure there are bigger budget games out there that try to go for that Star Trek battle simulation thing, but the pace and vibe and sense of urgency and the music all come together to make a very special product. These guys are talented.
FTL didn't quite work for me, but I recently got Intro the breach and I love it
Into the Breach is so good
Two absolute gems. And the games are just as great!
I’ve put more hours into FTL than almost any other game I own. I wish there’s more content planned for it, or at least a similar game.
Arent there mods you can download?
Into The Breach is an amazing successor to Faster Than Light. I wish it received as much attention as it is my favourite subset gsme.
From someone that plays a lot of strategy games and these games are both masterpieces.
Two of my favorite games of all time!
I have 165 hours on into the breach, it’s my favourite game ever. This is an awesome vid!!
Indie games > tripple A games. You buy a game, and there you have it. NO p2w, NO Microtransactions, NO toxic community. Just awesome people that have one thing in common: Have fun while playing! This reminds me of the good old times when I grew up with a SNES and a Gameboy Advance SP
Thanks for this video, i didn't know they made another game. Hope FTL will have a sequel
They should hire the cosmoteer guy and make FTL 2
Into the breach is so good !
Love it on switch
More of this kind of stuff please. This the good shit
Great documentary!