How One Programmer Created Gaming's Most Complex Ecosystem

This Rain World documentary details the development of indie 2D pixel art survival platformer Rain World and goes behind the scenes of its creation. Discover more about developer Videocult and its two founders, Joar Jakobsson and James Primate. The very first prototype of Rain World was made in 2011, back when Joar was still studying graphic design in Sweden. The initial idea was to make a platformer character that wasn’t standing upright, like Mario for instance, and instead create something that could fall, tumble and crawl. Moreover, he wanted to create a small ecosystem by placing three types of creatures in the same level. The documentary also explores all the design decisions that Videocult made and shows how Joar had difficulties deciding between making a linear game or an open world game.

It also takes a close look at all the hurdles the team had to go through. Creating an ecosystem that perpetually exists, combined with numerous complicated AI systems, proved challenging for Joar, who was doing all the programming by himself. He created a system called “the abstract creature framework” to make sure off-screen creatures could still move around and interact with each other. Additionally, in the middle of development, the team switched from using the programming language Lingo to using C#, as well as moving all the code and assets over to Unity. This whole process took over a year to complete. Furthermore, James had to discard over 50 audio tracks when he decided to completely overhaul the soundtrack after the game had gone through multiple changes and now no longer matched the initial chiptune inspired music. Lastly, Joar and James share some advice for aspiring indie developers and the documentary takes a look at what’s next for Videocult.

0:00 Part 1
5:40 Ad
6:43 Part 2

References:

Script written by Anine Van de Ryck.

Outro song: Thank You R.G.E. - Joe Bagale

#RainWorld #Videocult #GameDevelopment

[kron]

He didn't want to make a hard game, he wanted to make a game that simulated an ecosystem that your character is at the botton of, he just forgot that life is hard when you're at the botton of the food chain.

[UnderAvg]

I love the fact that the modding team was just contacted by the developers and everything they created became incorporated into the main game.

[monosodium-glutamate]

Rain World is and always will be one of my favourite games for all reasons a game can be loved. Seeing this all start from one guy over the course of so many years is so inspiring, and fascinating.

[spiritwicc]

Rain World deserves all the praise it gets, from its very conception its always been different, there's truly nothing even close to it. With the release of Downpour the game practically tripled in size, for cheaper than you can buy the base game, it almost feels criminal how much game you're getting

[MetricGuard]

The fact that Rain World was programmed by just one guy is unfathomably impressive; the creature AI especially puts even the AI found in multi-million dollar efforts made by hundreds to shame. There's this one development story that James told in a comment on the Steam forums that vividly illustrates just how well-programmed the AI of Rain World is. The devs tested to see what would happen when they break the limbs of a White Lizard to make sure it chooses to avoid climbing walls in an impaired state. They were then shocked to see that, with all its limbs broken, it began PULLING ITSELF ALONG WITH ITS TONGUE. "It was SPOOKY AF", James said.

As a game that's completely unshackled from the expectations of both a narrow-minded mainstream audience and an avaricious publisher, Rain World likely won't reach the level of success it deserves. Regardless, I really do hope more people—game developers in particular—become aware of Rain World and what it does. The key to soaring to greater heights is knowing where the peak is.

Anyway, great video. I'm no expert when it comes to the development history of the actual best game of 2017, so it's nice to have the key details condensed into a 28-minute video.

[benox]

From the art to the tech, Rain World is one if not the biggest indie achievement, an immersive and challenging journey I will never forget

[Envoiden]

THIS is the purest definition of a passion project. You don't just go, "I think people will like this" and run from there. You stare at - sink years into - a visual/mechanical art project and do not stray from what you know you love, if you know it is what you want. Just looking at the 8-12 layers of combat music design, depending on proximity and threat level, is an argument in itself. When they could have finished something, they continued to add more because they WANTED to. They didn't think, "That'll do!" - they thought, "What ELSE is there to do?"

That is why AAA games underwhelm the populace on a highly frequent basis, and why games like this tend to supersede the standard; a lot of them make games for money; teams like this aim for self-actualization.

[raghuvaidya]

Rain world has always been such a fascinating world to explore and to think it all came from the mind of a single guy, wow!

[vaakdemandante]

the AI engine in this game could be a whole separate product on its own, simply astonishing

[CableSpark]

I love to see this game getting attention. I played it when it came out, pirated, I was a kid and my parents didn't want to buy me games, so I could only do that.

I was stuck inside of Outskirts for almost two weeks. Still loved the game and perfectly understood its intention of not spoonfeeding the player with info and tutorials, so I didn't look a walkthrough and just enjoyed investigating the region and the creatures' behaviours, trying to understand them by my own.

Then things happened and I lost my pc, months later I got it back, but I had to reboot it, I'm not american and at the time i didn't know much english, so I couldn't remember the name of the game.

Then, years later, around 2021, I saw it while scrolling through steam, I bought it and had one of the most magical experiences I've ever had with a videogame. I'm playing Downpour rn, and it's the same feeling again.

This tiny world inside of my computer is really special to me, and even though I like a couple games even more, I think that, objectively, Rain World is one of the best games ever made, and it has the best worldbuilding from any other piece of media that, at least I, have ever consumed.

[earflapphat]

Rain World is truly one of a kind. The game perfectly makes you feel that you are just any other creature trying to survive the harsh environment, and get to a shelter before the rain comes. It makes the game frustrating, unfair, flawed, and I’m all for it. Since the creature spawns change every cycle, it keeps the game fresh every time you leave a shelter, because you’ll never know what danger could lead around every corner. Great video!

[dawnofbirb]

love to see this masterpiece getting the attention it deserves.

[captaincuttlefish]

I always wanted to know more in-depth on the process behind rain world, and now I can learn more! Excited to watch!

[tamkish]

Akapura getting the game from Adult Swim Games and doing it justice with all the new marketing is really cool. Rain World now receives all the attention it deserves and I'm all here for it.

[Sinnamonsters]

Hi, I'm a speedrunner for this game! This video was absolutely fantastic, and summarized the development of Rain World really well, especially without having spoiled anything about the game. It's always amazing to see creators making videos and showcasing this game, as it's been my all time favourite for quite some time now.
It's unfortunate that it's stayed so niche for so long, but that just makes seeing content of the game so much better, thank you very much for making this video!

[TheCrayzeerayquaza]

Rain world was the first game in a long time to really draw my attention and get me truly invested, wanting to overcome the challenges and learn more about the hidden lore and complex mechanics.

[Northflowo]

I can completely understand scrapping the pups from the original game :D I have 200 hours in this game and I still struggle to keep those brats alive

[ledumpsterfire]

What a surprise, game journalists rate another game poorly because they suck at games, which risks burying a game that people might've loved simply because they're unqualified and incompetent in their job. Glad it didn't pan out that way on this one. RIP Alien: Isolation 2

[ejmc]

Rain world was one of the most profound gaming experiences I've ever had, and this video just makes me appreciate it even more.

[bogged]

Wow, I had literally just picked this game up a couple months ago, played it non stop since then and beat all the slugs campaigns. Seriously one of the best games ever made no exaggeration