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This OMORI documentary details the development of the indie role-playing video game OMORI and goes behind the scenes of its creation. Discover more about its director Omocat and the team she assembled to create their first indie game. Growing up, Omocat fell in love with both anime and drawing art and eventually became known as “the artist” in high school. During her years in college studying to become a professional artist, she started a webcomic featuring a boy she named Omori. Eventually, Omocat felt Omori needed to leave the white space he had been stuck in and embark on a bigger adventure.
The documentary also explores all the design decisions that Omocat and her team made and shows how a one-year Kickstarter project turned into a six-year Kickstarter project. It also takes a close look at all the hurdles the team had to go through. From grossly underestimating the amount of work it takes to make a video game, and having to deal with frustrated Kickstarter backers, to switching to a newer version of RPG Maker which caused a lot of technical difficulties that halted production. Additionally, the ever increasing scope of the game caused Omocat to throw out lots of finished art, slowing down development even more. Lastly, the documentary takes a look at what’s next for Omocat and if we’ll see more OMORI related content in the future.
0:00 Part 1
5:31 Ad
6:52 Part 2
References:
thatguyglen.fun/video/how-omo...
Outro song: Thank You R.G.E. - Joe Bagale
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#OMORI #Omocat #GameDevelopment
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I hope hytale comes back from the dead and does something like this
Goofy ahhhhhhhh
As a game dev student something that is always told to me is never make your dream game first. It's a miracle Omocat released Omori at all.
I was told never to make mine at all, probably never will because ideas for a "dream game" are typically so overscoped lmao but it's fun to write about ambitious projects even if you know you're nowhere near capable enough to make it yourself. I just want to make games that help people like games helped me, that's all really. I used to have great ambitions for being an up-and-coming indie dev, but now I've learned how many fundamentals those people have to learn from working in the industry themselves first. I'll work on other teams to start, then once I feel comfortable (and have groundwork done for a solo/small team game) branch out and maybe do my own thing. College is helping though, and maybe I'll feel confident in my own skills eventually. I do agree with you though, I don't know how small teams produce work like that. It baffles me knowing I've worked in similar groups.
The animator Lauren Faust said something like "Everyone has 10,000 bad drawings in them and you push them out before you get to the good stuff". And I'm sure that's true for game development as well. Your first video game is going to suck, hurry up and crank it out so you can get started on the second, third one etc. The you can start thinking about having a passion project.
A game dev student?
@@hayond656 there are courses and degrees for this. you can be self taught or actually get a professional degree for game development.
@@HannaYuuki that's cool
People need to learn what kickstarter is, cause they look so stupid demanding refunds because the project isn’t done fast enough. You aren’t buying the game, you are helping fund the project, and one of the problems is some projects are delayed or fall through. These people get so entitled because they put $10 to help fund a project.
Yeah, seeing the comments on the kickstarter throughout the video was infuriating.
kickstarters have a bad rep, but goddamn are people/gamers cruel. like, she should've just released the project half-baked and unfinished instead??
@@proxibomb4913 and have multiple youtubers criticize the game for the high amount of bugs that are fixed in a few patches but at that point no one plays anymore because of the bad rep the game got from launch like 80% of triple A games these days
I think the reason people got upset was just because Omocat was not giving them updates, which I think is fair. It's fine to be upset when you think you've just had your money taken and the person you gave it to goes radio silent. But people also need to understand that this is what it is like being an investor. YOU willingly gave that money. YOU should also be aware of the risk that comes with the game development process. If that is not money you are comfortable giving to someone else and sitting on with minimal updates, then do yourself a favor and DON'T FUND IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. *Especially* given that Omocat was completely new to game development. She was doing the best she could. This wasn't a triple A company or a group that had experience.
@@ApexGale doing the best she could is a severe overstatement, but I agree that people are absolutely ridiculous
I think Omocat's struggle with communicating to their Kickstarter backers is an example of why it's important to hire a pr/social media manager. If Omori was inspired by her own introvertedness and reclusiveness, then it's no wonder she struggled with that aspect.
I agree with your statement
you just wanna get hired dirty pr
well said 100% agree
Sometimes I wonder if making a Kickstarter at all is even worth it. You have to hire a person to communicate with backers, you have to fullfil all the rewards (seems like a huge time and money waster), and you have to meet the expectations of people that gave you money because they believed in your project. And anyway usually the Kickstarter's money is never enough to actually make a game. Shovel Knight got around $300K and yet the actual cost of the game is more than a million. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the budget for Omori came from Omocat's shop.
@@monog0n an advice I've heard about Kickstarter is to do it once a game is already 75% done, or something like that. In that case, yeah, a lot of the cost would be out of pocket until you get to that 75% mark.
That poor girl, I can't imagine the stress she went through. But I'm glad she endured and could publish her dream game!
Heh. DREAM game.
@@zdzichukalafior8287 funni quote :)
Yes, the same person who got to be able to work with big IPs, such as Hatsune Miku, and Yo Kai Watch and sold so much clothing.
Honestlyー It's so sad to see the *_lack_* of empathy and faith in humans. Unfortunately, it also _reeks_ of people who have _been_ hurt themselves...
@@-king-1230 so? Or just because she worked with several big IP she stopped being a human being and her rights to feel stressed got taken away? Or what? She worked hard and it paid off. No need to be envy unless you worked just as hard as her.
I am so glad I got to enjoy and love Omori on its own, without knowing about all the drama leading up to its release.
Same. I didn't even hear about the drama until after I watched a playthrough of the entire good ending.
damn i didnt know about this at all too. makes me appreciate the developers more. I played it blindly without knowing anything prior other than omori is a phenomenal game, i tried it and it is greatest game i ever played since long time.
Yeah, I ship Sunny and Something btw
@@thegoldendiamond6762 is this really the place you want to bait lmfao
me too, I never saw a single bug
the fact that they were working so hard for people to play their game and they were getting backlash for not being work bots is so heartbreaking. As a programmer myself, I know you can't just pump a huge RPG game like omori in just a year with such a small team. Man why were so many people so impatient and just rude.
Communication in this instance is key. No matter how hard they are working, it doesn't matter if all the investors see is literally nothing and complete radio silence. Part of the work when creating a crowdsourced product is proper communication with the people that pledged to make it happen.
Yeah, its just some thousands dollar amirite? They should sit there and wait for the game without knowing any process in years.
I think its fair if you're investing money into the project you should at least be updated on what the progress is which a lot of comments were asking for at least a response over a refund. I've seen plenty of kickstarters take money and go silent for years. You should know the risk of investing ofc but I don't think they were unjustified for in what is just simply bad communication.
@@LostAeon people still be hating on the developers and game kinda crazy tbh
@@trulybruhmoment4927 they were given a lot of updates by Omocat. and I mean a lot
This development story is by far the most heartbreaking you ever taled us. Such dedication to a project is truly admirable...
600 likes and no replies damn
624 likes and 1 reply damn
@@cyleorn 628 likes and 2 replies damn
@@justrandomguy8559 bruh
Don't feel bad. omocat has done some heinous shit in the past.
11:51 When I heard this I literally said "YES!" out loud. I cannot tell you how long I have been a proponent for the idea that Gamemaking is an artistic medium for creativity and should be considered an art but people usually don't even fathom the idea.
yeah, anything can be a piece of art.
IKR!! It’s a piece of creativity, it’s art
Most people don't mention the idea because it's obvious. Or because they're old and jaded
Right? There’s a famous guy who i can’t remember the name of who said that ‘videogames will never be art’ Bs, it’s just as much art as musical theatre is art. Both have multiple dimensions, music, visuals, writing, choreography and so much more.
@@AnEmu404 it was Roger Ebert, a famous movie critic. And he walked back on that opinion when he got some backlash. He also all but redacted his statement when he played a particular game that changed his opinion. Why a random movie critic's ignorant words about video games have survived so long, I'll never know.
Damn, I feel bad about the amount of stress and pressure that was put on her, but I REALLY respect how she didn’t release the game until it was perfect and presentable. Many people would have caved and thrown out a half baked product but omocat cared about the result not the money. Huge respect there
You do know it released with plenty of bugs right? Kinda lame it did after 6 and a half years of dev time.
@@SmittyWerbenJag3rmanJenson I mean, to be fair, it is very difficult to look through 20 hours of game time to find a bug in its code, no matter how many programmers there are in the game.
This reminds me of no man's sky the team was pressured into releasing their game early and when it game out it had so many problems to the point where there was not even a multi-player mode but now the game is playable and very fun
Omocat and other indie developers like Toby Fox and ConcernedApe makes me feel like my dream of making my own game feel so much closer to reality
I'm already working on 2 fanmade roblox doors games and let me tell you they are going to be epic and you'll probably love them ......... if they even release as I have school and at home stuff I have to deal with so the project might get postponed or canceled as I can't finish developing them if they don't I'll make an analog horror arg based off of them but even that might get canceled so may as well try to make it happen
I have no ideas for my game Help me :/
@@seekgaming5534 keep going bro! don’t stop until it’s finished, and if it doesn’t work out, don’t give up! if this game was able to be an absolute smash hit after 7 years yours can be too!
same
@@bethgerong186 try to make a remake of sfoth 4 with the design of the towers being based of the tds sfoth map as practice for coding and building
Honestly, I feel like, during the game's dev time, everyone is at a lose-lose situation. You can't completely blame Omocat for the slow progress due to the experience and mental health issues. At the same time, you can't also blame the frustrated backers since there isn't a clear communication and there was already popular cases of kickstarters sounding promising, only to end up as a scam.
granted some of those comments probably didn't need to come off so meanspirited, so I don't have much sympathy for those ones. Like just shouting "Give me a refund I don't care anymore!" like one of them jsut makes them come off like a jackass, especially now with hindsight with the game actually coming out.
@@sarafontanini7051 Why? It's someone being given no information and seeing no progress on something they gave money for. It's not super nice but can you really expect them to not be frustrated at that point?
@@fluidwolf im so upset with these hypocrite that think the funders are bad guy for doing that. Like they aren't losing any money, how tf they understand what it feel to be mostlikely scammed after years without hearing any process. It's thousand of dollar and when we see omocat sold clothes, of course we lost our shit.
@@trulybruhmoment4927 honestly when you’re making clothes most of the important work is for the factories and not omocat
@@LostAeonthing is, when it comes to kickstarter, they are promised a reward. It’s not just throwing money and praying. It’s dropping some money off and being given a guarantee, which is completely different from traditional investments where people gamble on the future of a product or company. Kickstarter is to fund a product so it becomes complete. Not just throw cash to the wind and see what turns up. The buyers had every right to grow suspicious when lack of communication occurs, because they were guaranteed the end product when all requirements were met, which was the money requested.
Omori may have had a rough development, but holy shit was it worth it when the game finally released.
I think this is the only game aside from Minecraft that really made me burst out of emotions, but in different ways, as Minecraft kills you with nostalgia, Omori slaps you with regret and depression, the ending, the way the story revealed the truth to Sunny, it's really heartbreaking.
mindfcrat
minfecrafft mac n cheese
mindcrasgft
Mmmmm yes
@Noah Edwards played undertale it wasnt that fun
The only mistake Omocat did was expecting her passion project to be developed rather quickly but other than that she nailed it I didn’t mind waiting years for the game I knew it eventually it would come out and damn it was worth the wait
Yeah, game development is hard. It was her first game so it’s understandable how she underestimated the process. Especially with the switch to different engines.
Also failing to communicate, they don't have to reveal stuff but they could talk about them in vague terms. Finished area 1 final scene, starting on area 2. Finished area 2 boss, working on area 2 final scene. A simple explanation like this can mean the world to people.
@@Buglin_Burger7878 Yeah a lack of communication can be really really bad and makes thing a lot worse for projects like this. If people see nothing happening and the dev goes radio silent, especially on a platform known to have a lot of scams, of course they are going to get upset.
@@Buglin_Burger7878 team cherry ians
I was following omocat on tumblr for years but somehow never encountered her Omori stuff until the game came out
15:19 "but omocat had already acknowledged how difficult it was to gauge how long development will actually take, because she keeps coming up with new ideas to enhance the game." *this reminds me an awful lot about Silksong*
unlike omori silksong is the second full game team cherry is making so they know how to handle most things, plus by now they would be polishing the game so its actually suitable for people to play
@@cabba_5950 and thing that makes me even more hype is OMORI came out to be absolutely amazing when they just kept on adding things, and even if the release date was pushed back SEVERAL times, it was worth it because OMORI became just a masterpiece. Team Cherry has the same mindset as Omocat and their team had when creating OMORI, TC just keeps on adding more and more things to the game, and that's why it hasn't been released yet, cause TC just can't stop adding things LMAO. this tells me Silksong will become a really good game, or atleast be pretty big!
@@St4rStormy And has a similar problem of its devs going radio silent for quite a long time. It's bad enough to see every indie showcase and see no mention of it ever, twitters basically silent, and just wondering if the next release year is going to come and go with literally nothing being said.
@@fluidwolf honestly true but at this point we're past the need of any more news honestly we know it's gonna come out really soon, and if they delay the release date again so be it. but if they stay true to what that xbox showcase said then we're really close B)
Silksong... I remember that name. Why, how long has it been? I haven't heard that name in nigh on fifteen years...
When a moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie that's omori
Actually it's garden shears
@@FireyDeath4 YOU DID NOT
"You didn't always say that!"
I’m not an emotional person when it comes to video games, but OMORI just hit hard, this is the only game I’ve ever played so far that has gotten me so scared, sad, and worried for each an everyone of its main characters. I’m glad the Omocat team truly felt dedicated to the project, they hit each of their goals spit on.
If you enjoyed Omori I think you would also appreciate Undertale. You might wanna give it a chance
@@bonkjima578 i thought omori was an undertale fangame
@@spungbopscarepans it's definitely not xd
@@spungbopscarepans They're both inspired by the game Earthbound, but the games have no relation to each other.
Each time the truth got more revealed I got more stressed. I first was sad then I was tense once I learned the full truth.
i love how you undertake a new editing style with every video for every game! it really makes you stand out from other youtubers while making the video so much more engaging and it does a great job reflecting these dev stories!!
Glad to hear you appreciate the editing style! Adapting to every game’s aesthetic keeps things fun and interesting for myself so it’s always awesome to hear when people appreciate it :D
@@ThatGuyGlen yes!! you know what game i would love you to cover?? VALHEIM!!
It’s been on my list for a while, but I’m waiting until it comes out of early access ;)
@@ThatGuyGlen I love your videos so much, duuuuuude 😭😭😭 you're like one of my favourite KZheadrs and yes I love the style as well :D
@@twomur_ it's just a so good feeling for a youtuber you love read your comments
I’ve never played this game so I can’t personally speak on its quality but I always felt it was really cool how this game was basically fan made and talked about as a game inspired by earthbound and others, but instead it slowly became a game talked about in the same breath as the other games as if it was equal.
Quality wise, I think it's an amazing story with fun gameplay. It balances out a lot of things and it never really felt like a slog to get through, except for one part of headspace that's full of puzzles - but that's just because I don't like puzzles too much. The combat is fun and though it's simple, it's fun to learn and once you get the gist of using different strategies, it turns the simple gameplay into very fun encounters. Some aspects of gameplay shine the light on the psychological horror aspect of the game, and that's usually when it gets compared to games like Yume Nikki. The story in my opinion is what I'd call tragically heartwarming, and I don't really want to build on that because you can't talk too much about the game's story without spoiling parts of it that can catch you by surprise, especially when one of the core themes of the game is Imaginary vs. Reality. overall, if you can handle dark topics that capture feelings of depression, guilt, escapism and trauma, while also tackling suicide, then I highly suggest you give the game a try. It's a fun game with a deep story and its amazing all-around. The game has genuinely given me a different outlook on a lot of things and gave me the courage to speak up about a lot of problems I've been dealing with to get help.
It takes a lot from earthbound and yume Nikki. Esp YN. It’s like someone saw YN, and decided that the concept could be developed into something with an actual story
It’s shit. Don’t play it unless it’s dirt cheap
@@dryspongeyt7353 positive steam reviews beg to differ lol
@@cornblaster7003 ah yes, the holy grail of Steam Reviews.
Great video! I personally stumbled onto Omori pretty much out of nowhere and played it on a whim, so it was really interesting to hear more about what went into its development. Omori is just one of those games where you can just feel the passion that was put into it.
Thank you, glad you liked it!
I thought it was my comment and I went ‘Hey I don’t remember commenting this…’ So uh, hello there!
I did the exact same thing! I’d seen a trailer I believe and maybe a piece of art or two, but it was enough to intrigue me. I don’t really ever buy games on a whim but I made an exception for this one. Not regretting it 😁
I stumbled it in a goofy way, basically there was this game on roblox called item asylum, which is a really goofy fighting game with hundreds of references, and the game had 2 references to omori, first is a whitespace lobby and the 2nd is a death message that you can get if you killed yourself (unintentionally or not) that said "just like mari from omori" (obviously an ironic joke). I searched about the game's death messages (there was a lot) and i looked up the reference to that death message, and i thats how i find out about omori lol
I ship Sunny and Something
I write game engines in the c programming language, the idea of having to WORK AROUND A MEMORY LEAK THAT WAS IMBEDDED IN THE ENGINE, makes me have soooooo much more appreciation for the game, and the development.
Just don't upgrade and wait for a more stable version. It's not like you're obligated to use the latest version.
Omocat is an incredible artist. I first found out about her through her fashion-focused online store, and in 2015, after being a fan of her for years, visited her physical store which used to be in San Francisco's Japantown. I don't know if the store is still there since the building has multiple stores that are a bit out of my price range now, but it was really cool. She was also really popular on Tumblr in the 2010's, and I think that's where me and many other fans first found out about her.
But she makes the most generic mass produced garbage ever.
@@nekozombie rude
@@ItsVance It's the truth. And it's made in sweatshops by the hands of practically enslaved people :(
@@nekozombie to you! There are tastes that are different than yours ^^
@@nekozombie you say that like you could do any better
Omori means a lot to me, I have 100%'d it, bought an embarrassing amount of merch, got the physical edition, and will continue to support it for a while. The story and characters mean a lot to me and is a great way of me putting together how I feel about coping with loss that I've experienced. Apart from the impact on me, it's also just a damn good game. It will forever be a 10/10 for me.
Bro i am the man, who accused CIA and USA Federal Agencies to be funding this game for their interests....
Omocat did the right thing waiting and making sure the game was finished and well put together instead of quickly putting out an unfinished game
"In terms of the story, OMOCAT decided to tackle subjects that most games don't deal with, namely depression, anxiety, fear of loss" Boy did that ever change between 2013 and the games release. It seems like that's all indie games care about showing nowadays, or at least the big ones people think of.
Ngl those darker themes are definitely played out, pun intended.
Right? When the script said "most games" I balked. No way! It's every game! Everyone is anxious and depressed these days, it's really nothing extravagant. I appreciate stories with more complex interdependent exploration. It's why I really enjoyed Undertale and Deltarune, and I think why Omori has more of a time limit before its shine wears off, whereas those games do not.
Now those themes almost feel like a gimmick to make your game seem more "deep" than it actually is
people always say this, but name 3 indie games other than Omori that have a story about mental health
@@FrazzleFlibCeleste? that's the best thing I can think of. no other 2
Honestly from my time gaming in general, I’m still baffled how much Omori really does mean to me as a game. Like the one game that I played and or in my opinion is up there with mental health is Silent Hill 2 but they’re still both not exactly the same. Omori just somewhat popped out into existence with a different premise and style while getting more and more attention latter on, props to the developers for the amount of effort.
I never miss an opportunity to stan for Silent Hill 1, 3 and 4. Not that I don't also love 2, but I just see people overlook a lot of the meaning in the other original games and seem to think 2 is the "deepest." But if you're looking for a narrative concerning mental health, abuse dynamics, and the psychological effects of these things, the other three really all have a lot to offer if you're willing to dig under the surface a bit more than people tend to do.
As someone who studied contemporary arts, I can see how this game would take so much longer than a normal game. In normal games, the art design would follow certain standard or format that can be mass produced, but this game tries to handcraft every piece as if it's a museum piece. It's like an artist's life-long work compressed into a single video game.
YES. I've been hoping for a long time that you would cover this one. It's a phenomenal game with a pretty infamous development story so I knew it was only a matter of time. I have to say you portrayed the struggle of developing this game in a much more neutral and understanding manner than other people I have seen, who have harshly critisized Omocat for being too unprepared (which admittedly they weren't _wrong_ about). I admire your professionalism and thoroughness as well. Thank you.
My pleasure, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it! I always try to come from a neutral place, but I also try to see the bigger picture and show some understanding. It's clear Omocat took on way too much work and underestimated the whole process. However, she was also still a teenager going to college when development started and had never even attempted to make a game before. When things got tough, she persevered and worked as hard as she could to make good on the Kickstarter promises and even went far beyond them. She and the team should have been more transparant, but I understand it's not always easy when you're working that hard and that long.
I never knew the struggles that omocat and the team went through to make OMORI become a reality. They should all be so proud of themselves for working tirelessly for so long to create one of the best games ever made. The video was very well edited and informative, thank you.
There's a reason why many developers never tie themselves down to a release date, because in most cases, they're never able to release it on time. It's almost always delayed by weeks, months, or even years. Unless they KNOW that the game will be ready on a certain date, then it's a bad faith practice.
I think it's an issue on both ends here. As they say, don't make your first project your passion project, and Omocat overextended herself way too much. She got a great game out in the end, but she ended up needing more funds and taking way longer than it would've if she was prepared and experienced. Her lack of communication with fans made that look even worse. However people also need to realize that a Kickstarter quite literally has a disclaimer about no guarantees. You are making an investment, not a purchase. If the creator ends up not making the game, or at least doesn't do it how you wanted, you just have to deal with it. The constant complaining from fans likely didn't help with any desire from Omocat to communicate further either.
that's not the issue. it's the fact that she didn't bother to at least update them on how it was going.
@@bloodhoundo9320 It's just not true, she updated them on the game, not a lot but she did
@@bloodhoundo9320 That's... what communication is.
@@bloodhoundo9320 Well, constant updates wouldn't be too helpful either. She had to focus on developing the game too
@@yummydragon8533 updates do not take that much effort to post
I love how you can show the development process without spoiling anything. I really like your content for that. Thank you.
My pleasure! Some people have commented in the past they enjoy my videos even if they haven’t played the game so I always try to avoid spoilers.
It’s incredible how earth bound wasn’t really a big hit game but helped shape many games like omori and undertale
i can't imagine the things the initial te went through, it's kinda crazy how for the first few years they have such a small team and that young. i'm 37 and i can't imagine having to deal with what they have to deal publicly at such age
I'm so happy that Omori got the attention it deserved. I feel like nowadays people are more aware of how long it takes to create a game but as someone who always knew the game was coming and all it needed was time was really satisfying to see come into fruition.
This whole time, I thought Omocat was a whole company. To find out it was just a single young woman behind it is amazing and crazy to think about. The hard work for a 'crazy' idea paid off. I love Omori with my whole heart and Omocat should be so happy with the impact she made on so many people.
Its both the name of the team and that woman
Uh yeah no, it is a company. In fact the credit is often falsely attributed to only Omocat, when she hired a whole team of people to help her make the game. Omocat LLC is a company, it's just owned by Omocat, the person.
@@TheAdvertisement yo it the ad
The people who demanded that Omori be released before it was finished are the exact same kind of people who were outraged that No Man's Sky and Cyberpunk 2077 were released before they were finished. Omocat was 1000% right to ignore them. If she had listened then the final product could never have been the masterpiece we got.
0:16 "im omori and i fap and play old games" wow that hit close to home
Love how all of a sudden i got into omori i have had my favorite youtubers make a video of the game very recently. It feels funny but greatly loved by me!
Y'know, based on how long it took to make Omori, what the people delt with whilst trying to make Omori, and them just trying to get people to trust them even if it took so long to make Omori, I wouldn't be surprised if Omocat and her team don't want to make another video game anytime soon (whether that'd be a prequel or sequel to Omori, or whatever). However that doesn't mean that Omocat won't make something along those lines in her new art or whatever. But yeah, based on what she and her team went through, I wouldn't be surprised if they don't make another game anytime soon, however, based on the fact that they growed quite a bit in size, a new game might come, but probably in like 3 or so years, because if you spend all/most of your life being framed as a liar, you need quite a bit of time to cope from that because otherwise you'll just be unwell for the rest of your life. So based on what she did, I think it was a pretty smart idea to take a break from making video games, until next time.
me, who has heard the whole 6 year story 30x over: me, excited to hear it again:
*Omocat: Drops A Kickstarter* Toby Fox: ah a Danger for My Career..... Let me Be a Part of it real quick
I only found omori a year or two ago, a few months before its release through the song my time. I'm glad that I could experience it without the drama and come in with an unbiased opinion. I love the game, and nothing will change that.
Omori is such an amazing game. It's one of the games that got me to write. One of the things I was writing (its been off for awhile butt the idea is still in my head) was this idea: if omori was a series and its another headspace in the same omori universe but years later. Different headpsace is a more real life version, not like a pastel like version omori is. And it's based off of things from my personal life basically. With the omori modding community expanding on the game, it's giving me more ideas to write.
I find it strange how the story that initially started as a story about depression and anxiety transitioned into a story that felt personal to the creators
It seems like the main problem that plagued this project was omocat grossly underestimating how difficult and time consuming the process of creating a video game can be. Especially when delays are being made to add even more features and ideas, engine switches, and even completing redoing the battle system from scratch are thrown in to the mix. It's honestly not a surprise that countless delays happened and nothing went according to plan considering how inexperienced the whole team was, but the passion and raw talent was shown off once the final product was released.
Imagine being a small development team and fixing a memory leak, spending as much as extra months on it only for the largest media company in the world to have it in their game
Omori has to be one of my biggest inspirstions for creating my own projects. Although not completely original story, I am currently working on a gigantic video game concept based off Mega Man Zero series. Unfortunately no one on my team knows how to program a 2D platformer so we had to roll with several tens of in-depth development documents ranging from story to gameplay and miscellaneous stuff. We are focusing more on the story since average person is more likely to find enjoyment in reading it than seeing what the game that doesn't exist could be. The whole idea came to me a year ago, after I did a Halloween drawing with one of my favorite MMX characters in MMZ style. For some reason I thought I had a few stories to tell with that version of a character, so I went for it, with the atmosphere of the story shifting quite a bit after some traumatic experiences I got almost two months after I started to develop the idea. It ended up becoming quite personal to myself, but I knew that I won't be able to do what I wanted on my own. So I asked my friends to help and luckily, they agreed, and they are doing quite an amazing job too, actually. So much so that my role ended up shifting to the director, just like OMOCAT, but it's mostly because I have problems with conveying my thoughts right in one language. I am a person who can sometimes use words from English while talking in native and make people incredibly confused, hehe. I played Omori this Summer, after the first third of the entire script got completed, but it really did inspire me to create more and it also helped me to get over some stuff I had to live with for half of the year at this point (which was depression, anxiety and fear of death developed from experiencing my father's death right in front of my eyes during the period of preparation for New Year's Eve. Omori didn't heal me entirely but I would lie if I say it didn't help me feel better. Most importantly, it gave me will to continue working on the project, as well as faith in it succeeding in finding people that will appreciate it. Me and my team are working without any budget. I also have no way to pay them for their incredible help as I live in a country cut away from international payment methods, and I don't have any urge to ask others to give me money in return for my work. I am doing it all with my friends entirely from the passion. I don't care how long it will take to finish, but I won't throw it away. I will complete it and others would be able to experience it. Maybe not as a game, but certainly as a big story with video game elements here an there. If at least 100 people will enjoy it by the end, then I can rest easy, knowing I left my mark on this great big world. I already forgot why did I start writing this... But anyways, thanks for reading it through, if you did
There is always RPG maker that you can use as a base, Lisa and Omori itself did use it (also Angels of Death but that mostly appeals to my edgyness)
@@PancakemonsterFO4 True but I had only ever considered this project to be a 2D platformer like Mega Man Zero series. All of the design documents I did so far suggest that, even though some RPG elements are still present because... it's a game with Mega Man Zero gameplay. That series had a few RPG elements if you think about it. But still, I wanted a platformer :>
@@jazzytunester oh, so you mean like braid (or the hex but that game was about games in general)? Well i'm sure there is a prewritten base for it as well
@@PancakemonsterFO4 Sure, I think. Just need to find it. And learn spriteart.
The dev team's story brought tears to my eyes! its so sad that they were working so hard yet getting blamed for things.
Omocat: "A lot of aspects of Omori reflect my personal experience." Me, in my head: "Who did they kill?"
“keeping up with something isn’t so easy. I’m sorry… I just wanted it to be perfect.”
People in the comments: "Writing a paragraph every month or two is just too much work for Omocat :3" Neglecting they were radio silent for literal years. Just because they came back after being gone doesn't make it cool
Big fans of hers will justify it all away, even if Omocat saw the criticism and accusations as justified, herself. But realistically, how should she atone for that? It's not as if hanging that over her will resolve the past.
@@NahNoWayy There is no atonement. But to slander those who supported her in the first place via donations and then sitting through the kickstarter shitstorm is just disrespectful. Most of these fanboys are 100% people who weren’t there for when there would be little to no communication for years. But of course, people will blindly follow and filter out what they consider noise. Sad as all hell!
That's why when you're teasing a big project you're working on that is still in the early stage, you never promise release date, no matter how sure you think you might get it done, and you need to make sure everyone knows that you or your team is working hard on it and that their time or money isn't being wasted.
Omori isn't just a video game, it's a lesson. And I want to play this phenomenal creation by Omocat years later when I'm in a rough spot as an adult; coming to terms with myself and forgiving myself for being _weak_ is definitely still a journey on its own.
I never played Omori , I don't think I ever will , Not only does the community scare me but its also the concepts and such. But I will always see it as a piece of art , there is no doubt about that.
Man.
i would strongly recommend it it does have a few kinda scary moments but those moments are few and far between. its really an experience that is amazing
although near the end of the game everything does get pretty dark but its really not as bad as youd think
this is an incredible video! it was so interesting to hear all the went into production, this game was well worth the wait!!
Much appreciated!
I’m glad they took all the time they needed. OMORI is such a fantastic game.
I remember watching the original trailer in 2014, I wasn’t able to pledge to the back starter as I was a child at the time, but I remember thinking it was abandoned for the longest time and then just out of the blue she dropped a trailer and someone gifted it to me for Christmas. I’m so glad they took their time with the project.
I remember following along with OMORI after the initial kickstarter trailer, seeing everyone slowly become more and more afraid that the game was some kind of scam that would never come out as the years passed by.. hell, I honestly started worrying that was true myself. I'm so glad I was wrong. This game changed my life, man.
I NEED TO SEE ALL OF HER CONTENT! Just watching this made me obsessed! I've always loved mixed media and a mix of dark and depressing and cute and funny in stories, and this seems amazing! The art is so good!
I played omori when it released and it still remains one of my favorite games if not my favorite, thank you for letting us experience the story of sunny, omocat! It’s terrible what she went through.
Its easier for the people who just showed up after omoris success to not understand how frustrating it was during omoris development. The Kickstarter debuted in 2014 there were YEARS of gaps in communication there, they took years to give out backer rewards and were so uncommunicaive that alot of people who had moved in the time between lost out on the physical rewards. So from the perspective of back then it was like this artist came in and got a fuck ton of money, didnt fulfill any of the rewards in any timely fashion, didnt update or communicated on the status of their project for years at a time while constantly doing projects and collabs with their other business, coupled with there being alot of other infamous scam kickstarter at the time, it really felt like they took the money and ran. I was there on Omocats tumblr when she posted the first image of the boy in the white room so like I have seen this from its inception to its finish. I havent gotten the game myself yet because I still almost cant believe it actually came out. I'm glad to hear its been a success but I wish she would have just communicated better.
yeah the dev seems like a legitimately shitty person.
Yeah as someone who was there from the kickstarter funding phase you really had to be thete to appreciate how bad this project was over time. Its easy to hand wave now because the product is very good, but it was so garbage when omocat didnt talk about the game for months on end and would talk excessively about a million other projects she took on. Omori while admittedly good, was on their back burner.
@Doggo Hunter it took 3 years before she sent out the Tshirts to the kickstarter backers and didnt give any way for people to update their adress so some people didnt even get them, her team also ignored peoples emails trying to request updates too. This was really stupid because she runs a clothing comoany and was constantly putting out new designs and products. There was no good reason it took 3 years to send out pre designed T shirts to the people who are paying $50+ for your project.
I'm so glad everything worked out in the end for Omocat, because this game is honestly one of the most impressive and amazing games I've ever played. Hell, the amount of content alone is ridiculous (as of typing I have 40/84 achievements at 72 hours played and only JUST finished both routes), but the fact that it's all such high quality is just absurd. I honestly think the ludicrously high steam rating of 98% positive reviews is fully deserved. This game's gameplay, story, and just everything about it is some of the best I've ever seen. It's one of those few life changing games out there, I'd say.
Honestly, I think more big publishers should do what Omocat and her team did. Not the kickstarter thi g, but the "delay if needed/take your godamn time" thing. I take waiting 6 years for a game over having a bugged out mess and/or barely coherent narative any day. Triple A developers are rushing so hard, that the games barely run on the consols they are designed for! That includes PC games/ports as well! It's a really frustrating trend!
God all these people saying that everyone who said that the funders who wanted a refund are stupid/mean/scum are really triggering me. Imagine you put roughly 40$ into a game. Then years pass and there are no updates. Your questions are ignored and you know of kickstarters that just run away with the money. Yeah Id instantly see that as a scam without a doubt. You can’t just call these people scum, they’re just using common sense!
To them, its a small amout of money even though they wouldnt fund anything if they know about this kickstarter 6 years ago. Not everyone funded this project is live in developed country.
Honestly, I can see why people were upset. I think more people were mad with the lack of communication and updates for something that they pledged money for. Something that was promised to come out earlier kept getting pushed back and back. Sure, their pledge didn’t entitle them to everything but after being promised something so many times with nothing to show for it and the person who promised not giving any updates I can see where people’s frustration came from, especially with how long it took.
OMG I absolutely love how much attention OMORI has been getting. So deserved. Great video I love the style and how you explained it all!
Much appreciated, glad you liked it!
@@ThatGuyGlen i just noticed this video came out recently, i thought this video was years old. I got into OMORI last month and i'm happy to see many people still into it
oh have i got news to tell you
@@kanata-pwhat's the news?
@@kiratwo4u that was three months ago so i have no idea maybe it’s the omori artist drama that was happening
What indie game would you like to see me cover next? Leave a suggestion in the comments below! Also, if you enjoyed the video, please consider subscribing to stay up to date on future “How Games Were Made” episodes. Leaving a like and sharing the video also helps out! Support me on Patreon and get exclusive content like Q&A sessions, ad-free content, access to my Discord server and more: www.patreon.com/ThatGuyGlen
Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice
You should do Minecraft!
Lisa the painful
vampire survivors would be cool 👀
My proposals: - Lisa the painful - Machinarium - Hyperlight drifter - Sally face - Distraint - World of horror - Inmost - Infernax - Eastward
Amazing video as always Glen. You're editing has gotten better and better and I always love how u create a whole editing theme based around the games style!
Thank you so much, that’s so nice of you to say! I love changing things up with every video and sticking to the game’s aesthetic. Keeps things fun and interesting for myself and it makes me happy to hear people appreciate it :D
She’s incredibly admirable for staying so dedicated to making Omori even while having to deal with so many complaints and accusations of scamming when you know none of it was true. I can imagine pressure like that on a first time game developer would be crushing, but she really did a phenomenal job
Watched it, played it, had fun with it. Albeit now that I've tried more RPGMaker MV games, I can tell you that OMORI is akin to a miracle. The size, the animations, the art and the fact that it was a first-time attempt success at a dream game. I'm speechless, terrified at what the RPGMaker community could do and also praying at the possibility of a second game.
Omori _definitely_ isn't getting a sequel- and I honestly doubt Omocat is making a new game anytime soon, given her experience with Omori, how it was already her "dream game", and that she only made it as a game because she felt the story worked best that way. Maybe Omocat's company will eventually do something- maybe even not using a story from Omocat herself- but for now I think she's focusing on managing Omori merch and her fashion line.
cannot put into words how emotional this story got me, i had no idea. im so happy she was able to release this
Good god I decided the get the game after watching this and I was NOT prepared for how dark this was, even so its my favorite game of all time now, I'm so glad Omocat stuck with it until the end, she really created a masterpiece!
Huh I never knew this much about OMOCAT's story. I appreciate how cohesive this was, wish it was easier to get info like this. It's crazy to think how long OMORI spent in development hell, but it was really worth it.
i genuinely cant believe that omori was actually released only 3 years ago, like god damn
As someone whos waited for the game and was also a kickstarter backer. It was so fucking worth the 6 year wait like littleraly i dont care if it took long i just wanted to see someone passion project be made and it came out absolutely stunning!
Omocat, you and your incredible team are infinitely appreciated. You put in more work than I could ever dream of doing and the result is by far one of the most memorable games for me ever. Thank you for changing my perspective of video games, and teaching me to look for the art and the passion in its creation. Of course the game itself has also helped me through a lot. I've been able to relate to a lot of the things within Omori, and it has changed me for the better. People seriously underestimate the abilities a game like this can have in delivering emotions. Meaningful, life changing emotions.
This game teach us to don't afraid to accept the truth and never hide your mistake, because mistake will haunted you until old and rest. Thanks Omocat for the Game they release.🙏
So you decided to upload this video the day after I finished the game? Really cool, thanks.
same lmaooooo
I guess I did :D my pleasure!
They knew.
Dude what a great video! It's clear you put a lot of time and effort into your videos and they are amazing! I have a suggestion for another indie you could do. I think a video on the development of Spelunky would be awesome and super cool to learn how it was made. Keep up the good work!
Thank you very much, glad to hear you liked it! Spelunky has been on my list for a while, it’s definitely happening at some point ;)
Great dive into the history of the games creations, the timeline was easy to follow and showed how much work has gone into the game!
Much appreciated, glad to hear you liked it!
the amount of work omocat and her team put in despite the backlash is so impressive! the fact they worked every day and did hand drawn animations makes everything look amazing
hearing that the soundtrack was inspired by vocaloid is really interesting, as a massive vocaloid fan, not to mention nekobolo (who was directly named) is my favorite producer
Omori 3DS. Anyday now.
the funny thing is that OMORI was released first than yandere sim. and people say nothing about it 💀
because who cares
@@spiffyavatar3611 about yandere sim ye
I'm only halfway through the document but wow, she went through a lot and I'm glad she had a whole team helping her. The fact she did so much (story writing, drawing, dialogue and more), it must've been tough but the outcome was definitely worth it.
I stumbled upon this game while looking for some indie games to play and always was interested to learn more about the creators as well as the development process. Seems like their team had a really stressful time with this project by having so many things come up while trying to work on the game but they still managed to deliver one of the best selling indie games in the past few years which says a lot. I have this game on my wishlist and this definitely gave me the bump to wanna support their team and buy it. Thanks for the amazing video!
My pleasure, glad you liked it!
Omori fans: It took such a long time for our game to be released! Chess 2 waiters:
To be fair, I know why both big and small developers like to be optimistic about their release dates on games because it will give investors and backers more of a reason to invest/back the project if they have a clear picture of a timeframe. It helps with marketing. It can sometimes also be good to challenge yourself with deadlines and not procrastinate or delay the game for petty refinements that you can also do afterwards. ...But in practice you almost always encounter more challenges during development, so only when you reach late development (or ideally when all main development is done and you only have to worry about fixing lesser things) should you think about announcing a release date. Really, I think just steadily announcing development progress then snowballing into marketing and announcing realistic release dates is the way to go. Don't work with guesstimates, or your consumers will lose faith.
All of the stress and hardwork REALLY really paid off, and the fact this is her first time with game developing stuff and had zero experience to game designing, into creating one of the heartbreaking, depressing, emotional, and beautiful stories in all of fiction, let alone video games. thank you so gosh dang much OMOCAT for making this masterpiece, it was totally worth all of my money.. and my mental health
I remember learning about this game in 2015. I stumbled upon bo en - my time omori trailer and was hooked! I was so excited I told all my friends about it. By 2017-18 the anticipation of waiting for its release slowly died off and the game became a fleeting memory to me. When Fall 2020 came around, I had already almost forgotten about it, except for the times I occasionally stumbled upon an image or a video of it that I saved in my playlist or in my gallery. When I heard it finally had a release date, I became excited again. Finally got around to watching a playthrough of it (I didnt have the same excitement I had back then where I wanted to play it so badly). And my gosh was it an amazing experience. It's a really great game that tackles on many issues that alot of video games dont really tackle. I can say, the wait was definitely worth it, although their mishandling of the Kickstarter and lack of communication to their backers is inexcusable. Its something that future individuals who want to start on their "big dream project" should take note of and not replicate. Overall, Omori was a rollercoaster for everyone, but definitely a bumpier ride for the devs. But it paid off in the end.
This is why you should put a "When It's Done" release date until you are close to releasing it.
Crazy how omori came from dozens of inspirations and started as omocat's most personal project, i now take inspiration from omori and is now the game i resonate most personally with. Its changed my mindset and got me hooked since i heard about it. Thank you omocat and the omori team.
I was too late to help back their project by a couple of months. But I was always exited to see this project come to life and always looked forward to its release. It did take a long time but I am happy I was still living to experience it in my life lol
I was one of the original Kickstarter backers in 2014 when I was 14 and tbh I forgot the game existed after a year. Come 2020 I see it's been released and everyone is going on about how good it is.
Another well-made insightful video about something I'm interested in. This is why your one of my favorite youtubers!
Thank you very much, always makes my day reading comments like yours!
I was one of those 5,000 backers and I never had any doubt in Omocat. It was heartbreaking going on the kickstarter page to check for updates and seeing endless comments of hate. I tried my best to leave encouraging messaged for the team but I fear they were drowned out by the toxicity of my fellow backers. I'm so glad that the game turned out to be a masterpiece and better than I ever could have hoped for. She proved all the haters wrong. When I finally finished this game for the first time I couldn't help but cry, it was such a moving and beautiful experience. Thank you Omocat team.
good for her, inspiring and wholesome
Two major things that I feel were missed here; backers were mad that random people were able to play a demo of a game before they were emailed a demo of the game which furthered frustration with the development time, and people tend to critise the game for having bloated sections and not having enemies that scale with you as you progress, not that it's too dark. But yea this is a great video regardless