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Indie Developer Freaks Out at Critics in YouTube Rant

One man behind the Kickstarter-funded Elysian Shadows goes off on a YouTube rant over the struggles of a lackluster teammate and illness.
This article is over 8 years old and may contain outdated information

Crowdfunding continues to be a double-edged sword in the video game landscape. While it gives small-time developers a chance to make their dream come true, they also meet the harsh criticism of the public when the process of creating a game doesn’t go smoothly. 

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That criticism made Falco Girgis, an indie developer for a 2D, 16-bit RPG called Elysian Shadows, go on an angry rant. In the two-minute tirade, he responds to criticism of development time for the game that was funded on Kickstarter for over $180,000. He slams an ex-team member who was the “gameplay engineer” and ignored an infection that was apparently ruining his behind. See the video above from the Elysian Shadows Team’s official YouTube page.

In the event that Gigris decides to take this video down later, we grabbed some of its most quotable moments:

“We’ve been stressing out for f*cking months after Tyler left trying to get ready for a gaming convention, but it’s hard to do that when the guy who’s supposed to be doing f*cking gameplay for the last year withdrew a g*ddamn year’s worth of salary and didn’t produce any f*cking gameplay.”

“I wound up with a giant fungal infection eating away at my a**hole, which apparently later probably progressed to my brain. And I was ignoring a fever for — what was it, two weeks just popping pills to ignore it? And I literally got to the point I could not f*cking work anymore. I had to take a break.”

Perhaps he’s not really that angry

Based on the video’s description, there’s a heavy dose of satire that may not be easily detectable in the rant. Girgis and others have pointed out on social media that it was made to basically laugh at himself, but the issues between him and a now former teammate were valid. Part of the Kickstarter money that was funded to the game was given to somebody who didn’t put in their fair share of the work.

However, some commenters weren’t buying the story. They didn’t understand how the ex-member could just take some of the money and run. Girgis tries to explain further in the comments section:

“I was so overworked and swamped with engine, toolkit, and social media that I really didn’t keep good tabs on him. I didn’t want to micromanage, and I certainly didn’t want to kick my best friend off the team. I figured that he was just burned out and he would probably get his shit together eventually…”

Unfortunately, it apparently didn’t have a happy ending. Now, Girgis is stuck doing much more of the work. He’s also completely tired of hearing the negativity surrounding it.

“I figured, oh, with all these f*cking a**holes on YouTube and social media bitching that I don’t do a f*cking thing apparently — that I took the money and ran — what better way than to start bitching on YouTube again like I did when I was f*cking 12?”

There’s always a risk when it comes to crowdfunding, and the development process of a video game is never smooth. Hell, big-time publishers continue to send out AAA games with game-breaking glitches, a problem that’s plagued the gaming industry too often over the past few years. Getting upset over an indie developer seems foolish.

Girgis took his frustration and vented it on YouTube while attempting to have a laugh at himself. It’s an odd way to get it out of your system with the touchy nature of crowdfunding, but in a way, it’s reinforcing to see the passion he shows. We’re okay with whatever it takes to get the team over this hurdle and give us Elysian Shadows — which looks damn good, by the way.


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Image of Brian Spaen
Brian Spaen
Freelance video game and sports writer. I'm the guy who picks Saints Row over Grand Theft Auto. Mario is my idol.