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:
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.
“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.”
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:
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.
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.
