What the f**k is this

[BrancheMoiCa]

Okay, I need to clear things up.

I'm Alain, the co-creator of Kimulator's Films (The studio who made Totally Normal Journey)

I've always been a big fan of reviews about my game, and criticism in general, you can see proofs of this everywhere, from Youtubers or simply from the fact that I try to stay in touch with anyone talking about my games. But one thing that I really don't like, is when someone spread misinformation about me.

I'm sorry if I come out a little bit rude, but some of the stuff that has been said hurts on a few levels.

First off, I don't not have "rich" parents. My dad died when I was 16 of a heart attack, he had just lost his job a few weeks ago and he couldn't handle the stress... My mother had a leg surgery and couldn't work for around 3 years, so everything was on his back... When he died I fell into a really bad time, I didn't go to school for 2 months, I was in huge depression and I hurted myself... The only thing that made me feel better was making those silly games, you might argue that those games were bad, and I admit it, they are not masterpiece, but I was 16 years old back then. Personally I think I got a lot better.

But yes, the first few games that I made were really bad, and are the reason I'm not able to publish games on Steam anymore. This is really sad because I love making games, and clearly a lot of people enjoy them, simply look around on YouTube, most let's play of Totally Normal Journey are people laughing for 40 minutes straight! Seeing this is the reason I've been making games for 6 years!

Also, yes, it's my girlfriend who did the amazing animation in our newest game, she is also the co-owner of our company, I really don't seem to understand how her making the animation that she worked on for 6 months seems to be worthless? I personally did the editing and the game itself, she also worked on the console port and we both acted in the game.

And for the fact that I supposedly made a "depression simulator" game, this is taking things out of context, in 2019 I made a game called "Not Well" which was about how I felt when my dad died, and I also took inspiration of my ex-girlfriend who had a mental illness called Borderline Personality Disorder. I do admit the game wasn't really good, but in no instance did I ever make a joke in this whatsoever. Making serious games might not be my cup of tea, but I wanted to try something new.

And do you know why I sent copies of my games to curator who did negative reviews of my games? It's not because I was "spamming" everyone. It's because I was selecting people who actually did reviews of my games, no matter how negative, I thought having actual feedback was helping me better understand what I was doing wrong and what I could improve.

Now for the statement that we have no job, this is false on multiple level. First off, making games is both of our dreams, and our passion, from the online reviews of Totally Normal Journey, people seem to enjoy it, which is honestly awesome! But so far its not making enough to make us stay afloat, this is why we have a Ebay store, that we work on almost every week, while also working on our games and trying to make weekly videos on our YouTube channel.

I think I addressed most of the bigger irregularities, I'm sorry if I did any grammatical mistakes, I'm French Canadian, even if I think I'm at a reasonable level of English, I'm never going to be perfect.

And for everyone else, just know that I didn't mean to stop any of the actual criticism taking place here, you can say what you want about my game, and you are encouraged to do so! It will help make our next game a better experience for everyone!

On that note, I won't be replying here, but you are all free to join my Discord (Link in my YouTube channel) if you want to talk to me personally or my girlfriend about anything! I hope everyone here as a good day, including Deathless Void, because I'm sure it's all a big misunderstanding since the beginning.

[MsVelvet]

2 hours ago, starcrunch061 said:

So, let me get this straight: this dude is banned (multiple times) from Steam, but has games on the Sony store?

 

That feels like a new low. 

 

 

I notice you didn't come back and answer. Just to add: I agree with you in a perfect universe, but the fact is, there are plenty of shitty devs who are abusing good will like yours to hoist crap onto the store. Ultimately, this hurts legitimate small developers, because they'll just be lumped into the same pot. I've been a pretty big supporter of low-budget games over my PS4 lifetime, and that prejudice is beginning to seep into me as well. As I posted on a status update, nowadays, when I see a list of all gold trophies, I tend to dismiss the game immediately. That's absolutely not fair to the hardworking devs who might have made a bad game, but it's still a logical response given the tons of pig feces that the lousy devs are putting on the market.

 

Tl;dr: we have to call out the unscrupulous devs.

I 100% agree with u n It was not my intention to support this particular dev considering his track record. I was speaking of the actual good devs who try n make good indie games which most ppl tend to look at as shovel ware. 

[CuteBoringLove]

On 3/31/2022 at 4:33 PM, gamercris066 said:

Game looks fine no glitches at all.

It skipped the DJ Nun scene on my game, but other than that, ran pretty decent.

 

I bought it, not expecting a lot, and I wasn't disappointed.

Not necessarily for the trophies. The animation reminded me of One Way Trip, and I thought it would be just as weird.

I like trying to find diamonds in the rough; I even played both Skylight Freerange games (another Dev that doesn't have games on Steam apparently)

[rfrandy2007]

all i got say is wow. i did think it be ok. 

[DeathlessVoid]

On 4/6/2022 at 10:00 AM, BrancheMoiCa said:

First off, I don't not have "rich" parents. My dad died when I was 16 of a heart attack, he had just lost his job a few weeks ago and he couldn't handle the stress... My mother had a leg surgery and couldn't work for around 3 years, so everything was on his back... When he died I fell into a really bad time, I didn't go to school for 2 months, I was in huge depression and I hurted myself... The only thing that made me feel better was making those silly games, you might argue that those games were bad, and I admit it, they are not masterpiece, but I was 16 years old back then. Personally I think I got a lot better.

 

I'm sorry to hear your dad died when you were young. Mine did also. But that doesn't negate the fact that your family is pretty well off given the settings of all of your videos. Unless you're filming at someone else's home. And you live in Montreal, where buying a house isn't exactly cheap. Especially a house with a pool. Yes, your original games were bad, but they didn't get any better when your friends took off. Having a well-off life isn't a bad thing obviously, it affords you the time to do what you do. I just wish you'd actually use your time to get better at what you do.

 

Quote

But yes, the first few games that I made were really bad, and are the reason I'm not able to publish games on Steam anymore. This is really sad because I love making games, and clearly a lot of people enjoy them, simply look around on YouTube, most let's play of Totally Normal Journey are people laughing for 40 minutes straight! Seeing this is the reason I've been making games for 6 years!

 

Kudos to you for finally admitting that you were kicked off of Steam. Not your mother. I'll give you +1 for finally taking some accountability for your content.

 

Quote

Also, yes, it's my girlfriend who did the amazing animation in our newest game, she is also the co-owner of our company, I really don't seem to understand how her making the animation that she worked on for 6 months seems to be worthless? I personally did the editing and the game itself, she also worked on the console port and we both acted in the game.

 

No one said it was worthless. Just pointing out that your girlfriend did the animation, which was the bulk of the work. I still don't see anywhere in your new work where your skills have developed at all. I played one of your games where there were 3 buttons and one was coded incorrectly, and that wasn't too long ago. You dropped out of college, foregoing the chance to actually gain development skills, to show inability to be able to code three buttons properly. That is the point here.

 

Quote

And for the fact that I supposedly made a "depression simulator" game, this is taking things out of context, in 2019 I made a game called "Not Well" which was about how I felt when my dad died, and I also took inspiration of my ex-girlfriend who had a mental illness called Borderline Personality Disorder. I do admit the game wasn't really good, but in no instance did I ever make a joke in this whatsoever. Making serious games might not be my cup of tea, but I wanted to try something new.

 

It is not being taken out of context. That "game" was absolutely repulsive. I didn't buy it btw, YOU sent me a key for it. I don't understand how you took "inspiration" from another, totally different, mental illness to create a game about depression? It didn't feel serious, plain and simple, with you standing there twitching, peeing, and taking a bath. But maybe that's because the entire personality that you've portrayed from the time you put yourself out there on the internet until now has shown you as nothing but one giant walking meme. Making fun of the pandemic in a different "game" didn't help anyone take you seriously, either.

 

Quote

And do you know why I sent copies of my games to curator who did negative reviews of my games? It's not because I was "spamming" everyone. It's because I was selecting people who actually did reviews of my games, no matter how negative, I thought having actual feedback was helping me better understand what I was doing wrong and what I could improve.

 

You sent me, a horror game reviewer, a key for a non-horror game. I classify that as spam. I also told you on at least three separate reviews that I wanted nothing more to do with your work and you kept sending me keys. I even told you I would only give you negative reviews. Part of your meme life I'm sure.

 

Quote

Now for the statement that we have no job, this is false on multiple level. First off, making games is both of our dreams, and our passion, from the online reviews of Totally Normal Journey, people seem to enjoy it, which is honestly awesome! But so far its not making enough to make us stay afloat, this is why we have a Ebay store, that we work on almost every week, while also working on our games and trying to make weekly videos on our YouTube channel.

 

Mm.. yeah I think my point stands. I know plenty of people who run eBay stores and fleamarket stalls and still have to have an actual job to afford rent, food, and bills. You're in your parents house, scraping money together from eBay, while working on games that I'm sure do not sell enough copies to foot the bill of life regularly.

 

Quote

And for everyone else, just know that I didn't mean to stop any of the actual criticism taking place here, you can say what you want about my game, and you are encouraged to do so! It will help make our next game a better experience for everyone!

 

I will give you a second compliment here, you've at least always been able to take criticism.

 

Quote

I hope everyone here as a good day, including Deathless Void, because I'm sure it's all a big misunderstanding since the beginning.

 

Not a misunderstanding. We both know it, now that you probably know who I am on Steam.

 

I'm going to leave you with one last thought. This will be the last time I will ever address you directly because quite honestly, after half a decade of this back and forth, I am tired. Imagine your life in the future, where you actually have to care about rent/mortgage, property tax, electric/hydro bills, food, cellphone, internet, insurance, gas, upkeep, maintenance... where you have to be able to pay your own way and BMC/Kimulator/TNMS and your little eBay shop don't cut it. You apply for developer jobs. They want a degree. You have none, but reference your body of work. Your potential employer opens up your work to see nothing but FMVs with poor coding, some with distasteful content, and Twitter accounts that look like an 8th grader's notebook. Give some thought to how that's gonna go over.

Edited May 25, 2022 by DeathlessVoid

[Alos88]

I mean, at least the idea of a musical game is cool, shame we haven't seen it done well yet.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Alos88

[OnlyCass]

Another game for "trophy hunters" ?

[Sunny]

I already had a bad feeling about this particular trashware but with a context behind it things went -10, don't know why it but kinda reminded of Gilson P Pontes games, ew.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Sunnyburrito

[grim_fendango]

The fact that a game or series of games illicited that much of a response from steam, certain individuals and the developers... Makes me actually want to play it for myself. Yes it might might shovel ware, yes it might be awfully crafted and hot garbage. Who's to say? I haven't played it yet.

 

But even a bad awful game that was made with some creative intent, is better than the transactional garbage like the jumping burrito turbo edition. Where every week 10 - 20 new lists pop up. Maybe this will be something different. Still probably bad, but at least it will be different bad that is clearly worth talking about... I mean why else are we here?

 

FWIW I'm in no way supportive of fake reviews or any of the other things the developer has allegedly done. But I'm going to separate the product from the producer and see for myself.

Edited July 19, 2022 by grim_fendango

[MsVelvet]

1 hour ago, grim_fendango said:

The fact that a game or series of games illicited that much of a response from steam, certain individuals and the developers... Makes me actually want to play it for myself. Yes it might might shovel ware, yes it might be awfully crafted and hot garbage. Who's to say? I haven't played it yet.

 

But even a bad awful game that was made with some creative intent, is better than the transactional garbage like the jumping burrito turbo edition. Where every week 10 - 20 new lists pop up. Maybe this will be something different. Still probably bad, but at least it will be different bad that is clearly worth talking about... I mean why else are we here?

 

FWIW I'm in no way supportive of fake reviews or any of the other things the developer has allegedly done. But I'm going to separate the product from the producer and see for myself.

Well, you're in luck since it's on sale right now

[grim_fendango]

Yeah I already purchased. TBH my curiosity has its limits and I think those limits are spending more than $7 AUD on a meme(?) game ?

Edited July 20, 2022 by grim_fendango

[grim_fendango]

UPDATE

So I've played the game now. Here's my thoughts.

 

This is an FMV game where you just make choices and the story continues. You can think of it as a very basic visual novel in some ways.

 

So there is music in the game that doesn't sound half bad and isn't ear grating. Like the musicians knew what they were doing. This is probably the most enjoyable part of the game.

 

The non musical segments are bad. At times laughably bad. Which I guess is the point? I know people tend to find things to be so bad it's good when the creator sets out with genuine intent to make something good when the end result is otherwise. This is definitely not the case here. They seem to have set out to make something cringey and low budget and that's exactly what these segments come off as. But it's not painfully unfunny. It's just unfunny for the most part. It did make me laugh at the absurdity of the situation I was in. Like a "oh what am I doing? This is so stupid? Haha awkward" kind of way. Perhaps alcohol and a few friends might make this better. That being said it wasn't really boring. As trying to make sense of this bizarre plot kept me mildly entertained.

 

The quality difference between the musical and non musical segments is honestly jarring. The audio quality is even better. Perhaps a different group of people worked on the music for the game. That could explain why the alien has a masculine sounding voice in the song and is voiced by the female lead in the non musical segment afterwards. Guest talent is mentioned in the credits so that could be what it's referring to. AFAIK no names are given for the creators of the songs so who knows? Either way I don't really want to stir up controversy over that, it was just something I noticed and wanted to mention. I think it's ok to hire talent for that if you need to and if it was in their contract not to be credited to the songs then that's fair enough. Who's honestly to say without more context?

 

Do I regret my purchase? Hmmm... It was a $6 platinum. The game offers about 1 hour worth of content. I did laugh a couple of times. The music is genuinely not awful. It's unfunny but not painfully so. It was definitely unique. That's for sure. I didn't hate it....

So if you are in the market for a cheap easy platinum but don't want to have the Cat D or turbo burrito on your list but would rather experience something unique then wait for this to go on sale. It's regular retail price is $20. Which is not worth it. At $6, it is comparable and I'd say better than turbo burrito. Still bland but a unique and slightly interesting kind of bland.

 

Do I think this deserves as much hate as it got in this forum?

Everyone has a right to their opinion. Fake reviews is bad. But the game itself seems harmless enough when it's priced fairly. I don't think it really mocked any marginalised groups, was culturally insensitive or made use of harmful stereotypes. But I could have missed something and if I have I sincerely apologize.

 

So yeah 4-5/10 when priced at $6, 3/10 when priced at $20. For reference, the burrito is like 1/10. That is just cynical transactional garbage that has literally no intention of entertaining you. At least Totally Normal Journey tries to entertain you.

 

Again just wanted to reiterate I don't support the behaviour of what the developer has allegedly done. My intention here was to review the game on its own merits and separate the art from the artist. I'm not here to defend anyone. This was just my experience. My opinions are my own. I'm not a robot. I'm 28 years old and my favourite colour is blue.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful day

Edited July 23, 2022 by grim_fendango

[Helyx]

On 4/1/2022 at 4:38 AM, pinkrobot_pb said:

dig for trophies in a dog turd with their bare hands

 

Does it have a plat tho?

[El Duderino]

On 1.4.2022 at 0:38 AM, MsVelvet said:

Try looking at these titles with a little more respect n a little less disdain. These indie devs r making games n in turn making a living. Every1 has to start somewhere.

Well, well, well! There are indie devs that delivered fucking masterpieces with their very first work. "Examples" I don't heard you scream? Well, Axiom Verge is the first that comes to mind. Developed by just one lonely soul over span of five years. One guy!

 

 

What about Disco Elysium, another outstanding piece of art that single-handedly exposed how awful most "AAA" games are?

 

 

Ever heard of Limbo, another first for an indie dev?

 

 

It's comments like yours that bring my piss to a fucking boil! "They have to start somewhere"... Yes, but that doesn't mean they have to release their turds commercially. Would you spend money on a moldy loaf of bread and eventually eat it because the new bakery "has to start somewhere"?

Edited September 11, 2022 by El Duderino

[El Duderino]

P.S: My youngest daughter is five years old and has put together significantly better levels in Super Mario Maker than these "developers" can ever dream of.

[DEAD4346]

57 minutes ago, R4M Razr said:

Well, well, well! There are indie devs that delivered fucking masterpieces with their very first work. "Examples" I don't heard you scream? Well, Axiom Verge is the first that comes to mind. Developed by just one lonely soul over span of five years. One guy!

 

 

What about Disco Elysium, another outstanding piece of art that single-handedly exposed how awful most "AAA" games are?

 

 

Ever heard of Limbo, another first for an indie dev?

 

 

It's comments like yours that bring my piss to a fucking boil! "They have to start somewhere"... Yes, but that doesn't mean they have to release their turds commercially. Would you spend money on a moldy loaf of bread and eventually eat it because the new bakery "has to start somewhere"?

I mean, $4-$7 is a pretty fair price for the game. The games above are ones I'd pay AAA prices for. This is a $4-$7 game in their store right now.

 

You can't claim to me that your examples, that are easily $40-$60 games in worth, are comparable to I'm In Love With Your Dead Grandmother in quality, do you?

 

I doubt it, so my point is this:

 

$4-$7 is perfectly reasonable for what y'all would consider shovelware.

 

EDIT: One of your videos uses IGN. Your opinion is now invalid.

Edited September 11, 2022 by DEAD4346

[El Duderino]

1 hour ago, DEAD4346 said:

I mean, $4-$7 is a pretty fair price for the game. The games above are ones I'd pay AAA prices for. This is a $4-$7 game in their store right now.

 

You can't claim to me that your examples, that are easily $40-$60 games in worth, are comparable to I'm In Love With Your Dead Grandmother in quality, do you?

 

I doubt it, so my point is this:

 

$4-$7 is perfectly reasonable for what y'all would consider shovelware.

 

EDIT: One of your videos uses IGN. Your opinion is now invalid.

Well, in fact, all my games were free – I just stole them. Gave me a five-finger discount. Thug Life™.

Edited September 11, 2022 by El Duderino

[MsVelvet]

16 hours ago, El Duderino said:

Well, well, well! There are indie devs that delivered fucking masterpieces with their very first work. "Examples" I don't heard you scream? Well, Axiom Verge is the first that comes to mind. Developed by just one lonely soul over span of five years. One guy!

 

 

What about Disco Elysium, another outstanding piece of art that single-handedly exposed how awful most "AAA" games are?

 

 

Ever heard of Limbo, another first for an indie dev?

 

 

It's comments like yours that bring my piss to a fucking boil! "They have to start somewhere"... Yes, but that doesn't mean they have to release their turds commercially. Would you spend money on a moldy loaf of bread and eventually eat it because the new bakery "has to start somewhere"?

????

[El Duderino]

20 minutes ago, MsVelvet said:

????

Exactly. The next time you better think before posting rubbish like this. Much obliged. 

[MandA60VISE]

18 hours ago, El Duderino said:

Well, well, well! There are indie devs that delivered fucking masterpieces with their very first work. "Examples" I don't heard you scream? Well, Axiom Verge is the first that comes to mind. Developed by just one lonely soul over span of five years. One guy!

 

 

What about Disco Elysium, another outstanding piece of art that single-handedly exposed how awful most "AAA" games are?

 

 

Ever heard of Limbo, another first for an indie dev?

 

 

It's comments like yours that bring my piss to a fucking boil! "They have to start somewhere"... Yes, but that doesn't mean they have to release their turds commercially. Would you spend money on a moldy loaf of bread and eventually eat it because the new bakery "has to start somewhere"?

There's this thing called constructive criticism that devs wouldn't get if they didn't release their games. Offering it for free, especially when they're trying to make a living, would still cost some money on most platforms I believe. Finding a hosting site that's free won't get as many people to try the game. Begging and self-advertisement aren't going to rack in the players, especially for new devs. Am I defending this game though? I dunno. Never heard of it or the developer. However, to claim that only the best indie games ever deserve to profit while the lower quality ones don't isn't a good viewpoint to enforce. It discourages potential devs from even attempting to create games. To even contradict your point (and I guess mine some) you can look at Cave Story. Made by one guy, over a lengthy period of time (don't recall how long), and was is still given out for free to everyone on PC. It reached the acclaimed title of one of the best indie games ever despite making the creator zero profit to begin with.

[MsVelvet]

8 hours ago, El Duderino said:

Exactly. The next time you better think before posting rubbish like this. Much obliged. 

???

[Pharmer_Amko]

At the end of the day, it’s really this simple. If you don’t like a game, move on and play what YOU like. Everybody likes different things and that’s perfectly fine; let them without needing to sound like a lowlife miserable trolling virgin. You didn’t pay $60 for this so whoever has an issue with the game, again here is a very easy answer to your problems. Move on and find a game you like lol. It really isn’t that difficult to just look away and focus on other games if one game doesn’t appeal to you. All bashing on haters and ranting aside, this game really wasn’t horrible for the cheap price. Wasn’t an amazing “Last of Us” or “Call of Duty” but I don’t think that was ever the intention of this fun goofy game that can give you a few laughs and “wtf” moments lol. Honestly reminded me of a few goofy shows on adult swim (mix of that Eric and Eric show and that weird Superjail show or whatever it’s called lol). Fun little 1-hour plat. ??‍♂️?

[MAUSZX]

On 3/31/2022 at 3:59 PM, DeathlessVoid said:

I'll tell you what the fuck this is. Because I had a hand in getting it removed from Steam.

 

This is from a well known "indie dev" that used to go by the name BMC Studios <- click for a rundown of reasons of why this studio is trash. They were banned originally from Steam for selling some of the lowest tier garbage shovelware ever conceived and manipulating their reviews. They can't even code their games properly, and they usually only have like two or three buttons for choices in the games. Dev fought the ban and lost.

 

Since BMC Studios got banned, the developer Alain decided to create a new studio called "Totally Not Me Studios" and got back on Steam. I called them out, flagged this piece of shit, and it eventually got pulled because he circumvented the ban by trying to say his mommy owned BMC Studios. I'm not making that up, it's on his Twitter.

 

I'm both astonished and ashamed to see it on PSN.

 

 

No. Just no. Not in this case. The dev behind this game is a POS and he's been at it since 2016 and has made little to no progress of doing anything even remotely respectable. Makes fun of depression by making a "depression simulator" type game that does nothing but shit on mental health. He literally sees everything as a meme, doesn't matter how serious it is. And the memes aren't even funny... unless you're in the age bracket of single digits. Games are, at best, 10 minutes long as well.

 

I implore people to not support this trash or this horrid person of a "developer" (who dropped out of college to keep creating shit-tier games, so clearly he has no interest in getting better at his craft after 6 years).

For some reason I can't read your link.

 

So the sin of the developer was making fun of depression? While that is bad that seems to be more ignorant than malice imo.

 

Other than that it seems like the game has more content that many of the games that are on PSN and that are played stacked by most people that are on the top of the leaderboards.

[DeathlessVoid]

2 hours ago, MAUSZX said:

For some reason I can't read your link.

 

So the sin of the developer was making fun of depression? While that is bad that seems to be more ignorant than malice imo.

 

Other than that it seems like the game has more content that many of the games that are on PSN and that are played stacked by most people that are on the top of the leaderboards.

 

The "sin" of this developer is the fact he has pushed out shitty games for about a decade now.

[MAUSZX]

On 3/4/2023 at 5:36 PM, DeathlessVoid said:

 

The "sin" of this developer is the fact he has pushed out shitty games for about a decade now.

You should.be more worried about thos jumping food games and animals and countries games that are just mere asset flip than this games, while they can be considered non games, they offer 100 more than most of the leaders in the leaderboard play.