Crafting A Tiny Open World: A Short Hike Postmortem

17:57: A cave in the "wrong place" that naturally attracts curious players and leads them back to the tutorial zone.
For that alone, you win my Like vote.

Author — Mason Wheeler

The flying mechanics in A Short Hike were absolutely magical. I’ve been trying to find any game that does something similar

Author — Ronan Elliott

I actually really loved the writing in A Short Hike. It has this understated humor that still had me laugh out loud at times.

Author — Penny Lane

I went to undergrad with Adam and I only have the absolute best things to say about him. Super smart and too modest to brag about having straight As. He's also just the sweetest, most genuine guy ever. Very well-deserved success :)

Author — Saša Milić

“And then the players didn’t go where I wanted them to go, so they chose to go straight into the water”

I was one of those people!

Author — Magnitude Rev

This game is a masterpiece. I got so caught up in those little stories. That moment when you lend your feathers to your friend so that he can reach the top and take a picture with you almost made me cry.

Author — bnfgh123

so nice to see the full project broken down and explained why he did what he did and what didn't work. A great postmortem

Author — Adam Doyle

I spent about six hours in this game to 100% it. It's far from short, can't believe it only took three months + a few more for polishing. Crazy.

Author — R T

The dialogue in this game was actually really fun

Author — Zach Slaughter

He made this all himself?!?!? THIS IS SO INSPIRING I LOVE IT! It amazes

Author — princessthyemis

The dialogue in this game was surprisingly deep and way too fun. I was startled initially to see npc's dont repeat dialogue until after 4 to 5 conversations. Flying was absolutely fun. The flower and the updraft was way too brilliant. Normally games dont have this many fun mechanics for a game this short.

Author — Harish Ganesan

dunno if its just me but i feel like a sequel to this game would be really cool. maybe claire went back to the city and did something (idk im not a game dev) and met the artist guy and her mum after the surgery. maybe the goal of the game would have something to do with that idk it sounds cool and i just cant get enough of this game and the style and physics

Author — Finlay Bower

for someone who thinks writing is hard, he totally nailed the writing on this game, the dialogues are so natural, you feel like you're talking to a real character, each one of them has an intersting personality and goals to why they're on that island. it helps to feel like they have purpose and are not just placed randomly on the map.

Author — Violante

I usually take notes when I watch GDC videos to not forget important stuff, and to date this is the talk in which I've taken the most notes, seriously everything is super helpful for indies, this talk is a gold mine (Extremely wonderful game btw, loved it from beginning to end)

Author — Xerosolar

This is amazing! Both the fact that he covered the whole process from idea to release in 30 minutes, and, y'know, that he actually DID all that (and so well)!

Author — ehelvz

This game is everything I was hoping Stardew Valley would be. Instead of being an insane grind that never ends, it gets straight to the point, gives you absolute mobility and freedom to explore, and let's you be a happier person and move on with your life once you complete it. Excellent work.

Author — dandymcgee

This is one of the most rich and clear talks i seen in quite some years!

Author — Pedro Geraldi

This has to be one of the best GDC talks ever.

Author — Heavyshark

Wow, this talk was really well put together.

Author — Barry Bach

I stumbled across this video first by accident then I purchased the game, finished the game, fully in love with it. Thank you for making this game. the story about Claire at the end is so sweet and powerful!

Author — Watson C.