I'm saying it, you got that 1st place stolen! You had a huge disadvantage on that fan vote and it showed. In our hearts you are the clear winner

Dryden, in the hearts of us you rightfully deserved that money

My wife and I watched the game jam and were rooting for you the whole time. I know how impactful $10k can be toward an indie project, we were really disappointed. We're happy you're going to continue the project and are definitely going to pick it up once it's out!

Dryden 100% deserves it. It was way more refined

Here’s my analysis: Lixian had a great game. Not only did he implement the theme well but he also incorporated the twists well too. It had pretty good art (and a unique style) which made it overall okay. However, he could have improved on the “virus”, progression and enemies. He only had 2 enemies (unless you count the virus). Speaking of the virus, the way to avoid it was just not so great. Pick up stuff, throw it together, bam. Also, the progression was just a bunch of rooms with keycards to go to new rooms. The limited content also restricted replay-ability. + Good art + Nicely implemented themes / Virus wasn’t that creative - Progression was boring - Not many enemies and/or replay ability. Now you had a complete monster of a game. Themes were AMAZINGLY well implemented, and rather than just add a random part of the game, they actually contributed a lot. There we SO MANY unique enemies and bosses, SO MANY cool items, SO SO SO MUCH replay-ability, a great art style, random generation (added to replay-ability), a stupid cool game idea that was actually well-thought out, and it was even executed extremely well! + AMAZING art + Plenty of enemies + Lots of bosses + Random generation + Great game idea + Well executed + So, so SO much replay-ability. Conclusion: Yes, he was robbed. For anyone who hasn’t seen the video or doesn’t understand, the only way Lixian won was because he had 1m+ subs. I think Dryden (creator of this vid) had around 2k at the time. The community decided who won, because they had a weight of two. Even then, I am SHOCKED the judges chose Lixian over your game, when your game did everything his did but better and more. I think the judges had some bias too. Anyways, please keep making games, you are such a cool creator. Plus, you’re really enjoyable to listen to and seem like a very friendly guy. Bye!

Im not taking anything away from lixian hes an amazing dev but you so got robbed of that 10k.... i cannot wait to see what you come up with next!!!!!

I love Lixian, and his game was more my style, but you crushed the competition requirements at every turn. You took the twists and embraced them, rather than just finding a way to technically qualify. And your game had a level of polish throughout. The fan vote shouldn't have counted for 2 votes as that gave them a 29% weight. For what amounts to a popularity contest that really shouldn't have been the deciding factor. I'm waiting for BTP to catch on that some of their decisions are kind of inconsiderate for their guests This isn't the first time. But congrats on setting your new goal! Can't wait to see what becomes of this game. You did so much in a few weeks, I can't imagine what you can achieve in a year.

Some of the other comments already told you, but i just have to say it aswell: That loss in the finals was a different level of bs. The fact that you got 30% of the votes against a youtuber with over 600 times your subscriber count speaks volumes. You didnt beat all the other devs. You slaughtered them. I am truely inspired by your humility, because if i lost a competition after outclassing everyone else by such a wide margin i would be furious. I know that i am probably being too harsh here. The other devs did a great job aswell and are clearly very talented, but especially after seeing how kind of a person you are, my anger issues simply get the better of me here.

I've watched all of Black thorn prods videos. Of all the pass the game challenges, of all the competitions, this game easily impressed me the most out of all of them.

Dude,i was SO sad seeing you come second, lixians game was good, but you litrally had the best integration of the theme, the most interesting game and definitely the best gameplay. SO many spelunky vibes, 100% gonna wishlist this

i found it very unfair you didnt win! Lixian was popular, thats all. you had everything required, the theme, story, mechanics, etc. i loved your work ^^

As soon as a read "almost won" in the title I knew what had happened. Community voting just doesn't work, people 'cheese' it, becomes popularity contest instead of gamedev. Ways to prevent it could be: 1. Anonymous entry, that way no one knows who made which game. 2. Force playing of every single game before someone can vote (more work to implement), possibly too hard to vote. 3. Community given a random short list of games to play and rank (eg vote 1, 2, 3 for the following randomly chosen games). You'd think #1 would be fool proof, but I'm sure people would post on private facebook/patreon/discord/steam groups to vote for their particular creation.

Man..... you were stolen the win. Such an amazing game out of such a challenging theme! Wish listed it on steam! I know that after some more work on it, it will be an amazing game to add to my steam collection!

Your creativity and music is insane! Cant believe that you have only been coding for 2 years!

While others took the theme in a different direction (and in my opinion lost the theme in some cases), you stayed with the theme the best out of every single contestant. Personally, I would say you won the competition. I have Disinherited wishlisted on steam and look forward to the game's progress!

I have an idea for a boss that might be interesting. Cats supposedly have 9 lives, so what if the way to immortality was to have multiple cats share one of their lives? A cat owner as a boss would be something I haven't seen in games before

Part of me wonders if you’d have gotten anywhere near the growth if you’d gotten your deserved win. Everyone following you partly or maybe even mostly because they think it’s unfair lmao. Maybe you didn’t get the $10k, but you know it might lead to bigger things sooner anyway!! Wishing you luck for the rest of the journey and i’m excited to follow along!

I watched that BTD competition, its how I found about your channel Dryden! You make really cool stuff, and as everyone said I feel like you were top contender. I've already wishlisted Disinherited and I'm really glad you're pushing for a release! :D

Hearing your husband is supporting you so well while you do this challenge made me tear up!! I can't wait to see future dev logs

Bro you have no idea how much your game gave me energy to throw myself at gamedev again after a huge pause, i'll be following your work for sure and maybe finish a game of my own, thank alot. You should have won that 10k prize

If this game comes to console I’m definitely buying and supporting. Your work ethic and adherence to the prompts given during the challenge were in my opinion the best of any of the devs. I was like oh he’s THINKING thinking when hearing your ideas for lore and storylines. Definitely keep up the great work bro. Take your time and see your vision through. Can’t wait for the release

The game sounds absolutely amazing and definitely deserved to win! Your ideas were super creative and it was very well designed. Can't wait to see what you make in the future!

Wow, i loved the backstories for each boss 😍very dark and fit the theme

I just adore how much thought you've put into this game. The theme is incredible with a great twist on memento mori. I love how the father remembered his mortality and tried to push his son to remember his (though I don't know if that was necessarily the best way lol) but the son, in protest strives to forget his mortality. I have a feeling that might bite him in the end but who knows! Not to mention, your knowledge of history brings life to the characters, art, and music. All that being said, this is likely the best game I've seen on any of these game dev competitions and I immediately wishlisted it. Can't wait to play it! Just please take care of your own health as you build this game and don't let pressure from fans like us make you push past a healthy limit.

I loved the game when I first saw it. Please make more games like that.

Really excited to watch this unfold. Good luck to you!

Honestly your game has so much more charm to it, and so many possibilites for new content. And it fits the theme so well. I do not wish to bash Lixian, but that 10k would have been better off with your project. It‘s great that there so many creative minds still afloat nowadays!

You did so well with the theme, I would have been absolutely lost with "Memento Mori"

I know, I'm only one of many comments here saying the same. But your game deserved to be the winner. It was a full game which not only looks awesome, but also had a lot of content, own made music and sprites and a lot of promise for the future. And it was unique and looked very polished for a "jam". You got a new sub and I'm exited to see the devlog and more from you!

The gothic but cartoony astethic is really charming, and I really like how each boss revolve around the theme of immortality in their own way. I'll look forward to playing it!

Yeah i have to agree with everyone here, it's CRAZY that you didn't win that competition. The art, the music, the gameplay, everything is perfectly on theme!!! I can't wait to try out the full game, and i believe you've got the powerhouse of creativity for more games like it :D

After the video, I immediately went to see if this game was out,not the other one.

man. you are like.. really fucking cool. excited to see what the game becomes, goodluck!

What a robbery, I just watched the vid and had to come over to subscribe. Your rogue like looks so fun.

Just watched the “competition”…you were robbed by popularity. I wish you the best of luck with this project and in the future, you are insanely talented!

Im definitely purchasing this masterful rogue like! Your music design, visuals, and creativity are all amazing

Can't wait for the full release, have wishlisted already :D Hope you win next time ^^ Because you deserve it

So glad to see you’re continuing work on the game! I’m buying this the day it’s available

Amazing game! I'm amazed at how good and polished you were able to make it in so little time. The mechanics are captivating, and overall it just feels such a fun and unique game. Definitely eager to see how it turns out! Best wishes for you.

Man You're talended AF and got robbed of the 1st place. I was stunned both when you made 1st day puzzle game and later on with the 10k challenge. I'm so inspired - I might get back to Unreal Engine myself. Keep up the great work!

I love the look of disinherited, i normally don't "want to buy" that style of game, but your personality just makes me want to try it out so badly! Also, when you said "My husband is gonna be editing" , my heart exploded! I cant believe how precious you are! Please never stop doing what yiure passionate about!

I went into that video rooting for Lixian because he was the only one I knew, but by round two i was rooting for your unique art style and overall polished look. None of the other contestants made their games look anywhere near publishable but you!

This game 100% shouldve one, only one that actually felt like a real game with replayability, and honestly the only one that really fit the Memento Mori theme

I am starting(again)my journey on game dev. I quit using a computer for a long time and recently got a new one and decided to give it another go. Also doing KZfaq, streaming. And learning as much as I can in my free time. I started watching what I used to watch years ago. BTP, brackeys. All the old classic game devs. Just saw your game on btp comp and I normally don’t subscribe nowadays to anyone new. But you got my subscribe. It is really incredible how you lost just because of a community vote. But least to say. Your game was the best from the first week. Cannot wait to see the full polished end result. Keep it going man

I don't care the results, you won in my eyes for inventiveness and replayability

Good luck for the game's success, I feel like having really great art for everything will really help the game.

Dude your game was so impressive and polished. I haven’t clicked on any other creators channel from the blackthorn videos but yours was just absolutely stellar and I had to see what else you did. Your game was so ridiculously clean and I thought you were a total shoe in to win. I’m excited that you’re still developing this game, since it looks like an amazing roguelike.

Your idea is so interesting, and you incorporated it in the design and gameplay so well, and teve bosses being people that searched for immortality and that’s what your character is going for, chefs kiss, incrdible game, you deserved to win

That video brought me to your channel lol. It was difficult since Lixian is so established. You held your own and 100% had the best story and the most polish

That light mechanic is super clever!

Excited to see this game get fully fleshed out

You did incredibly, I especially loved all the references to people and characters, and how they fulfilled the prompts so well

i have a suggestion have you ever played tiny theif this game kinda resembles that its a master piece maybe you should add some things or puzzles from it aswell?

Im so happy to be here for the start of this journey and I’m excited to stay for the rest of it :)

Instantly came to subscribe. You deserved that win such a well thought out game! I will be getting this game the moment it’s released!

Loved the refrences to A Series of Unfortunate Events, was hoping for your game to win but honestly ill probably buy this when it releases

You may have lost that battle. But you are on your way to win the war. Best wishes.

Can’t wait for this to release , this is actually amazing such a talented game dev artist and musician ❤

Dude, this looks awesome! Can't wait to see what it becomes!

You should have won TBH. Your entry was really impressive, so many systems masterfully pieced together. Unfortunately, general audiences are usually easily impressed by flashy graphics, and while your game's sprite art looks great, people always tend to find 3D more impressive than 2D, even if the 3D is bad - so much so that when 3D games started to become more mainstream in the 90s, alot of titles jumped to 3D, even at detriment to how they actually looked (take the PC and the PS1 version of Dune 2000 as a good example of this - the 2D art of the PC version looks great, but they went 3D for the PS1 version with horribly blocky art because they felt like they had too). Now I am not trying to disparage the game that won the competition; It looked nice enough in it's 3D, and it did have some amazing jump-scare scenes (which is a great thing to have, yes, but unfortunately the kind of thing KZfaq audiences tend to over-value, just look at the popularity of horror-game playthroughs), but beyond that it seemed much more generic and basic than what you had done. You could tell with your game you had put alot of thought and planning into everything, and there was immense depth to your systems, whereas for the winner's game, it sort of seemed like that were making it up as they went along much more. Nothing wrong with that approach, but it did feel like less effort was put into it overall. Oh well, I could lament about the simplicity and shallowness of the wider general audience all day long, but I shan't. I am sure that 10 grand would have been great for you, but at the end of the day, you're still a winner - as I am glad you realise by all the extra follows and wishlists you've gotten since the competition. Nicely done good sir, nicely done. Be proud!

I actually thought this looked like a metroidvania from the previous video, but both super cool genres. Glad you have "won" in a different sense, as it sounds like you've got a great passion project out of it. Da Fluffy Potato's Black Thorn Prod video has set him off down a similar path and I really do think that combination of time crunch, high visibility and cash incentive has really pushed people to work their arses off, with weird twists that have added to the projects. Who'd have thought adding computers would produce, honestly, one of the coolest bosses, to a game with a largely Victorian kind of aesthetic, but made it feel steam punk, and it definitely works. Hopefully you'll have a good kickstarter and I don't think you should overlook how cool the 2d bone animation looks. That more detailed aesthetic looks great, even though I do understand what you mean about the unfavorable movement when compared to the exaggerations of pixel art. Having said that, pixel art is done to death ATM and some vector based art is a nice change.

I’ve already wishlisted and I love hearing more about this game. I hope this is the game that blows up for you into something huge! I can definitely see the potential for a huge fan base :3

been watching for quite some time now. absolutely love your artstyle and your work.

Sadly I don’t have a computer which means I can’t get steam but if I did I would’ve added disinherited to my wish list immediately, it looks so fun and kind of reminds me of hollow knight, I’ll definitely be watching these dev logs over the weeks to see how everything goes

I will be keeping a close eye on this one.... I am a massive roguelike fan, and was rooting for your game right from the start of the competition. There is so much potential here. Easy wishlist

You should have won. I was so disappointed at the end of the video. Your hard work and dedication was an indication of character and uniqueness. I wishlisted Disinherited right after watching the video. 🥰

I hoped so Bad, that your Game wins... But Hearing your Plans, Made me sooo Happy

It must be so amazing having someone who has skills and interests that will help create your vision for the game.

I absolutely thought you should of won, this game looks like it'll be so fun and there are so many options for bosses! There are so many different figures in history and myth that have claimed to be immortal and some would absolutely make awesome fights. I wanna put my vote in for one boss fight that is reminescent of Ornstein And Smough or Theseus and Asterius, but based on the alchemist Nicholas Flamel and his wife Perenelle Flamel, as I think a good double boss fight always gives an interesting challenge

You knoe what is funny? I saw a awesome video right before i saw the black thornprod video and check out your channel. Thats when i knew i should really keep up with these videos 😁

Gonna follow your journey closely hope you get the game out !!!!

Congrats on your success and momentum can’t wait to see more of this!

Congrats, what an achievement! The game looks sooo polished for only 3 weeks of development, you'll have a seriously impressive product at the end of the 100 days. Good luck! Just subbed, I'm looking forward to hearing more about the project going forward

disinherited is such an amazing game. the whole idea is is great and the game loop seems so cool! keep it going!

I commented on your other video at the time but I’ll say it again. Love your content and I’m excited to see what you do !

if supermeat boy was still relevant, samuel would be a perfect unlockable character

I am really excited for when you release it! good luck for your sleep schedule btw lol

Here to watch the weekly uploads. Wishlisted and excited for release!

Came here from the BTP video. Enjoyed watching your entry and this video. I really look forward to what you do with this going forward.

Like so many said before, I also think you should have won. Amazing work, keep going, I wish you the best. Cheers from Germany

I wishlisted! You are an inspiration and I wish you best of luck this time around!

Really impressed by your work! Already wishlisted the game!

Best of luck developing the game! Can’t wait to see how it will get improved in the upcoming future 😁

Jo, you are crazy. This game looks so good and fun. One could really feel that the theme resonated with you. I am really looking forward to see the devlog 💪Think this is the start of a bigger fanbase.

yours together with codeer's were the only games I genuinely felt like playing (probably because I like those genres best, but still). especially after the last round with the new bosses and the awesome design for them, I particularly liked the concept of a leader of a cult that worships pain as a way to prolongue life. all in all good work and best wishes on your steam sale!

Even now, Disinherited looks amazing and I can't wait to play it whenever it comes out. Hopefully its success will make the $10K that you deserved to win look like pocket change.

just wanna say i loved your work with that game, very inspiring!!!

Man, you did an awesome job! I loved it! I'm trying to get into gamedev, starting from zero, and your work, your game is a huge inspiration for me! I almost never leave any comments in KZfaq, but i just wanted to leave some small encouragment for you, after seeing that this piece of art didn't win the competition) Hope you'll go far with this game)

I was rooting so badly for you throughout that video, I was surprised that your game did not win. However I have subscribed and I am so down to see whatever you cook further!

Cannot wait for the full release!!! I really dig your game

find out about you and this game from the competition video and I liked your game from the very beginning. As someone who is only now starting to learn about game development, I can only be inspired by this and maybe learn some useful tips and tricks along the way ;)

You have insane potential as a game developer. I can see you making something big one day

dude your game is incredible! i was rooting for you, but since they gave the votes to the community, and lixian has more than 1mil subs, they voted for him, but, rightfully, you won that, and youre the real winner, your game is awesome, i can see how much effort and love you put into it, i wishlisted it on steam, im not saying lixian's game isn't good, it's definitely amazing too, but the horror genre is a bit too generic already, and doesnt really remind me of the whole Memento Mori thing. once again, you won that competition, youre a winner. im looking forward to your game Dryden!

So pumped to watch you expand on this game!

you deserve the win dude the game is so so so good

Good Luck!! I was in awe for how much you had done

Husband keeping a strict dev regime 😂 wonderful. PS. You should have won 🎉

can't wait for the video. and then for Disinherited to be released. My stances on the contest are clear, as they are for everyone else here. Hope you have been having a great week Dryden!

i was so glad when i saw someone delve into the memento theme so well, and im even more ecstatic to hear that you’ll be continuing the game!! all the love and support!

Keep going! Really liked the game! You are very talented and also very sweet. Cheers from Brazil!