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2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
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@thefirsttree
A first-person farming horror allegory. Become a recluse, build up your farm, and survive the lonely nights.
Hello everyone, it's been a while! I just announced my new game, a first-person farming horror allegory called We Harvest Shadows, and if that sounds interesting, I would love if you wishlisted it today on Steam. Thanks for supporting me for so long, it means a lot. ā„
It finally happened! The Special Limited edition of The First Tree for Nintendo Switch is now available! You get tons of goodies including the soundtrack, a notepad, poster, a cool acrylic standee, and much more.
This is the final thing Iāll release for The First Tree. I started this game in 2016, and Iām grateful to end it on such a positive note. Thank you for all the support Tumblr! Itās meant the world to me. ā„
https://store.strictlylimitedgames.com/collections/the-first-tree
A personal update + my next game
OK, time to do this. Iāve been meaning to do a big DAVID WEHLEā¢ update for a while now and explain why I havenāt released a new game yet, but you know how life gets in the way. Especially when life is a quarantine hellscape, you have three beautiful, amazing, exhausting kids to raise, a spouseās job you support, a viral YouTube channel that turns your brain to mush, a thousand emails waiting in your inbox since your game is free on the Epic Games Store (with an impressive number of redemptions too! ā¦ meaning lots of emails and customer support issues), etc., etc. What also contributes to my lack of updates is becauseā¦ I just donāt really like posting online. Fascinating correlation, I know!
Donāt worry, this isnāt going to be a venting/ranting blog post (well, maybe a bit), because my life is seriously AMAZING and INSANELY BLESSED and LUCKY. I canāt believe how many dreams keep coming true, so much so that I feel I donāt deserve it and I really pulled the wool over everyoneās eyesā¦ but I did want to at least be honest, because I owe that to myself.
Wow, where do I even begin? Well, how about we start with the reason Iām even a full-time indie game dev now: The First Tree. This small hobby project I worked on at night morphed into this gargantuan beast (or fox) that took over my life the past 5 years. Which is great! Iām living the dream! And yet, I really didnāt expect it to do as well as it did. At its core, my game is a slow-paced, sad walking simulator (ahem, I prefer the term āexploration game,ā but you know what I mean) that somehow seemed to launch at the right time to the right audience. It resonated deeply with some of you, and for that Iām eternally grateful. I still get emails almost daily how my game changed their lives in some formative way. Iām beyond honored.
However, with that spotlight came criticism and demands from the ever-present, insatiable internet. I would randomly be surfing the gamedev subreddit trying to decompress, and I would see a comment by some rando saying how much I didnāt deserve my success, and how it was all one huge lucky fluke. And I believed them!
And to add to it, some devs considered me an indie marketing āguruā, which I was uncomfortable with. I worked hard to market my game every week, and after my GDC talk, people assumed marketing was my passion; the reason I got up every morning. Just to clarifyā¦ NO, I donāt like marketing, and I hate being the center of attention. I donāt like asking people for money and wishlists. But I did what was necessary because I was passionate about telling stories, and I wanted to give my story a fighting chance to be seen on the crowded pages of Steam.
So now, youāre probably wondering āwell then David, why did you make fancy YouTube videos showing off your success? Not very modest if you ask me.ā This honestly could be a long blog post all on its own, because my experience of putting myself in the spotlight and becoming a ācontent creatorā isā¦ complicated. It was an unusual step for me, especially since I never even showed my face online (as a game developer) until my GDC talk.
First off, I always wanted to teach and start a YouTube channel. I love video editing, especially since Iāve been doing it longer than making games! Itās a huge passion of mine. And teaching people who didnāt know they could make and finish games was a huge motivator (and itās been so rewarding already). But the second reason is, I was scared. I was self-employed, and I was riding the success of a āhuge lucky flukeā that would probably not happen again. I wanted to make sure I could provide for my amazing family, and give them food and health insurance and security in these tumultuous times. I was turning my lifelong passions and hobbies into a business, and it wasnāt as simple of a mental transition as I thought.
So, I went all in on YouTube and the accompanying online course called Game Dev Unlocked. I spent years editing the scripts and videos, and polishing them to a shine. At first, no one watched my videos, no one was buyingā¦ and in the blink of an eye, the YouTube algorithm picked up my main autobiographical video (āHow Making Indie Games Changed My Lifeā), and I started getting 5,000 subscribers a day. Right now, Iām at 150,000 subs, which is still hard for me to believe. I always had a dream of earning 100k subs on YouTube, so I was pretty happy with the whole thing. Sales were OK, but mostly people didnāt want to buy the course. Then the emails came inā¦
Something you should know about me: I am a textbook āpeople pleaser,ā and if someone asks for my help, I take it very seriously. If someone is mad at me, even if I didnāt do anything wrong, itās all I can think about, and it ruins my day. So, taking an onslaught of people begging for help and multiplying that by an impossible amount of people for my brain to truly comprehend thanks to the internetā¦ and letās just say it wasnāt a healthy mix.
I received thousands of emails from people who were begging me for some kind of reassurance that everything would be OK. That their dreams would come true too. And I wanted to help every single one of them. I went from a nobody working on a game for fun to becoming a spokesperson for the indie game dream. I couldnāt even get a shake from the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru without someone recognizing me and asking for game dev advice. And it didnāt stop thereā¦ I would get emails from suicidal kids asking for help, teenagers from Afghanistan asking me to get them out of their country, and on one occasion I received an email from a hopeful game developer in a war-torn country who had just experienced a bomb blowing up their neighboring village. His friends were dead, and he was hoping he could finish a game before he died too, and he needed my help. How do you say no to something like that? Didnāt I owe it to everyone because I was lucky with my hit game and I needed to āpay it forwardā? (Something people constantly reminded me of)
And then to top it off, after youāve given everything youāve got to other people in needā¦ you get hate mail in your inbox. You spend the whole day serving your children and strangers on the internet, then when the kids are finally asleep, you hit the bed to relax and take a look at your phone to decompress, and you randomly come across an angry gamer in your Twitter mentions telling you your game they got for free sucks, and that you took away a potentially great game from them and that your apology isnāt good enough.
Long story short, I went to a mental therapist for the first time in my life. I was broken trying to care for two toddlers and a new baby in a pandemic (which is very, very hard), taking care of my course students who gave me their hard-earned money and demanded results, and the countless people begging for help on the internet. I was this introverted, internet-lurker trying to take on the weight of the world. I was so tired and hurt that no one cared about me and my needsā¦ only what I could do for them.
Quitting my day job and making this hobby my full-time job has stirred upā¦ mixed emotions. This statement may disturb some of you, but I was definitely 100% happier when I had a full-time job and I was working on my game at night. I missed working with the amazing team at The VOID, working on Star Warsā¦ back when the success of my game was this abstract thing I could only daydream about. Mostly, I was making my game for me with no outside expectations to pay the bills or satisfy the ever-demanding internet, and that brought me a lot of joy.
Itās not all doom and gloom though! Iām actually very happy now and in the best shape Iāve been since the pandemic started. Iāve had to confront my weaknesses and personality quirks, but Iām a better person for it (and Iām sure these issues wouldāve come out eventually). I hired an awesome community manager for Game Dev Unlocked who is helping SO MUCH with the emails, I canāt even tell you the mental burden it alleviates. I even leased a co-working office to help separate work from my home, and thatās been a huge help too. Iāve decided to work with my old friends from The VOID on a cool, new VR experience. It will take me away from my projects a bit, but Iām ecstatic to work with a great team again (and not manage anything, whew).
These are all things I wouldāve never guessed I needed, because I thought I knew myself pretty wellā¦ turns out I didnāt.
The reality is: running a business is HARD. Running it solo is even harder. You have to remember, I was burnt out on The First Tree well into the Steam release in 2017, but I kept working on it for 4 more years due to my fears of failing again and not earning enough money for my family.
So, I was wrestling with the age-old concept of commercialism and art. There was this dichotomy of doing whatever I wanted and being true to my vision (what most people assume the indie dev dream is like), and doing only what customers wanted to buy. This is something that has killed me with YouTubeā¦ in one specific instance, I was super excited to make the exact video I wanted to make. I loved every part of its creation, and I thought it had a message that would inspire everyone. I lovingly edited it over several weeks, posted it, and excitedly waited for the statsā¦ and it was by far my worst performing video.
This is not a new problem. Even the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo was a commission forced upon him by the very violent Pope Julius II. My wife and I regularly talk about the fine balance between artistic integrity and commercialism, a problem she is very familiar with as an artist who constantly needs to balance what she wants to make with what the customer wants to hang up in their home.
For The First Tree, I was lucky. It was pretty much what I wanted to make (I had to compromise a lot of things of course), and it turned out millions of people wanted it too. Recently, I thought the safe business decision would be to do it all over again, so I started work on a spiritual successor to The First Tree (an idea that I may revisit one day since I do love the story idea). But that isnāt happening anytime soon. Trust me when I say I am now currently burnt out on animal exploration games.
So that realization left me with a question: what do I do next?
Iāve decided I need to make a game that I want to make, for me. It will be a bit different and Iām almost certain most fans of The First Tree will not love itā¦ but itās an idea that gets me super excited. Itās an idea that could help me fall in love with game development again.
A few more details: this game will be story-driven, first-person, and will use the Unreal Engine. That means development is gonna be slow going, because I have to learn a whole new tool. The āsmart businessā decision would be to make something quickly in Unity which Iām already familiar withā¦ but I want to do this for me, and UE5 looks like a lot of fun. Iām also shooting for an early-ish release date so I avoid burn out and I keep the game short: I want to release it in Fall 2022, but knowing game development, it will probably take longer.
With the help of my therapist, Iāve also concluded that Iāve been too accessible on the internet and that my self-worth isnāt determined by the amount of people I try to help online. Of course, I love helping people and seeing them succeed, but I need to step back and focus on my family and myself. I will delete my social media apps on my phone (I will still post big updates occasionally) and stop responding to most emails, tweets, DMs, etc. Itās not that Iām ungratefulā¦ in fact, if I donāt say thank you or at least acknowledge the incredibly nice people who share a sweet message about my game or want to tell me how I inspire them (still hard for me to believe, lol), I feel a ton of guiltā¦ but I need to let that go. Please know Iām extremely grateful to all the fans who follow my work, so even if I donāt thank you directly, I truly mean it: thank you.
I will still post and stream occasionally on YouTube when I want to (and I still do live Q&Aās for my GDU students). The online course sales will help support my family as I work on a potentially risky game idea (and my new job will help alleviate the risk too). Iām gonna try one more marketing experiment and sell a mini-course soon (and add an Unreal section), and after that Iām done working on it. A gigantic thank you to the people who bought my course and are part of the amazing community, it has helped me and my family tremendously, and itās inspiring seeing the games you make!
Iām a bit worried about the whole thing since this new game idea could flop, which could definitely affect my family. But a sappy, high-school yearbook quote is coming to mindā¦ Ā I think it applies here: āA ship in harbor is safeābut that is not what ships are built for.ā
Thanks for reading,
David
I was working on a deer player for fun... then this happened š
My game The First Tree is now FREE!! You can own my $10 adventure game forever if you redeem it within 1 week. I partnered with Epic Games Store for this (they were very generous and great to work with), so you just need an Epic account and to click the "Get" button (link below). I hope you like it, let me know what you think in the comments! š¦
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/the-first-tree
After 2.5 years, I finally launched my online school, Game Dev Unlocked! I basically show you everything you need to know to make a beautiful animal game like The First Tree, and how to release it on Steam and make a living being a game dev. I really put my all into the 35+ hours of content, and I think youād love it if youāre interested in making games!
Click here to redeem a coupon for 40% off and check out the course curriculum:Ā https://courses.gamedevunlocked.com/p/game-dev-unlocked/?coupon_code=WELCOME0372&preview=logged_out
The First Tree will be free (and keep forever) on the Epic Games Store starting April 15th! If you havenāt tried it yet, Iām excited for you try my sad (but hopeful) fox adventure game!
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/free-games
Wow, beautiful watercolor artwork for the vinyl release of The First Tree OST. Big thanks to Mana Wave Media for setting this all up. Itās not out yet, but stay tuned!
https://www.manawave.co/
The First Tree is OUT NOW on iOS and Android! š¦š±
Explore a gorgeous, poignant world in what IGN called "a tranquil and personal journey."
Thank you for all your support Tumblr, you folks have always helped me out and sent the nicest messages. Please share this if you can, it would mean the world to me!
iOS:Ā https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-first-tree/id1524841987
Android:Ā https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.davidwehle.thefirsttree
š¦ The First Tree is coming to mobile NOVEMBER 18! Pre-order now on your platform of choice! š¦
iOS:Ā https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1524841987
Android:Ā https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.davidwehle.thefirsttree
Pay what you want for a bundle full of games and software from Unity creators like The First Tree and FPS Builder! Plus, your purchase supports four different charities!
The First Tree is part of the Unity Games and Game Dev Assets Bundle on Humble Bundle! Honestly Iām gonna buy it right now, so many great asset packs I wanna use.
Unity invited me toĀ āguest starā in a tutorial about Bolt and the HDRP workflow! Check it out, I give some quick tips on making striking art for your game.
Iām pleased to announce that The First Tree is coming to iOS and Android... soonish! Probably late this year. I got it working start to finish at 30fps on my iPhone 8 and S8+, so it just needs some polish.
Do you guys like Thomas Brush? Heās one of my favorite game developers, and we had a long chat about the indie game life. Put it on in the background and take a listen!
Iām making videos now! Hereās something the artists here may like... an analysis of what makes good art good and striking!
I've remastered my first game, and it's also on sale for 50 cents! Check it out if you like relaxing 30-minute walks with sad music and voiceovers. š¤
https://store.steampowered.com/app/355970/Home_is_Where_One_Starts/
Barn at dusk timelapse