'Let It Flow' Is a Hilarious Meme Game Built by a YouTube Community

One Big Poop Joke

DevAddict is a YouTuber and video game designer. He offers free video courses teaching the basics of how to make games using Unreal Engine 4, with more advanced courses available for a fee. Because he’s a hobbyist as well as a gamer, not all his videos are serious. A lot of them show him developing games, experimenting with game design, and playing games (poorly, by his own admission).

DevAddict is a YouTuber and video game designer.

DevAddict has, like many YouTubers, become popular due to his enthusiasm, sense of humor, and friendly interactions with his followers. His chat stream has become a community where regulars hang out, joke, and talk about video games and designing them. Let It Flow is a free-to-play game available on Steam which sprang from DevAddict’s ongoing conversation with his community.

It’s also, not to put too fine a point on it, one big poop joke.

A Collaborative Effort

For this project, DevAddict told his followers that he was their “slave” and had to obey their commands. He developed the entire game in response to the demands of his chat stream - concept, gameplay, graphics and all. This approach gave a uniquely collaborative, improvisational nature to the design process.

[DevAddict] developed the entire game in response to the demands of his chat stream...

“DevAddict’s Chat” is actually listed as the developer on Steam. Followers sent in models, sound effects, special effects, levels, and other game elements, which he incorporated into the game. The result is a chaotic, unpredictable game which freely combines a variety of elements for a unique gaming experience.

Visual Story-Telling... With Poop

The graphics and audio of Let It Flow are not as polished as a studio-released game. The 3D figures are blocky and not extensively animated. However, the simple, colorful design is easily understood by the eye, lending an intuitive aspect to the game’s visuals.

The 3D figures are blocky and not extensively animated...

The game’s aesthetic themes are followed relentlessly. Piles of poop are ubiquitous. Vehicles have rolls of toilet paper as wheels. Water hazards are toilets. Some levels have soundtracks made up of fart noises. Playable characters (assigned randomly) include a rat, an ear of corn, and a snowman who resembles Olaf from Frozen.

Since objects and sound were often developed independently and sent to DevAddict, his task was to unify them to give the game a coherent and distinct personality. It may be an abrasive personality obsessed with toilet humor, but his unification of disparate elements is an achievement in its own right.

A Chaotic Online Multiplayer

Let It Flow’s unique and experimental elements have created a game with highly varied gameplay. Each level is a different style of game. These include elements of 3D platformers, racing games, shooters, and more. Modes include Deathmatch, Capture the Flag (or underpants), Soccer (with a ball of dung) and Trophy Hunt (you can probably guess what the trophy is.) The game already has thirteen levels, with more to come.

Each level is a different style of game.

These games are fast-paced, competitive, and hard. There are a lot of players moving fast, most of them mean you harm, and some of them have rocket launchers. The terrain itself is unforgiving, full of traps and hazards that have to be negotiated precisely. There’s not much in the way of a tutorial, either. You’ll have to figure out what the buttons do for yourself - yes, one of them just makes your character dab.

For its devoted fans, though, the difficulty is part of the fun. You die often in this game, but with little penalty, and you can quickly get back into the fun with minimal delay. After being killed by a particular obstacle a few times, you figure it out. After being killed by a particular player a few times, you vow revenge - and when you get it, it feels good.

Developers and Fans Unite

For the gamer who loves a chaotic free-for-all and is also a fan of toilet humor, Let It Flow is a deathmatch made in heaven. DevAddict has definitely brought something quirky and new to the table with this collaborative effort. In the last decade we've seen how video game developers are getting very involved with their fans and forming online communities. Patches, expansions, and sequels are created with greater fan input now more than ever before.

Is this the next step? Does the future hold more video games created by communities, with a leader who acts more as a director than as an author, and who is instantly held accountable for his actions in real time? Are we watching a new style of game development still in its infancy? That would certainly explain its sense of humor... We will see!