RWBY: Grim Eclipse - Retrospective

Greetings Hunters!

I usually start these with a joke, but since it's April Fools Day I thought it'd be (not) funny to just stay completely serious this month. No jokes whatsoever! Just pure, raw, unfiltered sentimentality. It'll be fun!

A Beautiful Dream

It was 10 years ago today that I released the RWBY: Grim Eclipse Demo. It was a cute little fan-game I made to both celebrate Rooster Teeth's first season of RWBY, and as a tribute to its creator, Monty Oum. In all honesty I knew the company was known for hiring their fans and it felt like the perfect opportunity to go for, but at 19 years old I couldn't fathom it actually happening. And then it did!

I was somewhat of a Rooster Teeth fan at the time, but I'd primarily gotten into them through Monty's work. Like many others he was largely the person who inspired me to become an animator, going all the way back to when I first saw Haloid as a kid. I was pretty deep in the Newgrounds flash animation scene back then, but while those were just sprites, Monty's work was completely 3D. He essentially made fully fleshed out videogame cutscenes in the form of low budget short films—and he did it alone.

That last bit stuck with me. I was obsessed with understanding how one person could be capable of creating something like that, so I studied his work, watched his interviews, learned the programs he used, etc. At first I tried to make animations like his (which never saw the light of day), but eventually I found myself leaning more towards game development. Still, he became a pivotal role model in my life and really ignited my passion, both in the kind of art I wanted to make and in seeing what people were capable of. He sparked my soul!

I spent my teenage years channeling that passion into a bunch of different things. I made MUGEN characters, several fan-games, sprite animations, 3D animations—all sorts of stuff. When Monty joined Rooster Teeth and eventually dropped RWBY, I was applying to colleges and thought it'd be a fun opportunity to make one last fan-game before my freetime evaporated forever. So, I spent about 5~ months working on Grim Eclipse!

My goal with Grimm Eclipse (GE) was pretty simple: make a playable Red Trailer. I wanted all of the style and depth of Ruby's arsenal in gameplay form, and I wanted it at a level of quality that would get Monty's attention. I truly just wanted senpai to notice me.

The game was essentially a horde-based action game with RPG progression, and it got pretty hard! Enemy waves would build up over time as you unlocked more and more of Ruby's moveset (her dodge roll had to be unlocked for some reason??). The deeper you got into it, the more it became about surviving the horde, managing resources, and using the momentum of her weapon to keep her out of harm's way. It's pretty damn janky but once you got into it, it could get kinda fun!

It's funny because looking at it now, the game's ugly as hell and the controls are pretty clunky, but I was really pushing myself back then! I was so fixated on little details like how Ruby cocked her gun after certain attacks, how her animations switched between the different modes on her weapon, or how for some reason there's an entire stat and party system fully implemented despite her being the only playable character?? I definitely overcooked in some areas and undercooked in others, but I think the passion was there all the same.

Funnily enough, Rooster Teeth's actual company anniversary was on April 1st, so I figured that'd be the best day to release (while praying people wouldn't just see it as a joke). I was pretty focused on college applications by then, so I kinda just threw it out into the ether, closed my eyes, and hoped for the best. Monty reached out to me personally on Twitter within the day.

The End of Reason

There's a moment in Berserk where the "age of reason" comes to an end. It's a little more literal in Berserk's case, but ultimately it's saying is that the characters' understanding of their world has fundamentally changed. That's the only way I can really describe how I felt when Monty reached out to me. I felt very fulfilled of course, but there was also a weird sensation in the back of my mind that I couldn't fully appreciate at the time—like my world had fundamentally changed.

I was stepping into a completely new world under the guidance of the person I'd looked up to my entire life, and with the company I was merely dreaming of working at barely a day prior. It quite literally felt like my dreams were being pulled into reality before my very eyes, and it was by far the greatest moment of my life.

I got to spend a bit of time with Monty in person, getting to know him, exchanging workflows, talking about our favourite games/anime, grabbing food, and just discussing what we had in mind for GE. He immediately talked to me like a member of his team and made me feel welcome, even talking about getting me a Visa so I could work in the states. Just a kind, thoughtful, and incredibly passionate guy all around.

Our work together was sadly pretty short-lived. I started officially in November 2014, and Monty unfortunately passed away in February 2015 at 33 years old. It felt like waking up from a dream right before it gets interesting, giving you just enough time to get invested before abruptly taking it all away. I felt pretty lonely for a little while, with the guiding hand that was walking me through all this no longer there. I felt nothing but love and sorrow for his family and coworkers who had way more reason to grieve than me, but his influence was still burned into my soul, as it is in so many others. Even though I only knew him briefly, his passion was tangible.

The rest of GE's development was a bit of a mixed bag, but I just found that a lot of my personal investment had waned once Monty passed away. I feel like we did an okay job in the end all things considered, but in truth I think part of me will always yearn for what could have been. Still, coming away from the experience did leave me a bit empty. I was incredibly fortunate and had gotten to work my dream job and meet my hero, so what could possibly come after that?

One piece of advice Monty gave me that I'll never forget was to stay out of the AAA games industry because it will chew up passionate folks like us and spit 'em out once they've been used. He said that to me almost 10 years ago now, and 10 years later we're seeing mass layoffs. I think between his words to me then and words of encouragement from my other coworkers, making my own game felt like the clearest next step. I simply can't imagine doing anything else.

Arbiter has truly become the vessel for my passion, and in spite of how long it's taking I do hope everyone knows I'm giving it my all! I want to make something I can be personally proud of that holds up to Monty's legacy, while still being a solid character action game in its own right. It's a spiritual burden I've kinda put on myself, but I suppose that's the cost of living without regrets.

I'm incredibly grateful to Monty and Rooster Teeth for seeing something in me and giving me the opportunity they did 10 years ago. I have absolutely no idea where I'd be without them, but I definitely wouldn't be here, making my dream game. I wish we got to do more, but I'm grateful for the time we had. In the end, we all just have to keep moving forward!

Making Things Right

As a last little gift, I figured with Rooster Teeth closing shop and selling off their IPs, I wanted to make those old builds of GE available for anyone interested. I had to take them down due to potential legal issues when the game went official, but there's nothing stopping me now! Let them come for me! I'm not scared! MWAHAHAHAHA!

If you're interested you can check 'em out here!

Thanks as always for your support everyone! I'll be doing a proper recap for Arby in the next few days, so I appreciate everyone's patience in the meantime!

Cheers,
Jordy