Relic Abyss is a charming JRPG roguelite made by Filipino devs

Relic Abyss is a dense Vampire Survivors-esque JRPG roguelite with a charming anime inspired art style. With 20 different classes expected in the 1.0 release and lots of different abilities and equipment to min-max with, players can expect to lose hundreds of hours mastering this simple to pick up but hard to master game. Relic Abyss offers an interesting world filled with Ghibli and Lovecraftian elements so fans of either will be in for a treat. We got to talk with Blas Dizon, founder of dev team Reverse Loop for Relic Abyss, as he tells us about his journey with the game and his career.

Tell us a little something about yourself and Reverse Loop

Greetings! I’m Blas Dizon, the founder of Philippines-based game development team: Reverse Loop. I’ve been making games for over 10 years and Relic Abyss is our second attempt at developing our own indie game!

Our core team includes me, Osias Bantug (Pixlwalkr), the game artist, and our composer, Buch Dacanay.

Me and Osias go way back to our college days in 2013. During that time, I established the very first game development organization in CIIT called G.A.M.E. It is where I’ve met a lot of talented people including Osias who I’ve always thought had a lot of talent in creating game art.

We wanted to create our own indie game instead of applying to local companies, so we did our best to release our first title, Towertale, right after graduation. We even released it on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

Sadly, the game’s earnings were not enough for us to continue making games, so we went back to working for other people. We did a lot of freelance work in between, and I eventually got a senior dev position that pays a lot.

Using that money, I was able to convince Osias to give indie dev another try. And because it’s both our dream to make games that we can call our own that can compete on the global stage.

How did you end up working with your publisher, Mameshiba

What I’ve learned with our first game’s release is that: Good games cost time and money to make and marketing begins as soon as you pick what genre of game you’re making. (Shoutout to HTMAG)

For Relic Abyss I made sure the team had the necessary funding in order for us to make the best game we can make.

Which is why this time, we have decided to pitch our game to a lot of publishers. During our pitching phase, we were in talks with around 20-30 publishers that were interested in the game. 

At one point we were even given a grant worth $6000 by a big publisher just to finish our demo and give them first right of refusal. Sadly that publisher chose not to sign with us.

During our publisher search, I’ve noticed that a lot of them sounded pretty corporate or robotic despite being indie. We chose Mameshiba Games because they were the most “human” people we have talked to and they were legitimately excited and were fans of the game that they were making. It helped that they were also huge anime fans, and I was already kind of a fan of their first game, Kinniku Neko: Super Muscle Cat!

They also ticked all of my boxes in terms of a publishing agreement as they have provided funding, marketing support, QA, and even reworked all of our in game portraits and marketing materials. Plus their expertise also lies in console porting. I want my game to be available on every platform which is why I thought they were a great fit.

How did you personally get into video games? And eventually game development?

I started gaming around the age of 5. My first exposure was playing Mortal Kombat at my neighbor’s house. Ever since then I kept visiting him everyday until my parents decided to buy me my own Family Computer. And I’ve been gaming ever since.

During my high school days, my dad bought me a Playstation, and it opened my mind to a lot of games. My personal favorite game since my childhood is still OG Digimon world because it gave me a lot of memories playing it for days with my brother.

After that I’ve transitioned directly to PC gaming. Going to computer shops, playing LAN games and even playing a lot of MMOs like RO, Flyff, Rose Online, and probably everything else that came out in that era.

We eventually got our own PC at home, but we had no internet so we usually buy pirated games and install them when we get back. Some of those games were Warcraft 3, Age of Wonders, and Heroes of Might and Magic 4. What do all of those games have in common? They have a built-in level editor on their install disks.

I’ve tinkered with a lot of them and even made my own maps with zero programming knowledge. My brother was my only “customer” back then and he loved playing all of it. That’s when I knew how cool it was making games. But I didn’t get to study it until I saw that CIIT was offering a course on game development back in 2013.

Apart from  the Vampire Survivors influence, what other games strongly influenced Relic Abyss? 

Not as much in games, but more on anime influence. I wanted to make a game where anime fans like myself can relate to. For example the setting in our game was inspired by Made in Abyss. But we also have other anime references / call backs like Beyblades, saws, drills, yoyos, magic, robots, lost technology, etc. These are some things that have molded me during my childhood and I think other people can relate to it as well.

While we did take some inspiration from Vampire Survivors, ultimately I wanted to make RPG games where there is also a story. Because game characters are just pixels on the screen that you would forget. But making a game that can make you care about its characters, that sticks with you for a long time.

That’s the kind of game I want Relic Abyss to be. While we do have flashy Vampire Survivors-like gameplay, the story of the game plays out similar to popular shounen mangas or manhwas where something interesting is always happening while you are enjoying the main gameplay loop.

What are your specific roles in making Relic Abyss?

Given our small team, I’m forced to wear many hats such as programmer, game designer, game marketer, community manager, and business person.

Making a game also makes you an entrepreneur. Aside from making the actual game, there are a lot of factors to take in. Like is your team getting paid for their work? How are you going to promote your brand or market your game? What kind of people do you need to meet in order to further your goals?

These are some questions a lot of people don’t ask when someone wants to make a game. As I am the head of the operation, the pressure all lies on me. Because at the end of the day, you are a chef. Your team makes the ingredients and you’re the one who’s gonna cook the meal. And if you can’t deliver, then your game will surely fail.

What are your oldest influences in games? How about anime? Because that is a clear aesthetic in the game. 

My oldest influences are of course Nintendo games like Mario, duck hunt, and everything that was available on a family computer starter pack. But my most influential ones to me were probably the PS1 games era.

My favorite games are Digimon World, Suikoden II, Final Fantasy 9, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Medievil.

For Anime, yes it’s an aesthetic choice since I’ve loved anime and japanese culture since I was a kid. The artstyle in our game mirrors 90’s anime aesthetics as those had a lot of impact with me growing up.

I just watched the trailer, is that a capybara? 

Yes! Capybaras are one of my favorite animals! Mainly because they are so chill with everything. And that is how I aspire myself to be. Just a permanent low-cortisol bean that’s beloved by everyone.

Their names are Gort and Quandale. I’m a fan of Uncle Ben from the Urban Rescue Ranch. When I was making the game, it was around 2022 and I watched him start his ranch from an apartment to a crack house and eventually a pretty decent farm.

I was going through a pretty rough break up during that time and his videos helped me cope with life. That’s why I named them the same names as his Capybaras so I can immortalize them in the game.

Plus Tami, the Tamer character who owns them, also can turn into a Capybara!

What other genres are you interested in exploring afterwards as Relic Abyss is your first game on Steam. Do you have other older games we don’t know about?

Relic Abyss is our second game released on Steam. Our first title is called Towertale, a narrative-driven boss rush adventure game where you climb a mysterious tower in order to obtain the ability to change your fate.

I have also made a few games in the past. Mostly game jam games with Osias and freelance work for my clients. Some of those games are Souzou Cliff, Sugarbound, and Jitter Doll.

For professional work, I’ve been involved with the development of Exogenesis~Perils of Rebirth~, Dapper Dinos mobile, Dapper Dinos PC, and Renfield: Bring your own Blood by Megacat Studios.

Throughout my game dev career, I have been involved in 18 games already and have released 5 titles including Relic Abyss.

Relic Abyss was made during a time I had broken up with my ex of 6 years. So the story is pretty personal to me. It also explains why games I’ve made before were pretty edgy.

So for our next game, I would like to make something light hearted and cozy. So maybe a cozy game or something else entirely. I’ve been addicted to backrooms and liminal space these days so something  dreamcore-ish is not out of the question.

What game defines Blas through the years? Child, teen, etc. 

Definitely Digimon World again. Why I love that game so much is that it’s because it was the game that has been with me throughout my childhood. It made me learn valuable lessons that people, like digimon, will grow up to be something that depends on their upbringing.

For example you have this digimon called Sukamon, which is literally a giant poop. And you get that guy if you don’t take care of your digimon at all.

It always makes me realize that if I don’t take care of myself, I will become human filth.

Digimon have progression levels too like rookie, champion, ultimate, and mega. I’d like to think I’m already in my ultimate form in terms of life progression and in my career on where I want to be. But I think I can still achieve more and reach my mega form if I keep going on my path.

What can we expect from Blas and Reverse Loop in the near future?

Right now our focus is on Relic Abyss’s full release. After that we’re going to do a console release, and then on mobile.

Thankfully, I’m still young, and I think I’m still good at making more games. I’ve seen other developers still make games in their 40s and 50s. My plan is to keep making games for as long as I can.

Indie game development is a very long and hard process. We started making games when I was in my 20s and I’m now in my mid 30s. No one talks about the sacrifices you have to make in order to make games, especially if you’re going indie. Sometimes it feels like everyone in your life is already moving forward, but you’re still in the same place.

But I think that is the point. The point is to keep having that feeling so you can put it in the game. I view games as containers of memories. Probably that’s why the games of the past are so great. It’s because the developers put their whole passion into making it. To put your soul into it. That’s the kind of games that  I want to make.

My ultimate goal is to make a game that will stick with the player who played it. Something like Undertale or Minecraft. Games that make you feel something instead of just being distractions.

What are your tips for people wanting to get into the game development industry?

To be honest, I really don’t recommend becoming a game developer because it’s not for everyone. While it’s true that these days, there are a lot more opportunities, you won’t last long unless you’re really passionate about the games you’re making.

Given that the future of games is uncertain these days, especially with technologies like AI looming about. And with thousands of games releasing everyday, it’s hard to stand out amongst the sea of titles.

If you’re really passionate about your work, and have a product that can stand on the global stage and have the skills to back it, then with all means, go ahead.

But be sure to do a lot of research, grow your social media presence, and start marketing your game as soon as you start developing it.

I highly recommend not doing what I did and quit your job in order to make games though. Do it as a hobby, so it’ll be more fun. If you’re doing it for the money, then you probably aren’t gonna make much unless you have a solid product.

Relic Abyss is currently available in Early Access on Steam for PHP 304.95