Humble origins: The solo odyssey behind Dust: An Elysian Tail

Dodrill is a self-trained illustrator and animator with a lifelong love of video games and appreciation for 2D art.

Dust wears its inspirations on its sleeve: Castlevania, Super Metroid, Ninja Gaiden and Dodrill's favorite games, Ys I & II. It's the quintessential pastiche — a combination of side-scrolling platforming and combat, with access to new areas gated by special items, all set against the backdrop of a grandiose story. Dodrill formulated a wish list from those seminal games.

"I wanted platforming. I wanted some sort of leveling-up system. I wanted some basic loot. And I knew I wanted a combat system that was a little more sophisticated," he said, adding that "larger-scale epics" fit his idea of a compelling tale. "I'm the guy who appreciates when a game shoots high, even if it makes others groan."

Dodrill had previously created the world in which Dust exists for his work-in-progress independent animated film, Elysian Tail, which he shelved once production on Dust ramped up. The film and the game share a beautiful, expressive, hand-drawn 2D art style, a look inspired by the work of Walt Disney Animation Studios and ex-Disney animator Don Bluth. (Dust's subtitle, "An Elysian Tail," is a reference to Bluth's 1986 film, An American Tail.) Bringing those visuals to life himself in a modern video game was, for Dodrill, one of the most appealing aspects of making Dust.

Dodrill had a dream, and a well-thought-out one at that, but he didn't know if he could realize his ambition. Aside from some cutscene production for Epic MegaGames' Jazz Jackrabbit 2, he had never done artwork for a video game, let alone made one, but he felt that his art background gave him a unique perspective on games.

"It was clear to me how the designers were achieving what was happening on screen," Dodrill said, "even if I didn't understand the code underneath."

Understanding the code was the next step.

Winning an exhibition like Dream Build Play certainly had its benefits, not least among them a much higher profile for Dust. But it also carried some misconceptions, as well as personal heartbreak for Dodrill.

"The day I won Dream Build Play was one of the most exciting moments my family had experienced," Dodrill said. Yet mere hours after he found out he won, he received word that his grandmother had passed away. "It seems that every major milestone was met with similar circumstances," he said, characterizing Dust's development as a "series of highs and lows, emotionally."

Moreover, Dream Build Play wasn't an immediate golden ticket. The competition's grand prize of $40,000 provided a "nice financial bump," to be sure. But it wasn't enough to start a studio or cover the cost of development. Aside from the prize money, Dodrill self-funded the game from start to finish, depending on savings and his family to survive. "Needless to say, I wasn't taking any cruises or buying new cars."

Dodrill also pointed out, "Most people assume that winning [Dream Build Play] automatically gave me a contract" for Microsoft to publish Dust on Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). But that's not the case. Dream Build Play winners are promised a chance at an XBLA publishing deal, without any guarantees: the contest's official rules warn, "The invitation to enter into a Publishing Contract is at [Microsoft's] sole and unfettered discretion."

Microsoft announced Dust as the winner of Dream Build Play in early September 2009. But Dodrill wrote and pitched design documents to the company for five months before an XBLA contract ever materialized.

It wasn't until the beginning of 2010 that Dust officially became an XBLA title. At the time, Dodrill planned to launch the game by the end of the year.

"Oh, how wrong I was," he said.

Although Dust still had no release window, and Dodrill hadn't shown the game since mid-2010, Microsoft offered to feature it in the Xbox Live booth at PAX East. Dodrill flew out to Boston expecting "mild coverage," just "hoping that at least a few gamers" would try Dust.

It received a warm welcome on the first day of the show, with growing lines at the booth's two kiosks and interview requests from influential journalists. But the early buzz paled in comparison to the explosion in interest provided by Giant Bomb editors, who stopped by to play the game and then promoted it during their packed Saturday night panel.

"The next morning, there were lines an hour and half deep to play Dust," said a shocked Dodrill.

The reception became overwhelming. He received compliments on Dust from Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik and from Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski, under whom he had worked a decade and a half ago on Jazz Jackrabbit 2. PAX East was the culmination of Dodrill's efforts to that point.

Of course, Dust wasn't done yet.

Microsoft was paying attention to Dust's popularity at PAX, and urged Dodrill to aim for a release on "Summer of Arcade," an annual slate of Xbox Live titles that receive the highest level of promotion on the platform. Dodrill was torn. "I'm sure every XBLA [developer] dreams of the opportunity," he said, and "the opportunity was within reach." Still, he had planned for at least six more months of development, and he would barely have three if he needed to get Dust done in time for Summer of Arcade.

He and Williams, his producer, talked it over. Dodrill summed up the conversations: "For a couple days, it was nothing but, 'Yeah, let's do it!' 'No, this is crazy!' 'You know, maybe we can do it?'" He was aware of the steep climb ahead, made even tougher by his staunch refusal to cut content or compromise his vision in any way.

"I had put 10 percent of my life into this thing, and would only say yes [to Summer of Arcade] if I knew I could honestly finish the game I started," said Dodrill. "I have one shot to make a first impression.

"I knew it was going to destroy me, mentally and physically," he said. "But this was not something I could say no to."