What does it take to grow a game?
Games aren’t like plants that need water and sunlight, and then you could call it a day. They’re a culmination of effort, struggles, frustrations, hesitations, and most importantly, the manifestation of a game developer’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations.
As dramatic as it sounds, when you pour your heart into anything and see it bear fruit, that’s where the similarity to growing a plant ends—because the risks get harder and growth isn’t as linear.
Humble Beginnings
I had a sit-down session with Odale Roxas, CEO and Executive Producer of Gridlock Games, the game developer behind Vi 3v3 Arena, to talk about the story behind Vi 3v3 Arena and its studio.
What started out as a creative outlet with Vi’s development and conceptualization turned into a two-man operation with him and then CBD Rob. Eventually, it expanded to its current six-head lineup (from left to right: Louise – CBD Rob – Hannah – Patrick – CEO Odale – Ralph). This group has been going across multiple events, universities, internet cafés, and more—but before we even get to that story, let’s talk about what Vi 3v3 Arena is, and what sets Gridlock Games apart from other developers.
They Always Ask Vhat but They Never Ask Vi
Vi 3v3 Arena is an action arena brawler featuring 3-versus-3 combat through third-person perspectives. You play as a Lifeless—an entity that came from the failures of the gods of Pangaea—in your attempt to either shake the balance of Vi, the world’s driving force, into an age of chaos or bring back order.
From a design perspective, you can tell that a lot of thought was put into the world of Vi’s conceptualization, with hints of Filipino inspiration emerging the deeper you go into its lore. As it’s under development, there could still be changes to the story, but as it stands, it’s a fun, PVP-centric esports title developed for both the Filipino and international markets.
The team behind Vi, Gridlock Games, is a Philippine-based dev studio that prides itself on its commitment to delivering fresh and exciting experiences for players the world over. Asking Odale about what makes the group unique, he shared that it’s how they focus on their goals through drive and ambition. Chasing their dreams is what brought them to where they are, and it’s in their passion—shown through their art, stories, and efforts to grow Vi not just as a game but as an entire esports scene.
Esports from the Ground Up
Esports is one of the aspects of Pinoy culture that’s highly underrated. The country is competitive regardless of genre, and Vi isn’t any different in how its scene came to be. What started off as a chance encounter during the first Philippine Game Dev Expo (PGDX) with a member of the Collegiate Center for Esports (CCE) led to another, and Gridlock’s go-with-the-flow vibes didn’t just bring it to new waters—but to uncharted territory!
While Odale was recollecting these memories, I was dumbfounded at how it progressed the way it did. In a way, it mimicked a Japanese RPG: one day you wake up and fight slimes, the next you’re finishing the game against a divine being.
There were multiple instances where the story kept getting wilder—like how they chanced upon TNC Morayta as one of the premier venues for their early events. This came into fruition thanks to their iterative development process. Since they started with CCE, heading into universities was the logical next step. While surveying possible venues for playtest events was on the table, meeting the marketing head of TNC was a spicy surprise that snowballed their local esports scene even further.
While coincidences do happen, it’s in making those small efforts—and loving what they do—that brought them to where they are. This even led to their participation in 2024’s Team Payaman Fair. It’s through networking, and treating the people you work with as friends and not just colleagues, that they were able to bring notable esports names like Shin Boo and Butters into the fray, elevating the prestige of the Vi esports scene even more.
The Future
We ended our session talking about the future of Gridlock Games and Vi 3v3 Arena. Down the line, Gridlock Games aspires to be the Riot Games of Southeast Asia, creating more intellectual properties and spin-offs based on Vi lore. While multiple game genres have already been explored over the years, in the words of Odale, “The wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented, but it could still be made special.”
As we said our goodbyes, he also left some words for aspiring game developers:
▪️Don’t rush. Nurture your idea and take your time to understand what you want. Do you really want to make an indie project or are you somebody that wants to make things work as a hobbyist?
▪️Everyone has different paths and agendas when it comes to game dev and the journey is part of the process.
▪️Network, join orgs, meet individuals.
▪️If you want to run fast, run alone—but if you want to run further, run together.
▪️It’s important to have someone to share your passion with to motivate or drive you toward your goal. It doesn’t matter if they’re in the project or not, but still have people to share the moment with.
▪️ENJOY!
Gridlock Games was a fun game dev studio to chat with. If you want to stay updated with them and their games, check out their sites below:
Website: https://www.gridlock-games.com/
News and Updates: https://www.gridlock-games.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gridlockgamesph
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vithegame
