Ember and Blade | Devlog #1

18 Apr 2025Developer post

Source: Steam Community (opens in a new tab)

What were we trying to make here?

Hello, and welcome to the very first devlog for Ember and Blade.
I’m J. Kim, the director of the project, and I’m excited to share our very first development update with you. In the upcoming devlogs, you’ll hear directly from members of the team not just about what we’re making, but why we’re making it.

Starting things off is always a little nerve-wracking. I’d like to begin with a famous question posed in Hideaki Anno’s 1995 manifesto, though it might sound somewhat grand: 'What were we trying to make here?' To answer that, we have to go back to where it all began, many years ago.

Twelve Years Ago: A Project Left Behind

Twelve years ago, I was a technical director on a game called Mabinogi II: Arena. It was a unique 3D online action game. It combined the crowd-crushing chaos of Beat’em ups like Golden Axe with the rowdy combat inspired by Kunio-kun, where grabs and throws were part of the core.

The project was ultimately left unfinished, for all sorts of reasons. But even years later, whenever I met the old team, that game always came up like an old inside joke we all remembered. We all shared the same regret that something so unique and full of character never got the chance to see the light of day.

(As a side note, a spiritual successor "Mabinogi Mobile" has since been released. If you'd like to take a look, you can check it out [here])

Watch on YouTube

│This is the teaser video from G-Star 2012 for Mabinogi II: Arena.
│It gives a sense of how unique the action was and maybe why this idea has stuck with me for so long.

After that, I wrapped up my time as a technical director and moved on to directing, leading a few small projects. Unfortunately, none of them ever made it to launch. Coming up with a solid idea was tough. But keeping a team on track and finishing what we started? That was way tougher. It was hard, not releasing a finished game. But in the end, those failures shaped me.

Back to Games, Once More

At some point, I found myself thinking “Maybe there are already too many games in the world. Maybe making another one just isn’t the answer anymore. So I stepped away for a while, and joined a metaverse project instead. Leading that team was an incredible opportunity and I learned a lot from the experience. As the world slowly moved on from the pandemic, however, the buzz around the metaverse didn’t last long. And I started to realize this wasn’t where I was meant to be.

After stepping away, I started to realize just how much it weighed on me that I hadn’t released anything in over a decade. It hit harder than I expected. I took about a year off, stepped away from development completely, and started asking myself if it was time to let go. (Thanks to my family, who kept believing in me through all of it.) One morning, I found myself thinking about going back to games. And naturally, the project I had left unfinished twelve years ago came to mind.

The Two Games That Inspired It All

I knew what I wanted to make, but I just didn’t know how to get there. Then I came across Vampire Survivors. Its controls were simple. The satisfaction of cutting through endless enemies never got old. It reminded me that maybe I’d been overthinking what games needed to be. It was like a wake-up call. Something about Vampire Survivors brought Mabinogi II: Arena back to mind. I even started to wonder if the 3D beat’em up action I once imagined might actually work better within a survivor-like framework than I first believed.

I’ve always been drawn to games that tell a deeper story; titles like Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Prince of Persia (2008). And more recently, Death Stranding left me thinking for days. Deep down, there was always a part of me that wanted to make a game with that kind of story. Something that could truly reach people. It was around then that I started thinking about another masterpiece. Hades by Supergiant Games.

A tale of family conflict and personal growth was beautifully done. What struck me most, though, was how perfectly the premise aligned with the gameplay loop. The son of Death, dying and rising again. It wasn’t just metaphor. It embodied what a roguelite is all about. That’s when I realized something. Narrative doesn’t have to sit on top of gameplay. It can grow from it. When it does, they become inseparable.

From that point on, I’ve been chasing one question: How do you write a story that’s not just added in, but born from the genre itself? That question naturally shaped the narrative in Ember and Blade.
We’re building a story that lingers. One that grows out of its roguelite structure, not against it. Looking back, maybe that was a little reckless. But I genuinely can't wait to see how you'll feel when you reach the end.

(I’ll be sharing more about the story and the art that’s inseparable from it in an upcoming devlog.)

The Influence of Soulslikes — And the Fusion of Genres

But even then, it still felt incomplete. Maybe even lazy. I’m not the kind of genius who can dream up something like Balatro. So when I make games, I lean on ideas from the great ones who came before me. If you’re borrowing ideas, I think it’s only right to treat them with care and to build something that still reflects who you are. We had survivor-like mechanics, 3D beat’em up action, and a compelling mix of art and narrative. It was strong, but something was still missing. That’s when I turned to Soulslikes.

To me, 3D action games didn’t start from scratch. They stand on the games that came before. Super Mario 64 taught us how to navigate space with character and camera and God of War brought cinematic weight, and showed us what stylish, large-scale combat could feel like. Then Monster Hunter deepened the genre, turning every fight into a tactical encounter built on weight, timing, and spacing.
Soulslikes took it even further. They stripped combat down to its essence, where every move carries weight and every choice matters. Soulslikes don’t reward brute force. They ask you to try again: to read the space and master the rhythm of survival. They demand a balance of challenge, patience, and precision. And when they click, there’s nothing quite like it.

Naturally, not everything from a Soulslike fits neatly into a survivor-like framework. The core design values just don’t align. Survivor-likes thrive on escalation. The thrill of growing stronger and mowing down waves of enemies. Soulslikes are about control. You face overwhelming foes, where every action tests your focus, timing, and strategy. Even so, I believed there was value in bringing some of that Soulslike spirit into a survivor-like experience. It’s a tribute to the genre that shaped modern 3D action.
But more than that, it’s a way to push the boundaries of what a survivor-like can be.

The Birth of Ember and Blade

And then, in March 2024, everything finally clicked. The survivor-like structure. The 3D beat’em up action that had stayed with me all this time. The narrative, woven into gameplay. The Soulslike echoes of precision and respect for combat. All of it came together. No longer as fragments, but as one vision.
That’s how Ember and Blade was born.

(Of course, it took another six months of proof-of-concept to bring that idea to life. But I’ll save that story for another time.)

│A screenshot from the days when we still called it “Project NL.”
│It’s only been half a year, but it already feels like a lifetime.

What Comes Next

In the devlogs to come, we’ll walk through how we’re building Ember and Blade. From core systems to narrative and worldbuilding. You’ll get a closer look at how each component is designed, and the reasoning behind those choices. The project is still evolving, but we’re pouring everything we love about games into it. And we’re doing our very best. Thank you for being here with us, right at the beginning.

If you liked this devlog, please add Ember and Blade to your wishlist!
We’re learning that making a good game is only half the battle. Getting people to care about it, that’s where you come in. Your support means more than you might think.

│All game titles, trademarks, and copyrighted materials mentioned in this document are the property of │their respective owners.