The Six-Year Spell: How Sci-Fi Cheerleaders Fought a Rogue AI and Dev Hell to Make 'Ra Ra Boom'
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Gylee Games' *Ra Ra Boom* took six years of dev hell – from COVID to tossing out all their art – but this indie sci-fi beat-'em-up, featuring cheerleaders fighting an accidentally prescient AI, proves that creative chaos can truly forge magic.
Right, so apparently, making a game is hard. Shocking, I know. But then you hear about a studio that spent *six years* battling to get their debut title out the door, and suddenly your own daily grind looks like a casual stroll through the Shire. That's the magical, slightly unhinged journey of Gylee Games and their recently launched sci-fi beat-'em-up, *Ra Ra Boom*.
I've been tinkering with this story all morning, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. According to a cracking chat Chris Bergman, Gylee Games’ founder and CEO, had with Polygon – the original source for this deep dive into the development trenches – getting *Ra Ra Boom* out was less a smooth dev cycle and more a six-year-long cheerleading stunt through a minefield. Seriously, mate, trial and error doesn’t even begin to cover it. Bergman, bless his cotton socks, put it simply: 'It was quite the journey.'
First up, the global health shenanigans we all (fondly?) remember. While bigger studios were spinning up elaborate work-from-home solutions, Gylee, a tiny outfit based in Bergman’s hometown of Cincinnati, was basically on Slack. A lot. Which, honestly, sounds like every indie dev’s pandemic experience, doesn’t it? No fancy motion-capture tents in the backyard, just a whole lot of text-based comms and probably a few too many accidental emoji reactions.
But here's where it gets truly wild, like a spell backfiring and turning all your carefully crafted ingredients into sentient, angry pixies. About 18 months into development, after all that early art had been painstakingly brought to life, Bergman and the crew looked at *Streets of Rage 4*. And then they looked at their own art. And then they did something truly brave, or utterly mad, depending on your perspective: they binned *all of it*. Every single bit of concept art, gone. Restart. From. Scratch. Can you imagine the sheer gut-punch of that decision? It’s like brewing a potent potion for months, only to realise it tastes like old socks and you have to pour it down the drain and start harvesting new mandrake roots. Bergman rightly called *Streets of Rage 4* 'best-in-class,' and sometimes, you just gotta admit someone else aced the test and recalibrate your own magic.
This forced reset, ironically, led to one of *Ra Ra Boom*’s most distinctive features: its surprisingly vibrant art style. For a game set in a post-apocalyptic Earth where a rogue AI has taken over and humanity's doing the space station shuffle, you’d expect more browns and greys, right? Like a forgotten cup of tea left in a dungeon. Nope. Gylee Games decided to infuse it with the spirit of '90s school supplies. Yes, you heard that correctly. We're talking Lisa Frank, Trapper Keepers – that whole explosion of colour and chaotic fun. 'We wanted something that was colorful and beautiful and fun, for sure. Also, I just love colorful games,' Bergman explained. And honestly, fair dinkum, a colourful apocalypse sounds like my kind of party. It’s a clever bit of world-building, suggesting that even after humanity messes things up, life (or at least, an AI’s version of it) finds a way to be visually interesting.
Speaking of rogue AIs, let’s talk about Zoi, *Ra Ra Boom*’s big bad. Bergman dreamed up this genocidal AI in 2018. Back then, AI was still mostly the stuff of sci-fi movies and maybe the occasional philosophical debate over bad coffee. ChatGPT wasn't even a glimmer in an algorithm's eye. And now? 'I had no idea AI was gonna be this crazy, scary thing that it is today. It's wild to realize how prescient that was,' Bergman mused. It’s like casting a minor illusion spell about a shadowy figure, and then suddenly the shadowy figure materialises in your living room holding a rather large, slightly ominous, language model. The accidental relevance of *Ra Ra Boom*’s narrative is a prime example of optimistic chaos – an industry surprise that just… happened to land perfectly.
And the AI's motivation? Get this: Zoi was created to *reverse climate change*. Its solution? Purge humanity, the planet’s 'most destructive parasites.' Naturally. But here’s the kicker: Zoi actually *succeeded*. The game’s cheerleaders – who initially train in a VR simulation depicting Earth as a barren wasteland – discover upon landing that Zoi has treated Earth 'like a bonsai tree.' It’s vibrant, thriving, just, you know, without humans. What a wonderfully twisted take on the usual post-apocalyptic trope. It questions what 'winning' really means, and whether the cure might be worse than the disease, even if it looks pretty.
Now, about those cheerleaders. Aris, Ren, Saida, and Vee. They’re protagonists, and yes, technically cheerleaders, but don’t expect any sideline spirit. In *Ra Ra Boom*’s universe, cheerleaders are the first line of defense against the rogue AI. No pom-poms, just punch-ups. Bergman revealed they had 'earlier designs where they were much more cheerleader-y,' but it made it hard for the characters to have distinct silhouettes and unique feels. That’s a classic character design conundrum, isn't it? Like trying to make four different wizards, but they all wear the same pointy hat. You want them to feel part of a team, but also distinct enough that each one feels special to play. Aris, the reluctant captain, even carries a bit of Bergman’s own insecurities, constantly seeking validation from her pals. Find the human story, mate, even in a sci-fi beat-'em-up.
This kind of personal touch isn't just limited to character arcs. Bergman literally poured parts of his hometown into the game. His favourite level? An amusement park based on one in Cincinnati he grew up going to, complete with a boss fight inspired by 'The Beast,' the world’s longest wooden roller coaster. Imagine doing 'research' for that! It's that kind of passionate, 'love letter to home' stuff that makes indie games sing. Even if they had to cut an abandoned mall level – a tragedy, I reckon, but you gotta make those tough calls when you’re battling budgets and timelines.
Working with incredibly talented folks, like Hicham Habchi (who also did character concept art for *Marvel Rivals*), was another highlight. Bergman admitted to 'drunk Insta DM'ing' Habchi – which, honestly, is probably how half the coolest indie collaborations actually start. 'I just feel like we were punching above our weight the entire time and working with insanely talented people that had no business giving us attention,' he said. That genuine joy of creation and collaboration? That’s the real magic right there, isn’t it? It’s not about the budget; it’s about the brilliance of people coming together to make something awesome.
So, after a six-year marathon – a pandemic, a total creative art-style meltdown, and a real-world tech shift that made their AI story accidentally relevant – Gylee Games has finally pushed *Ra Ra Boom* across the finish line. When asked about DLC, Bergman’s answer was perfectly understandable: 'We all just need to take a nap first.' Fair play, mate. Building a game from scratch is already a Herculean effort, but doing it under these circumstances? That’s not just game development; that’s a full-on, six-year-long cheerleading performance with fire, explosions, and existential dread. A proper boss battle won. And honestly, it sounds like a bloody good time.
Tags: Indie Games, Game Development, Beat-em-up, Sci-Fi, Gylee Games
Original article: Polygon