RTX 2018 Austin Gathering Showcased Robust Gaming-Internet Link

AUSTIN, TX — The Austin Convention Center was the setting for RTX 2018 — the place where gaming meets the Internet, as it's billed by organizers — bringing thousands of fans of anime and gaming to a central location.

Some of the more die-hard attendees dressed up as their favorite animated characters to attend the convention, organized by Austin-based Rooster Teeth Productions. What began as a small gathering has now grown into the largest celebration of gaming, animation and Internet culture in the state of Texas.

Think of it as the SXSW of gaming and animation. In addition to the convention center hub, the JW Marriott, Fairmont and Hilton served as venues to accommodate panel discussions and presentations. For the uninitiated, the number of offerings was dizzying and vaguely otherworldly. But to those deeply entrenched in these alternative universes, the event was the mother lode of their Internet interests.

Attendees comprise a sub-culture some of us of a certain age might not understand or to which we might not have the necessary context. Yet the devotion and enthusiasm of aficionados was impressive. This is a world in which its inhabitants follows its own set of rules, code of conduct and ethical code, as illustrated by one prominently featured reminder posted on the convention center grounds:

Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff

Established in 2011 in Austin, the gathering has grown from 600 attendees to more than 63,000 at last year's version. It's actually a global event now, with international events in such far-flung places as Sydney and London. Major brands that include Pizza Hut, 343 Industries and Nintendo find a home on the RTX show floor, where they activate and engage with influential fans of gaming, anime, and internet culture.

Animation fans were thrilled to see Jessica Nigri, cosplay artist and voice of Cinder in Rooster Teeth’s worldwide anime phenomenon, RWBY, who appeared at RTX Austin. Attendees watched or participated in what was billed as "the coolest cosplay on the planet" that served as a contest.

Drawfee teamed up with Rooster Teeth to bring “Drawfee Live!” to RTX Austin, an interactive comedy drawing series where favorite nerd culture franchises and childhood memories were transformed into bizarre works of art. The panel featured Rooster Teeth’s Yssa Badiola, RWBY voice actresses Arryn Zech and Kara Eberle, and Drawfee’s Julia Lepetit, Jacobs Andrews and Nathan Yaffe.

“Drawfee Live!” is an interactive comedy drawing series where favorite nerd culture franchises and childhood memories transform into bizarre works of art. Created by illustrators Caldwell Tanner and Nathan Yaffe, the drawing series now has more than 795,000 subscribers on YouTube. Each episode brings together the witty co-illustrators to draw up fresh takes on an eclectic array of “dumb ideas” along with outlandish knockoff characters from fan-favorite franchises including Pokémon, Rick and Morty, Overwatch, Game of Thrones, and more. "Simply put, it’s Bob Ross with improvisational comedy," Drawfee Live!" officials encapsulated.

The best of internet animation was featured, including exclusive screenings, panels from special guests including Titmouse, Mondo Media, Studio Yotta, Mashed, and Machinima at the JW Marriott.

There was plenty for the gaming fan too. Panels featuring special guests included comedy and gaming video creators Boogie2988 and Smosh Games, and voice actor extraordinaire Troy Baker, known for voicing video game characters in popular games like The Last of Us, Persona 4 and BioShock Infinite. Esports fans watched pro Overwatch team the Houston Outlaws running Overwatch tournaments from their RTX booth and playing games live onstage with gaming group Funhaus.

After selling out historic theaters across the country (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago) Let’s Play Live, the first comedy gaming live show of its kind, returned to the Austin where it all began, for a night of mischief, mayhem, and gaming.

Art met commerce during three-day event that wrapped up on Sunday. Let’s Play creators at “Coop,” a Rooster Teeth pop-up store experience at RTX, were on hand, featuring designs by artists Griffon Ramsey, Todd Francis,Isaac Hastings, Weedboner and RJ Palmer for Let’s Play brands including Achievement Hunter, Funhaus, Sugar Pine 7 and more.

Plastic key chain figurines of animated characters sold at $12 a pop at RTX 2018, photo by Tony Cantú

Art met commerce at RTX 2018, with plenty of not-inexpensive merchandise abounded. Photo by Tony Cantú

Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff

With palpable excitement, Rooster Teeth officials also announced a new project with award-winning McFarlane Toys, reimagining an epic battle from their worldwide hit anime series RWBY in a high-quality, limited edition cold-cast resin statue: The RWBY Alpha Beowolf Battle Statue.

"As huntresses in training, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee have each fought their share of Grimm, but they’ll need to work together to overcome the might of a monstrous Alpha Beowolf! With her iconic weapon, Crescent Rose, in hand, Ruby slashes her way to the front of the fight on an icy battlefield," officials described in making the announcement. "Meanwhile, Weiss springs off a summoned glyph for an aerial sneak attack using her deadly Multi Action Dust Rapier, Myrtenaster. At 12” high by 15.4” wide by 12.9” deep, this fully sculpted statue exquisitely depicts all the action and drama of a RWBY battle scene."

Image of epic RWBW battle rendering courtesy of Rooster Teeth

The RWBY Alpha Beowolf Battle Statue retails at $550 (ouch) with free domestic U.S. shipping, and is available exclusively online at the Rooster Teeth Store (http://store.roosterteeth.com).

Epic RWBY battle as seen from another angle, courtesy of Rooster Teeth

Late-night fun included The Rave at RTX hosted by ScrewAttack at the Hilton Austin Saturday night, featuring a DJ and late night dance party. Theater Mode Live was up and running the previous evening, with the snarky Achievement Hunter members ripping through and riffing off of a terrible movie of their choosing.

For those less entrenched in the culture, several offerings were of general interest. Full Sail University teamed up with Rooster Teeth to launch and feature a select 80’s inspired student-made video game at RTX Austin. The game, “Fury Strike,” was positioned on the RTXfloor next to the Full Sail On Tour truck – a 75-foot mobile unit that houses technology installations designed to bring the student experience to locations around the country.

Laugh it up at the RTX Presents: A Kinda Funny Comedy Night at RTX took place Saturday evening at The North Door, featuring stand up sets from Nick Scarpino, Geoff Ramsey and more. A special screening of Blood Fest, the horror comedy film from Rooster Teeth that premiered at SXSW 2018, screened on Friday at the Paramount Theater.

21st century nerd culture was in full display at RTX 2018, yet a competition centered on the throwback Rubik's Cube attested to the enduring appeal of the 80s toy. Photo by Tony Cantú

The event's growth mirrors that of its organizer. Rooster Teeth is a pioneering media and entertainment company responsible for some of the biggest online series in history, such as the award-winning and longest-running web series, Red vs. Blue. The production company also produces the globally acclaimed animated series RWBY, the first western anime series to be distributed in Japan; the award-winning Rooster Teeth Podcast; and Immersion, a reality format that brings video game theory to the real world.

Today, Rooster Teeth has a massive global footprint of more than 45 million subscribers to its YouTube Network, 5 million unique monthly visitors to its RoosterTeeth.com hub and 3 million registered community members. The company was founded in 2003, and is now a subsidiary of Fullscreen Media, a global youth media company that develops online creators and produces multi-platform entertainment experiences. Learn more at RoosterTeeth.com.

The history of Rooster Teeth's impressive trajectory can be traced to April Fool's Day in 2003, when a group of friends produced a video of their snarky dialogue accompanying video game action during a game of “Halo: Combat Evolved" featuring Marines in space. That bit of snarkiness launched an empire and fans of Rooster Teeth's work are now legion. That single video launched 16 seasons of "Red vs. Blue" commentaries, along with animated series, commercials, feature films and video game development begat from the environs of a local company that now employs some 350 people.

The company celebrated its own success, releasing on the first night of the convention a documentary titled “Why We’re Here: 15 Years of Rooster Teeth,” detailing its history. As the cognoscenti know, the title refers to some of the snarky dialogue from the very first “Red vs. Blue” episode that poses something of an existential query: “Ever wonder why we’re here?”

Any convention of this type wouldn't be complete without trailers and teaser clips. And there were plenty of them at RTX 2018. Achievement Haunter is poised for an eight-episode premiere season this year with installments premiering weekly starting on Oct. 31. The episodes are being offered exclusively by Rooster Teeth for iOS, Android, Xbox One, Apple TV, and at RoosterTeeth.com with memberships starting at $4.99 a month. As an enticement, a teaser clip from Episode 2 was made available.

"Welcome to Blood Fest," creators wrote in introducing the trailer below. "If you know the rules of horror, you just might survive! Fans flock to a festival celebrating the most iconic horror movies, only to discover that the charismatic showman behind the event has a diabolical agenda." See for yourself:

Here's a clip from "Achievement Haunter" which is, appropriately, sufficiently haunting, that was released during the convention's three-day run. Be warned there is rough language employed in the dialouge:

Gray G. Haddock, Head of Rooster Teeth Animation and showrunner for the upcoming anime-style series gen:LOCK, announced the Rooster Teeth voice cast for the show, and released a second teaser that features David Tennant voicing the character “Doc” for the first time at the convention. In gen:LOCK, Earth’s last free society is on the losing side of a global war, and recruits a diverse team of young pilots to control the next generation of giant, weaponized robot bodies known as mecha. "These daring recruits will find, however, that their newfound abilities come at no small cost," creators wrote tantalizingly.

It was announced that Lindsay Jones (voice of Ruby Rose in “RWBY”) will voice Razzle, Chase’s squadron leader. Miles Luna (voice of Jaune Arc in “RWBY”) will voice Miguel “Migas” Garza, Chase’s best friend. Blaine Gibson (voice of Nerf in “Camp Camp”) will voice Sinclair, an experienced ranger recruited to the gen:LOCK program, Haddock (voice of Roman Torchwick in “RWBY”) will voice Leon, a mech unit leader, and Chad James (voice of Boomstick in “DEATH BATTLE”) will voice Jodie, a mech pilot and close friend to Miranda.

Watch the TEASER featuring Tennant as “Doc” here.

The gen:LOCK’ voice cast is led by Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther, Creed) who voices the main character, Julian Chase, and also includes Dakota Fanning (The Alienist, Twilight Saga) voicing expert mech pilot and Chase’s love interest, Miranda Worth, Kōichi Yamadera (Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell) voicing Kazu Iida, one of the new recruits transferring from Japan’s military forces, to fight alongside Chase in the gen:LOCK program, and Tennant voicing Dr. Rufus Weller aka Doc, a lead scientist with the Experimental Science Unit (ESU) and the inventor of the gen:LOCK technology.

Image courtesy of Rooster Teeth, used with permission

gen:LOCK is the second anime-style series and third 3D animated series from Rooster Teeth Animation. RWBY, entering its sixth season this fall, is a global anime phenomenon conceived by the late Monty Oum. Red vs. Blue is Rooster Teeth’s first 3D animated series that began as a machinima production before incorporating custom animation, and is the longest running web series of all time. Outlier Productions, Jordan’s production company, is co-producing gen:LOCK along with Rooster Teeth.

“Being able to craft an ensemble cast using both our own talent and well-known actors from outside of the company is a fantastic opportunity,” said Haddock. “Part of what makes Rooster Teeth so unique is that our staff runs the business, makes the company function day-to-day, writes, directs, produces, and performs on-camera and in the recording booth. It keeps our team and our community invested in what we do. I hope to work in as much of the extended Rooster Teeth Animation acting family as I can over time into this show, one way or another, so fans can continue to hear their favorite voices in this new world.”

Stay tuned for more announcements about gen:LOCK. gen:LOCK will premiere in January 2019 exclusively on Rooster Teeth, available for iOS, Android, Xbox One, Apple TV, and at RoosterTeeth.com with memberships starting at $4.99 a month.

The third, and final, day for RTX 2018 on Sunday offered delights for attendees:

• Moving from playing games to creating them, Achievement Hunter detailed its "Heist" offering launched this month. It's a fast-paced, co-op card game where players "Prep, Heist, & Getaway," its makers described. Attendees learned how to mold their own creative ideas into a board game, and even got the chance to play Heist! during the convention. Priced at $30, Heist will be available on the Rooster Teeth Store. Click here to learn more information.
• RTX welcomed Bendy and the Ink Machine to Center Stage. Moreover, JT Music joined the stage to reveal game play and music. Creators said that Bendy and the Ink Machine will be available for Xbox and PlayStationexclusively at Gamestop Oct. 12.
• RTX welcomed what they described as "a rather weird panel" pairing the masterminds of Rooster Teeth with the creative artists of Meow Wolf. Attendees learned the unique origins behind both companies, and "the bright futures that are upon them."
• Red Bull brought their Mind Gamer’s Escape Room World Championship and challenges to RTX. Many participated for a chance to compete in the finals, and even a chance at becoming a world championship qualifier.
• Full Sail University teamed up with Rooster Teeth to launch and feature a select 80’s inspired student made video game called Fury Strike at RTX 2018.

All in all, it was quite the gathering, yielding proof of a robust sub-culture comprising mavens unafraid of unleashing their inner child. Yet the gathering also laid bare the immense commerce rooted in the Internet, and the immense financial success of those capitalizing on the 21st century medium.

It's a brave new world, indeed.

Image courtesy of Rooster Teeth

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