Arcane fans blown away as new documentary shows never-before-seen animation

As part of their Bridging the Gap documentary series, Riot revealed a test animation from 2015 for Arcane showcasing Vi and Jayce in a tooth-and-nail brawl, and it’s blown away fans.

The preparation for Arcane go years before its hit launch in November 2021. It was years of labor, and players are now seeing the blood, sweat, and tears that went into it as Riot dives into the process with the Bridging the Gap documentary series.

Test footage from as far as 2015 created to help pitch the game’s first deep-dive series — a form of content Riot hadn’t tapped into prior to Arcane.

Rioters explain the struggle it took to create Arcane. “There’s enough video games where the audience asks for a movie or show, and they make it, and it sucks. Then guess what? People stop asking.”

Most of Riot’s cinematics during the time of Arcane’s production were just video game fighting scenes, providing little context and instead simply highlighting the intense action.

Therefore, it’s no surprise the 2015 test animation showcasing Vi and Jayce, two of Arcane’s main characters, was in the form of an intense brawl.

The high quality animation helped the ones in charge of Arcane pitch their project — displaying their incredible level of commitment to investors.

In the short cinematic, Vi and Jayce look drastically different from how they appear in the final product.

Fans commented on the change of appearances, with many loving the Arcane’s redesigns: “I’m still so happy they ended up making Vi a little more buff in the show! I feel it suits her character better.”

The community’s reactions to the trailer reflect Riot’s resounding success on their execution their project in creating a deep dive into the world of League of Legends, and there’s more to come with Season 2 in production.