next »

[TooKindStudio]

Howdy ho everyone!

We are Too Kind Studio and we are working for more than a year on our game, Pankapu: the Dreamkeeper.
It’s an action/platformer in 2D told like a tale in 7 chapters.I wanted to introduce you my game for all the fans of the 90's games, like Castelvania, Donkey Kong and even Final Fantasy!  





With Pankapu under your control, a little being created by Iketomi the God of Dreams, you will explore the colorful world of Omnia, in order to strike down the hordes of nightmare, erupting in this oneiric universe.


Some concept arts of our games, in order to define some areas of the world of Dreams:






Here you can find the teaser of our game, presenting the background.





Our goal was to bring back the oldschool gameplay of the 90’s that we have grown with and to mix them with a touching and strong storytelling.


As your adventure progress, you will customize Pankapu, assign new equipment, outfits (Aegis) and skills to perfectly fit with your style and the situations that you will encountered. You will be able to re-explore at your leisure and discover every secret of this world thanks to your new upgrades and competencies. The gameplay will be dynamic for example you will be able to switch the Aegis of PANKAPU in real time.

Some screenshots:







You can try our Alpha version here: http://bit.ly/PankapuAlphaDL

Unity is the engine we are using for creating the game, for the level design we are using prefabs and some Unity Plugins, like Ferr2D and PlayMaker. For the animation we are using Spine. It was a choice that impose itself, it is user-friendly and it stay updated. You can have some example of animation that we have already done for the game:

Pankapu with his armor Bravery:



During his quest, Pankapu will encounter several enemies coming from the world of nightmares:

Gelate


Zoldate



 A Furious opponent, who will jump on you at the first sight, and crush you with his iron claws




If you want to know more about the game Pankapu: The Dreamkeeper:
Blog: http://www.tookindstudio.com/en/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pankapu?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Pankapu
Press Kit: http://www.tookindstudio.com/en/press-kit-en/
IndieDBhttp://www.indiedb.com/games/pankapu-the-dreamkeeper
 

[TooKindStudio]

Hey! I know that's my post is new, but I just done an update on our website, so I was thinking it's might interest you 

We are currently implementing the weapon switching system. It will give the opportunity to the player to discover and collect different equipment during his/her quest, he/she will be able to use them depending of the situation.

We also expand the first chapter in term of graphic elements. Some new assests for the Garden are in production in order to follow our perspective to create a rich and constant universe.




At least but not the last, we finally settled on the characteristics of Ardor, the second Aegis (Outfit acting like a job that you can switch in real time)unlockable.

This Aegis will be based on the motion and fast damages dealing. You will riddle your enemies with your deadly arrows and move easily through the level thanks to dodge and double jumps.

At the same time, we also designed Faith (The third Aegis) skills. We established that this Aegis will act like a support, dealing to his opponents some painful status modifications with the possibility to heal yourself during fight.

We imagined those Aegis in a way that they are complement one another, giving you the possibility to do some ravaging combos by switching to one outfit to another.

PANKAPU - Ardor





PANKAPU - Faith



That’s all folks,  stay tuned, and see you soon in the World of Dreams!

[TooKindStudio]

Ardor is joining the fight, let's riddle our enemies with some arrows. He is implemented in the game so let me show you his pretty face:

The animation:




Screenshots in-game:

[Fenrir]

Hey, I must have missed the previous posts, but it's really nice to see you here guys! You're doing an amazing work !

[Box99]

That is some nice looking art. My only gripe is that the animation looks a bit fast and jerky? I'm not sure what it is, but that's what I think.

[TooKindStudio]

Thank you ^^.

Indeed, the animation on this gif is weird, I don't know why but when I upload it on other website there is a reduction on the frame rate (it's not like this in-game^^).

[Jasmine]

Man, the artwork and animations are stunning!

[Suvitruf]

Great art, mate 

[charliecarlo]

Who names their armor?

Anyways.
This is pretty.
I'm going to play as that priestman.

[TooKindStudio]

Hey everyone, I wanted to show you how to use the Aegis in Pankapu:

http://imgur.com/cXmzVnv

(Sorry I didn't figure out how to frame a video or a GIF)

[jctwood]

The liveliness of the world is breathtaking, reminds me an awful lot of the Rayman series which is a great thing!

[nnyei]

This looks totally awesome. I really need to check out the alpha version you posted once I get some free time.

[oldblood]

Like the character design, animation, colors... really liking a lot I guess. Nice work guys...

[TooKindStudio]

Hey everyone, thank you all for your friendly message, we still have a lot of work to do, but that's keep us motivated.

Today I want to share with you the music for the first level of Pankapu, we don't have sound design for the moment but we are really proud of the music!

The music of the first chapter of PANKAPU are composed by our dear friend Ganaé (AKA Matthieu Loubière).


At the edge of Omnia rises Peppu, the forest-tree, acting like a border with the material world. Majestic and full of life, it is the home of many souls and hopes.

Music 01 - The Garden - Peppynière

The adventure of our hero starts in the heart of this green forest, in the Garden, where Peppu’s sprouts grow slowly.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/B1V9imkqeUE

Music 02 - The Lush Forest - Forêt Luxuriante
After this first zone, representing the birth of the hero, comes the Lush Forest. Like a growing child, who has to learn everything about the world, this area is full of surprises. It’s were the adventures really begins.





In order to compose this music, Ganaé acted like this :

The starting point was the forest, so he used woodwind instrument like clarinet and oboe for the theme creating a dialogue with the violin. The rhythm pulsed by the woodblock and the bongo increase the sensation of profusion and wealth of this forest.

The use of pizzicato for the string instruments, the rattle and bells settle the sensation of agility and insouciance.

For the grave tune, the main theme (Hanaé) will goes sometimes joyful sometimes sad.

The feeling searched was the sensation of lightness, the abundance but also the introduction of some grave and serious touch due to invasion of nightmares.

Bonus: From Ganae’s Channel,
Pankapu Main Theme Orchestral Prototype

https://www.youtube.com/embed/pjkj29DRJUs

[TooKindStudio]

Howdy ho everyone!

I wanted to share the animation of Bravery and Ardor in order to have a better understanding.

Unity is the engine we are using for creating the game, for the level design we are using prefabs and some Unity Plugins, like Ferr2D and PlayMaker.

For the animation we are using a new software call Spine, that animate bones. It was a choice that impose itself, it is user-friendly, cheap and it stay updated. You can have some example of animation that we have already done for the game:



Pankapu with his armor Bravery :
Anime Sheet






Pankapu with his armor Ardor:
Sprites sheet




Ardor with bones:



If you want to know more about the game Pankapu: The Dreamkeeper:

Blog: http://www.tookindstudio.com/en/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pankapu?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Pankapu

[TooKindStudio]

Hi everyone, I wanted to introduce you the upcoming villain of Pankapu, Gangreyn: the Dreameater

“Once upon a time, in the land of Hya’ma
A Soulless beast, High Lord of the night
Waiting patiently into Darkness for the fight
To unleash his swarm for the glory of Yne’ska”

Chronicles of Omnia

The master of nightmares reveals himself!

Like every major villain, Gangreyn has his theme. A big thank you to our dear friend Ganaé who worked on this musical masterpiece:







Lord of Hya’ma, Gangreyn is an incarnated nightmare, born from the Darkness. He delights seeding fears into living beings, feeding himself from their deepest anxieties in order to grow the number of his brothers and spread his influence across the Boreal Veil.

Obsessed by a consuming love for his mother, Yne’ska the Lady in Black, Gangreyn is in perpetual seek for recognition. He forced himself to invade the world of Humans in order to establish the supremacy of his kind in all Omnia.

Our first concept (that you can see above), was describing an armored faceless, like our dear Pankapu (he is his antagonist after all !). The main idea, which will remain in the final version, was that Gangreyn could materialize shadows with the power of his will.

We wanted him as a sly and theatrical character. Such a jester who’s in prey to hatred, he is even more dangerous than unpredictable and hide himself behind an insane smile.

At the end, Gangreyn is built around the opposition of chiaroscuro with vivid and disturbing tints. In fact he is an emotional changing being, twisted between two tendencies – this contrast highlights his tempestuous nature. Furthermore, his flames and Machiavellian smile gives prominence to the theatrical temper of this ultimate nemesis.

You are now familiarized with our Evil shadow that will devour your sweetest dreams until the last drop…

Stay tuned, and see you soon in the World of Dreams!

[TooKindStudio]

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I've updated the devlog, but I come back with a lot of news  .

First here is a new trailer of Pankapu: the Dreamkeeper with the voice of Kai Kennedy that we have realized for the launch of our Kickstarter:



So yes, we are on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tookindstudio/pankapu-the-dreamkeeper  

We started the campaign 2 weeks ago with the support of Square Enix collective.

We already reached 65% and we have been greenlit. That's a great adventure, really stressful, but seeing everyday new backers from all around the world supporting your project is priceless.




At the same time we have uploaded on the Kickstarter page our Alpha, so if you want to try it, give us your feeback but moreover share it with your friends, family, dog? feel free^^. It's time for you to bring out your   and have fun (Yeah I try to use all the emoticons of TIG )



You can use two classes, Bravery the warrior and Ardor the Bowman, switchable in real time.


So now, about the progress of the game:

We have now 3 areas, that will compose the first chapters of Pankapu:



At the same time, we have the huge opportunity to work with 2 big names of the industry:



Hiroki Kikuta, the composer of Secret of Mana and Soul Calibur 5 (and Indivisible) that will compose our main theme.



And Kai Kennedy, the voice of our narrator. He was the voice actor of Beowulf in Skull Girl.




Finally, we have implemented our Vilain, Gangreyn, in game, I hope you will like it:




I hope you will like this new update, I have way more information on the Kickstarter page, but I didn't wanted to do just a copy and paste. So if you want to know more don't hesitate to come. We really need your help during this stressful periode so feel free to share our Kickstarter and spreading the word about Pankapu. We are nothing without you

We love you all!


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tookindstudio/pankapu-the-dreamkeeper

[TooKindStudio]

Hi everyone!

So first, we did it!!! We have reach our goals on Kickstarter and even achieved some Stretch goals like the console export for Xbox One and Ps4!

And it is us, happy like crazy!!

This success is clearly thanks to you, You have been amazing, thank you so much for your support!

Now it's time for our monthly update about the recent progress on Pankapu, so sit back, relax and here we go!!!

Omnia Express n°1

The pre-production is almost over, after spending 1 year on it, the bulk of the work is done. We have finished to write the whole story of Pankapu and Djaha'reel, and now we just have to focus on the cutscenes (animated comics).

The story is a really important part. Pankapu is based on a strong story telling, like a fable, it's why it was essential for us to finish the narration first.

We will not show you here what we have written, it would be ashamed if we spoil you before the release, but with the passion we put in it, you will be pleased by the richness of the story (at least, we hope :-) ).

But for today let us introduce you the new threat hovering on Omnia.

To infinity and beyond:

This last month we focused on a new enemy, the Upaki .

When we create a new enemy, it has to bring new mechanics too. Indeed this new enemy is a flying nightmare, capable of throwing corrupted projectiles on our guardian. It means Pankapu will have to fight like he never did before ... in the air...

I will let Nathan, who was in charge of designing this enemy, to talk about his process.

1.Concept art
We needed a flying enemy, capable of throwing projectiles. Because he was one of the first enemy of the game, I began my researches while keeping in mind "Make it simple". My first idea was a kind of flying Gelatyn, a small ball of nightmare's matter... with wings.

We came up with a design really close to a bat, with simple shape but highly recognizable.

When the final concept is settled, I can start the research for the animation

2. Rough Animations
Even if we are doing animation by interpolation for obvious need of optimisation, I normally begin with a quick research frame by frame for every animations. In this way I can find the best movement without being limited by the software.

Idle Rough

Attack Rough

Death Rough

When all those researches are done, I can easily know, for exemple. how many shapes of wings I will need. So I can paint all the parts and import them into Spine, the animation software.

Sprite sheet Rough

[/i]

3. Final animation and colors
I finalize every animation on Spine while keeping all the previous roughs as guides.

Spine is the software we are using to animate. It works by interpolation; we create a skeleton with bones (like you can see below) and we move all the different part (the wings in this case) like a puppet.

Upaki in Spine

After adding all the missing parts of the enemy I can finally paint them.

And here it is! The final animation of the Upaki ! ... Cute, isn't it? =D

4. In Game
Now that we have a flying nightmare, Pankapu have to be prepare against him. Indeed, until now, Pankapu didn't have any air attacks, so we had to work on the air combo for all his Aegis.

Bravery air attack

Ardor air attack

Now our dear Pankapu can fight the Upaki on equal footing; Enjoy the fight!






And that’s all for this new enemy. We hope you like this update. The Omnia express is leaving and will be back next month, so stay tuned and we love you all!!!!

All the Too Kind Team

[GSquadron]

One of the best 2D game designs I have seen so far.
Well done!

[TooKindStudio]

Hello guys!Thank you for the nice comments!
You now know quite a lot about the gameplay, and the characters, so I was thinking : maybe I could tell you more about the story ? 
As we spoke before, story is a very important part of the game to us. Indeed, Pankapu is to be told like a tale. And like every tale, we want the player to grow up as he plays it. Thus, the gameplay will support the story in a strong way.

Djaha’Rell is a child whose nights are regularly troubled by nightmares. In order to overcome his fears, his father tells him the story of Pankapu, the Dreamkeeper. The player is then invited to live the adventures of the tiny warrior through the eyes of Djaha'Rell.

Djaha'Rell

The game is a projection of Djaha’Rell’s mind, and it all takes place inside this imaginary world. In this way, most of the characters and situations come from his troubled past, and the player, if he/she is a little bit curious, will find the parallel between these two stories.

This mise en abyme will settle a dual narration. The young player will then follow the adventures of Pankapu, as he would in a traditional tale, while the more mature ones will read between the lines and discover the tragic story of Djaha’Rell, and how he overcomes his trauma.

Djaha'Rell's story is dark and tragic...


...While Pankapu has a more light-hearted and epic story !

All of this sounds curious, doesn't it ? ;)You'll have to play the game to lift the veil on those mysteries!
See you next time!