Greeting everyone, wow I didn't post for a while... but we have good news!!
All the Too Kind team is proud to announce you that Pankapu's full has been released on Ps4, XboxOne and Steam.
The last Aegis, Faith has joined the fight and you can now switch between your 3 Aegises and continue your adventure to the top of Omnia.
What will you find out there? I can't answer for now, but be ready to master your 3 Aegises in order to adapt to this new perilous environments and fight intense bosses coming from the darkest part of Omnia!!
Hello everyone! We hope everything’s great for you! Episode 2 is coming along well! And today, we have some news about some new enemies that you’ll meet along the way in the new Episode!
But firstly, we have some special information about the Wii U/Switch.
As we said previously, instead of Wii U, we’re aiming for a Switch version, we can hence confirm we’ll release Pankapu on Switch. Those who don’t want a Switch version can send us a mail and change platform!
Now, let’s hop back in the Omnia Express, and we’re good to go! To show you how we create the enemies, we thought it’d be cool for you guys to have a look at some enemies we’ve been working on for Episode 2! We have many new foes to introduce today, so let’s not waste time!
The Diva (Working name):
First stop: the Diva. Gorgeous and deadly. Have you ever seen a nightmare who's always wanted to shine on stage?
Now, you have ^^
The Ghost
Hey, do you remember Boo from Mario or the specters from Zelda? Here is ours, slightly different, less shy and he won't stop even if you look at him.
By the way, if he touches you, he’ll steal your Aegis and turn into your evil Doppelgänger... You've been warned!!!
The Frog:
The Frog, one of our favorites! How could you hurt this cute small batrachian? Problem is, it will stomp on you and create shockwaves!
Bonus time:
Here’s a small behind-the-scenes secret. To tell you the truth, at first, we had made some designs for a “spider enemy”, but then we chose to go with a frog. Still, we wanted to show you those spiders!
Maybe we’ll keep them for a future game? ;)
Jawlaths:
Wondering where the Gelaths are? Here are the new ones: the ... Jawlaths!
Those adorable-looking monsters may seem small at first glance, but they can bite and eat those much bigger than them.
And they don’t come alone; they’ll attack you as hordes. Imagine a group of them walking like that:
Lava Fugus
Worm
During your journey to Itopia, you’re going to come across quicksand! In it, hidden in the shadows, there will be “sandworms”. Those Shai-Hulud straight from Frank Herbert’s Dune will be waiting for you!
The Zoldate Leg
Terminus: The Zoldate Leg. Nice shoe, right?
But don't you
Step on my blue suede shoes
You can do anythingg
But stay off of my blue suede shoes
Hmm hmm sorry...
So yeah, he will stomp on the ground in order to stunt you:
Oh, and about its attack, if you want to know the inspiration, we’ll just tell you that our animator has spent too much time on Street Fighter recently.
And that’s all for today!!
Are you looking forward to meeting all those new foes?
No matter how cute or scary, or how big or small they can be, they were given only one task: to keep you from moving forward in your quest! So get ready for Pankapu Episode 2!
So 2016 has ended, and it was a special year for us. It may have been a tricky one at times, but in the end, 2016 will always be the year that Pankapu came to life.
Happy New Year to all of you, thank you for being here and moreover thank you for making our dream come true!
That’s why we want to continue this great adventure with you. In a few months, we’re going to release the second episode of the game, as well as the console versions… 2017 is going to be even more important for us. And we can’t wait to share all these things with you!
New Website!
First things first, you may have noticed our brand new website!
OBJECTION! Where can we find the Omnia Express and all the other pages that used to be on the website?”
HOLD IT! No need to worry about that! We’re currently working on putting those pages on our Tumblr page. http://tookindstudio.tumblr.com/
The Tumblr page will have all the future Omnia Express, and we’ll put the background content that used to be on the website.
And now, we can go back to our monthly tour in the World of Dreams, buckle up, keep your arms inside the cockpit, and here we go!
Next stop: the Wind’s Archipelago
Pankapu went through Peppu’s wooded tints. He also visited the Lush Forest and its huge trees. But now, he’s coming out of the Tree World area to rise above the sky and search for Ohoko!
Without further ado, let’s check out the concept art!
Concepts:
Grass can barely grow on these stones…
Level Design
As you know, creating a level requires a lot of hard work. Our game designer, Jimmy, doesn’t just go on Unity and creates directly his level. Remember how Miyamoto used to prepare his level designs for Super Mario Bros. on sheets of paper? That’s what Jimmy has to do, in order to get the full picture of his future level!
Picture of the wind’s archipelago general level design that Jimmy made before creating the level on Unity.
Some close ups on Jimmy’s level design. All the major elements of the level have to figure on it: the airstreams, the enemies, the platforms…
And now, let’s take a look at those levels designs… In Unity with the assets!
Here’s an exclusive first look at a new enemy in Pankapu episode 2. Let me introduce the Kardigan!
The Kardigan lives in the Wind’s Archipelago. Wicked and soulless, this Hyanagi is nothing like Pankapu has ever seen before.
He may not be able to move, but his body’s like an impenetrable shield and will push back all your attacks thanks to the infinite hangs of his cloak. That’s why you need to aim for the eyes.
First concept art for the Kardigan, with his protective cloak.
Kardigan’s counterattack
Kardigan’s death
Level Design
In games, a new level implies new game mechanics. And in “Wind’s Archipelago” there is indeed one particular element that dominates…
Get ready to tame the winds and ride them until the end of this Archipelago!
And finally, to illustrate our words, here’s a small example of what you’re going to do…
And that’s all for today! There will be many more new game designs in Pankapu Episode 2, so stay tuned! We hope you’ll all have a great year!
We are going back to our adventure inside the dream world!!!
It’s been two months already, since you jumped into this world. You fought your first nightmares side by side with Chii, met some new allies, like Ohiti and Vaya, and for the more relentless of you, you discovered the beginning of the story of Djaha’rell.
However, now, some questions remain unanswered: “Where is Ohoko?”, “Who’s that Lady in Black that appears at the end of the episode?”and most of all “Is Iketomi the illegitimate son of the Silver Surfer and an Oscar?”
And no one of this questions will be answered in this update... Ahahha!
...
...
Fine, I'll spill some beans!
We've already started the production of the episode 2 and we have tons of new ideas and concepts!!!
Pankapu Episode 2:
Expected release: first trimester of 2017
Here is the main visual of the episode 2 of Pankapu. It’s a work in progress, but you can already have a preview.
The 3rd Aegis, Faith, will be unlocked during your adventure. You will have access to his complete panoply of magician, capable of distorting time and space:
Normal attacks
Teleportation
Time Crack (name not definitive) stopping the enemy
Warp (name not definitive), slowing the enemy in the area of effect
New features
At the same time, I’m giving you a little list of the news concepts that we are working on. Of course, I will come back later in another Omnia Express with a focus on every point:
4 new colorful areas, with environment-based obstacles
New allies will join your adventure
A brand-new roster of nightmares, ready to fight
Walljumps, stunts of winds, reversed polarities, inversions of gravity, and a lot of new gameplay concepts.
One phase for the nostalgic of the 90’s games, with a gameplay really different from the platformers
One particular phase that 90's games lovers should love, with a gameplay really different from the platformers.
I will conclude with those and let you dream on it ^^.
Thanks again for your support, we will come back next month for a new Omnia Express.
"In a world full of Dreams and Nightmares, a tiny warrior has to fight for the safety of his homeland. However, the real purpose of his his quest, beyond the struggle of good and evil, is the mental health of a traumatized child"
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!
Welcome aboard the Omnia Express n°4, your monthly rendez-vous about the progress of Pankapu!
We hope you’re doing great! The game’s production is going very well. And today, we have a big announcement to make about the definitive format of the Pankapu games…
Don’t worry, we won’t have you wait any longer: let’s go aboard the Omnia Express!
Indeed, you’ve read that right, we’ve made the decision to divide the game into two games, or rather, two seasons
- Season 1: Pankapu – The Dreamkeeper
- Season 2: Pankapu – The Nightseeker (working titles)
This will then allow us to start the console export (we know you’re waiting for them! ;)) right at the end of season 1.
Concretely, what will be the content of these 2 games?
Originally, Pankapu was supposed to be a four-episode game. Now, Pankapu is 2 games (or 2 stand-alones), with 2 episodes for each game.
By definition, “two standalones”, actually stand alone (Thanks, Sherlock!), that is to say that they can work individually. However, in our case, you’ll be able to transfer your data from the first game to the second game. And more importantly, story will have a continuity.
The game used to look like that:
Now, this is what the game looks like:
The core of the game then won’t be changed, the story will be more consequent and divided into two parts. The only thing that’s going to change is that each season will have its own ending, However, there will be a continuity between the two games.
Concretely, for the backers, this won’t change anything. The backers will then receive the 4 episodes (so, the two games) as it was planned
Why choosing to create two games instead of one?
Given the fact that we’ll have two games instead of one, this means that a console release could be brought forward. Indeed, the episodic format is hard to adapt on consoles for an indie game.
This separation is then very good news for the backers, for it will allow a quicker console release.
Those who want Pankapu on consoles will then be able to get the game earlier than planned. As for the titles, those will be full of meaning, and this separation will be very justified by the scenario (Shh, we can’t tell you any more about it for now :)).
That’s all for today, and feel free to ask if you have any question,
See you soon in the world of dream!
Today we want to present you the project of our friends from Aurora Studio:
Ilios: Betrayal of Gods is a game crossing over Beat’em all and Platformer, taking place in a world of Greek mythology stylized with Steampunk elements. A game that pays tribute to all our references : Bayonetta, Megaman, Castlevania and of course Saint Seiya!
Hello everyone!! Remember Mio? We're going to let Ganaé, our beloved composer, present you his work on that mysterious character, and above all, explain you “How a music’s game is done!!”
1st step – The order
It’s the first step. Jérôme, our very own artistic director, asks me for a music, for a level, a story event, or a character.
2nd step – The theme writing
The idea will be to create a melody that’ll match, in this case with the character of [b]Mio[/b].
So I create the theme in the most pure possible way with my keyboard so I can be as neutral as possible.
For the required theme, I choose a 3-part melody. The first one oscillates between major harmonies (joy) and minor (sadness) ; the second part is much more focused on comfort and hope, and finally the 3rd part takes again the first theme by slightly changing the harmonies to give a different colors.
3rd step – The arrangement and the orchestration
We are now entering the most complex phase to me. As a matter of fact, once the melody is obtained, I now need to arrange it and orchestrate it according to the needs of the theme.
Let’s talk in technical terms: I work with Logic Pro, a Mac software, with two MIDI software (a Yamaha CLP, to play and and a Komplete Kontrol for the effects and the potentiometers). The MIDI keyboards are control surfaces; they don’t produce any sound but allow you to send information to my sequencer (Logic Pro). This one transforms the information into sound according to plug-in (samples or not) that I open.
Let’s get back to business. I own a huge quantity of instruments (about 15 000 sounds… I especially use the Komplete series, Albion from Spitfire, and the orchestral suites from East West), which makes an important amount of available samples. In order to choose, I opt for some sound families or certain software in accordance to demand.
In general, I talk with Jérôme through many emails before arriving to the final idea. Here’s how it happened here:
– WIP n°1
I first of all proposed to him an instrumental atmosphere developed in one of my pieces.
He was okay with it regarding the form, but not in substance, “way too depressing”.
– WIP n°2
I got back to work and I sent him this version of the theme :
To Jérôme, the ringings right at the start would need to bring a light note, then, coupled with chorus, the result will be perfect! You would need to put some more lightness in the melody, for it’s globally too bulky.
– WIP n° 4
I modify again and enrich it with light percussion. I opt for children chorus singing “Heaven Is The Light” (How beautiful technology is…). I’m starting to hit the bull’s eye.
You may have noticed a dissonance in the children chorus harmonies. That effect was wanted but I’ve decided to change that, upon Jérôme’s advice. I add a line of kettledrums, of Drum Bass and Easter Island Hit to fill up the low frequencies. I add chimes and voices on some passages to bring some divine elements and here comes the pre-mastering version !!!
It’s about upgrading the standards of the song but also about polishing it to the standards of the rest of the soundtrack. In order to do this, I don’t use external software, for now I prefer to use Logic and create my mastering by using the same methodology. I then apply different effects to the song (equalization, compressors, expanders, stereo, spreader, limitors). This inflates the sound and balances the levels.
That’s it, you know everything. I propose as a bonus to listen to the same theme but differently orchestrated. This time is a symphonic version (I’m a huge fan of orchestral versions…).
The work is different here for every instrument and every musical phrase are reworked to humanize everything… It’s a lot of time and work… But this is another story…
We hope you liked this Update, don’t hesitate to tell us what you think of it. See you soon in the Land of Dreams!
Hello everyone!! So, in the demo (that you can try here : http://tookindstudio.com/en/news-en/pankapu-goes-alpha/), you can play two Aegis : Bravery and Ardour. But what about Faith? Let me introduce you the third Aegis: Faith!!!
Faith reveals himself and he is joining the fight against the Nightmares
A wizard has to believe in him, in his capacity and in the magic himself. Faith is what characterizes all this certainty that our erudite has to control in order to practice his art at its higher level. Armed with just his convictions, he must have an iron will while fighting hordes of nightmare (Indeed he is someone fighting draped only with cloth).
Hopefully, the power of Faith is not in his outfit (really chic by the way, you can be both a wizard and classy!) but in the great competency given by the aegis. When he his wearing his azure tunic, Pankapu can look as inoffensive and calm as sleeping water. But don’t fool yourself, under this hood, there is a storm waiting, prepare to unleash tidal wave on his opponent.
Now let's talk about the gameplay of Faith, the magic spells caster:
Here are the animation Gifs of the first movements of Faith: (His first steps... That's touching!)
Healing spell:
Faith flutters when he jumps:
That's all for today, we hope you like this new Aegis!
Hello everyone!! Today, we have a little update for you! Pankapu will have many enemies throughout his journey... And here is one of them! Here's a small video that you may have seen before:
In this video, Pankapu is getting grabbed and thrown by some mysterious monster... Today, that monster has decided to show himself in public! Let me introduce you... the Slap!!
Slap’s comment :
It’s about time! Finally! I’m not supposed to be a meme!
Slap’s origins
I’m pretty sure the first question that comes to your mind is : “But how this nice (he is!) little monster came to be this way?”
As you know, Pankapu’s Bravery Aegis bears a shield. We then had in mind to create an enemy that forced the player to use that shield.
Slap’s comment :
Grgrgr, I already hate this shield!
Pankapu
We didn’t want a monster firing projectiles, since those can be dodged by jumping. We hence needed a monster directly hitting the player, and if the player doesn’t use the shield to protect himself, he’ll take some damages. We thus thought to create an imposing monster, with limbs directly attacking the player. And if doesn’t use the shield, he’ll automatically take some damages.
What are you talking about ? The player doesn’t need to use the shield! I promise, I’ll be very nice with him!
Concept
In this early concept, we already had the idea of a static monster being able to easily move its limbs to attack Pankapu.
Mouhahaha, I loved those sharp limbs!
Slap
Here, is covered with purple and black colors, typical of nightmares trying to invade Omnia.
What can I do ? You have to be classy as a bad guy!
On this picture, you can see an important change compared to the first concepts. Indeed, rather than creating a monster that could simply attack the player with blades, it was more interesting to create a monster that could not just attack the player, but grab and grasp him (not friendly, unfortunately…) and then throw him. This allows the enemy to completely differentiate from the other nightmares. However, if the player uses his shield to protect himself before getting attacked, the Slap will be stunned, which will allow Pankapu to kick his ass! (Pankapu might be little, but he’s strong!)
Strong ? You’ve got to be kidding me ! I’ll destroy him!
Research
Now that Slap’s final concept was found, and that we had in mind the way Slap would attack Pankapu, we now needed to create fitting animations and assets.
Of course you need animations and assets! I’m not an inanimate statue!
Assets
The tentacle basis was kept, but we improved it thanks to the hand. Quite practical to shake hands, grab salt or… a Pankapu!
But… How can such a big monster hide ? It doesn’t seem happy at all! You bet I’m not happy!
You know what it’s like to live underground and wait for a hero to come?
!
Animation
Here, Slap is now animated! The idea of an imposing monster attacking Pankapu is present. Slap might be static, it’s nevertheless strong! Pankapu will have to use tricks in order to destroy this monster…
Look at this moves, this agility… Pankapu will never be can’t compete with my class!
Final Version
Now you know a little bit more about “Slap “! An enemy that could be very dangerous! Your shield will be more than necessary when you face him, for you will not only be protected against its attacks, but in addition to that, Slap will be stunned by the shield… This will be the moment to show him what you’re made of!
It’s so unfair! Let me say this one more time to be clear: I HATE THIS SHIELD!
That's all for today! What do you think ? Do you like him ? Tell us!
