Trip the Ark Fantastic: A hand-drawn and hand-animated adventure RPG

[pero_gamechuck]

Hi all!

I'm Pero from Gamechuck, and I'm here to show a project we are working on. Don't worry, I'm not going to do hit 'n runs. I'll do my best to update this thread regularly. 

DESCRIPTION

Trip the Ark Fantastic is a story-driven role-playing adventure set in the Animal Kingdom on the verge of both industrial and social revolution. The story follows Charles, a hedgehog scholar on a mission by the lion king to save the monarchy, but his decisions could end up helping reformists or even to bring about anarchy.

The first teaser trailer

The story revolves around an ancient myth that forms the basis of the Animal Kingdom's caste system - the myth of the Ark Fantastic. As the myth goes, the ark was built by lions millennia ago to save all animals from a great flood. The king's gambit is that, amidst whispers of reform and revolution, a reputable scholar such as Charles proving the existence of the mythical ark might sway animals toward a royalist stance, and thus uphold the monarchy.

Charles is accompanied by the king's trusted advisor Philippe the Fox and the captain of the royal guard - Andre the Boar. Their task will lead them to the fringes of the Kingdom and beyond, in search of elusive truth.

In what % of the development is this game?

It's difficult to say, but we estimate that the game is around 15% done.

LINKS

Ark Fantastic on Discord
Ark Fantastic official website
Ark Fantastic on Twitter
Ark Fantastic on Facebook
Ark Fantastic on Instagram


FEATURES

• A deep and immersive secondary world set in an Animal Kingdom on the verge of industrial and social revolution, content-rich and filled with intrigue, side-quests and flavor at every step
• Completely original gameplay mechanics based on the scientific method: research, discuss, experiment, and finally publish arguments in the Animal Kingdom's papers
• An exploration of how myths, science, and philosophy can influence society, and how monarchies, democracies, and anarchies view power, authority, and legitimacy of rule
• Gorgeous art including frame-by-frame animation and vibrant landscapes inspired by the golden age of animation, as well as music inspired by the works of R. Wagner
• A gesamtkunstwerk approach in which the art, music and gameplay all tie closely to the story of scientific discovery and the role of myths in different types of societies
• The entire development completely done in open-source technologies, including Godot Engine, Krita, Ink and MuseScore, among others

GAMEPLAY

The player progresses through the game by solving the Kingdom's various problems and mysteries, but his method of solving them is a scientific one - he publishes compelling arguments in the Animal Kingdom's scientific papers to prove his theories and disprove those of others. Only arguments with sound logic and solid evidence will have the power to sway public opinion and change the course of history.

Research

Sifting through the archives of the local library can reveal some important clues as well. Investigating the location of the hidden Parrot Enclave? Maybe check out the logs of the explorer's guild!

The evidence itself can be found by talking to the local denizens (after learning their language, such as squirrelese), by using scientific equipment (a microscope, or a chemist kit), or, as a true scholar, by "standing on the shoulders of giants" and using evidence from the works of other scholars found in libraries across the Kingdom.

Scientific Equipment

A picture is worth a thousand words, so taking a photograph is often the most compelling evidence. But the camera is just one of many tools at the player's disposal!

The player's main challenge will be finding all the relevant evidence and then choosing the right conclusions, which are then published and reviewed by his peers, potentially resulting in a boost to his scholarly reputation.

Languages

Sometimes, the player will need to question other animals for more clues. However, not all animals speak the common tongue, so becoming fluent in the local language goes a long way towards solving the mystery at hand.

Additionally, since Charles' scientific conclusions can have large-scale consequences on the Animal Kingdom and the monarchy in particular, there is a looming moral dilemma over whether the player should publish a certain argument or not.

THEMES AND INSPIRATIONS

We draw inspiration for the game from modern fables of classic literature, such as Animal Farm or Watership Down, as well as deep story-driven games from the roleplaying and adventure game genres, and games with unique and experimental gameplay mechanics.

Our goal is to use the game to explore various types of society (monarchy, democracy, anarchy) and to tackle questions such as how rule is legitimized, what role myths play in the shaping of society, and so on.

The animation is drawn frame-by-frame to be reminiscent of early animated classics, and the music takes cues from 19th-century romanticism with the use of leitmotifs inspired by Wagner and gesamtkunstwerk opera.

The game is developed using open-source software, such as the painting tool Krita and the Godot game engine. Gamechuck studio is also a sponsor to both Krita and Godot Engine and, in the case of Godot Engine, actively contributes to its development.

WHEN IS IT COMING AND ON WHICH PLATFORMS?

The game is still in an early phase of development, but our goal is to release Ark Fantastic in 2022 on PC/Mac/Linux and consoles.

[pero_gamechuck]

And, some lore background about our main character, Charles, the hedgehog scholar.

As our main protagonist, we decided it's important to flesh out his life and history as early as possible. So here it is: the portrait of a scholar!

One of the youngest scholars to receive the illustrious "Master Scholar's Seal", a commoner whose inventions and writings are known all across the Kingdom.

The Quill-Quorni hypothesis revolutionised the field of botany. We don't go into much detail about it, though, as there are only a handful of people in the Kingdom who actually understand the hypothesis - and we're not one of them!

Even his forays into engineering were legendary - when he built the sprinkler system for his arboretum, little could he know that it was going to be repurposed into a shower system and used all across the Kingdom!

Charles' fame is also partly due to the romanticised aura the Kingdom has of the recluse scholar: he - unlike the politicised scholars near the capital - decided to move away from the spotlight and focus on his work more than on the dealings of the court. A scholar of such repute among all the castes of the Kingdom has rarely been born, apart from maybe the beaver Dabrovit, whose Scientific Method is in use in the Kingdom even today (and whom we also wrote about recently as well in another biography!)

So, without further ado - read about Charles Quill of Burrows, the Master Scholar, son of Herbert, an equally illustrious hedgehog we also mentioned before (a key scholar in the Lav rebellion and a member of the Lion King Lav's council)!

Tell us what you think, and would you enjoy playing such a main character? After all, reclusive scholars are not really the epic protagonist archetypes we usually find in RPGs!

[JackPutter]

This looks simply gorgeous! A very unique concept too, I definitely think there's space for the more calm, studious sorts of games out there. I wish you the very best of luck developing it!