It's an exciting time for Emmerse Studios as we dive into creating the world of Quirk! into video game experiences.
I've always had bigger plans for the Quirk! brand and have explored a children's book in Mischief and the Tree, a Quirk! graphic novel and other Quirk! board game ideas. On the outside it seems like I haven't pursued these further but the reality is, I have been spending some time in deep thought about what the Quirk! world actually is and how it is portrayed.
My original writing of the Mischief Monster is as an outcast, he is the only one of his kind and doesn't seem to belong with the other Quirk! characters in their trios. This leads him to seeking out a tree, showing it kindness and developing magic and fun out of love and joy. In the graphic novel, the Quirk! characters start out a little mean when Mischief is just trying to fit in and I realised that's not how they would act either. (The graphic novel is still in draft and hasn't been publicly shared).
BUT Mischief in the card game is mischievous, daring, cunning and funny. He exists to balance the game by changing the odds and creating an even better experience for everyone. Even if the odds aren't in your favour.
And the other characters... They all have their own little friendships and quirks that make them the wonderful characters that they are.
These projects have not gone to waste, they have shown me exactly what the Quirk! world is and isn't. I still hope to pursue these projects later but let's get into video game development first!
Developing a 3D Platformer
Introducing the 3D platformer. This is personally my favourite type of game to play, I love playing as a cartoon-ish character, running around crazy beautiful and awesome levels and defeating the villain to bring peace back to the world. Collectathons are my jam. Heck! Quirk! is a collectathon card game!
Check out my first Devlog for an intro:
In developing the idea for the 3D platformer, I have gathered a greater understanding of the Quirk! world, the characters and the Mischief Monster. In this title, Mischief will be the hero and he plays exactly how he does in the Quirk! card game. He's mischievous, daring, cunning and funny! He's also a friend to the Quirk! characters but up to no good when it comes to defeating the villain of our story.
This game is a chance for us to create a whole world that can be explored, meet the Quirk! characters, gain their abilities and have a funny time, bouncing, rolling and swinging around a unique platformer!
Sign up to our mailing list to follow along (scroll down the page for more video game content):
Quirk! the Interactive Visual Novel
My heart of hearts is in developing the 3D platformer and we have a playtester list inside our mailing list of people who want to join us in playtesting the demo.
However, we are an indie studio and we are bootstrapping our projects. We've paused the 3D platformer to pursue a slightly smaller project for several reasons.
Firstly, our villain in the 3D platformer is a Jester that enters the world seemingly out of nowhere. The Interactive Visual Novel gives us a chance to tell his story. It's a two parter, starting with this game as a prologue and completing the Jester's story at the end of the 3D platformer. It's all planned out, and I'm very excited about it.
Secondly, while we have already created the Quirk! digital app. This is our first time creating a new concept for PC (and hopefully other platforms) we have a lot to learn as a small team of friends who are working in the their spare time to make this game a reality. It's a good space for us to start to develop, manage and complete a project and make it readily available. We are also hoping that by doing this, we can understand potential risks of our 3D platformer and fund even more talent into the final piece.
Thirdly as above, budget. I'm in a position to do the majority of the art work and being supported by friends to help program and market the game. It's a simple games concept as we want to tell the story of the Jester but also be able to deliver a solid experience when we launch.
Here's a look at some of my sketch work:
The Jester's story is based in the world of traditional card games, the king above is the King of Spades and your goal is to entertain him as the Jester.
If you fancy following along with this game too, please sign up to our mailing list above.
Team
Primarily at Emmerse Studios, I (Emma) have been a one-woman band and over the years I've attempted to grow my company into a team of talented individuals. I am now at a point with projects and good friends that we can take that step and develop. It is a new learning curve for me to lead and I am absolutely grateful for the support technically and emotionally.
We are dedicated to working on interesting projects and I love the ideas and enthusiasm the team brings to Quirk! and our characters. This is definitely a team effort and I can't wait to share with you what we are creating.
Look forward to seeing you inside,
Emma