SAK’D

Follow SAK’D on Kickstarter!

YAY! Our SAK’D Kickstarter base goal is 400 and we’re getting closer by the week!. Our campaign goal is to kick SAK’D into high-gear #gamedevelopment. Instead of spare time, we’re shooting for full-time. Want to help us get there? Click the link or image to visit our Kickstarter Campaign page and ‘Follow the Project’! That will let us know you’re backing us for launch! We appreciate you!

PLEASE NOTE!

This page is going to change quite a bit over the next couple of months as we progress closer to our Kickstarter launch. We’ll be refining, adding, editing and otherwise messing with the layout and content. This page was designed to mimic Kickstarter (minus the rewards sidebar, for now). This was done so we can run a bit of ‘open-source’ on our Kickstarter approach and work things out in full view of our fans and critics alike so that we can gather as much audience feedback on the project prior to launching a new campaign. Thanks for your patience as we review, refine, polish, and repeat.

Action and gameplay inspired by incredible classics like the medieval horror-themed ‘Castlevania’, the quirky and cute style of ‘Wonderboy in Monster Land’,  the mystery and exploration of ‘The Legend of Zelda’, and the fast-paced, colourful, cartoon fun of ‘Rayman’. We’re creating SAK’D as an homage to the spirit of late 80’s and early 90’s retro-gaming and a love-letter to classic fantasy adventure roleplaying games.

SAK’D is a retro-inspired, Saturday morning cartoon-wrapped, action-adventure role-playing game about a pillow named Sak, a brave, adventurous, wise-cracking hero… a not-so-ordinary pillow accidentally brought to life, imbued with powerful weapon-wielding, spell-casting, monster-smashing abilities and sent on a quest to save… well, everything.  Explore dangerous and vast environments, discover timeless secrets, and overcome deadly creatures to find the lost fragments of a special magical amulet and save the Realm of Dreams from becoming a nightmare!

• A story-first adventure – a tale with depth, heart, intrigue and danger. Sak’s adventure takes place within the history-rich realm of dreams on the brink of consumption by the realm of nightmares, both filled with interesting characters. It’s an experience in how even the smallest or most unlikely of us can overcome terrifying nightmares to create big, positive change in a world turned upside down.
• Fast action and engaging melee combat – wield your powerful fists and an assortment of medieval weapons to destroy evil monsters.
• Master arcane elemental magic – destroy your enemies and solve creative puzzles.
• Explore an expansive, detailed and creatively illustrated world – full of puzzles, traps, secrets and deadly environments.
• Classic RPG game style – Gain experience through combat and exploration, elevate your skills, discover and equip new items, weapons and armor, and pursue side-quests that can lead to lost treasures or down the rabbit-hole of ruin.

Deep within the Realm of Dreams, lies a mysterious world of fantasy and magic. The idyllic peace and spirit of the realm is shattered as monsters invade, gated in through dark portals by a sinister force of evil. These ‘tears’ in the fabric of reality spew forth malicious horrors, creatures that threaten to plunge the lands and lives of those people who live there into a nightmarish reality. The dead begin to rise as monsters, and darkness looms over all. As the people’s hope begins to fade, and in a last desperate attempt to save what good remains, they cry out at once for the universe to send them a hero.

As Sak, you’re an ancient warrior for good, and through well-intended ancient magic gone awry, you find yourself thrust into the form of a pillow and then sent on a quest to defeat evil because it’s the only way you’ll ever see home again.

Combat

Explore your new world and unlock the secrets of your inner abilities. Sak comes ready to fight, armed with fists of fury and no-nonsense attitude, but Sak will also learn to wield lethal weapons, each with their own unique capabilities.

A crisp art style, hand-drawn animation and digitally-painted environments gives SAK’D an original flavor, while hearkening back to the gameplay feel of some of our favourite 16-bit and arcade game classics.

RPG-Style Character Progression

Sak begins as a simple and slightly confused pillow with a take-no-crap attitude, a mission to save a kingdom and a mind to slay monsters. Throughout the adventure, Sak must learn and discover useful and powerful abilities, find extra health and armour for defense, as well as earn deadlier weaponry and elemental magic that can be found by destroying certain bosses or special enemies. It is a straight-up classic platformer, but we’re packing it full of all kinds of role-playing fun, too.

Sak will also uncover important unique artifacts that unlock special abilities or features to help progress through the game, such as the magic lantern; used to light your way through dark and otherwise impassable areas, or bombs to uncover hidden areas.

Your Feedback Will Help
Make SAK’D Better!

The game is currently in Pre-Alpha and being developed for PC & Mac and will be released on Steam as an Early Access Game. (Wishlist Today!) Early Access will allow us to get it into player hands, get their feedback and have the time to use that feedback to shape the game. We believe in engaging with our community to make our game as entirely awesome as possible.

Join our Discord Server and
Engage with the Community.

We are making Beta Access available as reward tiers. If you want to get your hands on the game as early as possible, back at those levels! Beta members will have access to special discord servers that we will be reaching out to for feedback. Beta backers will also be to able to vote on certain game decisions and help steer the development of the game.

The Budget

Our team still has to work our regular jobs and take extra contracts to keep up with life during the process of working on SAK’D, so we’re maintaining realistic expectations about the development timeline. Achieving our Kickstarter goal will give us more time to work on game development.

Any additional funds we are able to raise for this project will go right back into making this game even better, with extended levels, more dynamic and entertaining environments, more treasures to find, more spells to cast, weapons to wield and more challenging monsters to slay!

The budget we’ve presented is the remaining amount of funds necessary to help complete our full vision for the core game, but we do have several ideas for stretch goals if we are able to hit our initial funding target.

We have two primary aims in mind for SAK’D stretch goals:

1. Make the game into a longer and more visually-rich, immersive and entertaining gameplay experience and much more desirable product.
2. To make #1 happen without greatly extending the development schedule of the core game.

Curious what the hidden stretch goals are? Help us reach the basic goal to discover them!

So you want to pledge?! Awesome!

To show our thanks, we have put together some really cool rewards for backers, including having your name attached to a mausoleum plaque or graveyard tombstone, or even having our artists craft a custom statue or large monument dedicated to you and featured in a prominent place in the game.

Backer Reward Details

Production Updates

Behind-the-scenes information and media with updates on the game production and team.

Backer Exclusive Wallpaper

An original set of SAK’D digital wallpaper for smartphone, tablet and computer desktop.

Digital Art Book

We’re packing the best of the beautiful concept environment and character artwork into a detailed digital PDF booklet containing some little-known background on the characters, the team and the game development, as well as gorgeous full-colour maps of each level.

Your Name in the ‘Supporter Hall of Fame’

We’ll add your name (or first name and initial, as you prefer) to an established a ‘Supporter Hall of Fame’ on the Official SAK’D Website

Digital Copy of SAK’D

Own the game! You will receive a special download code for your very own digital copy of SAK’D for PC or console upon release.

Early Beta Access

Get access to the beta build as soon as it’s ready! This will also help our team ensure that we have a solid, well-tested product for launch. QA is important to us! In-addition to early access for backers, we will be launching a playable beta on Steam as soon as possible to gather more feedback from players.

Name in Backer Section of the Credits

If you think having your [family friendly] name displayed on the website is awesome, then seeing your name in the BACKER section of the game’s end-credits is really going to blow your mind!

Backer Discord Title

You’ll receive the exclusive SAK’D ‘BACKER’ title in Discord, so everyone can see you for the amazing and supportive person you are.

Name on a Mausoleum Plaque

The mausoleum is a spooky and dangerous place, rife with monsters. We will put your name on one of the commemorative plaques in the mausoleum where Sak can stop by and note your contribution to building this awesome world.

Digital Copy of the Soundtrack

We’re putting together a beautiful and awe-inspiring musical score for the game. We will send backers with this reward a code to download a very special SAK’D Digital Soundtrack once it’s complete, and prior to game launch so you can build that excitement and adrenaline or feel haunted and spooky wherever you go.

Commemorative Gravestone

We’ll etch your name or family-friendly nickname in digital stone, forever marking your contribution and placing your marker among the notably deceased and possibly undead residents of ‘The Graveyard’ level in SAK’D. All design rewards are subject to creative oversight from the development team.

Statue Dedication in Graveyard Level

Taking the gravestone to the next level with our artists designing a custom statue with your name on it, and featured in a notable location within ‘The Graveyard’ level of the game. All design rewards are subject to creative oversight from the development team.

SAK’D Enamel Pin

Sharp colour and quality manufacture, just like the game! These gorgeous little pins will catch eyes and win hearts, while serving as a high-quality and very sturdy reminder of your awesome contribution to making this game happen!

Limited Edition SAK’D Enamel Keychain

It’s our pillowy hero immortalized in metal and guarding your keys! Sling your stuff on to this supa-sweet piece of SAK’D memorabilia. Detailed enough to show Sak’s trademark skull n’ bones sword marker and built to last.

Your Name in the Hall of Legends (End Game Credits)

Like the backer section of the credits, we will feature your name or family-friendly nickname at the end of the game, but at this pledge level we are doing it with extra FLARE! In a beautifully designed and decorated section of the end credits we will pay some brightly-lit and notably larger homage to your incredible contribution to making SAK’D the best it can be. All design rewards are subject to creative oversight from the development team.

Legendary Backer Discord Title

In-addition to having your name forever emblazoned in the ‘Hall of Legends’, you will also receive a very special LEGENDARY BACKER Discord title. Like a digital badge of honour, everyone will be able to note your generous and pivotal contribution to the development of one of the greatest platformer games ever!

A Statue Dedication in Final Level

The beautifully-carved stone statues get way larger and more deadly-looking at this pledge level. Our artists will put their twisted, creative magic into crafting a large statue dedicated to you for placement somewhere visible and prominent in ‘The Fiend’s Castle’, the adrenaline injecting, death-defying and ultra-challenging final level of the game. You can even contribute your own ideas and we’ll transform them into the perfect SAK’D style tribute! All design rewards are subject to creative oversight from the development team.

Access to the Developers Discord

With this awesome reward you will unlock the doors to the SAK’D Developers Discord server, where you will be welcomed with open arms. Participate in game-development, offer your thoughts, and join SAK’D relevant discussion or lurk as you please as we present a parade of behind-the-scenes discussion and media meant to be seen exclusively by the development team, and you!

‘Classic Sak’ Cushion Cover

Extremely soft, durable and richly-coloured cushion covers by renowned artisan Kate Thibodeau, of KOUSa Cushions fame. Depicting the ‘Classic Sak’ or ‘Warpath’ (blood-soaked) graphics with logo, they are sure to be a comfy conversation highlight in your gaming room. We only have 52 of these available (in limited amounts of each size 22″x22″ (55.88cm x 55.88cm) and 18″x18″ (45.72cm x 45.72cm)), so they are being reserved for select pledge tiers.

Create a Monster!

Work closely with our artists and developers to craft a unique and challenging monster to be featured in last level of SAK’D. You help craft your new monster’s abilities, attack methods and defenses and our team will work our magic to bring it to digital life! All design rewards are subject to creative oversight from the development team.

Large Monument Dedication

In the final level of SAK’D- ‘The Fiend’s Castle’ – There is a very important and grandiose room where intricately carved monster statues stand watch over the Fiend’s domain. We will mark the statue’s dedication plaque with your name, proudly proclaiming you as the fabled slayer of that very monster. All design rewards are subject to creative oversight from the development team.

10 Extra Copies of SAK’D

In addition to having a copy of SAK’D for yourself, you will also receive a batch of special family and friends download codes for the game that you can share with others. Delight your kin, win over that gamer you’ve been pining for with a gift, or use a couple extra copies to quell rebellions between rival factions of people who just need to chill and play a great game. It’s really up to you how you share them, because at this pledge level you have the power!

Hardcover Art Book

We’re printing a limited & numbered print run of the digital art book in glorious hardcover. This priceless full-colour tome of SAK’D lore will contain concept and finished art, back story on the character and the development of Sak’s world, level maps (showing all items and hidden areas!). Each book will also have a special personal dedication to each backer for their contribution, and will be signed by the development team!

Create a Boss-Monster!

How cool is this!? The mighty contributor who pledges at this level will not only receive most of the tier rewards in other levels but will also gain a very exclusive ‘Bonus Level Boss Creator’ title in the game credits right alongside our development team. You will work closely with our artists and developers to craft the perfect challenging monster boss to be featured at the end of the second bonus level in SAK’D. Sak will have to defeat this custom-crafted creature in order to attain a very special weapon which may just turn the tide of battle in the player’s favour! All design rewards are subject to creative oversight from the development team.

Why Kickstarter?

Kickstarter Basics

For those who may be unfamiliar with how Kickstarter works, it is a crowdfunding platform where many backers come together to fund an idea, making a concept a reality. Kickstarter is not a store, although in our campaign we will still be delivering a product as the end goal. Before we get there we have to go through everything that is involved with crafting, testing and publishing our game. It’s a really exciting process (some parts more than others, lol) and we are so very grateful to have everyone along with us on this journey!

At the end of the funding period, all active backers will be charged for their pledges. This commits the funds raised and allows us to pay for development once processed. Up until the game and all other rewards are delivered to all backers, we will be posting regular updates through this website, as well as through the Kickstarter update section and on our Discord channel. We are aiming for at least one update each month. Given the amount of unknowns involved with production, some updates may be long while others are short with not much information.

Keeping backers informed of progress or setbacks is our top priority! Occasionally there will be small updates or conversations that occur in comments and replies or our Discord server that may happen more frequently than once a month, but our Kickstarter updates will generally address them all. The comment section on Kickstarter is moderated by our Community Team who you may  see responding to comments with a “Collaborator” tag. These volunteers will be available to answer questions here or in our Discord server in between monthly updates.

PledgeManager

We will be using PledgeManager for our post-campaign surveys, addresses, color selections, add-ons, and late pledges. Those who did not pledge during the campaign will also have the opportunity to purchase items through PledgeManager as a late backer. Credit cards for PledgeManager purchases will be charged at a later date; closer to when the game and other rewards are ready to ship. PledgeManager will be the place to update your shipping address and any other information up until orders are locked roughly one month before the products ship. If your address changes after the cutoff date, we will provide alternate ways of contacting us once orders are locked in.

I Love This Project! How Can I Help?

We’re overjoyed that you love our project, and we’d love your assistance in knocking this campaign out of the park. Since we do everything ourselves, we can use all the help we can get to spread the love! The more money we collect in this Kickstarter, the more time each day we can spend on developing SAK’D and adding cool new features, and the quicker our game will be finished with the intended result. Everybody wins!

Risks & Challenges

Although this is our first major title, we are an experienced team, we’ve worked together (and for other studios) for a long time, and we understand many of the risks we face. Here are our plans to deal with these risks:

Financial risk: We are confident that the amount of funding indicated will allow us to deliver a solid game that meets our goals. We have also put a great deal of our own funds into the development so far. It was important to us to put our own money into the project first and get the game to a solid place before reaching out for support. We will continue to fund the game if the Kickstarter is not successful, but it will not be as big and polished as we are hoping.

Schedule risk: Our timeline is short (Q2:2024 Release Date (Steam – PC/Mac/Linux/Steamdeck)), especially with most of our team working on the game as a second job in whatever time we have available. We have been meticulous about keeping the game in scope. To make sure we hit our goal, we have a roadmap that extends beyond shipping. A successful Kickstarter will allow us to hire experts to help in areas like community management, quality assurance, etc., as well as allow our team additional time to work solely on the project. This will allow us to focus on what we do best: making the game.

Gameplay: With such a small team of people it can be challenging to make any game. Proper scope, experience, and passion is the key. With your support we will make SAK’D an amazing experience. We are very excited to continue this adventure with you!