Cartoon Network is conducting an unusual experiment with the launch of the OK K.O. television show, which is perfectly in line with a franchise that has been charting its own (sometimes strange) path since its beginning. The animated superhero comedy show, created by Ian Jones-Quartey (Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Secret Mountain Fort Awesome), made its debut as a short pilot called OK K.O.!: Lakewood Plaza Turbo in 2013, which was subsequently made into a web series. In early 2016, Cartoon Network hosted its first major industry game jam, and attendees (comprised of about 200 artists) were invited to “hack” the show and create a video game experience.
The Lakewood Plaza episodes are still available to watch online and through the Cartoon Network app, and it will officially air on the cable channel as a new television show called OK K.O.: Let’s Be Heroes on August 1. Furthermore, the show will be supported by the video game, OK K.O.: Let’s Play Heroes, which is expected to release in the fall for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Although Cartoon Network has a host of mobile games based on its shows, Let’s Play Heroes is one of the first games published by the media company for consoles.
Dan Vader, lead writer and designer at Capy Games, talked to AListDaily about how the idea for the game came together and how its fans will grow alongside the show. He was joined by Jeff Riggall, director for game production at Cartoon Network.
“The game is being created in parallel with the show,” said Vader, explaining the relationship between the show and the game. “We’ve been looped into the development process with the creators because the show itself has a lot of video game tropes embedded into its DNA. So, they wanted to make a game with the show from very early on and have them both be parts of a piece.
“As we’ve been building the game, we’ve been taking feedback from the show team and putting them into the game. We’ve been reading the scripts for all the episodes [and seeing] all the animatics—pulling cool things from the world as we saw them to put them into the game to provide an experience where if you’re a fan of the show, coming to the game gives you more things that you love.”
How does one create a game for a show that hasn’t aired yet? “That’s one of the interesting challenges, because when you’re building a game off of a show or comic book, there’s a fan base that already exists,” said Vader. “So, you know what those fans like about the show and what characters they like best. You kind of have a blueprint for what kind of game you’re supposed to make, which is cool but not that interesting to us. In this case, the show isn’t out and there isn’t a fan base yet, so we have—in essence—become the first fans of the show. So, the things that we like about the show and the characters we respond to are pulled out and put front and center of the game. We think that what we like about the show are going to be the same things that the audience will.”
Although Capy Games hopes that the show’s audience will like the same things it does, the developer will be keeping a close watch for trends as episodes air in August.
“I think it will be interesting to see what things the audience gravitates towards and who their favorite characters are,” said Vader. “We’ll definitely be paying attention to that and the premiere of the show to see what people are talking about on Twitter so we can juice those things up in the game. We’re not building the game as outsiders—we’re building it as fans—so we pick the things that we think are cool, and I think that will line up with what audiences will think is cool.”
The game will include plenty of Easter Eggs for fans to discover, but didn’t neither Vader nor Riggall were ready to reveal how content would specifically cross ove. However, Riggall confirmed that “there will definitely be some connections between the show and the game to encourage viewers to watch as much as they can then come back and play the game.”
With that said, Cartoon Network is hoping that audiences will crossover between the show and game.
“It’s going to be something where, if you’re a fan of the show and loving it, you’re going to come find the game,” said Riggall. “Same thing for the game. If you love the game, you’re going to find the show. It’s going to be something that pulls the players and viewers back and forth between both of these products, so it’s something exciting for us to bring out to the market.”
Vader also said that in demoing the game, he has run into both fans of the web series and those who haven’t heard of the show before, and that experiencing either the show or game usually leads to interest in the other. The challenge will be in how the two will work to grow together.
“That’s something that we’re still trying to figure out,” said Vader. “We’re coming out a little bit after the show. So, the show will come out, people will discover it and love it the way we do. Then a little after that, the game will come out and give them more of what they love.”
“It’s super early right now, and we do have some ideas, but we don’t quite have it all figured out yet,” Riggall added. “This is going to be an excellent story that will continue to grow what you’re getting from the show. Hopefully, we’ll get to grow that experience on the game side as well, but we’ll have to see.”
