ackkstudios

[ackkstudios]

Here is a new YIIK I.V trailer!  “Let’s Kiss Like Dreamers” is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube Music, and BandCamp. Featuring: Vocals by Grace Kelly https://www.gracekellymusic.com/ Guitar by Tom Monda https://thankyouscientist.com/ Violin by https://www.instagram.com/benkarasvio... Music and lyrics by Andrew Allanson andrewallanson.bandcamp.com/ Album art by Adel Zhanabay(rroketa) https://twitter.com/rroketas The single is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Bandcamp. Bandcamp: https://andrewallanson.bandcamp.com/a... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2N9f25... YouTube Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMHM7... Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/lets...

[ackkstudios]

Announcing YIIK | Deviation Perspective I | Wrong Soul Requiem (v1.25)

YIIK v1.25 will be released on Microsoft Store and Game Pass for PC, Steam, GOG, Humble Store, and itch.io on January 14th, with the same patch for consoles following shortly afterward. 

Brian and I understand many will be disappointed by the lack of simultaneous release. However, we felt ourselves burning out, and we didn’t want this to harm the quality of the Switch and PS4 versions. We hope you understand.

The changelog for YIIK v1.25 is extensive, so I’ll do my best to summarize it.

Combat Improvements

New combat style featuring a simplified main attack mini-game

New weakness system

General Game rebalance

Improved Rory’s usefulness in battle

Bosses tweaked to be more strategically unique

QOL

Added reduced monologue story mode

Added Sensitive content warning

Added Sensitive content toggle

Added Easy mode

Added Auto text advance

Removed screen flashing

General bug fixes

Fixed bugs with side quests

Other

Story teases for v1.5

Some new beats

Less lemonade

We incorporated player feedback when preparing this update. We would like to thank the YIIKcord Discord for their help in testing the game and providing meaningful feedback, and all who have emailed us their love for the game, along with some great suggestions.

After our discussions with the community, we focused on improving combat speed, balancing and strategy, squashing and polishing common bugs, and improving pacing.

We have created a reduced monologue edit of the game to address the last issue. We did our best to include story-critical monologues while preserving the original intent. During the opening questionnaire, players will have the option to choose between the original edit and the reduced monologue edit.

The new combat style features a simplified mini-game for basic attacks, character affinities, and weaknesses. The game now defaults to the new combat, with the option to turn on the original mini-game attacks, disable affinities and weaknesses on a character-by-character basis in the Config Menu, under Deep Strike.

While the update’s primary focus was combat and QOL fixes, YIIK v1.25 also features a drastically reworked scenario in the Sewer Dungeon accessible in Chapter 2. The change further expands on the game's lore and improves the quality of the original scene.

YIIK Deviation Perspective I Wrong Soul Requiem

is the title we have prepared for the YIIK v1.25 update.

A Deviation Perspective is the “classic” YIIK scenario told from another perspective.

Players hoping to be surprised should skip the minor spoilers in the next section. For this Deviation Perspective, we chose to focus on the Golden Alpaca. The scene is now told from the tonal perspective of a fictional IP in the YIIK Universe, from which the Golden Alpaca originates. 38XX PPC Electric City Golgotha: Crucifusion A Film Synopsis The 30 pieces of bloodless silver have been stolen. With these tempest metals, any evil deed, no matter how transcendental, can be brokered. Arcangelo Alpaca, Interdimensional Demi-god, Savior of Shattered Space, must travel through dangerous dimensions and diabolical hellscapes of terror and awe to stop the thieves before it’s too late. In the far reaches of reality lies his destination: Electric City Golgatha. A seedy underbelly of Angel Stocks, and Digital Soul Vessels. At the center of this debauchery is the COUNCIL OF DIMENSION BIZARRE ESQUIRE. The motive and identity of the silver thieves are known only to this Shadow Firm. By Holy Judgement’s Blade, he will track down the King and Queen seeking to make the dastardly purchase, no matter the risk. Armed with the All-Seeing Eyes of God and Gleaming Fur, the Golden Warrior will travel to the ends of time and space to prevent a corporate merger from hell. We have cast D.C. Douglas (Yoshikage Kira, Albert Wesker, Grimoire Noir) to portray the Golden Alpaca. We look forward to you getting to meet the new Golden Alpaca. YIIK v1.5 will include more Deviation Perspectives that similarly expand on and improve the original content. Please look forward to future announcements regarding this update. END SPOILERS You can also look forward to the YIIK | Deviation Perspective I | Wrong Soul Requiem Official Soundtrack, which includes a short story about the Golden Alpaca, his origins, and the greater YIIK universe. Featuring vocalists Amelia Jones, and Sapphire. The soundtrack contains 18 new works. I have composed twelve of them, with the remainder composed by guest musicians Trevor Dalton Moore, Cheryl Stelli, Justin Rosin, and Brendan Kingsley. Pre-orders are available now. We hope you look forward to YIIK v1.25, available on Windows and OSX on January 14th to all those who already own the game. Thank you for playing, Andrew

[ackkstudios]

YIIK Update info...

Originally Posted to Steam:  https://store.steampowered.com/app/459080/YIIK_A_Postmodern_RPG/ Hey! Andrew and Brian Allanson here. We can’t believe we’re coming up on the YIIK: A Postmodern RPG one year anniversary next week! It’s crazy how fast the year went by. We want to thank everyone who has supported the game this year. Word of mouth has really helped the game grow a fanbase, and we’re truly grateful to everyone who has recommended the game to a friend. In the past few months, now that we’ve had some time to step back from the game, we’ve been paying attention to Fan Feedback and constructive criticism. So, we’re happy to announce that we’ve begun work on an update for YIIK based on the feedback we’ve received! Before I go on, although we're posting this on Steam, please note that these updates will be available on all versions of the game. Here is what we plan on tackling first: *New Battle System that focuses on quicker battles/more strategic gameplay (the old battle system will still be available as an option.) *Improved Combat Balance (New and Old Battle System) *Refined/Streamlined Mind Dungeon. *Improving Rory’s usefulness in battle *Region Specific Bugs (Some Japanese region players have reported some issues that seem to only occur in Japanese language mode.) *Adding a way to view progress in each area (How many enemies are left to kill, secrets left to uncover, etc.) In addition to all these heavier improvements, we’ll also tackle some smaller bugs that are less obvious. We’ll keep everyone posted on our progress, and update in a few weeks once we have a better understanding of the timeline. Thanks again for playing YIIK! -Allanson Bros.

[ackkstudios]

For the friends that work to keep us grounded. <3 Happy New Year! The world goes on after all. 2020 is going to be an interesting year! 

[ackkstudios]

What’s to come for YIIK in 2020

Hey there! This is Brian and Andrew Allanson. We’ve been taking some time away from social media, but that doesn’t mean we’ve disappeared into the soul space. We’ve been hard at work on bringing new updates to YIIK, among other things. We want this to be brief, so we’ll get right into it! Here is what 2020 will hold for YIIK: A Postmodern RPG:  First, in regards to updates: The Steam, Switch and PS4 versions will be getting at least two more updates in Q1, one of which we hope will fix any remaining major issues with the game as well as provide a few quality of life changes that have been requested. We’ll talk more about those when we’re closer to releasing them. We’d also like to say that plans for a YIIK Soundtrack Vinyl Record have moved forward, and you will likely see that next year provided everything goes according to plan. (Maybe with a bonus track you’ve never heard before!) Lastly, we’d like to let everyone know the physical of YIIK from Limited Run is still happening, and we hope to have a date pinned down soon. But rest assured, it’s still happening. It will be rad, and be worth the wait! Anyway, we’d like to thank everyone who supported YIIK in it’s first year and ask that you look forward to what’s coming to the game in 2020! Thank you all for playing the game and continuing to show it support. As for the “other things” we’ve been working on, please remain patient as we’ll talk about them when they’re closer to release. We’ll be in touch soon. -Allanson Bros.

[ackkstudios]

After 4 years of development... YIIK: A Postmodern RPG has a release date!! Thank you to Kinda Funny Games for featuring us in the #KFGshowcase. Very excited to share this day with you! 

[ackkstudios]

It’s Pax East time again.

We’re getting ready to finally release this darn thing within the next couple months, and we are really afraid of giving away the game’s secrets. (And since I know all of you will be asking WHEN the game is coming out, I can say it it’ll likely be either May or July…)

To avoid major spoilers we’ve decided to build a custom demo for Pax East. It’s a side story that fits somewhere in the games 2nd chapter and doesn’t spoil any of the games primary plot, while still hinting at the games overall themes.

This demo is set in the port town of Cape Juno, NJ. Alex is investigating an ONISM 1999 post about a mother of 10 who has mysteriously vanished after announcing to her family that she is expecting her 11th child.

This demo features a new party member named Wilfrid.

Anyway, I won’t give away too much. Enjoy the screenshots!

YIIK Episode: Cape Juno will be playable at the Ysbryd Games booth (located at #19115) next week during Pax East 2018!

[ackkstudios]

Woah! FanGamer found a relic from the past. 

[ackkstudios]

https://soundcloud.com/ackkstudios/minor-conversation

[ackkstudios]

YIIK Release Information

- YIIK: A Postmodern RPG Release Information -

Hey guys, Andrew and Brian Allanson here.

We are really thankful for everyone who has supported YIIK since we first unveiled it about two and a half years ago.

We’re really proud of the reception our weird little game has received so far, and thrilled with what our team accomplished.

For those of you who don’t know, these are the credits for the development end of the game: Brian Allanson, Andrew Allanson, Brigid Allanson, Ian Bailey, Jose Alfaro.

Then of course, we have our awesome casting director Brittany Lauda, and our great cast: Chris Niosi, Michaela Laws, Andrew Fayette, Melanie Ehrlich, Clifford Chapin, Anthony Sadinha, Daman Mills, Michele Knotts, and Nicole Dugan.

So, development of the core game finished about three months ago, as you may have noticed with our percentage counter on Twitter. We did a pretty big beta test, and got a lot of feedback, and we’ve been working ever since tightening things up, and even replacing some areas based on feedback.

We’re pleased with the end result.

Here is the reason it’s not out yet and we didn’t rush it out: our mother is very ill. She has pancreatic cancer, and it has been advancing quickly. While we’re still actively working, it seems to be a terrible idea to prepare to release the game when we know she doesn’t have much time left. Releasing a game is a complex process, and we need to be support any unexpected issues with quick updates on steam, and be ready to answer emails.

So, we’ve decided that releasing the game now would be a very bad idea. Instead, we’re going to hold on to a bit longer, and release it once things have settled down a bit.

I hope you understand. Cancer is very difficult on the entire family, especially at this late stage.

Thank you for understanding.  -The Allanson Brothers.

[ackkstudios]

Staring Vella Wilde, Alex Eggleston, and Claudio Erlich.

Download on 9/6/2016!

YIIK: Episode Prime - "The MixTape Phantom and the Haunting of the Southern Cave." is a standalone quest set within the world of the upcoming YIIK: A Postmodern RPG Video Game.

A Supernatural Japanese Style Role Playing Game with Action Based Microgames for Combat!

About the YIIK -

On the afternoon of April 4th 1999 Sammy Pak went missing.

That night, a video of her last known moments was uploaded online.

All of your friends excitedly watched as she is pulled from an elevator by something…. otherworldly. This is a story about what happens when you look for someone who can't be found… and the strange things you invite into your life when you go to forbidden places.

About The Demo -

Episode Prime contains some areas featured in the full game, as well as original content created to convey the vibe of the game, without spoiling any major story events. This quest uses the full YIIK engine, and also acts as a good benchmark for performance of the full game on your machine! What's it play like?

A bit of Persona 4, Paper Mario, some Earthbound, and a lot of Wild Arms and Lufia 2.

What's included?

Miniature dungeon with unusual enemies, and Lufia 2 style puzzles!

Explorable town with hidden secrets, shops, and unique NPCs!

Contained Story set within the world of YIIK: A Postmodern RPG.

Reduced version YIIK's unique COMBAT SYSTEM. FeaturingAlex, Vella, and Claudio!

Petite version of ONISM1999. (In game Message Board where conspiracy theories, ghost sightings, and other strange things are discussed.)

Keyboard & Dualshock 4 controls.

Rockin' tunes by Andrew Allanson (Two Brothers), Jose Alfaro, Calum Bowen (Lovely Planet), Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana), Michael Kelly (VA-11 HALL-A) and Toby Fox (Undertale).

What's NOT included, but will be in the FULL game?

Fully customizable controls and controller support. (Steam controller, Xbox, and whatever weird off brand thing you play with.)

Loads of dungeons.

Voice acting.

A bunch of towns.

A full, finished RPG really.

Why are you doing this???

We made this demo for PAX Prime (PAX WEST). We had been showing off a section of the game known as "Wind Town" for a while, and felt it was time to show off some other aspects of the game (mainly the dungeons, and the tool system...), but everything post Wind Town really gave away a lot of the game's secrets, and surprises... and that's pretty lame. So, we decided to make a unique scenario. Only thing is, not everyone gets to go to PAX WEST. (PAX Prime for us old timers) So, we're releasing this here so people can try the game out and see if it's something they'd be interested in.

Also, I'd like to note that we don't really plan on supporting this demo. We're releasing it, and that's it really. We'll take bug reports and stuff, but mostly we'll just make sure they aren't in the real game (which will be coming out soon.) and move on.

-Ackk Studios

[ackkstudios]

(Photo Credit: @Drezinator)

For the past two years we’ve been hard at work on YIIK: A Postmodern RPG. And while we we’re not quite ready to release the game today, we are happy to announce that YIIK is now playable at Toys R Us, Gamestop, Target, and Bestbuy at the PlayStation 4 Demo Kiosk. So, if you’ve been eager to try the game but haven’t had the opportunity to visit us at a convention, now is your chance! What if you still want more!? we’ll be showing a nearly finished version of the game at PAX Prime early next month. It will be a completely new demo, and show off elements of the game that we haven’t shown off before. Now, as for the release of the full game, we’ll be making a video soon with an update on development, as well as an announcement or two. ;) Thank you guys for your support!! NOTE: Some stores can be slow about updating the demos on their Kiosk, so it may take a few days for it to appear at your local store.

[ackkstudios]

Postmodernism, and YIIK.

Hey guys!

I wanted to make a short post on here about Postmodernism and YIIK. What elements of Postmodernism you’ll find in YIIK, and why we chose the name YIIK: A Postmodern RPG.  If you don’t care about Postmodernism, I’m still fairly certain you can enjoy the game quite a bit! But, since there are a lot of die hard connoisseurs of Postmodernism out there, I figure I’d explain ourselves a bit.... On the topic of the name YIIK: A Postmodern RPG. When development first began, we just called it Y2K. But, too many people couldn't tell it was an RPG when they just scrolled by, so we wanted to have the name be able to explain to the player what kind of game it was.  We used the word postmodern, because the story is heavily influenced by Postmodern Authors like Haruki Murakami, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace. The story is very influenced by Marukami’s The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. As for elements that make the game postmodern, there are a few I'll talk about! Many postmodern authors combined, or “pasted” elements of previous genres and styles of literature to create a new narrative voice, or to comment on the writing of their contemporaries. So, we wanted to see how we could create a battle mode around Pastiche. YIIK, features a battle mode designed around Genre Blending. Each mini game represents a different genre, as a sort of nod to the Maximalist styles of David Foster Wallace in Infinite Jest and Tri-stan.  An important element of postmodernism is its acknowledgment of previous literary works. The intertextuality of certain works of postmodern fiction, the dependence on literature that has been created earlier…  YIIK, is a game that exists within the real world (at times), and will feature some allusions to Chrono Trigger, Pokemon, and many other games, in order to pay homage to the genre defining games that responsible for it’s influence… while also trying to expand on them.  That one you’ll kinda need to see in action for it to make sense! Many postmodern authors feature metafiction in their writing, which, essentially, is writing about writing, an attempt to make the reader aware of its ficitionality. Much like House of Leaves where it’s a book about a book about a movie, YIIK is a game that revolves around a conspiracy theory image forum. The characters will talk about the forum, reference it, and the player can browse it as it’s updated as the game progresses. You can find quests here, and really dive into the forum and get to know each character who posts on there. (There are a lot, and each of them have a progression… something we’re pretty proud of!)  We also explore Temporal distortion, nonlinear timeline. While most of the game takes place chronologically throughout the year of ’99, there are moments where we move the player through time… which is an interesting challenge as RPGS have leveling systems… I think we handled it creatively? we’ll see! And of course, the game also features a world flowing with Magical realism. Here is a great quote on what that is "Arguably the most important postmodern technique, magical realism is the introduction of fantastic or impossible elements into a narrative that is otherwise normal. Magical realist novels may include dreams taking place during normal life, the return of previously deceased characters, extremely complicated plots, wild shifts in time, and myths and fairy tales becoming part of the narrative. Many critics argue that magical realism has its roots in the work of Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez, two South American writers, and some have classified it as a Latin American style.”  Of course, there is a load more things I can get into, but this was boring enough. I hope this clears things up a bit! I understand the name can be a bit eye-rolling… but I think it makes most in context of the game.  For me reading on Postmoderism, here is a great post about it!! http://postmodernblog.tumblr.com/post/106532710/a-list-of-postmodern-characteristics

[ackkstudios]

https://soundcloud.com/ackkstudios/adventures-in-the-monster-den

[ackkstudios]

YIIK A Postmodern RPG will be releasing this summer! We’re fast approaching completing the game, and we’re happy to be able to show it off to the public at PAX East booth #8224 (next to Supergiant Games and across from Starbeeze!) 

If you’re at the convention, we’d love for you to stop by, play the game, and have a chat with us! 

[ackkstudios]

www.yiikrpg.com @ackkstudios

YIIK is a Japanese Style RPG set in the 1990s, about eight strangers, a mysterious woman who vanishes in an elevator, and weaponized Panda plushies. ==================== On the afternoon of April 4th 1999 Sammy Pak went missing.

That night, a video of her last known moments was uploaded online.

All of your friends excitedly watched as she is pulled from an elevator by something…. otherworldly. This is a story about what happens when you look for someone who can’t be found… and the strange things you invite into your life when you go to forbidden places. ==================== Key Features:

*25 Hour Japanese RPG style campaign!

*Journey in the late 90’s, on the eve of the world’s end, in this surreal RPG experience.

*Unique combat that blends action based moves, with turn based combat.

*Fight complex and epic battles featuring up to eight party members.

*Explore and solve six unique dungeons filled with puzzles and traps!

*Fully voiced acted campaign featuring voices by Chris Niosi(Kirbopher/Disgaea 5), Clifford Chapin(Attack on Titan), Andrew Fayette (Yuri of Wind), and many more!

*Expansive soundtrack including works by Andrew Allanson(Two Brothers), Calum Bowen(Lovely Planet), Toby Fox(Undertale), Hiroki Kikuta(Secret of Mana), and many more!

*Expected release date: Summer 2016

Expected release platforms: STEAM, PS Vita, PS4, Wiiu,  and after initial release XBOX ONE. ====================

[ackkstudios]

(via Fangamer - YIIK - Sacred Geometry)

It’s finally here!! The first official YIIK: A Postmodern RPG t-shirt from FANGAMER!!