afroduckstudios

[afroduckstudios]

AfroDuck Studios is HIRING!!!! We are currently looking for talented individuals to join our team in creating our vision for Zakumba: Episode Astraia. Currently, we are seeking 2D animators and Programmers looking for a challenging project built from the ground up. If you have any interest or know anyone looking for a new project to join, please comment, like and share this post with those you believe would be interested. 

[afroduckstudios]

First Concept Designs of Astraia sketched by our Lead Character Designer Yayira Dzamesi !!!

Directors Note: The first time I spoke with yayira and described the character of Astraia, she spent about 20 minutes listening, and then sent a screen shot of this image and asked if this is what she looked like. I was aghast and realized I had found Astraia’s creator. The involvement and evolvement of yayira’s style has concisely pushed our original ideas into what we have now.

#instaartist #instaart #digitalart #digitalartist #conceptart #gamedevelopment #conceptartist #afroduckstudios #zakumba #astraia

[afroduckstudios]

We are honored and excited to be placed as the Runner Up for “Crowd Favorite” at this year’s GDEX and first ever GDEXTV Event. We had a phenomenal time and are truly appreciative to be part of this community! Special thanks to playvue for sponsoring.

This is truly a humbling and amazing experience and we hope to develop our ideas further from this amazing community.

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE for more info on our team and our projects!!!

LINK IN BIO

#indiedev #indiestudio #indiegamedev #videogames #columbus #startup #indiestartup #studio #blog #afroduckstudios #gamedesign #videogames #videogame #ourfirstgame #indiegame #afroduck #zakumba #astraia #gdex #gdextv

[afroduckstudios]

Silhouette Cover Illustration completed by our lovely @ambielu that takes place right before Astraia enters the abandoned Factory.

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG POST GOING OVER THE PAST YEAR OF OUR DEMO DEVELOPMENT!!!

LINK IN BIO!!!!

#indiedev #indiestudio #indiegamedev #videogames #columbus #gdex #startup #indiestartup #studio #blog #afroduckstudios #gamedesign #videogames #videogame #ourfirstgame #indiegame #afroduck #zakumba #astraia

[afroduckstudios]

Zakumba: Astraia Prolouge Demo is OUT NOW on STEAM!

… Wow that is a mouthful. Regardless we are excited to share our progress with everyone. We encourage you all to check it out, play it, provide feedback and help us develop this even further. This was just an idea only a year ago and we are slowly building the world of Zakumba into a “digital” reality.

More updates to come as well as a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT later this week!!!

#indiedev #indiestudio #indiegamedev #videogames #columbus #gdex #startup #indiestartup #studio #blog #aditl #afroduckstudios #madewithunity #gamedesign #videogames #videogame #ourfirstgame

[afroduckstudios]

Are you an actual duck?

Sometimes. Depends how we’re feeling :D

[afroduckstudios]

DEV BLOG IS LIVE!

Our Development Blog from the past summer is live. 2020 has been an interesting year but we have learned a lot and we would love to share our experiences with everyone. Check out the blog at our website (Link in Bio) with some Director's Commentary from our fearless leader, Kwesi Christian… He made us write that last part… But Check Us Out! :D

#gdextv2020 #indiedev #indiestudio #indiegamedev #videogames #columbus #gdex #startup #indiestartup #studio #blog #aditl #afroduckstudios #madewithunity #gamedesign #videogames #videogame #ourfirstgame #thegdex

[afroduckstudios]

GDEX HAS BEGUN!

Tune in today, October 9th through the 11th at noon to check out all the great games and devs talking about thier experiences and games through the industry!

#gdextv2020 #indiedev #indiestudio #indiegamedev #design #videogames #columbus #gdex #startup #indiestartup #studio #gameplay #afroduckstudios #madewithunity #gamedesign #videogames #videogame #ourfirstgame #thegdex

[afroduckstudios]

1 DAY TILL GDEX!!!

AfroDuck Studios is excited to reveal our first Game Animatic Trailer for our very first upcoming studio project, Zakumba: Astraia Prologue. Although this game is a work in progress, we want to take the time to display everything we have accomplished so far :D

This animatic displays the first scene when the game starts.

Shout Outs:

Music Composition and Producer: @brianskeel

Animatic Trailer and Designer: @ambielu

Art Support Director: @ec_bart

As Astraia looks past the locked aged gates, she quickly discovers an alternate entrance that provides her access to the front yard of the abandoned factory. With excitement in her eyes and curiosity in her heart, Astraia enters the long-forgotten building, eager to explore and discover it's secrets. Astraia's purpose, discoveries, and encounters will be revealed in our demo set to fully release on Saturday, October 10th, 2020!

Check out our Directors Blog located on our website and information on where to download the demo version of the game.

Please join us on Sunday, October 11th, as we sit down with the creators for a live GDEX Event talking about our project. Look forward to seeing everyone there :D

[afroduckstudios]

GDEX 2020 is here!!!! Our team at AfroDuck Studios is proud to present our submission to the Columbus Gaming Development Expo this year. Zakumba Astraia is a passion project that has seen many months of development and we are truly excited to share what we have learned and accomplished in the past year. Please join us this year at the online event by checking out @thegdex page for more info on how to attend. We will be posting every day this week with some new game updates and exciting things we will be announcing for the upcoming future. Thank you to EVERYONE for all the support and we look forward to seeing you all there!!!!!

PS. Watch out for an OFFICIAL TRAILER, of our demo out later this week!!!

P.P.S CHECK OUT OUR STORE PAGE ON STEAM (ZAKUMBA ASTRAIA PROLOGUE) (LINK IN LINKTREE BIO)

#indiedev #indiestudio #indiegamedev #design #videogames #columbus #gdex #startup #indiestartup #studio #gameplay #afroduckstudios #madewithunity #gamedesign #videogames #videogame #ourfirstgame #thegdex

[afroduckstudios]

This placeholder attack is the Nature Crystal equipped to Astraia. The large green circle that surrounds Astraia as she swings her hammer down displays the area of attack damage to the enemy. The Enemy displayed is a Water Morp, which has a weakness to Nature type attacks. 

[afroduckstudios]

Super Late Evening Post: We are excited to be sharing some gameplay with you from our team here at AfroDuck Studios. This is an Early Alpha look at how we are building our combat system. Zakumba: Episode Astraia is an Action Adventure Role Playing game that focuses on Exploration, easy beat em up combat and a rich narrative experience.

One of our early decisions was creating a system that made every attack feel earned and strategy geared as you encounter creatures. Although creatures may look and act the same, they have different aElements that guide you to choose which attack would work best on different types.

TLDR: In this video, we were prototyping a “Fire Attack” against one of the Morps of a Nature Element. The orange circle you see shooting from Astraia’s hammer is our place holder asset to distinguish how far the “fire attack” would travel towards the enemy to inflict damage. This was our first step before implementing the final element effects.

Look forward to our next attack type prototype :D

#indiedev #indiestudio #indiegamedev #design #videogames #columbus #gdex #startup #indiestartup #studio #gameplay #afroduckstudios #madewithunity #gamedesign #videogames #videogame

[afroduckstudios]

This is an early concept design of Astraia; we were planning for a cartoon style of character. We ultimately decided to have a more realistic version of her that would relate to the audience. We chose to have a Black female as our main subject due to the lack of representation we saw in many RPG games. Astraia has always been a character that we treated as our own daughter and we are excited to send her into the world to share her story!

[afroduckstudios]

Our lead character designer, Yayira talks about her experience working on Astraia's inital design and the feedback that she received. Make sure you have your volume turned on! 🔊

[afroduckstudios]

It’s good to stay idle once in awhile, even if you’re just swaying back and fourth..  

Although it seems like very little changes, Astraia’s standing idle was tricky as we wanted to have her perform an action while she was still. This helped form the frame from many of her combo attacks. 

[afroduckstudios]

Huge shoutout to everyone who has given us feedback and helped test our first Alpha version. It was a successful and humbling experience hearing all the responses from avid gamers to general people. We are excited to keep pushing forward and seeing how far we can take this. If you did not get a chance to play our Alpha, do not fret, as we will be working towards a beta that will allow more people to play and provide feedback. Building a game with such a large community and passionate developers, such as on our team, is one of the best moments we have had. Please look forward to upcoming announcements!

#afroduckstudios #pixel #indiegamedev #gdex #zakumba #game #indiegame #indiegamestudio #gamedev #aseprite

[afroduckstudios]

Chadwick Boseman is now and forever will be a historic Black-Figure. Through the roles he chose, the people he collaborated with, and organizations he was involved with he has influenced a new generation of warriors that fight for equality. His presence, stances, and the impact of his decisions have allowed Black adults and children to continue to hope and pursue their own dreams. He was more than just the historic figures he represented in films. He was his own man who chose to encourage and show the world, what it truly meant to achieve success while being black. He represents what all Black men, women, and children want and strive to be. Many of us see him as the one that presented “Black Panther” to us. However, those he was speaking directly to through his films and interviews see what he attempted and succeeded to do. AfroDuck Studios was founded on the idea of allowing those with great ideas, to have an opportunity to work with an exceptional group of diverse people from all backgrounds and education. Chadwick was a significant influence on the current game we are designing, to have a game that represents the Black/African culture to an audience that has yet to see such an influence in the gaming industry. This post is not meant to promote us, but instead to offer our thanks and eternal gratitude to Chadwick's legacy. A legacy that was too short, but burned brightly and had a massive impact on the world. Thank you for what you gave us. Thank you for lifting us. Thank you for opening the path to our own dreams. Rest Well, King.