KoROBO has all the ingredients to be a beautiful story of friendship, where the smallest and most underestimated of characters finds himself fulfilling a great destiny.
With just two weeks left in the Kickstarter campaign, let’s talk about koROBO, an action-adventure video game and the first project from an exciting new team composed of some familiar faces. We are talking about Tiny Wonder Studio, made up of three members from Skip Ltd., the creators of the Chibi-Robo series.
When cleaning becomes a real adventure
But who or what is KoROBO, our protagonist? KoROBO is a small toy robot. In reality, it’s an imitation of a much more modern and technological household robot, which young Tom, the other protagonist of the story, receives on his tenth birthday.
After the initial disappointment, Tom soon discovers that this little robot is much more than just a toy.
Tom appears to be a messy and chaotic boy, yet he harbors a deep curiosity about how machines and toys work. He often takes them apart and modifies them, spending most of his time alone in his room.
His mother, Sally, who cannot stand disorder, starts imposing rules on Tom to tidy up, and this is where KoROBO comes into play. The little robot proves to be very useful for cleaning, organizing, helping Tom with homework, and other small daily tasks.
Players will assume the role of this tiny explorer, who, starting with simple cleaning tasks, will gradually unlock new areas in Tom’s room and then throughout the house, which were initially inaccessible.
Meanwhile, by collecting items, KoROBO will be able to enhance its capabilities. Initially, we will only be able to run, jump, and glide, but over time, KoROBO will even be able to fly and swim. But that’s not all… This little toy, in which no one had any confidence, will even be capable of time travel.
A Small Great World
The story takes place in the neighborhood of Brocklyn, within the urban jungle of New York City. Tom lives with his mother, Sally, who is of Japanese descent and has divorced her husband, who found family life too confining and in conflict with his need to explore the world.
It is Tom’s father who sends him all the strange toys and trinkets he owns, brought back from his various travels, including KoROBO, which will prove very useful, especially for upgrading our protagonist.
The story begins within the domestic walls, but gradually, KoROBO will explore the surrounding buildings and interact with an increasing number of characters.
We are in the year 2025, and the world is facing an imminent energy crisis, where fossil fuels are no longer reliable. KoROBO, which runs on solar power — we must recharge its batteries by seeking out and resting in sunny spots we find around — will become the catalyst that sets humanity on a new course, offering a new perspective on the future and changing the course of history forever. Remember, it can also travel through time, so who knows how it will manage to do all this. I’m quite curious to find out.
A Dual Campaign
The crowdfunding campaign for koROBO is currently underway on two platforms: Kickstarter for English-language support and Campfire for Japanese-language support.
Although there are some functional differences between these two platforms, both are raising funds in Japanese yen (JPY), ensuring consistent costs for participants. Once both stretch and community goals are reached, the total amount raised on both platforms will be combined.
Even after the main campaign concludes, supporters have the opportunity to contribute further through the late pledge function available on Kickstarter. This system allows continued support for koROBO’s development, albeit with slightly higher prices (about 10% more) than the original campaign.
Another important consideration is the shipping costs. Since shipping costs are subject to continuous fluctuations, it is difficult to predict in advance how much it will cost to ship the game and its accessories. Therefore, to ensure transparency and fairness, shipping costs are not currently included in the reward prices but will be added to the supporters’ contributions as we get closer to koROBO’s release.
Finally, choosing which consoles to develop the game for is a significant challenge, especially when the project relies on crowdfunding to become a reality. If the applicable stretch funding goal is reached, the developers will ensure that koROBO is launched on the latest hardware available for each platform at the time of release.
Addressing Important Themes with an Engaging Style
Graphically speaking, koROBO is beautifully crafted, with a clean and detailed design reminiscent of high-quality animated productions for children, similar to a well-crafted feature film of high-level production.
This comfortable visual style can appeal to any generation, making it an excellent medium for conveying its important underlying messages that are necessary to discuss in this current historical moment, such as the need to find alternative energy sources.
Themes like friendship, family, and especially sustainability are the right engines to make an impact. Currently, topics related to the environment, resources, and survival are very much in vogue, and rightly so. Therefore, it’s welcome that this new product also leads us to further reflections on our future.
Who better than a small toy robot that travels through time can help us do that?
Take a look at the Kickstarter page of this new, ambitious, promising, but above all, fun project and become part of a true community with which to interact, exchange opinions, and provide advice.
