Explore the galaxy. Get in on the adventure.
over 1 year ago – Wed, May 17, 2023 at 02:07:52 PM

Next Up - The Podcast

Can’t wait to play the Space Hoppers: Singko Academy card game? Curious to learn what else is going on in the Space Hoppers universe after the card game?  Next up is a narrative podcast, an adventure story in your ears! And we have to say; the script is fantastic!!

It's called: Bazaar Supernova: Mystery of the Tokkan Dagger

Meet Jiri, a new student at Singko Academy who dreams of escaping the boredom of school to find his long-lost father. To make this dream a reality, he steals a priceless ancient dagger from the school's Archaeology department and sneaks aboard a departing bazaar ship.

Now Jiri is living every teenager’s fantasy - he's gotten one over on the adults! All he has to do is stay undetected by the ship's notorious captain Kojo Leko, figure out how to pawn the stolen dagger, and then find his dad. No problem!

But things get complicated when Kojo takes a covert mission for a client and changes course. Will Kojo’s mission put Jiri in danger? Or will he be caught and sent back to his mother? To be honest, he's not sure which is worse.

And here's your sneak peek of the relic that everyone will be chasing after:

Interested in the podcast? Head over to spacehoppers.io and join the email list. The adventure is only beginning at Space Hoppers: Signko Academy.

Thanks!

The Space Hoppers Team

Designing The Cards - Space Hoppers: Singko Academy
over 1 year ago – Mon, May 15, 2023 at 09:06:34 AM

Designing the Cards - How it Started, Where We Are

Hey there! Thanks to your amazing support and enthusiasm, the Space Hoppers: Signko Academy Kickstarter crossed the full funding goal this weekend! Wahoo! We can't thank you enough!

Let's keep our behind-the-scenes looks going. Here's a peek at the evolution of our character card design. 

The first card below was just a design we used in our pitch materials to help explain the game to friends. As we developed the game, we faced many design challenges, like whether to include the card type "CREW" on the face of the card (we didn't) and also whether to write out the skill names on each card (we didn't). 

After a number of play tests and iterations, we eventually settled on using representative icons for skills. This choice led us to a new card, a skills legend card, which lives in the center of the game space. That new card led us to add a direction-of-play tracker - which is super helpful because play direction can constantly change in this game.   

Here’s the final Crew Card design. We love the simplicity and clarity of the card and character. What do you think? There are 30 unique crew cards in the game. Each player starts with four crew cards. The combined skills of your whole crew, their job titles, and their species determine your success in Encounters, where you collect souvenirs - to win the game. 

The Space Hoppers: Signko Academy card game has 8 days left!  If you’d like to help, send this email to someone who might be interested in backing our Kickstarter. You will be the first to receive the game, you'll get an awesome Kickstarter Exclusive Version, and we can’t wait to hear what you think!!  Our campaign ends on May 23!

Thanks!

The Space Hoppers Team

You Got Us There!! And The Campaign Continues!
over 1 year ago – Sun, May 14, 2023 at 04:41:34 AM

Woohoo! 

We're absolutely thrilled because our campaign has just hit the fully funded mark and it's all thanks to YOU! You've really shown your support for us and our project and we couldn't be more grateful.

We've still got a full week to go, and with this crucial milestone achieved, we're feeling even more energized to keep pushing until the very end. The success we achieve here on Kickstarter will help us bring our project to a wider audience and make an even bigger splash.

Thanks to your amazing support, we'll also be able to create the Kickstarter Exclusive Premium Edition in addition to the retail version, and it's going to be awesome. We can't wait to share it with you.

So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you, thank you, thank you! 

And a Big Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in the house. 😍

Customize Your Gameplay
over 1 year ago – Fri, May 12, 2023 at 08:57:32 AM

Hi! It’s Zach and Zella. We created this game together because we love making things, building worlds, telling stories, and playing games with our family and friends. Curious about the Space Hoppers: Signko Academy universe? Let’s dive in… 

The card game is all about strategy, cunning, and quick thinking! One of the coolest things about this game is that you can really customize your gameplay experience. Each card in the deck comes packed with story snippets that add depth and flavor to the game world. But if you're itching for action, you can always skip straight to the action text and skill levels to speed up the gameplay.

It's like having your own interstellar adventure at your fingertips. So, whether you're in the mood for immersive storytelling or fast-paced action, Space Hoppers has got you covered.

A Little Bit of Space Hoppers Story / Backstory:

Over the last seven centuries, Singko Academy has become the pre-eminent educational institution in the universe.

The ultimate draw to Singko Academy isn’t just the amazing classes and stunning campus that’s the size of a small city - it’s the monthly space hops. Every student in every class goes on days-long research hops to study and learn. These hops take students to every corner of the galaxy. 

No matter where you hop to, your goal is to have fun and bring home souvenirs to stack your souvenir shelf. So pack a carry-on, grab a snack, alert your crew, and buckle up for a Space Hoppers adventure!

In the sci-fi universe of Space Hoppers, all stories are told from the perspective of the kids at the center of it all. Space Hoppers jet from the top-secret Three Moons scientific research station to the dangerous trading bazaars on Gast, back home to Singko Academy, and on to the idyllic suburbs of Glen Valley, USA.

Thanks for backing our Kickstarter and helping support the campaign. Would you consider buying a game for a friend? Or forwarding this update to someone you think would dig our game? 

We hope you love the game as much as we do!

Zach & Zella

Designing the Characters - Singko Academy Card Game
over 1 year ago – Wed, May 10, 2023 at 03:49:15 AM

Here’s another peek behind the curtain at the creative process that brought the Space Hoppers: Singko Academy to life. These are some of the early art concepts for the characters in the game, which you can add to your Space Hoppers crew. 

We collaborated with a few artists in the early stages of development, and each one brought a unique style and an interesting perspective. These characters were a great start and really helped us hone in on the details, but to bring the full range of characters to the page and maintain a consistent style across each card type, we needed to bring on a larger team.

Enter the talented artists at Blu Studio! They heard our vision and brought it to life in the characters that you'll see in the game. 

We love how the characters and cards came out!

Oh, and one more thing – if you know someone who might be interested in backing our Kickstarter and being the first to receive the Space Hoppers: Singko Academy card game, please forward this update their way. Our campaign ends on May 23rd. Thanks for your support, fellow space hoppers!

Thanks!

The Space Hoppers Team