Synopsis

Your name is Keone Shepka and you don't remember how you ended up in Milky Way HC's locker room. Your teammates expect you to be an enforcer out on the endless ice, beating your opponents to a pulp... but can you even remember how to fight? Shit, do you even remember the rules? What the hell do they mean by respawn amnesia?!This isn't ice hockey as we know it. This is ice hockey without limits. It is a battlefield. It is a lifestyle. It is peaceful war. It is an abomination.It's a game and it's fun. At least you remember that part.

Stargoon is a world that already existed inside my head: funny animals playing hockey in space! It was enjoyable to draw and color. Here's a few pieces from that era, dated 2016. You can also see the initial Milky Way HC sweater design on the deer character.

I've also chosen purple as a primary color because one time in my highschool art class, a girl critiquing me said that I "use too much purple". Since then, I've made sure to always use include vibrant purple in my art! I also like the association it has with royalty, imagination, and exploration.Coming into this project, I knew I wanted to push my usual comfort zones in terms of characters and their surroundings. To do that, I used quite a bit of photo reference alongside photobashing to achieve a level of stylization between semi-realism and fantastical.

Process

checklist

Keone

Tiago

Jiang

Props

Environment

User Interface

Narrative

You wake up to a lanky rabbit-person digging through your messy bedroom. She notices your confusion and tells you to call Tiago before running off.Tiago swears loudly when you call him. He tells you that you're experiencing respawn amnesia. Some player named Jiang beat you in a fight the other day.It turns out you've been playing this particular match against Andromeda for a millennium. How can you win? Shit, how do you even lose? The refs haven't called any penalties for the last few years. Where are those damn zebras..?

Stargoon uses a turn-based battle system in an isometric 3D cubic grid. Players take control of Keone as they navigate the universe, while teammates like Tiago are AI-controlled.On your turn, you move and then perform an action. How far you can move is based on your current equipment, e.g. Casual, Formal, Uniform. What equipment you wear allows you to traverse certain terrains or social spaces and access to certain actions. Actions include Fight, Shoot, Change Equipment, and Interact. On the enemies' turn, they are afforded the same options as the player. The player is only made aware of these moves if the enemies are in their range of sight or directly engage with the player.When Fight or Shoot is chosen, perspective shifts to third-person for a real-time battle over the puck. There is no RNG or luck in Stargoon, combat is skill and timing based, just like in traditional arcade fighting games.Possession of the puck is key. Bring it to your opponent's net to score. Protect it with your life, since every point in space is in play, as long as the puck isn't in a net.

Gameplay

"I'm really, really trying here, dude!"

In designing Keone, I wanted them to be androgynous and racially ambiguous as to have them be easily projected upon by a player, but still unique enough to stand as their own character. Their respawn amnesia acts as a blank slate in order for Stargoon's world to be introduced slowly, since its futuristic environment can be overwhelming to a new player.I used angular shapes to represent Keone's speed and agility, contrasted with their large shoulders and legs to indicate physical strength. They are a hockey player, after all.Keone's name means "the homeland" in Hawaiian, as a nod to the name of our local supercluster that contains both the Milky Way and Andromeda: Laniakea, meaning "open skies" or "immense heaven." This is also combined with the fact that Keone is the only character in Stargoon born on Earth. Their surname, Shepka, is a combination of the name Sheppard (English, meaning "sheep herder") and Trčka (Czech/Slovak, meaning "partridge" or "to run").In-game, Keone is referred by first name to immediately establish familiarity with the player, while all other characters are introduced and referred to by their surnames until a closer bond is formed.

In-Universe Information

Keone is one of only a few space hockey players in known history to experience complete respawn amnesia; every few respawns, players are expected to lose some memory, but usually not on the scale of complete memory loss like Keone.Funnily enough, this is an advantage for them. They are not dragged down by mistakes from the past and they always approach challenges with a fresh outlook. Their goalie and best friend, Tiago, always helps them to relearn space hockey. Even if their mind doesn't remember, muscle memory always eases them back into their role with ease.

Keone Shepka

"Why don't you ever ask how the dog doing?!"

Tiago is supposed to be the embodiment of "a man's best friend" for Keone specifically. He is a foil to Keone's sharpness, with a rounder and more top-heavy build. Tiago is intended to be a sort of "tutorial character" so that the player (and Keone) doesn't have to figure everything out all by themself. His design is based off of the Akita Inu and Shiba Inu breeds, though his one floppy ear definitely isn't breed-standard...As seen in initial concepts, Tiago was meant to have a brownish-blond fur color. I swapped out this palette for a sesame coloration, which has a larger contrast both standalone and alongside Keone.The name Tiago is a diminutive of the Spanish/Portuguese name Santiago, derived from James, which is ultimately derived from the Hebrew Ya'aqov, meaning "supplanter" or "one who seizes"—I thought it was a funny name meaning for a goalie, snatching pucks out of the air. Jun-Seo is from Sino-Korean, from 俊 (jun) meaning "talented, handsome" combined with 舒 (seo) meaning "open up, unfold, comfortable, easy".

In-Universe Information

In this Safforian name, the family name is Tiago.Usually a back-up goalie, Tiago was not prepared to start this thousand-year game. He is a laid back, self-declared "cool dad", despite having no offspring and only being a leap year older than Keone.Becoming a professional space hockey player wasn't actually Tiago's plan. Really, he just liked to watch the sport, and figured he'd get a better view if he was on a roster. Nevertheless, Tiago was given a job to do, and while Tiago is stubborn, he sure isn't a quitter. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, but an old dog can teach old tricks to an amnesiac human, right?

Tiago Jun-Seo
티아고준서

"...I guess you wouldn't remember that, huh."

Jiang Xiulan's initial concept was that of a "puck bunny", which is a usually derogatory term of female hockey fans that implies they are only fans to "get with" the male players.Likewise, Jiang is constantly trying to prove her worth as an Andromedan athlete by fighting—she absolutely hates it, though, and is often riddled with guilt when facing Keone. Her contradictory shape languages and themes signal her uncertainty in her identity. Jiang's taped-up ears evoke the taped blades of hockey sticks as well as chest binding, another signal of her gender non-conformance.Xiulan is from Chinese 秀 (xiù) meaning "luxuriant, beautiful, elegant, outstanding" combined with 兰 (lán) meaning "orchid, elegant". Jiang is from Chinese 强 (qiáng) meaning "strong, powerful, energetic". These contrasting meanings reflect her conflicted ego.

In-Universe Information

In this Sylvilanese name, the family name is Jiang.A small Sylago, Jiang was a last pick for the Andromeda Galaxies. She struggled in the minor leagues for centuries before being called up to the ongoing Andromeda-Milky Way game.Her popularity exploded among Andromedan fans when she beat Keone Shepka in her first battle. Jiang's fighting skills cemented her as a permanent roster player, but this shift in playing style drained all the joy from hockey for her. It also doesn't help that she has a crush on the person she's supposed to regularly fight to the death.

Jiang Xiulan
强秀兰