DST animated series is too much.

[Waoling]

I think we should get a little bit more realistic if we want other form of Dst other than game, we should look into graphic novel or comic, those are much cheaper and more feasible for Klei to publish while also focusing on the game.

[NPCMaxwell]

1 hour ago, Waoling said:

I think we should get a little bit more realistic if we want other form of Dst other than game, we should look into graphic novel or comic, those are much cheaper and more feasible for Klei to publish while also focusing on the game.

I would prefer them too, also hoping they would maybe be closer to the artstyle of the original shorts with the bold papercut like white outlines and dark colour palette (secret knowledge is still my favourite)

EDIT: Or closer to the old images that went with the DS game (wilson with torch followed by shadow silhouettes of creatures)

[Ridley]

Just going to leave this here.

Spoiler

 

[Waoling]

53 minutes ago, Ridley said:

Just going to leave this here.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Yeah they been saying that for 2 years now, I don't think you should get your hope up, the best they could do with their limited time, resource, and manpower is a graphic novel once every 3 months.

[Theukon-dos]

Klei already makes an animated short every update and then some. So they're already willing to put money into the franchise for advertisement. Yes, an animated series would be a lot longer and more expensive. But

1. An animated series would also bring revenue in and of itself in addition to attracting players to the game.

2. While it would be longer, how much longer is unclear. The Streaming Service model definitly biases towards shorter shows in general. Usually 8-10 20 minute episodes. But you can still get shorter than that. Infinity Train and Adventure Time are two shows that had notable short and compressed run times. Infinity Train in particular is exceptionally well-written and was able to do so with only about 80 minutes of run time per season.

 

[Anis5240]

23 minutes ago, Theukon-dos said:

An animated series would also bring revenue in and of itself in addition to attracting players to the game

I'd rather like it if they begin with the DS plotline first. At least it will give the possible animators some time to come up with a coherent story instead of relying on the nonsense BS in DST.

Also, old artstyle of DS > current artstyle of DST.

[Mike23Ua]

If you take all the animated shorts Klei has already made and compiled those together, you’d have at the very least 2 hours worth of animated content with just that alone.

It also allows anyone who hasn’t been keeping up with these forums a chance to catch up on the lore of what’s actually happened between the beginning & where we are at now.

now rather Klei opts to do a TV Series, or a one time Netflix exclusive Movie.. that’s up to them.

But if DST is going to be on Netflix games,  then the chances of a DST animated Series or Movie just shot way the hell up.

[Waoling]

12 hours ago, Theukon-dos said:

Klei already makes an animated short every update and then some. So they're already willing to put money into the franchise for advertisement. Yes, an animated series would be a lot longer and more expensive. But

1. An animated series would also bring revenue in and of itself in addition to attracting players to the game.

2. While it would be longer, how much longer is unclear. The Streaming Service model definitly biases towards shorter shows in general. Usually 8-10 20 minute episodes. But you can still get shorter than that. Infinity Train and Adventure Time are two shows that had notable short and compressed run times. Infinity Train in particular is exceptionally well-written and was able to do so with only about 80 minutes of run time per season.

1. Not a lot of people heard of Dst, and I don't know if an animated series will attract that many people, while it would make them some money, I don't know what streaming service would pick the show up, if the fan have been doing what Klei told them to do which is, telling their favourite streaming service provider they would watch a dst original series, then it obviously haven't work, it been 2 years and no streaming service, company, or studio have reach out to Klei for an animated series.

2. They would still require a lot of staff to make, and while Klei is a small to midsize company, I don't know if they could divert some of their employee to the animated series without the series taking years to release like Arcane without the same quality, or they need to pay another animation studio to make it for them, which could cost them 300,000$ or more per episode, even for just 10 minutes.

[ZTheNecromancer]

Hey, aspiring cartoonist here-mind if I drop my two cents?

If this is related to the netflix-DST thing, that's a game port to their new games feature (because apparently streaming services need games now)

1 hour ago, Waoling said:

1. Not a lot of people heard of Dst, and I don't know if an animated series will attract that many people

Even if Klei's western audience is not that large relative to other shows, they have a large Chinese audience, I could personally see something like an animated series being successful there, but that's not the main point.

It would come down to what the target audience is, you could take a gravity-falls esque direction (and definitely more similar shows I can't remember off of the top of my head), you could go in on the muted, gothic aesthetic, there's a lot of options. Personally, both would probably garner the interest of quite a few people. It's not a "I don't know if this would EVER work" it's a "How well can they (Klei and others) make this reach the desired audience?"

It could garner the attention of already existing fans, or people who like mystery/fantasy, people who like gritty survival stuff...there's a lot of directions to take.

1 hour ago, Waoling said:

I don't know what streaming service would pick the show up, if the fan have been doing what Klei told them to do which is, telling their favourite streaming service provider they would watch a dst original series, then it obviously haven't work, it been 2 years and no streaming service, company, or studio have reach out to Klei for an animated series.

This is a current industry problem, not a Klei problem. Right now there's too few smaller/original things being made and allowed a chance at success, whilst there's too many large IPs that have already proven themselves successful being built on-not necessarily a DST-specific problem. It's most likely those larger services being a bit too picky (Fun fact! Did you know that Craig McCracken-the creator of Foster's and The Powerpuff Girls, has pitched 7 different ideas to Netflix, all of which were rejected aside from Kid Cosmic? You might get an idea of how much of a problem this is right now when even well-known, talented people with successful works are being rejected)

1 hour ago, Waoling said:

They would still require a lot of staff to make, and while Klei is a small to midsize company, I don't know if they could divert some of their employee to the animated series without the series taking years to release like Arcane without the same quality, or they need to pay another animation studio to make it for them, which could cost them 300,000$ or more per episode, even for just 10 minutes.

Do you...nevermind.

It would absolutely be outsourced to a studio specializing in TV animation, animation/writing/storyboarding for games and shows are two very different things with different sets of skills. Klei does not only not have the manpower to try and do that, but those existing devs probably aren't experienced in TV production.

As for the cost...it can vary dramatically, it can depend on the amount of human resources they're putting towards the project, the chosen voice actors, the art style...it's not exactly fair to go off of those numbers when there's so many factors that can change that cost. Some shows end up taking a lot more money because the voice actors are big names, or the artstyle has a LOT of detail put into it, or even what software they use.

 

In my opinion, I think an animated series could absolutely be successful, but there would probably be either some creative liberties taken when it comes to lore or some kind of artstyle change to compensate for those costs. A graphic novel is much simpler and cheaper, but would most likely only appeal to existing fans and attract even fewer new ones

[Waoling]

45 minutes ago, ZTheNecromancer said:

This is a current industry problem, not a Klei problem.

I never said it was Klei problem, that why I call it unrealistic, because while DST is popular enough, it not New or have that huge of a fanbase, and Klei also haven't release any big game, they make successful game sure, but nothing that mainstream for an major streaming media to pick up.

45 minutes ago, ZTheNecromancer said:

It would absolutely be outsourced to a studio specializing in TV animation, animation/writing/storyboarding for games and shows are two very different things with different sets of skills. Klei does not only not have the manpower to try and do that, but those existing devs probably aren't experienced in TV production.

I know that, it that some people think Klei could just use their own animator to make a tv series.

45 minutes ago, ZTheNecromancer said:

As for the cost...it can vary dramatically, it can depend on the amount of human resources they're putting towards the project, the chosen voice actors, the art style

True, but even if the series is not expensive, it would still cost around 10,000$ per episode, I don't know how much Klei made of skin sale, but I don't think it could cover all of the budget for an animated series, and think of the music, sound design, and voice acting, because I think it the perfect time for voice acting other than that one musical animation.

The best thing we could hope for is a graphic novel or a comic if we want more art and less story.

[ZTheNecromancer]

33 minutes ago, Waoling said:

True, but even if the series is not expensive, it would still cost around 10,000$ per episode

Buddy if an episode of a show costed that little I'd think whoever's working on it would be living in a dingy prison cell with rations

I would do a little bit of research before making these types of claims about what the cost would be

33 minutes ago, Waoling said:

I know that, it that some people think Klei could just use their own animator to make a tv series.

I would also word your responses more clearly, then

EDIT: On a sidenote, if Klei were to get a large streaming service in on an animated series, some of the budget would come from the service itself and not just Klei-they view it a bit like an investment. I would still be more informed before making these types of claims.

[Waoling]

27 minutes ago, ZTheNecromancer said:

On a sidenote, if Klei were to get a large streaming service in on an animated series, some of the budget would come from the service itself and not just Klei-they view it a bit like an investment. I would still be more informed before making these types of claims.

Yeah, I haven't done enough research into how much animation like DST would cost, but DST artstyle isn't too complex or detail, so I think it would be more on the cheaper side of thing, but I don't know how much it cost them to actually animated the cinematic so it could be higher, and I don't know if the current animation is show worthy enough. 

Do you think Klei have any chance of getting pick up?

[SaltyPepper2231]

I wouldn’t mind if they dedicated each to episode to a different character, like the animated shorts, just longer.

[GuardDuty]

If an indie game like Dead Cells can do it, then DST can too. Respect their choice if they prefer to focus on their games, which still require a lot of work. However, creating an animated series is always feasible.

[lenship2]

On 6/10/2024 at 4:02 AM, Waoling said:

we should look into graphic novel or comic

more cyclum-esque comics would be awesome

[Waoling]

1 hour ago, GuardDuty said:

If an indie game like Dead Cells can do it, then DST can too. Respect their choice if they prefer to focus on their games, which still require a lot of work. However, creating an animated series is always feasible.

Does Dead Cell have an animated series?

Also I'm not saying I'm not into the idea of an animated series, I'm saying that don't get your hope up, and if you want DST to be on another type of media, then you should tell Klei that you want a DST comic or graphic novel instead of an animated series. Those are easier to get people to make them than an full animated series.

[GuardDuty]

5 hours ago, Waoling said:

Does Dead Cell have an animated series?

It does.

Dead Cells : Immortalis | Trailer (VF / ENGLISH SUB) (youtube.com)

I don't care much about other form of DST. What I see there might be a potential for a good show.

Frankly speaking, making media just for fans is crazy, it's throwing time and money away. Company would rather use their artists and resources to make more skins to sell or assets in games. And there ain't no way in hell, fans alone can convince big networks like Netflix to make an animated show for a small game. Netflix wants big hits like Stranger Things or Arcane, not obscure 2D video games with no well-developed lore.

However, media, or in this case, animated series, can do wonders. Arcane's first season was so good that 45 million players flocked to LoL to play as their favorite characters from the show. A decent series can always boost a game's popularity, even if it isn't as big as Arcane.

Right now, there's a lack of good, fun animated shows. Big networks are canceling many or investing in terrible shows (Velma season 2, really?). Klei should either make their own indie show or hire talented individuals to create shows on YouTube or a smaller network. The success of YouTube shows like "Helluva Boss" proves it's possible to create a great show on a low budget and still be popular.

Overall, doing a graphic novel or comic for fans is a waste of money and unlikely to happen. The better pitch is an indie animated series. It requires some upfront spending but will pay off in the future if the show is good.

[Waoling]

I think comic or graphic novel would be a better choice, DST isn't as easy to get into as LoL, or as popular in gaming community as Dead Cell. Comic or graphic novel would have a better chance of success. I think the success come from if Klei advertise it right, sponser popular online book people to read your work, so they can tell their fan about the work, it much faster and cheaper than an animated series.

[GuardDuty]

1 hour ago, Waoling said:

I think comic or graphic novel would be a better choice, DST isn't as easy to get into as LoL, or as popular in gaming community as Dead Cell. Comic or graphic novel would have a better chance of success. I think the success come from if Klei advertise it right, sponser popular online book people to read your work, so they can tell their fan about the work, it much faster and cheaper than an animated series.

Only their business analyst can tell which option is better, as there's no data here to compare.

Klei isn't an indie company; they're more of an "AA" type of company, similar to Super Giant. These are companies that sell their games for around $25-30 or offer small live-services, skins, and battle passes for about $10 each update. On the other hand, Dead Cells is an indie game and definitely not as popular. They have sold fewer copies, and being a one-time-play game, they have way fewer monthly active players. They got an animated series because it wouldn't hurt them either way. Their fans have something to watch, and more people might check out the game if they like the series.

The truth is fewer people read compared to watching movies or playing games. For example, Riot has been producing comic novels for years. The Ruined King comic novel was a flop, but Arcane was a big hit that showed up in the numbers and might even be the reason they drastically cut their lore department (which is still crazy because they need lore for the series in the first place). Riot is a huge company (they're also owned by Tencent like Klei lmao), so they have the time and resources to gather the necessary data to decide which model to follow.

It's fine if Klei doesn't venture into media-type content, but they should communicate this to their fans clearly instead of telling their fans to connect to streaming platforms and doing the work for them. Game companies just need to excel at making games. Riot is great at entertainment, but at best, they are a mediocre game company. Klei should focus on evolving their company to fit the new model. They're not indie anymore and should adopt business standards, play and test their own games, as DST are becoming unnecessary complex, forum feedback from hobbyists won't cutting it in the future.

[arubaro]

I dont get how cuphead or exploding kittens (how you make a show about that board game???) have a show and not this game. Even grounded announced a show too

But tbh i fear the answeres to the lore mysteries. Sometimes not having answere is better than a disappointing explanation 

[Ridley]

5 hours ago, arubaro said:

I dont get how cuphead or exploding kittens (how you make a show about that board game???) have a show and not this game. Even grounded announced a show too

But tbh i fear the answeres to the lore mysteries. Sometimes not having answere is better than a disappointing explanation 

I think a theoretical Don't Starve show doesn't have to dwell on the mysteries of the lore to be entertaining. The survivors have plenty of personality too them and the world they survive is full of weird phenomenons/magic. The constant can always be altered by the higher powers to allow new creatures and threats. Don't Starve has always had a lot of freedom of what can happen in it.

My two favorite videos they have done so far is the Survival Guide: Firewood and the Reign of Giants release trailer. The character backstory videos are also consistently great.

[Waoling]

I think it better to have an explanation even a disapointing one, than none at all.

Also I feel like a survival game doesn't do well for reveal lore or progressing the story at a good pace.

[Szczuku]

I agree. I think Klei is spread thin already, what with developing 4 games at once and also publishing like 2 more