Kokato Dispatch
Keep up with the witches in Kokato Dispatch!
Kokato Dispatch is set in a rural archipelago that is finally having life breathed back into it after the Great Storm. In Kokato Dispatch, the player must manage a ragtag team of witches as they deliver mail to residents and provide the archipelago with the means to rebuild after disaster.
I’m currently working on this project as the art director and illustrator in charge of bringing the visuals of the archipelago to life. I have contributed early concept art for characters and the environments that players will encounter.
Concept Art
Some early concept art for the world of Kokato Dispatch aimed to capture the bright colours of an island setting, while combining the cosy feel of a witches running a rural post office. The world of Kokato Dispatch is one of tech-meeting-magic, of corporate branding with a touch of history. In the archipelago specifically, we wanted to retain a sense of history and abandon, considering that the islands were ravaged by storms and unusual weather events.
At the heart of this game is the characters who come from a variety of backgrounds, who all just want to pitch in the help the archipelago (or gain a couple of extra dollars during school holidays).
The team maintains a characters-first pillar in all design decisions we make. And likewise I’ve tried to convey the characters as varied but ultimately likable friends to the player.
Characters of Kokato Dispatch
The workers at the Kokato Dispatch are a colourful and varied crew, each with their own set of quirks and secrets for the player to uncover.
While working my way through our first roster of characters, I made sure the give each of them a secret that informed their designs. We also played around with the idea that the workers had a loose uniform policy, but that it was up to their interpretation as to how they came to work representing the post office.
Residents of the Archipelago
Dotted around the magical islands are unusual and interesting folks who are pitching their hopes of the Kokato Dispatch to reconnect the archipelago to the mainland, and rebuild the network of trust between the towns. Each town has a story for the player to discover, and each town needed a face to give players a quick overview of the location and of each towns history.
