💥 Take a Peek Behind the Panels: The Characters of Ka-Pow! City! Dev Log + Production Diary Notes

💥 Take a Peek Behind the Panels: The Characters of Ka-Pow! City! – Dev Log

From the very first spark of Ka-Pow! City, we knew our comic book inspired beat ‘em up needed more than fists and explosions… it needed a cast of heroes and villains bursting with personality. Characters who would make the city feel alive, dangerous, and worth saving.

That’s why we decided early on that each level would introduce its own unique set of enemies, at least two different enemy types per level. Each one has its own attack style and personality. They aren’t formally introduced in-game (we didn’t want to steal the spotlight from our hero, Neon Striker), but this dev log is the perfect chance to meet them.

🎭 The Villains & Goons of Ka-Pow! City

🖌️ Dr. Inkheart A masked, paint-obsessed vandal who weaponizes spray cans and ink projectiles. His signature attack, Graffiti Nightmare, splashes toxic paint across the ground, trapping Neon Striker in a colourful world of pain.

🤖 Junkbot A hulking, tank-like menace made of spare parts and bad attitude. With his crushing Scrap Slam, devastating Lurching Charge, and relentless Junk Toss projectiles, Junkbot turns every encounter into a demolition derby.

💻 Glitch A corrupt corporate boss who wields the power of broken code. His deadly Corrupt Codeball tracks Neon Striker with ruthless precision, while his Bad Sector AOE slows and damages those unlucky enough to be caught inside.

👥 Ink-Stain Goons The loyal and incredibly expendable cronies of Dr. Inkheart. They swarm in numbers, throwing fists to protect their master while he lurks from a distance.

⚡ Static Punks Glitch’s street thugs. They’re not subtle… their only goal is to overwhelm Neon Striker through sheer numbers and headbutts.

🎨 A Deeper Peek Behind the Panels – Character Creation

Our incredible 2D artist Qianxun Liu brought each of these characters to life visually, from sketch to sprite. The next challenge was bringing them to life in-game. That meant exploring their stories and inspirations (straight from our artist, Qianxun Liu), before tackling their animations inside Unity.

🖌️ Dr. Inkheart

“When designing Dr. Inkheart, I was reminded of pioneering artists who were disgruntled with the commercialised sense of art, as well as the cyberpunk exploration of combining digital technology with art. His concept of turning 2D art into physical assaults was inspired by pin-up design and digital art workflows…imagining what it would be like to see these digital ‘things’ come to life. For example, Graffiti Nightmare is directly influenced by ink layers in digital painting.” – Qianxun Liu

💻 Glitch

“Glitch was inspired by my thoughts on system failures, digital errors, and the desire for control. His appearance and abilities embody a visual sense of ‘disrupted order’, pixelated bodies and erroneous data flows. His goal is to ‘fix’ the chaos of the city into his ideal world, reflecting the conflict between extreme rationality and a need for control. That’s why his attacks centre around faults and data.” – Qianxun Liu

⚡ Neon Striker

“Our protagonist Neon Striker was inspired by the pulse of the city at night, the flickering neon lights, the trails of cars whizzing by, and the energy of electronic music. I wanted him to embody urban energy: a light that cuts through the night, the city’s unruly spirit. He’s not a brooding hero with a heavy past…he could have been an extreme sports enthusiast or a graffiti artist, until an accident fused him with the city’s neon energy. His reason for fighting is simple: to protect the city he loves and those who, like him, find freedom in the night. That’s why his attacks revolve around light and speed.” – Qianxun Liu

👀 Making 2D Sprites Come to Life in a 3D World

Once the character concepts were locked in, it was time to animate them. Our programming team (Lance and Tahnee) used Unity’s 2D Animation Package to give each sprite a skeletal rig, similar to what you’d see in 3D character animation. With those rigs in place, we were able to create unique, expressive animations for every character, making sure their personalities popped off the screen.

With their personalities sketched and their animations set, the villains of Ka-Pow! City were no longer just drawings on a page… they’re full-blown threats waiting to knock you out and test your abilities.