2023

Communications & Audience Research

Threshold Games

A solarpunk 4X game? A hopeful roguelike on a strange new planet? A tie-in TTRPG project that bridges genres? This and much more was on the horizon.

Ultimately, the studio shut down in 2024, but not before a lot of work was done to plan & prepare for a major launch. You can find some resources and more details from this project below.

A yearlong Strategy

As development on our initial title ramped up, we worked closely with the leadership and development team to create a dynamic and comprehensive marketing campaign that would focus on introducing the company, the team, the game, and finally the world that the game would explore.

A comprehensive marketing plan seeks to create a consistent foundation using legacy platforms, and then building on top of that structure with ideas and strategies that support each other and that aren't afraid to try a new approach to find the right audience.

Audience Research

With a community-forward approach, we took a deep look at the needs and wants of our potential audience - broken down into player personas that would inform our design decisions.

By looking specifically at community reviews, discourse, and discussion across a variety of genres and platforms, we distilled many of the core elements of the titles we examined into not only the "how", but the "why" behind design. One of the greatest strengths a dev team can have is a community manager who can help refine design decisions through audience research.

A ttrpg tie-in

As we developed the world for our project, it became clear that we wanted to tell a grand story that had room to explore the characters swept up in into it. Development then soon began on an ambitious but well-scoped tie-in tabletop project that would introduce the world of the video game ahead of its launch.

While the video game would focus on dismantling systems of oppression and the existential threat of unchecked greed, our TTRPG tie-in would chart the diverse and intimates lives of humanity's hopeful & desperate expedition into the stars.

HEXHUB TTRPG
SAMPLE CHARACTERS

Queen of Hearts

Dongmei

Role: Chef
Age: 75
Pronouns: she/they
Ethnicity: Chinese
Building: Ramen Shop

Physical description:
Dongmei is a fierce but kind woman, and her personality shines through in her style and appearance. She is mostly seen wearing proper chef attire, though she relies on a mix-and-match bit of clothing as she has left behind the competitive environment of high-end restaurants. She has had most of her torso and left arm replaced by cybernetics, and it has an almost porcelain-like appearance to it. She is proud of this and shows it off like tattoos, with its style modeled after the blue and white Ming Porcelain from the 15th century. She keeps her hair short and curly, and she has long since gone grey. She has to wear glasses but constantly complains they fog up from the steam of cooking.

Bio:
Dongmei is a world-renowned chef who has worked for over 50 years perfecting and experimenting with food. Her own take on ramen, bringing it back to its Chinese roots, has been one her most popular dishes. She has spent a good part of her life cooking in high-end restaurants in Shanghai, and later in Hong Kong after their annexation and then independence from China in 2052. Dongmei never found time for family but has come to be known as Lǎo Nǎi Nai for her efforts to help feed the city after the conflict. After her many years on Earth, she saw the call from the Coalitions and realized she was ready for one last adventure: a retirement on a new planet, running a small ramen shop and gifting her food and talent to help make this new place feel like home.

Queen of Spades

Siabanda

Role: Doctor (former combat medic)
Age: 31
Pronouns: she/her
Ethnicity: Sierra Leonean
Building: Clinic

Physical description:
Siabanda is tall and slender, with perfect posture. She prides herself on her appearance, using various accessories, piercings, hair styles, and geometric tattoos to give herself an air of sophistication. She is usually seen in a white lab coat, with a colorful & practical suit on underneath that lends itself well to her practice, but also reflects the textiles produced from her home. She spent years in the grime and the dirt while working as a combat medic for the WALF (West African Liberation Front), and tries to enjoy the chances she gets to dress in the way she wants. Siabanda also has a cybernetic leg, a replacement for the limb she lost when the hospital she was in was bombed during the war.

Bio:
Siabanda grew up in a wealthy family in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Her parents were well-known surgeons who worked for the elite during the day, but spent their nights running a local clinic for the wider population. She took after them, attending medical school to pursue a doctorate in psychiatry. Her schooling was cut short by the outbreak of war in West Africa by the Spanish Armed Forces looking to expand their territory from a previously independent Morocco. She joined up with the local forces to help soldiers with PTSD, and to work with her parents as surgeons and doctors for the endangered civilian populace. At the conflict’s conclusion, Siabanda would be encouraged by her parents to leave Earth behind and travel with the Coalitions, to help the new colonists.

King of Diamonds

Émmanuel

Role: Barber
Age: 52
Pronouns: he/him
Ethnicity: Creole / African-American
Building: Barber Shop

Physical description:
Émmanuel is tall and quite muscular, and he stays in shape from an interest in rugby and boxing. He dresses simply, choosing practicality over style usually. He sports a cybernetic hand, which he has modified to include tools of his trade. He has callused fingers from years of playing jazz guitar, a passion inherited from his mother. His arms, chest and neck are covered in tattoos celebrating his heritage and passions. Despite being a barber, he is often bald as he quote, “doesn’t have the time to take care of his own hair”.

Bio:
Émmanuel spent most of his youth in the Southern United States, growing up in and around New Orleans. After the city was hit by multiple hurricanes and civil unrest in 2064, he took up a strong leadership role within his community and helped band his neighbors together to support one another and bring stability to the beleaguered city. He takes strongly after his mother, a talented jazz guitarist and boxer who he admired and looked up to. His father inspired him to be a barber and he would take over the family business after his father passed. His barber shop quickly became a hot spot in the community, and it is said his warm booming laugh could even be heard streets away.

Ace of Clubs

Ami

Role: Courier
Age: 27
Pronouns: Any
Ethnicity: French-Thai
Building: Post Office

Physical description:
Ami mostly keeps her dark hair up in a messy bun, as she runs around delivering and organizing packages and mail. She wears a company-issued jumpsuit and delivery bag at almost all times, and is easily spotted due to its deep red color. Ami doesn’t always stick to company regulations however, and usually wears her jumpsuit only half done up as she quote, “runs quite warm!”. Ami is also very proud of her strength, earned through transporting some heavy mail over the years.

Bio:
Ami has always found it hard to call any one place home, as she as bounced around cities all around the world, swapping jobs and homes like clothing. She eventually would feel most at home in space, and she would work as a courier for the Sol system’s premier delivery service for most of her 20s. She is beloved by the customers on her routes and is well-known for her sunny disposition and awful puns. After her many years of service, and her exemplary service reviews, Ami would be offered a new role on a new planet: managing the farthest and newest outpost of her delivery company. Ami saw an opportunity to see even more of the space she loves so much, and to put her own personal spin on her delivery service, far away from corporate meddling.

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ABOUT

Astro Scout is a community-focused marketing venture based in Toronto, Canada.

We do not work with AI/web3 tools, and we identify as queer – so if either of those concepts bother you, jog on.

This venture is a sole proprietorship, and the work reflected within represents various clients, contract work, and other employment.

Copyright © Astro Scout (2024)
All rights to the images, music, clips, and other materials used belong to their respective owners.