WONDERCORD was always meant to be a unique series featuring colorful characters, but it started unrecognizably—even with a different name! Check out our beginnings below and follow our creative journey!

For any further questions or interviews, please email pokitoproductions@gmail.com; our team loves to chat!

The beginning of WONDERCORD may come as a shock, but the series initially started as a Minecraft SMP! The SMP, humorously named "The Faygo SMP," followed an improv storytelling format through a series of streams on Twitch. The main focus of the story was a dynamic duo dubbed the "Monoduo" working to restore the legendary Tree of Life. With characters like Sugi, Pan, Vera, N0ngA, and others to fill the roster, the project promised fun, filled with references to other shows and games, memorable personalities, and the signature nostalgia Pokito Productions brings to every project.

When one of the lead character's actors left, Rotogi turned to Twitter, hoping to recruit one or two new actors. Instead, the post blew up, gathering 170+ responses and giving the amateur project unexpected exposure for the first time in its development. This influx of potential led to major changes, shifting the project's direction to open more spaces for new participants.

In this process, the project lost what made it "LifeCycle" but gained what made it "WONDERCORD." The team embraced this transformation, and a nod to "LifeCycle" remains as an Easter egg name for the game world LifeCycle.

LifeCycle: February 2022 – November 2022

In the initial project pitch, characters were meant to be based on the actors, following the SMP style. However, as many original members left, this concept became less consistent, applying to only some characters. For others, designs were refreshed to keep things feeling new. During this period, key changes were made, including the establishment of "Pokito Productions" and renaming the series to WONDERCORD.

"I was hesitant to rename the project WONDERCORD due to nostalgia, but by the time we changed the story, 'LifeCycle' no longer felt relevant. The new name helped us feel more established, so I’m glad we made the switch. What began as a personal project to learn animation became a platform to showcase amazing talent, so it’s important that everything feels cohesive because these creators deserve it."  — Rotogi on WONDERCORD.

In this version of WONDERCORD, episodes would explore unsolved mysteries within existing game universes, inspired by series like FNAF and Gravity Falls—both notorious for their mysteries. As the characters entered these worlds, their 'uniforms' would change to match the style of that game. However, the concerns about copyright infringement grew over time, so to protect the project, we shifted to exploring original games based on different genres instead.

This was the day the first concept of Strangerz! was made! Initially, the group had a Daft Punk vibe, set with futuristic costumes and music to match. However, the mix of origami and robot themes felt more clashing than cohesive. In the end, we decided to go with the concept of a cute, student-led group that went viral overnight.

To give the series its own identity, we created original uniforms for the worlds. Initially, the numbers on the uniforms were based on the Discord tags of the voice actors, but since Discord has removed tags, this design choice is no longer in use. As of September 2024, these designs have been replaced with more thoughtfully developed and relevant versions.

At this stage, we began focusing more on visual elements for the website. To provide references for our artists and viewers, we created character sheets showcasing more about each character. Even though some of these characters weren't designed by the studio, Rotogi has provided insights into the ideas behind each one's design, including any changes made from the original designs.

The Association

Lucas Androit

"Lucas's design was made to make viewers question his role. His appearance has a blend of a formal school uniform vest with a casual green parka and fur hood. This might spark a few fun theories, but in reality, the parka is for his warmth and safety, as he often falls asleep unexpectedly due to his narcolepsy. The mismatched socks further highlight his scatter-brained nature, reflecting his tendency to be distracted easily when dealing with several things at the same time."

Orion Bouclier

"Orion's design was intended to be casual and approachable, but the initial version didn’t fully capture his personality. As someone who is very expressive and open about his feelings, his appearance needed to reflect this. So, in May (2023), I updated his plain green jacket to a varsity jacket, which fit better. I considered adding a star patch on the back but decided against it to avoid making him resemble Travis Fields from Oddity too closely."

Max

"Max's design was inspired by the concept of wearable mascot merchandise from arcades. When Cali mentioned her favorite animal, the red panda, the design instantly clicked. I envisioned her character as adventurous and playful, potentially causing mischief for her team, but still maintaining a strong sense of identity and freedom. The red panda represents her childhood and her commitment to her family (something she honors)."

Cole RedHertz

"Cole's design remained mostly unchanged for a while, as it was an original from LifeCycle meant to emphasize the adventure element. However, it didn’t initially reflect his role as a blacksmith well. This issue was finally addressed in May 2024, though the studio had frequently brainstormed fixes in the meantime. While the goggles and gloves were somewhat indicative of his work, they weren't entirely fitting. In May (2024), I took a look at other blacksmith character designs and worked from there, using the apron as a major design element."

Lucy Ford

"Lucy's design was heavily inspired from Oliver, the Vocaloid, and other magician characters. The colors were a given for the more mysterious, darker tone fitting her role as a necromancer. In the November 2023 character revamp, I made her eyes distinct by not including the white circles found in other characters, which might become relevant later..."

Spark Bugs

Felix McGern

"Felix went through three different, strong changes before his final look. I wanted him to either stand out dramatically or blend in with a simpler design. I opted for the latter due to the nature of the character, but I still wanted some part of his occupation to be reflected in his design. So, the smaller bandages on his arms, while not immediately obvious of his handiwork in the studio, make sense when you understand his background. Fun fact: Felix's second design featured in the first Kickstarter trailer as the officer arresting Theseus."

"Doom"

"I don't have much to say about Doom's original design (gray jacket, blue jeans), as it was submitted by Zane himself, so I'll include a statement from him to cover his history:

"It's a design that's stuck with me since I first started having a presence on the internet. I was messing around on Little Big Planet with a friend of mine where I ended up finding a fire sticker and placing it in my character's hair. It hasn't changed since, although the first concept had him with a little black and blue scarf." — Zane on Doom's design.

As the artist who redesigned him for the series, he was designed with the intention to be monochromatic for reasons that will become more important later on."

Reena Otogi

"Reena's design has gone through a million changes because she's essentially grown up with me. Her appearance was always a reflection of which part of my life I was in. However, I found myself the most in the end period of high school transitioning into university onward, and she's stayed consistent ever since. I studied what made designs popular in the field I initially wanted to go into, and, balancing those elements with what I was interested in at the time, Reena's design came to fruition. It's a design that will pay off in the long-run when everything starts to make sense."

Naoki Azuma

"I don't have much to say about Naoki's design, either, as it was submitted by Fishy, so I'll include his thoughts about the process at the time:

"I did [a design] kind of tied to an idol, but also looks like a preppy school student cuz I thought the aesthetic would be cool, but then also did a second one of just kinda throwing ideas at the wall... As part of “Strangerz!”, he’s used to being in the spotlight, whether it’s on stage or on camera. Though he’s not the lead singer, Naoki is seen the most in promotions and interviews, as he's become the recognizable face of the whole group... Due to his large presence, most people, even those who don’t follow "Strangerz!" immediately think of him when they hear about the group."  — Fishy on Naoki's concept.

As the artist who preferred this design over the other proposed idea, I loved this design in particular as I feel there's still room to be creative with the school-idol idea, especially in a world as unique as WONDERCORD."

Vida Flores

"Vida experienced the most changes of the cast. Through her many different voice actors and names, Vida became a character defined by her current identity and method of expression—fashion. As the studio explored different ideas for her arcs, development, and backstory, her design changed frequently before landing on the current one, which is a bolder and more fiery version of her original design (found below). This was a perfect tie-off of the journey this character went through, and there's only more to be seen in the future."

This was the day our website launched! The website was created to organize information for the studio, but as time went on, we wanted to improve upon it as the primary landing place for newcomers to learn more about the series.

So, take a look at the first version of the website using the button below! The difference is night and day.

To start marketing the project, we launched everything in one big wave hoping some part of it would pick up on any algorithm. We launched a Kickstarter for $3,600 and made a trail to spread the word on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Discord. Unfortunately, despite how much work we'd put in to get the word out and create content to market and showcase the project, the Kickstarter was unsuccessful, only raising $2,210 during the month. 

The current character sheets were drawn and added into the website along with the fifth major update to the website's assets and images (featuring a cool character select screen, dynamic charts on team pages, and lots more!). We also implemented more accessibility features into our content, such as closed captions on our videos and alt text for the images on the website.

Coming soon...

Check back in for more updates as they come!