Sumoboy is a Lot More Than Just an Anti-bullying Game

When Christopher Laurent sent me a tweet to tell me about his upcoming Kickstarter for Sumoboy, I thought, “why me?” I’m no big-name games journalist. But, when I clicked into the link and began to read about his project, I realized it didn’t matter why, because Sumoboy is a game that everyone should play no matter their size.

Sumoboy is touted as an “anti-bullying” game—one of the first of its kind—and the story follows Oji, a young, overweight boy who is (unfortunately) inevitably bullied by a group of older kids. Oji recedes into a parallel fantasy world that’s been overrun by the menacing shape-shifter, Kurai Kami, a villain whose name translates from the Japanese to ‘darkness’ and ‘ignorance.’ Sumoboy’s fantasy world, Seishin, is so fleshed out by thoughtful design (thoroughly built around a Japanese aesthetic) that it blurs the line between fantasy and reality, as it must for poor Oji himself. With Sumoboy, development studio TAPRR hopes to shape an epic allegory on the impact of bullying without it feeling heavy handed—the game is not a public service announcement, it’s a full-fledged adventure nearing the scope of games like Bastion and Child of Light.

Early in the game, the Princess of the Elements is captured by Kami and forced to abandon her young son—Leaving Oji orphaned. After inheriting his mother’s blade, Hitoshii, the key to unlocking the elements, Oji decides to take a stand against Kami, not only to rescue his mother, but to save the world. Along the way, Oji learns more about his lost father, a legendary sumo wrestler known as the Man Mountain, and makes the acquaintance of a mysterious female ally. Throughout the battle to liberate the Seishin realm, there will be gregarious sumo combat; there will also be riddles, puzzles, and sidequests; and your heartstrings will be pulled like a shamisen.

Hitoshii is almost a character all to itself.

 

Hitoshii is not only an integral story piece, but also a compelling gameplay mechanic that helps distinguish and stylize Sumoboy’s combat. First, clearing an elemental realm of Kami’s control will allow Oji’s sumo moves to become upgraded with said element. Unlocking the fire element, for example, will allow Oji to sheath himself in a cloak of flames. Second, the sword itself has a combat system. There are two ‘modes’ to the Hitoshii: One allows for attacks with agility and accuracy—a representation of the powers of love and compassion, while the other makes Oji burly with the power of aggression. Both ‘modes’ can then be switched instantaneously to form combos that feel both intricate and organic. Even the game’s mechanics explore the thematic polarity of emotions.

Early in development, TAPRR got in touch with Shane Koyczan, a well-known Canadian poet popular for his piece on bullying titled “To This Day.” Koyczan followed up by writing and performing the tanka poem heard in the Sumoboy trailer, and, pending a successful Kickstarter, Koyczan will supply some further narration to the game. But the game won’t be relying entirely on Koyczan’s voice.

“[In Final Fantasy VII] there is a scene,” TAPRR says, “regarded almost universally as the most touching scene in any video game ever… There is no dialogue, just a haunting melody. We took those kinds of scenes to heart with the power of simple things like body language and music.”

The game isn’t just about the bullied, however, but sometimes just the opposite. TAPRR describes a scene that resembles a parable, in which a giant catfish spirit is terrorizing a town, so the townsfolk want Oji to kill it. As the level progresses, it’s learned that Kami’s henchman have overrun the catfish’s home and chased it away. With so much depth to its allegory, it’s almost misleading to just call Sumoboy an “anti-bullying game.”

Crowded inside with great doubt—doubt is the villain.

 

In October last year, TAPRR launched and failed an Indiegogo for Sumoboy, and more recently were affected by their Australian government’s decision to cut funding to the video game sector.

“It [the cut] didn’t affect us financially, but emotionally it did, because we have been working our butts off trying to get love from the Australian gaming community and industry… not just to promote our game, but to promote gaming in Australia.”

At the time of the Indiegogo, the game was barely beyond concept. In the nearly-eight months since then however, TAPRR have been working tirelessly to reinvent their game, as well as their development team, in order to truly prepare to stare down the barrel of crowdfunding, again.

But TAPRR is on a mission, and no failed crowdfunding or budget cuts will get in their way.

“The entire team has sacrificed so much to get this far, and we won’t stop until we get our game into peoples’ hands.”

For more info on Sumoboy, including gameplay and development info, check out our interview with the developers here.