Hello, everyone!
A big welcome from the PengPong Team!
Jong: Hello, I'm Jong, the Leader of the PengPong Production Team.
First off, we just want to say a huge thank you for visiting the PengPong Steam page and for taking the time to read this devlog. As this is our very first introduction, we thought it would be a great idea to give you a little peek into the development journey of PengPong and also share our exciting release schedule with you.
So, let's dive into how the PengPong project began, discuss our initial concepts, and reveal some of the features we're currently working on. To kick things off, I'd like to introduce Hwang, who's not only in charge of PengPong's main development but also oversees the entire Game Direction.
Hwang: Hello everyone, I'm really looking forward to chatting with you more often through these devlogs. For this time, I'd like to share a special story about how our PengPong project came to life.
After our last project didn't quite hit the meaningful success we'd hoped for, we found ourselves starting a new one. At that point, all of our development team members paused work on new features, and the team instead decided to hold a three-week game jam. During this time, every single developer dedicated all their efforts to creating mechanics within the genres they felt most confident about.
A photo of SANDY FLOOR Game jam
, created during 3 weeks
My idea that came out of that jam was ‘Pinball Survivors.’ Unlike typical survivor-like games where a character holds a weapon and battles automatically, I actually designed a mechanic where weapons are scattered on the ground, and hitting them causes them to move and attack monsters.
When the game jam concluded, this idea received incredibly positive feedback from the team, and as a result, we kicked off the pre-production phase for PengPong in February 2025.
PengPong is a game with graphics that beautifully blend a gambling theme with the style of old American animation. To match this theme, we're currently devising and developing in-game mechanics that incorporate a form of gambling to maximise the fun.
Oh, speaking of concepts, when we showcased our demo at a Physical Expo, many people absolutely loved it, saying the graphics reminded them of Cuphead! I've gone on a bit, haven't I? So, I'll now pass the baton to Young, our lead artist, who can tell you a bit more about how the game's concept was decided upon.
Young : Hello there! I'm Young, the lead artist, and I'm absolutely delighted to greet you through this devlog. I'm going to share a bit more about how the PengPong project ended up with its current visual style.
As Hwang mentioned earlier, initially, the game was called ‘Pinball Survivors,’ and it didn't feature the gambling theme or the old American animation concept you see now. However, because of the game's ‘bouncing’ mechanics, the character naturally ended up holding a hockey stick and using a hockey puck as its main weapon. This led to the main character naturally evolving into a penguin due to their sliding motion. And, of course, with a penguin as the main character, the background naturally became an arctic setting, reflecting their primary habitat.
The first illustration of
However, the combination of penguins and the arctic felt too natural and, frankly, didn't quite capture the unique spark we were looking for. So, the team spent over a month deliberating on the concept for PengPong. We primarily used our internal design methodology, which we've developed from a concept called 'Dialectic'. The principle here is that new stories and unique personalities emerge when familiar elements, deeply ingrained in people's subconscious, are combined with unconventional concepts. It was through this iterative process that our current result came to life.
Concept image of , former version of PengPong
Concept image of main character
Of course, the art details and quality are continuously improving, and as the game progresses through its production phases, we're constantly striving to ensure that as the game elements become a little more complex, we maintain a sense of logical consistency that will resonate with players. We'd be incredibly grateful if you could keep an eye out for how this amazing game develops!
Right then, with that covered, Gulja will now introduce you to our future schedule and the direction we'll be taking to complete and then release the PengPong project to all of you players.
Gulja : Hello all, Gulja here! What I’m doing at SANDY FLOOR game studio is basically to build bridges, making sure our fantastic games reach as many people as possible, including all of you.
I’m based in London. See you all in game show in EU!
The PengPong project, in particular, holds a really special place for me. We're properly gearing up for marketing, and with playtesting scheduled for July, every single day is absolutely buzzing with excitement! We started out as a small indie team, so this whole process hasn't been easy, and I know there will be more challenges ahead. But we are genuinely, incredibly excited for all the hard work and thought we've poured into this game to finally reach you through this upcoming test and demo.
If you have any interest, feedback, or even just a word of encouragement for PengPong, please don't hesitate to speak up. (For bug reports or technical stuff, we'll guide you to other channels, but for anything else, I'm personally checking it!) So, let's chat about our penguin anytime!
Speaking of playtesting, I bet you're wondering about our concrete schedule for rolling out the PengPong project, aren't you? Indie teams often have the great advantage of being easily approachable at expos, where you can chat directly with the developers. So, to wrap things up, Jong will be back to explain our upcoming timeline!
Jong: Many thanks to Hwang, Young, and Gulja for explaining the PengPong project from each of your perspectives! We truly hope that through this devlog, you've been able to feel our genuine passion. We've got the following exciting schedule lined up, and we'd absolutely love to meet you and chat at various offline game shows across different countries, as well as at online expos.
Here's a look at what's coming up for PengPong:
July 2025: We'll be running PengPong's first playtest. We'd really appreciate all your feedback!
September 2025: Our second playtest for PengPong is scheduled. We'll be incorporating the diverse feedback from the first playtest to check on improved mechanics and more. We'll also be meeting lots of East Asian players, including those from Japan, at the Tokyo Game Show Indie Area via a turnkey booth.
October 2025: The official Demo version of PengPong will be released.
December 2025: We'll be connecting with Taiwanese players through a sponsor booth at the Taiwan G-EIGHT event.
February 2026: PengPong will be participating in Steam Next Fest.
March 2026: We're aiming for Early Access for PengPong.
While this is our basic roadmap, the Pengpong Team is always keen to move things forward even faster if we can!
We're aiming to connect with you all once a month, sharing insights into our daily work, the features we're currently developing, and summaries of all the valuable feedback and opinions we gather from meeting you at Physical Expos.
Please feel free to drop by our Discord anytime and share your thoughts and ideas – the PengPong Team will be there to answer you directly!
We look forward to meeting you next month with even more exciting news!
All the best, Team Pengpong