Tumbles

Tumbles started as a side character in Dojo Islands. A clumsy little guy who couldn't stop tripping over his own feet. Players loved him for it, and once that happened, the question shifted from "who is Tumbles?" to "how do we lock him in?"

We built the character bible that defines everything about him. Personality, voice, visual rules, the objects he carries, how he moves, what he would and wouldn't do. The kind of document that means a puppeteer, an animator, or a merch designer can all put Tumbles into something new and have him still feel like the same guy.

Getting Him in the Game

The in-house team at ClassDojo brought Tumbles to life inside Dojo Islands. 3D renders, animations, quests, loading screens, marketing pushes. He went from a character on a turnaround sheet to the first face players see when they open the app.

Tumbles the Creator

Once Tumbles had a locked identity, we started testing what he could do outside the game. Tumbles News is a puppet-hosted show where he reports on everything happening in the Dojo Islands world. We're still figuring out what formats work best, pushing him into new contexts and seeing what sticks.