Dofus / Wakfu
About
Dofus is a cross-media franchise centered around the eponymous massive multiplayer online role playing game edited and developed by French company Ankama and released in 2004. Set in the heroic-fantasy setting of the World of the Twelve, the game received both critical acclaim and commercial success, due to the unique quality of its Adobe Flash -based animation and its easily-accessible gameplay. The franchise also spawned a vast amount of spin-off works, like graphic novels, board games, comic books and manga, as well as animated movies and TV series.
Wakfu is a sequel franchise to Dofus, set in the same universe, and still produced by Ankama. The franchise spawned a new MMORPG, released in 2012 (development however started in 2008), and an animated TV Series, that aired on the French national channel France 3 between 2008 and 2012. The show quickly became popular online for the quality of its Flash-generated animations, and the comedic tone of its plot.
History
Dofus
Dofus (Video Game) is the first installment of the franchise, developed by Ankama Studios and released on September 1st, 2004. The game is a turn-based tactical MMORPG, animated with Adobe Flash and running on both client and navigator. [1]
The plot revolves around completing quests in the land of Amakna, located in the fantasy "World of the Twelve", and taking part in the conflict between its two main cities. Players have access to sixteen different playable character classes.
Premise
Warning : the following section may contain spoilers to the video game
The Krosmoz is the name of the fictional universe in which the Dofus and Wakfu franchises take place. According to krosmoz.com, at the dawn of time, there was nothing. Then from the void appeared the Great Goddess, incarnation of Wakfu, and the Great Dragon, incarnation of Stasis. Being literally alone in the universe, they befriended each other and started to dance, more and more passionately…
From their dance and their love, an egg was created (as is common with dragons) – but this egg was an entire universe: the Krosmoz, filled with galaxies and solar systems.
From this union, Wakfu, the energy of creation, and Stasis, the energy of destruction, became forever linked. At the edges of the egg-universe, Wakfu enters the planes (or dimensions) through Incarnam, where souls are incarnated, while Stasis enters through Externam, the realm of the dead.
As the diagram opposite shows, other planes exist within the egg. The outer layer contains Ingloriom, the plane that was chosen by the gods as their residence, and the Shukrute, home of demons. Separating the two is the Astral Plane, and within it the Aether Plane. Inside, the Material Plane is found, where the known world is found. It contains innumerable solar systems and worlds, one of them being the World of Twelve, where the stories of Dofus and Wakfu take place.[2]
"In the beginning, there was nothing. A void. Then, suddenly, the two energies that created everything burst forth: Wakfu, incarnated by the Great Goddess, and Stasis, incarnated by the Great Dragon. As they were all alone, it didn't take very long for boredom to set in.
So, to pass the time (even though time didn't really exist yet!), they started dancing. From this dance, and from the love of the Great Dragon for the Goddess, a cosmic egg was born: the Krosmoz, the universe.
The vast universe of the Krosmoz comprised thousands and thousands of planets, but there was one in particular that was going to be the epicentre of the most extraordinary events. It is said that at the beginning of time, this planet was populated by a powerful civilization that was wiped out by a terrible war. Myths indicate that the planet remained barren for millennia before a second generation of gods cropped up. One of these gods, Osamodas, was a dab hand with a whip…
With one crack of his weapon, he sent his sacred dragons to breathe life into the desolate lands. Thus, the World of Ten was created, and named for the ten gods present.
It is in this world that the most powerful heroes of the Krosmoz were incarnated. Heroes as solid as Cracklers and as strong as Trools, often with less intelligence than Tofus. By praying to the gods, these adventurers managed to acquire phenomenal powers!
Understandably, worship played an important part in their lives. Two minor goddesses seized the opportunity during this deluge of devotion to develop their hitherto unheard-of religions, joining the others in the divine pantheon. This double culmination resulted in twelve gods ruling over the planet, whose name consequently needed to be changed!
Henceforth, the land was declared ‘the World of Twelve’…"[3]
Plot : the Dofus Era
-8000, Osamodas discovers a lifeless planet. He uses his 3 Dragons to recreate life on the planet and he is joined by the other gods, who name it World of Ten. To preserve balance in the world, Sadida creates ten dolls to seduce the Dragons, so that they will lay the Dofus that will serve to ensure the world's harmony. Six of them succeed: the six Primordial Dofus are laid and the Age of the Dofus begins. (A Dofus is created by a dragon when he falls in love, there is no sexual intercourse, the Dofus is the magic cristalisation of the feelings of the dragon).
Dragons of the Black Fire
Dragons of the Black Fire are descended from Ouronigride and include the first sons Grougalorasalar, Gargoylone and Celui dont on tait le nom (the one who shall not be named). They are associated with black magic and known for their violence and anger.
Dragons of the White Fire
Dragons of the White Fire are descended from Helioboros and include the first sons Gresgaoulian, Croulakrakoss and Dardondakal. They are associated with white magic and known for their virtue.
Elemental Dragons
Elemental Dragons are descended from Spiritia and include the first sons Aerafal, Aguabrial, Ignemikhal, and Terrakourial. Each represents one of the elements and they tend to be playful.
Year 0. Based on the primordial Dofus's pulsations, Xelor creates his Clock; time can now be measured in months, days, hours, minutes, etc., and each slice is maintained by a guardian (Protectors of the months, Hour Demons). However,
Xelor, god of time, initially made 11 months to separate things nicely, naming a Protector for each of them, who would be in charge of making sure each month had the right number of days, proper weather, etc. But the demon god Rushu, who had been excluded from the World of Ten, forced the gods to allow a certain demonic presence by adding a twelfth month to the Clock by scratching its gems with his claws. Through the cracks, he introduced black larvae that would slow down Xelor's butterflies during the month of Descendre, and appointed the demon Djaul as guardian of that month, since only a demon could make sure the larvae wouldn't die. That’s why Descendre is the coldest month of the year and to prolong it, Djaul killed Solar, the Protect of Javian. But from his death and to be able to endure the diseases, the famines and the suffering, a cult is born around a minor goddess: Sacrier. She ascends to Ingloriom and the world is named World of Eleven until Pandawa also ascends (year unknown, by the fifth or sixth century) – it then becomes the World of Twelve. Jiva the Valiant becomes the new Protect of Javian.
Djaul ,free to move in the World of Twelve, plans to use that advantage to serve Rushu by bring him a Dofus or to increase his power, to compete with the other protectors and prolong his month for the benefit of his master. Djaul fabricated an Ondine, a spirit of water with a strong seduction power to charm the dragon of water. His plan worked and Aguabrial immediately became fixated with the Ondine, soon laying a new Turquoise Dofus. Over the weeks, the Ondine encouraged him to keep the egg warm to increase its power, at Djaul's behest. The plan was unfolding perfectly until Ereziah Melkewel, an alchemist friend of Aguabrial, showed up to ask for advice. Unmoved by the Ondine's inhuman charms, he suspected something fishy and played along. He promised to return with a jewel worthy of her beauty, and to enchant the Dofus to make it even more powerful. Djaul, watching from the shadows, was even more satisfied with this new development. Ereziah returned the very next day with magical shackles, the Heads for no Tails, and told the Ondine to "put your wrists inside the magic jaws and they'll adorn you with the most beautiful bracelets you've ever seen." Easily tricked, she complied and found herself prisoner of a device that prevented her from drawing life force from her surroundings. Before she could be interrogated, Djaul left the shadows and attacked Ereziah, but Aguabrial quickly interfered and forced the demon to flee. Furious at the subterfuge he so easily fell for, the dragon shed a tear of rage on the Ondine before destroying her. He was about to do the same to the Dofus, but the egg hatched first. Bolgrot, a product of Djaul's deception and greed, was born.
The primordial Turquoise Dofus, buried beneath Aguabrial's hoard, shuddered. Its heartbeat became irregular and the harmony of the world, regulated by the six primordial Dofus' rhythm, was broken.
Over a century later, Bolgrot becomes a dragon extremely powerful and he started spreading panic and destruction in Amakna. No one was brave or foolish enough to face him in battle, until a young Iop named Rykke Errel came to face the dragon in single combat. But Bolgrot was so impressed with the man's valor that he simply bowed to him and swore fealty. The two became friends and spent most of their time together for months, and Bolgrot was no longer a threat. Some time later, Rykke met and fell in love with a magician named Helsephine, and soon introduced her to his best friend. But to his surprise, Bolgrot also fell in love with the magician and, in a fit of rage and jealousy, he killed Helsephine before flying away and ravaging the countryside. Rykke tracked him down and confronted him in a titanic fight leading to their mutual death. In an effort to understand the dragon's sudden change in behavior, the sages of Amakna opened his entrails and were shocked to find the 6 primordial Dofus inside the beast's belly. The guardians of the Six Primordial Dofus, members of an order founded around the time of Bolgrot's birth, were given back the eggs and tasked with scattering and hiding them across the land to ensure that no one would amass this much power again.
The story of Rykke Errel and Bolgrot was used early in the history of Dofus MMO as an introduction to the dragon eggs present in the world and a motivation for adventurers to look after them. It's said the one who will find the Six Primordial Dofus will gains a power equal to a god.
Gameplay videos
Popularity
In 2008, the game reached 10 million players, and gained several international awards since then[4]. Since the release of the game, several spin-offs works have been created:
- Dofus Arena (renamed Arena Confrontation in 2011) a tactical turn-based fighting game set in the same world than Dofus. The game however closed in 2014.[5]
- Krosmaga, an online trading card video game based on the World of the Twelve's mythology. The game was released on Steam, iOS and Android on february 22nd, 2017.
- Dofus: the Treasures of Kerubim (Original title: Dofus: aux trésors de Kérubim in French) an animated TV series set 200 years before the events of the main game. The series consisted of 52 episodes airing on French national TV channel France 3 starting from January 5th, 2013.
Movie announcement
On October 10th, 2010, Ankama announced the production of two feature-length movies based on the Dofus and Wakfu franchises,[6] the first one being expected for a theater release in 2013. However, the production had to restart from the beginning during the year 2012, since Ankama wanted to focus on the Dofus franchise. Finally, the Dofus movie was announced by Ankama during the year 2014 under the title "DOFUS – Livre I : Julith" ( Dofus – book one : Julith ). The plot will revolve around the character of Joris, already appearing in both Dofus and Wakfu animated TV series. Ankama also revealed an official theater release date, on february 3rd, 2016 [7], and a teaser trailer. [8]
Wakfu
Wakfu is the sequel franchise to Dofus. The main installment of the franchise is the eponymous MMORPG, designed to replace Dofus. The game uses a similar game play system to its predecessor, and is set in the same fantasy universe, several centuries after the events of the first game. The game was announced in 2008 and released on February 29th, 2012. In America, it was initially published by Square Enix.
Plot and Context
Warning : the following section may contain spoilers to the video game
The World of Twelve which the players of Dofus had known no longer exists. He was destroyed by a love story who badly ended. An ogre named Ogrest fell in love with Dathura, a woman of an unequaled beauty. To seduce her, Ogrest achieves an impossible quest: : find the six Dofus. The Dofus are eggs of dragon laid at the dawn of times who maintain the balance of the World of Twelve.
The one who possesses them gains a power greater than the gods. But this new power did not change the feelings of the beautiful Dathura who rejected him one more time. Not supporting to be rejected again, Ogrest lost control of himself and killed the poor woman in a fit of anger. Desperate by his action and what he have done, he climbed at the top of the Mount Zinit, to live in exile.
This mountain was considered to be the highest of the world and Ogrest thought he could find the tranquility that he needed, but the gods did not plan to leave him in possession of a power so big. The Twelve Gods faced Ogrest to take back the six Dofus, but this attempt was a failure. Thus, Ogrest remained alone on his mountain to cry on his fate.
After their defeat, because the Gods knew that they couldn't win against Ogrest, they used their last strength to be able to protect certain key places and certain important people to avoid the end of world. This cataclysm was named the Chaos of Ogrest, he left the World of Twelve in ruins and signed the end of the Age of Dofus and the beginning of the era of Wakfu. In this New World, the human being has to choose if he wants to live his life by following the way of Stasis who consist to manipulate the world according to his desires, or by following the way of Wakfu and restore the natural balance of the World of Twelve..
Wakfu: The Animated TV Series
In parallel to the development of the game, Ankama produced an animated TV series adaptation. It spawned two seasons, three OVAs and two special episodes (one of them being produced in collaboration with Studio Ghibli in Japan) [9]. The plot of the show is set a few years after the events of the game.
Plot and Characters
Note: this section may contain plot spoilers to the animated TV series.
The show follows the adventures of Yugo, a 12 year old child, last survivor of the race of the Eliatropes, on his quest to find his true family. As an Eliatrope, he has the magical power of creating “Zaap” portals, in a similar way to Valve’s eponymous videogame. Many friends join him during his quest, including:
* Ruel Stroud, an elderly member of the race of the Enutrofs, and longtime friend of Yugo’s adoptive father. He is also a bounty hunter and former champion of gobbowl, the fictional sport played in Amakna. In the show, he is often described as greedy man, his money fetish being a subject of running gags.
* Sir Percedal of Sadlygrove (original French name : “Sire Tristepin de Percedal”), nicknamed “Percy” or “Grovy” (“Pinpin” in French), a 16 year old warrior of the race of the Iop, brave and fierce fighter and main comic relief of the group. He is also a Shushu guardian, keeper of a demonic sword called Rubilax.
* Amalia Sheran Sharm, princess of the people of Sadida. 13 years old, she fled her country to escape her royal duties, and decided to help Yugo in his quest after they met.
* Evangelyne, nicknamed “Eva”, a 17 year old archer of the race of the Crâ, and bodyguard of Amalia. She quickly becomes the natural leader of the group due to her intelligence. She often uses her magical bow in fight.
* Adamaï. Introduced during the second half of season 1, he is the draconic twin brother of Yugo.
History
The Wakfu animated series initially aired from 2008 to 2012 on France 3 on the kids program “Ludo”. On January 20th, 2014, Ankama started a Kickstarter campaign in order to produce an English dub of the show. On February 19th, 2014, the project gained over 483 000 $, largely surpassing the initial goal of 80 000 $ required to fund the English dub of Season One[10].
In September 2014, the show became available for streaming on Netflix, with both English and French version available[11].
Season 3 announcement
In December 2012[12], Ankama's CEO and Wakfu's lead writer Anthony Roux, aka. "TOT", gave an interview in which he said Ankama was in still in negociation with France Télévision (French state-owned media group, owner of France 3) to produce a third season of the show. The main obstacle to the production was that The channel didn't like the evolution of the series, since the plot and the characters had become to mature to fit in France 3's kids block. In consequence, Ankama's staff decided to focus on the developpement of Dofus : Treasures of Kerubim and the three-parter Wakfu OVA.
In January 2014, following the success of the Kick-starter campaign, Ankama added a stretch goal to fund a "special episode", which was confirmed by TOT to be the pilot episode of season 3[13].
On April 15th, 2015, Wakfu's character designer Xavier Houssin posted a comment on his DeviantArt page[14], saying that Ankama finally signed an agreement with Netflix, and that the production of season 3 would probably begin during september 2015.
The post was deleted a few days later, but the announcement remained widely discussed on the Wakfu forums[15].
On june 18th, 2015, in a press conference held during the 2015 Annecy animation festival, Ankama executives Frédéric Puech and Julien Fabre officially confirmed the production of season 3, which will count 13 episodes of 26 minutes[16].
On June 6th, 2017, IGN France published an article officially announcing the premiere of season 3 for september 2017 on France 4, as well as a long-anticipated trailer video. (shown below, english subs available)[23]. The article further stated that more official information was about to be released during the Annecy Animation Festival, starting on June 12th.
Reception
Due to the quality of its animation made in Flash, with a style very close to Japanese animation and due to the mature action /comedic theme of the series, rarely seen on French animated works, the show received overall positive critic feedbacks, most notably on IMDB and Netflix[17]. The Franchise became also widely discussed online on several sites, including Reddit[18], as well as 4chan's "Comics/cartoon" and "video games"boards.
Fandom
The popularity of the franchise spawned a wide range of fan-made works, most notably on sites like Tumblr[19] and DeviantArt[20], the latter one gathering 17 986 search results under the tag “Wakfu” and 17 132 results under the tag “Dofus”. In September 2017, a Booru imageboard site dedicated to the franchise was created, gathering over 500 posts within its first week.[24]
Related Memes
Smug Duck
Smug Duck is the nickname of a black rubber duck with a smirkish grin on his face appearing in episode 14 of the second season of the Wakfu series. In a particular shot, main character Evangelyne is seen jumping in a bathtub fully naked, only to be censored by the duck conveniently drifting on the water in front of her, while addressing a smirkish glare to the audience.
Images of the scene and the duck began to circulate online [21], often associated with catchphrases like “Fuck you, Duck!” or “Give her the Duck”
Acknowledging the sudden popularity of the duck, the show staff decided to include it in the Kick-starter campaign, making it an official Kick-starter backer avatar picture, creating a stretch goal to include the Duck as a bonus interactive comic, and calling the fans for their support on social media under the hash-tag #wakfusmugduck [22]
Nox' 20 minutes
"20 minutes" refers to a catchphrase uttered by Wakfu season one main antagonist Nox, after his evil masterplan failed in the season finale by being unable to travel more than 20 minutes back in time. On /co/, the catchphrase became associated with a series of fanarts portraying Nox uncomforatbly reacting to various mundane situations where he is asked to wait for 20 minutes.
Drunk Bakara
Drunk Bakara refers to a scene from the 2016 Dofus livre 1 : Julith movie, where side character Bakara Jurgen appears completely drunk on screen. Screenshots from the scene gained a notable popularity on Dofus and Wakfu related /co/ threads as reaction images
Search interest
External references
[2] Krosmoz Wiki – Krosmoz Wiki
[4] Ankama – history of Ankama studios
[5] Wikipedia – Dofus Arena
[6] Ankama press archive – Wakfu and Dofus movies announcement
[7] Dofus official site – Dofus movie official release date
[8] Dofus official site – Dofus movie first teaser
[9] TVTropes – Wakfu animated TV series
[10] Kickstarter – Wakfu, the animated TV series
[11] Nextimpact – Wakfu, série animée d'Ankama, va envahir le monde grâce à Netflix
[12] Animeland – TOT nous parle d'Ankama – December 6th, 2012
[13] Wakfu forums – Message by TOT – October 10th, 2014
[14] DeviantArt – Xavier Houssin's DeviantArt profile
[15] Wakfu forums – "Nouvelle officielle ou pas?" – April 17th, 2015.
[16] Krozmotion – Ankama's announcements at Annecy Festival – June 18th, 2015
[19] Tumblr – Wakfu tagged posts
[20] DeviantArt – Wakfu tagged fanarts
[21] Wakfu forums – season 2 episode 14 thread
[22] Wakfu.com – "Kickstarter in High Gear"
[23] IGN France – Wakfu sason 3 : découvrez le nouveau trailer – June 6th, 2017
[24] Fan-made Booru imageboard – Krozbooru [NSFW: explicit content]