Red Ink: Kibble City
The humans are gone. What is left is a dog, a cat and a can half the city wants.
A noir action game drawn in ballpoint pen on graph paper. Baron, a dog of few words, and Casper, a talkative one-eyed cat, are hauling an unlabelled can across Kibble City, and the Rat Syndicate wants it back. Cover shootouts, throwing the cat across gaps, crawling through vents and Mexican standoffs where you can always shoot first.
What is Red Ink: Kibble City
Route 9 Motor Inn, Room 13. Six dead rats in accountant’s sleeve garters lie on the carpet. Baron cleans his shotgun in silence while Casper complains about the continental breakfast. On the bedspread between them sits the Can: a smooth tin with no label. Nobody knows what is inside, but half the city is ready to kill for it.
There are no humans left in this world, and nobody talks about them. What remains are animals, neon signs, motels and the habits people left behind. And the Rat Syndicate: bookkeeper rats with calculators on their belts who keep a ledger of everything, their own losses included.
The whole game looks like a blue ballpoint sketch on graph paper. The only other colour is red. That is the blood, and there is a lot of it.
Red Ink is built on a pair of heroes who have nothing in common. Baron says one word where others need ten and gives unexpectedly deep answers to silly questions. Casper uses ten words where one would do, quotes Chef Antoine from Channel 8 and keeps wanting to peek into the Can. Their banter runs while they walk and in the middle of a fight, not just in cutscenes.
The gunfights are short and mean: a handful of rats, cover, a reload at the worst moment. In between come the things only one hero can do. Baron throws Casper across a gap; Casper squeezes into a vent, eavesdrops on the rats and opens the way for Baron from the inside.
The key scenes are standoffs where everyone has everyone else at gunpoint and keeps talking. You get eight seconds for each reply, and your choices change how the talk ends. But the “Shoot first” button always works, even in the middle of someone else’s line. Right now we are building the prototype of chapter one — “Room 13”, a motel on Route 9.
Red Ink: Kibble City key features
A dog and a cat
Baron is a former police dog with a shotgun who answers in single words and counts the bodies. Casper “One-Eye” never stops talking. Play as either one, the AI handles the other.
Cover shootouts
Flipped tables, cars in the parking lot, soda machines. The rats take cover too and shout to each other when a buddy goes down, while the heroes trade lines right in the middle of the fight.
The cat throw
The motel walkway collapsed? Baron grabs Casper by the scruff and throws him across the gap. Casper lands on the railing, straightens up proudly and falls over the other side.
Vents and overheard talk
Where Baron cannot fit, Casper crawls through the vents. Stay still by a grate and the rats below will let slip things the Syndicate would rather keep quiet.
Mexican standoffs
Guns drawn, everyone talking. Eight seconds for each reply, and your choices decide how it ends. And you can always pull the trigger first.
Blue pen, red ink
The world is hatched in ballpoint on a sheet of graph paper. The body count is kept in tally marks in the margin, and the blood hits the paper in red blots.
- A story told in chapters: the first, “Room 13”, opens in a highway motel in the middle of the desert
- Two heroes with their own moves: Baron’s shotgun and throw, Casper’s vents and eavesdropping
- Walk-and-talk dialogue and branching timed standoffs
- A “Strong language” toggle: with profanity or without
- English and Russian text
What Red Ink will look like
Gameplay mockups, the final game may look different · Arrows to navigate, Esc to close
Red Ink: Kibble City system requirements
Exact system requirements will be announced closer to release, once the full game is built. Expect an ordinary gaming PC with Windows 10 or 11 to be enough.
Red Ink: Kibble City FAQ
What is Red Ink: Kibble City?
A noir action shooter set in a world with no humans left. Baron the dog and Casper the one-eyed cat are hauling an unlabelled can across the city while the Rat Syndicate hunts for it. The game is drawn in blue ballpoint on graph paper, with the blood in red ink.
When does Red Ink come out?
The game is in early development: we are currently building the prototype of chapter one. The release date and the Steam page will be announced separately — keep an eye on this site.
Are the images on this page screenshots?
No, they are gameplay mockups: this is how we picture the motel room shootout, the cat throw and the parking lot standoff. We use them to pin down the style and the interface, and the final game may look different.
Is there co-op?
For now the game is designed as single-player: you play as Baron or Casper and the AI controls the other hero. We have not announced co-op.
What age is it for?
Adults: there is a lot of blood and dark humour, and the heroes swear. Profanity can be switched off with the “Strong language” toggle — the lines are replaced with clean versions, but the blood stays.
