Howdy, Toons! The Corporate Clash Crew is once again here to deliver a new Backstage Blog! This time, we will be covering the 1.7 Director's Cuts update. This one's been a long time coming for the game, and one that went through many changes before arriving at its final form. So grab a bowl of jellybeans and let's dive in!

The Long History of Boardbots

The full Hires and Heroes update was not conceived in its final form until July of 2021, with a previous described "period of inactivity" between the release of the Overclocked CLO update in February 2021 and the beginning of Kudos development in July. But we weren't quite inactive during that time. While the social elements of Hires and Heroes, including the new chat UI and the return of Clubs, saw development during this time, we were also working on something more "Coggy."

That's right, the Director's Cuts update began life as an endeavor to create Boardbot HQ! This development period led to the creation of various revamped Boardbots that would have released with the HQ. Cogs such as the Insider, the Circuit Breaker, the Magnate and the Head Honcho had their original iterations almost entirely completed a whole 3 years in advance, and many other proposed Boardbots were at least considered during this time. However, once the Kudos system was proposed, it was clear that Hires and Heroes needed to take priority, so all development focus was moved to that update. In the process of designing the managers that would appear in the Kudos taskline, we learned some very valuable lessons on making Cogs!

The Boardbot revamp was put in the backlog of future content, until around the middle of 2023. With 2.0 development in full swing, it was clear that the Boardbot HQ project as previously proposed was going to stay on the back burner. However, the redesigned Boardbot project had made significant progress and the new designs were clearly superior to what existed in the game at that point. The decision was made to refocus the Boardbot project on simply getting the main lineup of Boardbot grunt Cogs replaced. This would allow the Boardbots, the Cog department unique to Corporate Clash, to shine in a comparable way to the game's managers. A few months later, the new set of Boardbots were walking the streets of Toontown!

Concepting The Board

We had issues with the previous Boardbot lineup: it was full of Cogs that did not fit the departmental concept of a "Board of Directors". Many of them were named after terms completely unrelated to stock trading, such as the Con Artist, the Swindler, and the Toxic Manager. Even in 2021, the team agreed that at least some of these Cogs would need to be replaced.

With this understanding, we began considering new Boardbots that might be more in-theme with the department. The lineup for Boardbots changed drastically at various points, with various Cogs retained and discarded. For example, the earliest iteration made in 2021 would have retained both the Middleman and the Big Fish alongside the Magnate and Head Honcho as mainline Boardbots. We eventually arrived at the final lineup in 2023, which would see 6 of the 8 Boardbots replaced.

The Boardbots went through a long development process. Some concepts were made very late in 2023, and others date as far back as 2021. Let's dive into some concepts!

Bagholder

Bagholder wasn't the original idea for the Tier 1 Cog replacement, but he ended up becoming the final pick once we resumed development on the Boardbots in 2023. The name is quite self-explanatory, so developing concept ideas wasn't too difficult. There were a few proposals, which are pictured below, but overall it didn't take much time to reach the final concept. Physically, he would resemble a sack, while his personality and disposition would come off as a sleazy hoarder.

Originally, he was going to have a fly buzzing around him, but this ended up being removed on the grounds that it was too distracting.

Paper Hands

Similarly, Paper Hands was a late addition to the Boardbot lineup, only emerging in the final iteration of the Boardbot lineup. The term "paper hands" refers to traders that are risk-averse and end up selling too early. This Cog was a bit more complicated in terms of design process than the Bagholder. We didn't want to have their head be a literal hand made of paper, but the design had to reflect the name in some way.

We made more than twenty different concepts for the Paper Hands, with the final design pulling ideas from three pieces of concept art shown below. Their head in the final design still resembles the shape of a hand without being too on-the-nose. This translated well to the personality of a Cog who is generally anxious.

Insider

The Insider was originally going to be the tier 2 Boardbot, but ultimately ended up in Tier 3. The name "Insider" conveys a shadowy figure, so that was the central idea behind the concept. The compelling design and mysterious nature of the character eventually led us to give the Insider a greater importance than one might expect from a tier 3 mainline Cog, being one of the central figures in the Boardbot ARG. We're not saying that the Insider is "dangerous" per se, we're just reminding you to look over your shoulder occasionally. You know, just in case.

Circuit Breaker

The Circuit Breaker was originally conceived as a Tier 3 Boardbot Specialist, with Shock Absorber as his name. When we decided to focus on refining the core 8 tiers, we ended up cutting the Middleman Cog and the Circuit Breaker was given a new name and a promotion!

Deadlock

The Deadlock was one of the final Boardbots to be selected, only appearing in the final lineup developed in 2023. Like Paper Hands, there were many iterations of the design, but the themes of duality and the resemblance to a skeleton were traits that was maintained in almost every version.

Even after deciding on a concept, realizing it was its own battle. It was an incredibly ambitious design, and it took a lot of work to complete, but we think that the results speak for themselves!

Shark Watcher

The Shark Watcher was originally developed as a tier 6 Specialist. However, it was decided in 2023 to move him to the mainline Boardbots. He had been fully designed and modeled along with Cogs such as Insider and Circuit Breaker in 2021, but we decided to start from scratch. The design was originally a pair of binoculars, but this evolved into the current design, which resembles a hammerhead shark.

Magnate

The first of the two holdovers from the old lineup is the Magnate! Originally a palette swap of the old Legal Eagle, we wanted to make this magniloquent bird stick out in a big way. After a few concept sketches, we ended up striking gold with this design. The new head was completed in 2021 and it received very few changes afterwards.

The biggest change after this point was a move in tier. The Magnate was originally going to stay at tier 6. However, when development was resumed in 2023, it was decided that the Shark Watcher should join the mainline Boardbots. To facilitate this, the Magnate was moved to tier 7.

Head Honcho

Before the 1.7 update, the Head Honcho wore a scowling expression lifted directly from the various grimace-looking Cogs seen in Cog Headquarters. While this was a nice easter egg, we needed to make a new Head Honcho design that felt more at home with the newer Cog designs.

Head Honcho's redesign had a couple speed bumps, particularly when we settled on giving Head Honcho a hat. We had to figure out a proper head-to-hat ratio, but we also struggled with giving him the appropriate level of menace for a Tier 8 Cog while not going overboard. It's tough to make a Cog look intimidating without being scary to the players.

We eventually went all in on the "hat" part of the concept, and it turned out to be the right call. It gave him an imposing silhouette while still being decidedly cartoon-ish. The addition of a cigar tied the design together, even if trying to make it work properly gave our modelers a headache. Regardless, we think he turned out great!

Interestingly, the Head Honcho was almost replaced in 2023 with a new Cog altogether. However, due in part to his awesome design, we ultimately decided to retain him.

Problems With Models

As mentioned earlier, four of the Boardbots were modeled, textured and animated in 2021, but the newer set of faces went through all those steps across a period of a few months between October 2023 and January 2024. This was a complex and extremely collaborative process that required work from several Texture Artists, 3D Artists and Animators to finalize even a single Cog.

Paper Hands, Deadlock and Shark Watcher were the most problematic, and all required several model and texture passes for us to reach the final product. This was especially the case with Paper Hands, who had severe issues with his paper depth causing visual problems with the model when viewed in game.

Deadlock, well, deadlocked us for a very long time. We ended up having to create an entirely new texture very late into the update's development cycle, and there were worries that she'd end up being scrapped. Fortunately, we pulled through!

Shark Watcher was the most simple of the three, but he still required texture work passed across several artists to reach the final product.

Alternate Cog Designs and Other Unused Ideas

There were a number of Cogs not chosen for the final Boardbot lineup that had at least some creative work done on them. While we could leave these ideas to catch dust, that would hardly be fun at all! Besides, we could even bring back a few of these ideas in the future if we find a good home for them.

So, without further ado, we present: MORE BOARDBOTS!

Short Squeeze

The decision to replace the Con Artist as the tier 1 Boardbot was made early on. However, the question of what to replace it with was more difficult. The Bagholder was not the original proposed replacement. Rather, the intended new tier 1 Boardbot in 2021 was the Short Squeeze! This Cog got as far as being modeled before development was put on hold for the Hires and Heroes update. When development resumed in the middle of 2023, the Short Squeeze was discarded in favor of the Bagholder.

Market Maker

The originally-planned tier 3 Boardbot was the Market Maker rather than the Insider. The Market Maker got as far as having a preliminary texture before the project was put on hold. Eventually, the Insider was moved to tier 3 and the Paper Hands was created to be the tier 2 Boardbot.

Middleman

The Middleman was intended to be retained as a Boardbot when development stopped in 2021. In addition to the new head, the plan was to change his body type from Suit A (buff) to Suit B (skinny). The new Middleman head was actually fully completed when development was put on hiatus. However, when the project began once more in 2023, we decided not to retain him anymore.

Toxic Manager

It's everyone's favorite pollution generator, the Toxic Manager! We got as far as completing a new head for him, but we ultimately decided to remove him as we felt the concept didn't belong in the Boardbot department.

Big Fish

Like the Toxic Manager, the Big Fish also had a completed head before the decision was made to cut the Cog. We apologize to all the Big Fish fans out there! While we can't confirm any type of return for her at this time, it's also possible that we may not have heard the last of the Big Fish.

Angel Investor

We like to think we know a thing or two about our fans, and we had an inkling that the Angel Investor would've been a fan-favorite if she had ended up in the final lineup. Like the Shark Watcher, the Angel Investor was conceived as a specialist Boardbot and her head was fully completed prior to the Hires & Heroes Update. However, when work resumed in 2023, it was decided that the design was too "chibi" for the general direction of Cogs at that point.

We were still interested in having the Angel Investor as a part of the Boardbot lineup, so we made several concepts for a proposed inclusion in the Director's Cuts. We took some of them more seriously than others.

The biggest issue with the Angel Investor as it related to her potential appearance in the Director's Cuts was a lack of clear direction. There were many contradicting ideas and the brainstorming process was holding up work on other projects for the update. Further, there had been a transformation in our understanding of the Angel Investor; she had gone from a simple "grunt" Cog to something on the "unique" end of the spectrum. While this means you don't get to see her in the Director's Cuts, it also means that she could return in the future.

Shark Watcher

The original Shark Watcher had a special feature planned: the pupils of the binoculars would have changed shape depending on the emotion that was meant to be conveyed.

It was a well-liked design when it was first developed in 2021. However, it was eventually deemed to not be fitting, particularly as it did not reflect the "shark" element of the name.

Shark Watcher animations by NonsensicalThings.

One alternate Shark Watcher concept attempted to apply the binocular design of the original to an actual shark.

Killer Bee

We now present Killer Bee, a proposed Boardbot specialist! She had her design and model finalized during the 2021 development period, but ultimately didn't make the final Boardbot lineup.

Contrarian

The Contrarian was another Boardbot conceived in 2021 as the tier 4 specialist Boardbot. We went as far as approving a concept and getting to the texturing stage before work stopped on the project. When we returned to the Boardbots in 2023, the Contrarian was discarded alongside the Middleman in favor of the Circuit Breaker.

Lobster Trap

Let's move for a second from 2021 to 2023! The Lobster Trap was a proposed Boardbot for the final lineup. We made some concept art for it, but it ultimately didn't make the cut.

Ankle Biter

The Ankle Biter was another Cog that had quite a bit of work done on him before being scrapped. The texture had been finalized, although minimal animation work was done before he was scrapped. Elements of Ankle Biter's design ended up fueling inspiration for the approved Deadlock design, so it wasn't a wasted effort in the least.

Greenmailer

In late 2022, shortly after the release of the Hires and Heroes update, we did some work towards finalizing a new Boardbot lineup with the intent on eventually resuming Boardbot HQ work. This did not come to fruition, but the Greenmailer was considered as a possible lower-tier Cog during this period and a concept was created. When the decision was made to complete the mainline Boardbot project, we decided to use other Cogs instead.

Other Unused Cogs

Our last unused concept is also the oldest, dating from 2020! This is a set of preliminary assorted redesigns of existing Boardbots: Connoisseur, Magnate, Middleman, and the Toxic Manager. The only Cog featured in this art that was eventually retained is the Magnate. This represents the earliest work on the Boardbot project, when it was far from clear that any Cogs would be replaced at all.

The Toxic Manager designs might look a bit familiar. Some inspiration for Deadlock was derived from these concepts!

Assorted unused Boardbot animations. Animations made by NonsensicalThings, Mailman, and Polygon.

Conclusion

And this is the end of this edition of Backstage: Corporate Clash. We hoped you enjoy this peek behind the curtains of Corporate Clash development, and we are glad that the Director's Cuts have been so strongly appreciated by the community! Thank YOU for making all of this possible.

The update would not have been possible without our Crew members; you can find the Credits list for the update HERE. We are always looking for new talent from all disciplines to join our Crew. If you are interested, please have a look at our open positions HERE!

Until next time, have fun busting those pesky Cogs - with laughter!