[IC] KAM Soda Squid - Approved Samples + Pricing + GB Dates

[kinnju]

WELCOME TO A WORLD OF COLOURFUL CHAOS

In a faraway location in the middle of a barren, sun-scorched wasteland, lies a certain city.
Hardened by the surrounding desert, the residing cephlapods have adapted to the post-apocalyptic environment, swimming, splatting, rolling and surging their way to be the very best!

IC FORM

GB DATE
The group buy will run from February 17 to March 17 2025!

All GB orders will receive a free vinyl sticker featuring the KAM Soda Squid illustration I drew!




Why not a preorder?
Whilst I would have preferred a preorder, I've decided to go ahead with a group buy as recommended by the vendors. Considering the past performances of recent KAM sets, I believe it is possible to reach MOQ, and with Keyreative's cleared-out queue there should be limited delays during production.

VENDORS
OCEANIA: Keebz N Cables
US: Dangkeebs
US: Keebs For All
EU: Keygem
CA: Mino Keys
UK: ProtoTypist
SEA: iLumkb
CH: ZFrontier
GLOBAL: Keyreative


PRICING
This will change depending on the regional vendors, so consider this a rough guide.
Base: $79USD
Numpad: $17USD
Novelties: $23USD
Spacebars: $15USD
Colevrak: $8USD
NordeUK: $17USD
Deskamts: $21USD


KITTING
This keycap set has been designed to let you the owner be as creative as possible, with the uniform profile letting you play around with the novelties!
By taking a minimal approach with the legends, the set aims to let the vibrant colours truly be the main highlight.

VIEW THE FULL ALBUM








RENDERS
Dalco 959 Mini by Dalco and Hand Engineering



Frog TKL by Geonworks



Paragon by Artemis



W1AT by Geonworks



Amano by h40





DETAILS

APPROVED SAMPLES
Left: Natural Light - Right: Artificial Light





DESKMATS
The two deskmats that have won the popularity contest are:
Spilled Lemon Soda & Squid Party!

DESKMAT SAMPLES
All KAM Soda Squid deskmat samples have been approved!




PACKAGING




DISCLAIMERS
Please note: While these designs have been inspired by popular video games, they are the sole independent creation of the artist.
They are in no way affiliated with, sponsored by, associated with, endorsed by or created in collaboration with any gaming companies or studios.

Due to numerous factors like differences in lighting, monitor calibrations, etc, there may be some slight colour differences in the renders.

All renders are done by myself so please excuse any beginner mistakes
I had to fund the lawyer fees somehow


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Huge thanks to all my cephalopod friends for being guinea pigs for me and dubbing it Soda Squid.

Thanks to the people in the Keycap Designers Discord server for giving all their invaluable feedback in the initial stages of the design and answering any questions I had.
Special thanks to blur and Cylent!

I don’t think I would have any renders if ImperfectLinks’s Keyboard Render Kit didn’t exist so thank you so much for creating such an easy way to create keyboard renders.

Also, huge thanks to NoPun10Did for being an absolute GOAT and helping me figure out kitting because it was literally driving me crazy.


CONTACT
Keep up to date by joining my Discord server or following me on Instagram.

I also created a small microsite as well!


SIGNATURE
If you’d like to show your support for this set, feel free to add the following code to your signature!

Code: [Select]

[URL=https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=122637.0][img width=250 height=120]https://i.imgur.com/raCvUmN.png[/img][/URL]

[kinnju]

CHANGELOG

Date format: DD/MM/YY

18/03/24
- Added packaging renders

29/03/24
- Adjusted enter novelties to use the blue to purple gradient
- Added illustration

06/04/24
- Slightly adjusted the legends for the delete, scroll lock and home key.
- Added This Way and Booyah! novelty keys.
- Split the base kit into a base, numpad and novelties kit.
- Added spacebar kit
- The final deskmats for KAM Soda Squid are Spilled Lemon Soda and Squid Party

18/04/24
- Updated Paragon render to showcase the eye novelties
- Added Amano render to showcase the splat novelties
- Added the following vendors:
US: Dangkeebs
EU: Keygem
GLOBAL: Keyreative

03/05/24
- Added Colevrak and NordeUK kit
- Adjusted the Squid Party deskmat so the colours of the blue gradient is on the left and the colours of the yellow gradient is on the right
- Added the following vendors:
US: Keebs For All
CA: Ashkeebs
UK: ProtoTypist
CH: ZFrontier

09/05/24
- Updated Colevrak kit to include 2 blank scooped keys

07/06/24
- Added iLumkb as the SEA vendor

02/07/24
- Deskmat samples have arrived! Squid Party needs some minor adjustments to saturation while Spilled Lemon Soda needs some adjustments to get the right yellow

16/08/24
- KAM Soda Squid will now be doubleshot
- Legends will be changing to use Keyreative's existing doubleshot moulds

09/11/24
- All keycap colours have been approved
- Update renders to use Keyreative's existing doubleshot moulds
- Added GB date and sticker deal
- Added pricing guides
- Squid Party deskmat has been approved
- Canadian vendor has been changed to Mino Keys

08/12/24
- All KAM Soda Squid deskmat samples have been approved

[keepoto]

cool design and the choice to use the KAM profile clearly matches the vibe of the set!

[Surefoot]

That's fresh and original. Needs better layout support though

[tactilesbad]

very well executed. I'm indifferent to the inspiration but it still translates well to the design.

[minicap]

The set gives such fun and lively vibes! Love the double gradient and the splatter novelties. GLWIC

[kinnju]

cool design and the choice to use the KAM profile clearly matches the vibe of the set!

Thanks so much! I definitely wanted to utilise the uniform profile and its flexibility!

That's fresh and original. Needs better layout support though

Thank you! That's the biggest issue that I'm hoping to resolve with this IC to see what layouts people want to use with this set.

very well executed. I'm indifferent to the inspiration but it still translates well to the design.

Thanks! Glad to know that even if you don't specifically know the source material, it still translates well!

The set gives such fun and lively vibes! Love the double gradient and the splatter novelties. GLWIC

Aww thank you! Fun and lively is what I was going for so I'm glad it translated well!

[Dmitri]

Wow

[tuesdaygloom]

love the game and love the set! count me in

[Fraaaan]

Why are we back to making stuff with Keyreative? Did we learn nothing from all those KAT GBs?

[keepoto]

Why are we back to making stuff with Keyreative? Did we learn nothing from all those KAT GBs?

It's gonna be instock going forward

[kinnju]

Packaging renders have been added!
Took the spilled lemon soda deskmat and made it a seamless pattern across the box.

Wow

hehe thanks!

love the game and love the set! count me in

this was definitely a big passion project showcasing my love for the game so I'm glad it resonates with other fans as well!

Why are we back to making stuff with Keyreative? Did we learn nothing from all those KAT GBs?

While I understand that previous Keyreative GBs were strung out for much longer than planned, all communications I have had with them have been very prompt and they've answered any questions I have had. They were also one of the few manufacturers that got back to me in a responsive manner which I find incredibly reassuring going into this project.
I'm still considering whether to run this as an in stock sale or group buy, however it will depend on IC and the vendors.

[keepoto]

Packaging renders have been added!
Took the spilled lemon soda deskmat and made it a seamless pattern across the box.

Wow

hehe thanks!

love the game and love the set! count me in

this was definitely a big passion project showcasing my love for the game so I'm glad it resonates with other fans as well!

Why are we back to making stuff with Keyreative? Did we learn nothing from all those KAT GBs?

While I understand that previous Keyreative GBs were strung out for much longer than planned, all communications I have had with them have been very prompt and they've answered any questions I have had. They were also one of the few manufacturers that got back to me in a responsive manner which I find incredibly reassuring going into this project.
I'm still considering whether to run this as an in stock sale or group buy, however it will depend on IC and the vendors.

think you pretty much have to run it as instock for people (including vendors lol) to be confident, but quality wise I think they're up there among the best (for dyesub)

[kinnju]

Some updates!
Adjusted enter novelties to use the blue to purple gradient instead of just the dark blue and yellow

Currently waiting for Pantone plastic chips before moving onto the next round of samples (I ordered them late February and only 3/7 have arrived)

Major kitting updates haven't been made as I'm waiting on more IC responses before any significant changes

Regional vendors are in the process of being confirmed

I've also added a fun matching illustration! Not sure what I'll do with this illustration. I might consider adding it as a print or sticker?

More

[kinnju]

Thanks to the power of Twitter, I've received some amazing feedback and have made some major changes to KAM Soda Squid!

Design
I’ve slightly adjusted the legends for the delete, scroll lock and home key. Also added a This Way and Booyah! novelty key.

Kitting
The responses in the IC form have asked for separate kits for the base, numpad and novelties. I’ve also added a spacebars kit for better layout support. My vision was to make the base be as close to the original source as possible. One of the key points of the source is the yellow splat so I’ve decided to keep the yellow and blue splat novelties in the base kit.

Deskmats
The people have spoken and the 2 deskmats that have won the popularity contest are Spilled Lemon Soda and Squid Party. There were some really great deskmat suggestions, however, I’m only able to run 2 deskmat designs.

Samples
My Pantone chips are finally on their way to me so round 2 of samples will start very soon.


There was some really great feedback in the form and I’d like to respond to a couple of popular suggestions that I am unfortunately not able to implement.

More

Pink and Green / More colours / Dark Alphas
KAM Soda Squid has 7 colours and even that is quite a lot for a keycap set so I’m unable to include more colours. Doing so will also make it easier for KAM Soda Squid to hit MOQ. The same goes for dark/black alphas. It would look really cool though!

Black version of the Spilled Lemon Soda Deskmat
I did render this out and it looked really cool! But unfortunately, I wanted to reduce the number of deskmats I’m running alongside the keycaps so this unfortunately won’t be made. I may possibly run a small run of alternate deskmat designs after KAM Soda Squid is over. My favourite was the gradient deskmat and I’m so sad that it won’t be running

More Language Support
I’ve decided to not create more kits for broader language support. I understand that this excludes a large group of people, however, this is my first keycap set and I’d like to keep things simple and make sure it’s successful before running a set with more kits.

Thanks again for all the support and any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[kinnju]

Small Update
Adjusted the Paragon render to include the eye novelties and added a new Amano render to showcase the splat novelties in a split layout to look like a Turf War battle.

Also added the following vendors
US: Dangkeebs
EU: Keygem
GLOBAL: Keyreative

[aicyborg]

UK keys support please, either by inclusion in base or a (cheap, please) NorDeUK kit, please?

[vhaarr]

I always feel like KAM and KAT has a million kits, so it never occurred to me to ask for nordeuk, but yes :-)

[kinnju]

I always feel like KAM and KAT has a million kits, so it never occurred to me to ask for nordeuk, but yes :-)

UK keys support please, either by inclusion in base or a (cheap, please) NorDeUK kit, please?

I'll definitely consider it!

[kinnju]

More updates!
After discussing with the vendors, we’ve decided to run this set as a pre-order

I've also added a Colevrak and NordeUK kit for broader support.

The Squid Party deskmat has been slightly adjusted so the colours of the blue gradient are on the left while the colours of the yellow gradient are on the right to match the set.

Also updated the vendors list to include the following:
US: Keebs For All
CA: Ashkeebs
UK: ProtoTypist
CH: ZFrontier

[dvorcol]

Thank you for adding Colevrak homing! Could you add two blank homing keycaps?

That would cover ANY alt layout, including QWERTY users who prefer middle finger home keys.

[vhaarr]

Amazing.

[kinnju]

Thank you for adding Colevrak homing! Could you add two blank homing keycaps?

That would cover ANY alt layout, including QWERTY users who prefer middle finger home keys.

That's an easy addition! I'll update the render soon

Amazing.

Thanks!

[kinnju]

I've updated the colevrake kit to include 2 blank homing keys!

[kinnju]

Round 2 samples have arrived!
they're still off so I'm discussing with Keyreative other ways we can go about bringing them closer to the real controllers

also iLumkb has been added as an SEA vendor

[kinnju]

Deskmat samples have arrived!

Squid Party needs some minor adjustments to saturation while Spilled Lemon Soda needs some adjustments to get the right yellow

[kinnju]

KAM Soda Squid will now be doubleshot!

By using Keyreative's new hybrid material, the set will have more vibrant colours bringing it closer to the Splatoon 3 Switch. However, this will mean that the legends will be changing to use already existing doubleshot moulds - I'm currently in the process of udpating the renders.
For the eye novelties, they'll be using a combination of doubleshot and dyesub. There is an alignment issue with the novelties in the samples I was given, however, this will be resolved during production.

Here are photos of the latest doubleshot samples.

More

Natural Light

Artificial Light

I'm really happy with the majority of the colours and they are heaps closer to the original joycons than what PBT alone could achieve.
We'll need to go through 1 more round of samples to fix the blue gradient but overall, we're almost there.

The original goal was to get the set ready for a September 9 preorder date (Splatoon 3's anniversary), however, it won't be possible as it will be too tight of a deadline. The aim is to get the preorder open by the end of this year.

[Keebzncables]

Can't wait for this set 

[kinnju]

KAM SODA SQUID - MAJOR UPDATE
This is going to be a long one so apologies in advance for the wall of text

COLOURMATCHING
All samples have been approved and I'm very happy with the colours. They are incredibly close to the original joycons and I couldn't be more satisfied with the results. Please excuse my awful photos - I swear they look a lot better in real life.

Left is natural lighting and right is artificial lighting.

More

DESKMATS
The Squid Party deskmat has been approved and for the Spilled Lemon Soda deskmat, the stitching just needs to be adjusted. With the Spilled Lemon Soda deskmat, the yellow is not an exact match to the joycons, however, it would be very very difficult to achieve a fluro yellow on a white deskmat. I've been personally using the latest sample and while it's not an exact match, it's close enough that I'm happy to sign it off

More

RENDERS
I've updated all the renders to use Keyreative's existing doubleshot moulds and have adjusted the colours to get them as close as I could to the approved samples.
You can view the full render album here


GROUP BUY DETAILS
Now that colourmatching is complete, we're able to schedule this in for a group buy!

Why not a preorder?
Whilst I would have preferred a preorder, I've decided to go ahead with a group buy as recommended by the vendors. Considering the past performances of recent KAM sets, I believe it is possible to reach MOQ, and with Keyreative's cleared-out queue there should be limited delays during production.

The group buy will run from February 17 to March 17 2025. February 17 is the day that Splatoon 3 was announced back in 2021!

All GB orders will receive a free vinyl sticker featuring the KAM Soda Squid illustration I drew!

More

PRICING
I also have pricing! This will change depending on the regional vendors, so consider this a rough guide.
Base: $79USD
Numpad: $17USD
Novelties: $23USD
Spacebars: $15USD
Colevrak: $8USD
NordeUK: $17USD
Deskamts: $21USD


I'm very excited to say that KAM Soda Squid is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality!!!

[kinnju]

A minor update to confirm that all deskmat samples have been approved!

Here's the spilled lemon soda deskmat with the grey stitching and it looks great! The greys ended up pretty close to the switch dock which is pretty neat. The pattern doesn't go all the way to the edge on this particular sample (mistake on the manufacturer's end) but the final deskmats definitely won't have that!

From here, we'll get regional pricing ready early next year and then we'll be ready for the group buy!

[Shell]

I've never had a KAM profile keycap set before, but honestly this might have to be the first I get just because of the theme haha. I really like how this looks!