Editing Plok! (section)

=== Commercial performance and plans for a franchise ===
John Pickford and Kay had faith in ''Plok!'' being commercially successful.{{Sfn|Brookes|1992|p=18}}{{Sfn|Dave|1994|p=63}} The Pickford brothers secured [[Intellectual property|IP]] ownership of the Plok character,{{sfn|Bevan|2013|p=78}} a practice common in other media industries but rare in the video game industry;<ref name = "Plokzee3"/> and they planned a franchise around it, including sequels, ports, and merchandise.<ref name = "Plokwork"/> A [[Mega Drive]] version was planned using software created by a Software Creations employee to automatically convert SNES titles into Mega Drive games; 80% of the code was automatically converted, according to Ste, with the remaining 20% requiring manual work.{{Sfn|''GamesTM''|2014|p=8}} However, despite Webb announcing the port's completion in an April 1994 interview,{{Sfn|''GameFan''|1994|p=12}} it was never released for unknown reasons.{{Sfn|''GamesTM''|2014|p=8}}

Ste, using magic markers, created artwork for future sequels and merchandise, such as style guides for the characters and illustrations of scenes.<ref name = "Plokwork"/> The Pickfords planned for sequels to involve Plok searching for the fleas' home,<ref>{{cite web|last=Pickford|first=Ste|date=17 October 2004|url=http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/archive/view.php?post=474|title=The Fleapits|website=Zee-3|accessdate=23 February 2021}}</ref> introduce a setting named Tower Island,<ref>{{cite web|last=Pickford|first=Ste|date=17 October 2004|url=http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/archive/view.php?post=475|title=Tower Island|website=Zee-3|accessdate=23 February 2021}}</ref> and make Plok's comfy chair (which he sleeps on in the end credits of ''Plok!'') a more significant part of the gameplay.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pickford|first=Ste|date=17 October 2004|url=http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/archive/view.php?post=473|title=Plok goes to the Sleepy Chair|website=Zee-3|accessdate=23 February 2021}}</ref> The Pickfords also created concepts for toys used to pitch the SNES game, including a doll where limbs were attached and detached with [[velcro]].<ref name = "Miltonsroom"/> During marketing, a Plok model was created in [[3DS Max|3D Studio 4]] for a promotional photo by [[Software Creations]].<ref name = "3DPlok">{{cite web|last=Pickford|first=Ste|date=23 February 2015|url=http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/blog/view.php?post=839|title=3D Plok from 1994?|website=Zee-3|accessdate=23 February 2021}}</ref>

However, in 1992, late in ''Plok!''{{'}}s development, the market saw a saturation of colorful platform games starring cute mascots, such as ''[[Bubsy]]'' and ''[[Zool]]''.<ref name = "Plokzee3"/> Ste, in 2004, publicly stated that developers and producers with more financial backing were aware of previews of the ''Fleapit'' coin-op, which may have influenced them to produce similar games;<ref name = "Plokzee3"/> though there are no other reports verifying this. Although the game sold decently over time, none of the revenue went to the Pickfords,<ref>{{cite web|last=Wallis|first=Alistair|date=7 December 2006|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/playing-catch-up-ste-and-john-pickford|title=Playing Catch Up: Ste and John Pickford|website=[[Gamasutra]]|access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref> and Ste suggested that the market saturation significantly hindered its commercial performance; this, combined with Software Creations constantly changing publishers between projects, made the ''Plok!'' franchise impossible for several years.{{sfn|''GamesTM''|2014|p=11}}