Here, we have the very earliest style mockup for of Tower of Heaven. This is the first image I ever drew for the game, back when we were still fleshing out its core conceits. I say ’first’, but it came after a long string of other test characters and art styles I’d been trying out all night, sitting in a log cabin being swarmed by gnats.
Note these numerous UI and game elements not present in the final product:
A special “rules” button. Yes, we’re aware “thou shalt no longer check the rules” was hardly a handicap, and this is proof.
A more angular and stiff version of Eid, with shadow (yes, that’s his name). Originally, his arms didn’t even move, as he was but a placeholder at that point.
A VHS/video camera HUD. Pause Ahead cribbed from Tower of Heaven in more ways than you’d think.
Limited lives. The biggest change. Many would agree that Tower of Heaven’s saving grace is the ability to retry as many times as it takes.
First, I’d like to thank everyone for their patience in waiting for the free Katana ZERO DLC. There’s so much that I wish I could share, but I don’t want to spoil the experience. Rest assured that there’s a lot of really good stuff in here and I can’t wait for you to see it.
Ah heck, here’s a combat gif anyway -
As I’ve said before, the DLC won’t conclude the story of Katana ZERO, but it will explore some of the burning questions you may have. I’m really loving my time working on it, and I’ve been able to play around with some of the cooler narrative and gameplay ideas that I’ve toyed with since the very beginning.
We’ve made a good deal of progress so far. All of the gameplay and level mechanics have been completed, the writing is in its second draft, and a third of the levels are completed to varying degrees. Much of the gameplay, art and animation is completed, and some cutscenes have been fully animated and scripted.
I’ve nearly finished some ports of the base game, which will soon be announced. The 2 LP Vinyl of the KZ soundtrack produced by Fangamer is almost finished and should be ready to ship in the next 1-2 months. I think that’s about it for Katana ZERO updates. There’s still quite a bit left to do, but I’m very happy with what’s been done so far.
You may also know that I’ve been working on multiple passion projects simultaneously over the past few years. Katana ZERO is one of them, and Pocket Squirrel is another. I’ve been working on it since 2017 alongside my friend iDubbbz. What started as a simple mobile game has exploded into an open world, genre-bending meta-mobile squirrel RPG with 100+ hours of gameplay and story, and a huge cast of memorable characters. It’s also almost finished! It’s fully playable from beginning to end, and my goal right now is to polish it from a solid mobile game into something truly great and unprecedented for mobile devices.
So, for the time being, I’d like to thank you for your continued patience and excitement. I’m focusing on finishing up Pocket Squirrel first so I can give it the care that it deserves and really get it to shine. I strive to put my best work into every game with the intention of making something special - and this will be no exception. Once it’s complete, I’ll devote my attention entirely to the free Katana ZERO DLC and finish it to the same high standards.
Lastly, since it’s been a while since I’ve posted development gifs, here are some scenes from Pocket Squirrel.
I’d like to thank all the talented fans of ‘Katana ZERO’ worldwide who have poured their creativity into fan art and merchandise. It’s truly humbling to see, and I hope that you continue to inspire others in the community.
However, since several people have asked, I’d like to lay out a clear and consistent policy for creating/selling KZ-related merchandise so that everyone can continue to create without worrying about legality.
To begin, it is absolutely okay (and pretty cool) for these kinds of items to be made and sold at physical conventions:
Katana ZERO fanzines/books/doujinshi
Prints of original artwork
Stickers/pins/pouches, or any other handmade goods/accessories
One-off art commissions based on Katana ZERO
Goods featuring Katana ZERO OCs
However, a few restrictions exist for legal reasons:
The 'Katana ZERO’ name and logo are trademarked and should not be used on any products. Abbreviations or non-English versions of the name should be fine, but make sure that the product could not be construed as official merch.
Items should not be mass-produced for sale. This includes anything factory-made, like printed t-shirts, keychains, or plushies. Generally, anything handmade is fine as long as it has a reasonable run size.
Fan merchandise should not be sold via Redbubble, Zazzle, or other large online storefronts.
Goods featuring official art and/or other people’s artwork should not be sold without the artist’s express permission. This is self-explanatory.
No crowdfunding campaigns for Katana ZERO fan products.
Fan merchandise should not compete with existing official Katana ZERO merchandise, and should acknowledge Askiisoft’s copyright for Katana ZERO.
Fan games are OK as long as they’re free, not listed on a platform that competes with the original game (i.e. Steam, Nintendo Switch, etc), and don’t use the 'Katana ZERO’ name. Basically we don’t want it to be mistaken for an official game.
If anyone ends up exploiting or taking undue advantage of these permissions, they can be revoked as necessary. I really don’t want to do this, so please be respectful!
Katana ZERO is one of the five nominees for ‘Best Independent Game’ at The Game Awards 2019! It’s been a great year for indie games, so there’s some stiff competition.
Log in and vote, then tune in on December 12th to see if we win!
Just like how it’s easy to forget that Die Hard was actually a Christmas movie, Katana ZEROis secretly a Halloween game. I don’t blame anyone for missing it; neon cityscapes and samurai movies don’t really scream ‘spooky’, and back home anyone wearing half a bathrobe in October would freeze their nipples off.
Still, it seems the fans haven’t forgotten, and cornucopia of Halloween-themed fan art on Twitter has everyone in a festive mood. Let’s have a look at what cosplay shenanigans the gang is up to!
In the absence of official Katana ZERO merch (yet!), fans have taken it upon themselves to make some fantastic real-life goods for the game and the various memes it’s spawned. We looked at some of them a while back in FAN ART FRIDAY: Arts & Crafts. A few months and two otaku conventions later, and the amount of real-life fan work has continue to grow.
As Halloween approaches, I think it’s time to celebrate Katana ZERO’s very own masked psycho killer, Mr. Kissyface: a hulking executioner with killer abs, dressed in blinding white and hot pink, who alighted just long enough to steal our hearts before departing this mortal coil.
All he wanted was a worthy opponent. No guns, no gimmicks, just a clean one-on-one duel. Begin!
[WARNING: Contains minor plot spoilers for ‘Katana ZERO’.]
Man, I must be hungry this month or something. After the past few food-themed FAFs, why not have a couple of nice drinks down at the local dive bar with the rest of the vets?
Today we’ll be showcasing some refreshing drink-themed Katana ZERO fan art, from the hardest of liquors to some soothing herbal tea—plus some recipes for you to try at home.
[WARNING: Alcoholic beverages may cause impaired use of bladed weapons and difficulty in reading dialogue boxes. Please drink responsibly.]
Like anyone that proclaims their something “the final chapter,” of course I couldn’t let a good thing lie.
Since the conclusion of All The Warriors on Fan Art Friday a few months back, the Katana ZERO community has continued to dream up fantastic OCs to expand the mythos, and some of them were simply too amazing not to feature. Here we go, a bonus Part 5 in the series!
[WARNING: The work herein is based on fan creations, and should not be considered canon.]
I love Japan—the cities are pristine, the people are polite, and no one looks down on you for staying in your room reading manga and playing games on weekends. But if there’s one thing I do miss from the States, it’s New York pizza: ridiculously huge, obscenely greasy mozzarella pies you insist you won’t eat by yourself, but do.
I’m a Domino’s man myself, but it seems Subject Zero prefers Juncture-brand pizza…along with Juncture-brand cola, Juncture-brand potato chips, and Juncture-brand protein paste, among others. Let’s continue last week’s food theme as we enjoy some pizza-themed Katana ZERO fan art!
[WARNING: Contains minor plot spoilers for ‘Katana ZERO’]
Listen, Zero. I know you’re high on that bachelor life, that’s fine. The contents of your fridge is 90% condiments, and you don’t bother closing the door when you use the toilet.
But if you’re going to let an adolescent child into your home, at least have something to offer them besides a stew of fish heads and paste.
Today we examine Subject Zero’s uniquely awful dietary habits and penchant for hoarding fish heads in Katana ZERO.
[WARNING: Contains mild gore and plot spoilers for ‘Katana ZERO’]
