Large-scale RPG Himeko Sutori to be released on 31 January news

Do you like tactical roleplaying games? Especially of the Japanese variety? I love them. But too often they only let you take a few characters into battle, which never made me feel like a major force in the game world. Ogre Battle 64 though, which was released in 1999, put you in charge of an actual army. As a 20-year old game, its technical limitations are immediately obvious. But it was a masterpiece nonetheless. With Himeko Sutori, I set out to capture the feeling I had of leading an army into battle, while still maintaining the personal relationship I felt towards each of the characters in my army.

And now, Himeko Sutori, after four years of development, is far enough along that I can begin to let other people experience it. At the end of the month, you will be able to take control of an army of up to 200 heroes and lead it into battle. And you will have full control over each character's progression through 20 character classes, equipping them with hundreds of possible items.

And that's just one adventure from an infinite number made possible by Himeko Sutori's campaign editor. We're releasing the editor, assets, and source code for you to make your own mods, campaigns, and total conversions.

Sound good? You can add Himeko Sutori to your wishlist now.

I think that all sounds great when I say it like that, but truth is I don't feel the game is ready yet and I am sleep-deprived and terrified as I try to pack as much development into the time remaining, while at the same time contacting every game journalist and streamer I possibly can to build awareness of the upcoming release.

Someone once told me Nintendo's motto--not its catchy and mostly meaningless advertising slogans, but the motto that captures the company's spirit. I'm not sure if the person telling me had it right. I Googled the phrase later and found out that it actually came from some judo master. It meant something like "We do all that we can, the best that we can, and await the result."

And that's where I'm at now. I can't just keep working on the game forever. For the next month I will do all that I can, the best that I can, and await the result.

Then of course, I have to keep working to get the game from Early Access to v.1.0, but I'm forcing myself to stick to this crunch-time release schedule so that I don't just work on frivolities forever.

Anyway, that's probably pretty heavy for a post here. Take a look at some recent screenshots to see our progress.

The Shadowlands area of our game world didn't feel otherworldly enough. We're adding some new effects to try to tell the player we're not in Kansas anymore.

Here's a closeup from a battle on one of our new Shadowlands maps. The fog does a pretty good job of increasing the creepiness factor.

The heroes will have to force their way into Northern Shore territory. Shown here is the town of Halgdalir. By bringing an army through the world gate, our heroes break a truce that has held for decades.

And here's another new battle map, showing off our snowy forest assets.

At this gate, you will defeat who you assume is the last of your enemies.

And at the entry to Candle Keep, you enter the game's final chapter.

So that's where we are for now. Remember to put Himeko Sutori on your wishlists. And then I'll take a look at all your mods, campaigns, and total conversions on ModDB.