Introducing Himeko Sutori

Himeko Sutori is the upcoming tactical JRPG by Rockwell Studios, successfully Kickstarted in May 2016.  The game is currently in development with a planned release in 2017 on Steam and other online marketplaces.

Himeko Sutori is a deep, story-driven, tactical RPG in the style of the Japanese classics of the genre.  It steps beyond convention however with huge, epic battles between armies of over 100 unique named characters, controlled at the squad level–as opposed to the individual level–in order to keep the action moving quickly.

Quick look at the new starting town

by | September 11, 2017 | Art, Development | 0 Comments

Not obvious in these still photos:  the beautiful new wind shader, plus the moving water.  We're still trying to get the lighting right.  Baking the light is crashing the editor.  Not sure what's causing that yet, but we'll take a look tomorrow.
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August wrap-up: Better building blocks for better levels

by | August 29, 2017 | Development | 0 Comments

As we prepare to release the beta test to our Kickstarter backers, we've been adjusting everything to make Himeko Sutori look like a professional and polished game.  One of the complaints that we heard pretty consistently with our earlier builds was that the 2D...
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July update: closed beta testing on Steam

by | July 31, 2017 | Development | 0 Comments

We posted an update for all of our Kickstarter backers, summarizing the work we did in July.  Check it out for the details on beta testing, Steamworks integration, and new features and...
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Stacking the deck to ensure more character-class unlocks

by | June 27, 2017 | Development, Technical | 0 Comments

We should probably do a more in-depth look at probability in RPGs or video games in general. But for now, this is what we're doing with probability in Himeko Sutori. The way level-ups work in Himeko Sutori is you get XP (or experience points, but if you're reading a...
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Video updates showing off alpha test campaign

by | May 31, 2017 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

First, the latest video: There you'll see all the pieces coming together. There's dialog with interactive NPCs (which are very easy to make in the campaign editor we'll be releasing), shops, crafting, and treasure chests. And that's just in the starting town! You'll...
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Overhaul of item stats, planned from the start this time.

by | April 19, 2017 | Development, Technical | 0 Comments

We are finally getting into the long overdue overhaul of the equipment stats. At first when I made the equipment in the game I just kind of thought "I'll put some numbers in here and then go back and balance it later." There are going to be hundreds of items in the...
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March 2017 update: level-up cards, graphical improvements, more portraits, campaign loader, and random loot

by | March 31, 2017 | Art, Development, Technical | 0 Comments

Here is this month's update video! The video pretty much says it all, but let's dive into details here: Here is the list of available campaigns, along with the campaign name and description.  Those details, plus the level to load in order to start your campaign, are...
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More updates: World map, combat, and music. Now the game engine is pretty much complete.

by | February 26, 2017 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

It looks like I forgot to post the official January update, and here it is the end of February.  So I guess I have two official video updates to show. The video updates pretty much say it all, but if you prefer reading to watching, let me sum it up for you: World map...
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Trying to unify the look of Himeko Sutori

by | January 12, 2017 | Art, Development, Technical | 0 Comments

In a few online forums I've been some getting feedback as I work on Himeko Sutori.  Here, here, and here for example. One thing that those forums have helped me realize is that I still don't have a unified look for the game.  One person put it like this: One criticism...
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World map with day/night cycle WIP

by | January 7, 2017 | Art, Development | 0 Comments

So I've started working on the world map for Himeko Sutori.  Not the actual map to be used in the finished game, but the functionality for navigating the map, getting from one place to another, and triggering events. I started off thinking about one of my favorite...
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The core gameplay is essentially finished and now the alpha test campaign is under development.  When we are satisfied with alpha testing, we will move on to beta testing with our Kickstarter backers.  From there we will decide on the game’s release date.

Until then, please feel free to take a look around and learn more about Himeko Sutori.