17-Bit

When developer 17-Bit’s Skulls of the Shogun released in early 2013, it did so with a light, humorous script that mixed pop culture references with a near-constant string of jokes of the developer’s own creation. According to a recent interview of studio CEO Jake Kazdal by Pocket Gamer, however, the original plan was for the game to have a very different tone. The plan called for more austerity and less clowning.

That all changed when original scribe Ben Vance — who also served as the game’s programmer and designer — penned a joke-filled draft that clashed with 17-Bit’s more restrained vision of the game. Vance’s approach resonated with other members of the team, and everyone began slipping even more humor into his script during the game’s protracted development cycle.

“Since the game was in development for so long, everyone involved kept throwing in jokes and massaging the script,” Kazdal told Pocket Gamer. “And then we got a complete editing pass from localisation company, 8-4, where script doctors Mark MacDonald and Alan Averill just nailed it.

“We originally were going to have a much more stoic, serious script, but people responded so well to the goofy offbeat humor we had stubbed in we just decided to run with it. We wanted to entertain players, while reinforcing our stereotypes, and just rolled with it.”

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Independent developer 17-BIT today announced a permanent price reduction to their recently released tactical strategy title, Skulls of the Shogun. The news comes just one month after Skulls‘ multi-platform release, slashing prices …
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Enjoying 17-BIT’s samurai-themed real-time strategy title Skulls of the Shogun? If you’ve picked it up, odds are you are – the game currently sits on a kushy 80 rating on Metacritic, with many reviews lauding the game’s handsome cel-shaded graphics and deep strategy elements (we quite liked it as well). Now, fans can enjoy a bit of Shogun on the go – the game’s soundtrack is available digitally.
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Samurai-themed turn-based strategy game Skulls of the Shogun has enjoyed much-deserved success since its release last month. 17-BIT’s blitzkrieg-style launch across Microsoft’s many platforms means no matter where you are or what you’re doing, you can bring Skulls of the Shogun along for the ride. But what if that’s still not enough Skulls in your life? Well then, now’s your chance to score some official limited-edition schwag, courtesy of 17-BIT’s “Skulls Anywhere” contest.

Running now through February 27, 17-BIT’s contest could let you snag one of six prize packs for showing your Skulls support in a creative or interesting locale. For the full details, check out 17 Bit’s official contest page, but for those eager to get started we’ve placed the pertinent information below:

1. Print out this picture of the Skull, available here: http://bit.ly/12H5Wkv
2. Take a picture of the Skull somewhere cool and interesting. (That being said, please keep it legal.)
3. E-mail your picture to skullsanywherecontest@17-BIT.com with the subject line “Skulls Anywhere Contest”, or post it on Twitter using the hashtag #SKULLSANYWHERE
4. Hope your entry is chosen as a winner!

To be sure you’re eligible for the contest, check out the official rules and regulations. You can hit the jump to check out the many sweet prizes up for grabs including art prints signed by the 17-BIT team. Finally, if you haven’t yet checked out Skulls of the Shogun, you can catch up with the XBLAFans review and our exclusive guide.

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Hello and welcome to the XBLA Fans guide to the fifth and final region of Skulls of the Shogun. On this page, you’ll find a walkthrough to each of the levels in this region, as well as how to win all of the Gold Skulls for the area. Enjoy!

Please note that to get the most achievement points possible from Skulls, you’ll need to play on normal difficulty, which is the default anyway.

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Hello and welcome to the XBLA Fans guide to the fourth region of Skulls of the Shogun. On this page, you’ll find a walkthrough to each of the levels in this region, as well as how to win all of the gold skulls for the area. Enjoy!

Please note that to get the most achievement points possible from Skulls, you’ll need to play on normal difficulty, which is the default anyway.

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Hello and welcome to the XBLA Fans guide to the third region of Skulls of the Shogun (Skulls.) On this page, you’ll find a walkthrough to each of the levels in this region, as well as how to win all of the gold skulls for the area. Enjoy!

Please note that to get the most achievement points possible from Skulls, you’ll need to play on normal difficulty, which is the default anyway.

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Hello and welcome to the XBLA Fans guide to the second region of Skulls of the Shogun (Skulls.) On this page, you’ll find a walkthrough to each of the levels in this region, as well as how to win all of the gold skulls for each level. Enjoy!

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Hello and welcome to the XBLA Fans guide to the first region of Skulls of the Shogun (Skulls.) On this page, you’ll find a walkthrough to each of the levels in this region, as well as how to win all of the gold skulls for that area. Enjoy!

Please note that to get the most achievement points possible from Skulls, you’ll need to play on normal difficulty, which is the default anyway.

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Skulls of the Shogun was developed by 17-BIT and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released January 30, 2013 for 1200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Skulls of the Shogun is a samurai-themed, turn-based strategy game inspired by Nintendo’s Advance Wars series. Skulls players must guide the newly deceased General Akamoto and his band of undead warriors across the four seasons of the samurai afterlife. Along with a solid single-player campaign the game — which was simultaneously released on XBLA, Windows 8, Windows Phone and Windows Surface — comes bundled with the ability to play online and offline multiplayer skirmishes along with a much-hyped asynchronous mode, allowing matches to be played across all four platforms.

Throughout your journey through the afterlife, General Akamoto is assisted by a small team comprising of Archers (ranged attacks), Infantry (close-quarters combat) and Cavalry (scouts). Things may initially look bleak for our mustachioed hero, but further help can be gained by haunting shrines to summon extra resources in exchange for rice, or as the game progresses, by summoning elusive animal monks bringing advanced magic to your troop. You can also upgrade your comrades to a demon status by having them chow down on the skulls of the enemies they’ve slain.

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