Locked content for free players:
Locked content will be made available to free players whenever a succeeding free version of HoS is released!
For example, locked content in HoS’s pre-release
will be unlocked for everyone when the full-release is launched for free users at the 28th. This pattern will continue for future versions.Please understand that this is a product that takes countless hours of work to ship in a compelling state. Even with that in mind,
ALL content is eventually made available for free to ALL players. In return, all I ask is patience from those of you who choose to consume it for free.
A message to 1st time players:
If you choose to play through House of Shinobi know that it’s a game that aims to explore the darker side of humanity. HoS does not shy away from themes of racism, violence, war and other mildly(or severely) offensive topics. If you are easily offended, or if you are looking for an exclusively uplifting story, maybe this isn’t the game for you. Remember that whatever you experience is only a fictitious story with made up characters, events and images!
A note on AI and its Usage:
Like many of you, I share a lot of the negative sentiment around AI and its sudden proliferation through any and all creative media. I am of the opinion that most of the negative sentiment is derived from its poor and unadulterated usage resulting in mass produced slop and thoughtless media.
House of Shinobi does not fall under the same umbrella and here’s why:
I am predominantly a developer which happens to delve into arts in a recreational approach, an amateur if you will. I’ve spent a lot of time perfecting my workflow to allow for a somewhat consistent, non-slopified result. What that entails is typically:
Me sketching an outline of a scene > feeding the sketch into my workflow > additional touch-ups by hand > end-result
There’s a lot of unseen work that goes into producing HoS as you experience it. Make no mistake, there will be inconsistencies, not every CG will be treated to perfection and the style might slightly shift at times, but that’s the price of admission when it comes to AI.
In a world where I could only deliver a product with the assistance of AI, or no product at all, I would always choose the former.
Having read the above, if you are an anti-AI apologist and you played through HoS and found it lacking in effort, I welcome your opinions.
If you would rather be dismissive of any and all AI-assisted work and think it worthless, then there’s not much I can do or say to change your mind. With technology advancing as fast as it does, perhaps I won’t have to.
