Hey there! This is Ota Imon from... well, Ota Imon Studio. Let's chat a bit about the journey from Wolfstride to Zet Zillions!
Going from the Black & White Mecha Wolfstride Universe to the colorful chaotic card battle that is Zet Zillions was really hard. We had to get out of our comfort zone, and to deliver the best experience we could, we brought our art style, the infamous dialogues and story, to a more “gameplay focused” environment.
You probably know it by now, but Zet Zillions is very different from Wolfstride, though they share the same DNA. Experimenting with different card combinations, fusions, and effects was a real blast. However, the most difficult part for us was working with colors! We had lots of help until we could settle on the right color palette. Yup, at first we were only painting things with any colors we wanted, like throwing a very colorful spaghetti to a wall. Took us several meetings to make the colors fit our vibrant chaotic universe.
Wolfstride was also very linear and story-focused. For Zet Zillions, being a roguelite in nature, we had to find a way to tell the game’s story without constraining gameplay too much. I think we found a sweet spot; hopefully you all will be able to enjoy the game in many different ways, either for the deckbuilding aspect or the crazy story of this universe. Zet Zillions allowed us to work with new mechanics we’re not used to, and to work closely with our community by listening to their comments —we really appreciate the amazing feedback you shared with us during the playtest! We've learned a lot from it and we had much fun making this game.
Let's show off some concept art
This was the first concept art for FOAM GUN in this universe. I knew that I wanted her to wear a military outfit and an eye patch from the start. If you know her from her Wolfstride days, you will notice her hair color has been switched. In our previous game, the back of her hair was white, and the front black; now in Zet Zillions, it’s the opposite. Also, the arrows pointing to her eyes are now outward.
I had this idea of General Foam Gun in my head for a while, and in fact, I was saving it for a board game! But I’m glad we were able to bring her as the main character for Zet Zillions.
DOK has lots of concept arts, but this is the one I like the most. There are lots of details we couldn’t bring to the final game. In the end, we chose a more "punk rock language" for him, a bit less serious than this first concept.
We knew from the very beginning DOK was gonna be a mad engineer or scientist, but he ended up being both. We also wanted to create a mutant or a furry of some sort. Rolo, our lead programmer, was obsessed with crocodiles at the time, so we decided DOK would be a crocodile, though in his final version, it is often referred to as a dinosaur.
KID ZIGGY! Where’s kid Ziggy in Zet Zillions?! I don’t know, we forgot to add him to the game, but there’s still hope (wink).
Truth be told, the first concepts for Ziggy were a disaster. He was just a simple human, very unlikable. He was supposed to look like a villain and a bad person but would be the best member of your crew. So in the end we decided to switch gears and make him cool from the start. We love aliens, ufos and grays, so it was a great fit.
You can see that the final Ziggy changed a bit from his first form. He seemed a lot more serious in this first concept: now his eyes are bigger and he is friendlier!
The idea behind Kid Ziggy and Graywolf Ziggy is that he changes forms when in contact with different area auras; so he will have different personalities depending on which of these two forms he's at. By the way, I never knew what's on the shoulders of soldiers and stuff, and I was too lazy and dumb to research, so that's why Ziggy ended up with a cleaning brush on his shoulder.
What happened to the Wolfstride characters in the Zet Zillions Universe?
To all of you who played Wolfstride, keep this in mind: This Foam Gun is different from Wolfstride’s Foam Gun. She is our first step into the Foamgunverse. After all, she is an entity; one could almost say she's a force of nature...
In Zet Zillions, Foam Gun will be your right arm, your faithful general. Together, you will be part of an army responsible for keeping the universe on the right track. Having Foam Gun as our protagonist has allowed us to dive-deep into her story. You will find out that this version of Foam Gun is a bit less mysterious than her Wolfstride counterpart.
As for what happened to Wolfstride characters in the Zet Zillions Universe, buckle up. THEY’RE ALL DEAD.
... I mean, Wolfstride takes place in 2017 and Zet Zillions in 2476. Although the Earth we refer to in Wolfstride is the same for Zet Zillions, it’s not the same Earth we live in right now.
Nah, you know what, I lied. Not all characters are dead. Some of them can’t die, they’re not even organic lifeforms, so… You might find some folks from Wolfstride in Zet Zillions. Keep in mind a long time has gone by though, and they might not be the same ones you remember.
But I’ll give you this: Shade is dead. Like very very dead, and he didn’t die of any diseases or old age.
As for Pineapples, Alban Liege, aka Knife Leopard, I’d say he had a great life. He changed quite a bit from what he was before, but it was all worth it in the end. He died with no regrets.
Well, this is it for today! Hope you have enjoyed this retrospective on Zet Zillions. We'll bring you more exciting news very soon so keep your eyes peeled!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2229560