3D Dot Game Heroes Aren’t Born; They’re Made…in the Editor

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PlayStation.Blog chums,

Most games ask you to assume the role of a hero. Often, you don’t have any say in who they are or what they look like, and in some cases the customization options you’re given are limited. 3D Dot Game Heroes, while it takes its inspiration and purpose from 8 and 16-bit classics that came out years ago, gives the gamer nearly limitless control over the look (and movement) of their protagonist. The game may be all homage, but it’s certainly not out to limit anyone’s homagination!

*crickets chirp*

Err… Let’s dive into the all-powerful, easy-to-use editor, shall we?

3ddotgameheroes_screens_editor 1

One of the custom characters that comes included on the disc. I’ll call him… Monkey Kong?

Creating a custom character in 3DDGH (my fingers thank me for the abbreviation, so please note it) is more than just figuring out what it will be and look like; you have to animate it, too. Before the self-proclaimed “artistically-challenged” gamers run for the hills, snapping paintbrushes between their thumbs and index fingers, I’ll point out a couple of things. First, the North American release of the game comes with far more custom characters on the disc than the original Japanese release, allowing for even the most character editor averse gamer to experience the thrill of saving the kingdom as a ninja, shark, or heck, even jolly old Saint Nick.

Second, and more importantly, the editor is very easy to use! Copy and paste functions make things super quick, whether you’re copying and pasting one pose (Walk 1) into another animation (Walk 2, for example—above) or designing half of a character and then copying, pasting, and flipping said side to create a complete and awesome custom character.

3ddotgameheroes_screens_editor 2

Four more legs and this thing would creep the heck out of me…

And because the editor is in full 3D, offers a clean, intuitive interface, and doesn’t mess around with things like textures (trust us, when you see your creations lit by the game’s amazing real-time lighting engine, you won’t really care about textures), even the most nervous, inexperienced designer will soon realize they can save the Kingdom of Dotnia with anything they can imagine. A single, floating pixel? Sure. A tank? No problem. A flying jet? Easy. If you can dream it (and yes, if it fits within the size limit—above), you can create it.

Is there anything more satisfying than saving an entire kingdom as a dog?

3ddotgameheroes_screens_editor 3

Yeah, Master Poochi will be ready to save the kingdom… Right after he takes care of that fire hydrant back near the castle.

Or a shark (it comes up when it’s attacking)?

3ddotgameheroes_screens_editor 4

Just imagine that classic music in your head, because we can’t afford the rights to it.

Or some sort of futuristic mechanical… well, whatever the heck it is:

3ddotgameheroes_screens_editor 5

Someone get me a newspap… Oh wait, that’s us?

We think not! And the best part is: You can share your custom creations with the rest of the 3DDGH community online! Just save your character, move it to a USB storage drive, and then upload the file to our character hub site (scheduled to launch at or around the time of the game’s launch) so that others can enjoy your handiwork.

Hey, in the end, you’re hurried into a castle, handed a sword, and asked to save the kingdom. You are a hero, a savior, the chosen one. Everyone’s counting on you. So why not make sure that the “you” you’ve assumed control of for your parody-filled, homage-laden old school retro adventure is your ideal character?

Remember to check out the editor the very first time you startup your copy of 3D Dot Game Heroes, a statement that assumes that you’ve already (or will immediately hereafter) pre-ordered your copy and will be among the first to relive your childhood(s) when the game launches on May 11th. Visit the official website for more details.

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67 Comments

10 Author Replies

  • I’d say first but my posts dont show up for days. ANyways this looks like it will be alot of fun. I love the game and the show. how about a hook up with a t-shirt? Nah just kidding unl3ess you wanna hook a guy up.
    Keep up the awesome job and keep the games a comin.

  • Been looking forward to this title since it was announced that Atlus was brining it over. The $39.99 pricepoint seals the deal on it!

    Thank you for doing it again Sony and Atlus!

  • I sense some fun custom heroes ahead… I’ll probably end up making a character from Touhou Project or something along those lines.

  • Looks cool. Any chance of bringing Demon’s Souls to Europe? You know you want to.

    • Kenshin71,

      Still no news on that front, regretfully. It\’s been one of the most asked questions of the year for us. Trust us, we\’d love nothing more than to see everyone around the world able to play and enjoy Demon\’s Souls!

  • I’m actually interested in this game than ever before,it’s so darn funny;master pooch,haha.

  • why is every Atlus post on the blog is so goddamn Atlusome?

  • Awesome looking editor! Can’t wait for this game.

    I’m with Kenshin71, Bring Demon’s Souls to Europe and have a Europe server. I’m currently connecting to the US servers and sometime the lag when fighting invading Phantoms can be very annoying. Demon’s Souls for Europe FTW :).

  • I didn’t know the editor allowed that much customization! This game gets better and better the more I read about it!

  • Awesome Cannot wait

  • i want you avatar, dave….. dave are there….. what are you doing dave….

  • @ Aram Jabbari

    Just want to say thank you and thanks to Atlus for bringing 2 great games to PS3, Demon Souls was amazing and cant wait for 3D dot.. please keep up the great work and bring more games to PS3. i’ll always buy them first day :).. also looking forward to P3P for psp

  • Lol, your little presentation is a funny as the game promises to be. A Tank carrying a sword?

  • Freaking awesome

  • Your assumption of my pre-order is correct. I’ll pay double if I can have it now.

  • Saving the world as a dog (or rather, wolf) was done before, actually, in Okami.
    Looking forward to this!

  • I dunno how difficult this would be to implement, but something fun would be to release a standalone character editor (on PSN) before the game ships. It would get people excited to play the game since they’ll have their little creation ready to go. Not sure if it’s a challenge pulling that from the main game, and make is standalone, but it would be a great way to promote it…

    And would make waiting for the game a bit more bearable for us :D

  • How cool! I cannot wait for this game!! XD

    I’m gonna sound like a big ol fanboy but I don’t care, you’re the freaking best Atlus. Publishing Demon’s Souls and now this? thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!!!!

  • Awesome, simply awesome. But really, you missed the perfect opportunity to show a floating Atlus logo fighting the good fight. :)

  • AMAZING! I’m super excited for this game! :D

  • Will there be s special incentive pre-order bonuses? I certainly hope so- you know, to think something awesome you’d want to include this with different or specific character(s) data(s) or something awesome that we have never seen before or thought of that before. Please make that happen.

    I trust you to find something intriguing to include some in!

  • Wow. Can’t wait for this!

  • So is the Japanese DLC going to be included on the disc for us or not?

  • I like number #16’s idea, too bad there probably isn’t enough time to do something like that though…

  • Just When i think this game cant offer any more, BAM! character customization. thanks atlus for this localization~

    have you guys considered producing No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise?

  • Okay, that’s cool. Still on the fence given how many replaythroughs you had to do for Demon’s Souls platinum, though…

  • Very cool. I’d never heard of this game before this post, but I’ll probably have to pick it up now. Fully custom characters in an RPG? Sold.

  • @24: It’s still a quicker platinum than White Knight Chronicles… I don’t know what Level 5 was thinking there.

    Anyway, can’t wait for this one.

  • I just wanted to let you know that I laughed at the homagination joke

  • I hope you guys can hold hands with From Software forever, you guys make a great team.

    Will there be any pre-order bonuses?

    • Craazy,

      Nothing has been determined quite yet with regards to pre-order bonus(es). We try to make a big deal when we do something special, so if we do plan anything, I\’m sure you all will hear about it :)

  • I’m gonna save the world…. with a stapler.

  • Oh, I love Atlus blog entries. They’re so tongue-in-cheek! I always look forward to the Atlus Faithful newsletters, too, if I need a smile during lectures.
    Thanks Atlus, for bringing awesome niche titles to North America, including Demon’s Souls and 3D Dot Game Heroes. (And I can’t wait for Persona3 Portable, either!) As a linguistics major, I am a HUGE fan of your localizations!
    Out of curiosity, are there going to be any Atlus Spoils with 3D Dot Game Heroes? Is North America/Europe going to get the DLC as well?
    Thanks, and keep up the great work!

  • Demons souls was my GOTY last year and 3D dot game heroes looks to be as fun, i have not preorder it yet but be sure i will soon enough.
    Thanks

  • Will there be an Official 3DDGH Guide? and how about a Soundtrack CD or cassette lol (or even a practical digital download?) Give us something extra to get a whiff of!

  • I don’t know yet what I’m gonna be when I save the world, but it’s gonna be awesome… that, or really hilarious.

  • This looks kicking ass!
    Rock on!

  • you guys are awesome, you make the posts enjoyable to read, and give us a lot of info too. thanks for the great games, i will be picking this up.

  • Will it be possible to just load up the character file via the PS3’s web browser, or is that simply not possible at the moment, let alone through the game’s own interface?

    Also, please please please get the devs to make a “demo” to let us mess around with the character creation to use in the game before release!

  • Why does everyone make these things as in-game editors? It’d be so much easier for everyone involved if you could create them using real tools designed for the task instead of clunky controller interfaces. Very few people are going to actually use them in-game anyway, and most of those people are going to have access to much better programs because they’re freely available on the Internet.

  • Can’t wait to play this.

    I also hope there is a sequel and in that hopefully you can create custom monsters / dungeons / and your own story along with your custom character. Basically I hope it will let us make our own game with this style.

    AND let us upload our creations (characters,monsters, dungeons, the whole games we make) to a website so others can download.

    That would make for a great sequel. It would be like the next generation of the RPG Maker games.

  • Day one buy. Loved Demon’s Souls so much. I really wish you guys would do a Deluxe Edition for this game too!

  • This is the first comment I’ve left on the PSblog because I just had to say how much I love Atlus on both sides of the pond. I’m a huge fan of the Shin Megami Tensei series, having gotten into it with Nocturne and purchasing all of the other PS2 titles (still waiting on that SMT PS3, Atlus Japan!). So as a developer, they are amazing.

    And as for Atlus USA, you guys not only publish great games that wouldn’t see the light of day here otherwise (I fell in love with Boletaria instantly), but the amount of extra content and spoils you guys give is just awesome.

    I look forward to these blog posts by Aram which are always pretty entertaining. Anyway, I know Atlus fans are pretty supportive, but I just wanted to say keep up the amazing work all around. Look forward to seeing my custom characters in 3DDGH!

  • This looks too retro-cool and stylish to pass up, I will probably be dropping $40 on this in May.

  • YOU GUYS ARE ON A ROLL!!!!

    first Demon’s Souls took over my life and made this 31-year old gamers hands actually sweat with tension when playing the game, that hasn’t happened since i was a kid!

    and now 3D Dot Game Heroes!! I’ve been following this games since i first heard about it..

    and let me tell you the “Zelda”-esque homage is very welcome!! the game just looks fun, and harkens me back to a simpler time in gaming…

    anyhoo, looking forward to this game and making my own protaganist with the editor!

  • Keep bringing this awesomeness of games to PS3!

  • Is there a possibility that you could consider bringing to America No More Heroes Paradise? It doesn’t have a publisher yet, and you guys make an excellent work…

  • That looks very impressive!

  • Atlus is seriously one of the best developers ever.

  • This is by far, the most ridiculous thing I ever seen for a game…. Love it!!!!!!

  • Atlus sure has been appearing on my lookout alot more since I’ve seen Persona 3, and I love that stuff, but I’m not quite sold on this game yet, I could use a bit more info on the gameplay about now…

  • You guys rock. Persona 4, then Demon’s Souls, now this. You get alot of my money.

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