Daikatana

Daikatana will be the first software title released by Ion Storm. Ion has assembled a large team to develop this first-person shooter, a team that has considerable experience in developing a game around the Quake/Quake 2 graphics engine. In fact, many members of the team are either former employees of id Software or have been recruited from the Quake community.

Daikatana is scheduled for release in the fall of 1998, but news about the project has been comparatively slim until recently. The basic storyline is as follows:

• Upon arriving in 2455AD, you find that Dr. Toshiro Ebihara has discovered Daikatana (a Samurai Sword) on an archaeological dig. When held, it is revealed that Daikatana allows the holder the ability to travel back and forward in time. Betrayed by an evil assistant, Toshiro is killed, and as his best student, you and Mikko Ehihara (Toshiro daughters) and Superfly Johnson (see picture), go in search of Daikatana. With Mikko and Superfly along, you experience everything together -- You are not a single player in the game, you have help (and you'll need it). With each passing adventure, you gain experience points, and a role-playing element comes into the game. So, with more experience, comes the ability to do (and experience) more of the game, than a lesser player.

Daikatana will contain four different episodes set in different time periods and locals: Ancient Greece, Norway during the Dark Ages, modern San Francisco, and Japan in the future. Each of these episodes will be defined by a unique textures, weapons, monsters, and soundtracks. Your character will begin the first level with a basic skills. The character gains experience points and can increase its skill and proficiency over time. Your character will also have two companions for assistance and guidance.

Several screenshots have been released and they look great.

Ion has released some sound clips to show the development of the soundtrack for the game. Most of the music is quite impressive and surprising, more closely emulating a strong composition from a nineteenth century Russian composer than Nine Inch Nails. Here are the clips in .wav format:

• Sound clip #1
• Sound clip #2
• Sound clip #3
• Sound clip #4
• Sound clip #5

Additionally, Ion has recently released a short movie trailer of Daikatana, which can be downloaded here. We do not know most of the technical specifications of the game yet, but we have been assured that it will have all of the strengths of Quake 2. We do know that Daikatana will have an OpenGL version, fog and rain, translucent water, and some innovations in weapons, monsters, and artificial intelligence. All of these glimpses at Daikatana show that this program is being aggressively developed and should help to establish Ion within the software community.

Spotlight

If you want to know the latest information about Daikatana, you have to visit the site run by people who have been covering the game since the beginning.  Stormtroopers was, from the second it opened to the public, the authority on everything related to Ion Storm.  They have incredible access to exclusive interviews and information, and it is all passed on to the loyal readers.

Last update: March 28, 1998
This page is maintained by Darren L. Tabor,
aka DaKoTa