Ascend to ZERO is an action roguelike game that centres around time as its core theme. The world has already been destroyed, and the protagonist travels back to the past via a time machine to restore it to its normal state. Since players must clear stages under significant constraints within a limited time, the game features the powerful ability to stop time. Players navigate challenges by freely toggling time-stop on and off within the time limit.

I drew inspiration from a game called 'Hero 30'. The difference from Hero 30 is that the time limit to save a world that has already been destroyed is 30 seconds. In the early prototype of Ascend to ZERO, the protagonist was living a life with a limited time left. However, with the shift to an SF world setting, the concept of time travel between the past and future was added, and the duration of stay in the past was fixed at 30 seconds. The reason for the difficulty in staying for more than 30 seconds is that, within the game's lore, time travel itself is an action with significant limitations.

I played 'Vampire Survivors,' a previous roguelike game. When surrounded by enemies and unable to do anything, I had the thought of stopping time, repositioning, and reassessing. Real-time action games prioritise manipulation skills and quick decision-making, but by adding time-stopping, we've enhanced the strategic depth. Time-stopping acts as a way to segment time, similar to turn-based combat, allowing players to consider repositioning or evaluating the situation.

However, for the sake of balance, attacking during time-stop was prevented from the initial concept because the ability itself is quite powerful. Instead, we designed it so that avatar skills are activated upon releasing time-stop. Each avatar has diverse abilities, such as attacking nearby enemies up close or attacking over a wide area with adjusted range. This forces strategic choices: whether to attack enemies from a safe position or to evade.

I took some inspiration from the mobile indie game 'Inflation RPG'. We wanted to provide the strategic fun of assigning levels to each enemy and planning routes based on that. Within a limited number of battles, players can decide which level of enemy to fight, choosing between efficiently levelling up or taking risks for higher rewards. We particularly encourage players to gauge their own strength against the enemies' and challenge higher-level foes.

It wasn't originally voxel graphics; it was heavily influenced by the art director. We didn't have an art director initially and were in the process of finding one when we enlisted an art director from Krafton's Challengers Lab. They were skilled at implementing voxel art beautifully and were highly productive due to their speed. It fit the game well, so we adopted that style. It also aligned with the indie game aesthetic, allowing the sensibilities of pixel art to be extended into 3D. Furthermore, voxel art makes it difficult to express tall characters, so we opted for characters with large heads, essentially 2-head-tall.

Ascend to ZERO has a significant number of growth elements for a roguelike. While there are many avenues for progression like avatars, gadgets, and skills, the core lies in items. Players can farm and enhance weapons, devices, and armour, or reset their options, with set items also available.

Ascend to ZERO is a game where players strategically determine and adjust 'how far they can go'. We've designed a loop where players venture further to acquire better items and defeat higher-level enemies. We also aimed to capture the enjoyment of acquiring items, drawing inspiration from ARPGs like 'Diablo'. A system is also being prepared to convert non-permanent items obtained in-game into permanently usable ones.

At launch, there will be six avatars implemented, with the possibility of more being added later. The protagonist's basic form has a suit-like design and handles a cube imbued with the power of time. You can think of the avatars as parallel world versions of the protagonist. There's the 'Golden Gunner' with a golden appearance wielding dual pistols, the 'Sakura Warrior' with a pink aesthetic performing iaijutsu, and the 'Wind God's Spear Master' with a green look and a Chinese wuxia feel. Additionally, a pirate using a cannon and a hacker with purple tones controlling drones will appear. Each avatar has a suitable weapon, and specific weapons come with passive effects like increased attack speed or range.

Due to the nature of roguelike games, we aimed to provide a different build and experience each time. For instance, builds utilising slow but multi-hitting projectiles, or builds that unleash a barrage of projectiles, can emerge each playthrough, altering the strategy accordingly. Furthermore, the process of deciding which skill to use during time-stop can be likened to deck-building. We've created a structure where the strategy changes with each playthrough, blending real-time and turn-based elements.

It's the harmony of various elements. There are many emphasised aspects, such as time constraints, progression, and deck-building systems. It was crucial to ensure these systems didn't clash but rather interlocked. For example, roguelikes and RPGs clearly have aspects that don't align. Roguelikes should offer a different experience each run, and a poorly crafted strategy might lead to failure. RPGs, on the other hand, are about accumulation. Harmoniously integrating these conflicting elements is Ascend to ZERO's strength.

We aimed for a difficulty level that would be familiar to a wide range of players. Of course, it won't be easy for everyone. While it was quite challenging in the early stages, we've now made it more accessible to a broader audience. This is complemented by the RPG progression system. When facing a difficult boss, players can also consider the alternative of progression.

We felt they needed to be visually imposing and considered thematic consistency. For instance, a desert stage should feature a boss related to the desert. We also designed them to provide a dramatic sense of accomplishment upon defeat. To offer an interesting challenge to players wielding the powerful time-stop ability, we configured them with heavy and slow attack patterns. We judged that their immense size and deliberate patterns would create an engaging experience when combined with the time-stop mechanic.

There are a total of four chapters and end-game content. Themes include the Time Research Lab, Desert Zone, and Underground Waterway. On normal difficulty, clearing the main content is estimated to take around 13 hours. Engaging with the end-game content could extend playtime to 30 hours, and aiming for full completion, including all item collection and achievements, targets over 50 hours. The end-game features a hard mode where enemies become stronger, penalties are introduced, and strategies must adapt as the difficulty escalates.

We plan to conduct continuous updates based on user feedback post-launch. The updates will focus on two main areas: consistently improving any shortcomings and adding content that enhances the core fun of action and strategy. While DLC hasn't been concretised, we are internally considering new playable characters or modes that could fundamentally alter the overall gameplay experience.

We believe that games exist because of their players. We are truly grateful to everyone who has been waiting. We will put in a great deal of effort to refine the game based on your feedback and deliver a high-quality product.