![](https://www.xcvgsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/katana_banner_sm.jpg)
Source on GitHub | Art on OpenGameArt
Project Katana was a visual novel made by someone who never plays visual novels. It was somewhat of a parody and intended to be a unique take on the genre, with prominent RPG and adventure game elements. The storyline was to be equal parts absurd and deep. I ended up abandoning the project, but I’ve released the source code and most of the art under permissive licenses.
![](https://www.xcvgsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/katana1.jpg)
Haneda Matsutake has recently arrived at the Zero Hayabusa Academy for the “Gifted”, where he embarks on a mission to be cool, make friends, and find true love. But the Furikake Zaibatsu, a radical extragovernmental organization dedicated to taking over the world, has plans for him. And on top of that, the Academy may not be what it seems…
![](https://www.xcvgsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/katana3.jpg)
I decided to roll my own tech for Project Katana, using TypeScript and nw.js. I was curious about these technologies and though it was an odd choice it seemed to work well. I also did most of the art myself, which was a big change for me at the time. I definitely learned a lot from this one!
On a side note, the dialogue format used in CommonCore/Ascension III originated in Project Katana, and at least when this project was abandoned they were still mostly compatible.
![](https://www.xcvgsystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/katana2.jpg)
Project Katana was under development on-and-off between 2017 and 2019. It was worked on in semi-secret before being unveiled for April Fools’ Day 2019 and officially cancelled late in the same year. It was a fun project to play around with, but I could never really figure out where I really wanted to take it, and ended up calling it quits to focus on other things.