Author: Fruitbat Factory

Favorite Tanks

/ Fruitbat Factory / Leave a comment

Today we decided to take a break from translating the game and conduct a survey to see what people like best about War of the Human Tanks, instead. Here are some responses from random passersby (names have been altered to respect their privacy):

J*kke
For me, the twisted humor in War of the Human Tanks really hits the spot. I instantly fell in love with the name of the game – I mean, human tanks, anyone? The rest didn’t disappoint once I played it, either. Using Shock Tanks to carry self-destructing messages? Rewarding the pitiable tanks with cola for a bloody battle? Protagonist’s complete disregard for orderly behavior? I absolutely love it. There’s nary an episode that hasn’t managed to wring at the very least a wry grin out of me. Since most of my time is spent working on the script, I can very much appreciate the humor in it.
And I must add, Heshiko‘s distressed face is especially cute… if you know what I mean!


O*han
I don’t know if you ever played the game Battleship but the way you make blind shots while trying to guess at the enemy’s location in Human Tanks reminds me of Battleship in a positive way, especially when you are dealing with units larger than a single hex.

I also love customizing my units and how this changes the whole experience, oftentimes in funny ways. For example, I have this Hikari model tank that hits an immense area when she attacks with the Shooting Area +1 module I had her equip. I also wanted her to be fast, so I equipped her second slot with a Modem, increasing her speed by one. But because her range isn’t long enough to compensate, whenever she fires she hits herself as well. Luckily she occupies four hexes, so she won’t kill herself if I’m careful, but she’s also helping the enemy take her down making this a double edged sword, a very silly one at that.

Y*shifumi
This game is stupid! I can’t get any work done because I just keep playing it. It’s horrible!!

T*ny
I’ve had a blast with the game’s story. The supposed seriousness of warfare is contradicted by the wacky antics of the 4th Armored Corps in such an innocuous manner one can’t help but laugh. The scenario’s has just the right balance between battles and dialogue to constantly keep me entertained. Oh, and the soundtrack always gets me rockin’ along!

M*ry
Theres something really satisfying about the battle preparation in WOHT, spending supplies to upgrade and assemble my human tanks, then strategically deploying them on the battlefield. I spend a good chunk of my time when I play the game just thinking about my strategy, considering my options, and putting together my personalized army for each battle.

Home of the Human Tanks

/ Fruitbat Factory / Leave a comment

War of the Human Tanks pages are now live!

War of the Human Tanks main cover

You can hop straight in by clicking on the banner, or navigate there from our main page at www.fruitbatfactory.com through the same banner.

We are adding more sections when other tasks allow. Currently you can read up on the story and characters, and get an overview of the game system.
Once completed, the pages will double as a manual for the game with in-depth game play guides.

If you spot some issues with the site, don’t hesitate to tell us.

War of the Human Tanks

/ Fruitbat Factory / Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.


Yoshifumi had a meeting with Yakiniku Banzai in Nagoya, and our first license was signed.

War of the Human Tanks will be the first game Fruitbat Factory will be releasing worldwide in the English language. It is a story-driven strategy game with a setting deliciously crafted with black humor.

The game’s been our staff’s top pick for release since the moment we laid our eyes on it. It is also the first part of the Human Tanks game trilogy, which we hope to bring over in its entirety if the reception is favorable.

Yakiniku Banzai are cool guys and we couldn’t be happier about this opportunity to work with them! Expect more news in the near future.

(There was yakiniku consumed during the meeting again. Photos courtesy of Yakiniku Banzai.)

Yakiniku

/ Fruitbat Factory / Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.


Yoshifumi visited Osaka to have the first meeting with the developers of our first license candidate.

We’re very excited about the potential of our first game!

Can’t say much about the title yet, but as a hint they had yakiniku together after the meeting. Things are looking up.

In other news, our homepage fruitbatfactory.com is up. It doesn’t have much to see at the moment, but we are slowly getting there. Check it out once in a while for updates.

Hello, world

/ Fruitbat Factory / 1 Comment

Okay, so we are Fruitbat Factory. Never heard of us? Can’t blame you, neither had we not long ago! Here’s a snippet about how we (and this blog, as a byproduct) came to be:

“Fruitbat Factory came into being in early 2012 as a joint venture between three translation veterans aiming to bring interesting, innovative and fun Japanese games to the English-speaking audiences worldwide. After working as contractors on several commercial Japanese-to-English localizations, Jakke Elonen and Ozhan Sen were inspired to take a more active role in expanding the market. They debated the options, and decided to form a company of their own. After laying the groundwork and working out the business plan, Mr. Elonen and Sen contacted Yoshifumi Ishii; a translator they had had the pleasure working with over the years. With Mr. Ishii’s joining, Fruitbat Factory had everything they needed to begin producing high-quality localizations.”

Yep, that’s us producing high-quality localizations left and right. In this space you’ll likely come to find random ramblings about our development plans and processes.