News: Card game Astro Boy: Edge of Time reimagines Osamu Tezuka’s classic characters

In a new project supervised by “God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka’s son, Makoto Tezuka, Active Gaming Media’s Project Atom have launched a Kickstarter campaign for a digital collectible card game inspired by Tezuka’s works. Astro Boy: Edge of Time, previously teased with a countdown website, is seeking to raise $50,000 by September 21st, and will feature Tezuka’s characters redesigned by modern artists.

Among the examples of the art created for the cards are Gantz and Inuyashiki manga creator Hiroya Oku’s Magma, Chu Yi Cheng’s interpretation of Epsilon, and Saburota by Lollipop Chainsaw character designer NekoshowguN (all below). Other artists involved include CyberConnect2 president Hiroshi Matsuyama, Seiichirow Hosokawa, and Suda 51, or Goichi Suda, CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture and director of Killer is Dead and No More Heroes. Composer Akira Yamaoka of the Silent Hill games, and disco and electronic dance music pioneer Giovanni Giorgio Moroder, are working on the music for the game.

Set in The Sprawl, a city outside of normal space and time, characters from different universes are gathered together in peace, until the demon king Goa invades. The player takes on the role of the “summoner”, who can conjure “hard light constructs” of characters they’ve met on their journey in order to vanquish Goa. If successfully funded, the game with online multiplayer and single-player story modes is set for release in early 2017, in formats compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android operating systems. Active Gaming Media also promise regular updates, including new cards, story mode episodes and multiplayer modes, after the game’s launch.

A demo for the game is available on the Kickstarter page, and backer rewards include beta access, game cards, and merchandise like t-shirts, posters, and an art book. Rewards in the higher tiers include chances to help design an artifact, avatar animation, boss attack, card sleeve or achievement, and anyone pledging $2,500 or more can even get their likeness in the game.