Ok, so maybe I got a little too excited when I was talking about my first Samurai game.

I’ve been working on resurrecting the idea, except using some respectable 3D graphics, better user input and more realistic physics.  Samurai II is in the works.

I’ve decided to work in DirectX11 and it is truly amazing how powerful modern 3D engines can be.  For this project I owe a great debt to RasterTek, without whose tutorials I would not have gotten this far.  The current build has working 3D collision physics between sword and swordfighters, where green-to-red shading shows a damage level.  The character models were split into limb sections using Blender (the best free 3D modeling tool?).  The terrain has some random hills and the texture is based on a picture of some grass from Tallahassee, FL.

Next steps include adding gravity and reworking the footwork and swordplay to make the character feel agile and precise.  Wish me luck!