We’re nearly halfway through 2025 – how time flies!

2025 has been an exciting year for us, with progress on every aspect of the game as we move into the polishing phase of our vertical slice. Our goal with the vertical slice is to demonstrate the look, feel and quality of gameplay, art and narrative you can expect in the final product. We’ll be using the vertical slice for testing and as a promotional tool, not least in outreach to the press.

We’re also thrilled to share that, in conjunction with our partnership with Templar Media as our publisher, we’ve now teamed up with a professional marketing agency. With their expertise, we’re gearing up to expand Gate Zero’s reach to even more audiences around the world. As we ramp up our marketing efforts towards release, you can expect to see us at major gaming conventions in the coming year!

Together with our marketing consultants, we are planning a strategic approach to revealing different aspects of the game over time. If you’ve been wondering what we’ve been up to behind the scenes lately, it’s because many of the new gameplay mechanics—one of our main focuses since the release of the Steam prototype—have been intentionally kept under wraps. We’re excited to share more in the time to come as we roll out key marketing beats at carefully planned intervals up until release.

For now, here’s what we can share!

With level design and architecture far along, our artists are now working on beautifying the environment with details.

Here’s what our art director, Mette, considers in the set dressing process:

“What I always try to convey is a sense that someone actually lived there—the plants, baskets, chairs or crates are placed where they are because people either had an intention with them, or they were on their way from A to B and life just happened.

I like to think that people in the 1st century also tried to make their surroundings look homey and nice, not just functional. Some flowers on the front porch, a chair to sit outside and greet people, etc.

And then there’s all the misplaced stuff—things that were just left in an alley way or backyard or along the road and no one picked it up, but it adds to the feeling of life happening. Tiny little stories.

I try to make unique looks, so even though I may reuse the same 100 or so assets, I try to combine them and make them feel used differently by different people.”

And here are some examples of assets being placed out in the Capernaum world.

The unique characters featured in our vertical slice are coming to life. This is where all of our earlier research into 1st century clothing pays off, as it informs the way we model and express each character’s personality.

When you find yourself stuck in a different realm through time travel, what do you do? Learn to survive, of course!

With that in mind, our game designers have been developing systems such as tool crafting using gathered resources, as well as light survival mechanics reflecting the realities of 1st century life—including the need for food, water and shelter.

Bringing a historically immersive game world to life takes a lot of thoughtful detail.

This past month, our writers have been hard at work crafting custom dialogue barks—short one-way statements delivered by Non-Player Characters (NPCs) to add depth and authenticity to the world.

We’ve now created around 650 custom dialogue barks, which will be voiced by a wide range of characters—from Roman soldiers and guards to ordinary Capernaum residents including pedestrians, synagogue attendees, market traders and shoppers.

This is what game writer, Steve, had to say about the process:

“For the world to sound as natural and authentic as possible, there has to be a wide variety of ages and backgrounds, and in some cases the NPCs have their own backstory. We want the player to get familiar with characters who live in Capernaum.

The city was small, around 1,500 inhabitants, and no more than the size of a large, modern-day school, so it’s quite possible most inhabitants knew one another. Although an NPC may be ‘just’ a market trader now, he or she may play a more important role later in the story.”

We’ve been refining various rigs and animations, with a focus on traversal movements like climbing, sliding, and dodging.

In addition, we’re building a wide range of overlay states—such as holding different items—all set up in a modular system. This allows any character to use the same items seamlessly, with animations that automatically adapt to each one.

Did you know that Gate Zero has a Bible reading plan[bible.us] on the Youversion Bible App that’s translated into 19 languages?

Help us continue creating life-changing Bible experiences for the next generation.