Attacking the Tower

**Attacking the Tower** is a fangame in the Henry Stickmin series, started by Kejayco and in development by Strobe Interactive, though is currently on hiatus. The game is set after the events of Stealing the Diamond and before the events of Infiltrating the Airship, and is also known as **Episode 2.5**. It will feature Henry Stickmin confronting a criminal organisation known as the Tower Gang, a group of thieves second only to the Toppat Clan, after they steal his Tunisian Diamond. The game serves as a faithful, non-canon love letter to the series. Like other fangames, it is not an endorsed, produced, or official part of the series.

Attacking the Tower is being made in Adobe Animate and will be playable on Newgrounds and available for download on GameJolt. Though originally slated for release in 2022 (which was moved from an original launch date of Late 2021), this deadline is blurred by the scope of the project. On October 6th 2022, it was announced Strobe Interactive were taking a break from the project due to creative differences, the scope of the project and workflow, and for personal commitments and mental health reasons.

Although still in development, Attacking the Tower is one of the most notable fangames, with the game's trailer becoming one of the most viewed Henry Stickmin videos of 2021, with over a million and a half views, later surpassing 3 million views as of 2023. While the developers are grateful for the success of the trailer, they stated that the overwhelming sense of anticipation for the game as a result of the trailer had overhyped the Henry Stickmin community and over-stressed the developers.

## Plot

Set after the events of Stealing the Diamond, Henry Stickmin returns home on his scooter after shopping for groceries, only to find that his house has been destroyed and his Tunisian diamond stolen by the Tower Gang, a group of thieves second only to the Toppat Clan. Seeking revenge, Henry accepts a challenge from the Tower Gang's leader - the Towerhead, to take them down himself.

## Characters

* Henry Stickmin
* The Towerhead
* The Lieutenant
* Clint Atkinson
* Blue Headphoned Tower Gang Member
* Tower Gang Member
* Tower Gang Control Operator

## Development Team

* Kejayco
* Arguswastaken
* Dungeonation
* BioPlant
* Tomás Ferrer
* LegoBoy

## Development

### Early development

On January 16th, 2020, the Henry Stickmin Wiki was vandalized by Phuminhthienan2010, who added misinformation referring to a sequel for Completing the Mission, being "Attacking the Tower". The page he created depicted the following information:

* "Hop In(The Inivite ending)
* Henry jump onto the roof, who spotted by Mr. Tree, Henry needs to do this quickly before he crash into one of two guards
	+ Do nothing: (fail) Henry crashes into Mr. Tree. *Message: do quickly, pls*
	+ Jump: (fail) Henry jumps over Mr. Tree but Henry just ran into Mrs. Pillow, freeze Henry over the Warp Zone. *Message: pitpitpitpit...wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!*
	+ Eject: Henry tackles over Mr. Tree, Mr. Tree comfused like a prison guard holding a shotgun.
	+ Dodge: (fail) Henry dodges but he is only the way to crash into a Pzzpts Room. *Message:* 😣*thats very angry of me!*

* Henry just go to a hole"

Two days later, the "Attacking the Tower" page was deleted by ThatMinecrafterDJ, who was a wiki administrator at the time. Shortly after it became a small little meme within the Innersloth Discord server's Henry Stickmin channel, where fans would be a joke about it being a real Henry Stickmin game.

On April 13th, 2020, Kejayco grouped some friends together to make a "small" fangame based on this joke. A group chat on Discord was created, with Tomás Ferrer and LegoBoy joining the team. It was originally intended to be a small project with only around 24 fails, made in an effort to kill time while waiting for The Henry Stickmin Collection. The Strobe Interactive team settled on it chronologically beginning between *Stealing the Diamond* and *Infiltrating the Airship*.

### Scope growing in size and trailer release

As release of the Henry Stickmin Collection drew closer, the scope of the fangame also grew in size. In early-mid August 2020, after the release of the Collection, Arguswastaken joined the team to help with art, and Dungeonation also joined to help with voice acting, programming, and music. What was originally intended to be a small project has grown to a supposedly larger-sized game, with the art style changing to reflect that of Completing the Mission rather than the original legacy games' art styles. The Step Back button was removed in favor of the Map feature, and collectable bios were in development.

In August 2021, the Strobe Interactive team released the trailer for *Attacking the Tower*, which gained significant attention from the Henry Stickmin community and went viral, becoming one of the most viewed Henry Stickmin videos of 2021 with over a million and a half views, and later surpassed over 3 million views as of 2023. While the developers are grateful for the success of the trailer, they stated the overwhelming sense of anticipation for the game as a result of the trailer had overhyped the Henry Stickmin community and over-stressed the developers. On October 10th, BioPlant (creator of the fangames Surviving the Snowstorm and Hunting the Felons) also joined the team. Though originally slated for release in 2022 (which was moved from an original launch date of Late 2021), this deadline is blurred by the scope of the project.

In April 2022, an April Fools Day video was released by Strobe Interactive, depicting the teaser trailer for *Attacking the Tower* in the style of Henry Stickmin Devolved.

### Hiatus

On October 6th 2022, Strobe interactive released a new video, the future of Attacking the Tower, which featured Kejayco and Argus discussing some issues (creative differences, the scope of the project and workflow, personal commitments and mental health) the team has been experiencing while developing Attacking the Tower, announcing they and the other members of the development team were taking a break from the project as a result of these issues. The video ended with a teaser depicting the character Clint Atkinson.

## Reception

In August 2021, PuffballsUnited showed his support for the game after watching the game's trailer. He stated to Strobe Interactive that he was avoiding content until the game's release, so he could play the game blind. The Innersloth YouTube channel commented "LOOKS SOOO GOOD!" on the game's trailer.

YouTuber Two Left Thumbs, who made several Henry Stickmin videos throughout 2020 and 2021, called the trailer "excellent", and stated it had "top tier animation throughout". He also said that the game looks "totally in line with the series" and up to the standards of Completing the Mission, and also praised the game's music. He and most commenters stated that the game looks like a genuine game in the series.

Following the trailer's release, the background of the Henry Stickmin subreddit was changed to the promotional picture for Attacking the Tower. The trailer also inspired fanart. A picture of a leek with Henry's smirking face from Cleaned 'em Out photoshopped onto it was jokingly posted on the subreddit and Strobe Discord server as an "Attacking the Tower Leek", a deliberate joke on leaking the game. Following the October 2022 announcement that the development team were taking a break, Two Left Thumbs said he understood the decision and wished the developers well.

## Videos

Attacking the Tower - Official Gameplay TrailerGame Teaser TrailerAttacking the Tower - End of 2021 UpdateEnd Of 2021 UpdateThe Future of Attacking the TowerThe Future of Attacking the Tower

## Trivia

* None of the events that transpire in this game are based on events that have occurred in real life. Any apparent relations between Attacking the Tower and real events or locations are purely coincidental and not intentional by the Strobe Interactive team.
* The Tower Gang started as a subdivision of the Toppat Clan, until the developers decided against any interaction with the Toppats before Infiltrating the Airship, hence branching it off as an individual organization.
* As depicted in a legacy loading screen, the game was to be set in a facility vaguely resembling a desert airbase, and would prominently feature its air traffic control tower as the titular structure.
* The stinger for the 2021 Trailer features a building for the Center for Chaos Containment. The organization has been featured in games in the past, but mainly as side characters. Its appearance in the trailer suggests the organization may have a bigger role than usual to play in this game.
* Many items are taken from "Completing The Mission", causing some unintended retcons.

## References

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ https://strobeinteractive.itch.io/attackingthetower