For the premise exercise this week we were asked to write premises that would be suited to interactive works. The premise that I contributed to the channel was “A game where you play as a witch / herbalist, and the goal of the game is to gather ingredients and create potions and charms for your neighbours to help them with problems that they are having “
I was specifically thinking about the genre of farm life simulator games, and the concept of ‘wholesome games’ more generally (an excerpt from an article about wholesome games from The Lifted Brow can be read online here). I wanted to develop the concept for a game that combines the gentle, relaxing mood of this style of game, and the common themes of belonging to a community and connecting with the natural world, with an urban fantasy narrative. I thought the player playing as a witch, who uses their magic to better their community, would be a fun approach to this.
As is custom, I began to mind map out the concept to develop it further (viewable online here). I thought through the gameplay mechanics, such as character movement, inventory, mission logs, and the spell casting system. I also expanded on the world, thinking about the passage of time, the variety of locations that would be explorable, and the types of characters who would appear as NPC’s for the player to interact with, along with proposing some potential missions / objectives that could relate to these NPC’s.
The concept for this week’s exercise is really focused on the idea of community, and about how connecting with and supporting members of your community is essential for having a positive impact on the world. I think this is a theme that is well suited to being explored in a game such as this, because of the ability for the player to quickly and tangibly have an effect on the game world. By helping the other characters solve their problems and to come together, the physical state of the world is changed, from run down and in disrepair to prosperous and beautiful.
I had a lot of different inspirations for this week’s exercise, as I’m a big fan of farming life simulator games, and of ‘wholesome’ games more generally, as I enjoy their relaxing pace, and the bright, playful aesthetics that are often associated with them. Major inspirations include Stardew Valley, Spiritfarer, and Mutazione.
Stardew Valley is a farming life simulator game developed by Eric Barone, and released in 2016 (trailer viewable here). In it the player plays as a character who inherits a block of land from their grandfather, and so they moved to a small town to begin a new life as a farmer. On top of restoring the farm, the player interacts with the townsfolk and becomes a part of the local community.
Spiritfarer is a platforming adventure / management sim game developed by Thunder Lotus Studios, and released in 2020 (trailer viewable here). The player plays as Stella, the newly appointed Spiritfarer, taking over from the mythical figure of Charon as the one who guides spirits to the afterlife. The gameplay involves sailing across a vast ocean, finding the spirits of the dead, keeping them fed and happy, and completing quests that help them come to terms with their death, before leading them to the Everdoor, where the spirits depart to the afterlife.|
Mutazione is an ‘mutant soap opera’ adventure game, developed by Die Gute Fabrik, and released in 2019 (trailer viewable here). The player controls Kai, a teenage girl who travels to the island of Mutazione to help look after her estranged grandfather as he nears the end of his life. On the island they are introduced to its residents, all of whom have developed a series of mutations, due to a cataclysm that occurred on the island in decades past. Over the span of a few days, the player spends time exploring the island and getting to know the residents, as well as taking over her grandfather’s role in the community as a shaman, and tending to the community gardens that dot the town.
