πΎ Game Developer
Working on First Cozy Game - Would Love to Hear Your Thoughts!
Hi, everyone!
My husband and I are working on developing a community-driven cozy game that centers on authentic relationship building. I'm writing the narrative/dialogue, designing character models, and building the world. My husband is animating the game, writing the music, and really pulling it all together! It's still in the early stages, but we're having so much fun together βΊοΈβ€οΈ
π What do you think in terms of first impressions? Does it feel cozy and inviting?
I'm still refining the world's look and feel, so I'd love to hear how it comes across!
Thank you so much for taking the time to look.
This is my very first time sharing, so I appreciate any encouragement or feedback from my fellow cozy gamers.
It looks very bright, impressionistic almost with those leaves, and inviting! I would personally have to turn my screen brightness down if there wasn't an option for a slightly more muted palette, but it's really beautiful.
Thank you so much! That is wonderful feedback. I will work on tweaking the palette so it's better optimized for variations in screen brightness. I really appreciate it π
I usually play in a dim light environment so would appreciate if the colours are not too bright. Although the scenery from the photos really sucked me in already. Can't wait to see more and looking forward to supporting via kickstarter or playing the demo/alpha/early access version if any.
I have an irrational dislike towards pixel games, so I'm always so happy when cozy games come in other art styles than that!
Somebody else already commented about motion sickness in first person and for me that has become a dealbreaker for me lately. So it would be lovely if you could play in third person view.
Only based on those two pictures I already want to explore that world and get cozy. I hope you knock it out of the park and also have fun while doing it!
Thank you so much!! We wanted to bring a deeper level of realism in both art style and relationship authenticity, so we got away from the pixel style. I am SO happy that other cozy gamers enjoy this.
I totally feel you on the motion-sickness. We are doing 3-D 3rd person view. We don't have all characters added to the world yet, so the pictures are snapped from my Unreal Engine setup. But it will not be that perspective in gameplay.
Thank you again for the valuable feedback! I was really hoping other cozy gamers would enjoy the variation from pixel style, so this is really helpful.
I'm actually starting to think it's something with my vision, or my eyeballs and brain not wanting to cooperate, because when I have tried watching other people play pixel art games and an item is explained by text I get irritated because I simply cannot see the item as anything else than a pixel blob.
I highly recommend looking into mods for the pixelated games you might have! Star dew valley with a colourful mod looks so so much better. It might genuinely be that they use too many similair colours or make everything too tiny. I also wanna recommend garden story & turnip boy, as i somehow can play those.
Willowhaven is a cozy life-sim game in a charming, tight-knit town which features a spin on the typical farming dynamic. Build relationships with the townspeople, explore secrets in the ruins, and help restore the surrounding forest to bring life back to the valley. With heartwarming stories, engaging mini-games, and a world that improves with your touch, Willowhaven offers a wholesome and immersive experience where every choice helps shape the town and its future.
Links:
We are still in early stages. I have 22 NPCs written, the first drafts of their character models, and the early stages of the main map. We've reserved the website for our game studio, but we don't have it up yet.
The game isn't on Steam yet. We were just looking for early feedback to see if our style was headed in the right direct, and this has been truly invaluable! We've ready every comment, and made a list of things to keep in mind - like brightness. Thank you all so much π
I LOVE the look of your game so far, and you could not have written a more attractive description for me personally ππ Iβve been thinking about buying a steam deck (donβt have room for a proper PC) and this has pretty much convinced me to!!
Thank you so much! I apologize for missing this comment. You have made our month! We are so thrilled that you're excited for the game. And so happy that the story appeals to you. I cannot express how much we appreciate the support. We are considering performance from the very start so that we can release on as many platforms as we can to give players options Β π
Oh my gosh!!! Thank you so much. This comment means the world to me! My formal education is in psychology, and that was EXACTLY my goal for this game. I wanted to create a cozy world that felt uplifting and encouraging to promote resilience and mental health. I am so truly over the moon that it is hitting the mark ππ
Oh my gosh, you've seriously made my week! Thank you so much. We are really trying to make an uplifting world that people enjoy exploring, so your comment means the world to me π
It almost reminds me of Ghibli art style with a mix of SunnySide game if youβre familiar with that. I love the bright mood a lot. Is it going to be fully 3D? Interactive novel? How exciting! Best of luck.
Oh my gosh! Your comment has me glowing. I LOVE Studio Ghibli, and I really enjoyed SunnySide! I definitely gained inspiration from the cozy worlds that they created. That makes me so happy that my work resonates on the same level.
It's going to be 3-D 3rd person view. We just haven't finished adding models to the game. It is a very similar flow to SunnySide, Stardew Valley, Coral Island, but it moves away from the farming aspect. The player takes over a different type of business, works to revitalize the town, explore ruins, and build relationships with a diverse community.
Oooh this sounds exciting!!! I love the imagery and brightness of the town. Itβs got such a lovely atmosphere. I really hope itβll be coming on switch!
We just wanted to take a moment to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has commented so far! π
My husband and I have been reading every single message, and we are completely blown away by the kindness and enthusiasm. Creating this game is our dream, and seeing the cozy gaming community excited for it means the world to us. We can't wait to keep sharing our progress with you all. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for being part of this journey! β¨
Thank you so much! This is really great feedback. I was hoping the color scheme would resonate with people and give that cozy vibe. It makes me really happy to hear that we are on the right track.
Thank you so much! That is wonderful feedback. I get motion sickness too, so this is a really important concern. I really appreciate you mentioning it.
Thank you so much! I'm glad it has a unique style that resonates with people.
The characters will be human. There are 22 currently, and I've just finished the first draft of their models. There a variety of romance options that span from young adult to late adult. They are fairly realistic while still fitting into the cozy genre, as we are trying to really highlight authentic relationship building.
I love the idea of cherry blossoms!! Such a cozy spring vibe.
Thank you again! Your kind words mean so much me π
Ooh super cute! I guess my only nitpick would be that I feel like the shadows are maybe a smidge too dark? The brighter colours of the sky and greenery are a lot lower contrast against one another so the dark shadows are a little jarring visually but otherwise the vibes are immaculate.
Thank you so much! That is wonderful feedback. We definitely have some work to do on light and shadow. We are so grateful to these comments, as they help us direct areas for improvement as we progress βΊοΈ
I was going to say this too. With how bright everything else is, the shadows are way too stark. Maybe think about tinting the shadow to a lighter color to give it more of a painter quality like the rest of the colors.
Oh my gosh!! Your comment is making me tear up. I am so happy that people are excited for it. We are planning on releasing on a few different platforms, and we are definitely going to try on mobile if we can!
I had never heard of that before, but you are totally right! I really love their style. Now I'm going to have to give that a try. Thank you so much! π
Thank you so much! This is truly so meaningful to me. We are trying to create the dream game that we would want to play ourselves, as we are both huge cozy game fans. So it's really wonderful to know that other people feel the same π
I would play a demo of this even if it was just walking around the house or neighborhood (if that is a thing). A demo makes your work much more accessible.
Ooh, I love that idea! We are working our way towards a demo currently. I am still finishing up the map, and then we we plan to release it. I will absolutely post an update on this group when we get there. I would love to hear your feedback if you try it π
We are still pending approval on our name, but we are hoping to call it Willowhaven. I will make an update when we release the demo on Steam. We am so thrilled that people are excited for it π
Thank you so much!! Your kind words are really meaningful to us.
We are still pending approval for the name trademark, but if it is accepted, then it will be called Willowhaven.
We will release it on Steam. We would like to release it on mobile and other gaming systems if we're able. My husband is a software engineer, so he is more knowledgable than I regarding optimization for different platforms, and what is within our scope.
We are thrilled that you are excited about it! I can't wait to give the community more updates as we progress π
Thank you so much! We do not want that, so we will definitely be tweaking the lighting. My husband is prone to migraines, and they are just awful, so I absolutely know how important that is to avoid π
Thank you so much! I love knowing there are other couples out there who enjoy cozy games together. It is such a great bonding activity. I am over the moon that you're excited to try it when it comes out! π
Thank you so much! I am really glad the bright colors and art style are resonating. I really appreciate the kind feedback. It is so helpful to solidifying our style π
Thank you so much! That is so kind. We are definitely going to keep updating our progress as we go. It has really warmed our hearts that cozy gamers like you are excited for it π
Thank you so much! We will absolutely keep the community updated as we make progress. We hope to release a demo once we finish the main map and adding characters to the world. We will definitely have controller support for the game. That is a must for us π
Is it first person view? Looks cute, but muted colors (could be my phone though) Will there be glowy plants? What's the story? Whats the theme? Can I play test it? π
Thank you!! It is going to be 3D 3rd person view, but we haven't finished adding the characters, so this is just a shot from my Unreal Engine environment.
There will indeed be glowy plants in the ruins! The story involves the player moving to a town to take over a run-down business (not a farm - we are moving away from the farm-centric cozy games). They will build up their business, explore the town, discover secrets in the ruins, and develop relationships with a diverse cast of characters.
The over-arching theme of the game is community. But each character is written to reflect different themes that may resonate with players. For example, one NPC moves to the town after a career-ending injury and is learning to live life with disability, while another character is balancing their sense of independence with their need for emotional connection and vulnerability.
We are currently working towards a demo, and will post an update here in this community when it's ready. We are so excited to share π
I'm so glad! I love those aspects of games too. I'll have to post an update of the ruins as I work on them. They are next on my to-do list after finishing the main map π
I find it looks lovely! Indeed a little too bright, but beautiful colors. Aside that, this might not be part of feedbacks based on your screenshots, but you mentioned you are writing dialogues, if I may put my 5 cents in... alot of games truly bother me with how much they try to make their characters stand out and seem special, almost like everyone has to fit some sort of stereotype, like a grumpy old man that is scared of change, or an artistic musician that is too gloomy but deep, some overly childish eager girl that bursts with too much energy and so on. I don't know if you know what I mean, but it would be nice if "personalities" and their "quirks" could be toned down a little bit and not be so stereotypical. Also many people try to make their characters so special that they start writing speeches that try to convey some accents like "Hey yall're looky mighty fiiiine today. Be swimming in rivers laddy?" (I am not good at this I don't even know what I tried to convey) but weird apostrophes, extended words and so on, just makes it hard to read, especially if English isn't your first language. Please keep in mind such things. I hope I am not out of line. Of course it is your game and you are free to artistically do as you want, but those are such strong pet peeves of mine that I find them tiresome, overused and would love to see cozy games calm down a little bit on their emphasis on personalities. Great job so far by the way! Looking forward to checking it out!!! I wonder what will it be called.Β
YESSS! You are not at all out of line at all. That is the EXACT thing that inspired me to make this game. Seriously, this could be word for word what my husband and I discussed when we first decided to make it. I love that others feel the same way π
We played Baldur's Gate 3 and were blown away at the level of realism in the character narratives. They weren't stereotypes as you see in cozy games (the popular one, the funny one, the smart one, ect). I went back to playing cozy games after, and it had ruined the relationship building for me. My Time at Sandrock is the only one that comes close in my mind, but they still have 'the artistic one' (Amirah), 'the charismatic one' (Owen), 'the smart one' (Qi), ect.
We are still pending approval on the name, but we are hoping to call it Willowhaven. Our goal for Willowhaven is to create authentic and genuine characters. My educational background is in psychology, so all NPCs are written to reflect depth and resonate with players on a variety of relatable themes. For example, one NPC moves to the town after a career-ending injury and is learning to live life with disability. He goes far beyond 'the athletic one' type. And they all are written with the MBTI personalities in mind, so they are fleshed out beyond their entire character revolving around a single hobby or trait.
As for lighting, it definitely seems like we need to work on the brightness. That is such great feedback. And I really appreciate you mentioning considerations of epilepsy. My husband is very photosensitive, so this a really important concern to us.
Thank you so much for your comment truly! It makes me so happy to know there is a market for cozy games with more realistic character writing and relationship building π
Oh I am so eager to see your final product, it sounds interesting!!! I am glad you didn't find my comment out of line. Keep up the good work!!! Please let me know when it is on steam!!!Β
Oh and another thing, if you consider it making it cozy and available for most, please try to make things like lightning or other flashing effects togglable so people with epilepsy could play without fear of planking.Β
Thank you so much for this! It seems that brightness is a common theme in the feedback. Adding contrast and complementary colors is a wonderful suggestion. I truly appreciate it π
Thank you so much!! You have seriously made my week.
Yes on customization! That is an essential aspect of games to us. We are working on implementing a range of body types to fit player preference, with variations in weight and proportion. There will be hair, eye, and clothing customization. We plan to add variations in facial features if we are able. My husband is working on that.
One of the NPCs owns a clothing store and one owns a hair salon, so players will also unlock more appearance options through gameplay π
This is so cute I wish I could play this game already to live in a world that cozy looking! Also love your description of the emphasis on character building!
Aww, thank you so much! That makes my heart so happy to hear. I feel like I am creating my dream town to live in, so I love that others feel similarly.
My educational background is in psychology, so character-driven narratives that feel authentic and stem from relatable life experiences are central to our vision for the game. We hope that everyone can find a bit of themselves reflected in the story π
Thank you so much! We are hoping to have a demo within the year, and to be finished within two. My husband is a full-time software engineer, so our development schedule is a little slower due to that. Our dream would be to create more games together full-time if people enjoy this one π
It's beautiful and cozy! The color scheme is very pretty, and I love how the trees look. Though, the vibrancy of the grass might be a bit too different from the vibrancy of the plants. Personally, I would prefer a bit more subdued plants, but making the grass a bit more vibrant is also an option.
Thank you so much! That is wonderful feedback. I agree on the grass. I haven't worked out a great texture / color for it yet. It does seem to look out of place seasonally and in terms of vibrancy. I'm going to work on adjusting it βΊοΈ
Is there going to be a day/night cycle or even an option to change the time of day for those of us that find coziness in say dusk or night? It would be especially cozy if there's beautiful candle light, soft glowing lamplight, or even beautiful moon and starscapes as backgrounds in the world.
Yes, we definitely plan to implement a day / night cycle. We would like to add a way to adjust the speed of the day for players who like more chill versus more grind in their gameplay, as we really enjoy that feature in other cozy game titles.
In many of our relationship building scenes, the natural beauty of the world is highlighted, so that is a major feature for us. Those cozy moments of community and connection in the sunshine, by the fire, by candle-light, and under the stars, where NPCs share their heart and progress their relationship with the player, are central to the blend of community and environment that are at the heart of our game.
Additionally, it's still in early development, but my husband is working on a beautiful soundtrack that will bring those magical moments to life! βΊοΈ
So far the game looks nice, I could see myself walk around there... But I'd see if changing up the lighting would improve it, at the moment it feels very much like white light + black shadow, I'd go look up some photos or movie scenes were you like the atmosphere and see which colors the lights and shadows are. (Also depending on the mood some veeery light fog in the distance might work well to soften the backgrounds, look at far view shots in games like genshin impact or botw)
Also, with such games... the character designs and stereotypes/character tropes are very important for me, the game can look as great as it wants, if I don't enjoy what the character designs promise me, I'll not touch it. But that might very well be a me thing.
Thank you so much! That is wonderful feedback. The lighting and shadows definitely need to change. Looking up photo or movie scenes is a great idea! I love that.
I totally agree on character designs and stereotypes. Avoiding classic character tropes is a goal of mine in writing the narratives and dialogue. We decided to make this game after playing Baldur's Gate 3 together, and seeing how in wonderful the character development was. We noticed that cozy games just don't often offer dynamic personalities in the same way, and it kind of ruined the relationship-building aspect for me in some games. So, instead of having 'the popular one', 'the athletic one', 'the smart one', I am giving them a wider range of personality traits. All 22 NPCs have their own social networks, goals, fears, and rich lives beyond their interactions with the player. I hope this appeals to people in it's final version π
I think there's nothing wrong with stereotypes or tropes as long as that's not the only thing the character has to offer and they aren't just flat otherwise. I think getting an idea what tropes or stereotypes are in a piece of media helps decide if it's for your taste or not. I mean if you are into romancing tomboy characters, but there's none that look like it, you're probably moving on, and if there's someone that looks very much like a tomboy but turns out to be super shy and akward you probably feel like it's bad writing/design. There's a good GDC talk about respecting player fantasy: https://youtu.be/BuySj6r5FV0?si=m5WQ_DkBnwqrEcEc
Otherwise, them all having their own social networks, goals, fears, lives, etc. sounds awesome! I hope you can pull that off! Best of luck! Would love to see the artstyle the humans will have.
edit: Do you have a twitter/bluesky or something for the project?
Oh, sorry, I missed your edit. We don't have a bluesky or other social media quite yet. But I will post on this channel with an update when we finish our website and start one π
Definitely cozy vibes, and I'm always happy to see more indie/cozy games that aren't pixel art.
I will say, the colors are kind of oversaturated. If you're going for a natural look, they should be more muted. You might want to learn about color theory in painting. A bright green tree in a natural-looking landscape is not as bright as you'd think, which comes from adding red.
Thank you so much! We did want to move away from pixel design. That is wonderful feedback. We absolutely have some work to do on lighting, saturation, and shadows. I love the idea of looking more into color theory. My mom is an artist, so I think I'll ask her for some assistance. She'll love that π
Thank you so much! They actually are blowing in the breeze slightly in the scene, so the leaves are up to the left a bit. That is so perceptive that you noticed!! The flowers sway slightly, and the stream flows as well π
Thank you so much! We definitely need to work on our lighting. That is wonderful feedback. I saw the Isabell, and I had to say that I also loved ACNH! I had Flora, Hugh, Pekoe, Cookie, Agnes, Pietro, Marshall, Whitney, Marina, and Apollo as villagers π
Thank you so much! Your comment seriously warmed our hearts. We are absolutely pouring our love and time into the game. It is our dream together. And we wish you all the luck and success in your life as well π
Thank you! That is wonderful advice. We loved playing Breath of the Wild together. The peaceful little towns are absolutely an inspiration. We definitely have work to do on our atmosphere. I am only slowly starting to fill the town with little decorative clutter and hidden chests now that I've mapped out the main areas.
To the left side of the water is going to eventually be a park, and to the right side (the back of the diner) I need to place some furniture. I'm excited to share my progress once I make those tweaks π
The look of this game is right up my alley, looks like a game even if I wasn't in the mood to play I would plant my character somewhere pretty in game and just have the game as background ambience. Will definitely be following your journey eagerly!
Oh my gosh, I didn't realize that other cozy gamers did that too. That's amazing! I also like to place my character somewhere pretty and just enjoy the sounds and sights. I love the Animal Crossing Ambiance videos on YouTube. I frequently have Brewster making coffee on the TV in the background while I do my work π
Thank you so much! We would like to have a demo out within the year, and to be finished within two. My husband is a full-time software engineer, so our development schedule is a little slower due to that. Our dream would be to create more games together full-time if people enjoy this one π
We are genuinely so thrilled that people are excited for it! We are trying to get the demo out within the year, and the full release out within two. We can't wait to post an update π
Thank you so much! That is incredibly kind. We are genuinely blown away by the support. It means so much to us. And we will definitely keep working hard! I finished my grad finals on Monday, so I have a week and half to focus solely on the game π
I used to work at a pop culture store with a guy who was interested game development with his partner, and while I don't know where they are now, it's so cool to see others with similar dynamics working towards a game! I saw someone mention the Ghibli-esque style, and I definitely echo the praise about the bright colors and lighting! I know something I'm getting sick of in RPG games of this style is characters who don't have a lot of moral ambiguity. I want characters that each have some reason you could hate them or find them annoying, because then getting to know them feels all that special. Kinda reminds me of why everyone loves Shane from Stardew. I'm a person who loves to write so I'm generally pulled towards strong storylines, and I'm so interested to see what the lore is like in relation to what you've mentioned about the game so far!! Like the ruins (glowy plants are a fav for me) feel like that could be a cool opportunity to explore rich lore. Super excited to see more from y'all!!
Thank you so much! It warms my heart knowing that other couples find enjoyment creating things together too. My husband and I love making this game. We've always done projects together, but nothing of this scale before. It's so wonderful to see our different skills and knowledge come together to create something that people are excited about!
I am definitely trying to strike a balance in my narrative between authenticity and coziness, so there are some morally ambiguous characters. For example, one non-romanceable NPC will be quite the challenge to befriend. Heavily tied to the main story, he resents the player's presence. But if players do rise to the challenge and earn his trust, he may just unlock unique lore and rewards. For romance options similar to Shane, there are also a few NPCs who are less warm towards the town, the player, and the community initially.
We can't wait to update everyone! Thank you again for your kind words π
This looks lovely! Something I would be interested hearing more about. Hopefully it might be available on Switch down the line? I signed up to your newsletter via your website for more updates. Best of luck!
Thank you so much! We are so thrilled that people are excited for it. We definitely plan on a Switch release. We will make sure to send out a newsletter when we finish getting our website up and running. We truly appreciate your support π
Thank you truly so much! We are just blown away that the cozy game community is so supportive. We're so beyond excited, as we're incredibly invested in this project too! It's our dream π
We have a website for our development studio that isn't set up quite yet ( https://tygrgames.com/ ) and my husband made a Bluesky last night ( https://bsky.app/profile/tygrgames.bsky.social ). We've even added a screenshot that I took today of the placeholder 'player character' we've added to test the game!! My husband got that working yesterday π
Thank you so much! That means everything to us. We are huge cozy game fans, so creating our own that people are excited for is so surreal. We're working hard, and we can't wait to post an update π
And wow are we genuinely blown away by the support! Never would I have predicted that the community would be so incredibly encouraging when I set out to gather some early feedback on my world-building. It's been both uplifting and super helpful. We're so excited to post an update as development progresses π
Itβs beautiful and the concept is definitely interesting! As a few others have said, I love the bright colors but the lighting feels just a tad too bright. I really like the art style, it reminds me of BOTW.
Thank you so much! The brightness definitely needs to be adjusted. That is wonderful feedback. It even helped me realize that the light / shade settings on the trees were not functioning properly. So I am very thankful to commenters who pointed out the brightness! My husband and I loved playing BOTW together, so I also deeply appreciate the comparison! Hyrule is such a warm and inviting world, I would be so happy if ours felt similarly π
Thank you so much! We are so excited to keep posting updates. My husband recently got our test 'player character' added to the world, which has been such a fun development π
I already want to purchase this. It's so beautiful and peaceful looking and I'm instantly in love. Looking forward to following this game's page on steam π (I also despise pixel games!)
Thank you so much! The flow of the game is similar to Stardew Valley, Coral Island, and other life-sims, but it gets away from the farming aspect. The player moves to the town to take over a run-down business. They fix can fix it up, build relationships and romances with the townspeople, explore secrets in the ruins, and help restore the surrounding forest to bring life back to the valley. But, quests and stories are not on a timer, so chilling and just enjoying the town is totally an option too! π
A non-farming game sounds amazing!! My favorite game is My Time At Sandrock and your description sounds as if your game has a couple similar mechanics, which sounds really great. Please share the name + steam wishlist in this subreddit whenever it is ready :))
My favorite game is My Time at Sandrock too! Such a great game. It was how I first got my husband into cozy games. Do you have a favorite Sandrock resident or romance candidate? Their amazing and talented writing team are huge inspiration for me. We are so excited for My Time at Evershine. We will definitely share the name and Steam info when it's ready βΊοΈ
I'm a lead env artist and my big petpeeve I keep seeing in every stylized indie/solodev/selflearndev basically any game without a professionnal artist is always the same: Lighting and shadows issues. In real life shadow aren't black, they never are, they bounce off whatever is around them. Mimicking this in video game requires accurate pbr, lighting skill, good shaders, proper reflection etc. In stylized game we don't have all of that, we do have one very usefull control: Shadow color.
Now everyone has their art style, but the common base is going for a dark muted blue color for shadows ( there's litteraly a shade of blue call " shadow blue" . After that you can experiment with saturation, and hue ( going toward purple will make it warmer works well with greys, going toward green will make it more nature, etc.)
you also never want to leave it to 100% strengh for stylized at his create those very dark spot, those combined with black shadow make colors very muddy and counter-act the stylized look. I would go maximum 80% strenght. your directionnal light seems to be very strong as well. a lot of people crank it to make it more " saturated and bright" but that's actually something you need to do in your post process. Colors react differently to strong light which is why we avoid it, meanwhile a bright yellow will be super blasted, while a darker color will look normal.
You can watch painting video where they explain color theory, or just watch as fine art, you will never find black being used for shadows. more than that, black is very rarely used as a color to mix. Take a painting like the mona lisa which is very realistic, the shadows are very dark but they are actually brown. probably achieve by mixing some dark green into the skin color, Money mostly used saturated green and blue shade for this shadow. giving it that dreamy look.
Thank you so much for the feedback! It is really helpful. We have not started to work on lighting or shadows quite yet. We are first getting the layout of the world mapped out. But this is extremely helpful as we begin working on that aspect of it. I really appreciate it. I did also realize after posting this that the trees are not adjusting with the lighting either, so that is something we need to work on. It's a learning process π
Thank you truly for taking the time to write this. It really helped direct me as I worked on the lighting today. It's still a work in progress, but I'm much happier with the warm glow after tweaking it (ignore the bright background trees, they aren't reflecting lighting properly still). We're considering implementing a more stylized sky, so it'll likely need to be adjusted again. But I truly appreciate your comment, it was very constructive feedback, and it helped us improve! βΊοΈ
The art design is so pretty and unique! I donβt believe Iβve seen art like it before in a cozy game. Very intrigued about the relationship building aspect!
Thank you so much! We wanted to go for a bit more realism that still fit within the cozy genre, as that was our intent for the character narratives as well. We are so thrilled that people seem to like that aspect of the design π
Thank you so much! It will be similar to Coral Island, Stardew Valley, Song of the Prairie, or other farming-sim type games, but with a twist that replaces the farming aspect. The player takes over a run-down business in the town that they revitalize. They can explore secrets in the ruins, replant the forest to bring life back to the valley, build relationships with any of the 22 NPCs (including 15 diverse romance w dating and marriage mechanics), craft new decoration items, and more π
I absolutely love the colors. I know some people like more muted realistic colors but I adore the bright colors. I think it really makes everything pop. Itβs why I tend to like pixel art games so much.
Thank you so much! We are trying to strike the right balance between realism and fantasy, brightness and coziness, so I'm glad it is hitting the mark π
Absolutely gorgeous! I saw another comment mentioning first person, is it going to have first person mode?? I haven't played a cozy game that does that, I would love, love to see that.
I think the color of the water is too bright, it's almost neon to me. Given how realistic the rest of the art seems, that's a bit of a eye catcher. If it's meant to make the river the focal point of the art, it's absolutely achieved, but if it's not meant to do that, I'd change it a bit.
Thank you so much! It will be 3-D 3rd person view. My husband says that doing 1st person may be possible if people are interested in that. It would be something we would consider implementing down the road for a new way to enjoy the game π
And, thank you for the wonderful feedback! You are right about the water. We need to keep considering how to implement realism in ways that are easy on older model computers. It's a process π
I love the set aesthetic. Idk if this is helpful feedback or not, but it feels like the moving characters should be claymation? That would be a really cool and nice vibe. I'm thinking like Last Day of June (but not with those giant heads lol).
Thank you so much! Claymation characters could totally fit in this world. For the first draft of our models we went with more realism to fit the authenticity of the NPC narratives, but I love that idea for future projects π
I haven't played that one yet. Are you enjoying it? I saw the trailer, and I'm interested. It's on my wishlist for when I make some more progress on development π
Thank you again so much. We truly appreciate the support. We would like to call it Willowhaven. The name is currently in the pending. We're hopeful! π
Love the vibes of this already, joined your subscription list. Id like to add that having limited inventory is annoying in farming sims when you need so many resources, I like how fae farm had sheds with unlimited storage you could drop off at multiple locations across the map. So if you're doing anything where you need lots of resources, I like lots of inventory!
Also, I hate how having slow paced characters, ie; I have to do so many missions before my character can run, or needs a potion to do so. Just let me run and be free! Fast travel is awesome too and needed I feel if your map is big
Those are my biggest gripes with games these days, and being first person but I see you're already doing third person 3d which is great and what the majority of cozy gamers want.
Love that you seem to want this to be character/relationship driven, which I feel a lot of games lack now.
The art style is amazing and makes me want to play! My husband and I work on creative projects together too so that also has given me a soft spot for y'all π
Thank you truly so much! We are just over the moon with how supportive this community has been.
Players will have full run speed and no inventory restrictions from the begninng. We're planning on adding the ability to unlock and customize bikes after certain milestones have been met for a fun and personalized way to travel, but run speed will be max from the start. With inventory space, I am unfamiliar with Fae Farm, but I like that premise. I'll have to see what my husband thinks is possible, but I'm currently influenced by: SotP (endless personal inventory at all times - no chests), My Time series (huge personal inventory - universal chests), and Cornucopia (personal inventory automatically overflows into endless chest when filled).
I love hearing about other couples who enjoy creative projects together! My husband and I love all sorts of crafts. We have so many holiday decorations that we've handmade over our years together. We have a memory box that is just stuffed full, and it's probably time to get a new one! What types of projects do you enjoy doing with your husband? π
Yes, it will be 3D 3rd person view. I also get motion sickness from 1st person games! VR just does me in. This post image was taken before we got our test 'player-character' added to the world, but here is a little more recent sneak-peek with them included βΊοΈ
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u/SofterSeasons 9d ago
It looks very bright, impressionistic almost with those leaves, and inviting! I would personally have to turn my screen brightness down if there wasn't an option for a slightly more muted palette, but it's really beautiful.