In September 2016, we chose to take a break from Eastshade development to make a small Eastshade spinoff called Leaving Lyndow. The reasons for this were threefold: Firstly, as an independent studio who has never shipped a game, we feel unprepared to manage the logistics of a large release like Eastshade. You only get to launch a title once, and we feel one misstep could compromise four years of perseverance. This small game gives us a chance to experience the process. Secondly, we want additional funding to supplement Eastshade’s development while still remaining independent. Finally, we feel Leaving Lyndow enriches the Eastshade universe, and is a great way to begin building out the world for people. We want to allow you all in to Eastshade’s world right now! So without further ado, we present the official trailer for Leaving Lyndow.
We realize releasing a small game right in the middle of development of a larger game isn’t conventional, so here’s a little further explanation.
And if you support us on greenlight we’d be extremely grateful!
We haven’t talked about it much in previous blog posts, but you play as an artist who can paint anything you see. Painting is core to the game. Inhabitants will commission paintings of certain objects, locations, at certain times, or weather conditions. Some puzzles are solved by making paintings with particular compositions. Painting in the game is kind of like taking a photo. Its a mechanic that rewards players for paying attention to the world they’re in.
It’s been about six months in the dark, and I think its time I showed people. I’m making a game about exploration for exploration’s sake. In most open-world RPGs indeed you explore, but it doesn’t quite feel like you’ve found anything unless there are things to kill there. The rewards received are almost invariably items with which to kill more effectively. Even side professions often yield rewards that aid you in killing one way or another. To put it technically, I’d like to attempt to make a game where the core reward loop is exploring itself. Exploring rewards you with things to help you explore more. As the combat in other RPGs can be a worthy experience itself, rewarded or otherwise, traversing the environment will be the worthy experience in Eastshade. I have some ideas about how I might make a world interesting without combat, but I’d be delusional if I held any certainty about it all working the way I plan. There are likely going to be changes along the way, and what I end with may not be what I initially set out to make (I’ll be elated if I can manage to end with something at all). I invite anyone reading this to come on this journey of making something weird with me, perhaps to see it turn into something worthy, or perhaps to see it train-wreck spectacularly.