Emerald Ferns

🌿 Emerald Ferns - a reimagining of text-based RPG genre in development by duo Skunk&Otter
📱X / Instagram / Threads: @emerald_ferns

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

Please take a first look at a game we are currently working on!

It will be mostly a text-based RPG, with a few very important tweaks that should change the usual tedious experience of typing exact-match commands

We are a team of two developers and this is our first game. Also, we are a married couple, so there are no chances that we could get away from each other and abandon this project 🌿

It's called Emerald Ferns

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

mushrooms of Hyrule

#botw #totk #fanarts #zelda

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

herbs & flowers of Hyrule

#botw #fanarts #botanicalart

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

potion ingredients

#indiedev #gamedev #art #conceptart

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

We've taken a step back and dedicated this month to revising the lore of our universe. Almost none of what we've come up with will be used directly in Emerald Ferns. We're also developing a unique potion-brewing mechanic. It will be used in Emerald Ferns 🌿

We're also completely rethinking the visual style and want to move from bare C++ to Love2D. The chances of giving up and reverting everything are about 50%. In the meantime - we're slowly descending into madness...

#indiegame #indiedev #lore #worldbuilding

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

Which interface layout is better? 🌿

We spent a LOT of time perfectly aligning the elements on the screen, but now having serious doubts. It feels like everything is too evenly distributed in the original design, too balanced, and the eye doesn't know what to focus on...

We really don't want to change it, but really want to do it right

It's even worse to think that the correct option is something completely different. Game development is a torture

#indiedev #gamedesign #pixelart #textRPG

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

Take a closer look at our core mechanic, which breathes new life into classic text-based RPGs by recognizing the player's intent instead of matching exact words - and no, it's not an LLM-based solution 🔮

#textrpg #gamedesign #indiedev #indiegame

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

In this video essay, I break down the two core problems with dialogue systems in modern RPGs - and propose a solution inspired by old-school text adventures, D&D, and intent recognition
My husband and I are building a text-based RPG called Emerald Ferns that puts this idea into practice 🌿

https://t.co/IAh8XEt0hJ

#RPG #gamedesign #indiegame #textRPG #gamedev #videogameessay #EmeraldFerns

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

In Emerald Ferns you can receive all kinds of statuses that affect Finlea's ability to explore the forest, both positive and negative 🍀

They can reveal or block certain actions, change their success chances, price, and execution time, deal damage or heal HP over time, and so on ⚗️

The temporary nature of statuses is one of the ways to make the player think not only about WHAT they want to do, but also WHEN ⏳

#indiegame #indiedev #gamedesign #pixelart #textgame #textRPG

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

There are 4 main action classes - Obvious, Sensible, Clever, Brilliant - and an additional Unique class 🍄

Do you think these frames represent the gradation well? And also what kind of actions would you put in a Unique class, which stands aside from this hierarchy?🦄

At first we called them Common, Uncommon, Special and Genius (this one shows that we were on the right track but didn't dig deep enough), but now it feels like a misfit. Those classes would much better suit item rarities (switching Genius for Legendary or something like that)

#pixelart #indiegame #indiedev #gamedesign

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

Sanity points and Chaos points are obtained mainly by successfully unlocking actions (using the THINK skill) and can be spent to use other skills or perform certain actions 🧠

But they're also a representation of Finlea's mental state, which is shaped by the player's decisions

Would you be more logical and straightforward, or lean into an intuitive and mystical style? ✨

#indiegame #indiegame #textrpg #pixelart

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

Finlea has a cloth bag over her shoulder that allows her to hold a number of different tools and trinkets, including potion ingredients

These items can be found and harvested all over the forest, then used as a price or a condition for performing actions, and also for crafting useful concoctions 🧪

We decided to make the inventory infinite, but at some point thought of limiting it to just 8 slots, with the possibility of leaving items in different scenes and coming back for them later. Adding scroll buttons turned out to be much easier 🙂 Imagine the tediousness of the original idea though

#indiedev #indiegame #pixelart #adventuregame #textRPG

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

After typing out your prompt, the described action isn't immediately taken, but unlocked. It will appear in Finlea's mindspace, and from there you can either choose to perform it or try revealing other options 🔓🧠

There are eight action slots for each scene, but the actual number of possible actions can vary 🧩

Obviously, not in every scenario would eight options be enough, so we merge similar types of actions into groups, giving us a final range from 1 to 56 actions

Do you think 56 actions per scene is enough? Or should we have groups within groups? 🤔

#gamedev #indiegame #indiedev #RPG #textRPG

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

Old-school text-based games are our main source of inspiration 👾🗡🛡

We believe that the core mechanic of typing out your desired action is an unmatched way to give the player a true sense of agency and proper satisfaction from actually thinking and solving problems, rather than just picking from a list of options presented on a silver platter 🧠

Have you ever played a game like that? And do you think this kind of experience could find its audience today?

#indiegame #indiedev #textgames

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

Recently, some curse or illness has afflicted Finlea, sending life-sapping nightmares upon her every night

Finlea managed to discover information about a Dreamless Potion in one of her books, which is supposed to cure her. However, the recipe turned out to be complex, multi-step, and on the edge of her current abilities, and the ingredients were rare, unavailable in the nearby woods 🌲

With no other options, Finlea sets out on a journey to an unfamiliar and dangerous forest - the Emerald Ferns - hoping to find all the necessary herbs and minerals and be freed from the curse 🌿💎

She is growing weaker every day, and the time to successfully prepare the potion is limited

[Emerald Ferns @emerald_ferns]

The game's protagonist, Finlea, is a young herbalist and witch 🌿🔮

Finlea specializes in crafting basic potions and amulets for the residents of the town near her tower. She gathers all the necessary ingredients in the forest surrounding the tower, and recipes and rituals from a collection of books left by her mother

She is keenly aware of the state of the world around her and is connected to mystical forces invisible to others. This opens up many unique opportunities for her to influence reality in mysterious and inexplicable ways, but also makes her vulnerable to the elusive auras of places, objects, and creatures

I drew a slightly dramatic concept art of Finlea in a style inspired by retro dark fantasy book covers. And the blue light on black material or hair is one of my favorite tricks in this deck. It turned out much more picturesque and atmospheric than my usual drawings

This drawing will be the basis for Finlea’s pixel art portrait in the game