Spearhead Games, the developers of Stories: The Path of Destinies and Omensight, are currently showing off their next game at E3’s Indiecade Showcase.
Project Witchstone (working title) is an open-ended sandbox RPG that promises to give players the chance to shape the game’s world with their decisions.
Each NPC has their own daily routine, allegiances, likes and dislikes, friends and enemies, and property that all combine to determine how they act and react to you and your choices. You can watch the new trailer above.
Here’s a rundown of the game:
Known for their innovation in video game narratives, Spearhead Games (Stories: The Path of Destinies, Omensight) intends to push the interactive storytelling further with adventures uniquely tailored to each player’s gameplay and dialogue decisions. In a living and reactive world, you will be offered unprecedented options to role-play your character and influence the environment, capturing the fun and freedom of a pen & paper RPG campaign.
◾A living world sandbox RPG with turn-based tactical combat
◾Impact the state of the world with your decisions
◾Gain a reputation or work from the shadows
Living World
The world you explore is alive, meaning that characters that inhabit this world go on with their daily lives and move around following a routine (from their workplace to their home, for example). They also own properties, have personalities, friends and enemies, likes and dislikes, appreciation towards you, allegiance to factions, perception of their surroundings, etc.
Sandbox
Using actions common in RPGs (dialogue, combat, spells, abilities, stat checks, stealing, etc.) and less common ones (stealth, influence interface, etc.), you can interact, manipulate, and shape this world as you see fit. Our goal is to give you the freedom to live the adventure you want. No overarching pre-defined main story thread, you get to decide how you want to proceed.
Want to frame a villager for theft or murder? Want to join a faction, become their leader, and destroy the other factions? Want to destroy the factions but scheme in a way that they never know you’re responsible? Want to become a treasure hunter instead? Maybe the best solution is to blow everything up?
All of this Is possible In our sandbox.
How?
With our systemic approach to narrative, tailored events will occur based on your previous actions. All crimes will result in law enforcement running an investigation and attempting to arrest the suspect. Any violent act committed against a faction will result in retaliation. Taking over someone’s house will work fine until the previous owner’s relatives or friends come to visit.
These are some examples of the ripple effect you can cause in this world. And how you deal with the ripple effect will determine what happens after.
Project Witchstone doesn’t currently have a release date, but you can follow its Steam page for updates.
