I missed who I was and why I got into this Industry.

I decided that it was time to do something for ME instead of for corporations single mindedly. I decided it was time to connect back with my roots. Why I was inspired to begin with to become an artist and programmer.

I have been playing the farming sim life genre of games since I was reading Nintendo Magazine and skimming aisles of Blockbuster & Hollywood Video stores for new games to play; Hoping no one had already rented out the game I wanted. Can you imagine if a business like that tried to rent out movies and games again? Stores could never hold enough stock.

I haven't had a reason to buy a Fizzy Warheads candy since those days.

Deep Roots has been a slow progress development so far because much like any Indie Dev. I still have to work a job. I try to make sure to slip in roughly an hour or two towards the overall progress of the game. Some days are pure development and some days are starting blogs like this. But thanks to my work history, I know production well. I understand organizing oneself to see a project through to the end. I know how to build technology in a way that is scalable and clean. But this is only the third game I have developed on my own using Unreal Engine. So I am actually learning as I go. But I am doing so in a highly modular and memory conscious way.

I won't go into details this time about myself, however I believe my Linkedin can speak on my behalf. I have experience with constructing, planning and implementing large scale productions. Lucky for me, I happen to be artistic so outside of a couple of skills ( Illustration & Rigging the main two ) I know my way around large scale productions. And this feels like a fun challenge for myself.

So, let me introduce you to the world of my game "Deep Roots".

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A Brief Overview of Deep Roots

The game deep roots is set in a fairly large country town with lots of natural resources to be offered. The town had a long history for many years of being prosperous and self reliant. However, when the owners of some key industries passed away, the town tried their best to fit into their shoes-- and failed.

The town was forced to rely on import goods instead of trade for twenty years. This has left the town in a desperate time as more and more townsfolk just cannot keep their own businesses afloat. But some are still holding on! Your grandfather has lived in this town his whole life and he has stories to tell for sure. But it is your father who was also raised here, and saw the impact of the changes as well before he moved to the big city, fell in love, married, and had you.

Your parents worked hard keeping up with the 9-5 and making sure basic needs were covered. You were able to grow up, get educated and find a job yourself, and start living on your own in the big city. All well going as it always has, until your parents receive a call and reached out to you to give you the news.

Its Grandpa...

No he isn't dead! Don't be so dark and dreary. He's fine.. He is just ready to settle down in his senior years and sold off his furniture company! He wants your parents to move to the town and help him adjust to his retirement life but also has a surprise for everyone and wanted to make sure all three of you came to see him. It is your birthday soon, so might as well make it a family celebration.

Upon arrival, it looks like Grandpa was holding back some vital information. He wasn't keeping track of his earnings for his business and it appraised higher than he realized.

He bought your parents a home to help them retire early.

You parents breaks down in joy and accept it. But there is one more surprise.

Grandpa wants to offer you a way to stay close to family and make a living. If you want, he can put a down payment on a plot of land of your liking around town and you can work to pay it off in time. This is his gift to you.

Will you choose to be close to town and own a small quaint home with a backyard garden space?

Will you choose to be close to the beach despite the weather and relax your days away?

Will you choose to take on the farmstead? It hasn't been used in years but wow it is large!

Will you choose to become a hermit out in the mountains where minerals and metals are in abundance?

or Will you choose to stay close to the nearby river mill and lean into deep agriculture?

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Six Seasons

That is right. SIX. You might be questioning why that matters. My time living in Japan I learned that Japan has 5 seasons not four. (Actually they have like 30 or something seasons but that gets into the weeds..) Spring, Summer, Rainy Season, Autumn, Winter. Which got me wondering why we don't distinguish our seasons a bit. I know there were some celestial reasons involving the rotation and position of Earth and the Sun. So I tried to wrap my brain around it and discovered that different regions in the world have different seasonal structures.

It makes complete sense, but was not something I considered. Obviously there isn't much summer near the poles. and in deep desert locations seasons end up just being as simple as rainy season and dry season.

That made me think about how we perceive seasons in the USA. there is always this weird phase between winter and spring and then summer and fall where the temperature fluctuates, we make up weird habits like relying on rodents to predict the future. And we all get caught off guard when it cools down for a week then the following week spikes back up in the 90-100s (Fahrenheit). It turns out we have Six Seasons. And even the math for the rotations in the Solar system seem to work fine with this system. I think at some point we just sought to simplify. BUT ISNT THAT SO COOL? It even turns out that this is a popular and viable approach to gardening as well. Becoming aware of how certain crops grow throughout the year. We can organize how crops grow in a game with this information!

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The six seasons are:

PreVernal : As the snow melts, small pockets of grass and greenery begins to poke through. Some animals begin to wake up from hibernation and the cool air is fresh without harshness

Vernal: Bulbs bloom and display beautiful flowers. Birds and Animals return and seek to start families. The weather is rich and the soil is richer.

Estival: The sun is out! Fruits are plump among full leaved trees. The crisp hot air is in abundance! Eggs are hatching and bugs are singing.

Serotinal: The leaves begin to change colors in vibrant display. Birds have matured and begin to prepare for migration. This is the season of Harvest.

Autumnal: As the leaves finally finish turning brown and begin to "fall", the birds begin to migrate and the chilly air finally is here to stay.

Hibernal: Only evergreens bring colors to the land. Fallen leaves return to the earth and birds have settled elsewhere.

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Time and Weather

• time is ever flowing
• weather comes twice a day by chance
• seasons change and crops might die

Annual Markets

• Every year the market will change based on previous events that can impact the costs of goods
• Deep Roots is filled with crop options so you may need to start investing in equipment for tea one year and cabbage the next year.
• The more difficult the crop is to grow, the more valuable it will be.

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Villagers

• there are currently 34 families lined up with about 45 total candidates and over 100 named villagers. ( More on that in a future dev blog)
• families are themed loosely around industries, progression in their stories opens up more access in the game
• families are willing to help around an industry you build up
• not every playthrough starts with the same families.

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Current Challenges

So you may feel this is quite an ambitious effort. And you would be more than right. Especially as a solo dev.

With over 12 years professionally and over 20 years as a hobbyist, I know first hand how hard these kinds of initiatives can be. It was how my first book went. How my music album went. How my career as a whole has been.

But the experiences I have gained in my life as a Pipeline Technical Director for some of the largest entities in entertainment, I can confidently say I am equipped for the challenge. My hope for the next handful of years, others will come across this passion project and share the love I have for the genre.

I am still seeking out an illustrator that can take some of the initial concepts and bring them to life a bit more. I will be looking for someone in the future to help bring that vision to life.

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Thank you for making it this far! Have a wonderful day!