Hello everyone!
It's been an absolute whirlwind since we dropped our First Look trailer, and we've loved seeing your reactions - especially the community discord server popping off during the announcement!
With each blog we'll be diving into a different part of the game, starting with the ever-bubbling cauldron beneath the surface, quietly weaving its energy through every corner of Witchbrook: World Simulation.
It’s what brings Mossport to life and keeps things moving even when you’re not looking. So many of these systems require the complex coding of our team, including our CTO Rodrigo, that we figured it’d be best to feature his insights for this blog! Not only is he our head tech honcho on this project, he’s also created Halley - the very engine that Witchbrook runs on!
A Cauldron of Complexity
One of the core pillars in Witchbrook is “A Rich World Simulation”. To achieve that pillar, we have spent considerable time making sure that the town of Mossport is a living, breathing, believable place.
The passing of the seasons changes the town in many ways - not only are different resources and jobs available at different times, but the town itself adapts. People dress differently (perhaps some scarves and mittens in Winter, or umbrellas in the rain), schedules change, different weather conditions are present, and the town gets re-decorated to reflect the seasons.
Those changes are not instantaneous either: for example, you’ll see the town gradually filling up with flowers as Spring progresses, culminating in the Tulip Festival in the third week of Spring.
Along with the changing seasons, a smooth day-night cycle transitions Witchbrook from morning to afternoon, evening, and night.. The length of day even changes depending on the season - for those long summer days and long winter nights. You might have seen a tease of the view through the telescope in the Witchbrook Observatory - even this is affected by the same systems, (although I might be getting a little ahead of myself, as we plan to talk more about this in our next blog!)
Mossport and Witchbrook college are home to the cast of major characters (coven members, professors, shopkeepers, and more) that you’ll get to know (and, for some of them, date!) as you study in Witchbrook, but also to hundreds of unique and diverse citizens. The world is persistent, which means EVERY citizen has their own look, name, and home. They’re not just background characters, they’re part of the world’s fabric.
They are grouped by archetypes, which dictate how they dress and what activities they’re interested in - pay attention and you’ll be able to identify students, tourists, affluent residents, etc. You’ll be able to meet them and assist them with their requests, or you can just follow them around town and see what they get up to. Finally, you’ll also encounter a wild variety of wildlife, from small critters and birds, to larger, persistent animals.
The character’s daily routines allow them to get up to all sorts of activities around the town, and will change based on weather, season, or special events. All of this is fully simulated - even when they’re far away from the player, every single one of the hundreds of people who live in Mossport is still being tracked and updated. They will arrive at the same place at the same time whether you followed them or not, without any magical “behind the scenes” teleporting or spawning of characters.
To achieve this, the game has two levels of simulation: a high fidelity, graphic simulation for the chunks around the player, and a lower fidelity simulation for the rest of the world. The lower fidelity simulation still keeps track of all the important data, but without wasting resources with things that are currently invisible, like animation.
In addition to all the pedestrians, we also have a full traffic simulation in Mossport. The cars drive on the roads while respecting (British) road rules, signal with their indicators, and even wait for pedestrians to cross, helping to sell the feeling of being truly immersed in a big town. If you block the traffic, a small traffic jam might start developing - and the motorists will be sure to let you know of their displeasure by honking at you! There’s also a regular bus service that you can take to get around the town while enjoying the view.
Meet Hana!
In case you missed it, we recently revealed Witchbrook’s first dateable character - your peppy covenmate, Hana Satō.
You may have already spotted Hana’s signature pink ponytail in Witchbrook’s trailer, or perhaps hanging out in front of Mossport’s clothing store in the latest issue of The Witchbrook Oracle. Hana is a great friend to have around, with a sense of all the latest fashion trends from working at her part-time job at Calico, and a positive attitude towards every situation. How will you foster your friendship with Hana?
We’ll be gradually introducing you to more of Witchbrook’s cast of datable characters as we work towards the game’s release. We know you’re all dying to know how dating exactly works in Witchbrook, but that’s a topic for another day!
A Mammoth Task
It's fair to say that game development is rarely a straight path, and Witchbrook has grown in ambition over time! We hope these blogs will give everyone in the community a look behind the curtain into our development approach, and why re-evaluating our plans has been so pivotal to standing out in the ever-growing life-sim space.
Witchbrook's fresh isometric view reflects that, and moving to our new engine has allowed us to fulfill these ambitions. Whilst the larger concepts remained, this was a huge undertaking for our close-knit team of under 20 developers. It’s certainly taken us a little while to get here, but Witchbrook’s larger systems and foundations are in place and we’re finally on the homestretch to release!
What's Next?
Thanks for reading! Whether you’ve been here since Spellbound or just joining us for this broom ride, it's great to have you with us on the journey.
Got questions about Witchbrook or want to chat with other cozy spellcasters? Join our Discord and connect with our enchanting community. Speaking of which… our next blog dives into Witchbrook College and some of the fun activities you’ll be participating in… so stay tuned! Word is also on the street: The Oracle has a new editor, so definitely worth signing up to not miss the latest issue! If that isn’t your thing, we’re always active on socials, and if you haven’t already please give us a wishlist on steam, it really helps us out!
Till next time students!
Socks & Rodrigo
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