It's a pleasure to meet all of you potential new bureaucrats, and welcome to We Were Here Before. It's a game that has rattled around in my head for sometime, though as a solo developer it felt like it took forever to finally crystallize into what you see today.
At it's heart, WWHB is a narrative settlement building game in rouglite, where over the course of 25-35 minutes you'll make hard choices that have a real effect on your settlement. This is all told through a whole lot of writing where you'll see the weight of your choices, how it affects the people... and how the frontier affects you back.
Ah, yes, the frontier. See, this isn't any settlement. It's on the edge of the known boundary of the Empire, where weird things happen. But... I'll let the Bureau explain some of that to you.
One last thing, for those who enjoy hard numbers. The game will have 110+ unique potential final settlement disposition endings. In a run, you'll generate 4 of these. It'd take over 25 runs to see them all. The rough word count of lore/narrative is 150k+ words. With that out of the way....
BUREAU OF FRONTIER SETTLEMENT ASSESSMENT & PROPOSAL DIVISION
Office of Personnel Intake & Orientation Form 1-A — New Bureaucrat Onboarding Packet, First Issuance
WELCOME TO YOUR POSTING
Congratulations on your appointment to the Bureau of Frontier Settlement Assessment & Proposal Division.
You have been assigned to the Office of Personnel Intake & Orientation as Interested Party (Provisional). This role carries no authority, no obligations, and no remuneration. It does carry a designation. You are now designated. Please proceed.
This packet contains everything you need to understand your posting. If you have questions after reading this packet, please refer to this packet. If your questions persist, please note them in the margin and submit them to the Office of Unanswered Questions. The Office of Unanswered Questions does not respond to submissions. The frontier generates more questions than the Bureau is currently staffed to address. We appreciate your understanding.
ORIENTATION MATERIALS
The BFSAP oversees the assessment, dispatch, and documentation of frontier settlements — their establishment, operation, and inevitable conclusion. When a settlement concludes, the BFSAP files a Form 7-C: Settlement Obituary. The Form 7-C captures what the settlement built, what its governor decided, and what remained at the end.
A sample filing is included below for your review.
You will note that this settlement existed for approximately thirty minutes. You will note the districts listed. You will note what the Bureau was and was not able to classify. You will note that the final line reads as it does.
This is standard. This is the frontier. Please take a moment and then continue.
REGARDING YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
As Interested Party (Provisional), your responsibilities are as follows.
You are asked to observe. Future filings will document the settlement system in greater detail — the arc structure, the branching of choices, the memory fragment system by which previous governors surface in the margins of new runs like something the frontier is trying to remember.
You are asked to note. The Horizon effect is unyielding. BM&PR has not yet defined why. Proper paperwork and procedures will help us understand. But over time, memories will fade, people will leave, things will feel 'off' as reported by previous governors. The BFSAP notes this without judgment.
You are asked to remain. The settlement will end. What gets filed is the point.
REGARDING THE FRONTIER
The frontier is not fully classified. The Bureau of Metaphysical & Philosophical Research is working on this.
The BM&PR has been working on this for some time.
NEXT STEPS
Personnel wishing to be notified of future filings may register their interest using the button below. Doing so constitutes acknowledgment that you have read and understood this onboarding packet. The BFSAP acknowledges that you may not have fully understood this onboarding packet. This is also acceptable. Most postings begin in uncertainty.
You will settle in.
— Bureau of Frontier Settlement Assessment & Proposal Division Form 1-A, Personnel Onboarding, First Issuance All copies retained. All copies have always been retained.
We Were Here Before is in development for Steam. Add to your wishlist.