City building but with some big dollops of story ladled generously on top.
January 18, 2022
[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Game Developer and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press]
Author: Long Jaunt
Independent developer Long Jaunt has just announced their newest game – heading to Steam later this year – Norland. It is a medieval kingdom sim that generates complex stories, inspired by Rimworld, Crusader Kings, and Caesar. The above examples may be a bit tricky, though, that's why creators of Norland find it especially useful to describe the game by using a movie analogy:
Rimworld is a "Firefly" – like story generator
Norland is a "Game of Thrones" – like story generator
Your role is to manage a noble family that owns a city populated by dozens of characters from different classes: peasants, slaves, soldiers, and criminals. Each citizen has its own needs and complex behaviors, which will depend on their social status and individual traits. And often, their behavior can be deadly to your family.
About the game:
Norland generates complex stories on a new level through unpredictable interactions in a large society made of numerous, unique individuals: things like social stratification, crime, riots, religious controversies, and struggles for the throne can all play a part in the story.
Each and every person is an individual. They all have their own relationships, sex drive, beliefs, health systems, and backgrounds. Family members also have unique personality traits, and family traits can be passed on to their children.
Family members build relationships. They joke around, gossip, insult one another, fall in love, make friends, support each other, and sometimes even kill one another out of anger.
Initiate political intrigue with other kingdoms and religious leaders on the global map. Manage events that require intervention, such as blackmail, plague-infested refugees, natural disasters, and more.
Build and upgrade buildings to create efficient production chains. Attract migrants with low prices for various goods on local markets and high wages, or use slaves to work in hazardous industries. Trade with caravans. And don't forget the ecological balance.
Make use of seven weapon types, three different types of armor, unique combat skills, the body part damage system, and the morale of each member of your army!
Survive in the non–stop competition with other kingdoms. Create complex scenarios by setting up an aggressive society built on a slave economy and a strong professional army or a wealthy society of free and happy city dwellers with high levels of technology.
Key features:
Control your noble family by assigning tasks to all of its members.
Witness how family members will build complex relationships between themselves through love, hatred, friendship, envy, jealousy, betrayal, and a lust for power.
Punish criminals, take care of the citizens, and put down any bloody riots that may occur during your reign.
Build your armies and defenses, then make decisions on whether to fight or ally with the other kingdoms
Oversee power struggles, plan out your intrigues and secretly assassinate dangerous enemies.
Make ambiguous decisions during events on the global map.
Absorb knowledge and technology from books, rewrite them, or create entirely new ones.
Build the production chains, raise the population, pay wages, put prices on the domestic market, and trade with incoming caravans.
Experience different starting conditions for a unique gaming experience every time you play.
Navigate through a simple and accessible user interface.
Norland is set to launch on Steam this fall. The page has just been launched, so you can already add the game to your wishlist:
Check Norland on Steam
Developers have a clear plan of releasing the full version of Norland without the Early Access phase. A game of this size and complexity demands a lot of preparation and taking care of every possible detail. That's why thorough feedback from a large number of players is needed. Having that in mind, they plan to organize internal playtests among the community gathered on an official Discord server. If you'd like to help in the development, please join it now:
Join our Discord server
It would be awesome if you could inform your readers about the announcement. To make it easier, please find this press pack with relevant assets:
About the developer:
Long Jaunt is an independent studio from Russia, created by individuals experienced in the mobile games sector. After releasing a couple of successful titles, they gathered the funds necessary to create a game of their dreams – Norland. Now, they have the freedom to materialize their vision of an adult title for demanding players like themselves.
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