Our Eden is visual novel that reimagines the settling of the New World. Set in a fictionalized 17th century New England, Our Eden follows the tale of the Edenites, a people in exile from their native Ethland after a bloody civil war. Having sailed across the ocean on a mad prophet's whims, the Edenites seek to establish a new kingdom of their own.
You play as a diplomat from Ethland, assigned to restore ties with the rogue colony twenty years after their departure. But as you reach the shores of Eden, what you find is anything but paradise.
Role: Creative Director, Writer
Team Size: 2
Platform: PC
Engine: Unity
How to Play: Click Here for the demo! Download the folder from Google Drive and start the executable. Afterwards, please fill out this form and let me know what you think!
You play as a diplomat from Ethland, assigned to restore ties with the rogue colony twenty years after their departure. But as you reach the shores of Eden, what you find is anything but paradise.
Role: Creative Director, Writer
Team Size: 2
Platform: PC
Engine: Unity
How to Play: Click Here for the demo! Download the folder from Google Drive and start the executable. Afterwards, please fill out this form and let me know what you think!
The Inspiration
Like a perfect storm, Our Eden is the culmination of many inspirations colliding into a single passion project.
I was born in the South, but I was raised in New England; I was adopted by the region–I don't feel like a native, yet it's all I've ever known. I grew up surrounded by New England's cultural nuances, and they always stood in contrast with my Southern upbringing. The region is home to me, and just as there are countless stories set in the west that capture an iconic sense of Americana, I set out to write an immersive experience encapsulating something quintessentially New England–an Americana much older and more sinister than any other, capturing a tumultuous and chaotic period of history.
The writings of Hawthorne and Poe, the art of Andrew Wyeth and Thomas Cole, the Münster Rebellion, the Waco Siege, the Donner Party, my High School history class–these are the things that inspired Our Eden, and it's a project I have no intention of quitting.
The Worldbuilding First, I had to get an idea of the world this game is set in. I took heavy inspiration from basic history: the Edenites (fictionalized Pilgrims) escaping Ethland (England) for a New World. They land, encounter a native populace, and things get complicated. And the Edenites are still a superstitious, overzealous bunch who believe in a Calvinistic theology. But I also took some liberties. For example, what if Columbus hadn't found the Americas yet? What if it had been the Pilgrims who attempted the Gunpowder Plot? What if they attempted a theological takeover like the Anabaptists did with Münster, Germany? And what if this particular group of Puritans were especially cult-like in their operations? When beginning this process, I did a lot of research. One video helped a great deal: First and foremost, I had to create a map. Once I was able to visualize the world's geography, I began writing the history of the various peoples, communally and individually. |
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The Writing Process From the beginning, I knew this would take the form of a visual novel. Therefore, the format would have to account for the branching narrative and the single-line delivery. Twine was perfect for the job. I was able to visualize the plot and the branching portions, all the while writing in bullet points, line-by-line. I had challenged myself to write 300 words a day for 2 months; by the end, I had ~14k words written. You can find a sample of the script to the right. |
The Aesthetic The game's setting demanded a unique appearance. Visual novels originated in Japan, so many of them feature an art style often found in anime and manga. I felt this would stand in stark contrast with the game's primary setting and themes, so I ditched that idea. A western animation style of art felt much more appropriate, but something still didn't feel right. Trying the game with humans made the game feel clinical and educational; it lacked the whimsy and fantasy that I envisioned. So I ditched the humans. Anthropomorphic animals have been used by writers to portray a breadth of complex stories: Animal Farm, Bojack Horseman, and Maus to name a few. After bringing artist Cole Turney on-board, the aesthetic instantly captured the light fantasy I was after. |