Greetings, Curious Minds and Clockwork Dreamers
You’ve found it. The first official chronicle from the Octiware workshop. Congratulations either you’re incredibly early, suspiciously thorough, or slightly lost. Either way, welcome.
This devlog marks the moment we stop building in secret and start sharing the strange machinery we’ve assembled. It’s been three years of solo fiddling, feature rewrites, and philosophical debates about how much pixel-jitter is too much. And now? The doors are open. The ink is flowing. The steam is rising.
So, what exactly are we making?
The Summons from Norinwall
Picture this: A crumbling empire. A forgotten island. And you, an outsider dragged into the fray by one Garreth Oswalius Larsen, Grand Strategos and part-time professional guilt tripper.
In our game, you take on the mantle of a reluctant leader sent to rekindle a dying outpost. This is no tourist retreat. The soil remembers old tragedies. The machines whisper. And the people? They’re watching.
Every decision you make, who to trust, what to rebuild, what to sacrifice, reshapes the fate of the island and echoes far beyond its mist-covered shores. This is not a sandbox. It’s a stage. And your script isn’t written yet.
What We’ve Already Cooked Up
We’re still knee-deep in rust, wires, and questionable spaghetti code, but we’ve already brought a few contraptions to life:
- A dynamic weather system that delights in ruining your outdoor plans.
- Farming that actually respects the seasons and doesn’t pretend potatoes grow overnight.
- A fragile but functioning economic system that reflects our own burnout economy.
- A branching dialogue engine where NPCs remember more than you do.
- A cooking and crafting loop designed to trigger mild obsession.
We use Unity, C#, FMOD, and way too many open browser tabs. Also Aseprite, because yes those sprites? We drew those. Pixel by pixel. With emotion.
Sound, Steam, and Silence
Music in this world doesn’t just fill space. It breathes. You’ll hear it shift from hopeful strings to aching pianos depending on the season, the hour, or the choices you made last week.
We wanted the soundtrack to feel like the island itself, sometimes warm, sometimes cold, always watching. If you listen closely, it might tell you something the characters won’t.
What’s Next on the Workbench?
Next up: combat.
Yes, we know. Farming and feelings are fun, but someone’s gotta hold the wrench when the machines get angry. We’re building a system where every strike, dodge, and decision has weight, both mechanically and narratively. Violence isn’t the answer. It’s a last resort. But sometimes? It’s a beautifully animated one.
Your Voice, Our Fuel
This devlog isn’t a monologue. It’s an invitation.
We want your thoughts on mechanics, on story beats, on whether that one mechanic is secretly overpowered. Join the conversation on Discord. Leave a comment. Or just send us a strongly worded letter about how a potato shouldn’t take 40 in-game days to grow.
Every weird idea, every emotional reaction. It helps. You help.
Join the Journey
Maybe you’re here just to read. Maybe you’re scouting for clues. Or maybe, just maybe, you’re the kind of person who rewrites dialogue trees in their sleep and dreams in 32x32 resolution.
If that’s the case, check out our recruitment page. We don’t hire fast. But we do hire strange.
Thanks for reading, explorer. Next update? Who knows. Depends on how many coffee beans we have left.
Until then, keep the steam burning.
— Team Octiware