A novel · a world · an early game
In the Shadow of a Shnork
A fantasy novel about a creature waking up in a forest that changes him. I've been writing it for a while, and it keeps growing: illustrated pages, a system of buffs and curses, and a Unity prototype.
01 From the book
The forest gives, and it takes.
“At first, just the feeling of being held, somewhere between waking and not. A quiet hum filled the edges of thought, soft and low, like roots shifting beneath the ground. Then, breath.”
“I lay still for a while, unsure whether I had returned… or begun.”
In the Shadow of a Shnork
02 Illustrated pages
The book is illustrated, a page at a time.
03 Buffs & curses
Eighteen ways the forest changes you.
Written for the book first, then turned into the status-effect system for the game. Some help you survive. Others make you wonder if survival is still enough.
- HealingRestores vitality and mends wounds.
- StrengthRoots crack, stone yields.
- RegenerationThe forest mends you in silence.
- AwarenessEyes see further, ears hear whispers.
- EnergySpeed, action and clarity.
- DefenceThickened bark and unseen shields.
- RageGreen flame licking at your mind.
- PrecisionEvery move lands true.
- FocusTime bends to your discipline.
- PoisonedEach breath a slow sting.
- FrozenIcy vines clutch your limbs.
- SleepyDreams press from beneath.
- PainSharp, constant, unwelcome.
- HungerThe forest offers nothing.
- StunnedBalance flees your grasp.
- DisorientedLeft feels like right.
- BoundMovement is only memory.
- CorruptionSomething black and crawling takes root.
04 The game
An early prototype, honestly.
I've started turning the forest into a game in Unity: characters, a HUD and the first pieces of the world. It's early, and I'd rather say so than dress it up. The novel comes first.
If you're into fantasy writing, game design or just want to say what you thought of the first chapters, I'd like to hear it.