Verdancy Vale is a cross between chill farming simulation games, dating simulators, and roguelites. It’s a game that offers infinite gameplay and a chill atmosphere, while also letting you unleash your magic on the threats that surround Ardent.

When I was a kid, I loved the Animal Crossing series, but I could never figure out where the action was, nor why I couldn’t develop relationships with the villagers in my town(s).

Obviously, that’s only half the bag; the game that changed my life the most was Stardew Valley, and I think ConcernedApe inspired me beyond just the farming sim stuff - he inspired me to take a chance on myself.

And finally, I delight in the terrible pain of playing roguelites (and souls-likes, but that’s an entirely different story). Working towards a goal and becoming gradually stronger through unlockables and character interactions can be so addictive, and I wanted to bring that into this dream, as well.

Innovation is one of the driving factors behind my development of Verdancy Vale. I love so many of the tried and true mechanics of games like Stardew Valley, but simply cloning popular games is no fun for anyone.

In Verdancy Vale, deep mechanics are everywhere.

Residents are complex. Each of their daily schedules is determined based on dozens of factors (day of the week, weather, how many seats are unlocked at the diner, if a swing set is built, TO NAME A FEW), and getting to know them will help you determine where they’ll be at any given time!

Dialogue is meaningful. Residents have hundreds upon hundreds of dialogue options for any given set of world circumstances, all of which take player actions into account! Give Nora an apple on her birthday? Next year, she may ask where her birthday treat is!

Relationships are deep. In casual simulation games, it’s easy to make relationship development highly linear with few consequences to repetitive actions. In Verdancy Vale, growing relationships is not difficult. Rather, residents are designed to feel real with realistic needs/desires and complex motivations. Dating is more than getting the “love meter” to 100%. It requires thought and care for these characters, and in turn, they will learn to care for you, too!

Well, no. In my opinion, games too often resort to these two difficulties (often having a medium option for adept players), and they can create a divide between the communities that represent them. As such, I wanted to create a system that rewards different play styles differently, and one that offers differing challenges based on how you want to play Verdancy Vale.

Here, there are 3 basic modes: Peaceful, Mage, and Archmage. In each of these modes, all story opportunities are present, though they may have different triggers or prerequisites.

Peaceful mode offers vastly safer combat so that more relaxed players aren’t required to have the fast-twitch muscles of jungle cats to complete dungeons. However, combat offers far fewer rewards, so while story progression can proceed, Peaceful players may need to find other ways to find seeds, collect Ether Gems, and compile crafting resources. Conversely, gardening and resident interactions become more nuanced, while their rewards are improved.

Archmage mode is the combat-centric way to play Verdancy Vale. Battles are challenging and quick, and they require prior thought before engagement, else players may find themselves overwhelmed. However, the rewards from combat supplement the lower emphasis on gardening.

Finally, Mage mode is the happy medium. With combat being a decent challenge and gardening requiring a fair amount of attention, this is what I consider to be the intended way to play Verdancy Vale. Juggling responsibilities is a challenge in and of itself, and players must learn to make the best use of their time in Ardent to maximize their yield!