Passion vs. Proof

Some decisions in game development aren’t really about design, they’re about choosing between what you love and what you can prove.
From the start, I’ve wanted to build more than just a game. I want to create a believable world, something that could exist on its own, even without a player.
That means beginning with a simulation: the environment, the structures, the logic of daily life. The “game” part comes later.

I’ve always been deeply drawn to the Middle Ages.
There’s something about that period that feels raw, mysterious, and visually striking.
But the deeper I looked, the more I ran into a problem: uncertainty.
We know a lot about the medieval world in broad strokes, but when you zoom in, things get blurry.
So much of it is interpretation. And if my goal is to build something grounded and believable, that level of guesswork starts to work against me.

So therefore I am moving the setting forward to the mid-17th century, a time where history becomes more tangible.
We have better records, surviving structures, written accounts, and a clearer sense of how towns actually functioned. It gives me something solid to build on.
It’s a time of tension and transition, marked by war, shifting power, and uncertainty. Old systems begin to crack. Trade changes. Influence fades. People feel it.
And running through all of it is fear.
The witch trials weren’t just events — they were symptoms of a society under pressure. Superstition, religion, and personal conflict collided in ways that could turn neighbor against neighbor. It’s not just history it’s human behavior under stress.

So while I’m leaving behind a time period I love, I’m gaining something else, a world I can ground in reality.
And hopefully, that makes for something far more immersive in the end.

One of my favorite maps of Ribe, from around 1677, one of the oldest somewhat credible maps i been able to find, this will be a major part in the overall work.
Source: Peder Hansen Resens "Atlas Danicus VI D, Ribe Stift" 1677