What's The Big Idea?
Welcome to the first of a series of devlogs on the development of Under The Yoke.
What is Under The Yoke?
Under The Yoke is a life-sim set in Medieval England just after the Conquest by William I. Players play as a serf, one of the lowest rungs on the social ladder. As a serf the player will be growing their own food, tending to what few animals they can maintain, sewing their own clothes and generally living a self-sustaining lifestyle.
As a life-sim the player will also be able to befriend other villagers, find love, get married and even have children. Upon the death of the main character the player will then continue as one of their children, with each generation advancing the fortunes of the family. Similar to the Crusader Kings series but with a view to the little people.
Thus, we have a full medieval life-sim.
How will it play?
This will be something of a return to form for Priory Games, our first two games were 2D management style games, this style of play allowed us to dedicate more resources to the event system wherein the player was presented with a situation which they had multiple choices for how to resolve, these choices could be different for each player and the outcome could be different depending on the players current circumstances, for instance if they had certain skills or a certain level of reputation.
These events provided the core of the immersion for Priory Games' first two games and are a much loved feature for immersion. They also present opportunities for education about the world at the time and to test players on their knowledge or morality.
How then will you manage the day to day lives of your villagers? The core of the game will take place on two plains, your home and the surrounding countryside. Players will drag portraits of their villagers to different work areas where they will be able to perform jobs, for instance spreading seeds in the fields or cutting wood in the forests. How they perform in these jobs will be dictated by a number of factors: their skill, their equipment, their mood, their personality, etc.
For the home this remains true but you will also be able to place custom furniture which you can then use for cottage industries, for instance a keg for brewing beer or a garden for growing vegetables. You will be able to upgrade your home for additional space.
What is this Devlog?
This devlog aims to catalog the features of Under The Yoke alongside the development process. Under The Yoke is still very much in the early stages of development with only a handful of features currently in place.
This devlog aims to avoid the nitty gritty details of how things are/were built (although I'm always available on the linked social media if you do have any questions) to instead focus more on the high-level features and what they will mean for you, the player.
You can expect these devlogs on a bi-weekly basis, with the potential for in-progress screenshots as development proceeds. If you'd like to get in touch with me to make a suggestion or share some feedback then all of the socials are linked above and below, or if you'd like to sign-up to make sure you're notified of the next devlog then fill in the form below.