Inspirations Blog Post + Happy New Year!
about 5 years ago – Mon, Jan 11, 2021 at 12:43:07 AM

Dear Backers,

Hello! Here we are in 2021, and we hope that amid all the chaos you'll welcome a bit of news from our little Stockholm studio. This year is going to be big for us... Because this is the year that we release Book of Travels (not to mention Shelter 3 in just over a couple of months, eek!). 

Over the past year we've been sharing game development in our fortnightly updates, and we've been deeply gratified by your response, especially when it comes to conversations about other games and media you love.  So we decided to start the year with a deeper investigation of inspirations behind Book of Travels. We hope you like it! The image above is taken from it and you'll find lots more intriguing pictures and references to get involved with. As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Coming soon

In the coming months we'll be sharing about world dangers and game audio, as well as getting more into battle, so watch this space! If you haven't yet checked out our video with commentary, take a look and let us know what you think. We were thrilled at the response it got and we continue to hop in to respond.

Tell us what you think

Our updates schedule still has a few gaps, so we'd love to know what you want to hear more about. And of course our journey of discovery is never over and we would love to hear all your suggestions for cultural rabbit holes to lose ourselves in, so please drop us a line below or in the comments on Steam.

Thank you so much for spending your time with us!

From the whole team, best wishes and stay safe,

Helen and the Dev Team xx

Creating Characters + Form Artwork + Discord News
over 5 years ago – Tue, Dec 15, 2020 at 11:32:23 AM

Dear Backers,

If you’ve already checked out our gameplay video, you might have noticed that Creative Director Jakob spends some time explaining how to create characters. No doubt, character creation is a huge part of the soul and spirit of Book of Travels and we hope you’ll love getting deep into your character before setting out. So today we’re sharing a little bit of insight into the thinking behind those character creation fields. We also have a first ever peek at artwork and info on four of the game’s 15+ Forms, plus a nice little bit of character-related community news...

The Wheel of Personality, Jung and Chinese Theatre

The character creation process in Book of Travels allows for very detailed and creative player input, which we think will enable rich and characterful roleplay. 

Every character begins its life as one of a selection of Forms, each of which has been inspired by a combination of archetypes. In creating the Forms, our research took in theories on personality from many disciplines including Comedia dell’arte, Chinese Theatre and Jung’s twelve personality types. All have been sources of inspiration rather than templates, and our main intention has been to build a framework that allows players to create complex, nuanced personalities.

Just like classes in traditional RPGs, each Form comes with different gameplay orientation and skill affinity, but in Book of Travels, Forms are designed to help players create an individual playstyle and enjoy a high degree of personal expression in their roleplay. Further character complexity can be added by choosing background, gender (a freeform field) personality traits, skills, talents and appearance, which will together make for a unique character and a unique play experience.

There are over 15 Forms to choose from with more to unlock as you solve narrative chains and engage in gameplay events. Here are four for you to get to know right now - we’ll be sharing another four sometime soon!

The Mirther and The Dimmed

The Mirther is creative and embodies honesty and youth. They echo rural Romantic archetypes such as shepherds, wandering musicians and artists. They are a daydreamer and find much mirth in or out of company. By contrast The Dimmed is an older, wiser type whose light shines less brightly. Their stoic attitude in company does not temper their thirst for exploration, especially when the quest is enlightenment.

The Moss Walker and The Weatherer

The Mosswalker has feet that are deep in the earth and finds magic in all things mundane. They live a relatively ordinary life but their values are wide and true, making them something of an unconventional, Bohemian type. Striding and far from domestic, The Weatherer’s spirit is forged by exposure to elements both literal and metaphorical. Their unequivocal thinking and broad experience finds them well placed in exploration and adventure.

Choose a from role on Discord!

From today, Discord users will now have the ability to choose from one of the above forms as a role. These are our first lore based roles and there will be more in time to come. So if you haven’t already, come by and say hello :)

Which Form resonates with you the most? Let us know in the comments here, and please feedback your thoughts on anything you think you like or are unsure about in our character creation process.

Thanks so much for spending your time with us!

Best Wishes,

Helen and the Dev Team x

PC Gamer Reveal our First Gameplay Video + Commentary
over 5 years ago – Wed, Dec 02, 2020 at 02:05:49 AM

Hello Backers!

We're writing today to tell you about our brand new gameplay video, showing 30 minutes of gameplay with commentary from Creative Director Jakob Tuchten. In the video, exclusively released by Rachel Watts in PC Gamer, you can hear all about the Braided Shore way of trading and skills, and how you'll be able to make bespoke characters using our many layered character creation process. We hope you like what you see!

As usual we'd love to hear your feedback about all of these aspects of the game, and we'll be listening to all you have to say so that we can continue to make Book of Travels the best it can be. 

Best Wishes, 

Helen and the team at Might and Delight

A super cool Book of Travels update coming next week!
over 5 years ago – Fri, Nov 27, 2020 at 11:31:41 PM

Dear Backers,

We hope this email finds you well! Over these last few months we've published a Book of Travels update every two weeks and today there ought to be one heading your way... But we've been busy with something a bit different this week, so we decided to postpone the blog to make some space for a bigger and better update that's due early next week.

We think you'll love it - keep your eye on your inboxes on Monday to know when it's out!

Best Wishes,

Helen and the Dev team x

Sketches from Kasa
over 5 years ago – Sat, Nov 14, 2020 at 12:06:59 AM

Dear Backers,

Today we’re sharing some sketches and screenshots of Braided Shore’s chief urban hub and capital city, Kasa. With its deep waters, Kasa has been the launching and landing place for Travellers for time immemorial, and for most visitors it's their first impression of the region. But bustling as it is, they'd be deceived to think the whole of Braided Shore as dense and thronging; a Traveller need not wander far to find themselves in nature and tranquillity. 

A hive of activity in a serene land

In both our game announcement and Kickstarter campaign we described Book of Travels as serene, a description that's received a very positive response. Certainly players of the beta will have found the world very tranquil, so it might come as some surprise that the region’s capital is as dense and demanding as any real world one - so much so that Travellers might feel disinclined to stay for long.

Trade, commerce and culture

But just like a real world city, Kasa will be the place for those wishing to acquire basic provisions and the odd item of exotic equipment, it’s also a key destination for Travellers interested in the variety of the region’s culture and customs. Being a harbour city means there will also be chances to encounter the immigrant cultures of the Malku and Selka people.

Design sketches from Kasa

These sketches show various buildings from Kasa which draw on 18th Century Turkish and Italian architecture. While they hint at an industrial culture, the intent is to keep a largely romantic feel. 

Contrasting environments

Intense as it may be, we think Kasa will be a place to stimulate the senses, thronging with the kind of sights and sounds that can only be found in a highly populated area. However, its very existence is intended to contrast with the region’s peaceful hinterlands. We think there’s something more satisfying about solitude when the knowledge of human tumult is somewhere in the distance, and a visit to Kasa is sure to enhance the feeling of peace beyond it.

Thank you for reading about Kasa. What are your experiences of urban density in games - and in life? Do you enjoy tranquillity more when you know that bustle is close at hand or further away? We'd love to hear your thoughts on this and all things Kasa in the comments section.

Best Wishes,

Helen and the Dev Team x