Winterfall is a sandbox RPG influenced, gameplay-wise, by experiences as diverse as Mount and Blade, Mass Effect, DayZ, The Sims, the Elder Scrolls games and, of course, the latter Ultima games (7, 8 and Online), set in a fictional late antiquity/early dark ages setting. Contrary to most RPGs where the player is in control of a single hero character from beginning to end, the focus of Winterfall is on a House, or Household, which is grown and developed through deeds performed by the player's successive characters. Through battle, diplomacy and adventure, investigating the past to influence the future, you will forge your own legacy and test it against the world-chilling Winterfall.
What is Winterfall
Legacy
Every character the player creates will ultimately die, within terms decided by the player: will the character fall in battle or adventure? Will he/she be retired to age and fall away? Will he/she be given up as a war asset in one of the conflicts of the age? Will he/she simply grow weary of the world and run out of drive? In every case, anything that has been unlocked or obtained with the character will remain available as part of the House or Household's legacy.
The kind of life the character had prior to his/her end will impact how much of his/her legacy is conserved: did he/she marry and have children? Did he/she live a life of violence and barbarity? Did he/she leave behind a strong mark on the world or people? Or did he/she attain a high level of personal development? Such things will contribute to a kind of rating that will determine how much of the character's achievements and acquisitions becomes legacy, and so will the way the character's days are chosen to end.
If a character survives his/her journey within its chosen vocation, it may embark on another one in another vocation or in the same, or be retired or seek to attain a "memorable ending", attempting to maximize his legacy through a gameplay ordeal.
Things to do
The game is predominantly a single-player experience but is meant to allow for various degrees of multiplayer play.
Most of what the player will do in Winterfall involves things such as:
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exploring deep wilderness, discovering the profound character of each region;
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interacting with people and animals endowed with unique personalities;
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bonding with them in more or less dramatic and memorable gameplay moments;
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making both love or war in deep, consequential and lasting relationships;
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traveling across a rich, changing and moody landscape;
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looking for fragments of lost lore to piece together, trade or decypher;
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recovering precious resources from dark and removed depths and strongholds;
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making objects for use or trade;
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building structures, lasting or temporary;
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openly or covertly fighting predators, marauders and war bands with knife, sword, axe, spear, mace, bow, on foot or horseback;
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stocking up resources and prestige;
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managing group and communities, sedentarily united or temporarily brought together;
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finding a soulmate or companion to ensure the survival of a House or Household;
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and finally, simply living in a day to day basis.
At singular thresholds of global player achievement, the game will receive updates to bring closer the Winterfall itself. As time goes on and the Winterfall approaches, the game will get harder, the world more desperate, conflicts more numerous and strident.