New Details On "The Waters Above" (Patreon)

Hey everyone,

If you remember, a couple months ago, we chose to totally re-approach the premise for TWA from the ground up. We knew we were going to keep the characters and environments the same, as well as some of the themes and concepts, but the entire plot was going to be reworked. Since then, we've spent a lot of time discussing and developing ideas, and we finally get to show you what we've come up with. So, without further ado...

From here on out, the game is known as Starkeeper: The Waters Above. Adi has blessed us with one of the best logos she's ever done, as you can see. We chose to change the title because we wanted to add a little bit more character (and search engine optimization) to it. Something mystical, but warm. 

"Mystical, but warm" basically sums up the feeling that we're going for with this story. Bright, colorful, and hopeful. That's not to say it'll be without tears or hardship, but we do want it to be an uplifting story overall.

It's kind of hard to get into details without getting too heavily into spoiler territory, but I'll do what I can.

The story takes place on the world of Nova Nautica, a ring world that surrounds the earth. The ring consists solely of a massive ocean, within which live the sea nymphs who tend to the stars. Except, the stars are dying, and the end of the world is coming, and everybody knows it.

Maera is a starkeeper, one of few nymphs chosen to tend to the stars directly. She's still grieving the death of her beloved star Leannan, nearly three months after Leannan passed away. Her life partner, Clio, has been doing her best to keep Maera's spirits up, but it's difficult. Very difficult.

On their first date together since Leannan's passing, they witness a mysterious light falling from the sky. When they investigate, they encounter a young child, Apple, who claims to be a star. Whether or not this is true, Maera isn't sure. But what is a certainty is that Apple begins to bring light and joy back into her and Clio's life, and most importantly, could be the key to saving the nymphs from their impending doom.

The three of them, as well as Iris, the archivist and historian of the nymphs, struggle to find meaning and happiness even in the face of what seems like certain sorrow. Meaning, happiness, and perhaps... hope.

We're very excited about this new direction that we're taking the game, and are hoping for a late 2019 or early 2020 release for it. You can expect to see us posting about Starkeeper a lot more on here on Patreon and on our social media as we start to make more progress on it.

As for The Waters Above: Prelude, the free prequel that we released last year: we no longer really consider TWA:P to be canon, though we have taken care to keep as many details of it consistent with the new story as we can. It's still an accurate representation of the style and aesthetics of the game though, and at least to an extent, the personalities of the characters.

We leave you now with one of the CG's that Namie has completed for the game, of Maera with one of her beloved stars. We hope that they'll make you as happy as they make her.

Until next time!

Josh