Wispfire Art and Games

It was a lot of fun to talk about the creation of Herald and my research and design ideas behind it. As @wispfire.com we’re really proud that we were able to finally release this story in its complete state. I hope people will be inspired by it. And thank you Seoirse for the interview. 😁

Save 20% on Herald: The Interactive Period Drama – Complete Edition on Steam Herald is a choice-driven adventure set on the high seas. Board the HLV Herald and uncover its dark secrets in an intriguing tale about tyranny and servitude.

You can buy Herald - Complete Edition now in the #Steam Summer Sale with a 20% discount.

#indiedev #summersale #games

Some #indiedev advice. If the industry makes you feel you have to constantly keep talking about the new best thing you’re working on. Don’t! Your old games, even if they’re 20 years old, are still unknown gems to many. Your works, all of them, deserve to be seen well after the launch buzz dies down!

Star Wars: Hunters Publisher Shutters Studio Founded by Torchlight, Diablo Creator Before It Could Announce Its New Game - IGN Zynga has officially shuttered Echtra Games, the development studio behind Torchlight 3, which had been working on an unannounced cross-platform ARPG in the four years since its acquisition.

i need the industry to stop doing this because i genuinely hate that i have to keep writing these stories

www.ign.com/articles/sta...

It's so dark out here

Was literally hoping you'd be the person covering this!

You're not just going to be exploring a fine merchant ship. Here's a brief tour of the abode of The Rani, a place you'll want to get pretty familiar with, if for no other reason than to be jealous of her interior design chops.

oh my god this is beautiful

A portrait of Undra and Caleb

Who did you help out during the violin chapter? Choose carefully, you might make a powerful ally who helps you later on, or a bitter enemy who leaves you in the lurch when you need it most.

Our game has a lot of moments like this, where if you don't think through what you say, you'll have to deal with unintended consequences. Friction is a really important part of game design!

Herald: The Interactive Period Drama – Complete Edition on Steam Herald is a choice-driven adventure set on the high seas. Board the HLV Herald and uncover its dark secrets in an intriguing tale about tyranny and servitude.

store.steampowered.com/app/2199510/...

We've secured an overall positive rating on Steam! If you're into visual novels, adventure games, or choice-driven narratives, please give our little project a try. It's the culmination of a decade-plus of work, and we truly think you'll love it.
#visualnovel #indiedev #indiegames #gaming

An image of the top deck of a large, beautiful sailing ship. The crew and passengers are all dancing and playing music and partying.

Nothing like a sunset yacht party. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
#indiedev #narrativegame #gamedev #gaming

Been writing and thinking about games a lot more than usual this year and it’s become apparent that the game industry’s ills are being conflated with the ill fortune of games media and it’s important to separate the two.

Herald is a story about justice, about freedom, about self-determination, and about doing your damndest to protect the people you can in a world that sees people like you as lesser. Find your family, and change the world.
#indiedev #narrativegames #indiegames #gamedeveloper #gaming

On one hand, squashing bugs for Herald's release was a huge pain. On the other hand, doing it gave us the excuse to put together an entire folder of bloopers like this one. Unfortunately, we had to axe non-Euclidean Tabatha for the final release.

I just started this game 45 mins ago and I’m already low key hooked

On one hand, squashing bugs for Herald's release was a huge pain. On the other hand, doing it gave us the excuse to put together an entire folder of bloopers like this one. Unfortunately, we had to axe non-Euclidean Tabatha for the final release.

are you saying we DIDN'T get it right in that gif? we'd pored over thousands of hours of orchestral footage and it was our understanding that this is how all the Great Masters play

devil went down to herald he was looking for a soul to steal
he was in a bind 'cause he was way behind and he was willing to make a deal

(animating violin playing is hard)

Characters in the world of Herald will react to you truthfully, and they won't forget what you've done -- for good or for ill. You won't be able to make everyone happy, and you'll have to make your peace with that.

A detailed dialogue flowchart full of boxes that contain dialogue and narrative notes

When we say your choices in Herald matter, we mean it. This is a mockup flowchart of *one* short conversation, and though we had to zoom out so far it's unreadable, you can see how dialogue changes not just based on your responses, but by previous choices you've made.

It's awful to think about how many great artists we lost because of grifters harassing them into leaving. Many talented people I know left the industry because they don't feel safe or welcome anymore. Can't blame them for leaving a toxic environment, they deserved so much better though. #indiedev

Took us a while to come up with @wispfire.com, but that was also because we didn’t want a random silly name. Everyone was doing that and we are too cool for that shit. 😎

“Boodschap van Herald is belangrijker dan ooit” Ruim acht jaar na de release van Herald deel 1 en 2 komt de Complete Edition uit. Developer Wispfire: De boodschap van de game is nu belangrijker dan ooit."

“Herald's message is more important than ever”
Thank you for the shout-out, @controlmagazine.bsky.social ! (If you don't speak Dutch, Google Translate is your friend!)
www.control-online.nl/2025/05/16/b...

THANK YOU! we're biased but yeah, more reviews would really help! If you've played it and enjoyed it, please consider giving us a review!

Yeah, that's how I saw it at least, but I do get you

Hmmm, kinda? I get you, but I still think it belongs in the one ending category.

a venn diagram with circles for anticolonial themes, parental trauma, multiple endings, and cool ship. Games like 1000XRESIST, spiritfarer, hundred line, gnosia, 999, obra dinn, outer wilds, etc are put in spots around the diagram, with Herald in the middle

we're here to help

Herald: An Interactive Period Drama Herald is an interactive period drama set on a merchant ship within a fictional empire resembling the British Empire. Players navigate social hierarchies and address themes of colonialism through t…

"Is there any edge of the map that is far enough away that one can find freedom?"
Thank you so much for the kind words, Fiona! fionahartmann.com/2025/05/13/h...