Sins of the Harvest

Project Overview

Sins of the Harvest is a dark fantasy role-playing game set in a world where every magical power comes at a cost. Players take on the role of a Harvester, one of the few who can extract magical essence from the world but must deal with the consequences of their actions.

The game features a branching narrative where choices matter and affect both the game world and the player character. A unique moral choice system tracks not just "good" and "evil" but the specific types of virtues and sins the player embodies, unlocking different abilities and story paths.

Development Journey

This project began as my undergraduate thesis and expanded into a full game. The biggest challenge was creating a dialogue system that could handle the complex, branching narrative while maintaining good performance. I developed a custom node-based dialogue editor that integrated with the game's choice and consequence system.

Another significant challenge was designing the morality system to avoid simplistic binary choices while still being understandable to players. I conducted extensive user testing to refine the system and ensure choices felt meaningful but not overwhelming.